Chapter 2: A Necromancer’s Burden

“Ahh… damn it.”

This exploration was so easy that it would be hard to die even if I wanted to…

When a companion dies during an exploration, their record remains intact.

The caretakers are aware of such records.

Depending on their career, they would separate individuals into S, A, B, or D ranks to assign tasks.

My exploration record is not great.

When I was first thrown into the dungeon, I panicked and lost a few companions.

I chose an easy mission hoping to recover from that…

But I’m worried they might not want to use me after this.

The small tavern attached to the exploration headquarters is commonly referred to as the explorers’ rest area.

Before leaving for an expedition or after returning, explorers gather to form parties and share results there.

“Welcome.”

As I absentmindedly ordered a beer out of habit, Yumi, who had just finished her mission report, appeared.

No sign of Nohr…

“Thank you for your hard work.”

I have four silver coins in my small pouch.

That’s worth 400 ron. About four days’ worth of lodging.

It’s just pocket change.

“Damn it.”

I took on an easy mission even though my pocket was already light.

If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have chosen something more expensive.

A sigh escaped me.

#

My class is Necromancer.

When I was swept into the dimensional rift and opened my eyes in this Dungeon Overseer world, I saw a status window and class selection screen that seemed like a god’s joke or something out of a novel.

Dungeon Overseer has ten different classes.

Combining the traits of characters to conquer dungeons.

Farming various items to recover the ‘Crown of the Forgotten’ buried in the final dungeon was the goal of this game.

If left alone, the overseers, who would outsmart the final goal in ridiculous ways, would have swarmed.

It was an outstanding game filled with intricate elements.

Because it was in early access, everyone tackled the dungeons in the way they found most comfortable, and I cleared them with half-farming play and half-speed running.

Some classes are strong in the early game and weak in the late game.

Others are weak early on and strong later.

Like other games, the balance in this Dungeon Overseer was just understandable.

If I had started as an overseer, I would have immediately optimized the roster for efficient tactics.

I have memorized the order of dungeon unlocks, difficulty per dungeon, essential classes, and carry classes.

The problem is that I am just a mere character, not an overseer.

A strong class in the early game? If it becomes weak in the late game, it will be discarded in the final dungeon.

There must be a reason I became a character instead of an overseer.

At least I should be at a level to participate in the final dungeon.

After much deliberation, I chose the Necromancer class.

In other words, a Necromancer.

Weak at first, but after passing a certain point, it becomes incredibly strong.

The Necromancer is a typical carry class for the late game.

I had some resolve. I knew it would be tough and I’d have to struggle to get by.

But I didn’t expect it to be this hard.

[Traits]

*Necromancer

A grim wizard who deals with life and death.

Those who wield the power of darkness are intimately familiar with the bodies of the dead.

Many people are repulsed by the smell of death that necromancers emanate and reject them, but rest assured.

One day, they too will undoubtedly experience that smell firsthand.

*Necromancers acquire the following traits.

*Highly Educated

An intellectual with a vast accumulation of knowledge. Some events will change positively.

*Power of Death

The fear effects received from undead monsters are reduced.

You do not receive surprise attacks from undead monsters.

*Corpse Enthusiast

You do not feel uncomfortable when witnessing corpses.

You do not feel uncomfortable when smelling decay.

You do not feel uncomfortable when mutilating or desecrating corpses.

If it’s just one meal, you do not feel uncomfortable consuming human flesh.

When disassembling corpses, the quantity of items acquired increases, and the disassembly speed increases.

*Smell of Death

Reputation gained from companions who are not necromancers or alchemists decreases.

Negative events occur occasionally.

The Power of Death and Corpse Enthusiast are excellent traits that can effectively fulfill the role of a supporter when entering a dungeon.

In dungeons, corpses are everywhere, and the weaker the mental state of a character, the higher the chance they will crack.

These two traits help prevent that.

The problem lies with the Smell of Death trait.

Other traits are quite good, but just because of the Smell of Death, leveling a necromancer in the early stages can ruin your internal affairs.

Other NPCs easily turn hostile, and those ‘occasional’ negative events are perfect for breaking apart a party.

The party itself could be attacked, imprisoned for no reason, or unjustly taxed more.

In the very early stages, the necromancer has little firepower and is only useful as a dungeon supporter.

In such a case, encountering negative events makes you think, ‘This overseer is doomed~.’

So, the necromancer is a class that is ignored in the early stages and is only fully developed once the expedition team reaches stability in the mid-game.

Yeah. That’s right. It’s all my fault.

I was too frazzled back then.

Caught up in the idea of choosing the strongest, most capable class to thrive in the dungeon, I hastily chose the necromancer, and that was a big mistake.

If I had thought rationally for just a moment, my suffering would have been cut in half.

Damn. But who can think rationally in that situation?

