Chapter 01

 This Life Didn't Go Well

"T..the Goblins are swarming in!"

"What are you all doing? Stop them immediately! Tank, move forward! Hold the formation!"

"Oh, y-yes! Party leader, understood!"

"Hey? Aren't you supposed to be over there? Can't you get your act together? or do you want to be pounded by me before becoming monster food?"

"Uh, no! Not at all!"

Rough shouts and the monsters' roars echoed in my ears.

Up ahead, hunters in shabby attire were moving around in disarray.

A shabby dungeon, and the typical sight of low-level hunters.

*Sigh.*

A faint sigh escaped my lips as I watched them.

I kept muttering to myself.

It's boring, really boring, to the point of driving me insane.

What exactly am I doing here?

"Excuse me, Necromancer?"

"Oh, yes?"

Someone called out to me.

When I turned my head, it was the party leader who had been shouting loudly earlier.

"As promised, could you lend us a little more power? Would that be possible?"

"Of course. After all, I came here as a mercenary."

It was not difficult.

To these rookies struggling in front of me, this dungeon might be terrifying, but it's, at most, a Grade E dungeon.

But In front of  Necromancer, Who known as the noblest of the nobles, they just a firefly in front of the full moon, a flock of sheep in front of a shepherd.

"Of course, I can't really call myself a master necromancer..."

But Let's leave that story for later.

For now, I raised the staff I had been fiddling with.

"I should work for the money I received."

With a satisfying feeling, energy drained out of me.

[Skill activated: 'Summon Ordinary Skeleton' (Grade E).]

[Cost: 10 energy.]

[Skeleton 1, 'Bonehead,' appears.]

[Skill activated: 'Summon Ordinary Skeleton' (Grade E).]

[Cost: 10 energy.]

[Skeleton 2, 'Boneface,' appears.]

[Skill activated: 'Summon Ordinary Skeleton' (Grade E).]

[Cost: 10 energy.]

[Skeleton 3, 'Boneskull,' appears.]

Creak, clank!

A dreadful sound of joints accompanied by a black mist.

Three terrifying skeletons, each holding a soldier's equipment, appeared in the dungeon.

The goblins charging with ferocity and the trembling hunters all came to a halt.

Then, they widened their eyes.

"Oh, oh?"

"Wow, it's a necromancer!"

"The Necromancer, widely acclaimed as the strongest in the fortress, right? Once awakened, even rankers are like released tigers, and the top guilds line up one after another like sausages...!"

"Yeah, as expected, party leader. No wonder you seemed so relaxed... There was a reason for it, huh? When did you manage to recruit such a precious talent?"

The hunters erupted in cheers, as if they never felt tense.

This is the prestige that comes with the unique ability of a "Necromancer."

A profession like a diamond spoon that can live grandly in this damned era.

Among the 7.9 billion population, it's such a rare profession that not even a thousand people belong to it.

'But.'

I shook my head.

'I'm just a deformed Necromancer, that's all.'

*Keuk, keureuk!*

In front of me, ten monsters with greenish skin were twitching.

Their main weapon was a dagger.

They were of a petite stature reminiscent of dwarves.

Alright, let's deal with them first.

"Kill them, my dear little skeletons."

*Thud!*

In response to my simple command, three sturdy skeletons charged forward.

Undead.

They already die, so they have no fear of death.

That's why they can rush in to swing their weapons without hesitation.

[Handling 'Green Goblins'.]

[Handling 'Green Goblins'.]

[Handling 'Green Goblins'.]

......

Swoosh! Thud!

The ruthless attacks of the skeletons quickly slaughtered the goblins.

Splat!

Sticky blood and green skin harmonized as they rolled on the ground.

The hunters were amazed.

"Wow, I'm envious."

"That's just a basic, skeleton summoning is like a basic for a necromancer, right? But why only summon skeletons?"

"Well, why not? For a Grade E dungeon, summoning just skeletons should be enough."

"True, huh? But... wow, I'm really envious... to the point of feeling nauseous. I feel like I might throw up out of envy. and Died because of jealousy. Doesn't he just summon a bunch of undead and finish the battle on his own?"

By the way,

The reason of their envy is simple.

Unique abilities are not determined by effort, but innate.

About ten years ago,

When humans turn twenty, they are bestowed with unique abilities.

The content of these unique abilities is random.

There were those who possessed abilities related to blacksmithing or tailoring.

There were also those who received auxiliary abilities like scouting, healing, or buffing.

Furthermore,

There were even those who obtained abilities so pathetic that it was pitiful to watch without shedding a tear.

What was the all-time worst trash ability I had ever seen?

'Was it something like "Shit Eater"?'

It seemed to be an ability where you got stronger every time you ate crap.

Suddenly, a shiver ran down my spine, let's stop here.

Anyway,

The fact that one's abilities were determined by luck could bring a sense of relative deprivation.

'I don't know what kind of dog-like existence would do such a thing.'

Thanks to these transcendent beings, humanity could survive the onslaught of vicious monsters.

They were still surviving now.

Or perhaps even those monsters could be part of a transcendental being's joke.

*Chirp!*

Finally, the ten goblins turned into a handful of meat chunks.

"Yikes."

"It's freaking amazing... It hasn't even been two minutes and it's already cleared?"

"Hah, if only I had long-range abilities like a wizard or a summoner, I wouldn't be going through this ordeal right now."

"Right? Do they even know? That horrifying feeling of breathing the same air as monsters right in front of you?"

