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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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And there, I could sense a very faint energy.
It was such a small flaw that I couldn’t feel it from a distance.
‘It’s growing. That’s… real.’
A dimensional rift. A place that was called an early dungeon.
My inscription was also a dimensional rift.
However, it was connected to the demon realm, one of the most powerful dimensions, not a dimensional fragment.
‘It should be at least a year before that appears…’
Kayla’s words suddenly came to mind.
‘Were the statues sealing it?’
I wondered if the Orb of Fire might also be one of the items used to seal the dimensional rift.
It was a complicated thought, but ultimately, this was good news for me.
I could obtain everything I wanted at once, without having to wait a year.
However, there were still problems.
‘I lack information about the dungeon.’
I knew what I would gain from this.
But I didn’t know much about the details of the dungeon. I could make some guesses, though.
‘The rewards were just too famous.’
And I didn’t know how long it would take.
‘The request might be a problem… but it’s worth the risk.’
I suddenly noticed the mage and the priests, who would soon become corpses.
‘What luck.’
“Help Kayla and finish them off as quickly as possible. If the two of you hold off the paladin, Baldur can take care of the priests.”
Baldur bowed his head, indicating his agreement.
I then pointed to the mercenaries and ordered the undead.
“Kill them all.”
At my command, the numerous skeletons and Living Armors charged towards them.
The dimensional rift above the altar was widening at a steady pace.
And in the meantime, I was using the undead to arrange the corpses.
“Are you going to make undead?”
“That’s right. I don’t know what’s inside the dimensional rift. I need to prepare as much as possible.”
“Hmm… he was strong. You’ll definitely get a good one out of him.”
“He was useful too. Arguably stronger than Cereo.”
Kayla was referring to Perseus.
Annelise flinched at the mention of Cereo.
It was understandable.
He was the leader of a mercenary group, and a mid-level Expert.
“Ah, I wanted to kill him myself.”
“He died annoyingly enough, so be satisfied.”
“Still… I wanted to finish him off myself.”
Ignoring their conversation, I focused on my thoughts.
He was an Expert’s corpse, but I was planning to use it differently.
‘A commander-type undead.’
In the past, I had used the Land of Death to indirectly control a number of undead that I normally couldn’t handle.
Similarly, a commander-type undead was an undead that could control and command other undead in place of a necromancer.
Some high-level undead possessed this ability, but those with such traits were limited, and there were individual differences.
‘High-level undead, unlike mid-level or low-level ones, have significant individual variations in their abilities.’
Therefore, it wasn’t very efficient.
So, if I wanted to control a large number of undead, I needed to create a separate commander-type undead.
And usually, commander-type undead created this way sacrificed a significant portion of their combat abilities to focus on controlling other undead.
The higher the level of the undead, the fewer undead they could control…
‘But that can be solved by increasing the number of commander-type undead.’
And I probably wouldn’t have to worry about that this time.
‘If I turn a high-level undead into a commander-type… it should be able to control all of these.’
No, honestly, it would be more than enough.
Even if the result was poor, it was still a high-level undead. I could guarantee it.
‘I have the materials, and I’ve reached 5th class.’
Creating a high-level undead was more efficient.
I would never have done this in the past.
It would have been a waste. I wouldn’t have been able to take them with me anyway.
‘If I openly took them with me… I wouldn’t even be able to enter a territory.’
The Goddess Religion would publicly criticize me, and I might even be put on a wanted list.
Lords would join the Goddess Religion’s manhunt, claiming I was a threat to their territories due to my excessive power.
Even now, with some recognition, if I openly brought this many undead with me, the lord would issue a warning.
It was different from a mercenary group. They were individuals, and these were undead that obeyed my every command.
And warlocks were rarely trusted in the first place.
But things were different now. No, I needed this many undead now.
‘I need to conquer the dimensional rift.’
And if there were rewards in this place, I could maintain this scale of undead permanently without any problems.
The reward of this dimensional rift… was a subspace artifact.
I created a Soul Shadow and used Perseus’s corpse to create a high-level undead.
However, there was one thing I regretted.
This wasn’t the proper way to create a high-level undead.
The standard procedure was to enhance the corpse’s potential and make various preparations before creation.
But I lacked the time and tools, so I had no choice but to use this crude method.
Other necromancers would have been heartbroken to see this.
It was like wasting a corpse.
The result was a Centurion based on a skeleton.
It was called a Centurion, but because I had created it so hastily, its ego was incredibly weak for a high-level undead, and all memories of its previous life had vanished.
It was barely a high-level undead.
Therefore, its functionality was also lacking, only able to command around 70 skeletons.
I wouldn’t have been able to complete it if my abilities were lacking.
‘This is a bit troublesome.’
Its abilities were far lower than expected.
‘First things first.’
I then used the mages’ corpses to create Skeleton Mages, and then used the two priests to create Mummy Priests.
The mages’ robes were dyed black, and the priests’ clothes became bandages, wrapping around their corpses.
I gave the Mummy Priests traveler’s robes found in the mercenaries’ luggage.
However, they also lacked proper preparation, so the magic they could use immediately was limited.
‘The mages can only use Dark Bolt, and the priests can only use Strengthen?’