In this city of explorers, necromancers are treated like absolute trash.

Just walking around, they are regarded as potential criminals, and the moment they reveal their profession, their reputation plummets.

Historically, professions that involve handling corpses have always been looked down upon by those around them, but experiencing it firsthand feels terrible.

In this city, there are exactly three professions that cannot enter a tavern.

One is the grave keeper, another is the executioner, and the last is the necromancer.

A tavern is a place where people gather to talk and drink, so being barred from entering means there is a fundamental problem with social activities overall.

Not knowing that I tried to adapt to the city by entering a tavern and got thoroughly beaten up by drunken old men.

The moment my plan to gather information and meet people in the tavern fell apart, I realized something was wrong.

The penalties of the necromancer job were far stronger than what the game implemented.

It was an uncomfortable reality that weighed on me.

So, my movements are extremely simple.

My accommodation is the Necromancer Guild.

Necromancers are unfortunate souls, but they are necessary for expeditions.

There are no bold individuals who would dare disrupt things by crawling into the necromancer guild, so that’s where I stay.

I rent a room from the guild and eat and sleep there.

When I wake up in the morning, I have a simple breakfast at the guild and then stop by the expedition team.

If I feel like drinking, I have a beer at the explorer’s rest area.

That place is only used by explorers, so no one says anything even if a necromancer is sitting there.

If there’s work to do, I do it; if not, I loiter around until sunset and then return to the guild.

My daily routine is as simple as it gets.

Even if I just returned from a mission yesterday, there’s nothing to do.

What’s the point of lazing around?

I need to get stronger as quickly as possible.

However, while sitting in the explorer’s rest area today, I managed to catch a decent job.

Regardless of whether I have work or not, I stick around in the expedition team’s rest area.

If I were in another class, I would have returned to the guild immediately to train and become a bit stronger.

But as a necromancer, that doesn’t apply to me.

The reason I dislike the Necromancer Guild is that it’s always quiet.

There’s no reason for those sitting there as masters to wander around like crazy people.

What the guild needs are not monsters or living people but simply corpses.

No one would visit the Necromancer Guild, so it’s just pure tranquility.

Even if I’m a total outcast, the guild feels stifling.

Even though it’s more expensive, I prefer sitting in the explorer’s rest area to eat and people-watch.

Then, if I’m lucky, I might get a job.

Just like right now.

“Are you alone?”

A male explorer throws a pickup line my way.

No. Save that for the ladies.

“Yes, well…”

“I’m Daro from the guild. We’re currently recruiting party members. If your schedule is free, would you like to take on a mission with me?”

The man introduced himself as Daro.

From his tone to even the smallest gestures,

he seems like a polite young man, someone you would believe came from a noble’s castle.

But it’s strange. A Raider Guild?

“Well, I don’t mind… but is it a difficult mission?”

“It’s a combat mission. The target is a goblin. If you’re not okay with that…”

“No, no. I’ll do it.”

Raider Guild.

Means a gathering of scoundrels and plunderers.

Since they accept anyone regardless of background, I can understand why such oddballs exist…

“Are you the party leader?”

“Yes. Including myself, there are three of us gathered. We can set off as soon as you join us.”

Oh ho. That confidence in inviting someone to the party without asking about their class.

The assurance that it’s fine to accept anyone as a party member.

I had a feeling.

That guy seems like a decent fellow.

Daro guided me to where the other party members were gathered.

It was not far from the table where I had been drinking.

Two female explorers were drinking and whispering something to each other.

The women glanced over at me as I approached.

“I’ve brought the last party member.”

Daro signaled for me to introduce myself.

“I’m Ha-jun. My class is Necromancer. I’m taking a commission from Supervisor Gawain.”

As I introduced myself, the party members clapped with indifferent expressions.

Maybe it was due to the typical paranoia of a necromancer.

Something about it felt off.

If they had an issue, they could just say so.

“Did you come from far away? Your name is unique,”

one of the women introduced herself as Somi said while looking at me.

Isn’t Somi a pretty similar name to mine?

It seems that my face, being slightly different from these people, made it sound even stranger.

Or maybe it was just because I’m a necromancer.

“Working under the supervisor must mean you’re reliable. You’ve explored a lot of dungeons, right?”

As expected of the party leader, Daro spoke coolly without asking questions.

“Yes. I’ve explored quite a bit.”

“But you know, I’ve heard that there’s only one necromancer who can handle the dungeons around the city.”

Suddenly, Somi started making a fuss.

“Are you the one who went on the mushroom harvesting mission a while back?”

“What are you talking about?”

The woman who had been quietly standing with her arms crossed showed interest.

“There was a party that went to gather mushrooms a while ago, and one of the necromancers in that party suddenly tried to slice the spore sacs with a saw.

Because of that, the party fell apart, and the mission failed…”

Some looked at me with suspicious eyes.

