Necromancer Survival

couldn’t stop gaping at the scene.
As soon as our eyes met, Seo Dawon gently released his hand and lightly flicked some invisible dirt off his skin, as if he had touched something filthy.

     After he was released, Kim Sangyoon could not keep his balance and crashed on the floor, limbs writhing in agony.

     Seo Dawon did not even blink at the violence and blandly recited a spell, “Aqua.”

     Water, enough to fill a bucket, blinked into existence in the air above the Warrior.
From there, it relentlessly sprinkled over his prone body.

     Kim Sangyoon did not return to his senses with that first deluge.
However, when Aqua was repeated multiple times, his upturned eyes returned to their normal position.
He seemed to have regained consciousness, though his body temporarily lost mobility due to shock.

     Seo Dawon kicked Kim Sangyoon’s listless body and looked at me.
He said, softly, “Lee-kyung-ah, call my name.”

     “……Huh?”

     “Focus your will, and, with the intention to “summon” me into reality, call for me.”

Would you like to manifest your servant, ‘Seo Dawon’?

     As he talked, an opaque message appeared.
I was confused, but I called his name as he desired.  “Seo Dawon.”

     The moment I called his name, a strange feeling washed over me.
It felt as if the surrounding colors became desaturated–the scenery awash with a strange lighting.

     I looked up at the sky casually, trying to locate the origin of the disharmony.
Just a moment ago, the moon was bright and yellow, shining softly onto the front garden; now it glowed an unnatural brilliant vermillion.

     An unnatural stillness followed.

     The chirping of grasshoppers, usually present at all hours, was silenced.

     “S-Save me!!”

You’ve succeeded in triggering the status effect ‘Fear’.

Charisma increased (+10). 

     We hadn’t even tortured Kim Sangyoon after Seo Dawon’s first attack, but he suddenly started crying and begging.

     His reaction reminded me of one of the Necromancer class skills, [Fear].
Seo Dawon stepped on Kim Sangyoon’s head, and the Warrior could only grab onto his shoe, pleading for mercy.

     “I’m sorry, I’ve done wrong.
I’m so sorry…..Ugh…..”

     “I want to ask you something.” Seo Dawon ignored my shell-shocked expression and acted on his own.
His unusually sharp voice cut through the tense air.

     “Yes, yes…I’m listening” Kim Sangyoon replied through his tears.

     “The man that Bae Jaemin is pushing.
Ahn Joosung.
I’d like to hear about their relationship.” Seo Dawon’s voice was calm, but I couldn’t help but shudder.
The contrast between his voice and the blazing focus in his eyes made the hairs on the back of my neck rise.

     Kim Sangyoon bashed his head onto the ground.
“Yes! Yes, just ask me anything!” He responded, pleased to be able to help.
He seemed to have instinctively understood that his life and death lay in the palm of Seo Dawon’s hands.

     “Why do you think Bae Jaemin is supporting this Ahn Joosung?”

     “W-Well, Ahn Joosung…..knnngh!”

     When Kim Sangyoon tried to raise his head to respond, Seo Dawon kicked his face without any mercy, preventing his face from being exposed to the pitiful Warrior.

     “Don’t look up.
You don’t need to see me to answer my questions.”

     “Mmrgh…..Yes…..yes….”

” ”

     “Well then.
Where were we? Ahn Joosung?”

     “Yes…Ah, Ahn Joosung…He’s the grandson of Chairman Ahn of the Shin Shin group.
T-that’s why Bae Jaemin to Ahn Joosung…He’s a special contact.
Whether it’s carrying him through Dungeons or bringing him to unthinkably difficult places…He’s poured a lot of effort into raising Ahn Joosung…” Bowing his head to the floor, Kim Sangyoon began to air all the grievances he had towards the man.

     While listening to his story, Seo Dawon tapped his chin and murmured to himself, “Hmm, blatantly favoring someone born with a gold spoon in his mouth would sow some discord.”

     “….Yes, yes.
T-that’s why people…Often the raids become twisted or ruined because of Ahn Joosung…There’s a lot of discontent among the Users who know about it.”

     “So, guys like you, who can’t squeeze into their party, have some complaints about it, huh?”

     “Yes.” Kim Sangyoon winced at the blunt words but eventually nodded.
For a man who was so eager to believe that I had colluded with Bae Jaemin, he quieted so easily under Seo Dawon’s foot.
Cold sweat ran down my back–was he jealous?

     Kim Sangyoon continued to add to his tale, eyes tightly squeezed shut.
“But….T-there’s a lot of complaints within HaHae as well…Since Ahn Joosung is low level and is unskilled…yet he’s treated like a guild master…”

     “You’re talking about the HaHae guild?”

     “Yes….”

     “Didn’t they just form yesterday?”

     “The official announcement was yesterday…Unofficially, they’ve been a guild for many years already.
They’ve been calling themselves HaHae for a long while now.”

     “When did that start?”

     “I don’t know…Maybe…Around two years ago, there were a lot of rumors about them.”