Necromancer Survival

To put that around the neck of a normal, adult man… It wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be.

Perhaps it was the black strap? Rather than calling it masculine, it felt more like a fashion item? Kim Sangyoon’s hair was a flashy red, like a musician. In a rock band…

‘It looks unexpectedly good…’

Of course, I kept my mouth shut because I knew I shouldn’t voice my honest feelings.

Simultaneously, Kim Sangyoon opened his tightly closed eyes, “W-whoa!”

He jumped a bit as he looked around. For someone who couldn’t see the others around just earlier, perhaps the sudden appearance of the servants startled him.

After whipping his head around like crazy, trying to take in his surroundings, Kim Sangyoon returned to his senses. Opening his mouth, he complained in a bit of a whiny tone, “…You didn’t tell me there would be this many of them.”

“That’s… It was never the right time to talk about it.”

“Haah…”

“That collar suits you, Sangyoon-ah.” At that moment, upon seeing Kim Sangyoon, Seo Dawon started a quarrel, teasing the Warrior. Kim Sangyoon raised his eyebrows at the malice for one moment, but he retreated like a puppy with its tail between its legs when he met the Mage’s eyes.

However, Seo Dawon laughed and continued to make fun of Kim Sangyoon until the very end, “What, not even a thanks?”

At that, Kim Sangyoon frowned and timidly answered, “…If you like things like this, maybe you should wear one yourself.”

“My taste? It’s totally tailored to Lee-kyung-ie’s taste.”

“Huh….?”

“What? What do you mean the ‘dog collar’ is because of *my* taste!!”

But, Seo Dawon ignored me and gave us a foxy smile, “Lee-kyung-ie likes to be called Master too.”

“…Master?”

“No–you!” I shouted in anger because Dawon-ie was suddenly framing me as some bizarre pervert. However, for some reason, Kim Sangyoon’s face brightened significantly, as if Seo Dawon’s words were somewhat comforting. I lost the opportunity to explain while I stumbled over my words.

As I stuttered, Kim Sangyoon shouted resolutely, as if he had made some big decisions, “I-I… If Lee-kyung-nim would like to be called Master, from now on I’ll…”

“No, no! It’s alright. Isn’t it obvious that Dawon-ie is joking around?!”

If I were to let this be, the Warrior would really start calling me Master with a straight face! I mean, unless someone’s a pervert, who in their right mind would actually enjoy such a title!

However, to make matters worse, the servants didn’t miss this opportunity.

“Why are you denying it, Choi Lee-kyung. Don’t you like the title Master?” Kim Olim, who I had trusted, was just the beginning. She, with a steady face as always, recited a forgotten passage from my diary. “‘Lackey called me ‘Master’… I might end up with over a thousand skeletal soldiers calling me ‘Master’ in the end, right? Haha!’ That’s what you wrote. It’s from your February 8th, last year, entry. I read this diary about ten times and memorized it, so I can’t be wrong.”

“AaarrghH! What are you even saying!”

Another person didn’t care about my screams. Choi Kyung-sik, as if he had been waiting for this moment, said with a smug expression, “Choi Lee-kyung-ssi. You chose to be a necromancer over being an alchemist. It’s common sense that you wouldn’t choose to be a necromancer, unless… your desire to dominate is higher than your desire for money or honor.”

I shouted angrily, “You–how the hell do you know that?!”

“You wrote it in your diary, didn’t you? It’s as if you wanted us to know.”

“Who would expect for others to read their diary! Only I should be able to read that!”

However, no servants took my side.

“Hmmm~ I see. Choi Lee-kyung, you were excited to hear me call you Owner, huh?”

“You’ve never called me Owner, though??” I grit my teeth as I looked at Jung Garam.

But at that time, Woo Ragi, who had been silent, suddenly shot me an unsettled and displeasing look. Then, in a voice too loud to be called a mutter, said to himself, “Fucking creepy. He’s not going to outfit us all with collars later, right?”

I couldn’t hold back my anger, so I grinded my teeth as I replied, “You really know how to push me!”

