Necro Master

Before Promotion

* * *

A few moments after the Marauder raid. The hunt for loyalty continues. But the hunt that didn't seem to be over was also over. When exactly 500 Latmen were slaughtered, loyalty had to be repelled.

[The Latmen flee in terror because of your mass genocide of their own kind.]

[Number of monsters that have succeeded in hunting to date: 500 Latmen.]

I wanted to hunt no more, but I couldn't face the Latmen. It's because the Latmen sniffed it out and ran away. Of course, you could hunt with force. But there wasn't much time for that. I need to prepare for the promotion.

“So much for the hunt. ”

Here, you can improve the skill level of skeletons. Despite the high ratings for Daphne, Xiaoling was able to reach over 35% proficiency and Railey and Marek were able to reach over 25%, respectively.

The loyalty of finishing the hunt in the sewers came out. Karma is finally settled out of the sewers.

[40 karma for each Latman.]

[However, if you kill up to 500 Ratmans, you will receive 1.2x more Karma.]

[Congratulations.]

[You will receive a total of 24,000 karma.]

As soon as loyalty was rewarded, Karma looked at the sheep gathered so far.

[Karma Owns: 34,000]

‘There's a lot of them. ’

The hunting was also a hunt, but the muggers I encountered in the middle allowed me to obtain enough karma. Loyalty was decided to level up first. Leveling up required 25,000 karma.

“System, level up. ”

[Consume 25,000 Carma to level up.]

[Level has been increased from 7 to 8.]

[Level: 8 (40,000 karma required until next level).]

At the same time, Karma was reduced to 9,000.

‘Hmmm... Even if Karma is just a few more seconds away, she'll rank up a skill. ’

Unfortunately, Karma was a little short. Selling items was probably not enough.

First, I examined the remaining time until the promotion.

[Time to Ascendance: 11 hours 31 minutes]

‘I need to go to the inn and wash up and prepare for the promotion first. ’

I had to make sure it was in the best condition before the promotion started. To do that, I had to move quickly because it was a bit of a rush.

“Hound, come out. ”

To return to the inn, loyalty called Hound. The symbol on the left arm of the loyalty glows red and Hound appears. Hound stepped back from his loyalty as soon as he appeared.

[The Hell Hound hates the rotten smell of your body.]

I can't believe you stepped back because the owner smelled it. At that moment, a vascular mark appeared on the forehead of the loyalty.

“ ……. ”

* * *

Poor Hound, bruised by a light stroke of loyalty, races the streets. He was running toward the inn at a speed never before seen.

The loyalty on Hound's back held tightly to his mane and was careful not to fall.

How long do you think it went like that? You can see the inn up ahead. I also had a mount, so I was able to arrive soon.

Soon after arriving in front of the inn, he stroked Hound's head. And then he flinched. I thought you were gonna hit me.

“Well done. Go back and rest. ”

When I asked him to go back, Hound returned without delay to the pattern. It was clear that I didn't like the smell. After all, the loyalty that arrived in front of the inn hurriedly went inside.

* * *

After washing it out roughly, it was about 10 hours before the promotion. Only then did the system show me how to participate in the promotion war.

[In order to participate in Ascendance, you must go to the Gate in the Plaza.]

[Gates are activated 1 hour before the Ascendance Battle starts.]

[You just put your foot in that gate.]

When I looked at the minimap, there was a place marked Gate.

‘That's where they went to participate in the Ascendance Battle. ’

However, it was also a system that informed new information.

[The city where you are currently staying is‘ Palam ’.]

[If you participate in Ascendance, you will compete against challengers from 49 different cities.]

They said the lawlessness zones where the challengers were going were different, and the cities where they were staying were different. And the Ascendance Battle was a competition between challengers from different cities.

Anyway, that was all the information the system gave me. He warned me that a penalty would be incurred if I did not participate in the promotion.

[If you do not enter the gate within the remaining time, you will be assigned as a resident somewhere.]

[Then rest in peace until then.]

At the end of the system's voice, loyalty lay on the bed.

‘Of course not. ’

I was curious about the details of the promotion, but I was going to find out.

* * *

I invited myself to sleep long enough to make my body look its best. When the loyalty woke up, the gate had already been activated.

