The Necromancer Who Was Despised

“I will give you the position of honorary soldier.”

‘Honorary soldier?’

I’ve never heard of such a thing.

“It’s a special position created just for you. Your rank will be recognized as a squire, and all the hunting, monster subjugation, and monster capture you do will be considered contributions to the development of the territory.”

It’s a huge privilege from the perspective of a noble, but it’s nothing special from my perspective.

The only nobles I’ll see in this territory are the family of Baron Ovalan.

That means that as long as I don’t meet the baron’s family, I won’t be looked down upon even with such a privilege.

‘Oh, there were also knights.’

Even so, they’re still a tiny minority.

“I’m also willing to open the path of a knight to you in the future, depending on your achievements.”

‘I wouldn’t take it even if you gave it to me.’

This territory is doomed anyway.

“It’s an honor beyond measure.”

Of course, my thoughts and words are polar opposites.

“Honorable Soldier Jimnis. I will be watching your dedication in the future.”

“I will do my best.”

It seems that there’s no salary since it’s an honorary position without pay.

Judging by the fact that they’re trying to appease me with words and positions, the territory’s finances don’t seem to be very stable.

Of course, it’s a common perception that leadership is more valuable than money.

Because there are more things in the world that money can’t buy.

After my appointment as an honorable soldier, the baron and Kuman continued their conversation.

Kuman reported to the baron that he was planning to establish a formal trade agreement with Matop, and the baron praised him for it.

After offering some of the money and goods I had earned and having a brief conversation, I was invited to dinner.

The baron asked me about the orc I had captured, which was a common way to give soldiers or knights who had distinguished themselves a chance to boast about their exploits.

I didn’t really feel like bragging, but since it was the baron’s question, I tried to answer honestly while embellishing it as much as possible.

“Oh. You said that in addition to capturing it, you also subjugated over 10 of them?”

Baron Ovalan looked quite surprised by my story of valor and seemed satisfied.

“If you were with your slave, you might be able to perform as well as Lord Rainbank when it comes to monster hunting.”

“That’s too much praise. No matter how much I struggle, I’m not on the same level as a full-fledged knight. Please take back your words.”

I was confident that I could do even better than him when it came to hunting, but I remained as humble as possible.

If the knight is narrow-minded, I’ll become a huge nuisance.

“Is that so?”

The baron simply let it go, as if it was just an empty compliment to congratulate me on my achievements.

However, there was one person who had been gazing at me with shining eyes the whole time I was telling my story of valor.

‘…Why is he like that again?’

The baron’s son and heir to the territory, Barnis Ovalan.

The guy’s burning gaze wouldn’t leave me alone.

As I left the mansion after dinner, Kuman said,

“It seems like the lord thinks highly of you. Congratulations. If you do well, you might really become a knight.”

“That’s too much praise. It’s all thanks to you, Kuman.”

“It’s because of your own abilities. What did I do? But I’m grateful that you said that.”

Kuman probably didn’t intend to raise me to this extent, but somehow I ended up growing too much.

Because of that, his attitude toward me has changed slightly.

Unlike before, he doesn’t treat me with a subtle master-servant relationship, but rather as someone close to an equal.

As I helped raise the honor of the Yeongju family, it seemed like it was awkward for him to treat me the same as before.

Of course, he never treated me harshly in the past.

“Come to think of it, there were some things you asked me for.”

Originally, I should have received them yesterday, but because of the Yeongju’s invitation, I didn’t have time to receive them because I had to prepare for this and that.

“I’ll take them while I’m here. You can have high expectations. “I had pretty good luck this time.”

Kuman showed a confident face.

Yeongju’s Request

“The Siglen Count’s family seems to care about you.”

They officially expressed their gratitude to the baron family in the outskirts, but I didn’t know they would help in this way too.

It seemed like they thought quite highly of the hippogriff.

‘Come to think of it, the Siglen Count’s family’s fame increased in the future thanks to the hippogriff.’

