Chapter 2
After several days of research, I learned that this was indeed the Earth I knew.
From the name of the president to the names of the regions and the world map, everything was familiar.
But the difference was that gates, monsters, and Awakened beings existed in this world.
It seemed like something had gone wrong during the process of causality and all that, but that’s not what’s important right now.
“Shit.”
What’s important is that my plan to live a luxurious retirement life with my money had completely fallen apart.
“My balance… is 120,000 won.”
I could sell the gold and jewels attached to the robe I was wearing, and for the time being, it wouldn’t be a problem, but how long could I survive on that?
“I need money.”
I need a stable source of income, or I need to pull a large sum all at once.
I said with a hollow expression.
“Do I really have to worry about making a living now, at my age?”
Just imagining it made my knees feel weak, and I thought I might go insane.
“Easy and fast ways to make money.”
I muttered to myself after a moment of thought.
“Gates. Awakened.”
Gates were divided into two categories: regular gates and unstable gates, depending on when the monsters started coming out.
If monsters were vomited out a week or a month after the gate formed, it was a regular gate. And if monsters began spilling out as soon as the gate appeared, like the one I had seen last time, it was an unstable gate.
Anyway, unstable gates were rare, and emergency response teams were always standing by to handle them, so they were off the table. The places where the regular Awakened operated were usually regular gates.
Awakened beings would hunt as many monsters as possible before the gate reached its critical point of collapse, selling the byproducts from the monster corpses to earn massive amounts of money.
“High income, and I can use my magic skills.”
In this situation, there was no better choice.
However, I said with a sagging face.
“I don’t want to do it…”
Even though I led an undead army of over hundreds of thousands on Seron and was feared as a symbol of terror, I was still a necromancer.
It was obvious that I had undead soldiers all around me, so I could solve everything with just a snap of my fingers. Now, suddenly, I was expected to hunt monsters myself and sell their corpses to make a living?
“Does that even make sense?!”
I came to Earth to retire and get away from the battlefield and corpses, but now I had to work harder than I did in Seron just to make money?
My pride and laziness just couldn’t accept that.
“Should I make undead and carry them around to hunt for me?”
Of course, that wouldn’t be easy either.
People think necromancers just send undead out and play around in the background, but that’s far from the truth.
Undead are essentially mindless puppets that can move using residual energy from corpses and magic.
Naturally, it’s the necromancer who controls them and gives them instructions to fight.
So, the more undead you control, the greater the burden on the necromancer. Each necromancer has a limit to how many undead they can control, based on their individual capabilities.
That’s why they could never become the main characters of the Seron continent.
At that time, I was the one who broke that limit with my unique methods and led an undead army of hundreds of thousands. But even with all my abilities, creating an undead army from scratch again would not be an easy task.
Of course, even so, it would be far less of a hassle than hunting monsters myself.
“Yeah. I came here to retire, but I can’t be doing things I never did in Seron! I’m going to become undead!“
Although it would take considerable effort to remake them, once they were created, it would be much easier to gather funds for my retirement.
But as soon as I made that decision, one thought lingered in my mind.
“…Would people accept the undead?”
Necromancers were hated in Seron.
That’s why even I, a hero, was neglected and ignored by people, right?
“Hmm.”
I thought for a moment before standing up and saying.
“Thinking about it is a waste of time. Let’s just dive in and see what happens.”
There were all sorts of abilities out there. What harm would adding one more undead do?
Of course, it might not be as simple as that, but that’s something I’d deal with when the time came.
“Let’s make that retirement fund!”
*
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To legally enter the gate, Awakener registration is mandatory.
Therefore, with some doubts in mind about whether people would accept this, I arrived at the registration office…
“Wow!”
“This is something new!”
Surprisingly, they accepted it quite easily.
Since it’s not a typical ability, I was moved to a small research lab for a separate test. When I told the researchers that I needed monster bones, they quickly went and retrieved them. After making a skeleton, they continued to ask me questions, fascinated.
“Can it move?”
“Want me to show you?”
By using magic power to transmit my will, the skeleton started walking forward.
“Wow!”
“I’ve never seen anything like this summon.”
Ah.
So there’s something called summoning magic?
I approached the researcher and asked,
“Do you have similar abilities?”
“Hmm… It’s a bit different, but we do have abilities to make golems from earth or stone, or to create soldiers out of water.”
Golem summoning?
Soldiers made of water?
I thought with interest.
‘Is there something similar to magic?’
At the same time, I began to understand why the researchers accepted it so easily.
Golem summoning is part of elemental magic, and the water-made soldiers are probably similar to spirit magic.
And this is where the crucial difference between Seron and Earth lies.
‘The classification method is completely different.’
In Seron, elemental magic would have golem summoning under it, and spirit magic would have water spirits, classified vertically.
But on Earth, whether it’s golem summoning or water spirits, both summon something that fights on behalf of the caster, so they’re all lumped together as part of summoning magic in a horizontal classification system.
In other words, my skeleton is classified under summoning magic, not necromancy.
