As mentioned earlier, Dojin had given Apostle and the other Crow Skeletons a simple command before sending them all away.
- Find the wolves’ locations without letting anyone else see you.
When he gave that order, Dojin’s thoughts had been much simpler.
He had merely assumed that once the Crow Skeletons found the wolf packs, they would return and tell him where they were.
But that was not what happened.
The connection between a Necromancer and his Minions was far more intimate than Dojin had expected.
Not long after sending the Skeletons away…….
“……!”
Dojin experienced a strange sensation that was both familiar and unfamiliar.
One eye was looking at the forest before him, while another was looking down at the forest from the sky.
There was not even a breath of wind between the enormous, densely packed trees, yet he could feel wind brushing past his hair and cheeks.
‘……Shared senses?!’
Another landscape flashed rapidly before his eyes as though being fast-forwarded—until finally, something came into Dojin’s view.
‘One hundred twenty meters ahead at my three o’clock. Three of them.’
The moment he recognized that—the corners of Dojin’s mouth rose.
- Find something?
He gave the viewers a simple answer.
“Excuse me.”
Dojin’s body shot forward like a rocket!
At the same time, he sharpened his senses to their utmost.
Endless rows of trees and rocks stretched before him.
Among them, he could sense presences and mana that belonged neither to Dojin nor to other Players.
They carried the distinctive feel of monsters.
Dojin already knew what they were.
“Gray Wolves…… It’s been a while.”
They were low-grade monsters that could not even be compared to Snow Wolves, Horn Wolves, or Fire Wolves, but to an E-Grade Player, they were more than capable of serving as messengers of death.
For an even lower F-Grade Player, that went without saying.
But the current Dojin—
“……Here I come!”
While the other Skeletons continued scouting, only Apostle, their leader, glided down beside Dojin.
Then, as three Gray Wolves bared their teeth the instant they spotted him and charged like sentries defending their territory, Dojin stepped forward without hesitation, spear held at the ready.
Before he moved, Apostle flew toward the wolves according to Dojin’s will.
Clutched in one foot was a bottle containing a mysterious liquid.
“GRAWR!”
“YELP! YELP!!”
Was it because of Dojin’s mana control and tactics, honed through countless real battles?
Or perhaps the instincts of a bird that had survived fiercely in the wild through survival of the fittest remained even after it became undead.
Apostle flaunted its superiority by effortlessly evading the Gray Wolves’ attacks as it soared through the air.
Then Apostle hurled the bottle in its talons straight into the face of the wolf chasing it—
“YELP! YELP!!”
The wolf, drenched in the liquid, could not even open its eyes properly as it jumped frantically in place from the pain.
The other wolf charging behind it actually hesitated at the sight.
And at that exact moment—
“Even monsters can’t stand the taste of vinegar, huh?”
That was right.
One of the secret weapons Dojin had pulled from his clothes before sending the Skeletons out to scout.
The weapon Apostle had just used—was vinegar!
- Vinegar? Seriously?
- Not a poison Item?
As the chat erupted—a spear blade flashed past and severed the third wolf’s throat in a single stroke.
It was Dojin.
Without stopping there, Dojin’s spear moved like a snake toward the two Gray Wolves still suffering from Apostle’s opening attack.
“GRAAAH!!!”
“BARK!!!”
For the first wolf thrashing wildly, he waited for the instant its belly was exposed and slashed deeply across the area of its heart.
The other wolf could not even open its eyes but still tried to flee, so Dojin drove his spear down from above and finished it off.
“…….”
Dojin looked down at the completely lifeless wolf for a moment.
Then he raised his head and looked at the chat.
“Well, everyone? I decided to start things off lightly.”
Even as he spoke, windows announcing his kills appeared one after another.
You hunted a Gray Wolf and obtained 25 Gold and EXP (+50%).
Level increased (Lv.13).
Dojin smiled as he checked the three identical notifications in succession and then the final window.
- Bro, where did you learn to use a spear?
- When did you Awaken as a Necromancer? You’ve had a lot of combat training, right?
With a satisfactory start putting a smile on his face, Dojin examined his spear.
‘Good. It’s sturdy.’
Of course, Dojin had not bought it himself.
It was the spear he had taken from the Spearman Player eliminated in the previous Arena.
Naturally, Dojin had intended to return it after the Quest ended…….
- Get lost! I don’t need a cheap piece of crap like that!
……but the Player, his face flushed red from wounded pride, had formally refused to take it back.
And so the spear had become Dojin’s.
- [HarryCarter] donated 100 Gold.
Mission: Bro, show us how you make a Minion! (pleading emoji) I’ll give you 300 Gold per Minion!
Accept?
Yes / No
‘Three hundred Gold?’
Even Dojin could not help being tempted by that offer.
Everyone probably already knew that he was a Necromancer anyway, and the more Gold he had, the better for carrying out his future plans.
