Chapter 34: One-Man Army

Cake (2)

Comet found an empty lot.

She placed a few empty beverage cans in a suitable spot and aimed her revolver.

As she pulled the trigger in rapid succession, Spiritual Power bullets flew out and exploded the cans.

『Why use a knife when you have a perfectly good magic gun?』

"This looks strong, but it's awkward for a Necromancer to use."

It's stronger to throw a knife instead.

"Engineering builds are inefficient unless you pursue them to the extreme."

It's more powerful to just cast magic than to shoot Spiritual Power as bullets. It has the advantage of being simple and immediate, so a Necromancer with insufficient skill could use it, but if you have the skill to go for an engineering build, it's better to just use magic.

"Personally, I don't think it's worth it even if you pursue it to the extreme..."

Comet reloaded the revolver with Spiritual Power and aimed it at the remains of the beverage cans. The bullet flew and shattered the aluminum.

"It's convenient to use in the right situation, so I have the blueprints for a machine gun memorized. But it's just for convenience, and it's stronger to fight directly.

『Saying that makes me want to see a machine gun! Show it to me!』

Comet shook her head.

"I don't want to bother recalling the blueprints."

She transformed the revolver into a knife and put it in her pocket.

"Anyway, one of the advantages of this build is that it can be mass-produced."

She took out a tumbler filled with liquid mana and opened the lid. She put some mana on her finger and squatted down on the ground.

Comet briefly recalled her memories. The magic circle she was about to draw had a separate designer.

"This is probably..."

She slowly engraved the mana on the ground. She drew the magic circle little by little, quickly drawing the parts she remembered clearly.

『It's a unique structure.』

Princess spoke, seemingly able to grasp the general idea from the incomplete magic circle alone.

"Right? It's theoretically impossible to manipulate Spiritual Power with a magic circle, but you can do it in a limited way by circumventing it like this."

The drawn magic circle had a slightly different purpose than ordinary magic circles. Usually, magic circles are cast outward when activated, but the magic circle she was drawing was cast toward the user when activated.

Comet carefully examined the magic circle and tilted her head.

"Ah, I don't remember it well."

『Was it made by someone else?』

"Yes. The number two Necromancer uses an engineering build."

『Hoh, sharing research results, how un-Necromancer-like and honorable.』

"It's not that he shared it, I just went into his workshop and saw it."

『Still, he seems to have a better personality than most Necromancers.』

Comet blinked.

"I think there's a misunderstanding. I mean, I broke into his workshop and looked at his research results."

Princess fell silent. Comet felt awkward for some reason and scratched her cheek.

"Well, I was stuck on my research, so I went to see what other people were doing for reference."

『...Why do you live like that?』

Comet felt a little wronged.

"Necromancers do this kind of thing, you know? There's even a saying in Necromancy about it. It's a recommendation."

『Then a commoner must have experienced it too. Think about how they felt from their perspective. How distressed and angry they must have been. Don't just listen, try to do it.』

Comet glanced at Princess and closed her eyes slightly.

"Someone else, someone else."

『How is it? Don't you regret doing such a thing?』

Comet paused for a moment, then opened her eyes slightly and hesitated.

"Actually, I've never had my workshop raided, so it's kind of difficult."

Princess was silent.

『...Alright, this body was wrong. You should finish drawing the magic circle.』

"It's not like you did anything wrong, Princess. I'm just hopeless."

Comet looked at the magic circle again and supplemented it a little. It was still incomplete.

"Should I try using it once? I don't think it'll work."

When the magic circle was activated, it emitted light and then fizzled out.

"What's missing?"

『This body doesn't know either.』

"It's not like I can make it right away anyway, so let's just say it's complete and I'll show you roughly."

Comet concentrated.

"When the magic circle is activated, intervention begins on the user. Of course, the user can reject it at any time. If you comply until the end, the result will come out."

Comet processed her own soul and created a revolver. There was only one bullet in the magazine.

"One bullet for a lifetime."

She felt a cool weight from the revolver.

『Don't tell me you just loaded your own soul?』

"Yes. It's my soul. Pretty, isn't it?"

Comet shook the prettily designed revolver and smiled brightly.

Then she pointed the muzzle at the sky.

"There are many advantages to shooting your own soul."

『Wait, wait!』

She pulled the trigger.

The shockwave of the firing swept through the empty lot. A single bullet traced a path toward the sky. It pierced the clouds and split the sky. The trajectory penetrated the atmosphere and revealed the universe. For a fleeting moment, the black universe rippled in the blue sky.

"I deliberately reduced the power, but you can definitely feel the difference from the Spiritual Power bullet I shot earlier, right?"

『You crazy bitch!』

Princess abandoned her dignity and screamed thinly. Comet blinked and smiled slightly.

"Spiritual Power is basically incredibly inefficient. Really, more than you can imagine. Necromancers only use a handful of the energy contained in a soul. This is all because it's not your own soul."

So, if the soul itself sacrifices the soul, an overwhelming output can be achieved with just one soul. Although it can't break mountains or cut the sky, it has the power to make a hole in the world.

Although the power is reduced when used against a Necromancer.

『Don't be so relaxed, do something! Your soul flew off to the other side of the universe?!』

"That's true. Should I say hello?"

Comet waved her hand at the sky. The clouds were floating peacefully. One looked a little dog-like.

"The clouds are cute."

『Crazy...』

Comet teased Princess for a while, then rummaged through her pockets and took out a soul orb.

"I sent part of my soul on a trip to the universe, but I can recover from that much."

She took out a few souls and put them in her mouth.

Munch, munch.

It was a similar principle to feeding Dan Ga-yeon, who was lying in bed, souls as a Necromancer's special potion.