They cherished it to the point of adding a hippogriff to their family’s seal.

“The quality of the equipment is quite good.”

“They said a dwarf worked on it a little. The price went up a bit, but considering its value, it’s nothing.”

It cost close to 10 gold purely for the equipment price, but if a dwarf was involved in the equipment, it could really be seen as nothing.

Certainly, as expected of a grand duke, it seemed like they had the so-called precious dwarf slaves under them.

“I also acquired the herbs and potions you asked for. I was surprised because they were more expensive than I thought.”

“When you have money, you have to prepare in advance. And I had to experiment with them.”

“Experiment?”

“There can’t be development without it. Especially in this place where the land of monsters is right in front of us, if development stops, we’ll just be eliminated.”

“Is that so? But it must have been a pity.”

“You have to use it when its time to use it. If you can save a life with money, it’s more than enough.”

“Well, that’s true. But still, I didn’t know you’d care so much about Kyle’s equipment, who’s a slave.”

It seemed like he was quite surprised that I had even prepared spare equipment.

“There aren’t many people with that kind of skill around here, so I have to take care of them.”

“Well, he’s originally a knight, even if he is injured.”

Kuman agreed as if he agreed with what I said.

“There are so many people who know but can’t do it because it’s a pity. You’re certainly not ordinary.”

Almost 40 gold is a huge sum of money that even commoners wouldn’t be able to get their hands on in their entire lives.

However, as I said before, you have to use it when it’s time to use it.

Money is just money. My goal is much higher, so I couldn’t be stingy with just that much money.

‘Besides, there’s a limit to what you can do with money anyway.’

It can do almost anything. However, that limit becomes clear the higher you go.

My goal is over there, so I can look at money more calmly than others.

Once I paid for all the potions, herbs, and equipment, most of the money I had left disappeared.

There was only about 4 gold left in my hand.

‘Potions are really expensive.’

The price increased exponentially once I included some alchemy tools.

I didn’t feel bad about the fact that it was used for something necessary.

I parted ways with Kuman after expressing my gratitude for getting me the good items.

In the case of Orc capture, I was told that they would request it when necessary, but they emphasized that large-scale capture, like before, was impossible.

‘They said that the urgent fire had been put out, so it’ll be okay for the time being.’

There are quite a few merchants connected to Matop, and Orcs are also brought in from other merchant groups, so it won’t be a big problem even if I’m not there anymore.

According to what Kuman told me belatedly, the Hippogriff had not eaten anything for quite some time, and it was said to be in a slightly dangerous condition.

‘Considering the first run, it probably didn’t die.’

But they don’t know that.

When I returned home two days later, my party welcomed me.

It seemed like they had been a little worried about me staying out overnight, but that was buried under the news that I had met the Lord.

“The Lord? How come?”

I explained as much as I knew, and when they heard that I had obtained the unheard-of position of Honorary Knight, they congratulated me.

“It’s not easy to have the name ‘Honorary’ attached to it, so it seems like what you did this time was really great. You were also lucky.”

Kayla seemed to pay more attention to the word ‘Honorary’ than the word ‘Knight’.

“If only Master were not a Black Mage, you might have really become a Knight in the future. Since the territory is still developing. It’s not too late even now. If you want to become a Knight…”

“Then I wouldn’t be able to fix your leg?”

Kayla, who had been showing a slightly excited look as if she still had some lingering attachment to the position of Knight, shut her mouth.

The awkward atmosphere was instantly released when they saw the equipment I had brought.

“It’s not ordinary equipment. It’s such a luxury…”

“I heard that it was touched by the hands of Dwarves.”

“Are you saying this is Dwarf-made? My, Dwarf-made equipment… I couldn’t even get it when I was a Knight, but I got it as a slave…”

After listening to the conversation between me and Kayla, Athena asked with an awkward face.

“Can I receive such a luxury item?”

