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Chapter 201

The undead were roughly B-rank monsters, meaning he could handle a few himself. However, fighting numbers exceeding ten thousand head-on was futile. Furthermore, as members of Wurgen\'s undead legion, they could revive instantly upon death.

So, left with no other choice, Se-Hoon quickly started scanning the scattered skeleton bones on the ground.

I just have to do whatever I can for now...

Luckily, despite never properly learning necromancy, he already had a rough idea of how to create an undead thanks to previous observations. Quickly forming a rough sketch in his mind, he immediately began connecting the bones with Shadow Threads.

Click- Clack-

The bones assembled instantly in the air, creating a new undead in the blink of an eye. It had six pairs of legs, three skulls aligned side by side like a Cerberus, and additional bones extending like spider legs from its spine.

Naming it Beast Spider, since it looked like a fusion of a spider and a beast, Se-Hoon gathered the power of Boundaries and enveloped the Beast Spider with it.

Woong!

With the drawing of the boundary line on the surface of the Beast Spider, the strands of Shadow Thread, which had been holding the bones together, naturally disconnected, and the undead’s form stabilized. The process had united the hundreds of individual bones into the Beast Spider.

“Ho...”

Observing Se-Hoon’s assembly of an undead of his own, Wurgen became intrigued. If Se-Hoon had injected a soul into the Beast Spider right after assembling it, the hundreds of bones would have moved independently or melted into the darkness of the Netherworld.

However, he hadn’t, meaning Se-Hoon somewhat understood how to create an undead in the Netherworld despite no instructions.

Just as I expected, he has an exceptional sense.

Admiring him inwardly, Wurgen watched as Se-Hoon used the power of Boundaries to carve out a part of the darkness of the Netherworld.

Whoosh!

From the surrounding darkness, a circular portion of the Netherworld\'s darkness was separated. However, injecting it into the Beast Spider now would have no effect because while it was mixed with souls, it was closer to pure darkness mana currently. It was the stage where Se-Hoon was supposed to get stuck, as he hadn\'t learned any necromancy before.

However, he inherited the power of the most formidable necromancer.

Edict of the Eternal Nocturne

His right hand emitted an intangible wave that stimulated something within the darkness, drawing out a translucent gas. The skill, Edict of the Eternal Nocturne, allowed him to control spirits with weak self-awareness, making it perfect to extract the souls merged in the Netherworld\'s darkness.

Woong-

Taking the extracted soul, he infused it into the Beast Spider, causing its six eye sockets to glow blue and its bones to begin moving. Having successfully created an undead based only on what he had observed in the past, he swiftly jumped onto the Beast Spider and grasped its collarbone to use as a handle.

“Forward!!!”

Screech!!!

Heading his order, the three heads let out a silent screech as the six pairs of limbs and eight spider legs moved, swiftly climbing the replica of the UD Group\'s headquarters.

Just moments ago, Se-Hoon hesitated over whether to enter the building at the entrance until the last second, deciding to ultimately climb it by latching on to its side in the end. Out there, he could see the outside terrain clearly, compared to the inside, where he feared Wurgen would alter the inner structure.

“So you chose to avoid going through the traps. But it won\'t be straightforward out there either,” Wurgen said, narrowing his eye upon seeing Se-Hoon’s choice.

Boom!

Feeling a massive vibration from below, Se-Hoon, still atop the Beast Spider, looked down.

“Ugh...”

The undead legion had already reached the building\'s base and had begun climbing its surface in pursuit. But that was something he had anticipated to some extent already. The sight past the initial climbers, however, made Se-Hoon despair.

How many are there...?

From the gate to the building\'s base, the line of undead stretched out like a wide path. The army, likely numbering in the millions, was large enough to sweep him away the moment he was caught or fell.

He probably won\'t kill me, but it’ll definitely be unbearably painful...

Given Wurgen\'s twisted personality, he might even be pushed to the brink of a mental breakdown. Strengthening his determination, Se-Hoon kicked the Beast Spider\'s ribs.

“Faster!”

Screeh!!

With a roar filled with slight resentment, the Beast Spider climbed up the building even faster. At that speed, the undead chasing from below couldn\'t keep up. But just as Se-Hoon felt a bit relieved, he heard a faint sound come from below.

Whizz!

Reflexively, he yanked the handle to the side, and the Beast Spider dodged hastily.

Thuk-thuck-thuck!