『Don't tease this body...』

The small jellyfish muttered with a tired expression.

"Anyway, I'm thinking of modifying this weapon so that non-Awakened can use it. The number two's completed version is also designed so that someone other than a Necromancer can use it, but non-Awakened can't use it. First of all, to modify it, I need to completely recall the magic circle, but it's not urgent, so I'll do it step by step."

Princess was silent for a moment. During that time, Comet picked up the remains of the beverage cans she had crushed with the revolver earlier and threw them into the trash can one by one.

『It's difficult.』

"Yes?"

『It's difficult to judge whether it's better to stop you or support you.』

Blood and shadows muttered like that.

"I see. It'll take time to complete anyway, so you don't need to come to a conclusion right away."

#

Comet arrived at the Dungeon entrance of the Incheon relay with Dan Ga-yeon. It was in the basement of a building located in a sparsely populated area. The Dungeon entrance was visible where the concrete wall had been torn down.

Dan Ga-yeon, carrying her luggage, turned to look at Comet. Comet smiled brightly. Dan Ga-yeon looked at her and sighed.

"As I said, please follow my instructions when we enter the Dungeon."

"Yes. But do we need to be so formal when it's just the two of us? Why don't you drop the honorifics?"

Dan Ga-yeon's expression turned gloomy. She seemed to hate the reality of having to attack a Dungeon with an uncooperative party member. But there was nothing she could do. Dan Ga-yeon was a low-ranking public official.

"Please follow my instructions."

"Officer Dan?"

"Please follow them."

"Yes."

Comet nodded obediently for the time being. Dan Ga-yeon looked at her suspiciously.

After a moment of that, Comet glanced around and subtly raised her thumb. And smiled.

"I'm Comet, who follows Officer Dan's instructions."

The light in Dan Ga-yeon's eyes faded a little.

"...If you just stand by again, I'm going to cry."

Comet blinked.

"I want to see that. How do you cry when you cry, Officer Dan? Sniffling? Or sobbing?"

Dan Ga-yeon touched her forehead.

"...I'm not going to cry, so don't expect it."

"That's good too."

They entered the Dungeon. The Incheon Dungeon had a different design than the Seoul Dungeon. The sandy walls were subtly beautiful. The lights installed on the floor in between were like bonfires on the beach, creating a seaside atmosphere.

『Hoh, not bad! It seems they considered the theme of the port city!』

The small jellyfish exclaimed.

I don't know why they put so much effort into hiding invasion devices when tradition is what it is.

The first floor was unremarkable. There were a few traps installed, but they were just physical traps. Comet wielded her knife and continuously deflected the incoming arrows.

"It's classic, so it has its own charm."

『Hehe, look at the arrow design! It's a wave pattern!』

I don't know if they have to go this far with the design.

As they continued to advance, they saw a staircase leading down. It was a spiral staircase.

"Do you need time to rest, Comet-nim?"

"No. I'm fine."

They went down the stairs. The stairs were endless. They not only went down, but also changed direction in the middle, and then continued with stairs going up. And then they went down again and up again. They just kept going up and down the stairs.

A while later, Comet, looking exhausted, grabbed onto the wall. Stamina Stats are lacking… A melee build Necromancer is a variant class for short battles, not a martial arts type overflowing with Stamina. This situation is too much.

Dan Ga-yeon, perfectly fine, approached. It seemed she was only mentally fatigued, not physically.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. Let's keep going."

"You don't look fine."

"Really? I feel good that you're worried about me."

"It's inconvenient because of the stairs, but let's rest here for a moment."

Comet nodded and sat on the stairs. Dan Ga-yeon took out a water bottle from her pack and handed it over. It wasn't cold, but it was relatively cool.

"Comet."

"Yes, go ahead."

"It seems these stairs also have a magic-based Stamina-draining trap."

"It seems so. It's too effective."

Dan Ga-yeon looked around the walls of the staircase, pondering. Then, as if she had sorted out her thoughts, she turned to Comet.

"It would be better to summon Fenrir and ride him. Even though it's a staircase, the slope isn't too steep."

Comet agreed and was about to take out a soul orb, but suddenly stopped. Then she looked at Dan Ga-yeon. Dan Ga-yeon met her gaze, looking puzzled.

"Is there a problem?"

Comet smiled brightly.

"Can I offer an opinion too?"

"Of course. If you have something, it's good to say it without hesitation."

Dan Ga-yeon, who had answered that way, paused and added a word.

"Except for weird things."

Comet chuckled softly.

"Would I offer a weird opinion?"

"Yes?"

That wasn't a confident answer.

Comet shrugged and spread her arms.

"Give me a piggyback ride."

"Excuse me...?"

"I'm tired. Give me a piggyback ride."

Dan Ga-yeon was flustered, then gathered her thoughts.

"While Comet is the priority, I also need to manage my Stamina, so how about riding Fenrir?"

"Fenrir is too big to handle sudden situations in such a narrow space."

"That's... true."

"Am I making a strange request? I'm not. Give me a piggyback ride."

Comet waved her outstretched arms.

Dan Ga-yeon hesitated, then came closer and turned her back. Comet smiled lightly and climbed on. Her arms wrapped around her neck.

"It seems like you've rested enough, so let's go now."

"Okay."

Dan Ga-yeon went down the stairs. It was an unhesitating pace. Until now, she seemed to have been moving while considering Comet's Stamina.

Comet chuckled lightly and whispered in Dan Ga-yeon's ear.

"Can you feel my body heat? The distance between us has become this close. We're getting closer. Congratulations."

"Uh..."

Dan Ga-yeon adjusted Comet's position.

"I don't know about that, but my ear is ticklish. Don't whisper."

"Okay, okay."

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