The Necromancer Who Was Despised

“I heard you bought a slave while I was away.”

“I bought it to use as a maid.”

“I know. It was a sick slave, wasn’t it?”

Kuman seemed to want to say something else.

“Anyway, buying a slave means you don’t have any aversion to using slaves now, right? Since you’re from that background, you must know how to handle slaves.”

“…That’s true, but…”

Low-ranking slaves could rebel at any time, not to mention high-ranking slaves.

Especially in this frontier.

Besides, Kuman knew that I was once a human hunter.

It would have been a bit strange for such a person not to know how to handle slaves, so I couldn’t say no.

‘Well, it’s not that hard to handle them…’

I’m not an ordinary person; I’m a warlock. I can use magic. It’s not that hard to break the slaves’ spirits and make them do what I want.

“I’ll give you some slaves.”

“I…”

“I’m not saying I’ll lend them to you. I’ll transfer them to you.”

‘You’re transferring them?’

It means he’s not trying to trick me into giving him know-how like last time.

Slaves are expensive. When I bought Tia, I paid 30 silvers even though her life expectancy was only about a year.

Her appearance may have influenced the price, but it was still expensive.

“They’re not just any slaves. They’re people I care about. I’ll give you three who have received combat training.”

But they’re not just any slaves; they’re slaves who have received formal combat training. Three of them.

‘It’ll be at least a gold unit…’

And it’s not three combined, but three each. Combat-trained slaves are more expensive.

“If you’re worried about the maintenance costs, I’m willing to support you while you’re working with me. I’ll make sure they get what they need.”

‘Why is he making the conditions so good?’

I felt the need to revise my assessment of Kuman.

He’s a good businessman.

Kuman’s eyes were glaring with greed.

Of course, securing a deal with the Demon Tower was worth more than a few slaves.

He realized that now was his chance, and at the same time, he realized that he had the potential to seize that chance.

“Even if you fail to capture the orcs, I won’t take the slaves back. And if you succeed, I’ll give you 2 gold per head, regardless of their condition.”

Normally, an orc would cost about 1 gold each, but giving 2 gold unconditionally without even caring about their condition was almost wasteful.

‘Well, if you’re going to use them as food, you don’t care about their health.’

All you have to do is keep them alive until you get to the Demon Tower.

The reason why I had to stay alive was simple. Hippogriffs do not eat anything other than what they hunt, unless they are tamed.

At the very least, I had to be the one to end their lives.

Even if they were tamed, they prefer their lives to be taken by their own hand.

‘This… isn’t a bad deal for me either… .’

Kuman realized that, although dangerous, now was his chance and decided to make a bold investment.

“What do you think? It’s not a bad deal for you either, is it? You will return to your team, even though you’re slaves. And you’ll be leading the team as an unshakable leader.”

“Certainly, it is very possible if I have subordinates, but I need time to get my bearings. “How long will the period be?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t give you much time. We have to consider the time it takes to get to the summit, so about 2 weeks?”

2 weeks. It could be considered a long time in some ways, but considering that I have to get my bearings with entirely new people and also investigate the orc’s habitat, it could be seen as incredibly tight for a request given so suddenly.

‘Capture isn’t an easy task.’

It’s a task that requires thorough preparation. Originally.

‘It might be possible… .’

There are a few people under Kuman that I would like to extract.

One of them was Athena, and I already have her in my grasp.

‘I have to extract her this time.’

I’m lucky.

“Can I choose the slaves myself?”

“Of course! You should choose the people that you will lead yourself! Yes!”

As it was practically a word of permission, Kuman did not hide his feelings of joy.

He patted my shoulder and said in a bright voice.

“That’s a wise choice.”

“I may have to give up if there aren’t any decent slaves.”

“If that’s the case, you can just increase the number!”

“Capture isn’t something that becomes easier with more numbers… .”

Depending on the situation, more numbers can actually become a hindrance.

‘Especially orcs.’

“Hmm… is that so? Don’t worry. I’ve brought back the ones that were supposed to be sold, so there won’t be anyone that you won’t notice.”

Kuman looked very confident.

“Then follow me. Preparations are done. “I will guide you right away.”

When Kuman rang a small bell, Alver, who had been waiting, opened the door and came in.

It seemed like it was to accompany me.

‘Well, he wouldn’t explain everything himself.’

He’s not in a position to do so either.

I headed back to the mansion’s basement for the first time in about a month.

Alver must have received word from Kuman beforehand, as the candidates were already lined up on the first basement floor.

Because of that, there was no need to go any further down like before.

“I’m proud to say that each and every one of them is at the level of a low-ranking mercenary.”

The slaves all had sturdy appearances, but all of them were unable to raise their heads.

“I’ll have someone follow you to make it easier for you to choose. “Alver?”

“Yes. Kayla. Explain it to him directly.”

“…Understood.”

Kuman gave instructions to Albert, who then passed them on to a woman named Kyla. Nothing unusual about that. Each person had their role to play.

