Boss monsters had higher stats compared to normal monsters, and their destructiveness was not something most people could take head-on. The group, apart from Kang Yoon-Soo, lost their composure upon the appearance of the Giant Hobgoblin. They were so surprised that their legs would no longer listen to them.

At that moment, the Giant Hobgoblin swung its machete down.

Swoosh!

Hong Ga-Ram was at the forefront, and the Giant Hobgoblin easily cut him in half with one swing of its machete.

“Wh-what?!”

“Kyaaaaaa!”

“We… We have to run away!”

The three survivors started to scramble toward the exit, but the Giant Hobgoblin moved much faster than them. It blocked the exit with its large body and let out a terrifying howl at the humans who had massacred its clan. “Grrr... Raaaaaaaghhhhh!”

“Damn it. We have no choice but to fight! Hey, come over here and help us out, Kang Yoon-Soo!” Choi Chang-Seok hurriedly shouted.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo slowly stood up and started to walk deeper into the cave.

“That useless son of a…!” Kim Min-Soo cursed while he drew his sword. He charged toward the Giant Hobgoblin and swung his sword at a low angle. He planned to reach the exit by going between the ankles of the Giant Hobgoblin. However, his body was skewered as soon as the Giant Hobgoblin swung its machete.

“Kyaaaaaah!” Lee Yu-Ri screamed at the gruesome sight. At that moment, she felt someone hit her from behind. Choi Chang-Seok had kicked her without hesitation. She fell forward and hit the ankle of the Giant Hobgoblin; it smacked her with the hilt of its machete and crushed her to a pulp.

Choi Chang-Seok seized the moment as the Giant Hobgoblin was distracted by Lee Yu-Ri, and ran with all his remaining strength. He passed between the Giant Hobgoblin’s ankles and almost reached the exit of the cave, but suddenly, it swung its machete down at him. He turned around and swung his sword with all his might, clashing with the machete.

Clang!

Sparks flew all over as the sword and machete clashed intensely. The difference in strength broke Choi Chang-Seok’s wrist, and he dislocated his ankle while trying to withstand the force of the Giant Hobgoblin’s swing. He was flung out of the cave and landed face down on the ground. His sword was broken, and he felt a burning pain from the bloodied hand gripping the hilt.

“Haa… Haa…” Choi Chang-Seok pushed off the ground with all his remaining strength, as if he were trying to push down the earth underneath him. Thankfully, the Giant Hobgoblin seemed to have no intention of chasing him outside the cave. He was left standing alone in the wilderness. All of his teammates were dead, and he now had to survive on his own on this continent.

“Kang Yoon-Soo…. That son of a bitch… You just wait and see,” Choi Chang-Seok cursed with eyes full of hatred, as he thought of the man who had run away alone when they were in danger. He then limped away while cursing Kang Yoon-Soo, his mind filled with thoughts of revenge.

***

Kang Yoon-Soo reached the end of the cave, where there was an altar made of bones up on the wall; a rusty chest sat atop the altar. The ‘immense treasure’ that Lee Yu-Ri had detected with her search skill was actually the item inside this chest.

Kang Yoon-Soo ran his fingers along the surface of the chest. It was tightly sealed; it looked almost impossible to open, lacking even a keyhole. However, the moment his hands touched the chest, it started to tremble. A dark smoke started to rise out of it before long.

Psshhh!

The cave started to tremble violently, and the stalactites on the ceiling started to smash down onto the floor. The dark smoke started to come together and slowly formed into the silhouette of a human. The human-shaped cloud was so tall, its head almost reached the cave ceiling.

It spoke in a loud, evil-filled voice that reverberated through the cave.

[You… arrogant… weakling…!]

The corrupted soul spoke in a terrifying voice.

[I am the soul of Nakron, the Ultimate Necromancer. How dare such an insignificant being attempt to obtain my powers without paying any price?!]

The Ancient Heroes of old were beings who had reached the pinnacle of their class. They were the ones who had blocked the invasion of Pandemonium under the leadership of Surian, the King of All Beings. The most malicious and evil one among the Ancient Heroes was Nakron, the Ultimate Necromancer; despite that, he had stood along with the other heroes and defended the world until the very end.

Kang Yoon-Soo had awakened the corrupted soul of that very same Nakron.

[You need to pass my test and prove yourself worthy if you want to open that chest. Bring me the ground-up body of a fire dragon hatchling from the desert where the sun never sets, and bring me the heart of the Ice King who lives deep in the blizzard…]

“The one who killed you was Surian, the King of All Beings.”

[What…?]

The Ancient Hero Nakron seemed surprised.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo, on the other hand, looked surprisingly confident. He spilled secrets that even an Ancient Hero would be unaware of without hesitation. “The day the doors of Pandemonium were about to fully open, you died while fighting against the demons. However, there was more to your death. Surian, the King of All Beings, discreetly fed you minuscule amounts of poison, and that poison compounded to take away your strength. He betrayed you because you were ultimately planning on becoming an undying lich, and you would have proven to be a difficult foe in the future.

[What a joke! There’s no way that’s true! Surian was my friend and my comrade; the King of All Beings was the only one who believed in and trusted me!]

