Chapter 32: Evolved Nickel and Combat

“Oh? You’re Charon’s disciple. What brings you here today? I haven’t heard anything from Charon,” Fireman said, belatedly noticing me and tilting his head.

I performed a brief bow and replied, “I came for personal matters.”

“Personal matters? Ah! Did you come to find the ring?”

Dan’s gaze, fixed on me without wavering, sharpened at the mention of the ring.

While conversing with Fireman, I nodded attentively, keeping a close eye on Dan.

“Let’s go inside and talk,” I suggested.

“Oh, is that so? What is it? Did you bring the money?”

Fireman, that bastard.

Suggesting we go inside to talk.

As soon as the topic of money came up, Dan completely turned his attention towards us, listening to the conversation.

“Yes, I brought it. Let’s go inside and discuss,” I said.

“Hmm, is that so? But what if I’m not ready to sell the ring yet?”

To be honest, I had half expected this.

That despicable bastard. In the end, since I’m the one in a hurry, he’s trying to raise the price somehow.

“Hehe, by the way, I heard quite an interesting story this time…”

Fireman’s tone became subtly vague.

And I could roughly guess what interesting story he was referring to.

As black magicians, rumors and information spread quickly in the underworld.

Most likely, he was talking about what happened at the recent assembly.

“Adrias Cromwell. I heard you obtained quite a few good things this time, huh? Ah, that must be nice. Some people work in this cemetery for decades and can’t even find a decent knight, let alone a master.”

He chuckled, showing a sense of satisfaction.

In the end, I reluctantly raised my head and showed him the bag I had been carrying on my back.

“Could you be referring to this, by any chance?”

“What’s that?”

“You just mentioned it yourself. Quite a few good things.”

“No way, is it in there?”

Greed flickered in Pyman’s eyes.

However, quickly suppressing his excitement, he cleared his throat and pointed at the bag I was holding.

“I can’t believe it. I’ll believe it when you take out the contents.”

“Fireman, whether you believe it or not is meaningless. When did I say I would trade this?”

“What did you say?”

Seemingly thinking that he was being ridiculed, Fireman glared at me with an irritated expression, while Dan’s gaze remained fixed on my bag.

“If you really want this, show me the ring as well. I don’t know if you’ve already sold it or still have it,” I pleaded.

Please.

He couldn’t have sold it, right?

Somehow, I felt like Fireman would have sold it off already…

“No, I won’t. Show me yours first, and then I’ll show you mine.”

“Did you already sell it?”

“What are you saying? I have it. So, show yours first.”

I stopped my bag once again.

And without hesitation, I shook my hand.

“The one at a loss here is you, not me. Compared to the ring, it’s better for me to create a new one when I have a corpse in my possession.”

“No! Stop!”

Fireman’s desperate shout echoed, and suddenly, the surrounding graves stirred.

What is this madman doing?

Could it be?

No…

Ungh!

Various undead creatures emerging from the tombs turned to look at me.

Is he really that crazy?

I was just playing hard to get, but look at this sudden escalation!

But our impulsive player, Fireman, didn’t stop there.

“Dan! Let’s make a new deal. If you bring me that guy’s bag, I’ll give you a hundred million wil!”

“Hmm, a bit low.”

“You bastard! Fine, two hundred million!”

“Okay. Deal.”

He really went all out.

What did he see that made him act like this?

Was he really convinced that the bag contained it?

Of course, the corpse of Oro Master was a treasure that any necromancer would eagerly search for.

At first glance, it seemed like a crisis, but I remained calm.

Did I come to a place like this without any preparation?

It’s better this way. It was an opportunity to handle not only the ring but also the troublesome Bloody Dan.

“Nickel, kill him.”

A straightforward command was issued.

And Nickel, appearing behind Fireman like a ghost, swung his sword.

Thunk!

Swoosh!

“Aaargh! You son of a bitch!”

It’s a shame. I missed slightly.

It would have been much easier if I had dealt with Fireman first.

Bloody Dan wasn’t as easy to handle as his reputation suggested.

As soon as Nickel appeared, he immediately noticed and kicked Fireman away, creating distance.

It’s a shame that I attempted the ambush with Nickel’s new ability.

