UH CH 14 (Patreon)

It has been a few hours since I entered the Library.

It was a recluse place filled with digital data accessible in real time. Some of the information was also conserved in books and the likes but such methods were considered archaic and very expensive nowadays.

I was alone in the library. Or only technically alone. If you did not count all the eyes spying on me.

I could feel that I was being observed but it was mostly because the ones observing me weren't exactly trying to be subtle.

In fact, the way some of them glared at me was enough to know that this was more a warning than anything else.

The message was clear: Stay in your lane and don’t fuck around.

Well, they could be reassured. I wasn’t about to try anything yet. I was more interested in the information I obtained on Necromancer.

The fact that I was alive still felt like a dream for now but focusing on gathering information helped me chase away some of the fog clouding my mind.

Necromancer be it monsters or hunters who obtained such class were classified as D-rank.

The first thing I understood was that the term Necromancer was extremely vague.

They came in all types. Depending on the kind of undead they used to whether they focused on curses or not.

Necromancy was a vast school of magic.

Still, they all had the same basic archetype — they raise the dead, keep them between themselves and the enemy, and pick you apart from range. Zombies for soaking hits, skeletons for faster melee harassment, and if they’re skilled, maybe a wraith or bone construct as a trump card.

Necromancers are control fighters, not brawlers. They rely on their minions to buy time, and they hate being forced into close combat. Every second you spend wading through their summons is a second they can load you with curses, rot your gear, or cut your stamina with soul magic.

They’re glass cannons in theory, but that’s only true if you can reach them. Most competent Necromancers fight like spiders — they’ll set up terrain choke points, trap routes, and keep reanimating whatever you’ve just killed.

Weaknesses?

Line-of-sight reliance. Many of their spells and commands need them to see their target or the corpse they’re controlling. Break vision, and you buy time.

This part made me frown. After all, we were first attacked by the undead far from the Boss gate. This meant that either the necromancer was strong enough to bypass this weakness or he had a way to observe from afar.

I took note of this and continued reading.

The excessive Mana drain of their army was also another weakness of theirs.

Maintaining an army eats through their reserves. Force them to waste mana on throwaway summons and you’re bleeding them dry.

To parry this weakness, necromancers generally had magical circles converting external mana in energy or mana tanks they constantly filled.

This was something else I could target. It wouldn’t stop the necromancer from using a few strong monsters but we could at least avoid getting swarmed if whatever was working as a battery got destroyed.

Another weakness was their Fragile body. Most are physically weaker than the average fighter. If you get past the wall of undead, you can put them down quickly… assuming they don’t have a hidden escape skill.

Corpse dependency. No bodies means no reinforcements. Burn or destroy corpses, and you cut their options fast.

And the standard Holy magic.

They weren’t going to die just because of some Blessed Bolts but at least holy magic significantly increased the damage they received.

This part was quite complex as the author of the book went into tangent about the nature of Holy power and wondered what could be considered as “evil” truly.

This was not a debate I was interested in. All I needed to know was that Holy magic and weapons imbued with sacred power were useful.

Though Jana seemed to suffer from PTDS, If I could get her to bless a few weapons things might change.

The necromancer was assumed to be D-rank, which meant he wasn’t at the level where his summons could act entirely independent of his will. If I could hit him hard enough, fast enough, his whole undead army would collapse with him.

One Problem was, getting that opening.

The Death Knight was another problem.

I’d only caught glimpses of it before everything went to hell, but that was enough. Even Iron Fist was put down immediately.

Full plate, blackened steel etched with runes. Moved like the armor wasn’t even there. That wasn’t something you fought head-on unless you were suicidal.

A Death Knight wasn’t just a strong corpse. It was a warrior that had been something terrifying in life, bound to unlife with a core of necrotic mana.

Strength on par with a high-tier melee fighter, speed to match, and enough resistance to shrug off most magic. The worst part? They didn’t tire. Every swing was just as fast and heavy as the first.

There were two ways to deal with one. Strip its armor and shatter the mana core… or just hit the core through the armor with something strong enough to punch clean through. Neither was easy without serious gear or skills.

The author jokingly added that one could also try to discuss with the Death Knight. Chances were minimal but not zero.

I decided to ignore that stupid advice. Life was not an anime and I did not have the gift of tongue to change enemies into allies.

Remembering the fight in the dungeon, I thought about another headache not inferior to the Death Knight.

The Slime Golem.

That thing was… wrong. I’d seen slime before, sure — gelatinous, corrosive blobs that were annoying but predictable. This one wasn’t just slime. It was packed with corpses. Limbs, skulls, armor scraps, all suspended in the mass like trash in a landfill. Every strike that didn’t go deep enough just got swallowed, digested, and absorbed.