At Albert’s instructions, the woman called Kyla stepped forward.

My eyes lit up as I looked at Kyla.

‘She’s still active, it seems?’

Unlike the others, who were all quite muscular, Kyla was a slender woman who limped on one leg.

‘An injury to one leg… That’s right.’

To be precise, I knew it was the after-effects of an injury.

As a result, she couldn’t walk or run properly.

‘But her skills are undeniable.’

She was a mana user and had also mastered the proper aura cultivation technique. Even with the inconvenience of one bad leg, she was more than capable of easily overpowering even mid-level mercenaries.

In fact, I had heard that her lack of mobility was her only weakness, and that in a head-on confrontation, even high-level mercenaries would be no match for her.

On top of that, she also said to be a skilled teacher.

‘I once heard a rumor that she used to be a knight.’

As she stepped forward, she gave a detailed explanation of each person’s characteristics, their primary weapon, personality, strengths, and weaknesses.

Behind her was a man who followed her around like a secretary, a face I was quite familiar with.

‘Baldur.’

He was her successor, and in a way, one of her disciples.

Soon enough, Baldur would take over Kyla’s role in training the battle slaves.

Of course, that didn’t mean that Kyla would be retiring.

She was a slave too, and there was no way a slave would be allowed to rest easy.

‘Kyla… will become Athena’s teacher.’

Perhaps Kyla’s successor, Baldur, would be training the battle slaves so that she could focus on teaching Athena.

At the time, I was in no position to understand any of this, so I had no way of knowing the exact truth.

‘Besides, despite the rumors of Kyla being a former knight, she had done an incredible job of teaching Athena.’

She was someone that Athena desperately needed right now, and she was also someone that I needed.

‘If only I could fix her ankle…’

Of course, it wouldn’t be easy. There was definitely a chance of failure.

‘I’d have to use black magic.’

But it was worth a try.

Even if I failed to heal her, she would still be of great use to me for the time being.

“That is all.”

“So, what do you think? Is there anyone you like?”

By then, Kyla had finished her explanation, and Kuman asked me what I thought.

“They seem like capable people.”

“Take as many as you want. We’ll provide you with their equipment as well.”

‘How generous.’

It might seem strange for a merchant in such an important position to show his emotions so easily, but that was only because Kuman was in an overwhelmingly advantageous position.

‘In a way, it’s also a form of pressure on me.’

I spoke in a voice that was as devoid of emotion as possible.

“But there’s no one who can be of much help to me.”

“…What?”

“Catching is different from hunting. This request is closer to hunting than catching, but catching is catching. If it were hunting, there would be many useful people, but… unfortunately, there’s no one I can use right away.”

Kuman’s expression hardens at my words.

“Then…”

“However.”

I said as if I wasn’t finished yet.

“That person seems to be quite useful.”

Kuman glanced at the person I was pointing at and swallowed.

“…Kyla? She’s limping, as you can see?”

“Her and the man behind her.”

“They must be the ones who taught them?”

“…That’s right.”

“They seem to have specialized in one weapon each, and taught them to work as much as possible in the front lines… Unfortunately, I need someone who can do a variety of things, even if they’re shallow. I think those “Two would be a great help to me…I can see that they both know how to use mana.”

“Those two…”

Kuman looks troubled.

I said quickly.

“If not both, even one is fine. To be honest, the others won’t be of much help, but if I have one of those two, the chances of completing the request seem high. Honestly, when it comes to capturing monsters , quality is better than quantity.”

I didn’t think I’d get both of them in the first place.

Those two are Kuman’s business capital.

No matter how sick Kuman was, there was no way he would give me both of them.

‘That’s not an investment, it’s just a gamble.’

No, it could be seen as more than a gamble, just throwing away business capital.

Kuman closed his mouth when I finished speaking.

He seemed to be thinking about something with a serious face.

Kyla and Valdur looked a little surprised, as if they never thought they would be singled out.

“Alber.”

“Can Valdur take over Kyla’s current job?”

Alber looked surprised at Kuman’s words, but soon nodded and replied.

“It’s possible. He has already learned all of her mana breathing and aura hardening techniques, and is teaching a few slaves.”

“I see…”

“However, his mana breathing and aura hardening techniques are still low, so it’s too early to teach them properly…”

“Didn’t you say he had already learned them? Valdur’s talent isn’t bad, so he’ll be able to teach them later. Anyway, there aren’t any talented people right now, are there?”

“That’s right.”

Then Kyla opened her mouth.

“…Are you saying you’re going to turn me over to that person now?”

“What’s wrong with selling my slave to someone else?”

“…I still have a contract with you. What about my oath?”

“That’s simple. If I transfer my remaining authority to that person, there won’t be any problems, right?”

“Don’t be upset. Have I ever broken a promise while you were under me?”

Kayla’s eyes were clouded with strong feelings of betrayal. But she soon closed her eyes as if she had given up.

“I was told that I could only take one?”

“What about the others?”

“She is enough.”

It would be greedy to try to take any more.