Still, it wasn’t a complete loss. I managed to take one of Fireman’s arms.

“Since when were you here?”

Dan muttered as he looked at Nickel, but Nickel ignored his words and swung his sword.

Since when? He had been here from the beginning.

I had summoned Nickel together with me from inside the carriage.

It was made possible by Nickel’s new ability to materialize.

Clang!

In an instant, the swords clashed, and Dan hastily tried to retreat, but Nickel didn’t let him off.

Dan was probably taken aback by Nickel’s skills, which he couldn’t even imagine as undead.

Nickel is not an ordinary undead.

He wasn’t ordinary to begin with, but now even his physical prowess has become extraordinary.

[Sloth Phantom (Legendary)]

Nickel Lifehill

-Undead

-Tier 5

-Mana: 2103

-Abilities: Self/Extreme: Swordsmanship, Materialization, Sloth

Two additional abilities.

Furthermore, it went from Tier 2 all the way up to Tier 5.

While skeletons were early Tier 1 undead, Phantoms were powerful undead of the initial Tier 5.

They were a mix of ghost and mummy, possessing strong physical abilities and the ability to conceal their appearance through materialization.

‘But this Phantom looks slightly different from what I know.’

Perhaps it’s due to the influence of Sloth.

Nickel’s appearance was different from a regular Phantom.

While the appearance of a regular Phantom was simply a skeleton with some flesh and a blurry, ghost-like figure, Nickel had a more vivid appearance, wearing a sky-blue robe with a flowing cape.

With the robe draped over his shoulders like a wanderer, he exuded an impression befitting his name, appearing relaxed and leisurely.

Swish!

As the robe fluttered, Nickel’s movements became even more dazzling.

And that brilliance reached its pinnacle as Nickel utilized mana.

Bang!

Sparks flew.

From Nickel’s fingertips, a swordsmanship that I, in my current state, couldn’t even imitate unfolded.

What was even more surprising was that Bloody Dan, who barely withstood it but managed to hold on, was still standing.

Through evolution, Nickel had developed a core, albeit with a limited amount of mana. However, he now displayed a monstrous appearance different from before.

Furthermore, with the addition of new abilities, I couldn’t help but anticipate that if he were to evolve further, he might even demonstrate the power of the late Aura Master in his prime.

Grrrr!

As I marveled at Nickel’s incredible transformation, the ghouls, which had approached without me noticing, swarmed me.

In perfect timing, I erected an Earth Shield, jumped, and shattered the jaw of the creature leaping at me, drawing my sword.

“Hehehe, urgh, you bastard! Die!”

I heard Fireman’s ranting amidst his struggling pain.

It seems he has summoned elite undead from the otherworldly space as well.

Although my calculations didn’t include Bloody Dan, I had initially planned to handle everything with Nickel. However, I ended up having to personally intervene.

Fireman seemed to have used necromancy on every tomb in the surroundings, but luckily it was daytime.

Thanks to that, the undead’s abilities were diminished, and I felt confident that I could withstand them.

‘I haven’t just been sitting idly by either.’

With the opportunity for real combat, adrenaline surged through my mind like an explosion.

Using the Earth Shield I had erected, I immediately created Rock Spears.

The walls that had been standing turned into sharp spears, impaling the undead that had been trying to break through the walls, causing them to die automatically on the spears.

“Rotate.”

I spun the Rock Spears.

The impaled corpses were violently flung away.

Crack!

I dodged a ghoul approaching from the side with a single step and swiftly cut its neck.

Then, I threw the rotating Rock Spears at the approaching undead.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

There were so many of them.

That’s why you shouldn’t fight a necromancer in a place with a lot of corpses.

Although I was also a necromancer, compared to Fireman, I lacked the same amount of mana and proficiency. Even if we used magic on the same corpse, he would likely take control of it.

In the first place, Fireman’s range was much longer than my ability to detect, so there wasn’t a single usable corpse around me.

I killed the swarming zombies, skeletons, and sporadic ghouls as I made my way towards Fireman.

However, I soon became overwhelmed by the elite undead that Fireman had summoned.

Thud!

A skeleton warrior wielding a mace struck the ground with one hand.

