Undead (2)
Inside the warehouse, another week had passed.
Thud! Thud-thud-thud—!
'Arrgh! Can't stand this anymore—!'
The idea and method weren't wrong.
After several trials, I managed to successfully control the undead by sheer force.
Squelch-squelch—
I sat back, watching one zombie flail its limbs in a clumsy dance before my eyes.
Yeah, that was it.
The only thing I could control was this one zombie.
The total amount of 'dark mana' within me was ridiculously low for controlling multiple undead.
Aside from the minimal strength needed to sustain my body, I had scraped together the rest, but even the weakest zombie had pushed my limits.
Well, even an elite would barely be more than a skeleton, to begin with.
I wasn't a commander type to begin with, nor could I use magic.
Perhaps due to "magic affinity," the amount of mana I absorbed from the surroundings increased over time, but the growth rate was still far from sufficient.
'If I were a skeleton wizard, I wouldn't have to worry about such things.'
Muttering meaningless complaints, I pondered some alternative strategies.
Squeak—
A mouse, now familiar, scurried towards where the skeletons stood, nibbling at their toes.
'That little guy is quite diligent... Wait, what's this?'
Observing it, I got up quietly, my eye sockets glowing, and slowly approached the mouse, focusing on its ceaseless gnawing.
***
The only undead I could control was a single zombie.
But the zombies standing here weren't of any help in the current situation.
So, what kind of zombie would be of any use?
Squeak-squeak—Squeak-squeak—!
I silently looked down at the mouse nibbling between my finger bones.
It was surprisingly quick for a creature that should have lived comfortably in a lush environment.
I thought it would be an easy catch while off guard, but it proved to be an intense struggle to capture it before it scurried away at the slightest approach.
Plugging the mouse hole and employing 'life detection,'
I threw myself into the fray with the zombies.
'When I thought I had caught it by covering it with my whole body, seeing it slip through my ribcage, how my stomach churned.'
In the end, I barely managed to catch it by ambushing the zombies in the direction the mouse was fleeing.
Thanks to the unplanned exercise of quickly switching control targets, my undead control ability had further improved.
'Sorry. I won't forget your sacrifice, Alfred.'
I pierced the lower jaw of Alfred, the mouse I arbitrarily named, with a finger bone filled with 'dark mana.'
The sharpened end of the finger bone, sharpened by becoming undead, sank deeply.
Although Alfred, who had been struggling, slowly stopped moving, I kept injecting 'dark mana' into his small body without pulling my finger out.
And then... the stopped body started wriggling again.
I cautiously placed Alfred on the ground and focused on the creature that was now squirming around.
'Perhaps because I infected it directly and it's a small specimen, controlling it is much smoother, and the connection is more seamless.'
Now, I had an excellent ally.
I decided to send it out the next time the door opened.
***
The opportunity came soon enough.
Clink, creak—
"Ah— bothersome. So bothersome. Why do I have to do this every time?"
This time, the duty manager who came into the warehouse was a grumbler named Jephy.
As he entered, I let Alfred, whom I had left waiting in the corner, escape before closing the door.
He was so absent-minded that he didn't even notice what passed beneath his feet and continued grumbling as always.
"Let's see what happens later. I'll deal with that old man later."
Leaving him grumbling behind, Alfred, who had escaped, moved cautiously into the shadows.
The method of controlling Alfred was different from the way Jephy controlled me.
Perhaps because we were both undead and I had applied the method of using "avatars," the connection had strengthened, allowing for some degree of shared sensation.
It wasn't as perfect as an avatar, but it was sufficient for gathering information.
Despite Alfred's diligent wandering, he unfortunately didn't gather much information.
The paths that seemed to lead to other warehouses and the only possible exit were all he found.
Even that couldn't be confirmed, as naturally, all the doors were closed.
'Ah, this makes it difficult. It's not like you can just go out as soon as you cross one door in such a secretive place.'
However, I had an assistant, Jephy, who always helped me in times of trouble.
"I'm not the type to rot in a place like this. It's because incompetent people blindly trust and install it..."
Just then, Jephy, who had roughly scanned the warehouse I was in, seemed to emerge into the passage.
Alfred cautiously moved behind in the shadows.
While walking the path leading to another warehouse, Jephy continued to grumble incessantly.
'Doesn't this guy even get tired? By the way, what's in that warehouse over there? Other undead?'
Clank—
As he opened the door to the underground warehouse and entered, Alfred swiftly followed.
Inside the warehouse, despite being filled with undead, their presence was not easily felt. The one who had been incessantly chattering became unusually quiet, beginning to examine the interior silently.
