Chapter 26

Ancient Desert (6)

“Yes.”

I looked at the child struggling before my eyes.

“I’m not here to argue about right and wrong. I’m not saying the humans who oppressed your past were right, nor am I saying you were right to massacre countless humans.”

“……”

The boy growled softly.

He flinched with resistance, as if receiving red disinfectant on an open wound.

He must be angry.

He must not understand.

With feelings of anger and resentment remaining as lumps in his heart.

That it’s all over.

That it’s already a past history.

“No, I can’t.”

The boy shook his head violently.

“I can’t shake off those terrible memories. That is the path I have lived. Are you telling me to deny myself now? Even if I forget and shake it all off as you say, do you think that can be true happiness?”

To a child who has lived only cursing humans, my words.

Must have felt like telling him to abandon himself.

The boy’s lips were tightly shut.

It was the stubbornness and obsession of someone who had lived for a long time, with only one goal.

“I’m not telling you to deny yourself.”

I approached him.

He raised his spear as if wary, but.

I didn’t stop walking.

“I’m telling you to enjoy what you wanted to do, what you couldn’t do, now.”

“What I wanted to do?”

“Yes, what you wanted to do.”

I was already within his striking range.

The tip of the spear was pointing at me, but.

Swish.

I gently reached out and pushed it away.

It was pushed away weakly.

“For a moment, I could clearly feel the past you. I could feel why you were hurting, what emotions you felt. I knew everything you wanted.”

The effect of the skill, ‘Memory Recreation’ (S-Rank).

“……”

“And within that, you clearly wanted to see the world.”

“The world……?”

The boy flinched.

The black, hollowed-out eye sockets trembled.

“You were curious. You were curious about the soft sand underfoot, and the camels roaming the desert. But all you remember is the sun, and you don’t even know what you look like.”

“That’s right.”

The boy admitted for the first time.

“I was curious about the world. That’s an undeniable fact, regardless of human good and evil.”

“Then isn’t that enough?”

“Then that’s enough?”

The boy frowned.

He seemed to think I was playing word games.

Thud.

I was now standing right in front of him.

“To be honest, I can’t fully empathize with your pain. Even if I felt it for a moment, that’s all. Because it’s not entirely my situation.”

“……”

“So I don’t want to comfort your feelings rashly. I shouldn’t either. I’m just.”

“……”

A strange silence flowed.

I swallowed once and continued.

“I’m just saying, shouldn’t you be true to your desires? No matter what hatred you felt towards humans, what grudges remain. Just think about being able to see the world, putting everything else aside.”

The boy’s shoulders trembled.

His emotions seemed to be swirling in a complex mix.

He must be curious.

He must want to see.

Finally, the boy asked.

“Does that mean you can show me the world?”

“Of course.”

The corners of my lips turned up.

A Skeleton is the lowest of the Undead.

A dead corpse that has been beheaded or had its eyes gouged out.

It appears as a complete Skeleton.

‘But come to think of it, these Skeletons… don’t have eyes, do they?’

He doesn’t have eyes, but.

He can see.

That’s for sure.

Because I, a Necromancer, could feel it.

Anyway.

Swish!

I reached out into the air.

As befits a world of imagination, a splendid staff is grasped in my hand.

Now, shall I make a proposal?

“I am a Necromancer. Though cursed, a sorcerer who deals with death.”

Thud!

I slammed the staff on the ground.

“The world I live in is completely different from the world you lived in, but if you want to see such a world……”

Then I held out my left hand.

Flinch.

The boy trembled.

“Take my hand and come under my command.”

[Stage: Grievance of the Sun Spear]

[Difficulty: Unmeasurable]

[The ‘Sun Spear’s’ resentment towards humans is enough to pierce the sky.]

[Subjugate the Sun Spear and achieve the true awakening of ‘Boner2’.]

I proposed that he submit to me.

With one of the boy’s desires, ‘sight,’ as a condition.

[‘Sun Spear’ is agonizing.]

[‘Sun Spear’ is conflicted.]

“……”

The silence was long.

But I waited patiently.

How much time had passed?

“Are you.”

“Huh?”

“Are you different from other humans?”

Swish!

The boy put strength into his hand and picked up the spear again.

“I am the absolute ruler of the Ancient Desert Empire. A demihuman with no equal in the world. A spear that swallowed the lofty sun.”

Whoo-oong!

A tremendous energy was contained in the boy’s spear.

“I do not serve just anyone. Especially if that person is human.”

“……”

“Are you qualified to be my master?”

The question of a wounded child.

[Ding!]

[Hidden quest activated!]

[This is a hidden condition exclusive to ‘Stage: Grievance of the Sun Spear’!]

[The ‘Sun Spear’s’ resentment towards humans has subsided to some extent.]

[However, ‘Sun Spear’ has a question.]

[He is curious about the Hunter, ‘Ju Dong-hoon’.]

[Prove that you are the true master.]

[Upon proof, ‘Boner2’ will inherit ‘Sun Spear’s’ memories and will as they are.]

‘Oh, dear.’

Is this a variation of the quest?

There was different wording.

Originally, it was the true awakening of ‘Boner2.’

Now, it’s that you can inherit ‘Sun Spear’s’ memories as they are.

You might think it’s the same thing, but.

Just looking at the fact that it’s a hidden quest, you could see that the latter was much more attractive.

‘Is there no choice?’

