I quickly snatched the jewelry from his hand and asked.
"Where did you get this?"
"It came from an auction house."
"What auction house."
"Shrug. The port city of Muriel!"
I paused momentarily, wondering if there was anything else I could ask, but I couldn't think of anything.
I'd come in to kill this guy in the first place, not to find a Shard of Greed.
"If you call it a shard, it must be in several pieces.
Still, we've got a lead to Muriel Harbor, so we'll see what we can find.
Rannox's demeanor suggested he didn't realize this was a sinful endeavor.
He was simply driven by greed, and it was hard for him to give up.
Still, it was a clean kill.
Greed is rewarded.
With his supplies in hand, I headed back down the road.
I set fire to the interior of Lanox's dungeon.
"I would have preferred to make it look like Lanox had moved on.
I had a lot of work to do.
I'd just have to cover my tracks.
When I stepped outside, I was greeted by a trio of marksmen.
"You're safe!"
"I am. Here is the head of the warlock I promised your chief."
"I see. We will take you to the village immediately."
One of the halflings accepted Lanox's offer and began to walk briskly ahead.
The one next to him asked me a cautious question.
"Excuse me, did you see any other marksmen like us in there?"
"No."
I don't need to tell you about the bug-eaten corpses.
It would only traumatize him.
I felt a little sorry for Mark as he lowered his head in disappointment at my words, but that was all, and I hurried on.
When I arrived at the village, it was empty.
The only people I could see were the village chief and the first group of marks who had fled.
"Thank you for saving our village from certain death."
Apparently, they didn't care that I was a necromancer.
Certainly, warlocks have a terrible reputation among my people, but in the eyes of the xenomorphs, he or she is just another human being.
"Your answer sounds like a fingerprint from a quest."
"Yeah?"
"No, it's not. To myself."
True to my word, I headed for the cliff.
Fortunately, the marksmen didn't follow me, saying I shouldn't be in their way, and went to call for the evacuated villagers.
"This is where the giant sleeps.
It was an ordinary cliff to look at, but if you break this place....
Without exerting myself, I summoned Timur again.
"Smash it."
"Crack!"
Timur drew his fist back hard, then smashed it right where I pointed.
Boom!
The mana-filled fist exploded, and within moments, one side of the cliff began to crack.
Then Timur's fist struck again, and the cracked cliff crumbled slightly, creating a gap.
"Gotcha.
I called back to Timur and squeezed through the crack.
Inside the cliff was a vast chamber, illuminated by magic, and glittering ores surrounded us on all sides.
"Lunapalt.
It was a rare ore that could be processed into jewelry.
It had similar strength to steel, but was lighter and more beautiful in appearance, making it one of the most popular ores among the nobility.
But Lunapalt wasn't the reason I came here.
Once inside the space, which was covered in lunapalms on all sides, I could see a huge statue standing there.
It was roughly four to five meters tall.
The statue had its hand on a pommel with a giant sword embedded in the ground, and that's what I was looking for.
I was really surprised when I realized that it wasn't a statue, but the body of a real giant.
At the time, I was just surprised and thought I'd look around to see what else I could find, or scratch my Lunapalt.
Honestly, it's a giant's corpse. There's no use for it.
Of course, now that I'm a Necromancer, it's different.
'It's best to summon a Revenant if you can, but the corpse isn't in good shape.
The next best option was to summon a ghoul.
[Lesser Command: Cast Summon Ghoul].
[One corpse is detected].
Ghouls had stronger bodies than skeletons, but they sometimes didn't listen to commands.
They especially liked to tear into living things, sometimes prioritizing their appetites over their commands.
"Though their physical stats are overwhelmingly superior to those of skeletons.
[The caster's abilities are lacking].
[Lesser Command: Failed to summon a ghoul].
I expected it, but I didn't succeed right away.
But I wasn't going to leave until I made this one mine.
I knew this was going to happen, and I packed food in my bag. No matter how many days it takes, I'm going to make him mine and go to Deshurne.
I must succeed, no matter what.
* * *
In the center of Rodlen, the capital of the empire, stood the imperial palace of immense proportions.
It was almost as large as a small city.
Even in such a palace, the emperor's favorite outbuildings were a rarity in the human world.
There were lakes that seemed to be in harmony with nature, ornamental plants that were rarely seen in all kinds of magical texts, trees that bloomed all year round, and all kinds of rare herbivores.
The Emperor was leisurely sipping his tea in the midst of all this seasonal greenery.
"Lord Hegel."
"You called for me, Your Majesty."
The Emperor called out to someone in a place where there was no one but him, and a reply came from behind the shadows of the trees.
"Let's not do that there, let's have some tea."
"My honor."
The figure that appeared was a man in a black tuxedo and bowler hat.
The man, whose face was covered in grotesque tattoos, sat down across from the emperor and poured himself a cup of tea, savoring the aroma.
"This tea is brewed from the durkin that Jim grew next door."
"My pleasure."
The Emperor said, eyeing Heigel as he sipped his tea.
"So. How are things going these days?"
"Well, House Alven has been getting some attention lately, but they haven't united with the others."
"That's not what I wanted to know, but the fact that you've come here at all must mean you have more important information than that."
"I have found the approximate location of the rage."
