Lukphelton Raid
How long had it been?
Finally, the potion was complete.
Wooong-
An ominous feeling emanated from the potion.
It looked utterly unappetizing, to say the least.
As I cautiously lifted a single drop to my tongue,
"You have to drink it all at once…!"
Amelia shook her head and spoke.
She could barely utter a word normally, yet in moments like this, she spoke clearly.
Resentfully, I downed the entire potion in one gulp.
And then-
“Ugh…”
A groan escaped my lips involuntarily.
It tasted familiar…
Like…
‘..Soju.’
The taste of soju was strong.
What on earth did she put in it? It tasted exactly like soju.
Puzzled, I finished the potion and returned home.
Amelia mentioned that it would take some time for the potion's energy to spread through my body.
Just how long would it take?
Excited, I returned home and collapsed onto my bed.
It seemed like it would be a while before the potion fully integrated with my system.
*
“Crazy bastard.”
I couldn't even recall how many times I had been hit.
If I hadn't prepared a sacrifice beforehand, I would have been beaten to death on the spot.
Of course, I knew that martial artists were a counter to dark magicians, but I never imagined he would be this strong.
Dumbfounded, I used the sacrifice to heal myself.
I couldn't go to the temple.
I would be purified on the spot for using dark magic.
I had no choice but to heal like this.
Crackle-
“Argh, shit.”
Using a sacrifice was the most effective way to heal, but it came with excruciating pain.
Anyway-
“If I had just a little more time, I could have played with him.”
The necromancer had already drained his blood, but I could have used mind control magic to enslave him.
Mage slaves were incredibly rare, so it was a shame.
‘..And he was my type, too.’
He had delicate features that aroused a protective instinct.
Yet, he possessed strength that contrasted sharply with his appearance.
A being that had everything she loved was none other than Eugene.
"Well, whatever. I have a tracker on him."
Before Cthulhu attacked, she had attached black magic to him.
It meant she could tell where he was going.
Therefore, there was no need to worry.
If she knew where he was, she could go to him later.
She could ambush him when he let his guard down.
Thinking such thoughts, she began to connect the body parts of the surrounding corpses to create a new life form.
In the past, she had felt repulsed by this kind of work, but now she didn't feel any particular rejection.
"Keeek...!!!"
She ignored the screams coming from behind.
It wasn't like it was the first time she had heard them.
Travelers were one thing.
There was no need to treat NPCs well if they weren't travelers.
The ultimate goal was to return to Korea.
She had to keep running for that.
*
I slept and woke up, and at some point, the energy of the potion had completely melted into my body.
It was a little strange.
The potion had melted so quickly.
"..I think it's definitely increased."
I tried using magic on my surroundings as a test, and it seemed like the speed at which mana regenerated had increased.
At this rate, I wouldn't run out of mana even if I used the barrier continuously.
With that thought in mind, I got out of bed and headed to the basement.
And then-
-Twist.
-Like this?
-Keeek...!!!
I heard something I shouldn't have.
That's why I carefully opened the door and looked inside-
-Sigh...
-Don't make strange noises. It's dirty.
The griffin was being milked.
Feeling a little sorry for it, I knocked on the door and came in.
Then Basil and Coco looked back.
"Hello."
"Hi."
Coco was speaking informally even though I had never given permission to do so.
Basil, as always, was using a strange way of speaking.
Thinking it was strange, I approached the griffin.
And then-
"..Aren't you uncomfortable?"
-It's uncomfortable.. but well.. I guess this much is okay for a day.
Looking at the griffin, something suddenly came to mind.
“Come to think of it, you can't use Polymorph? I know you can do it with a Griffin.”
-It takes a lot of practice.
“Aha.”
-I'll be able to change in about a month. But why are you curious about that?
The Griffin said that and looked at me suspiciously.
Basil and Coco, who were nearby, also looked at me strangely.
So I explained it calmly.
“I was just wondering… Why are you all looking at me like that?”
