༺ Predator ༻
Deia left.
And in the silence that returned, I cleaned up the spilt tea.
The tea, sprawled irregularly on the floor, appeared to be an expression of emotion of Deia’s anger.
‘It’s always been hard to deal with those types of people.’
I breathed out a sigh.
Even back when I was in school, it was difficult to deal with people who had intense emotions or a large difference in height.
Because it felt like we were polar opposites.
However, what felt rather unpleasant was that there were also people who felt frustrated with me and forced themselves to leave out of weariness, or even got angry.
‘Though, it’s my fault this time.’
No, it was Deus’ fault, not mine, but I had taken over his body.
I couldn’t help it.
Personally, I wanted to build a new relationship with Deia, so I thought I would try and accept her complaints as much as possible.
It could be seen as a method to ease resentment that I had learnt while dealing with ghosts.
‘And she’s family.’
Even in simple words, my relationship with my family in my previous life could not be described as ‘close’.
A maternal grandmother, who was a shaman.
A mother, who hated my maternal grandmother.
My mom loathed the fact that I could see ghosts, and when I was told that I had to become a shaman to live, she sent me to my grandmother’s house.
Even so, my dad came to visit me often.
I’m unsure about the details, but my father worked as a manager in a large factory, and every time he came to visit me, the ghosts that appeared to be employees kept increasing, one by one.
As I was young at the time, I asked about it without much thought.
With a terrified expression on his face, my father stopped visiting me after that.
It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t lonely.
If you didn’t have fantasies about your family, you were also deluding yourself to the point of absurdity.
“Perhaps, this time I can do a little better.”
With that promise, I cleaned up the spilt tea, made up my mind, and sat down again.
I didn’t have to go to work, and I didn’t have to prepare for lectures, but I was still busy.
‘It’s a pity that I couldn’t bring the things I was researching.’
If I had known that this would happen, I wouldn’t have used the tools provided by the Academy.
All of the research equipment was supplied by the Academy, so I had no choice but to leave them behind.
‘Even if it costs money, I’ll have to use my personal items.’
Having said that, I wasn’t financially well-off either.
As such, after telling myself that I would not be stingy with money in the future, I still spread my palms and began gathering mana.
The bluish mana, which had been bubbling and popping up like bubbles, quickly darkened.
The purple mana that began to gather created a beautiful circle.
The important thing was the white light inside the circle. The light enveloped by black mana, like orbiting satellites, was the embodiment of the soul.
Whose?
Mine, of course.
‘To be precise, the mana is protecting the soul.’
In this world, it was called black magic.
On this continent, black magic was frowned upon, and it was a discipline that should not be learned recklessly, but I had no choice but to learn it.
Because Deus’ body, which was devoid of talent to the point of being pitiful, couldn’t do anything to prevent the catastrophe that would arrive on this continent.
No matter how hard I tried, the main character’s colleagues were much more capable in all other areas.
For example, when it came to simple magic, I was not even comparable to my fiancée, Erica Bright. Because she was someone who could reach the realm of an Archmage.
Even financially, the Verdi Household was not very special.
Only in the Northern periphery did we live with pride, but in the eyes of the central nobility, we were nothing more than goofballs.
At the very least, we were treated well because we stopped the barbarians from raiding the border.
So to conclude, black magic was the only way I could help the main character survive in this damned game.
In that regard, I was extremely gifted.
I’d like to make something very clear before progressing any further.
Deus Verdi lacked talent, but the human named ‘Kim Shinwoo’ was brimming with it.
In black magic, there were countless spells that dealt with the dead, such as necromancy and curses.
A discipline aimed at inflicting pain on others, cursing them, and completely destroying them.
Since it was a field designed solely for selfish purposes, its study was prohibited by law in the kingdom, but it was easy to obtain the required resources in the city where Loberne was located because it was possible to trade secretly.
‘I have mastered the basics of necromancy.’
Everyone who lived on this continent had a little bit of mana accumulated in their bodies.
Because there was a faint amount of mana mixed in the air.
