The Necromancer Who Was Despised – Chapter 11

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“A high-ranking priest…”

“Even if you’re a mana user, it won’t be easy to find one. They think she won’t live long over there.”

“But… hah. You know you’re really lucky.”

This was already the second time, no, since meeting me could be considered somewhat lucky, it could be considered the third time.
The second time was when she awakened mana.

“Lucky, you say? Could it be…”

“That’s not an illness.”

“Then?”

“It’s a curse. I think it’s the result of coming into contact with a cursed object.”

“So it’s lucky because it’s a curse, not an illness? Are you kidding me?”

Until just a moment ago, she had been thanking me, but her expression instantly warped because her sister’s life was at stake.

“Then it’s fortunate. Who do you think I am?”

If it were an ordinary illness, I wouldn’t be able to do anything.

If it were a disease caused by black magic, I could handle it somehow, but an ordinary illness was not within my jurisdiction.

Upon realizing that I was a Warlock, her expression brightened.

“So you can cure it?”

“It’s impossible now. But within a month, I can slow down the progression.”

“A complete cure…”

“It will become possible when I grow more. But it will take a long time.”

“I don’t care. As long as you can cure it… Thank you. Sorry for yelling.”

I didn’t mind such things. It wasn’t like she had stabbed me with a knife.

“I’ll be extremely busy for a while. In addition to taking care of Thea, you need to start training in earnest.”

“Training?”

“Of course. You’re not going to become a mage, are you?”

In the first place, it was impossible to become a mage without a teacher.

I only knew black magic, so I couldn’t teach her, and above all, she had more talent as a warrior than a mage.

Moreover, being a mage required a lot of money.

“I’m more suited for physical work than mental work, but…”

“Then you need to learn mana breathing techniques and aura cultivation methods. I know some, so learn those for now.”

“You’re going to teach me mana breathing techniques and aura cultivation methods?”

Athena seemed to know what they were.

“They’re not that great.”

They were what I used in my previous life. The problem was that the efficiency was poor…

‘The mana breathing technique is for cosmetic purposes, and the aura cultivation method is third-rate garbage.’

Still, it was better than nothing. Once she obtained higher-level techniques, she could switch to them.

‘I happen to know a place where good ones appear.’

Even third-rate techniques weren’t bad for building a foundation.

‘Her talent is outstanding, so she might need an intermediate stage…’

But there was another method for that.

‘This is also a noble family, so they should have something higher than what I used.’

If the nature was too different from what I used, she would have to struggle quite a bit, but with Athena’s talent, she would be able to adapt.

‘Well, Kuman probably has something too.’

Athena had used aura in the previous round, so there was a high possibility that he had it.

We could compare and use the better one.

‘The highest-level ones can’t be obtained right away.’

This was an unavoidable reality.

In the meantime, I would also grow.

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

At that moment, Athena asked me.

“Even though I’m from a slash-and-burn village, I know the value of mana breathing techniques and aura cultivation methods.”

“I told you, they’re not that great. Honestly, they’re both third-rate. I’ll get you better ones later.”

“Even those not-so-good ones are never encountered by ordinary commoners in their entire lives.”

That was true.

“Moreover, even if Thea’s physical condition wasn’t good, a slave wouldn’t be that cheap. It must have cost at least several dozen silver, right?”

Despite being from a slash-and-burn village, she seemed to know quite a lot.

“I don’t mean to say this, but… I was trying to kill you. If you were weak, I would have killed you.”

That seemed to be the case.

‘Of course, it’s a delusional thought.’

Objectively speaking, even though Athena had awakened mana, it was questionable whether she could defeat Nenson, let alone Kuman.

Despite awakening mana, Athena’s physical abilities were at the level of a low-level mercenary, and she severely lacked combat experience against humans.

Nenson couldn’t use mana, but his main occupation was a human hunter.

Moreover, this area was Nenson’s front yard, so even if he couldn’t use mana, it couldn’t be said that he would definitely lose.

‘Mana is a tremendous power, but it’s not an almighty power.’

However, that didn’t mean Athena had no chance of winning. Notably, I couldn’t detect her until she made a sound, to the extent that…

‘The odds are… honestly fifty-fifty.’

That was the case when considering various scenarios.

But against Kuman, it was out of the question.

“But you spared my life, saved my sister, and even want to train me. Why?”

“Because I need you.”

“Someone like you could recruit people more outstanding than me, even if you’re a Warlock. I heard there are officially active Warlocks. Even if you’re not at that level now, you will undoubtedly reach that position before long.”

That was true.

“At the very least, you could have turned me into an undead…”

“You’re underestimating your own value.”

“Ahaha. You think I’m a fool because I’m from a slash-and-burn village. I heard that high-level mercenaries are all mana users. Such people have high credibility. You could easily become comrades with them, right?”

She quickly continued.

“Don’t deny it. You discovered a curse that even a high-ranking priest would have difficulty detecting in just a few hours. Someone with such abilities can’t possibly fail to become a high-level mercenary.”

My confident attitude also seemed to have influenced her judgment.

‘She’s not as stupid as I thought.’

This was a good thing for me. It was better to have a smart comrade than a dumb one.

Moreover, she was bound to me.

