Necromancer Survival

Chapter 134

And, growing fast requires not only insider knowledge but money to support the growth as well.

In particular, for casters like Choi Lee-kyung, wealth translated into skills. Equipment, accessories, summon ingredients, mana stones…there was really no end to greed when it comes to casters. Among them, the price for equipment was unusually high as the equipment a caster could wear was limited.

The state of Choi Lee-kyung’s fortune was obvious even without asking, so I opened my inventory to see if there was anything worth selling. At first, I had thought all of them would bring in loads of money, but, in reality, there weren’t many items that could be cashed in immediately.

In particular, the most expensive items, my equipment, would create rumors immediately when sold. Perceptive eyes (especially rankers) will notice that Seo Dawon had once been known to wear those.

If that happens, rather than worrying about making sales, Choi Lee-kyung could be kidnapped. Plus, it would be better to transfer those to Choi Lee-kyung rather than selling them. The equipment restriction level, though, for these items are quite high.

‘For Lee-kyung-ie to wear these…he may be able to wear one earring by next year?’

I became gloomy at the fact that there was still such a gap in levels, even considering a fast level-up plan; I swallowed a sigh and moved on to the next inventory category.

‘How much will reagents go for?’

Most of the reagents I now owned second-hand were made by Kyungsik-ie for experimenting purposes. Most of them were ‘doping’ type items that raised one’s abilities above one’s limits for a set period of time. Since the ingredients used to make the reagents were rare items such as [Kirin’s Bones] or [Asabi’s tears], the reagent itself was extraordinary. The problem was, most of these reagents contained [Choi Kyungsik]’s name in the manufacturer section.

‘Reagents made by Choi Kyungsik will definitely garner some aggro. We may have to explain how we’ve sourced them…’

Of course, not all of his reagents contained his name. But the, the issue there was… the names were all like this:

[Love Night that makes you ♥hot when you apply it]

[Tired until the morning >_< Long Night]

[An unconventional event for a special day! ‘Half Cat Mode’ transformation reagent (10 hours)]

[Sexual pleasure UP the moment it’s eaten! Sexy Candy]

[Monster mode ON! Upgrade your weapon (whirling)] ¹

Even though I said I didn’t need them, Choi Kyungsik giggled and pushed a whole set into my hands…With the Alchemist’s skills, they would not have been haphazardly made–and there was bound to be a demand for them. However, imagining Choi Lee-kyung with his wide-open round eyes asking ‘What’s a Cat mode?’… My hand naturally moved onto the next category. Money is good and all, but, at this point, there was no need to resort to something so easily misunderstood.

Then, something finally caught my eye: a [Barnasium]–a material that could upgrade a top-grade item to the next level. I had collected them long ago to upgrade my accessories, but the deceased have no need for equipment… I had no lingering attachment to these gems.

I searched through [Market Raid] with Choi Lee-kyung’s ID to find out the going market price.

He hesitated when he saw my actions, “I-I don’t have any money…..”

“Yeah, it looks like you don’t.”

Is he perhaps worried that I’d mooch off of him? If Jung Garam saw this house, he would whine and make a fuss, saying how claustrophobic he felt… It was a bit laughable to see someone living in this sort of place worry that I’ll scam them.

Of course, I never voiced those thoughts. But, my silence must have conveyed a similar nuance; Choi Lee-kyung soon clamped his lips shut. I searched for the market price of the [Barnasiums].

[Mid-grade Barnasiums are selling for 180 million won.]

Fortunately, the item was still in use. Perhaps because the <Tower of Command> had only just opened for raid today and the new top items had yet to enter the marketplace, the Barnasiums had successfully defended their stable price. Still, regretfully, it was still worth half as much as it did when I was alive.

“Ah, the market value dropped drastically….” It was harder to secure cash than I had expected.

However, when I started writing the sales post to sell the [Barnasiums], a notification popped up on the app, asking if I’d like to check on Choi Lee-kyung’s posted sales. I had pressed confirmation, wondering if he had at least something worth selling. He didn’t fail my expectations, though, and had uploaded a large number of funny things. [Orc’s crude fan]…who would even buy that kind of thing?

“Does anyone buy things like this?” I asked.

“No, wait! What did you just do?”

“What?”

“Barnasium or whatever! Did you just post something for sale?”

“Uhuh.”

“You–do you have it?” Choi Lee-kyung asked a strange question. I mean, I’m not some swindler in a peaceful country. ² Why would I sell something I don’t have?