Thinking about it, I looked at the Griffin.
-...You're sneaky.
The Griffin covering its chest.
It was absurd.
“No, what the…”
As I continued to receive this look, I felt like I was becoming a strange person, so I quickly went up to the first floor.
And then I checked the crystal in my arms.
Wooong-
The crystal was still motionless.
There hadn't been much mana to absorb lately, so it seemed to be completely still.
“I'd rather make it into a necklace.”
It seemed better to make this crystal into a necklace and carry it around.
It's not like it's that expensive of a crystal anyway.
With that in mind, I took a string from around me and made a necklace on the spot.
And tie the crystal in the middle.
‘It’s neat.’
This completes a neat crystal necklace.
The crystal wasn't that big, so it was perfect for decoration.
Thinking so, I lay down on the bed and turned on the forum.
I had nothing to do these days.
When I accessed the forum to check out the threads, there seemed to be no threads at the moment.
Therefore, I decided to check the posts of people who write a lot on the forum.
[Author: Ferus]
[Title: The legion commanders have not appeared lately.]
[Content: Maybe it's because adventurers these days are catching the legion commanders as soon as they appear. I don't know how they catch the commander so easily, but… If you defeat the commander, please come to Lukphelton and report it. Then you will be paid a bounty.]
Ferus says this, but I had no intention of going to Lukphelton and reporting it.
The moment I let it be known that I defeated the Legion Commander, I become a target of caution.
Although Ferus is aware of me and considers me a person of interest, it's different from being flagged by Lukphelton itself.
That's why I'm not reporting it.
'…Ferus is kind, but that's not a reason to report it.'
He'll definitely ask about CocoNenne when we meet, and then I'll have to tell him about what's been going on.
That I saw the forum, went to where Cthulhu was, subdued CocoNenne, and locked her up under my house.
It would be absurd to say such a thing.
Thinking about it, I checked the posts of others.
'I saw Faithful Grandpa last time.'
Faithful Grandpa had recently returned to the forum.
So it seemed like a good idea to check his posts as well.
[MayTheUnfaithfulFindPeace]
I enter Faithful Grandpa's nickname into the forum search bar.
Countless posts pop up.
I check the most recent ones.
He's been inactive for a while, but he's been posting a lot since he left a comment last time.
“...He’s been up to this while I wasn’t looking.”
I thought CocoNenne had quit the forum, but it turned out she was getting into fights with Faithful Grandpa in the meantime.
It was absurd.
What does she believe in to provoke Faithful Grandpa now that she has no power?
Thinking about it, I check Faithful Grandpa's posts for any useful information.
[Author: MayTheUnfaithfulFindPeace]
[Title: I’ve been away from the forum lately, but…]
[Content: There are so many strange people on the forum these days…]
L: There were always strange people here lol
L: You should include yourself first
ã„´: So true lol
ã„´: Of all things, a Necromancer shouldn’t be the one looking for that kind of manga
ã„´: The hypocrisy is strong with this one
ã„´MayTheUnfaithfulFindPeace: I never searched for manga.
ã„´MayTheUnfaithfulFindPeace: I was just curious.
ã„´: That’s what searching for manga is, dude
ã„´: What kind of sophistry is this? LOL
L: CocoNenne: As expected, Faithful Grandpa’s sophistry lol
ã„´CocoNenne:You were the one who acted like an idiot first lol
ã„´:These guys are fighting again
ã„´:Do you want to fight like that at your age?
ã„´:Their mental age is elementary school lol
ã„´CocoNenne:I at least graduated middle school?
ã„´:Is graduating middle school something to brag about lol
ã„´:Average necromancer = middle school graduate lol
'...So she's a middle school graduate.'
That explained some of her questionable actions. There was a reason behind it.
I should be more understanding.
As I browsed the forum with that thought in mind, the posts started refreshing at an alarming rate.
All the new posts had one thing in common: the attack on Lukphelton.
It seemed something had definitely happened.
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