“Answer me. Ah, don’t give me the stupid reason that my body is your goal. Someone like you could easily get a woman better than me.”

‘She’s overestimating me more than I thought.’

But amusingly, most of that overestimation was accurate.

‘What should I call this?’

She was overestimating me while severely underestimating her own value.

It wasn’t a bad thing for me, but when it was like this, it became very ambiguous to say something.

Suddenly, Athena’s face caught my eye.

Her face was strangely stiff, and she seemed to be afraid of something.

‘I see.’

“Don’t worry. I won’t use you as a disposable pawn or later raise you to turn you into an undead.”

She flinched.

I hesitated for a moment, but since it was a good opportunity, I decided to be honest.

“I needed a trustworthy comrade. I needed someone who wouldn’t betray me until the end. You have a misconception. It’s true that high-level mercenaries have high credibility, but not all of them are like that. And above all, the perception of Warlocks is worse than you think.”

Since she would find out eventually, I didn’t particularly hide it.

A skilled Warlock could become a comrade of high-level mercenaries. However, they could never gain a certain level of trust.

They would always be wary of me, and if something happened, I would always be the first one to be suspected.

That was the limit that Warlocks faced in this world.

‘It’s the same even if you become a recognized Warlock.’

You always become a subject of surveillance.

Research materials can be checked at any time by the guaranteeing noble, and Warlocks are always followed by unkind gazes.

A being who can be betrayed and abandoned at any time, and no one would blame them. Even the rare decent Warlocks are prone to turning evil in such an environment.

‘Of course, I have no intention of ending up like that.’

For someone like me, a comrade who could rise to a high level and be trusted was extremely useful.

Especially if I held the leash.

‘In that sense, Athena is very useful.’

If she were someone to be used and discarded, I wouldn’t have given her this explanation.

I spoke with a serious expression.

“As long as there are no major issues, you will grow. I will make sure of that. So don’t have unnecessary thoughts and focus on training.”

Perhaps somewhat reassured by my words and attitude, Athena slowly nodded.

“Thank you for being honest. I don’t know if I can meet your expectations, but I’ll do my best.”

“Tomorrow, I need to examine your sister’s body and find out where she received that curse, so keep that in mind.”

“Okay.”

“Hah. Since we’re on the topic, I’ll teach you the mana breathing technique first, so learn this.”

It was for cosmetic purposes and not as difficult as one might think, and since she had already awakened mana, it wouldn’t take long for her to learn.

‘It will take some time to master it, but that’s something she has to do on her own.’

Throughout the learning process, Athena’s face was full of motivation.

‘A good sign.’

People with hope for the future tend to grow.

I thought today’s conversation wasn’t a waste.

And so, I spent the remaining time of the day on her training, and as soon as the day changed, I informed Thea that the reason for her poor health was not an illness but a curse.

“A curse…?”

Thea showed a surprised expression at my words.

“Yes. Fortunately, Inha says he knows quite a bit about curse removal. So I want to confirm something. Do you have any idea how you got it?”

Athena asked Thea, and after thinking for a moment, Thea opened her mouth.

What she said was quite shocking.

“So, you’re saying you entered some cave?”

“Yes. I saw strange monsters inside, but…”

She was already too exhausted and lost consciousness afterward. In fact, she had entered the cave to rest, and when she encountered monsters inside, she gave up on life.

Therefore, when she regained consciousness and found herself captured by a human hunter, she couldn’t understand the situation and mistook it for having fallen into hell.

“Based on the situation, it didn’t seem like they had defeated the monsters and captured me. My clothes were still intact.”

‘Was it a mage’s dungeon?’

There were ways to use monsters as guardians, but I didn’t think a mage who had created a dungeon and secluded themselves would let a human who had invaded their territory go.

There was a possibility of being killed to avoid revealing the location of the dungeon, or worse, being used as an experimental subject.

The image of Warlocks was so abysmal that even among mages, there was no shortage of insane individuals.

Those obsessed with magic.

Especially high-level mages were more likely to be eccentric and have a screw loose somewhere.

Therefore, I considered the possibility of it being a mage’s dungeon to be honestly low.

“That’s all I can think of.”

Come to think of it, the illness also started after she was captured by the slave hunters.

Athena had a sad expression throughout Thea’s story.

“You’ve been through a lot.”

“No, Sister. You must have been through a lot too…”

She must have had her own hardships.

She must have survived several close calls with death.

No matter how talented she was, awakening mana without mana breathing techniques wasn’t an easy feat.

Her latent talent had awakened due to a series of crises.

“Do you remember where it was?”

“…Precisely…”

She said it was somewhere between a nearby developing territory and Owalan Barony.

Although it was a nearby developing territory, it was quite far away. Considering that she had drifted this way, it must have been closer to this side.

However, the range was still too wide.

‘Should I try to find the hunter who caught her?’

I needed to ask Albert or Kuman, but this would take some time.

I couldn’t reveal my purpose, and I would only be unnecessarily suspected.

‘For now, I need to remember it.’

I had to be mindful of many things because I was still weak.

It was an unavoidable reality for the time being.

“Thank you for telling me. For now, get some rest.”

“Um… Inha. Can I really be cured?”

Thea had also learned my real name and was calling me that way inside.

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