"Ugh... ughhh..."
Gong Da-won, who had been cut by the sword, was curled up on the floor, groaning in pain.
Su-ho watched this scene for a while.
He was observing his wounds.
"Stop exaggerating... you weren't even cut that deeply."
It was true.
How carefully had he controlled his strength?
But Gong Da-won was gasping for air as though he was about to die, and so Su-ho used a skill on him.
[Heal activated.]
Woosh!
As the healing light enveloped Gong Da-won, his health and wounds started to heal.
Su-ho spoke as he healed him.
"You weren't even cut that deeply, so stop overreacting."
"Ugh... why... why are you... doing this to me...?"
"You know the reason better than anyone, Gong Da-won."
"I-I don’t know...! I really don’t know anything...!"
Despite the healing, Gong Da-won remained curled up, trembling with fear.
Su-ho looked down at him with a troubled expression.
His name was Gong Da-won.
He was a level 100, 1-star necromancer player and would later become known as the 'Gonjiam Lord' or the 'Gonjiam Necromancer.'
However, more fitting than those titles was the nickname 'Paranoid Necromancer.'
Su-ho recalled the information about Gong Da-won that he had seen in the Library of Memory.
"He was originally a normal person, but he suffered a severe head injury in a gate and ended up like this."
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.
It was true.
He had been struck in the back of the head during combat, and hearing about it didn't do justice to how severe the injury was when Su-ho saw it in person.
"Such a shame. Mental illness is something I can’t cure, even with my current abilities."
According to the records, Gong Da-won was suffering from a severe delusional disorder.
For example, he believed that everyone in the world was trying to harm him.
Because of this, his paranoia grew, and he entered Gonjiam, using his abilities to create a fortress and hide away.
From a certain point of view, there wasn't much of an issue.
He was just one of many hunters who retired due to injury and, in modern society, he was no different from any mentally ill person suffering from delusions.
However, the problem arose from the abilities he was using.
‘The "Rising Series," which involves using actual corpses, is one of the banned techniques in our country.’
The Rising Series was a skill that allowed a necromancer to raise undead from actual corpses and turn them into skeletons and zombies. It was strictly forbidden under current laws in South Korea.
Of course, using it inside a gate, where combat was allowed, was fine, as the gate was considered a wartime scenario.
But outside of a gate, it was strictly prohibited.
The reason was that using actual corpses violated human dignity.
‘Gonjiam... I heard there were many uncollected bodies from the large gate that tore through this area in the past.’
Was it a coincidence that Gong Da-won ended up in Gonjiam?
It didn't matter.
What was important was that he was using his abilities to raise bodies of unknown origin and turn them into his minions, which was the real issue.
Of course, Su-ho didn’t come to see Gong Da-won to accuse him of any crimes.
Su-ho was here purely because of his characteristic quest.
Su-ho asked:
“Gong Da-won, do you have a ‘Bone Dragon’ among the undead you’ve summoned?”
“B-Bone Dragon?”
“Yes, a Bone Dragon.”
“No... not something so... amazing...”
“Then do you have any Beast-type skeletons?”
“B-Beast-type... yes, I do.”
“Please show me.”
“W-Why...?”
“If you don’t, I will kill you, Gong Da-won.”
“Ah... ah...!”
Dealing with a mentally ill person might seem difficult at first glance.
But dealing with Gong Da-won, who had a delusional disorder, was surprisingly easy.
After all, he had entered the Gonjiam hillside and built a fortress because he believed someone would try to harm him. Su-ho, with his overwhelming power, threatened to kill him, and Gong Da-won, wanting to live, had no choice but to comply.
Shaking with fear, Gong Da-won started to bring out the Beast-type skeletons he had stored in his space.
“Hm.”
Beast-type skeletons.
There were many types.
From wolves to tigers and even elephants.
It looked like he had looted the Gonjiam zoo or something.
Su-ho nodded as he looked at them.
"Which of these skeletons is the hardest to control?"
“T-that one...”
At Su-ho’s question, Gong Da-won pointed to a specific skeleton.
It was similar in size to an elephant, and as soon as Su-ho saw it, he immediately recognized its original form.
“A troll?”
“Yes, yes...”
Su-ho nodded in satisfaction after seeing the troll skeleton.
That was enough for him.
Su-ho spoke:
“Gong Da-won.”
“Yes, yes?”
“It would be better if you rested for a bit.”
Su-ho struck the back of his neck, knocking him unconscious.
As a result, the necromancer’s skills were canceled, and the summoned skeletons reverted back to their original skeletal form.
Su-ho left the unconscious Gong Da-won behind and walked toward the window, which was covered by curtains.
He opened the window wide and looked out at the Gonjiam hillside area.
“Hm.”
After a brief moment of contemplation, Su-ho made a call.
*
“Ugh...”
How long had he been unconscious?
Gong Da-won slowly began to regain his senses.
However, as soon as he came to, the face of Su-ho, the one who had attacked him, flashed in his mind.
“No, no!!”
