The Saint Who Levels Up Through Necromancy

Chapter 125

[Translator - Hestia]

[Proofreader - Kaya]

Chapter 125: To Poison or to Curse, That is the Question

On the way back to Necropolis, Yoojin was immersed in a pleasant dilemma.

〔Shouldn't you choose a new field to learn soon?〕

'I suppose. What should I do?'

〔I believe you mentioned poison and curses as candidates?〕

'Yeah.'

〔Both are rather unheroic choices. Poison is the tool of cowards, and curses are manifestations of perverse intentions.〕

'What are you going to do if I choose them anyway?'

At Yoojin's curt reply, Kronos' mental projection wavered.

〔It's simply a matter of my personal preference. Ahem.〕

'It would be wonderful if you could refrain from raining on my parade while I'm busy deliberating.'

〔Ahem, so, have you decided which one to choose?〕

'I need to decide soon.'

Yoojin stroked his chin.

Both poison and curses are practically essential fields for a necromancer.

Curses can inflict various debuffs such as stat reduction or mental contamination on a single or multiple enemies.

Poison's area of influence is limited to the body, but its effects are more direct and potent.

〔If you've heard the explanations, both should be useful to you. Why were they pushed down the priority list?〕

'The circumstances at the time dictated it.'

Alchemy was helpful for strengthening his forces, such as crafting golems, creating ignition circuits, and empowering his subordinate undead.

The dark arts field contained essential spells for creating the sea undead [Skalla] or for supplementing his lack of ranged attack methods.

'It wasn't my intention, but circumstances led them to become lower priorities.'

〔Hmph. Come to think of it, the two fields also share some similarities in nature.〕

'If you delve deeper, curses excel in versatility. Poison is deadly.'

In terms of debuffs, poison is much more powerful.

However, it has the disadvantage of requiring the target to be hit for the effect to take hold.

Curses, on the other hand, can be cast immediately if the target is within range, making them very convenient.

〔Considering your tendencies, I'd assume you would choose the curse field, which has many elements for creating variations.〕

'Ah. Not all curses are like that. Powerful curses require fulfilling activation conditions in advance.'

For curses, safeguards like Yoojin's beloved armament, [Shadow Mask], are essential.

Curses without activation conditions are weak.

Spells with powerful debuff effects require consumed materials or prior preparation.

Since the two fields overlap to some extent, they have their respective pros and cons.

'Curses have a synergistic effect with spirit-related necromancy.'

〔Synergy?〕

'There are undead that can only be created with souls corrupted by specific curses.'

High-level curses were needed to create higher-ranking ghost-type undead like specters or wraiths, which are superior to wraiths.

〔Prior preparation is a trivial matter for you.〕

‘You're not wrong.’

〔The answer was already there, so why are you agonizing so much?〕

'Because of the synergistic effects between spells.'

〔Synergy, you say?〕

'The poison field amplifies the effects of the spells I've learned so far.'

To summarize:

Curses are better for utilizing a wider range of debuffs and specializing in commanding ghost-type undead.

The poison field excels in spell synergy and debuff effects.

'It's hard to choose because both are good.'

〔That's unlike you.〕

'How so?'

〔Creating variables is what you enjoy most.〕

'Are you telling me to choose the curse field?'

〔Corrupting souls and turning them into subordinates is also a significant advantage, isn't it?〕

'Alright. I've decided on poison.'

Kronos was silent for a moment.

〔Y-You shameless creature!!! You dare defy my guidance?!!!〕

'I made a good choice thanks to you, so why are you getting angry?'

〔I spent a long time deliberating and presented a wise answer, yet you chose the opposite!〕

'Ah. I'm telling you, I made a good choice thanks to you, Constellation-nim.'

〔Blasphemy!〕

‘That's too much. You can't even recognize sincerity.’

〔Explain in detail which passage you heard and made that decision!〕

'You pointed out that I can control wraiths with curses.'

〔I certainly did.〕

'If they're good enough to be used like that, it's better to unify them with the Union spell and use them.'