No, in fact, upon entering, it became naturally clear.
Why that guy was acting like that.
'Where is this...?'
Though the warehouse was filled with undead, their presence wasn't strongly noticeable. There was something overwhelmingly significant in the center of the warehouse.
'What on earth is over there?'
Alfred, a mere zombie mouse, couldn't go nearby to check.
It instinctively felt like it would lose everything if it got too close to 'that.'
Hiding near the entrance, I waited, observing Jephy exploring the interior with a serious look.
Surrounded by the undead, I couldn't know what they were doing or their purpose.
But isn't it common sense to watch their moves first when dealing with bad guys?
'Let's observe the situation a little longer. The 'Jephy chance' isn't over yet.'
Having checked here and there, he quickly left the warehouse.
"Phew, it's exhausting every time I go in there. How did I end up..."
Following the one who was revving up again, I headed for the door leading outside.
There, the door didn't have the usual locking mechanism I had seen before.
As Jephy placed his palm on it, a strange pattern emerged, and the door smoothly opened.
'Huh, so I can't just walk out like this?'
For a moment, I was taken aback, but quickly followed him through the door.
"Hey, you're out?."
"Yeah, it's really draining every time I go in there. When will the aging process end? Did you hear anything?"
In front of the door was a young man sitting at a desk, doing something.
Like Jephy, he had been visiting the warehouse periodically.
He was probably guarding the entrance to the passage.
"Well, won't it be soon? Lately, the master has been sticking around there every day. He couldn't come today because he had a communication with the upper management."
"Yeah, I want to finish quickly and get out of here. I'm sick and tired of this 'Fragment of the Immortal King' or whatever it is."
"I feel the same. I have to check that warehouse every day."
Hiding Alfred under the desk's shadow, I eavesdropped on their conversation and once again fervently cheered for Jephy, who was helping me.
"Hey, isn't it ridiculous to guard it like this? There's a barrier not only around this door but also around the entire village. Who could sneak in here?"
"Well, it's just in case. Can't be helped, you know?"
"Just in case what? As long as they're alive, they can't escape through these layers. Maybe if it were a corpse, but otherwise?"
Chuckling, Jephy soon left, swishing away.
'That guy, maybe he's not a bad guy after all? Anyone would think he's deliberately trying to help if they saw him.'
Anyway, the operation named 'Night Secrets Are Heard by Mice' was a great success.
Thanking Jephy for his cooperation, I quietly left the building.
Fortunately, it was night outside, so I could move more comfortably.
Alfred traversed the village, meandering through the darkness of the night.
Most of the buildings were closed, but Alfred, utilizing his expertise, managed to sneak into small mouse holes.
Yet, there was no information beyond what Jephy had provided.
It seemed that the income was about forty individuals, most of whom were not dark wizards but rather their minions.
Satisfied with the decent harvest, I was pondering when—
Whooosh!
A black thorn sprouted from the ground, piercing Alfred's body.
"Hmm... so you did something, you little mouse."
I heard the voice of the village head, or rather, the dark wizard Malcolm.
'Darn, was I caught?'
"Undead? I don't sense the aura of dark magic, though... Is it a naturally occurring entity created by dark energy? Where did this come from?"
As Malcolm approached, I quietly severed the connection with Alfred.
'He hasn't noticed my presence yet. Slowly, so that he doesn't sense any abnormalities...'
"It's weird how filled with dark magic this body is. It doesn't seem to be magic-induced. Where did so much exposure to dark magic come from?"
In the faint connection, I could hear Malcolm pause and then let out a frustrated sigh.
"There's only one place where the dark magic is overflowing. Yeah, today, Jeraf was in charge of the warehouse."
Jephy, thanks for helping so much! Sorry!
Whooosh!
***
The connection was completely severed.
I could tell that Alfred had been completely destroyed by Malcolm.
Paying tribute to Alfred, who had fought valiantly and heroically today, I took a moment of contemplation.
'Alfred. I will definitely avenge you. Watch from there.'
Malcolm is Alfred's enemy. That's what I've decided.
I ignored the piercing conscience and organized the information I had obtained this time.
"Jephy's real name is Jeraf."
Hmm, it was unnecessary information.
'What they want is the 'Fragment of the Immortal King' aging in the adjacent warehouse, and Malcolm is closely monitoring it. The undead are unaffected by the barrier.'
It wasn't important what they wanted with the 'Fragment of the Immortal King.'
I just racked my brains to spy on them.
