Death King Karnak Novel - Chapter 15

Death King Karnak

4. The Harbinger of Destruction (2)

Why were necromancers subject to hatred, disdain, and fear? It was so clear that one didn’t even have to think about the reason. Because people only chose what they couldn’t do. It’s because they were human beings who only wanted to get stronger that way.

That’s why all necromancers hide their identities as best as they can. In front of others, they would deliberately use tricks that looked like ordinary magic and only use really evil tricks in secret.

Even so, why could they get caught by priests and people with good senses?

Simple.

This is because the necromancy itself, the power source of a necromancer, was too ‘dirty’ for being mana. The power of command was the result of gathering all the unclean and corrupt things in the world, such as the energy of death, resentment, hatred, and fear, and turning them into power.

Even if it was an ordinary living creature, and the necromancy was activated, it would automatically avoid it.

Like when you go near a rotting corpse, you automatically frown and cover your nose. How to wash away the filth of such commanding power? Even Karnak, who was the most powerful necromancer in human history, had no way to do anything about this.

The root of necromancy itself started from dealing with unclean energy, and that unclean energy was the one that would cause all that hatred.

Firstly, it all started with rotting, but it was like saying that there shouldn’t be a rotting smell.

Here Karnak got an idea.

‘Wait a minute. There’ve been foods made with rotten ingredients since the beginning!’

There were so many examples in human history of techniques of fermentation. He related it to the alcohol he liked so much when he was still human.

‘I can’t wash off the dirt, but how do I make it feel like it’s not dirty?’

Afterward, he studied whether he could ‘ferment’ his commanding power. Of course, the food from rotten ingredients was just a metaphor and the fermentation process couldn’t actually be applied to necromancy.

But the concept was borrowable.

‘What if the second cycle of processing of the processed command power was based on the unclean energy?’

After several decades of research, he finally completed it theoretically. And after returning to the living body, he could actually implement it.

“After removing the negative emotions such as resentment and hatred from the command power, leaving only the pure darkness and the energy of death, it was reprocessed as clean as possible and converted into a form closer to the natural magic.”

Karnak ignited several more sparks around him. As expected, it was a flame that didn’t feel like necromancy at all and only resembled ordinary magic power. Karnak smiled excitedly while playing with his brain.

“It’s like mana, but it’s not mana, and it’s infinitely close to mana to say it’s not mana, so it’s like a third magic power?”

Barros asked after shaking his head.

“So, are you saying that you filter out all miscellaneous things and leave only delicious sake?”

“Roughly? It’s not an exact metaphor.”

“Somehow… I wondered why the young master was confined to the study all this time. In the past, he only searched for gloomy places like cemeteries. A battlefield where resentment lingers.”

“Originally, the darker the necromancer, the stronger the power.”

However, chaos magic must filter out all such impurities. It was only then it could be reprocessed thoroughly and leaving only the pure energy of death.

“I should rather avoid places like that now. It just adds to the work.”

Barros shrugged.

“I’m glad you understand. I thought I’d have to dig up the bodies like before.”

Did he just say digging up the bodies? He kidnapped and tortured people, corrupting their souls and forcibly turning them into a form of dark power.

“I feel like I’ve come to like living as a human.”

“Don’t you think I’ve become a lot nicer?”

It wasn’t a lie. Since the evil deeds in the past were so extreme, it was true that this was enough to call him nice. Karnak was delighted as he gathered the flames.

“With this, I can pretend to be a normal wizard in front of priests.”

During the dueling trial with Randolph, time was short, and he had to play the role of an unsuitable knight. He wouldn’t have to do such a dangerous thing again.

Suddenly, Barros asked another question, “But why is it called chaos magic?”

He could understand the explanation, but no matter how he looked at it, it didn’t seem to have anything to do with the meaning of the word chaos.

“Isn’t it right to call it fermentation magic?”

“That’s a bad name!”

“Is that all?”

“Don’t ignore it because the naming is important. Can’t you understand just by looking at the necromancer’s name right now?”