“Thank you, HarryCarter! It was about time our crow friends got some new companions too.”
Gray Wolves were low-grade monsters, and their bodies were only about the size of medium-sized dogs.
They barely qualified as small monsters.
That meant Dojin’s current <Necromancy> could affect them.
“Too bad. One of them is too badly damaged to use.”
Dojin selected the two relatively intact wolf corpses…….
“I’ll gladly take the 600 Gold.”
- Go go!
- HYPE HYPE HYPE HYPE HYPE
- Never thought I’d get to see this.
Then he drew out his death qi and spoke.
“Awaken.”
What happened next was similar to when Apostle had first awakened.
The only difference was…….
- Holy shit! It was real?!
……that the viewers immediately flooded the chat with astonishment.
- Mission Complete: [HarryCarter] donated 600 Gold.
- Worth every coin……!
From that moment onward, views of the Under Arena <Wolf Hunting Ground> began climbing rapidly.
And two new wolf undead opened their eyes.
The death qi they had received from Dojin wrapped around their bones like pelts of wavering mana.
<Minion List (7/10)>
Crow Skeleton (Lv.7 / Soldier)
Crow Skeleton (Lv.5 / Common)
Wolf Skeleton (Lv.1 / Common)
Wolf Skeleton (Lv.1 / Common)
***
From then on, the battles proceeded smoothly.
Dojin was still more accustomed to fighting in close combat as a Magic Spearman, but the coordinated attacks of the undead proved to be a considerable help even to him.
Furthermore, the four smaller Crow Skeletons constantly relayed the locations of Gray Wolves to him.
Unlike the other Players, Dojin was therefore able to enjoy an entirely one-sided hunt.
“GRRRRRRRRR!!!”
“AWOOOOOO!”
Perhaps sensing that the intruder was anything but ordinary, the Gray Wolves began pouring out in entire packs.
At this point, it was practically no different from a Monster Wave.
“Haha…… This is no joke. Brings back memories.”
Before his regression, being chased, hiding, and fighting while outnumbered had been part of Dojin’s everyday life.
In other words, the current crisis was a familiar situation for him.
“Apostle, take the lead! The rest of you, don’t fall behind!”
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
Perhaps undead were simply silent by nature, because they made no sound even in response to Dojin’s orders.
They merely adjusted their movements according to his commands.
‘They certainly are convenient. They obey every order without questioning it.’
Dojin moved with calculated subtlety.
An ordinary newly Awakened Player would have avoided the monsters, but Dojin did the exact opposite.
He deliberately moved toward locations where monsters had gathered.
“GRRRRRR……!”
“BARK! BARK!”
And without exception, wherever Dojin led the undead, the Gray Wolves gave chase.
As though they had been bewitched.
- Necro bro, why are all the wolves only following you?
- Are Under Arena monsters normally like this? Or am I imagining things?
No.
It definitely was not their imagination.
‘Works like a charm.’
A very faint, peculiar scent drifted from the pouch hanging at Dojin’s waist.
And every Gray Wolf that caught even the slightest whiff of that scent……
“GRRRRRAAAWR!!!” became intensely agitated and chased after Dojin.
This was the power of the second secret weapon he had brought.
‘Mix pepper, red pepper powder, and powdered monster bones, then add mana, and it creates a pheromone that excites monsters.’
It was knowledge that had not yet been discovered in this era.
By mixing materials taken from a Guild laboratory and creating an improvised stimulant, attracting monsters became effortless!
The four Crow Skeletons other than Apostle were also busily scattering the stimulant, herding even distant Gray Wolves toward Dojin.
And the result was…….
Quest Clear
New Record!
Player Lee Dojin achieved the fastest clear time (15 minutes)!
- Holy shit, he killed 100 in 15 minutes?
- Looking at those Minions, the herding group and the hunting support group work really well together.
At the same time, a Mission Window appeared.
- Mission Complete: [HecleJjang] donated 1 High-Grade Mana Stone.
- He actually did it.
As HecleJjang’s message appeared to express disbelief, the other viewers immediately began piling messages into the chat.
And then Dojin added fuel to the already heated atmosphere with a single sentence.
“Everyone, want to see something interesting?”
- We’ve been waiting!
- HYPE HYPE
By now, Dojin was leading every Gray Wolf in the Arena around behind him.
The sight made him resemble either a matador or a beast tamer in a circus.
At times, he seemed to be running away.
Then he would suddenly spin around and thrust his spear into a wolf.
He launched himself toward tree branches as though performing a somersault, leaving a faint afterimage behind.
At times, Apostle, receiving Dojin’s thoughts, plunged downward and punched a hole into a wolf’s skull.
Meanwhile, the two Wolf Skeletons lunged at wolves distracted by Dojin and tore into their throats.
- lol This is what I came for!
- Skeletons and spears work way too well together.