‘Nice, I don’t have to bother explaining it.’
Then, the researcher asked me,
“What’s the maximum number of summons? Do you have to carry them with you once summoned? And what about their durability and combat power?”
The questions were a bit annoying, but I needed to make a good first impression.
My goal is to quietly make money and retire.
“First, I don’t know the maximum number of summons. And after summoning…”
I extended my hand, and an empty space appeared.
The skeleton was immediately sucked into the empty space.
“This is how I store them.”
“Wow!”
“Can you store anything else?”
“No, I can’t.”
Anything non-living can go in, but I didn’t feel like explaining it further.
“Is that so?”
However, it seemed like suspicion was a passive trait of the researcher, as before I finished speaking, they tried inserting the pen they were holding into the empty space.
But it didn’t matter.
Nothing can enter the empty space unless I allow it.
Naturally, the researcher’s hand emerged with the pen still in it.
“Seems like it’s true.”
“Please believe me.”
“Since there are so many tricksters around. Haha, sorry about that.”
“Is that so?”
Anyway, it seemed like things were going smoothly, and I remembered the last question: durability and combat power.
I waved my hand again, and the skeleton emerged from the empty space.
“You asked about combat power, right?”
“Yes.”
“Try hitting it.”
At that, the researcher gleamed and grabbed a club from somewhere.
“Well, I won’t hold back…”
Just as the researcher was about to swing with full force, I absorbed the morale injected into the skeleton.
I made it look as weak as possible.
The skeleton shattered instantly when the researcher’s club hit it.
“Ah…”
The researcher sighed.
“It’s a bit weak.”
“Yeah.”
After briefly staring at the remains of the skeleton, the researcher spoke.
“This should be enough for the test. We’ll have a quick meeting and discuss it.”
The researchers entered the meeting room, and I quietly said,
“Enhance hearing.”
It wasn’t exactly enhancing my hearing, but casting basic magic to transmit sound waves from a specific location to my ear.
Once the magic was cast, I started hearing their conversation.
-It’s something new and fresh.
-Yeah, it is.
-But the ability seems… a bit ambiguous. The durability is weak, and the combat power isn’t great. Even with all those bones, it’s hard to take down an Awakener.
If they underestimate me, I’ll be grateful.
-It’s a rare but ambiguous ability. Wouldn’t F-rank be suitable?
-I agree. Let’s go with F-rank.
F-rank is the lowest rank for an Awakener.
But I don’t mind.
What I need is to legally enter the gate; I don’t care about the rank.
After their meeting, the researchers came out and said,
“The results of the evaluation show you are F-rank. Don’t be too disappointed, though. Many people have started at F-rank and eventually risen to higher ranks.”
Disappointed? Not at all.
“Also, summoning in the city is prohibited, so please be careful.”
That doesn’t matter.
“Now, if you go to the front desk and tell them your name, they will issue your registration immediately.”
Great.
Now I’m officially an Awakener who can legally hunt monsters and make money.
“Thank you.”
Now, shall I go make some money?
*
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In the test, I used my magic to infuse my will into the skeleton and make it move.
This is the typical method used by necromancers to control the undead.
However, that method has clear limitations.
The human mind and magic power are never infinite.
In other words, there’s a limit to the number of summoned creatures that can be maintained.
So the method I devised was…
“Go.”
The skeletons, made from bones I obtained through hunting and infused with my magic, began attacking three monsters according to the pre-programmed combat methods I had injected.
“Let’s see…”
I closely analyzed the battle between the monsters and the skeletons and said:
“The lower body defense is slow and awkward. This needs a patch.”
But then, the monster suddenly spat green acid at the skeleton.
Without any avoidance response, the skeleton was covered in the green acid, and its bones slowly began to corrode.
“Does it have that kind of attack?”
I raised my hand and cast a magic circle.
“Green acid, Evade 6.”
Evade 6 is the command to dodge backward when the enemy performs a specific action.
“If Evade 6 is blocked, use Evade 7, and then Evade 8. If those are blocked, stop with Block 11.”
First, I tried to evade, and if the environment prevented it, I connected it with Block 11, where the skeleton would block with one arm.
“If Block 11 is also impossible, use Attack 17… and…”
I continued to give commands and infused them into the magic circle. As the magic circle faded, the commands were absorbed into the skeletons.
From then on, the skeletons began to respond appropriately to the green acid and moved organically.
“That seems fine.”
I sighed and said:
“Ugh, what a hassle.”
This was my unique method of controlling a massive army of undead.
Unlike a typical necromancer who transmits their will through magic to control the undead, I injected magic commands into the undead to make them act on their own according to specific situations. It was like embedding a macro into them.
This way, I didn’t have to transmit my will to each individual; they moved according to conditions without my involvement, greatly reducing the burden of maintenance.
Of course, the process wasn’t easy.
“I never thought I’d do this again.”
At first, the battle wasn’t the issue; the real problem was the confusion of commands, leading to bugs that caused the undead to destroy themselves. It was full of flaws.