In the past, necromancers were also called black or dark magicians. Necromancy deals with the power of death, and black magic deals with the power of darkness. Strictly speaking, the technique itself was a bit different. However, the source energy of the two techniques was almost the same.

Command power was the only variable between death and darkness, and black magic also involved the power of death and darkness.

“It’s the same whether you mix black tea with milk or milk with black tea.”

And like that, there was no one who had learned necromantic magic but hadn’t learned black magic, and vice versa. Of course, a necromancer also had to be a black magician.

This change in perception was due to the resistance of the magicians. Black magic, also known as dark magic, was a color that somehow seemed to be related to magic. In comparison, necromancy felt like an evil force that had nothing to do with it.

Wizards stubbornly removed the word black magic and only spread the word necromancer. For the same reason, necromancers didn’t call themselves wizards either. Even from the necromancer’s point of view, it was a matter of pride that they were recognized as a lower branch of wizards.

“Do you understand the importance of names now?”

Barros thought seriously.

‘I have no idea at all.’

But he didn’t ask further questions.

He didn’t get it, but wasn’t it good that his master liked it?

“Then, I’ll be taking my leave now. Good job.”

Half a year had passed since they returned to this era. It was also a year after Karnak became the new lord.

Both of them were having a fulfilling day. Barros was on his way to becoming a knight, so he trained repeatedly every single day.

Although he had yet to be formally appointed as a knight due to his humble origin, people within the territory had already recognized him as one for a long time.

No matter what anyone said, the current Barros was the strongest knight of Zestrad in both name and reality.

Now, the speed of his development was so amazing that even if other knights attacked at once, they couldn’t defeat him. It was just that he had yet to encounter an opportunity to gain public fame, so he wasn’t famous as of now.

Barros himself didn’t care at all.

‘It’s better to just stay hidden.’

Having a high reputation meant that he would’ve to go through a lot of battles. Barros wasn’t interested in fame at all because he had lived on all kinds of great battlefields for decades and often died.

‘Drinking a glass of sweating beer is more precious than that!’

After completing a worthwhile personal training session today, he drank a glass of beer.

“Kuah! This is the greatest pleasure of the day!”

After emptying the beer mug, Barros left the mansion’s training ground. He was thinking of going to the well to wash off his sweat.

Maids passing by blushed as they saw him undressing.

“Oh, it’s Barros.”

“Hasn’t he become really cool lately?”

He wasn’t the same person he used to be as a tall attendant. The shoulders were wide open, the chest was wide like a field, the back was like a cow, and the limbs were full of muscle mass.

Unlike in the past, he didn’t carelessly fill his belly just because he was young now. No matter how delicious the food was, he always ate in moderation, and no matter how annoying it got, he kept training and did his best to keep this ‘living body’ continuously ‘fresh.’

The current appearance of Barros had set an example for many people. How desirable was this to refrain from worldly desires and train oneself even at an age full of blood?

Of course, his mind was still close to a middle-aged man’s.

‘I just want one more beer. Should I still be patient? Health is the most important thing, no matter what.’

The Office in Zestrad Mansion

As usual, Karnak had already finished his work and was practicing chaos magic. While he was working hard to switch the magic power, he heard a knock outside.

“I brought you snacks, Master.”

“Come in, Barros.”

Since he was in a position to be treated like a knight, he could’ve left those petty tasks to the maids, but he still faithfully served Karnak.

Why though?

As soon as he put the plate on the table, he would cut the stacked cookies in half and put them in front of him.

“Is half of it mine?”

Since he couldn’t eat those precious sweets in front of others that only the lord could eat, he had to make an excuse to share them.

“Yes, eat, eat.”

They were two people who got happy the moment they put those sweets in their mouths.

“Oh, so sweet.”

“Oh, it’s delicious.”

The sweets ran out in an instant. Karnak murmured in regret.

“Can’t we just eat a little more? It’s not like I don’t have money to buy sweets.”