Despite that, Woo Ragi said, “Ohh… super scary.” Then, he laughed openly.

Finally, Eunji, who had been observing us, touched her arm-length gloves and said gracefully, “Mmn. Then, please call Eunji, Princess.”

“Honestly, what sort of nickname is that? Owner… Master… I’ve never asked any of you guys to call me that??!!”

“Ownerrr….” Even Koo Hui-seo added in his own two cents, making my blood pressure rise and my vision grow dark.

And Seo Dawon, the mastermind behind this debacle, quickly supported me. In an despicable tone, he stated, “Then, since we’ve decided on code names for each other, shall we begin to train properly?”

“What?!”

* * *

“Ah, Master, you’re so fucking slow.”

“Haack, haagh…” I had been forcibly referred to as ‘Master’ for 20 minutes, after which we began training in earnest with the servants, Koo Hui-seo, and Kim Sangyoon at Training level 3. We aimed to coordinate our movements and class skills.

Moreover, I was told that during this training session, I’d be called various titles like ‘Master.’ They even mentioned that in real combat, even more ridiculous codenames could be utilized.

However, I didn’t think Seo Dawon’s primary motive was to get me used to codenames in a combat scenario. He probably just found this fun. Still, I couldn’t help but let myself be deceived by his hasty excuse.

Above all, the nickname wasn’t the major issue. I had found, through our training, that I was much more of a burden than I had imagined.

In particular, I had an issue with ‘using skills while moving from one cover to the next.’ I got out of breath just from moving to the next safe spot; my field of vision gradually narrowed as less and less oxygen reached my brain.

“Your class skills are excellent, however Master is the one who can use it. So, we must always look ahead, predict how far we’ve travelled, and guess where the enemy will be aiming. Especially you–you’re the most conspicuous target, so there’s a high probability that you’ll be targeted.

She was right.

Oddly enough, the monsters in the training room seemed to focus only on me, completely ignoring the other servants, Koo Hui-seo, and Kim Sangyoon. They rarely even approached Seo Dawon, whom I had summoned. The observing servants also notified me multiple times that my movements were especially eye-catching.

In particular, Woo Ragi’s nagging almost triggered PTSD of my military days. I clenched my teeth and ran after Kim Sangyoon and Kim Olim once more, tensing the muscles in my knees.

I had to master [Guerilla tactics and training] in this session: killing monsters and reaching my destination without being noticed.

Since we would most likely be facing Bae Jaemin in the future, I needed to observe my teammates’ movements from either the front or the rear and use the appropriate skills to assist them.

But, I wasn’t very good at looking ahead.

“Master, lower your head.”

“Nnngh….”

“Maaastterrr~ Wanna use [Possession]?”

“Not yet…!”

“Hey, Mr. Master? Are you there yet?”

“W-Wait!”

As a result, I had difficulties in timing my skills. I clenched my teeth, frustrated, while waiting for Seo Dawon’s signal, despite the calls of ‘Master’ coming from all directions.

Seo Dawon caught the attention of a few [Minotaurs] and sent me a look. I realized that his gaze was a signal and soon aimed for where the Mage would target his skill. “[Dead Mark]!”

I aimed for an empty space as the Mage instructed but, once again, I felt like our timing was a little off. Furthermore, after using my skill, I always caught the monster’s eyes…

I ran as fast as I could as I felt their aggro snap onto me–the horned half-men half-bull creatures rushed after me. Frustration mixed with fear welled up within me. Why on earth isn’t this working?!

“Master-ah, if this continues, you might end up turning into a pork cutlet.”

At Garam-ie’s urging, I had no choice but to open my mouth, “Damn it… [Possession]!”

[Searching for synchronization rate…]

And soon, I was gazing at my body with my own eyes.

Jung Garam had soon ducked into the dense underbrush, and the [Minotaurs] lost sight of my body. I released a deep sigh when I saw the difference between our movements–his control versus mine was like night and day.

From within my body, Garam-ie smugly mouthed, ‘Just do as I did!’

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TL: That feel when both Lee-kyung and I were like “Shit, collar’s hot on beefy dudes.”