Unfortunately, the Skeleton Mages couldn’t strengthen my undead.
They were my undead, not the Skeleton Mages’ undead.
‘It’s an indirect connection, not a direct one.’
On the other hand, the Mummy Priests could strengthen my undead.
It was a kind of occupational characteristic.
Instead, the priests lacked offensive magic, so they specialized in support, as befitting their class.
Of course, things would be different as their level increased.
Even a Lich-level undead could learn necromancy and strengthen the undead they summoned.
But the efficiency would be different. The priest class specialized in support, so at that level, I would leave the strengthening of my undead to the Mummy Priests.
I supplied additional demonic energy to the temporary undead, extending their lifespan.
‘What about the paladin…?’
After much deliberation, I decided to use the paladin’s corpse to create a commander-type undead.
‘It’s difficult to use properly anyway.’
First of all, it was difficult to obtain Soul Shadows from those who mainly used holy power, like priests and paladins.
The higher their level, the closer it became to impossible.
I had reached 5th class, but the two priests were capable of completing high-level spells together, and the paladin was even stronger.
I wouldn’t have been able to deal with them so easily if it weren’t for Kayla and Athena.
Therefore, I gave up on retrieving the priests’ and paladin’s Soul Shadows (I had retrieved the mages’ and mercenaries’ Soul Shadows) and created undead using only their bodies.
However, the paladin’s physical potential was so high that I could create a Centurion by adding a few Soul Shadows.
And ironically, it was stronger than Perseus’, capable of commanding over 90 skeletons.
Its ego was still extremely weak, though.
‘Now I’m ready.’
A Skeleton Warrior required enough control to command three skeletons.
Skeleton Mages and Mummy Priests required enough control to command ten skeletons…
‘I count the number based on undead of the same level.’
My completed army consisted of the original No. 1, No. 2, Specter, Cereo, three Living Armors, Bone Golem, two Centurions based on skeletons, two Skeleton Mages, two Mummy Priests, and over fifty fully armed Skeleton Warriors.
I placed all the Skeleton Mages, Mummy Priests, and permanent Skeleton Warriors under the command of the Centurions.
It was practically a force capable of crushing most mercenary groups.
And that wasn’t all.
Kayla, Athena, and Baldur.
Although half of the Skeleton Warriors were temporary and would be discarded after this, it didn’t matter.
‘This is enough to conquer the dimensional rift.’
“Wow, now I understand why they were so wary of you. All this power obeys your every command? And if you’re right about those warlocks being crazy… ugh.”
Athena marveled at my forces.
“Indeed, it’s incomparable to before. Even I would have difficulty breaking through head-on.”
Kayla also nodded in agreement.
Baldur muttered with a hint of self-doubt.
“I’m useful so don’t underestimate your own value.”
Kayla had said that Baldur’s talent was quite high, even though he was surrounded by exceptional individuals.
Kayla and Athena were just ridiculously strong, and I had the advantage of regression and an absurdly strong body, making Baldur seem lacking in comparison.
‘And Kayla’s words were a bit of an exaggeration.’
My undead weren’t weak, but they couldn’t keep up with her high-speed movement.
If I had even one undead that could match her speed, things would be different.
Undead didn’t bleed, and they didn’t experience fatigue, so Kayla’s artifacts were neutralized in that regard. And if I could use Temporary Base Construction, she would definitely be at a disadvantage.
However, as I mentioned before, I couldn’t protect myself without an undead that could match her speed, so she currently had the upper hand against me in terms of compatibility.
She had said she would have difficulty breaking through head-on, not that she couldn’t.
After finishing the undead creation and recovering my demonic energy, I stood up.
“The entrance is open. Shall we begin the conquest?”
“Then I’ll…”
“No need.”
She was the vanguard, and she was fully equipped with armor, so in a normal party, it would have been right for her to enter first.
But there was no need for that now.
I had plenty of meat shields.
I placed the temporary Skeleton Warriors, who would only last a day, at the forefront.
The Skeleton Warriors, who would be discarded after this, entered, and the connection with them remained intact.
“It seems safe.”
“Then I’ll enter first. Follow me slowly.”
Kayla entered first, followed by Baldur and Athena. Then, Annelise and I entered.
I had considered leaving Annelise behind, but I decided to bring her with me since I didn’t want to waste manpower on guarding her.
The party that had entered before us was examining the surroundings.
“You said it was a dimensional rift?”
“That’s right. Since we passed through it, this is a different dimension. …Although it seems to be a fragment.”
A dimensional fragment. A remnant of a destroyed dimension.
Sometimes, passing through a dimensional rift led to a stable dimension, but those cases were extremely rare, and even then, most were connected to adjacent dimensions like the demon realm, spirit realm, or illusion realm.
Therefore, most dimensional rifts led to fragments of destroyed dimensions like this.
The size of these dimensional fragments varied. Some were only the size of two or three villages combined, while others were larger than a large territory.
‘And monsters live within them.’
Almost without exception, there was a bizarre monster within them.
A kind of boss monster.
They had no uniformity, and their characteristics varied greatly.
They were the masters of the fragments, their very existence distorted by the destruction of the dimension.
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