Barros stopped right away.

“I’m getting fat.”

“Are you really the kind of person who can gain weight?”

“That’s more of a problem. They say it’s the most dangerous when a thin person has only a swollen belly?”

Anyone having lived a little longer in the world would know how much of a big deal it was for two very young people to eat just a few more snacks.

It was the law of the world to start with a trivial thing like that before coming back to their senses, and their bodies would already be broken by the time they realized that.

“Okay, let’s not trust myself. The thing I can’t trust the most is myself.”

Throwing away his lingering feelings, Karnak took a bite of the snack plate.

Barros asked while tidying up, “Is your magic training going well?”

“I think I’ll be able to step out in front of people as a wizard soon.”

Karnak went to a dueling trial as a knight, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t continue to be a knight. But he reversed his words in front of the people.

“The path of a knight is not suitable for me. So, from now on, I will walk the path of a wizard!”

Surprisingly, he had other secrets besides Delphia’s swordsmanship.

“I discovered a great legacy while training in the mountains to learn Delphia’s swordsmanship techniques. It was the magic book of Dallas, the court wizard who was famous 150 years ago!”

“Ohh! The Lord has such great luck!”

The people of the Zestrad family didn’t find Karnak’s choice particularly strange. Everyone had witnessed the dueling trial, after all. Clearly, Karnak displayed strong mental strength, fighting spirit, and aristocratic mettle. They truly considered him a proud lord.

But… did he fight well?

‘Looking at it through the eyes of an outsider…….”
‘Honestly, he didn’t have any talent.’
‘It would be best for him to become a wizard!’

Wasn’t that the magic book of a country’s court wizard? Perhaps a top-notch wizard would be born from the Zestrad family!

“I found a court mage’s magic book and my magic skills went up. It’s not a strange story at all, is it?”

Barros raised one of his eyes after hearing Karnak’s words.

“Yes, you’re right but…”

A court mage’s spell book? He knew better than anyone that there was no such thing.

“And who is Dallas? Does he really exist?”

“He’s a really famous person. That’s why I used his name.”

Dallas was indeed a wizard who rose to fame 150 years ago. That is why the name was still passed down.

“Then, what if a descendant of the real Dallas appears? If it’s the legacy of a court mage, there might be problems.”

“It won’t happen.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. Dallas didn’t leave any disciples or write any magic books. There’s nothing to do with it.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Indeed, Karnak had reason to be confident.

“Because he told me, and don’t you also know him, Barros?”

“Eh?”

“Why, don’t you remember the Arch Lich sent to manage southern Necropia?”

Barros’s eyes opened wide after reminiscing for a while.

“Governor of Memphis?”

“Yes. That guy’s human name was Dallas.”

“Didn’t you say he was a wizard from 150 years ago? How could you claim us hanging out with him? Our eras don’t match.”

“Do you remember excavating a ruin in the Barakant Mountains?”

“Yes.”

“There, you excavated the bones of the wizard, processed them, and made the Arch Lich by forcing the soul. That man.”

“Oh…”

He learned his unique magic from a wizard who really existed (exactly, he forcibly removed it with mind control) and changed it to chaos magic.

“It’s good enough grounds to pretend to be a wizard, hehehe.”

Of course, it would be impossible to regain the tremendous power from the time of being the Death King right away, but…

“Why does it matter? I’m not going to conquer the world again.”

Enough strength to protect the territory and handle any possible accident was sufficient.

“What will you do if something really big happens that you can’t handle with that much power?”

“I wouldn’t get involved in such a big deal in the first place.”

There was a fact that he realized after living for over 100 years. He couldn’t tell if great power came with greater responsibility. However, he was certain that great power was followed by great events. He knew about that because he had gone through that phase.

“I’m going to hide here and live as a rat! I won’t intervene in the affairs of the outside world.”

Karnak made up his mind after clenching his fists.

But it only took three months for that to turn out as a miscalculation.

[To be continued.]