But just like how I recently injected the response to green acid, after decades of repeated patches and improvements, the final version I created could respond to almost every situation and even perform coordinated attacks.
Of course, the amount of magic required to create each undead increased exponentially depending on the amount of commands, but the magic and mental drain required for maintenance was almost nonexistent.
In other words, while the initial creation was expensive, the maintenance was almost nothing, so once made, it was effortless to keep.
But the problem was that the macros I had perfected over decades, along with my undead army, were completely wiped out.
“Damn it. If only I had a backup…”
No matter how much of a creator I was, I couldn’t memorize the complex operational commands and organic algorithms that I had spent decades building.
Originally, I had kept at least one of the undead in the spatial storage and would copy the magic commands to other undead when needed. But now, even the original and backup files were completely gone.
Fortunately, due to my experience, I was able to create something usable on the spot, though it was far from the original.
“…Still, I have to do it. Once I make something decent, it’ll be easier later.”
Just a bit more work, then I can retire comfortably.
At that moment, the skeletons, having dealt with the monsters, picked them up and lined up around me.
I checked the time and sighed.
“We’ve been hunting for four hours already.”
Honestly, for someone like me, who’s been handling corpses and fighting on the battlefield for decades, this is nothing.
There were times I survived for days without eating while in combat.
But this wasn’t Seron; it was Earth, where I came to retire.
The very fact that I had to work in a place like Earth was exhausting.
“Should we call it a day?”
I said with a tired expression.
“Let’s go back.”
*
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As I led the skeletons out, a merchant quickly approached me.
“Hehe. You’ve come!”
At first, I considered taking the monster by-products directly to the market to sell, but knowing my lazy self, there was no way I would bother with such a hassle.
So, I picked a small merchant and asked them to handle it.
The merchant would get to buy the by-products at a cheap price, and since I was already at my labor limit, I could go back and rest quickly. It was a win-win situation.
“Put it down.”
At my command, the skeletons set the by-products down, and the merchant grinned widely.
“Ah, you’ve caught a lot today.”
“I didn’t even touch them, so there’s no need to inspect. Just calculate it quickly.”
“Got it, got it.”
Having traded several times without ever fooling me, the merchant quickly counted the number of monsters and corpses and immediately paid me on the spot.
“After taxes, it’s 2 million won.”
For me, who had a few hundred million in spatial storage, the fact that I was doing all this just to earn 2 million won made me despise the whole thing.
“I’ll take it.”
“Yes. I’ll transfer it right away.”
As the merchant worked on transferring the money via phone, I sighed and thought:
‘Sigh, I have such a long way to go.’
The reason I purposely received a low rank and frequented the lowest level gates was simple.
If I had a high rank, I’d get too much attention, and it would become troublesome. Also, creating undead strong enough to deal with higher-level monsters was far more difficult, so it was better to optimize my undead for the low-level gates and make money comfortably.
‘Just get through the beginning. Once the macros are done, it’ll be easy.’
Once I finish the macros, the undead will automatically go around hunting monsters, and I’ll just sit back and collect the money.
While I was thinking about this, I overheard a conversation around me.
“Is that the guy?”
“Yeah.”
Unlike summoners who can only summon a few at a time, I usually travel with at least ten skeletons, so I couldn’t help but attract attention.
“That’s a lot of them.”
“Yeah, but they say he’s really weak.”
“That makes sense. That’s probably why he got an F-rank.”
I didn’t care whether they were talking or not.
For someone like me, who had received countless fearful and disgusted looks in Seron, this level of attention was actually more positive.
But then, I heard this:
“By the way, if he has that many summons, he could save on hiring labor.”
“That’s true.”
“Honestly, isn’t 30,000 won per hour too expensive?”
At those words, I turned slowly and asked with a serious expression:
“…30,000 won?”
I had heard about using porters to bring back monster by-products in complex gate terrains, but the cost was 30,000 won per hour?
“Wait a minute. Porters don’t have to fight, do they? They just need to carry stuff and follow along, staying out of the way during combat, right?”
Undead that don’t need to eat and don’t complain.
Where could I find a better and more perfect porter?
Besides, since they’re just carrying things and following, the magic commands and algorithms required would be far simpler and less intensive than for combat purposes.
At that moment, an Awakener shook his head and said:
“They get hazard pay, but honestly, how many people actually die in low-level gates?”
“Exactly. Want to try asking him to join? Want to do it together?”
“Man, I told you I don’t work with summoners. It’s not a good fit, man.”
Porters.
30,000 won per hour.
Quickly calculating in my head, I walked toward them and said:
“Excuse me.”
“Huh?”
“You were talking about porters, right?”
The Awakeners looked at me in surprise and said:
“Did you, uh, hear that? Sorry, we were just talking among ourselves…”
“It’s fine. But have you found any porters yet?”
“Uh? We were just about to hire some…”
At that, I pointed to the skeletons behind me and said:
“Would you like to try a new porter? For my grand opening event, I’m offering a free service this time.”
*
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