The Tier 4 skeleton warrior was certainly stronger than an ordinary skeleton.

And soon after, elite undead summoned from Fireman’s otherworldly space started joining the battle one after another.

“Heh, heh. Die!”

Fireman’s grotesque shout, with his eyes rolled back, continued to echo as Elder Ghouls, Skeleton Warriors, Skeleton Knights, Poison Zombies, and various other undead surrounded me.

Thud!

I parried the Knight’s sword and, using the recoil, spun my body to avoid the Warrior’s mace.

My hands were soon occupied by the onslaught of Fireman’s elite undead.

Clang!

With a deflection that sent the Knight’s sword away, I rotated my body to evade the Warrior’s mace.

My exceptional combat talent constantly analyzed the movements of the enemies, guiding me to the best path.

‘One and a half step to the right.’

I instantly read the angle, force, and speed at which the enemy swung their weapons, and moved my body accordingly.

Narrowly avoiding the enemy’s attacks, I counterattacked.

Crunch!

I shattered the skeletal arm of the Warrior and lowered my body.

A sharp slashing attack passed over my head, and this time, an Elder Ghoul launched a physical assault.

Desperately turning my body, I thrust my sword into the face of the oncoming assailant.

The sword, which wouldn’t normally penetrate a sturdy body, impaled him due to the combined acceleration, resulting in a tremendous impact.

“Grease.”

Immediately, I reduced the friction and smoothly pulled out the tightly lodged sword.

“What are you? Why won’t you die!”

Seriously, he’s been noisy since earlier.

I created a Rock Spear and threw it, although it was easily blocked. It was a gesture telling him to shut up.

Amidst the chaotic battle, I had lost track of what happened to Nickel. There were still an overwhelming number of undead around, and four undead remained from the otherworldly space.

Among them, the Skeleton Knight posed a considerable challenge with its powerful physique and refined swordsmanship.

Clang!

Once again, I blocked the Knight’s attack, but my arms trembled.

My opponent was not human but a monster.

Even though I managed to deflect most of the attacks, the overwhelming difference in strength caused a significant impact.

How can it produce such strength with no visible muscles?

“Huff.”

My stamina was gradually depleting.

I wanted to drink a potion, but there was simply no time.

Ugh, this bastard is annoying.

I swiftly dispatched the Poison Zombie, who sprayed poison with its slow but venomous attacks. If I dared to touch it, I would be the one getting poisoned.

Phew!

The one-armed Warrior swung his mace, and simultaneously, the Knight thrust his sword from a corner.

This… I couldn’t avoid it.

Thunk.

“Ugh.”

Despite being stabbed in the left shoulder, I managed to pull out the sword quickly and tried to step back, but the Knight was faster.

Whoosh – thud!

Clang!

“Ugh.”

With the sword still embedded in my shoulder, the Knight forcefully pushed me to the ground.

I lay on the ground like a pierced rat, unable to move a muscle.

However, even while being attacked, I was able to shatter the Knight’s collarbone with a counterattack.

The broken collarbone caused the Knight’s right arm to move awkwardly.

“How about that, you bastard?”

Just to show off, I provoked the unresponsive opponent.

While still gripping the sword that struck me, the Knight swung his remaining fist to strike my face.

Thunk!

Thanks to the Knight’s awkward movements, even lying down, I was able to block his attacks with my sword.

The problem was the other undead approaching.

“When is Nickel coming?”

I cursed under my breath, my shoulder pierced by the sword, and pressed my shoulder against the ground, raising my upper body.

The sword pierced through my shoulder, drenched in blood.

The excruciating pain of bones and flesh tearing gnawed at my brain, but I paid no attention.

“Die, you bastard!”

Evading another incoming punch by bending my knees, I struck the Knight’s head with my sword.

However, the opponent’s skull was incredibly tough.

I regretted not targeting the neck.

This time, I aimed for the neck, swinging my sword.

[Diligent training and innate talent awaken mana.]

[Due to the ‘Dual Core’ trait, the body accepts a second mana.]

[Combat frenzy is activated, and mana is stored.]

[Achievement unlocked: ‘Second Awakening.’]

A new power awakened.

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