LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 13
Chapter 13
So, this is how it works.
Seonghyeon considered using Legion of the Dead immediately but shook his head.
He only had one rabbit corpse. That wasn’t enough to feel like a true “legion.”
And besides—
‘Using mana for just one feels wasteful.’
He still had other skills to test, and draining all his mana now would leave him unable to experiment further.
Since Wrathful Souls of the Dead had consumed more mana than expected, it was best to conserve his resources.
Next, he decided to try Aura of Death.
This skill affected everything within a 30-meter radius, making it one of his most potent abilities.
According to its description, the aura consumed the essence and bodies of the dead while inflicting pain on the living.
For a Level 1 character, the skill seemed too strong.
Using such a legendary power in the beginner village would normally draw too much attention.
But with so few players nearby, it was finally safe to test it out.
‘Let’s see what it can do.’
As soon as he activated the skill, a cyan heart materialized behind him, pulsing rhythmically.
Thump-thump!
The cyan light expanded outward, like blood being pumped through veins.
The light spread across the area, shrouding it in a mystical and foreboding mist.
Nearby rabbits perked up, sensing something amiss, but they didn’t have time to react.
Like birds dropping mid-flight from toxic volcanic gas, the rabbits collapsed.
Plop. Plop-plop.
[‘One Strike!’ effect triggered!]
‘Oh?’
The title applied even to damage-over-time effects.
Although he couldn’t measure the exact damage, the fact that the rabbits fell upon contact with the cyan mist was enough to confirm the skill’s potency.
In mere moments, 20 rabbit corpses lay scattered across the field—untouched, unblemished.
All had succumbed to Aura of Death.
Its range and power were impressive.
‘And it heals me too?’
While mana was being continuously drained, Seonghyeon felt his stamina replenishing slightly.
If he had been injured, the skill would have restored his health as well, just as Helena’s memories had hinted.
It was, without a doubt, a skill worthy of its Legendary status.
Unlike Wrathful Souls of the Dead, which had simply taken down a single rabbit, Aura of Death demonstrated its devastating power over a wide area.
Satisfied with the results, Seonghyeon deactivated the skill before his mana ran out.
‘Interesting—stopping it early reduces the cooldown.’
Using it for about a minute reduced the cooldown to 10 minutes. Since the maximum cooldown was 30 minutes, it seemed each minute of use reduced the remaining cooldown by 10 minutes.
The mana cost was reasonable too. After using both skills, Seonghyeon still had about 50% of his mana left.
‘This is plenty efficient, even at low levels.’
For general use, he figured Wrathful Souls of the Dead would be his go-to.
That left one final skill to test.
Seonghyeon glanced at the 20 rabbit corpses strewn around him, each emitting faint trails of cyan mist.
[‘Legion of the Dead’ can be activated.]
[Would you like to raise these entities as part of your Legion?]
Twenty soldiers.
It wasn’t quite a “legion” yet, but it was a decent start.
Eager to see the effects of an Almighty-ranked skill, Seonghyeon activated Legion of the Dead.
Craaack!
The cyan mist rising from the corpses flowed back into their bodies.
Simultaneously, a glowing cyan heart appeared in Seonghyeon’s hand, pulsing with energy.
Thump-thump! Thump-thump!
With each beat, the corpses responded, stirring to life as if granted new vitality.
The rabbits’ once-red eyes now glowed cyan, their bodies shrouded in a mixture of black and cyan energy.
Their physical forms remained rabbit-like, but their transformation into spectral beings was undeniable.
Seonghyeon’s eyes widened as he observed their altered forms.
Something was off.
‘This is… different.’
In Helena’s memories, her undead legion had been shadowy figures with only their eyes glowing cyan.
But Seonghyeon’s undead radiated cyan energy from their entire bodies, making them appear far more imposing.
Was this because his level was too low?
No, that wasn’t it.
If anything, these undead seemed stronger than those in Helena’s memories.
As he puzzled over the difference, Seonghyeon realized the truth.
‘Ah.’
The spirits of the dead rabbits—their ghosts—had merged with their resurrected bodies.
These weren’t ordinary undead soldiers; they were infused with the very souls of their former selves.
In Helena’s experience, animating corpses usually required forcibly binding spirits to them through additional necromantic rituals. But Seonghyeon’s Legion of the Dead naturally integrated the spirits into their bodies upon resurrection.
‘No wonder they feel so much stronger.’
This fusion of body and spirit created undead with an unparalleled aura of power.
Satisfied with his discovery, Seonghyeon began noticing a flurry of system messages.
[The effect of ‘Sovereign’ is activated!]
[Movement speed of ‘Legion of the Dead’ increased by 30%.]
[Attack speed of ‘Legion of the Dead’ increased by 20%.]
[Attack power of ‘Legion of the Dead’ increased by 10%.]
[Morale of ‘Legion of the Dead’ increased!]
‘Oh.’
The title bonuses were no joke.
It was time to truly test the Legion’s capabilities.
Fortunately, raising rabbits consumed little mana, leaving him with over 40% remaining. Maintaining them would be no problem.
With a mental command, Seonghyeon directed his undead soldiers.
“Now… what should I make you do?”
As he pondered whether to issue verbal orders, the undead rabbits nodded in unison, as if understanding his thoughts.