Staring in stunned silence at the hundreds of bone arrows stuck in the area where he just was, Se-Hoon slowly moved his gaze toward the direction where the arrows came from.

There, he saw thousands of skeletons with beast-like lower bodies pulling the strings on their bows and aiming at him.

That crazy old man ...!

Se-Hoon glared at Wurgen\'s eye, which was floating in the air.

Noticing, Wurgen’s eye just smiled back.

“Did I ever say that they would only chase you on foot?”

“...”

He desperately wanted to curse Wurgen for how shameless he was acting, but he had no time.

Bang!

After the archers, skeleton mages still on the ground began launching hundreds of spells toward him, and a giant chimera golem over ten meters tall started throwing balls of the undead upward.

Boom!

Exploding above him, shards of the shattered undead fell on top of him like hail, with some of the survivors charging at him.

“Ugh...!”

The assault from above and below grew suffocating. Attacks began to graze the Beast Spider as it struggled to dodge them.

I can\'t go on like this.

His mind raced to think of a way to break through the predicament. Seconds later, Se-Hoon quickly connected Shadow Threads to various parts of the Beast Spider\'s body. He had decided to directly control the Beast Spider to break through.

However, while it seemed like the best option on paper...

Crash!

The result was entirely different from what he expected.

“What...?”

As soon as he connected to the Beast Spider with Shadow Thread, various parts of its body began falling apart. He tried to stabilize it, but bone arrows struck both him and the Beast Spider, resulting in them both falling from the building.

“Argh...!”

Watching Se-Hoon plummet downward, Wurgen muttered to himself with an incredulous look, “Being too talented can sometimes be problematic.”

When Se-Hoon connected Shadow Threads to various parts of the Beast Spider, his mind mistakenly perceived the Beast Spider\'s body as his own. That then led to a clash between the two bodies for control, resulting in the shattering of the boundary enveloping the Beast Spider.

In simpler terms, Se-Hoon and the Beast Spider had momentarily become one, leading to mutual destruction.

“Damn it...”

Having figured out his mistake as well, Se-Hoon bit his teeth in frustration.

“Don\'t be too upset. Even if you had succeeded in controlling the Beast Spider, you wouldn\'t have avoided the further onslaught of attacks with your mediocre skills.”

“Ugh...”

“And well, you should know what\'s going to happen now.”

A hint of expectation dyed Wurgen’s voice; it sounded like he was looking forward to what was going to happen.

“Have a taste of death.”

Boom!

Se-Hoon\'s body hit the ground, and before he could even think about absorbing the shock, the undead swarmed him from all directions, their savage hands tearing his body apart—but he didn’t meet his death,

Whoosh!

Just before he was about to, the scene before his eyes changed. He now found himself in the bustling first-floor lobby of the UD Group’s headquarters. Dazed, he just stood there, snapping out of it only when someone quickly approached him.

“Lee Se-Hoon. Are you alright?”

Turning his head to see Eun-Ha looking at him with a worried yet expressionless gaze, Se-Hoon opened his mouth to reassure her.

“I’m fin—!”

However, the moment he tried to speak, an excruciating pain erupted inside his body, spreading like wildfire. His barely stitched-together body seemed to be tearing apart once more.

And upon seeing him stagger due to it, Eun-Ha quickly stepped forward to support him.

“Agh!”

Her touch brought another wave of intense pain. Se-Hoon gritted his teeth, his body trembling.

“Please wait here for a moment. I\'ll get help immediately...”

“N... no.”

Se-Hoon stopped Eun-Ha, trying to awkwardly smile through the cold sweat.

“It’s been a while... since my body’s been like this... I was just a bit surprised... it’s nothing serious.”

“...Are you sure you’re okay?”

Gazing back into Eun-Ha’s concerned eyes, Se-Hoon nodded.

“Really. I’m okay.... It’s just like serious muscle pain.”

In actuality, he felt like his body was being torn apart. For Se-Hoon, however, it was no different from severe muscle pain, similar to what he had experienced repeatedly when he first practiced Soul Honing.

If it weren’t for that experience... I might have ended up crying and making a scene in front of everyone here.

As he slowly controlled his breathing and suppressed the pain, Wurgen’s eye appeared in the air.

“This should be enough for today’s training. It’s about lunchtime, so go fill your stomach. We’ll work on the forging session in the afternoon.”

With only that to say, Wurgen’s eye vanished.

