Cleaning up a battlefield was a strenuous task, but when there were bountiful spoils to be had, the situation changed entirely.
"Clank, clank."
Matthew scooped up a handful of gold coins and tossed them into a small clay jar before placing it into his magical pouch. The entire process was accompanied by the pleasing sound of metal rolling.
"There's no sound more delightful than this," he thought.
The wealth of an arsonist was astonishing, and on top of the spoils from the cellar, Matthew had amassed over 500 gold coins overnight. In the past three years, he had never seen so much money, even during his most prosperous times.
"This money can buy a lot of green elixirs, and perhaps I can consider purchasing more advanced catalyst items... This means I can plant many more trees this spring!"
Apart from the gold coins, Blackthorn had an impressive array of items that left Matthew, a rural pauper, wide-eyed with amazement. Blaze Gel, Molotov cocktails, and Dragonfire Oil—all perfect materials for arson. In low-level skirmishes, these items could unleash unimaginable power. Without these items, Matthew would have been flattened by his enemies long ago.
Now, with these items in Matthew's possession, he had no intention of giving up using them, but he would be more cautious in their use. It would be a disaster if he accidentally harmed his comrades.
...
"You have used 'Ring of Invisibility' (unidentified) for Identification!"
Identification successful, your Identification Skill Proficiency +10.
Ring of Invisibility (Tier 1 Magical Item): Wearing it on your index or middle finger allows you to enter invisibility at any time and place. Usable 9 times per day.
Attributes: Perception +1
Note 1: Invisibility prohibits movement, attacks, or spellcasting; otherwise, the invisibility effect will dissipate.
Note 2: Invisibility maintains your collision volume, and collision with others will break the invisibility effect.
"This seems more like a 'Ring of Concealment,'" mused Matthew as he carefully examined the silver-black serpent-patterned ring. It fell short of being a true invisibility ring but had the advantage of a higher number of uses and didn't require a casting motion. The attribute bonus of "Perception +1" befitted its Tier 1 magical item status.
He polished the ring and slid it onto his middle finger. The rest of the loot, however, wasn't as remarkable:
There was still half a bottle of "Advanced Sprinting Elixir," and the token from the "Silverfrost Brotherhood," a gang in some unknown city, had an unknown significance, and Matthew tossed it into the miscellaneous pile.
As for the illusion scrolls, Matthew found them somewhat ridiculous. He had not anticipated that Blackthorn's muscular appearance was a result of an illusion. Standing at less than 5'7", his physique was far from impressive, and he showed no signs of training.
"Perhaps he thought such an appearance would be more intimidating for raiding and pillaging," Matthew speculated.
Matthew glanced at Blackthorn's corpse, which still wore the horrified expression of death. The scars on his shoulders and the hole in his chest only added to the macabre aura. On the surface of the corpse, dark red spots were spreading tirelessly. These were the "Decay Spores" Matthew had released into the air. Once inhaled, they would rapidly form maddeningly itchy decay sacs on the body's surface. Decay sacs were creatures from the negative plane and served as a source of negative energy for necromancers in combat.
Matthew possessed the "Decay Sac Mastery" ability, and as he leveled up, he could detonate, command, and control infected creatures through decay sacs. This was the terrifying aspect of a necromancer.
...
Blackthorn's "Resilience" and "Immunity" were off the charts. His followers' decay sacs had burst long ago, but he had managed to suppress them until his death, and now, the decay sacs in his body exploded like fireworks, producing a series of crackling sounds.
Matthew immediately paused reading the confidential letter. "I should handle this first; otherwise, it will be quite unsightly."
He took out a dark green bottle from his magical pouch and pulled out the stopper. A group of luminescent green butterflies flew out. They circled around Matthew for a few laps before eagerly settling on Blackthorn and the other corpses. With the green lights moving over the bodies, the dark red spots faded away.
These were "Phantom Butterflies," also creatures from the negative energy plane. They fed on decay sacs and their spores, making them excellent janitors.
Matthew rarely used decay sacs, but after each use, he would have the Phantom Butterflies clean the surroundings. It was not a system requirement but rather his own cleanliness obsession. If left unchecked, the spread of decay spores would soon turn the environment into something resembling the negative energy plane, which explained why most necromancers' living spaces were always in a terrible state. They lacked Matthew's meticulous nature.
...
Because Phantom Butterflies only fed on decay sacs, they quickly perished when food was scarce. So, Matthew scattered them liberally each time until the surroundings were brilliantly green, then stopped.
Next was the handling of the arsonists' corpses. This was the first time Matthew had dealt with such complete and fresh corpses, and he was somewhat nervous.
The five followers of the arsonists, except for the one Peggy had smashed into minced meat at the start, could all be reanimated as zombies. Their physique and build were decent, and the scar-faced one even had the potential to become an elite zombie!
Matthew used "Corpse Oil" and "Negative Energy Secret Water" to carry out a simple preservation procedure on their bodies, then instructed his skeletal soldiers to drag them into his "Secret Cave."
Reanimating zombies was more complicated than raising skeletons and required careful consideration.
...
Blackthorn's corpse was exceptionally high-quality material. In the White Rock City, the body of a Tier 3 professional would undoubtedly fetch a high price among necromancers. This was because it was an excellent material for crafting the advanced necromantic summon, the "Black Knight."
