The following days settled into a routine.
Mark left early, before dawn. Each day he went to a different dungeon, always choosing the ones farthest from the city to minimize the risk of being seen.
Ely did all the work while he watched from the shadows, stacking up experience and loot.
[Current Level: 15]
[Current Rank: F]
[Skills: Wake Up (Lv. 3), Consciousness Modification (Lv. 1), Life Link (Lv. 2), Death Aura (Lv. 1)]
The progress was impressive.
In just one week he had reached a level that took most adventurers months to achieve.
His skills had expanded, though they were still primarily support-based.
But there was a problem.
People were starting to notice.
"Hey, you." A heavyset adventurer stopped him in the guild. "The necromancer."
Mark tensed, but kept his expression neutral.
"Yeah?"
"I’ve been hearing rumors. They say you’ve been clearing dungeons solo. Rank D dungeons."
"And?"
"And you’re Rank F. A Rank F necromancer. How the hell are you clearing Rank D dungeons on your own?"
Mark already had an answer ready for that question.
He’d rehearsed it ntally dozens of tis.
"I have my thods."
"Your thods?" The adventurer stepped closer, invading his personal space. "What kind of thods?"
’Damn. This is getting ugly.’
"Necromancers," Mark improvised, lowering his voice as if sharing a secret, "have... advantages in dungeons. Dead monsters can be... repurposed."
It wasn’t exactly a lie.
Just a very, very partial truth.
The adventurer looked at him with a mix of disgust and curiosity.
"You use monster corpses?"
"Sothing like that."
"That’s..." he seed to search for the right word. "Disgusting."
"It works."
The adventurer grunted, clearly unsatisfied with the answer but without any argunt to counter it.
"You’d better not be up to anything weird, necromancer. I’ll be keeping an eye on you."
The adventurer walked off, leaving Mark alone with his heart pounding hard in his chest.
’That was close. Too close.’
"Master," Ely’s voice resonated in Mark’s mind. "Would you like to take care of him?"
"Take care of...? No, Ely. We are not killing anyone."
"But he threatened your safety. I cannot allow anyone to threaten my Master."
"Ely, listen to . We do not kill people. Understood?"
There was a pause.
When Ely responded, her ntal voice sounded disappointed.
"Understood, Master. But if you change your mind..."
"I’m not going to change my mind."
Mark walked out of the guild — he needed fresh air.
The conversation with the adventurer had made him nervous, but the conversation with Ely had unsettled him even more.
’I modified her to be loyal and in love with , but I didn’t think through the implications... she’s willing to kill for .’
To Mark, that was terrifying.
And also, at so dark and twisted level he preferred not to examine too closely...
Flattering.
’I am a terrible person,’ Mark thought.
But he had no ti for an existential crisis.
He had dungeons to clear and a rank to climb.
’Tomorrow I’ll go to the Crypt of the Fallen. It’s Rank C, but Ely should be able to handle it. And after that...’
Mark’s plans were cut short by a familiar voice.
"Mark!"
Mark turned and saw the guild receptionist running toward him.
Her permanently bored expression had been replaced by sothing closer to urgency.
"What’s going on?"
"You’ve got a summons," she said, handing him a sealed envelope. "From the City Council."
Mark took the envelope.
Suddenly his hands felt very cold.
"The Council? Why?"
"I don’t know. But when the Council summons soone..." She left the sentence unfinished, but her expression said everything.
Mark opened the envelope and read its contents.
"Mark, Rank F Adventurer, Class: Necromancer:
You are required to appear before the Millbrook City Council tomorrow at noon to answer questions regarding your recent activities.
Attendance is mandatory. Failure to appear will be considered an admission of guilt.
Signed, Lord Aldric Vance, Council President."
Mark read the letter three tis, looking for any clue as to what exactly they knew.
He found none.
’This is bad. Very, very bad!’
"Master," Ely’s voice sounded in his mind. "What’s happening?"
"We have a problem, Ely," Mark said quietly. "A very big problem."
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