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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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– Keeaaaaargh!
It changed to a voice completely different from Kumar’s in life, rather close to a female voice.
And at the same time…
Clang!
As the gray bead shattered, the magic circle lost its light.
“Hahaha…”
I let out a small laugh.
A translucent ghost was floating in the air.
The amount of magical energy felt was more than I expected.
It was a success, and considering the offerings used, it was a huge success.
‘Specter.’
A ghost-type undead.
An existence that could never be harmed by ordinary physical force.
Only attacks infused with mana, divine power, aura, etc. could injure a specter.
Despite that, when it grew, it could exert physical force, and if it grew further, it could even use mental attacks.
It was a very superior undead.
I finally had it in my hands.
That wasn’t the end.
At the same time as I acquired the specter…
Woong.
My circles began to resonate.
I had succeeded in creating an undead that shouldn’t be possible at my current level.
By the way, the creation of a specter was usually considered the norm starting from 5th Class.
It was because it was possible to intentionally create a shadow of the soul from that point onward, and the creation of a specter itself was a high-difficulty magic.
However, using the quality of the materials, an excellent staff, and the privilege of being in the second round, I finally succeeded in creating it.
As a result of succeeding in an overwhelmingly high-level magic, my body began to react.
My current body was merely at the end of the 2nd Class, but with that body, I succeeded in a magic three levels higher, and as a result, the vessel of my body expanded.
As sufficient expansion of the vessel occurred, naturally, the preparation to form a higher-level circle was completed, and I naturally realized it.
Although I used a trick, it was such a high-level magic that my body couldn’t help but react.
I naturally absorbed the magical energy flowing from the seal into my body, and while making that gathered magical energy my own, I slowly began to form a circle after filling the vessel.
‘The vessel… has expanded tremendously.’
During the process of forming the circle, I didn’t feel any danger at all.
Forming circles becomes more dangerous as the level increases.
Since one has to maintain the existing circles while forming a new one, unless an enlightenment comes and the circle is formed at once, it is almost impossible to reach a level above the 5th circle.
Still, around the 3rd circle, there should be a slight risk…
‘The vessel has grown so much… The stability of the existing circles is incredible.’
With the vessel filled with magical energy, there was no shaking of the existing circles during the process of forming a new one.
Therefore, the process of forming the third circle was extremely stable.
‘It feels like creating a circle using a spirit medicine.’
When the number of circles is small, the size of the vessel is usually similar.
There are very few exceptions, but they are literally rare.
Most people are about the same.
Using this in reverse, there was a method of forcibly forming a fourth circle by using a large amount of spirit medicine, which could also be considered a kind of trick.
‘Broadly speaking… well, it’s similar.’
I also created a 5-specter using a trick, and as a result, the vessel was forcibly expanded.
However, since it’s just forcibly increasing the number of circles, in the worst case, there may be an unfortunate situation where the 4th circle cannot use 4th Class magic because the circles cannot be properly utilized.
Of course, I’m an exception.
‘With this size… It’s 1.5 times the size of when I formed the third circle in the first round.’
Even if the level is lacking, with a vessel of this size, it’s possible to form a third circle.
However, it’s still insufficient to attempt forming a fourth circle.
I needed to further expand the vessel.
Still, since the formation of the circle itself required caution, I took my time to complete the third circle, and only after repeatedly confirming that the circle stabilized after completion did I open my eyes.
‘Finally… 3rd Class.’
The use of genuine attack magic starts from the 3rd Class, whether it’s elemental magic or black magic.
What I just used was Dark Bolt, a black magic commonly used by Warlocks of the 3rd Class.
It’s a magic with strong explosive power, so it boasts destructive power comparable to Fireball, which can be considered the representative attack magic of the 3rd Class in the fire category.
‘Now it feels like a magician.’
A magician is only considered a magician starting from the 3rd Class.
This is because useful attack magic can be used from the 3rd Class.
Warlocks are so despised that they need to be at least 4th Class to receive the protection of the Mercenary Guild, but even at 3rd Class, they can be as active as other magicians.
Of course, for me, this includes necromancy and curse-related magic.
-……
While I was advancing to the next level, the completed specter was quietly floating in the air.
The appearance of the specter was simply a translucent cloth draped over it, in the form of a ghost commonly portrayed in Western culture on Earth.
A white sheet ghost with two black holes on one side.
Looking inside, it could be seen as a shape of dark shadows gathered together, so it had no exact form.
Originally, it was a being with a strong presence and the characteristic of inducing fear in its surroundings, but since I was its master, it had no effect on me.
‘In a way… it’s kind of cute.’
While it may be an object of fear for others, from my perspective, it was just a piece of cloth floating in the air without any intimidation.
‘Hmm… It will be difficult for it to exert physical force. It’s stronger than expected, but… as expected, there are limits with tricks.’
Still, it seemed capable of using Energy Drain.
With just that, most monsters wouldn’t be a match for the specter.
They would continuously have their energy drained and ultimately wither away.
‘It takes some time, though.’
The important thing is that it can inflict damage without taking any damage on this side.
Moreover, it can continue to grow through Energy Drain, and as it grows, it becomes capable of physical attacks, which is why it’s not a 5th Class undead for nothing.