- Just confess already. When the hell did you really Awaken?
- [BangyaBangya] donated 1 Gold.
- Thumbs up.
Dojin’s Channel now had no fewer than 7,380 viewers.
He could feel all of their eyes on him.
‘I’ll answer the chat later.’
There was only one thing he needed to do now.
Clean up.
At last, within the dark and dense forest, Dojin found a location he liked.
A clearing spacious enough to fight in, but not so wide that every Gray Wolf could charge in at once.
“Yes, everyone! I took a full lap while herding the wolves and made it back!”
At the same time, Dojin gathered every Minion together.
He gripped his spear and took his stance……then positioned each undead in its assigned place.
At the same time, he activated the mana within his body.
And with Dojin and his undead Minions as their targets……
- Eeeeeek.
- Wolf tsunami. Damn-the Gray Wolves truly began surging forward like a tidal wave!
And because Dojin had constantly used the undead to distract them and draw their aggression while luring them here, the Gray Wolves were furious beyond measure!
“3…… 2…… 1!”
Starting with Apostle, the Crow Skeletons moved into position.
The instant Dojin once again leveled his spear—the Gray Wolves charged in a straight line as though incapable of thinking about anything else!
At that moment, the chat exploded yet again.
- What’s that?
- That’s aura.
- Holy shit.
- Am I seeing things?
“YELP!!! YELP!”
“WHIIIIIINE…….”
The whimpers and screams of Gray Wolves rang noisily throughout the forest.
Dojin’s spear danced, saturated with concentrated aura.
SWISH- STAB!
CRUNCH! CHOMP!
As though responding to their master’s spear, Apostle and the other Crow Skeletons flew among the Gray Wolves, pecking at their eyes and tearing at their heads.
The Wolf Skeletons savaged the wolves that had once belonged to their own kind.
All without leaving the positions Dojin had precisely assigned them.
“GRAWR! BARK!!!”
“GRRRRRRRR!!!”
The Gray Wolves that slipped beyond the undeads’ attack range opened their jaws and targeted Dojin directly.
An ordinary person would have been terrified by the sight, but—
‘As expected. No matter how dangerous an Under Arena is, monsters from an E-Grade Arena are still little more than simple beasts.’
By C-Grade—no, even by D-Grade—the monsters that appeared in Arenas became cunning.
Those that moved in packs devised strategies among themselves and even set traps.
But monsters from a mere E-Grade Arena possessed no such intelligence.
Right now, they were being thoroughly ravaged by Dojin and his Minions according to a carefully constructed plan.
Despite the overwhelming numerical difference!
“GRRRAAAH!!!”
Dojin’s spear flowed like water.
He avoided the first wolf charging him and stabbed through its throat.
He kicked aside the next and let the Wolf Skeletons tear into it.
Then Apostle flew in front of another wolf attacking from behind and blocked its vision.
Using that opening, Dojin planted his spear against the ground and vaulted high into the air.
At the same time, he drove his heel down hard onto the neck of the wolf Apostle had been occupying.
The Gray Wolf’s neck snapped.
‘Good.’
Even as the battle continued without pause, Dojin did not tire.
He was accustomed not only to fighting while outnumbered, but also to prolonged battles.
Because of that, Dojin also knew how to replenish mana without stopping the fight.
“…….”
Even at this very moment, he was drawing in the mana of the Under Arena little by little as naturally as breathing, continuously restoring his reserves.
‘No matter how pathetic this body is right now, I’m not dying to something as insignificant as a Gray Wolf.’
Was it because he had Awakened immediately after regressing and had recognized mana from the start?
Or did the body of a Regressor retain at least some influence from the Stats he had possessed before regression?
Dojin’s body was handling combat with a degree of proficiency that surprised even him.
One after another, the Gray Wolves died beneath the attacks of the silent undead and the strikes of Dojin’s spear.
Accompanied by a noisy parade of notification windows.
You hunted a Gray Wolf and obtained 25 Gold and EXP (+50%).
You hunted a Gray Wolf and obtained 25 Gold and EXP (+50%).
You hunted a Gray Wolf and obtained 25 Gold and EXP (+50%).
‘……As expected, <Blessing of Prosperity (S)> is incredible.’
And there was one more source of noise.
- Never thought I’d see a slaughter in E-Grade.
- Oppa, I love you.
- [CandyPrincess] donated 20 Gold.
- [ChewingGum] donated 5 Gold.
……And by the time Dojin cut down the final remaining Gray Wolf, a new notification appeared.
World First!
Under Arena Clear – Player Lee Dojin
New Record!
World’s First Under Arena Overflow – Player Lee Dojin
Level increased (Lv.25 / E-Grade).
Conditions fulfilled.
Clear the Hidden Quest consecutively to receive the existing reward one additional time.
Start Hidden Quest?
Yes / No
Did that even need asking?
Buy one, get one free!