And then there was the woman who seemed to be lost in thought.

I started to sweat coldly.

Shit.

That was me.

There are many explorers active in the city of explorers.

However, there are only certain people who can handle similar levels of work within the same guild.

Rumors spread quickly in a small community.

That was a mistake I made during a time when I had no field experience whatsoever.

But is there anyone who still remembers that?

I just thought it was strange for such a large spore sac to appear at this level and picked it up without thinking.

I was just trying to use some knowledge from the game background.

“At that time, I had just started working… that won’t happen again.”

I made sure to clarify.

I’m not a troll.

Please take me with you.

Seeing my reaction, Daro calmly unfolded a map.

“I trust you, Ha-jun, but you must make one promise.

Please promise not to take any independent actions without my instructions.

As long as you keep that, there won’t be any problems.”

“I’ll only choose to do exactly what I’m told.”

When Daro glanced around to see if anyone had any objections, the woman didn’t say anything.

Since there were no complaints, Daro calmly began the mission briefing.

“As you may have heard from the supervisor, I’ll summarize it simply for Ha-jun.

The mission we’ve taken on is to eliminate goblins.

With the weather warming up and the thawing of the frozen terrain, reports of damage caused by goblins have been increasing.

Our four-person party will be scouting around the city of explorers to find and destroy goblin nests.

While killing goblins is important, please be aware that we must destroy the nests for the mission to be considered a success.”

Daro pointed to an area marked in black ink on the map.

That must be the goblin nest.

Having rolled around as an explorer, I had learned how to read maps.

Compared to modern maps, the scale is inaccurate, and the symbols differ depending on the mapmaker, making it a mess,

but it’s better than having nothing at all.

Hmm. I can see the unclaimed grave I visited not too long ago.

“Somi will take on the role of the guide.”

A brown-haired woman with thick, round glasses placed a palm-sized seeker lantern on the table.

It’s a unique piece of equipment for the Dungeon Seeker class.

The seeker lantern automatically finds paths and provides various utilities, making it a useful support device.

Somi opened her eyes with a hint of arrogance and looked around before speaking.

“While Daro is the leader, I hope you’ll listen to me until we enter the dungeon.

If you want to come back alive.

Especially you, Ha-jun?

If you have any questions or things you want to check, make sure to talk to me first.

Don’t go off investigating on your own, okay?”

“Yes.”

Who does she think she is?

I wanted to say something snappy, but my position in the party is tenuous.

Dungeon Seeker.

A role that serves as the party’s guide.

With the unique seeker lantern, they create various positive events, and it’s common to take a dungeon seeker along early on for the numerous benefits they provide.

The role we are assigned in our party is extremely important.

A mere necromancer like me can’t challenge that…

Like in other RPGs, noble classes exist here as well.

And Dungeon Seekers are always treated like nobility.

As long as there is no combat situation, the Dungeon Seeker is always useful.

“If a fight breaks out, please follow my instructions. I’ll take the lead, so Ha-jun and Jian, you’ll support me.”

“Understood.”

The girl with long platinum hair must be Jian.

Given that she’s wearing white leather gloves, she’s probably a Mystic class.

A class that mixes fighters with spellcasters.

“Ha-jun.”

Daro spoke in a calm voice.

“There’s an additional task that requires your help.

If we come across a Goblin Shaman during the dungeon raid, they want us to bring back its spine.”

“The spine of a shaman?”

I quickly picked up on what he meant.

Dissecting corpses is the task that suits a necromancer the best!

Among us, the only one who could rummage through corpses to extract organs is Daro, the party leader.

Is the Mystic or the Dungeon Seeker going to do the dissection?

But Daro doesn’t want to do it, which is why he chose me as a party member.

A necromancer.

The one most skilled at handling corpses.

“Understood. Leave it to me.”

It’s not a difficult task.

Until I level up, as a useless supporter, I need to do the chores.

Otherwise, I won’t get any chance to grow.

As I answered confidently, the party members nodded as if it were obvious.

“When Ha-jun finishes the task, Jian will cast a blessing with holy water to conclude the mission.

We’ve initially agreed to handle two nests, but if conditions are favorable, we’ll aim to deal with three.”

Just then, Somi raised her hand suddenly.

“What is it?”

“Do we get a carriage from the guild?”

They wouldn’t provide a carriage just to go to the back mountain of the city.

As I thought that, Daro confirmed my suspicion.

“We’ll walk.”

“Oh…”

She lowered her hand, looking disappointed.

In my opinion, it seems like she just lacks a sense of conscience.

“Any other questions?”

There’s nothing else to ask.

Daro’s briefing was quick and precise.

After confirming our respective missions, we temporarily parted ways for personal preparations.

The assembly point is on the western outskirts of the city.

It’s time to deal with the goblins.