And Eun-Ha, who had been glaring at where it appeared, turned to Se-Hoon.

“What would you like to do?”

“I’m guessing you made a reservation at an expensive place, so let’s go eat first.”

Despite the pain in his stomach, he knew he needed to eat to recover quickly. Taking a deep breath, he extricated himself from Eun-Ha’s support and stood upright, his face pale.

“Let’s go.”

“...Alright.”

The two then left the headquarters, and Wurgen, watching from his office made a peculiar expression.

“Did he really just... how on earth is he walking around like that?”

Se-Hoon hadn’t experienced a mere hallucination in the Netherworld. He had truly been torn apart by the undead.

Wurgen had perfectly restored his body just before he died, but the pain he felt would have remained deeply imprinted on his soul. For most people, that pain would have been enough to make them faint, yet Se-Hoon was moving as if nothing had happened.

It’s hard to believe he’s so accustomed to pain at that age... did he undergo some special training?

As Wurgen pondered, his gaze suddenly shifted.

“Hmm?”

Sensing an unusual presence in an old building on the outskirts of the city, which he usually didn\'t observe, he gathered his power to discern who it was. Then, upon finding out, a thought flashed through his mind.

His eyes curled into sinister crescent moons.

“...This should be interesting,” he wickedly muttered.

***

After finishing his meal with Eun-Ha at a high-end restaurant, they were guided not to the UD Group’s headquarters but to a laboratory located on the outskirts of the city.

“Feel free to use this place for your forging sessions from now on.”

Arriving at the forging room inside the laboratory, Se-Hoon carefully inspected the facilities. The interior was neatly set up with the latest magic furnace and various tools and materials. White decorations also adorned the room, transforming it into a research lab rather than a forge.

If Babel\'s forging room feels like it was made by a blacksmith, this place feels like it was made by researchers.

Comparing the two, Babel’s was slightly better in quality, but the difference wasn’t significant. Reminded of the wealth of the UD Group once again, Se-Hoon stretched his stiff body and looked at Eun-Ha.

“I’ll get the things ready, so please have a seat over there.”

“I’ve just eaten too, so I could also help...”

“The meal didn’t really suit your taste, did it, Dean?”

Although they had eaten together at the restaurant, normal meals were neither tasty nor filling for Eun-Ha. Knowing that she only ate to match the atmosphere, Se-Hoon intended to prepare her a separate meal while he warmed up and estimated the amount of materials he needed for the piece of equipment he was about to forge.

“Still...”

“It’s just a simple warm-up for me, so don’t worry. Come on, have a seat.”

Ignoring Eun-Ha’s consideration, Se-Hoon gently pushed her toward a chair in the forge and then activated the magic furnace, igniting the fire inside.

“First, the fire should be...”

Gathering some materials from the forge\'s storage, he picked up three types of ignition stones and covered them with both hands.

Woong!

Spinning rapidly between his palms, his fire mana, Scorching Wheel, quickly heated the ignition stones to their cracking point.

Boom!

Exploding in his palms, the rapidly spinning Scorching Wheel quickly absorbed the energy instead of the sparks bursting outwards. With the energy, the crimson flame in his palms transformed into various colors before turning black.

Confirming the color stabilized, he placed the flame he created inside the furnace.

Fwoosh!

Dyed by his flame, the flames inside the furnace instantly turned black.

Noticing Eun-Ha watching in bewilderment, he explained the whole process. “This flame is called Stellar Night Fire, and it has an adhesive quality that makes it stick to the surface of materials like glue. It helps prevent darkness mana from corroding equipment.”

“I see...”

“And if used appropriately...”

Trailing off, Se-Hoon began placing black ores in the furnace, removing them one by one once they were sufficiently heated. He then wrapped his Forgefire Hammer with Midnight Abyss and struck the ores vigorously.

Clang!

With each strike, the Stellar Night Fire temporarily peeled off from the surface of the ore, causing the suppressed darkness mana within to burst out. And once a part was exposed, Midnight Abyss, embedded in the hammer, naturally clung to it.

Without any repulsion, the two different types of darkness mana fused seamlessly inside the ore.

“...I can use it to infuse my own elemental mana deep inside the material. This method consumes less mana and quickly alters the properties of the ore, making the Stellar Night Fire a pretty useful flame.”

Smack- smack-

Eun-Ha unconsciously licked her lips, imagining the flavor of the seasoning penetrating deep into the meat. Seeing her actions, Se-Hoon smiled slightly and continued his work.