A mage was someone who could accumulate more mana than others and transform it within themselves.
In a word, it was safe to say that people would live with mana for the rest of their lives.
Did this mean that only the body accumulated mana?
No.
Human souls also accumulated mana for as long as they existed, and the necromancy I wanted to use was based on this.
[Kekekeke! Verdi’s Retard! You’re back!]
[Look at him being cursed at by his sister!]
[Of course! You’re a crazy bastard who wants to fuck your sister!]
[Ku-k-k-k-k! It’s because I showed this bastard Deia naked in his dream!]
[Where did he learn to ask his sister to suck it just because I showed it!]
These damn evil spirits were roaming around noisily.
‘I’ve been thinking about this for quite a while, but there are too many ghosts in this mansion.’
I didn’t know what the Verdi Household did, but there were so many ghosts that it could be called a psychic spot.
“Whoo.”
It left nothing to be desired.
Before I decided to do anything, Sukla approached me.
There was no need to get rid of a useful ghost.
A hand stretched out from the black sphere enveloping my soul on the palm of my hand.
Kwak!
I snatched exactly one of the spirits that were hovering around me and laughing among themselves.
He was the one who showed me Deia’s naked body in a dream.
[Kiek! What, what!]
[Now, did you get caught?]
The other evil spirits were also surprised, but the expression on the face of the one who was captured was the most impressive.
I clenched my fist as if twisting something.
Quad-dduck!
[Aaaaaaaaaaa!]
A gruesome scream filled the entire mansion. Wasn’t he a very good soprano vocalist?
Although no one in the living world could hear it, it was a noise that unsettled the rest of the dead.
“Assemble.”
Ghosts from walls, floors, and battlefields gathered after hearing the screams.
Among them, were those who simply could not depart and just wandered, but unfortunately, most of them were evil spirits.
[Verdi! Verdi! Verdi!]
There was a guy who just called me by my family name.
[Can I just chew your hand once?]
[I-I like the tongue.]
There were also cannibals among them.
[Seriously! How dare you disturb my rest!]
[Verdi’s Ruffian? Haa, a man who has no dignity as an aristocrat has returned.]
There were also those who looked like nobles.
All the spirits who were quietly resting or looking for an opportunity gathered in the room.
[Did Verdi’s Retard, who only coveted women without talent, return?]
[Why didn’t you tell me? How fun it is to enter this bastard’s dream!]
[Kelkelkel! Let’s have fun again, Deus!]
[I should pee once while sleeping!]
I didn’t know if it was because they were dead but they couldn’t see the soul caught in the mana right now.
“I am not the Deus you knew.”
As if they didn’t know how to reply, the eyes of the ghosts who were looking at me twitched.
During the three months I lived with the family, I pretended not to see ghosts, just like in my previous life.
But now, I didn’t have to.
“The soul contains mana.”
That was why the supernatural phenomenon of ghosts became a reality.
“In other words….”
The captured evil spirit was absorbed and disappeared.
A black circle made of mana was swirling in the palm of my hand.
“…It means that all of you are a lump of mana with a will.”
[Ru-Run away!]
The quick-witted noble spirit immediately turned around, but it was too late.
The moment they entered this room, their future was set in stone.
The dead are beautiful only when they remain dead.
With a sneer, I added strength to my hands and declared,
“The wastes that I thought were useless, at least one of them was helpful.”
The sphere started dragging souls into it. They were struggling to escape, but they were unable to overcome the suction power, and were sucked into the sphere.
I felt the mana in my entire body rising. The fading power of those who once dealt with mana as mages or knights, was transformed into sweet gourmet food.
An action that could not be carried out on the souls in the academy.
“It’s a bit less, though.”
Was it because the mana of the ghosts dwelled within me?
I thought that all the ghosts in the mansion had come, but I was mistaken.
Rather, the guys who came were nothing more than babbling evil spirits.
“You pathetic bastards.”
Clenching my fists, I declared,
“I’ll consume all of you.”