At Hegel's words, the Emperor let out a loud exclamation.
He turned to Hazel, the corners of his mouth twitching upward.
"I see. Where is the Fury?"
"In the north...."
Hagel stopped in mid-sentence and shook his head.
He had offended the Emperor with his abrupt behavior, but the Emperor simply watched him with a stern face, as if this were not the first time this had happened.
"I apologize. Your Majesty, the fury is probably located in the lands of the barbarians."
"So, when can we expect to get it?"
"I will get back to you within the year."
"A little late. I see. I'll look forward to it."
The Emperor said, tapping the sword he always kept at his side.
At that, Heigel simply smiled and left the Emperor's compound.
As he moved, blending into the darkness, he was busy thinking about the signal he had felt earlier.
"Lanox is dead. Killed by whom?
The spell he'd planted on them had been broken.
Such a reaction could only happen in one of two ways: either the fisherwoman would recognize it and destroy it, or the fisherwoman would die.
The assumption that he was dead was a reasonable one, as he would never be able to destroy his own magic at the level of the Rannox we had seen last time.
'Still, I didn't think he'd die easily.
It didn't really matter.
He had plenty of words to use anyway.
More than that, he was relishing the sight of the Emperor for the first time in a long time.
He had met the Emperor some thirty years ago.
The man who had despised him back then had now granted him access to outbuildings where no one else was allowed to set foot.
Of course, it had taken a lot of hard work and effort to get to this point, but he didn't think it was worth it since he was dealing with the Emperor of the Empire.
'The sword of arrogance was decisive.
The sword that the Emperor always carries with him, the sword of humble arrogance.
It was a gift from himself and one of his sins, but it was not wasted.
It had clouded his judgment, and the empire was growing invisible cracks.
"By the way, you should probably save your anger...."
Well, I've been preparing a number of phrases for just such an occasion.
I'm not in a hurry, so let's take our time.
* * *
A week had already passed since I entered the place where the giant slept.
I had been using Ghoul Summon nonstop whenever I had enough mana, but there was still no sign of success.
'I must either increase my proficiency in black magic or evolve my talent.
At this point, even I was beginning to wonder if I was wasting my time.
I questioned the wisdom of wasting effort on something so unnecessary when every day was precious, especially when I had to go to Deshurne.
'No. There will never be another chance to get a giant, an ancient species that is now extinct.
This is why I sometimes thought about giving up, but I couldn't.
Like dragons, giants are one of those races that have been lost to history.
However, while dragon rares and equipment made from dragon materials have survived to this day, many traces of giants have been lost due to their rarity and uselessness.
I had invested so much time that it was hard to give up, even if I regretted the sunk cost.
And so, half-heartedly and out of habit, I used magic.
[Lesser Command: Cast Summon Ghoul].
[A corpse is detected].
[Lesser Command: Summon Ghoul succeeds]
[You have summoned one Titan Ghoul (Mythic)].
[Raised corpse is of superior quality, with stat bonuses].
[The corpse you raised is of exceptional quality. You gain a tier. You become a Champion Titan Ghoul].
[The level of the corpse you raised approaches transcendence. You gain a small portion of your former self back].
[The level of the undead you raise is mythic. You inherit some of your traits from your life].
"Huh?"
I asked, dumbfounded by my sudden success.
This is working?
I haven't counted all of my attempts so far, but I've been using day and night magic for a week, so my success rate is roughly 0.0001%.
The giant that had become a ghoul had the appearance of having lost all of its skin, though there was no muscle or bone left.
Objectively, ghouls don't look good, but I felt like a week of experimentation had paid off, and he looked better than any of the undead.
"I feel like I just got my hands on a giant robot from a cartoon.
[Champion Titan Ghoul (Mythic)]
-Ludor Cahanedondo
-Undead
-Tier 6
-Mana: 3733
-Talents: Ego, Strength, Determination, Indomitable
Mythic Tier Undead....
Even Nickel and Timur were legendary, and I got them right.
For some reason, I couldn't summon them and the corpses were too high level.
Aside from being mythic, it also had an unusual number of traits.
'Maybe this is more beneficial than the Deshun.
I hadn't expected to get such a powerful undead, so it was like winning the lottery without thinking.
Now, with the corpse of the remaining Fairy Queen, Mirina, it seemed like we could be a one-man party.
But I'd have to hold off on using her until she'd mastered her Ghost skills.
There was no urgency, as she would get the skill after mastering Morne's Black Magic Book.
'There's no urgency, this isn't the time.
With my excitement moderated, I threw the giant straight into the subspace along with the sword he was carrying.
It's hard to name a giant, so I decided to call him Ludo.
When I stepped outside, I was greeted by a tableau guarding the entrance to the cliff face.
"Savior. Have you come out?"
The title of savior is too much for me.
I nodded, knowing that I'd only be seeing them today.
"I'm going to go now. Goodbye."
"You're leaving already? I haven't even served you yet."
With a wave of my hand, I walked away from the marksmen's village.
I still didn't have enough to take on the Emperor, let alone a rally.
I had to get stronger as efficiently and quickly as I could in the time available.
"Deschern's residence is on the paper Bahat gave me, so I should be able to get there quickly.
I look forward to meeting him.