Additionally, it can transfer some of the energy it absorbs to me, and the transferred energy helps with fatigue recovery and wound healing.
Therefore, it could be said to be an extremely useful undead.
‘For today, this is it.’
Thanks to forming the third circle, it was almost time for the sun to rise.
I quickly cleaned up the interior of the basement and ordered the two undead to guard the basement before returning to the castle.
“You kept your promise.”
Athena, who had been training since dawn, greeted me and said.
“So, how was it?”
“You did well. Thank you. Thanks to you, there were results.”
“Really? You said you were creating an undead. Did you succeed?”
“Yeah. I want to show you, but for now, I ordered them to guard the basement.”
At my words, Athena smiled brightly, seeming to be in a good mood.
“But don’t you need to sleep? The request isn’t over yet, right?”
“It’s fine. I’m not tired at all.”
Perhaps because I gained another circle, I felt extremely refreshed despite not getting any sleep.
While having a short conversation with Athena, Thea and Kayla also came out for morning exercise and exchanged brief greetings with me.
Originally, Kayla would wake up as early as Athena, but since she had just returned, she seemed to be taking a little more rest.
While the party was doing their morning exercise, I cooked for them for the first time in a while, and just as we finished breakfast, someone sent by the lord came to find me.
“I’ll be back. Let’s go, Kayla.”
“You’ll be back by evening, right?”
“Probably.”
As long as I just had to protect Mutre while he made repairs…
“You’re here.”
Summer was the one who greeted me.
“Currently, the lord and the young master are busy, so I will be in charge of this matter instead.”
“The reason we borrowed dwarves from the Siglen County was for the repair of the second passage. As you saw on the way, while the side of Sir Kuman’s residence is intact, the side of the lord’s residence is not in good condition.”
It was information I already knew from Disan.
“Originally, the location of the second passage was kept top secret… but since we don’t have attendants to handle the work, and you already know about the passage, we will go directly without any special measures.”
Following Summer to the underground, Mutre was waiting there.
Upon seeing us, he quietly bowed his head.
“All the materials are inside, so you just need to keep watch. The dwarf will handle the repairs.”
This level of work could be done by someone else, not just me, but it seemed to be a matter of trust.
“Will it just be the two of us and this dwarf working?”
I didn’t expect this.
‘If it’s going to be like this, it would have been better to leave Kayla behind.’
I had told Banis at first that the two of us would be working together, so there was no other way.
‘Still… this is good.’
It was an opportunity to get a little closer to Mutre.
“This is for your meals. I will come to escort you in the evening. Take this too.”
What Summer handed me was… a familiar item.
”A whip’…’
It was a kind of artifact used to inflict pain on slaves with magic engravings, especially those with slave engravings.
I had one too, and it had the effect of activating Kayla’s magic engraving.
Of course, I had never used it.
“Since you have a slave with a magic engraving, I believe you know what it’s used for.”
“I know.”
“If they don’t listen… please use it to the extent that it doesn’t leave aftereffects. You can return the ‘whip’ when you leave.”
The work would likely start early in the morning and continue until evening.
After receiving the lunch boxes and the ‘whip’ from Summer, we entered the secret passage again.
As the entrance closed, Mutre spoke while lighting a lantern.
“We meet again so soon.”
“Indeed.”
Despite knowing I had a whip, he treated me with the same attitude as before.
It was the same for me.
“You just need to stay here. I’ll be doing the repairs alone anyway.”
“Should I lend you a hand?”
At my words, Mutre looked at me as if I was truly strange.
“If that’s the case, can I ask you to transport the materials? The quantity is too much for me to handle alone.”
I thought he would refuse, but whether he trusted me or didn’t want to reject my goodwill, he didn’t refuse.
‘Considering the treatment he must have received so far, he would have been suspicious of my goodwill first.’
Therefore, I nodded my head in a good mood.
“As much as you need.”
When Kayla saw me conversing with Mutre without any issues, she looked a bit surprised but soon hid her emotions and said to me,
“I’ll help too.”
“No, it’s okay. Kayla, you just hold the lantern.”
So Kayla illuminated the way, and Mutre and I carried the materials.
We spent a considerable amount of time and effort transporting the materials.
‘At times like this, undead would really come in handy.’
Inwardly, I thought of Skeleton No. 1 that I had left behind.
‘Well, I wouldn’t be able to use it anyway because of prying eyes.’
Right above us was the lord’s residence.
I had only thought about it, but realistically, I couldn’t use undead.
When we had roughly finished transporting all the materials, I said to Mutre,
“Let’s eat before continuing.”
Mutre took the lunch box from me and tried to leave.
“Where are you going? Let’s eat together.”
“…You want to have a meal together too? Aren’t you uncomfortable?”
“Not at this point.”
Come to think of it, Mutre had never eaten together with me or Banis.
It was partly due to the difference in status, and also because he knew he was of a different race and was abhorred by humans, so he was cautious on his own.
However, I didn’t have any particular thoughts about it.
‘If you think about it, Kayla is also a slave.’
Although she wasn’t an ordinary slave, her current status as a slave didn’t change.
Maybe it was because I was from Earth.
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