Swordsman's Regression: Reawakened as a Necromancer-Chapter 100: The Undead Creditor

The notification blazed across every Awakener’s interface simultaneously.

⸢THE GATE WORLD BOSS HAS BEEN DEFEATED⸥

⸢GATE WORLD HAS BEEN CLEARED SUCCESSFULLY⸥

The Golden Spire Leader stopped so abruptly that the three Awakeners behind him crashed into his armored back.

His face, already reddened from the bitter cold of the Crucible, went completely white.

"No," he whispered, staring at the translucent window hovering before his eyes. "No, no, *no*—"

"Tell me that doesn’t say what I think it says." The Heaven’s Blade’s leader, pushed forward through the cluster of stunned Awakeners.

Her hair whipped around her face as she read the notification once, twice, three times, as if repetition would change the words. "Tell me that bastard didn’t just—"

"He soloed it." The Iron Guard leader’s voice cut through the rising murmurs like a blade. He waved the notification window away with a savage gesture, his gauntleted fist trembling.

"A Level 28. A bloody Level 28 just cleared an A-Ranked Boss that requires a minimum party threshold of Level 80."

"It’s not possible," Golden Spire said, but his voice cracked on the last word. "The mana requirements alone. Even with optimal DPS, we calculated at least a six day-long engagement. His attributes should have depleted in half a day!"

Heaven’s Blade let out a laugh that held no humor whatsoever. "Should have. But apparently, our ’Summoned Hero’"—she spat the title like poison—"didn’t get that particular memo."

Around them, the combined party of forty-seven Awakeners stood in various states of shock and rage.

Someone sunk their sword into a snowbank. Another sat down heavily, head in hands. A Healer Mage from Golden Spire was openly weeping for whatever reason.

"The loot," whispered a young Archer from Heaven’s Blade. "The Aspect. The Main Reward..."

"All his." The Iron Guard leader’s words landed like hammer blows. "Gate ownership transferred. That smug, arrogant son of a—he owns it all now."

The Golden Spire Leader turned to face his companions, and those closest recoiled at the expression on his face.

"Do you understand what this means? We’ve been tracking corpses for three days. Three days of his leftovers. We could only gather loot in the Mangrove Battlefield where he intentionally allowed us to fight an endless wave of monsters just to buy himself time! And now—"

"Now we all return empty-handed," Heaven’s Blade finished, her voice hollow. "To our Guildmasters. To explain how a single Level 28 outpaced veterans."

"To explain how he reached the Boss Chamber while we were still traveling this stupid... cold... Encounter Zone."

"To explain how we let the Hero claim an A-Ranked Gate World."

The silence that fell was worse than the shouting.

Then Iron Guard spoke. "Our Warden will kill us."

Golden Spire actually laughed, a high, slightly hysterical sound. "Warden? Guskar, if it’s your warden you’re afraid of, then you are lucky. For us Spires, if we return to our Guildmaster like this, we won’t have contracts by the next sunrise."

A notification chimed again, this time individualized:

⸢YOU ARE NOW IN A PRIVATELY OWNED GATE WORLD⸥

⸢OWNER MAY REVOKE ACCESS AT ANY TIME⸥

⸢REMAINING TIME BEFORE GATE CLOSURE: 47 MINUTES⸥

Heaven’s Blade looked at the timer, then at her opposing Guild leaders. "He’s giving us time to leave."

"How generous of him," Golden Spire snarled.

"Move out," Iron Guard ordered, his voice heavy with defeat. "Scavenge this entire Encounter Zone and let’s see what we can find before we’re forced out."

The other two Guild Leaders and their parties watched him with confusion.

"What?"

"You do not wish to witness this for yourself? See what was in the final Zone? Meet the Hero and maybe convince him to share his loot with us?" Golden Spire asked.

Iron Guard laughed. "Good luck with that. Time is weird in these damn places. We don’t know how long it will be before we’re thrust outside. Best to get what we can now rather than seeking for more."

Golden Spire stared at him. "No wonder your Guild is forever beneath ours. You have no ambition."

Iron Guard chuckled. "You live by ambition, Marcus. I live by common sense."

Marcus ignored him and commanded his Awakeners to follow him. Then he turned his head to see the Heaven’s Blade Leader standing still on the ice with her Party.

"You are not coming either?" he asked.

The Leader shook her head, eyes narrowed. "I think Guskar is right. Best to find what we can."

Marcus grimaced, but turned, heading towards the Festering Oubliette were the dead Dragon lay on a green, rotten lake.

—---—

In his sleep, Percival felt a warmness take over him, running through his body. He opened his eyes just in time to see the golden light dissipate from his skin.

The light that signalled the completion a Dungeon Clearing.

Before him stood Mercius, his Soul Soldier, stoic and unmoved. Percival could see the evidence of battle on the Knight’s features, but he could not find exhaustion.

Mercius went down on one knee, his head bowed. His voice was a whisper, a breath of gratitude and finality.

"It is done, Master."

Percival looked around. He saw corpses of Mire Crocs, Draconians and Swamp Wyverns. Then his gaze landed on the lake, and he saw the giant, dead Dragon laying on top of it.

Percival let out a sigh of relief. He almost even smiled.

Everything had worked out just as he planned.

Everything.

He looked at the bowed head of his Soul Soldier. "Well done, Mercius," he said.

"It is only my honor," the Knight replied.

Percival rose to his feet. He was fairly rejuvenated. The minutes of sleep didn’t completely revive his Attributes, Mana and Health—but at least he could stand on his feet without feeling the weight of a depleted Constitution dragging him down.

The notification rang as his interface appeared before him. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

⸢Gate World cleared successfully!⸥

⸢The resilience of lizards are legendary, but what the Dragon proclaimed is true. The only wrath the lizard can not survive, is your blade⸥

⸢Rewards: +50000 EXP⸥

⸢+7 Skill Points | +15000 Mana Coins⸥

⸢Congratulations you have achieved a Quadruple Level Up!⸥

⸢Lvl 34 → Lvl 38⸥

⸢+2500 Mana⸥

⸢+3000 Attack⸥

⸢+1200 Defense⸥

⸢All Attributes Increased by 250⸥

⸢+10 Skill Points | + 20 Summon Space | + 5000 Mana Coins⸥

Ding!

⸢You have been granted a Power Up!⸥

⸢All Stats and Attributes have been refilled⸥

Ding!

⸢Quadruple Level Up activates a First Kill Level Up!⸥

⸢Your next kill will possess a x100 EXP Reward to push you toward or into your next Level. Kill wisely!⸥

Ding!

⸢You have been given a Title⸥

⸢The Undead Creditor: You are a true leader. You have avenged the tragic story of your Soul Soldier, and you have led your minions to victory. Truly, they are lucky to call you a leader. For this reason, each Undead pledged to your service pays tribute in magic itself."

⸢Aspect: Summoned Undead regenerates your mana instead of consuming it⸥

Percival stared at the influx of notifications and rewards.

"Woah," he unexpectedly muttered.