The moment he remembered Su-ho’s face, Gong Da-won’s breath became rapid and his blood pressure began to rise.
The thought chain that Su-ho was going to kill him quickly set off extreme stress.
But at that moment...
“...Huh?”
It was as if the air had been let out of a balloon. His anxiety dissipated in an instant.
At the same time, his mind became clear.
It was an odd sensation he had never experienced before.
It felt like he had taken some kind of tranquilizer, and Gong Da-won looked around in bewilderment, eyes wide open.
“Wh-what is this? How... how is this...?”
“Are you feeling calmer now?”
“Y-yes?”
Gong Da-won turned his head toward the voice, and there stood Su-ho.
Upon seeing Su-ho, Gong Da-won’s anxiety disorder triggered once more, and his breath became erratic, and his blood pressure spiked.
Su-ho, seeing this, used an item.
[Ring of Emotions activated: Responds to the subject’s most intense emotion.]
[Can absorb the emotion 'Black'.]
[Absorbing emotions from the subject.]
The item Su-ho used was the Ring of Emotions.
As soon as Gong Da-won was about to have another breakdown, Su-ho quickly used the Ring of Emotions to absorb all of his negative energy, the 'Black.'
‘Definitely, mental illness is mental illness. I extracted the highest-grade Black just a moment ago, and now it's already filled again with this much high-grade Black.’
Su-ho was glad to have the Ring of Emotions.
If he didn’t have it, the only thing Su-ho could have done when Gong Da-won started to panic would have been to knock him out with a blow to the neck.
Looking at Gong Da-won, Su-ho spoke.
“How about it? Are you feeling better now?”
“Y-yes... But... how... how is this...?”
“It’s because I did something for you. But more importantly, I need to ask you for a favor. Would you listen to it?”
“A favor...?”
“Yes, I need to kill a Bone Dragon due to my circumstances. So, Gong Da-won, I was hoping you could create a Bone Dragon for me.”
“...What?”
Su-ho wasn’t joking.
He was serious.
The reason for this was because one of the conditions for unlocking the third power of Dragon’s Blood, part of his characteristic quest, was to “slay a Bone Dragon.”
‘But realistically, how could I possibly meet a Bone Dragon right now?’
Bone Dragon.
Su-ho had seen one once in his life.
But its level was in the hundreds, and the only time he saw it was in the late stages of the Great Cataclysm.
Now, to hunt one of those?
That was out of the question.
‘The system doesn't give quests that players can't complete.’
Despite its appearance, the system was quite clever and fair. It only gave trials that players could realistically overcome.
So, depending on how the conditions of this quest were interpreted, the difficulty could vary greatly.
‘I also know what the system’s intention is.’
Gong Da-won looked at Su-ho in disbelief.
“W-Wait, how would I create a Bone Dragon?”
“Why can't you? You're a Necromancer player, Gong Da-won.”
“But... how can I...! Even Daniel, the number one ranked Necromancer in the world, said he hasn’t even seen a Bone Dragon, let alone create one!”
“You’re a 1-star player. And if you can control a Troll Skeleton, you should be able to manage a Bone Dragon.”
“But... how would I do that?”
“You can use a sub-species of a dragon, not a real dragon.”
“Wha...?”
“Look around.”
At Su-ho’s words, Gong Da-won finally looked around the room.
His eyes widened in shock.
“W-wait... what...?”
“Do you recognize those?”
“A-Are those... Drakes?! No, how... how are there so many of them?!”
Gong Da-won’s surprise was warranted.
Just as he had said, surrounding them were the corpses of Drakes Su-ho had killed.
Su-ho hadn’t bought them from the black market.
They were in a gate, and it was one provided by Choi Yoon.
Su-ho had brought Gong Da-won into his personal space and entered the Drake gate provided by Choi Yoon.
Before Gong Da-won had woken up, Su-ho had prepared the best possible environment for crafting within the gate.
Su-ho said:
“There’s nothing to be surprised about. Since you’ve managed Troll Skeletons, creating a Bone Dragon shouldn’t be a problem.”
“But... but those are Drakes, not Bone Dragons...”
“Yes, that’s true. But if you use your ‘Bone Reconstruction’ and ‘Species Evolution’ skills, you can’t create an actual Bone Dragon, but you can at least make a decent imitation. That’s all I need.”
“Can... can that really be done?”
“You’ll find out once you try it. I guarantee the results.”
“Wh-what... Are you telling me the truth? Are you going to torment me and try to kill me like this?!”
Gong Da-won suddenly broke into a panic over what seemed like an impossible request.
However, Su-ho wasn’t fazed. He used the ring again.
[Ring of Emotions activated: Responds to the subject’s most intense emotion.]
[Can absorb the emotion 'Black'.]
[Absorbing emotions from the subject.]
Suddenly, Gong Da-won calmed down as if it was all a lie.
Su-ho, with the ring in his hand, asked:
“You can do it, right?”
“I’ll... I’ll try.”
“Good, then let’s give it a try together.”
Su-ho gently patted Gong Da-won’s shoulder, smiling kindly.