'If I can just divert Malcolm, somehow it might work...'
Yes, after all, there's always a way.
'Wait... Alfred's enemy!'
***
Jeraf wasn't feeling very good.
Even being the warehouse supervisor yesterday was irritating enough, but he got a severe scolding from the master for not managing it properly.
"Well, who could have known that a little rat would crawl out of there!"
It was unjust.
As a punishment for negligent management, he was left in charge of the warehouse alone for a while.
Hwan, who was guarding the entrance that day, received a penalty of guarding the entrance for the same period.
"This filthy world! How can people without support survive here! And what's the big deal about one little rat coming out! Damn old man."
Jeraf suppressed his anger inwardly as usual, unable to express it outwardly.
He felt uneasy since he didn't know when the master would suddenly appear here.
Clang!
Squeak—
Bang!
Jeraf, who was walking as if he was running, forcefully opened the warehouse door and entered the inside without hesitation.
Then, after closing the door, he lit up the area meticulously, unlike his usual careless approach.
"Hey! You over there! [Stand properly], you fools!"
He shouted in annoyance at the skeletons lined up in a row.
"What's this again! Hey! [Stand straight]!"
He scolded the zombie, who was standing unevenly, after one of its ankles was cut off.
However, since the zombie only staggered and didn't follow his command properly, Jeraf immediately ran and started kicking it.
"Hey, are you taking me lightly? Huh? Not doing it right! [Stand straight], I said!"
Fuming, Jeraf ranted for a while, then stopped and looked around.
Everyone here obeyed his orders without question.
It was satisfying.
This was how the world should be.
Lowering his gaze, he glared disapprovingly at the zombie still staggering and then moved away.
"Huh? Who's this? Isn't that that arrogant guy from before?"
As he looked around, he recognized a familiar figure.
Jeraf approached the zombie, a man in his early twenties, and prodded his shoulder with his staff.
"Hey, say what you said back then. Huh?"
The zombie, showing no reaction, just swayed as he was touched.
"Why so silent? Ah, I remember, I pulled out your tongue, didn't I? Hehehe."
Jeraf twisted his face into a grin.
Just when the stress was building up, a good outlet appeared, didn't it?
"Phew—those were the good times. When I hunted the villagers one by one."
Bam!
Thump!
He kicked the zombie and rambled like a madman.
"Especially you were particularly noisy. Making arrogant remarks. What did you say back then? If I mess with your family, you won't leave me alone."
Crunch.
A faint sound of teeth gnashing somewhere, but absorbed in his own world, Jeraf didn't hear it and continued to taunt the other.
"Hehehe, I even gave you special treatment. When your family cried in front of your eyes, your expressions were quite a spectacle."
Recalling the scene, Jeraf discharged his stress towards the zombie, contorting his lips.
"But what can you do? Where did the family you wanted to protect go, leaving you here alone..."
Crunch!
With a creepy sound, blood spurted.
Suddenly, a skull that had approached from behind grabbed Jeraf's shoulder and head, biting into his neck.
"Kkuh—! What is this?!"
The constant magical barrier that was always surrounding him shattered with the sudden attack.
But thanks to that, he was able to momentarily turn his head and avoid having his neck completely torn out.
"Argh!"
Jeraf immediately emitted dark magic from his whole body, shaking off the skull hanging on his back.
He quickly covered the gushing wound with one hand and stepped back to assess the attacker.
"A skeleton? Why is this suddenly happening?"
However, there was no time to be taken aback.
The skeleton, which had fallen back, suddenly rose and charged at him again.
"Argh... [Stop!][Stop!]"
The skeleton seemed to ignore Jeraf's command and lunged at him as if it couldn't hear.
Although caught off guard and injured by the unexpected turn of events, Jeraf was still, in essence, a dark wizard.
Even though the opponent was undead, he had plenty of ways to counter, especially if it was just one skeleton in front of him.
Swoosh—
The moment he attempted to use magic, something entered his mouth, causing excruciating pain in his throat.
Suddenly, a zombie that had approached from behind shoved its hand into Jeraf's mouth and gnawed at the other side of his neck.
With no magical barrier in place, Jeraf's mind was in disarray, and the magic he had been preparing was canceled.
In a panic, Jeraf's unfocused gaze met the lifeless eyes of the zombie, which had just been ridiculed by him moments ago.
It was the same eyes that had glared at him, promising not to leave him alone until his dying moment.
Continuous emission of mana was not a technique he could use, and now, a skeleton that had sprinted up to him was gaping its jaws right in front of him.
Fear filled Jeraf's eyes.