It moved like a normal slime, slow but relentless. You had to destroy the core and neutralize the mass before it just stitched itself back together around another corpse.

The combination was nasty. The Death Knight as a wall, the Slime Golem as an area controller, and the Necromancer pulling strings from the back.

This was what made Necromancer so dangerous. Given enough time and ressources, a prepared Necromancer could fight well beyond their rank and the one I wanted to fight seemed plenty prepared.

The worst of all this? He was a lich.

Which meant killing his body wouldn’t be enough.

Somewhere out there, hidden in gods-knows-what kind of warded vault or cursed pit, was his phylactery, the anchor tying his soul to this world.

Thankfully the phylactery would most likely be in the dungeon. So I could somewhat hope that finding it wouldn’t be too hard.

Destroy the body without finding that, and all I’d do is buy myself a few weeks before he came back stronger and angrier.

Liches were one of the worst kind of monsters. They had all the same tricks as a necromancer, but their experience spanned decades, sometimes centuries. Every fight they survived became another lesson, another countermeasure waiting for the next idiot who thought they’d found a weakness.

I was that idiot this time it seemed.

And the magic… it wasn’t just mana anymore. Liches worked with soulstuff, threading it through their curses, their summons, even their own bodies. Damage that should kill them outright just slowed them down.

One saving grace was that, unlike most Dark Mages, necromancers and litch generally didn't deal with demons.

Something about how both used Souls and so were more of competitors than anything else.

If I was going to take him down for good, I’d need to either find that phylactery or strip him so bare of resources that he couldn’t recover before someone else finished the job. Both sounded impossible. But I’d already died once to him.

And I wasn’t planning on letting it happen again.

Dying was painful and quite scary if I had to be honest and though It seemed like I didn't need to fear death anymore, I still feared the pain.

Facing him despite my fear and the clear risk of dying all that was crazy but I wanted to win.

I wanted to plunge my bullets or arrows deep in its cranium and make that condescending attitude of his vanish alongside the soulfire in its eye.

I closed the data and pinched the bridge of my nose.

It was not something an I-rank hunter like me should try to hunt down.

If this was truly not a dream I should just inform the Guild or sell the information.

I am sure I could obtain a great price.

But things were different now. I was not just a random Hunter anymore.

‘Status’

I called out inwardly and marveled at my status screen.

Only a few things changed but those changes were enough for me to feel like a new man entirely.

—-

[Name: Cain Bishop

Affiliation: Training Center

Title: Failed Genius, Lowest Ranked Hunter, The Weakest, Seed of Ouroboros

Race: ????

Rank: I

Age: 21

Negative Status: Corrupted Magic Circuit, Gaze of the Abyss

Main class: [Maker]; [Time Sovereign ]

Sub Class: Ranger

Time Sovereign Skills: [Save]; [Load]; [Pause], [???]

Maker Skills: [Projection (B) ]; [Analysis (A)]; [Reinforcement (B) ]

Ranger Skills: [Archery (D)]; [Hawk Eyes (C )]; [Focus (C)]; [Tracking (D)]; [Silent steps (D)]

Karma Points: 1851

]

Strength: I-5

Speed: I-5

Dexterity: I-5

Endurance: I-5

Mana: I-5

Resistance: SSS-159

Combat Capacity: ???]

[System Notification: Unique Bloodline detected.]

[Unique Class: Time Sovereign, unlocked]

[System Notification: Determining qualifications to enter the Tower of Trials… Pending...]

So many questions filled my mind when I first saw this.

For years now I have been wondering what my unique power was and now I knew.

[Class: Time Sovereign

Death is never the end. It's just a new beginning.

Description: A class born from the Authority of the Black Snake that Eat its Own Tail, Ouroboros.

As a Sovereign class, it's the highest possible Tier related to time manipulation. One that defies even Death.

Grow by consuming the Karma they accumulate across timelines and bringing forth countless possibilities to life while defying pre determinated Fate.

Warning: The Authority dwelling in your body is still fragile. If your Determination falters, this power may dilute until it vanishes.]

The explanations were clear enough and seeing the skills I had, I could understand what kind of class this was.

The only vague thing was this ‘Determination.’ How did I know if I had enough of it?

Questions increased as I obtained more answers.

The only reason I wasn’t going crazy thinking about all the implications of this class was because I knew I needed to focus.

‘Growing by devouring Karma, huh.’

My eyes trailed over the Karma Points section and it suddenly expanded.