“I posted it because I have it.” After answering bluntly, I took the [Barnasium stone] out of my inventory with the intent to show it off. As soon as I put down the round, marble-shaped jewels, they rolled towards Choi Lee-kyung, scratching the wooden table along the way. Choi Lee-kyung grabbed them reflexively. Perhaps he was surprised; his fingers were trembling.

‘His expression is really honest.’

He was quite fast at mental calculations; he seemed to realize that he was holding more than 10 billion won in his hands. A minute after holding the [Barnasiums], the [Market Raid] app began to explode with transaction alerts.

“Hey, tell me your account number,” I said.

Looking like a stiff breeze would knock him unconscious, Choi Lee-kyung called out his bank number. And, less than half a day later, all the [Barnasiums] were sold and cashed in.

Looking at Choi Lee-kyung, who looked astonished at the flood of deposit notifications from his cell phone, I was reminded of a secret account I had saved for one purpose or another in the past. Wouldn’t it be tempting to broach the secret fund–the necromancer was more sensitive to money than I had imagined. Later when Jung Garam was called in later, we will need continued cooperation; perhaps this would be the perfect carrot to dangle in front of him.

“Money that I can ‘swallow’….T-then, do you mean to give me all of it?”

“I’m dead anyway; souls have no need of material goods. The same goes for the rest of my rascals at the guild.”

“But….”

“Don’t you think you should be paid for your part in the revenge?”

Choi Lee-kyung’s eyes grew wider as soon as I brought up the secret funds; he was eventually convinced by my promise to revise the contract clauses. Humans were passive unless they were directly connected to the cause; Choi Lee-kyung involvement in this revenge was forced. No matter the cost, it was worth it to kindle the Necromancer’s enthusiasm.

‘I don’t need it anyway.’

Of course, if the scenario succeeds and I’m resurrected, I’ll need money again. If I’m truly able to return to how I was before, though, money will not be a large issue. That much I could earn again.

* * *

As soon as evening fell, Choi Lee-kyung released a deep yawn, almost as if he were sleeping while standing. Since we sold the [Barnasiums] as soon as we exited the dungeon, I realized that his energy was all used up, but…

‘It’s not even 10 pm now…’

Do those of his level usually have such lagging stamina? Or, is Choi Lee-kyung particularly weak? Ignorant of my misgivings, the Necromancers went to the bathroom to wash up and said he needed to sleep. I realized that there was another special characteristic to being a servant after Choi Lee-kyung entered the bathroom.

[Ugh…… I’m super tired……]

Choi Lee-kyung’s voice–despite the fact that he entered another room to wash himself–could suddenly be heard very clearly. I jumped up, shocked, while laying on his bed. However, the bathroom door was firmly closed, and Choi Lee-kyung’s presence could be clearly felt beyond the closed door.

‘What is it now….’

What is this perverted skill?

It was absurd and strangely unpleasant. I had looked for a way to adjust the volume of the skill, but there was nothing.

I had a skill to temporarily block all of my senses. When I used it, though, it felt even more strange; while other senses were blocked, I could only hear Choi Lee-kyung’s voice. Every echo in the bathroom clung to my ears, and I felt like I was showering with him.

[Haah….Haaaaah….]

Of course, Choi Lee-kyung had no idea. He could release such audible, long sighs because he had no idea. I used the [meditation] skill I often used when my mind felt like it was in a disarray when I touched my ears in a habitual nervous tic. Then, the goosebumps crawling up and down my spine began to calm down. When my frustration with the skill’s effect began to clear, I could analyze this situation.

‘The larger the distance, am I more focused on Choi Lee-kyung’s voice? Since there’s no volume control, it must be an inherent characteristic of servants…’

However, does it have to be like this? I thought whether or not to tell Choi Lee-kyung about this characteristic or to keep my mouth shut, but, soon afterwards, Choi Lee-kyung let out a strange [Nnngh….] sound. All my thoughts flew away in the wind.

‘No way, in the bathroom…?’

Several imagined scenes crossed my mind, but fortunately Choi Lee-kyung did not commit a faux pas. However, perhaps he enjoyed his time, he took a long time to shower. The effect of the special characteristic was cut off only when the Necromancer left the bathroom and we locked gazes.

Not gonna lie, I’m kinda excited to revive Kyung-sik. I wanna know why he made those things.