However, Matthew currently lacked the ability to create a Black Knight. That would have to wait until he reached level 12 and advanced further. The Black Knight was still a distant goal. For now, he had several options in front of him:
...
Store the corpse for later when he had the ability to create a Black Knight.
Sell the corpse at a high price in White Rock City.
Transform it into a zombie with the potential to become a Zombie King.
Bury it in the Oakwood Forest and see if there's any "gift from nature."
"Options two and three can be excluded for now," thought Matthew. He had plenty of money at the moment, and creating a Zombie King from a Tier 3 corpse was highly risky and likely to result in losses.
The choice between the "Black Knight" and "Nature's Gift" took some contemplation, but eventually, he leaned towards option four. Matthew didn't covet Blackthorn's abilities, and instead, he was curious about the mechanisms of "Nature's Gift" in the context of burial.
"If it doesn't work out, I can always dig it back up if there's no sign," he mused. "But if the corpse's condition deteriorates, the combat potential of the Black Knight will also be greatly reduced."
Once the decision was made, Matthew didn't hesitate any longer. He found a favorable location in the Oakwood Forest and buried Blackthorn's corpse.
Simultaneously, the victims from the farm were properly interred as well. While his skeleton soldiers weren't great fighters, they were quite efficient as laborers. After arranging for the burial of everyone in a desolate area to the north of the farm, Matthew finally had the time to read the confidential letter.
A few minutes later, Matthew's expression changed.
...
"To likeminded comrades:
The 'Odd Days Transformation' is inevitable, and Yookroos has awakened. He now watches over everyone on this continent, and in due time, his mighty power will make the hearts of people tremble.
The world's landscape is changing. In the near future, fire and water will flood the land. Every piece of land we know will become a hellish inferno.
I have received reliable information: Southern Guardian Ronan is trapped in the Starplane, the Eastern Guardian and the Sea-Spawned Dragon have both been grievously wounded, the Western Guardian disappeared many years ago, and the Northern Guardian never crosses the Skyscraper Mountains.
Necromancers, sorcerers, inheritors of the dark arts, avengers, hunters with a red mark, voodoo descendants, arsonists, and conspirators... Let's not be afraid anymore. This is the time for us to rise and embrace the legendary path!
...
We have established a stronghold in the northeast of Rolling Stone Town, and we welcome every brother and sister who has been awakened to join us.
Signed: Faine, the Southern Shepherd of the Cult of Calamity."
...
The excerpt above was from this confidential letter. The letter contained many incendiary words, essentially urging evil professionals to create chaos, as if this was their last chance to do so.
Matthew wasn't interested in this. What he cared about was that the person in the letter claimed to have established a stronghold in the north of Rolling Stone Town and was planning a blood ritual to appease the "Void Master Yookroos." After this ritual, he would gain supreme power, and he could effortlessly overrun Rolling Stone Town and call down a rain of fire to incinerate everything.
"Burn everything?" Matthew's brow furrowed deeply. This "Faine" seemed to be quite ignorant of the situation. Given everything that had happened, the course of events had become clear.
...
The bloodstained robes in the cave.
The abduction of Sif Bloodflag.
The arrival of the arsonists.
The murdered merchants and the testimony of their ghosts.
...
All of these events pointed to this "Faine" and his Cult of Calamity!
Matthew glanced at his quest log. As expected, after reading the confidential letter, the quest had changed.
...
"Follow-up Quest 2: Maintenance is Important!
Description: A newly planted forest can easily be destroyed in an accident. Please protect your forest diligently.
Progress Update 1: You killed arsonist Blackthorn and his subordinates, preventing the fire from spreading to your forest! (You received the 'Wild Transformation' reward).
...
Progress Update 2: You realized that the arrival of Faine and the Cult of Calamity not only poses a significant threat to the security of Rolling Stone Town but also endangers the forest you have painstakingly planted.
You cannot tolerate such a threat so close at hand.
Please eliminate them as soon as possible!
...
Quest Objectives: Faine (Level 12 Sorcerer) and his associates.
Quest Reward: Spell 'Rapid Growth' & Moonlight Society Entry Ticket."
Unlock exclusive early access to a more than 100 chapters before anyone else by becoming a valued member of my Patreon community.
Next Chapter
For just $5, you'll receive:
- Early access to 100s of chapters before they go public. (check all the novels I'm translating from HERE, all the novels have 100s of exclusive early access chapters.)
- Your name prominently featured on the "Wall of Gratitude" of my website (in silver).
- The power to vote on which novel I should translate next.
If you decide to pledge $10, you'll get all the perks from the $5 tier, plus:
- The opportunity to suggest a novel for me to translate (if there is more then one novel a month I will ask the other Patreon members to vote).
- Your name prominently featured on the "Wall of Gratitude" of my website (in gold).
- Digital artwork related to every novel I translate.
And if you're feeling generous with a $20 pledge, you'll unlock all the perks from the $5 tier and $10 tier, plus:
- The ability to recommend a Novel for translation, and I'll start translating it immediately.
- The power to suggest a novel abandoned by a previous translator, and I'll pick it up for translation immediately.
- Your name featured at the very top of the "Wall of Gratitude" on my website.
- Exclusive access to e-books of the novels I translate.
Don't let this amazing opportunity slip through your fingers!