[KP Log: Lifetime Accumulation]

Recent Combat: Necromancer Gate (Party)

- Slimes (F) ×25: 125 KP → Party Share (50%): 62 KP

- Zombies (F) ×3: 24 KP → Party Share (50%): 12 KP

Subtotal: 74 KP

Training Period: Sedated Goblins (5 Years)

- Goblins (F, weakened) ×1,521: 1 KP each = 1,521 KP

Dungeon Gate: Civilian Rescue

- Goblins (F) ×7: 8 KP each = 56 KP

- Rescue Bonus: 100 KP

Subtotal: 156 KP

Dungeon Break (8 Years Ago): Civilian Rescue

Civilians Rescued ×2: 50 KP each = 100 KP

Strong Fate Bonus: Both individuals possessed significant fate threads, amplifying karmic reward despite Cain’s low rank at the time.

----------------------------------------

Total KP Accumulated: 1,851 KP

----------------------------------------

[System Tip: KP — Karma Points — are awarded for affecting Fate. Yours and the others.

Defeating enemies, completing objectives, performing acts of significance that affect other entities, saving people or committing great evil. Morality is irrelevant. The more fates affected, the more points received.

Stronger foes and riskier achievements grant higher KP. At the moment, KP may be spent to upgrade Stats and purchase Skills or buy modifications later.]

[Note: Stat tier upgrades require KP. Tier transition costs (“Gate Fees”) increase sharply at higher levels. Certain penalties apply to Mana due to Corrupted Circuit status.]

The panel hovered in front of me, faint blue light bleeding into the dark.

1,851 KP.

A number that seemed neither large nor small.

The results of my meager efforts over the years and if the explanation was to be believed, the results of the Fates I changed.

In a way this felt like a jab. As if someone was telling me that this was all I amounted to.

The sum of one life.

It…Hurts. If I had to be honest. It stung a little. But, it was also a proof that my life was not entirely worthless.

I focused on the events from 8 years ago briefly and seeing the 100 points I obtained then, made me smile a bit, uplifting my mood.

Though it was quite sad how inequality between people existed even in front of Fate.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before exhaling.

My mind was sharp now.

Rather than whine and cry about how little I did in my first life, it was better to focus on how I could use those points to change my current life.

Thankfully, I could somewhat understand the concept of KP. This was something I was already familiar with.

Coins.

People who climbed the Tower and/or were sponsored by constellations could receive coins which allowed them to access a store where they could buy potions or weapons and even class related skills sometimes.

My situation seemed to be quite different. Be it in the manner of acquiring the coins or points and the way I could spend them.

My heart started beating fiercely in my chest.

The one problem that had plagued me all this time.

My stats.

Perhaps?

‘Bring my mana to F rank.’

I commanded, almost impulsively. But the answer I got in return was quite disappointing.

[You do not have enough Karma]

[Note: Mana upgrade will incur Corrupted Circuit Fee (+25% applied).]

I wanted to curse because of disappointment but at the same time I felt so good I wanted to cry.

I may not have enough points now. But I would do so eventually.

Leaving my I rank position was possible now.

The corruption was still causing me problems but when compared to everything I obtained, this seemed like nothing but a small inconvenience.

I wiped the tear at the corner of my eye and looked at the skill options.

A bunch of skills of different ranks appeared in front of me, almost dazzling me.

So many good ones. But the price of some made my eyes twitch. From A rank skills that cost 10 of thousands points to D rank skills that seemed more affordable.

In a way this made my current status quite more impressive than I thought. My Maker skills were all high rank.

I smiled as I thought.

‘Buy the C rank skill, Holy Lance.’

If I was going to fight a necromancer then getting a few holy skills would be useful.

But,

[You do not meet the stats requirements. Stats requirements for C rank skills are to have at least 3 stats at D rank or above.]

This was interesting. I wonder who established those limitations.

Was it done intentionally to stop me from buying extremely powerful skills from the start or was it a limitation of my own authority.

Since no answer was coming, I decided to do another test.

‘Buy the F rank skill, Light Bolt’

[You do not meet the stats requirements. Stats requirements for F rank skills are to have at least 2 stats at G rank or above.]

My eyes fell on my stats again.

[Strength: I-5

Speed: I-5

Dexterity: I-5

Endurance: I-5

Mana: I-5

Resistance: SSS-159]

Well…

The requirements were clearer now. For any skills I wanted, two or three stats had to be at least one rank lower than the rank of the skill I wanted.

Rather, since my Resistance stats were already all the way up to SSS, didn't this mean I only needed one or two stats to meet the requirements?

Those was great news.

So I decided to search for H rank skills sadly since they would match my current status.

Sadly,

[The lowest rank available in the shop is F rank.]

This was…Quite upsetting. But at least now I had a clear goal.

Time to raise my stats