I let out a bitter chuckle.

'Arthur, Don't be so envious. '

They might sound full of themselves now.

But if they knew my situation, they'd surely look at me with eyes full of sympathy.

Why you ask?

'Status window.'

Paat!

As I silently called out "Status window," a holographic form appeared before my eyes.

Information about my body, visible only to me.

[Hunter: Joo Donghun]

[Alias: X]

[Energy: 70/100]

[Unique Ability: Cursed Necromancer]

[Grade: E]

[Effects]

- You are a necromancer, a profession that deals with the souls of the dead. You can overpower opponents using terrifying specters and poisons. However, you are cursed.

- You can only summon skeletons.

[Possessed Skills]

- 'Summon Ordinary Skeleton' (Grade E)

"I'll smash this watermelon seed."

No matter how you looked at it, it was content that could only lead to cursing.

Originally, when you think of a necromancer,

Liches, Dullahan, Death Knights, and so on.

You'd naturally think of hefty and reliable fellows, wouldn't you?

But.

- You can only summon skeletons.

All I could summon were just skeletons.

And it just efective Only in Grade E dungeons or lower.

Once you go up to Grade D dungeons or higher, even the skeletons sprawled on the ground were treated with more respect than mine.

"......"

In a way, my life was even worse than the rookies in front of me right now.

They at least have the potential to grow in the future.

It's been three years since I received my powers.

Yet, I couldn't even get out of a measly Grade E dungeon.

Meanwhile, my peers who also received powers have risen to Grade D and C.

"......"

So.

To sum up this crappy situation in one word?

I guess you could say this life of mine is a failure.

---

"Team leader, I've finished today's tasks. I'll head off now."

I greeted Kim Jun-seo, the team leader of the small mercenary guild I belonged to, and left.

*Phew!*

A chilly wind brushed against my face.

*Huff...*

A sigh escaped me, bitter like the smoke of a cigarette.

The earnings from today's work, after deducting fees and taxes, will be deposited at the end of each month.

The only jobs I, with a clearly limited power, can take on are E-grade dungeon requests.

Still, I need to eat.

"Ha, damn... world."

No matter how much I think about it, regret washes over me.

What did I do wrong, exactly?

Did some transcendent being curse me?

"Buddha, Jesus, God... No, unknown deity. If you're going to grant something, why give me this utterly useless ability that I can't even hope for? What is this? What is it."

Damn it, to torment me with vague hope like this.

"Yeah, I'd rather have been in a production job."

Special abilities like those in service jobs are better than ambiguous combat skills.

I could have supported hunters and at least earned some money.

By the way, the pay I received for today's dungeon run...

Once you deduct everything, it's a measly 40,000 won.

Even so, I couldn't let go of this Hunter gig.

"Because this is the only thing I want to do."

Hunter.

Those who prove their strength inside dungeons.

No matter how tough it gets, no matter how I clash with reality.

I didn't want to give up on this.

In this uncertain life, shouldn't I live doing what I want, even if it's only once?

- It's good news again today!

- What's the news?

- The Dark Lord who succeeded in conquering the 'Canyon of the Moon' last time has finally become a Ranker after just three years! With this, the official count of Rankers in South Korea has reached 37. This achievement is second only to the United States worldwide! Impressive, isn't it?

The road leading to my house.

On the billboard attached to the building,

Hunter-related channels were being broadcasted.

- Wow, when you say "Ranker," you're talking about the hunters listed within the top 1,000 on the global ranking board in the United States, right? Automatically updated every month?

- Yes, that's correct. In the case of the Dark Lord, he rose to 950th place this month. However! The Dark Lord's ranker entry this time has a different significance from before.

- Oh, what does it mean?

- It means that Dark Lord is the only hunter who has made it to Ranker in just three years up until now! Of course, this is excluding the first generation of hunters!

- Wow! Achieving Ranker status in the shortest period?

- Yes, it's because being a Necromancer is an incredible power!

- Wow! That's amazing! It's truly fortunate that there's a Necromancer in our country!

Yeah.

That's it.

Because of that.

Because of it, irritation intensifies, and reality hits harder.

Dark Lord.

That guy is also a Necromancer like me!

Moreover, we received our powers on the same date!

Some are already Rankers.

Some are still E-rank.

That guy already has the fancy nickname 'Dark Lord'.

In my status window, only my name, Joo Donghun, is written.

Just because I was cursed.

Someone could ask.

What do you know?

Don't blabber without knowing how much effort that Dark Lord hunter put in.

Instead of complaining, find something constructive to do.

Right.

Honestly, it's a heart filled with envy and jealousy.

Resentment towards the transcendent beings who added an element of 'luck' to their abilities.

'But.'

That doesn't mean I'm not putting in effort.

On the contrary, I can boast that I'm doing more than anyone else.

Only a 'Ranker'.

If everyone knew what I'm doing to reach that position, they'd probably be amazed.

"...."

I left behind the noisy billboard.

I moved towards the rarely visited forest path at the top of the nearby wooden village hill.

[Hunter: Joo Donghoon]

[Energy: 100/100]

"Alright."

The energy I had used during the day was already fully replenished.

From now on.

All the efforts I had put in.

All that I had done.

It's time to show it. 

Hello this is my first time translating novel to english so don't expect to much also im not a native of english so i my grammar are limited or stiff but at least it still readable, (i think), so if you like or have any suggestion you can tell me below.

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