[Time to Ascendance: 48 min]

‘Let's get started. ’

It's not far from where the gate is. It was close enough to walk.

* * *

A gate that was large enough to fit one of the chariots was an expansion plate of the portal. It was looking like a portal, but it was bigger first. And the edges were either made of metal or a sturdy-looking structure surrounding the portal.

I was wondering where to find more information about the Ascendance Battle, but there were a lot of gravestones around the gate.

Welcome to the 2% Survival Zone.

- Started with the enemy at the beginning and died fighting. T

- ㅇ Be sure to pick a good starting point.

- Oh, good hiding. Died in public.

I read the tombstones, but I couldn't fully understand how the promotion went.

You can pick a starting point, by the way? ’

However, no other specific information was seen. It was mostly difficult. According to the tombstones, there was a limit to getting information. I looked at the other tombstones, just in case, but there was no good information.

‘First of all, I have to face it myself. ’

The loyalty felt compelled to enter the gate.

* * *

Once through the gate, the loyalty arrived in a small meeting room without a visit. There were several chairs on one large table, but there were no others besides loyalty.

Of course it was. This place was for loyalty only.

[Welcome to Operations Conference Room.]

[I will make a map of the battlefield you will participate on the table.]

At the end of the system's words, a giant map was created on the table. It was a map of an island. The island was enormous.

‘Looks like that's where the Ascendance Battle begins. ’

[Victory terms in Ascendance are simple.]

[Ascension succeeds after the last person.]

That meant you could kill everyone but me. But it wouldn't just be a place to fight. It would have been a place that contained several elements.

[The island was built on an invisible lava.]

[As time passes, the lava rises and erodes the island.]

Again, the place to arrive was not an ordinary place.

‘An island in Lava...' ’

Perhaps the red waves marked around the island were not sea water. I can't believe it was lava.

‘Then we'll continue to narrow down the area where we can fight. ’

I think I hid somewhere until the promotion was over and took such a way not to wait.

[You can start by selecting a place on these islands.]

If so, the highest point on the island is more than just a fool. Here I would choose the center. The center of the island was the highest altitude. However, the promotion wasn't that simple.

[We'll show you where to start.]

[You can select one of the listed places as your starting point.]

At the same time, the system marked it on the map. The place to start is at the end of the island, adjacent to the lava. That was the border.

I was able to choose the starting point of my choice. But it had to start at the edge of the island. There were no exceptions.

‘But we also need to pick a good starting point here. ’

The edge of the island wasn't all the same. Some were very close to the centre of the island and others were very far away.

However, the environment did not look good, with the slope becoming very steep nearby. If I made a mistake, I'd go straight to lava.

“You can't just think about the environment. ”

It involves 50 challengers, including yourself. The number of enemies you encounter will vary depending on where you go to the starting point.

If I was unlucky, I would encounter many enemies, and if I was lucky, I would be able to move casually by myself.

The question is, do you choose an easy path, or a hard path, to travel from island to high altitude? After all, the place to fight was in the center of the island.

‘It is definitely advantageous to arrive in the middle. ’

It was much better to deal with those who came later if they arrived first and built a genre. Late comers had no choice but to disadvantage. Lava will hit us at all times from behind, and we'll continue our elongated attacks to keep our enemies away from us.

‘Where should we start? ’

A place was noticeable in the eyes of the anxious loyalty. It was the farthest, the nearest place from the center. You couldn't choose the closest place to the center of the island. There was a cliff that could not climb.

However, the place that caught my eye was a place where I could arrive quickly, even though the road was a little steep to get to the center.

‘That's where we start. ’

A determined loyalty pointed to a place with one hand. The system then marks the point where the fidelity is selected on the map.

The area chosen by the loyalists was an abandoned marina.

[Do you want to set 'Abandoned Wharf’ as the starting point?]

A loyal nod nods at the system's question.

“Yes."

[‘Abandoned Wharf’ has been registered as the starting point.]

[16 minutes until promotion start.]

[We will move you to the starting point in 16 minutes.]

The faithfulness was prepared by summoning the skeletons and Hound in advance before it was moved. It was time to finish all the preparations and wait. Sixteen minutes passed quickly.

[In 3 seconds, you reach the island swallowed by lava.]]

[3.]

[2.]

[1.]

[Begin transport.]

[We wish you success with your promotion.]