In no time, he had completed three swords. Their lengths differed—sixty, seventy, and eighty centimeters—but they shared a common feature: the blades were thin overall, with the tips almost resembling skewers.

“Hmm...”

Closely examining the black blades, Se-Hoon moved to honing the edges with a whetstone and attaching them to hilts. Finally, he engraved the blade through Incantation Inscription to enhance their overall performance.

[Weapon \'Stellar Night Sword\' has been com...]

Eh... no need to read this.

He dismissed the achievement messages before his eyes, knowing they would just be Rare-tier. He then served the swords to Eun-Ha.

“Thank you for waiting. Here are the three servings of Stellar Night Swords that you ordered.

He placed the three completed swords on the table, and Eun-Ha stared at them for a moment before carefully picking up one and slowly opening her mouth.

“...Thank you for the meal.”

Crunch! Crunch!

In the blink of an eye, the black blade disappeared into her mouth. And when she consumed the rest of the sword, the tips of her hair flared with a crimson glow and her eyes narrowed. Her expression was an ambiguous mix, showing neither satisfaction nor dissatisfaction with the taste.

It made Se-Hoon feel a bit tense. He had expected a different reaction.

Does she not like it?

Even though he had a general idea of Eun-Ha’s tastes, there was no guarantee he would be a hundred percent accurate. As he worried he might have made a mistake, he suddenly heard a voice from the back of his hand.

“Hmm. Your forging skill isn’t bad.”

Se-Hoon jumped in surprise. He hadn’t expected the appearance of Wurgen’s eye on his left hand.

This old pervert!

“Who are you calling a pervert? Do you want to die?” Wurgen said, his brusque voice now echoing in his mind.

Given that he was demanding the soul of a young student to create a child, trained him by literally tearing his body apart, and was now reading his thoughts, who wouldn’t call him a pervert? However, knowing that arguing wouldn\'t be beneficial, Se-Hoon suppressed those thoughts to prevent Wurgen from reading them.

“My apologies. I was just startled...”

“You don’t seem sorry at all, but... never mind. I didn’t come here to have petty arguments with you.”

Glancing at Se-Hoon, Wurgen’s eye circled the forge.

“From now on, I’ll aid you in your forging sessions by residing within your body. I need to monitor you to ensure you don’t have any other thoughts.”

“Understood.”

“You might find it uncomfortable... but that\'s not my concern, so deal with it. Also, I’ve come up with a standard for the finger you’re going to forge. If you meet the standard, I’ll consider your assignment complete.”

A standard...

Considering Wurgen’s skill level, Se-Hoon was worried the standard would be too difficult.

“This is my standard.”

Whoosh.

Se-Hoon’s vision suddenly shifted, now changing to the interior of a shabby building. Glancing around, he found a man by a window, peering through a small telescope. The man’s appearance and demeanor suggested he was a mercenary, but there was something off about him.

Is that a...

The man exuded the feeling of someone alive yet dead. Se-Hoon stared at the man for a while.

Is that an automaton?

“You have keen eyes, indeed. That’s correct. Moreover, that’s one of Puppeteer’s Single Numbers.”

A Single Number, a masterpiece of Puppeteer with strength comparable to that of an S-rank hero, had breached the city that was under Wurgen’s surveillance. Connecting the dots, Se-Hoon grasped the situation.

“It seems to be targeting me.”

“Yes. It was observing you from the outskirts of the city. If I hadn’t expanded my detection range fivefold, I wouldn’t have noticed it.”

Se-Hoon glanced at the Single Number spying on him.

Hmm... From its appearance alone, I can’t tell what it’s capable of.

Because Wurgen had discovered it, it was not an immediate threat. But at that thought, a question popped into Se-Hoon’s mind.

“Wait, why are you showing me this?”

Knowing Wurgen, he would have simply captured the Single Number upon discovery and then explained it afterward. The change in behavior made Se-Hooon feel uneasy.

“Though it doesn’t really meet my standard, I’ll use that automaton as the test,” Wurgen said, his eye grinning.

“Using that automaton as the test means...”

“Come on, you know what I mean by that.”

Wurgen, staring at the Single Number spying on Se-Hoon, calmly declared Se-Hoon’s sentence.

“Capture that automaton using the finger you’re going to forge. If you succeed, I will acknowledge your assignment as complete.”