“It’s true. Your bloodline ended, but on the other hand, the Reorkan Empire flourished. You became known as the vilest one among the ancient heroes, but Surian is revered as the founder of the empire. Go and look for the soul of Surian in the underworld if you don’t believe me; he should still be around over there,” Kang Yoon-Soo said nonchalantly.

[What?! It can't be!]

Nakron let out an exclamation of shock while clutching his fist. His soul started to condense into a ball before expanding rapidly.

[Surian…! You bastard!]

Nakron disappeared after letting out an ear-splitting scream. The chest suddenly shook open, revealing a leather book and a black ring inside.

[Records of the Necromancer Class]

A book written by the Ultimate Necromancer himself. The secret skills of the Necromancer class are written in it. You may learn the skills of the Necromancer with any class. If used without a class, you may change classes into the Ultimate Necromancer.

[Ring of Life Suppression]

Rating: Unique

Mana Increase: 725

Mana Recovery Speed: +55

Attached Skills: Spirit Creation, Soul Extraction

Nakron created this black ring to defeat the Spirit King. It is filled with the hatred of the spirits that once filled the world with beauty and wonder. You may create spirits using rare and powerful materials.

Additionally, the souls of the living can be extracted and stored in the ring. The souls trapped in the ring will suffer endless pain and despair. However, the soul of Nakron, the creator of the ring, cannot be stored inside.

[Spirit Creation]

Skill Level: 1 (00.00%)

Available Creations: Salamander (requires a dragon’s breath), Icicle (requires the essence of thousand-year frost), Bright (requires a lightning golem’s core), Sharpness (requires a spirit sword).

Uses rare materials to create spirits.

[Soul Extraction]

Skill Level: 1 (00.00%)

Limited Uses: 4 times

You may extract the soul of a recently deceased being, or store a wandering soul. The extracted soul may be used to boost the abilities of the wearer or used as material to produce weapons. In rare circumstances, the soul may be used as reinforcement or inserted into a puppet.

Item ranks were divided into normal, rare, unique, and legendary. Normal items were the most common type, rare items were sold at high prices, unique items were very rare and difficult to find, and legendary items had the power to swing the balance of the continent.

The Ring of Life Suppression was a very powerful item. A single small ring could increase mana by 725, and also immensely speed up mana recovery; it had two innate skills on top of that, making it an item that even an archmage would covet.

Of course, it was not an item that could be received so easily. To open the seal on the chest, one had to pass Nakron’s perilous tests. Killing the hatchling of Flame Dragon Ignus in the Desert of Death, taking the heart of the Ice King in the Ician Mountains, and the like were not easy tasks.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo could be considered a transcendent being after he regressed for the thousandth time. He had the knowledge needed to obtain the book and the ring without going through the difficult tests prepared by Nakron.

He equipped the Ring of Life Suppression on his finger. The Power Gauntlet he had equipped only slightly covered his fingers; thus, he was able to wear the ring on top of it. Then, he opened the leather book. The moment he did so, a light started to pour out of it.

[Do you want to change into the hidden class, Ultimate Necromancer?]

The Ultimate Necromancer was an excellent class. Experience points could be obtained just by raising the dead, and one would revive as an undead being in the event of death. One would also be able to ‘tame’ high-level undead upon reaching higher levels. One’s magic power would also be amplified several times.

However, there were some downsides to the Ultimate Necromancer class. One’s body would deteriorate upon every use of the Necromancer’s power, and over time one would fully transform into an undead being. Additionally, if one gave up on being human and transformed into a lich in order to use all manner of powerful and evil skills, one would enter a hostile relationship with humanity.

Kang Yoon-Soo had experienced turning into a lich and raising all of the dead soldiers on a battlefield as undead in one of his previous lives. However, he calmly answered, “I refuse.”

Once, he had been a lich, and he had commanded an undying army. However, he had still lost to the Demon Lord.

The wrist device acknowledged the answer.

[You have refused the class change.]

[Do you wish to inherit the Ultimate Necromancer's skills without changing your class?]

“I accept,” Kang Yoon-Soo said. The moment he finished speaking, the book slowly dissipated and was absorbed into his body.

[You have inherited the Necromancer’s skills.]

[The new stat, 'Regeneration', has been created.]

[Mass Raise Dead]

Skill Level: 1 (00.00%)

Mana Consumption: 100%

Raises all of the corpses near the caster as low-level undead. The undead will be stored in a pocket dimension once combat ends, and may be summoned again later.

[Corpse Explosion]

Skill Level: 1 (00.00%)

Mana Consumption: 40

Detonates the chosen corpse to create a powerful explosion.

[Life Drain]

Skill Level: 1 (00.00%)

Mana Consumption: 3 per second

Forcefully drains the enemy’s health and life force.

Kang Yoon-Soo walked out of the room. The Giant Hobgoblin that had been sitting at the exit slowly stood up.

“Grrrr…!” The boss monster stared down at Kang Yoon-Soo.

Kang Yoon-Soo looked around at the hobgoblin corpses scattered all over the cave. He slowly raised his right arm and muttered, “Mass Raise Dead.”

One by one, the bloody corpses started to rise up slowly.