Original technique, Union.

It's a necromantic spell that strengthens a ghost (usually the deceased themselves) by unifying them with a body that matches their wavelengths.

The Union spell had a higher success rate when used on wraiths whose presence or power as a spirit was weak.

'Undead on the level of affecting the tide of battle can only be created after 5 Star.'

〔I think the fact that you can use your beloved mask to cast curses also plays a part.〕

'Well, you're half right.'

'Well, it's better to show you directly.'

Monsters' corpses littered the border area.

With the aid of the holy artifact, he was dragging around more than 200 undead, which caused even more monsters from the surrounding areas to flock to them.

"Answer my call."

[Using Revive.]

[The deceased's condition is exceptionally good.]

[All stats increased by 100%.]

One of the corpses twitched and then abruptly sat up.

At a glance, it looked no different from a zombie.

Thwack—

A chunk of flesh from its thigh fell to the ground.

[Revive's duration is 120 minutes.]

[The corpse will completely disintegrate when the duration expires.]

[The corpse targeted by Revive cannot be made into undead.]

It looked perfectly fine right after being revived, but its body started to decay as time passed.

Rather than being destroyed the moment the duration expires, it's more accurate to say it's the maximum maintenance time.

〔Two hours. A rather ambiguous time.〕

'At proficiency level 0, it's 10 minutes. I'm quite impressive, you know.'

By modifying the corpse with spirit power and drawing out abilities beyond its original capacity, the penalty of not being able to use skills is somewhat offset.

At this level, its combat power is even higher than creating a mid-grade undead.

‘What if an ally is revived and charges into the chaotic battlefield? They'd be ecstatic.'

〔Hmph. I sometimes don't understand your expressions.〕

'That's because you're trying to understand with your head. You have to accept it with your heart.'

Revive has one more advantage.

It's treated as a corpse that cannot be made into undead.

〔Didn't you say that the wraith targeted by Revive cannot be made into undead again?〕

'Undead creation isn't possible. But that means other things are possible.'

[Using Corpse Explosion.]

Kuaaang—!

The revived being exploded while still standing.

A corpse made into undead through undead creation is not a target for necromancy.

But Revive is slightly different.

Only undead creation is impossible; he can use any spell that uses the corpse as a medium.

'How about using it as a combat force and then detonating it?'

〔This action doesn't show any respect for the deceased.〕

'So what? Since when did a necromancer care about such things?'

Would he do this if he had any intention of respecting the deceased?

Having learned the two spells he had decided to learn upon reaching 4 Star.

‘Next is a spell from the poison field.’

⋯⋯⋯

Venomous Bolt

Classification: Magic

Rank: C

A javelin made by condensing acidic poison. It pierces and melts the target.

⋯⋯⋯

Poison Blood

Classification: Magic

Rank: C

Imbues blood with toxicity. If used on a bleeding wound, it can poison the target.

⋯⋯⋯

Toxic Bloom

Classification: Magic

Rank: C

Widely spreads toxic energy. The power is reduced in exchange for the expanded range.

⋯⋯⋯

Decay Poison

Classification: Magic

Rank: D

Enhances the cadaveric poison lingering on a corpse and spreads it wider.

⋯⋯⋯

Yoojin chose four spells.

[Poison Blood] is one of the few instantly activated spells in the poison field.

[Venomous Bolt] is a skill that inflicts physical damage by enhancing only the "acidity," a part of poison's nature.

The remaining two spells are more focused on a supporting role than directly using poison.

〔For all your deliberation, those are rather unimpressive spells.〕

'You have no idea what I'm planning.'

Yoojin smirked.

‘Sure, on the surface, they might seem underwhelming. Aside from [Venomous Bolt], they aren't exactly flashy combat spells.’

He paused, a glint in his eyes.

'But have I ever chosen anything truly useless? Just wait and see. I'll make them shine.'

[Translator - Hestia

[Proofreader - Kaya]