“Your growth is helpful to me, so you don’t need to feel burdened. And this kind of equipment is a consumable anyway. You can use it for a long time depending on how you manage it, but don’t think about saving. “It’s too much.”

Of course, it’s not as good as Full Plate Armor. It would have been impossible to get that level of equipment made by Dwarves for dozens of gold.

Still, I got most of what I needed, and besides the sword and shield, I bought a helmet, breastplate, gauntlets, leggings, and boots, and also a buff coat made of Orc leather for Athena to wear comfortably.

Due to Athena’s characteristics, it’s awkward for her to wear plate armor that hasn’t been enchanted.

Besides, Kayla’s leg wasn’t normal on one side, so it would have been difficult for her to use any more equipment.

Still, it cost close to 10 gold just to get this much equipment, so I could indirectly see how expensive Dwarf-made equipment was.

‘Honestly, this much is more than enough to move around in this area.’

I didn’t feel bad because the two of them seemed satisfied.

“Tia, take it. It’s yours.”

“Huh? Is there something for me too?”

“It’s a training sword. It wouldn’t be bad to learn it as self-defense. Of course, you shouldn’t overdo it.”

It was mainly for exercise purposes, but it wouldn’t be bad. It’s not difficult to learn the basics.

I had prepared it because I sometimes saw the two of them blankly watching me train.

In addition to that, I gave Tia some things that were known as health food.

Tia, who had been briefly surprised, smiled brightly.

“Thank you, Inha-nim.”

Athena, who noticed the gift Tia had received, looked at me with grateful eyes.

Once the equipment was ready, the group’s enthusiasm soared.

Athena and Kayla fell into the abyss of training, and Tia began to learn the basics of swordsmanship by their side.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have Athena’s talent, but Athena was satisfied as long as she showed signs of improvement every day.

Becoming an honorary soldier made it easier to build connections in the village.

The entrance was a free pass, and even the vigilantes bowed their heads to me. Those who had known me before my appointment as an honorary soldier were wary of me.

However, when I treated them a little more comfortably than others, they began to praise me as a man of character, and it became easier than I expected to blend into the village naturally.

‘I thought it was a ridiculous name, but it certainly works.’

As expected, it was a title bestowed by a lord who was like a king within his own territory.

I could indirectly experience the power of the caste system.

For two months, I worked on occasional requests from Cooman, maintained connections appropriately, and focused on training.

I reinforced the skeleton again with the potions I brought, and I made elixirs to enhance my physical abilities.

The materials are limited, but for now, even this is urgent.

I also made some for warriors and gave them to Athena and Kayla, but I decided not to give them to Tia as it could be poisonous to her.

Three months of training passed like that.

I exhaled deeply.

‘2nd class. It was faster than I thought.’

1st class was faster than expected, but 2nd class was even more so.

‘Money is the best at this level.’

I enhance my physical performance through elixirs and attempt more difficult magic through potions.

Numerous failures accelerate my growth, and when I occasionally succeed, the skeleton becomes even stronger.

I was bound to get stronger if I didn’t give up.

‘This is almost like throwing money away.’

But getting stronger is more important.

Saving time is even more important.

As I left the basement after completing the second circle, I saw the two of them in the middle of training.

Clack! Clack!

They were practicing lightly, sparring with wooden swords.

“Focus! Pay attention to your movements! How can you move so poorly when your legs are fine?”

“Ugh!”

Of course, Kayla was still overwhelmingly superior in skill.

Athena had talent that even I and Kayla acknowledged, but it was too short a time to learn much.

‘Still, she’s improved a lot.’

Although awkward, she could be considered to have learned the basics.

When I first met her, the difference was so severe that I didn’t know what had hit me, but even though I was watching her train, it wasn’t like before when she didn’t know what had happened to her.

‘Properly reacting and defending or counterattacking are different stories, though.’

In the end, the training ended with Athena being subdued again.

Athena seemed quite resentful.