I smiled.

Swish!

At the same time, I created a ‘spear’ with my right hand and grabbed it.

Swoosh!

I got rid of the staff.

“Master, huh.”

Boner becoming the Sun Spear and calling me master.

Thump.

My heart was pounding.

“How do I prove that?”

“It’s simple.”

The boy answered my question.

“Receive my spear. Endure the true power of the sun, not a lump of faded resentment. Can you do that?”

The boy raised his spear.

I answered.

“As much as you want.”

The world flashed.

Whoo-oong!

Hot sunlight.

The warm sunshine became a spear blade and stabbed my whole body.

‘This is the true power of the sun.’

It was a much stronger force than the boy who was just consumed by resentment.

To what extent?

To the extent that the Old Man watching from behind clicked his tongue.

“Heo, my disciple. Are you alright?”

‘Do I look alright? I feel like I’m going to die from the pain.’

“It can’t be helped. That child. He’s much stronger than before. Hmm… I could easily kill him when I’m about my prime.”

“……”

This old geezer.

I’m in so much pain, and he’s bragging?

It’s not just killing him, but he could easily kill him.

“You rascal, it’s amazing. I usually say I’m going to subdue him, I don’t use the word kill carelessly. An opponent that’s hard for me to subdue. That’s the current power of that child.”

‘Yes, yes, you would.’

I’m sorry, but.

I didn’t have time to agree with the Old Man’s chatter.

Because every ray of sunlight pouring out of the spear was a critical hit.

[‘Sun Spear’ uses the skill, ‘Sun Chain Strike’ (Lv.MaX).]

[‘Sun Spear’ uses the skill, ‘Raging Desert’ (Lv.MaX).]

[‘Sun Spear’ uses the skill, ‘Soulflare’ (Lv.MaX).]

…….

Splendid skill names that I’ve never seen before.

I groaned at the continuing pain.

I gritted my teeth.

But that didn’t mean the boy stopped attacking.

“Disciple. You don’t have to counterattack. Ah… well, I don’t have to worry. There’s no way you have the skills to do that.”

‘Are you… fanning the flames?’

When I asked sharply, the Old Man laughed.

“I’m just telling you to endure it. After all, you’re practically invincible here, aren’t you?”

‘But it hurts a lot.’

“Heo, if you’re undergoing the secrets of Myriad skills, the Great Law of Supreme Clarity and Material Accomplishment, you can endure it enough!”

“……”

Damn it.

I’m in so much pain that I’m about to die.

Hearing him say that makes me feel even more on fire.

It feels like I’m getting hotter inside and out.

“You know it too, don’t you.”

The Old Man continued to speak.

“That child. He doesn’t want to see your skills. He just wants to see your will.”

‘Will……’

“Yes, your tenacity. Your character. Originally, the more persistent you are, the more upright you are. If you want to handle him, he’s saying you should endure this much.”

The boy doesn’t serve just anyone.

He only serves special people.

They say to test even a stone bridge before crossing it.

Especially since he’s been hurt a lot by humans.

He wants to judge me.

He wants to confirm.

‘Actually.’

The meaning of those words is even more special.

As much as he doesn’t serve just anyone, it means that once he serves, he will definitely pledge allegiance.

“Yeah.”

What does it matter what it is, what does it matter what it is.

Go ahead and pour it out.

I’ll endure it endlessly.

It’s painful enough to die.

But I’m already risking death to become a Ranker.

‘And the Sun Spear is.’

A big stepping stone to becoming that Ranker.

“If there’s anything you want to judge, judge it all.”

The boy continued to pour out the spear.

A spear that swallowed the sun.

No, now it’s a spear that spits out the sun.

[Skill, ‘Pain Tolerance’ (B-Rank) is upgraded by one level.]

[You have acquired the skill, ‘Pain Tolerance’ (A-Rank).]

[This skill has room to grow further.]

Ah.

Am I going to become a masochist at this rate?

The terrible pain gradually decreases.

To the point where I can endure it.

To the point where I can accept it.

“Heo, good.”

The Old Man muttered.

“As expected of my disciple. His tenacity is the strongest in the world.”

‘It’s all thanks to you, Elder.’

I found some leeway.

Now I can receive the boy’s spear.

To the point where I can walk forward.

Thud, thud.

I walked towards the boy while being hit by the flashing spear strikes.

I approached and calmly stared at the boy.

“……You are.”

The Sun Spear murmured as if surprised.

“You are definitely different.”

The boy’s momentum was broken.

Along with the momentum, he also let go of the resentment that had been building up.

Come to think of it, there’s nothing wrong with what he said.

The world is over.

It’s already become a past life.

He doesn’t want to keep suffering.

“I… want to be reborn.”

Abandoning his previous life, a life of serving someone with all his heart.

A life where he can see the world with his own eyes under a steadfast Necromancer.

Thud!

The boy knelt down.

Drip!

At the same time, tears fell.

Tears that he had never shed since becoming the ruler of the Ancient Desert Empire.

The boy washed away his resentment with tears.

And.

“My Lord.”

He called the ‘human’ he had decided to serve.

“I acknowledge you, My Lord.”

[Congratulations!]

[You have met the hidden conditions.]

[You have cleared ‘Stage: Grievance of the Sun Spear’!]

[Clear rewards have arrived!]

It was the moment when he had a ruler of a world.

Under his command.