‘Wait, can they sense my intent?’
Just as the other ghosts had reacted to his thoughts, the undead rabbits seemed to share this connection.
Without needing further instruction, the Legion spread out and began their rampage.
Unlike ordinary rabbits, which scattered chaotically, the undead moved with precision, coordinating their attacks to systematically hunt down the living rabbits.
Their speed and efficiency were overwhelming.
Even more impressive, they managed to avoid detection by other players, swiftly and silently eliminating their targets.
“Wait, weren’t there rabbits here just a second ago?”
“Yeah, I was about to catch one, but it’s gone now.”
“Haha, you’re imagining things. No way—oh, wait, where are the rabbits?”
The butchery descended into chaos.
The normally commanding presence of Marlene had crumbled as she fainted on the spot, her spirit partially emerging from her body.
“Mar, Marlene collapsed!”
“She fainted standing up!!!”
“Someone check if she’s still breathing!”
“Help! Somebody help! Marlene, wake up!!!”
Seonghyeon stared at the scene, frozen in disbelief.
‘Is she… okay?’
It was one thing to faint, but seeing her spirit partially separate from her body made it seem far more dire.
Marlene had always exuded toughness, her voice alone enough to scare off most players. Watching her crumble like this was jarring.
“Should I… do something?” Seonghyeon mumbled.
At that moment, one of the NPC apprentices, a young boy wearing a stained apron, rushed over. His panicked expression gave way to a determined glare as he began administering aid.
“Marlene! Breathe! Don’t you dare leave us!” he shouted, patting her cheeks.
The other workers scrambled to help, one fanning her with a towel while another ran for water.
Meanwhile, her spirit, which had been floating halfway out of her body, gradually receded as she let out a faint groan.
“Haa… haa… I-I’m fine…” Marlene muttered as she stirred.
The room collectively sighed in relief.
Marlene struggled to her feet, leaning against the counter for support. Her face was pale, and beads of sweat ran down her forehead, but her fiery personality quickly reignited.
“Who in the blazes brings that much meat and leather all at once?!” she barked, her voice hoarse but still loud enough to make the walls vibrate.
Seonghyeon instinctively took a step back, raising his hands in apology.
“Uh, sorry. I didn’t mean to overwhelm you…”
Marlene pointed a trembling finger at him, her eyes narrowing.
“You! What did you do out there?! Did you wipe out the entire forest of rabbits?! And where did you find a green deer and a tiger?! Those don’t even live near here!”
Her incredulous tone made Seonghyeon feel as though he’d committed some unspeakable crime.
“Well… I just hunted what was there,” he said sheepishly. “I didn’t realize it’d be such a big deal.”
Marlene shook her head, placing a hand on her chest to steady her breathing.
“Haa… No, no. It’s fine. Just… warn me next time, alright? I thought my heart was going to stop!”
One of the apprentices snorted. “Your heart did stop, Marlene. We saw your soul coming out!”
“Quiet, you!” she snapped, waving a fist at him before turning back to Seonghyeon.
“Alright, let’s see what we’ve got here,” she said, moving to inspect the mountains of meat and leather.
Her sharp eyes roamed over the stacks of materials. Despite her earlier reaction, she handled each piece with care, examining its quality and muttering to herself.
“This leather… It’s from the green deer, alright. And this tiger hide—this is in excellent condition! You even got clean cuts on the rabbit pelts… How?”
Seonghyeon rubbed the back of his neck, looking away. “I have a knack for it, I guess?”
Marlene paused, squinting at him. Her expression softened slightly, and she sighed.
“Haa… Alright, fine. A deal’s a deal. Let me total this up.”
She pulled out a ledger, scribbling furiously as she calculated the value of the goods. After a few tense moments, she looked up, her stern expression replaced by a faint smile.
“Well, I’ll be! This haul is worth a fortune! You’ve got enough here to buy a house in the next town over.”
Seonghyeon’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”
Marlene chuckled. “I’m not joking, kid. These materials are top-notch. Here’s your payment.”
She handed over a bulging pouch of gold coins.
[You have received 1,000 gold!]
Seonghyeon’s jaw nearly dropped. This was an absurd amount of money for a beginner player.
“Wow… Thank you, Marlene.”
She smirked. “Thank you. This’ll keep my shop stocked for months. Just… maybe don’t bring this much all at once next time, alright?”
Seonghyeon nodded, pocketing the gold.
“Understood. I’ll see you around, Marlene.”
As he turned to leave, she called out.
“Oh, and Seonghyeon?”
He paused, glancing back.
“You’ve got potential, kid. Don’t let it go to waste.”
A small smile tugged at his lips as he nodded and stepped out of the shop.
Seonghyeon stood in the village square, feeling the weight of his newfound wealth.
‘That went better than expected.’
He had enough gold to comfortably fund his journey to the next area and then some.
Glancing at his inventory, he confirmed that he’d cleared out all the materials.
‘Alright, next stop—the village chief.’
With his tasks complete, it was time to leave the beginner village and step into the larger world of Eternal World.
As he made his way toward the chief’s house, the faint sound of Marlene yelling at her apprentices echoed behind him.
He couldn’t help but chuckle.
‘She’ll be fine.’