NoveLight ™
4.
There was never a calm day in the E-World User Management Team.
Particularly, Deputy Lee Won-sang had been running around since morning, overwhelmed by the chaos.
He didn’t even have time to give a reprimand to his junior, Oh Jin-hyuk, who was just admiring the situation.
How busy he was was clear enough without needing to be explained.
Thanks to Seong’s activity since early morning, the workload had increased.
Thankfully, thanks to Seong leaving before lunch, Lee Won-sang had a brief moment to relax.
Though there was still a problem.
"Sigh..."
"Senior? Why do you look like that?"
"...???"
Oh Jin-hyuk, who had been looking at Lee Won-sang with a puzzled expression, began to shiver, as if he had realized something.
Then, as if he had figured it out, he nodded.
"Ah, it’s because of that user, Jinwoo, right? Who could have known that someone would suddenly give away a rare-tier skill book?"
"Yeah, that’s true."
Lee Won-sang was about to say something about the Barfur corpse incident, but there was that too.
The user Jinwoo.
There was no way Lee Won-sang didn’t know whose alt it was.
Kim Jinwoo, one of the executives of the Rapid Guild.
He was also a fairly well-known figure in the User Management Team.
"Kim Jinwoo from the Rapid Guild. Yeah, I knew he joined the Rapid Guild."
He didn’t expect that he would give away a corpse explosion skill book worth over 20 million won as a gift.
But that was just how it was.
For now, since Seong wasn’t active, it wasn’t too busy.
It was almost lunchtime, and he had just eaten.
Then, suddenly, Lee Won-sang felt a sense of déjà vu.
Wasn’t it just like this when he first started working here?
He remembered the time when he woke up feeling refreshed in the morning, coming in with a good mood and having no work to do.
‘Nah, surely nothing’s happening.’
But, of course, something had already happened.
Would something else happen?
Feeling uneasy, Lee Won-sang quickly prepared to monitor Seong.
However, Seong had not logged in yet.
Despite this, his unease remained.
What was this unease?
Instinctively, Lee Won-sang decided to check Sekhan Village.
It was almost like an instinctive action.
And, as expected...
"U-uh!? Are those... the Lions of Overpalace?!?"
"......"
Lee Won-sang closed his eyes tightly, sensing the ominous feeling.
There was no need to look anymore.
Why?
"Woah! Senior!! Look!! They're giving Seong a skill book—Add More!!? Wow! Overpalace is amazing!!"
"Whoa!! Senior!! There’s some unknown power here too!! This time, the stats went up by a total of 40!!"
"Wow!! All these undead are moving like they have AI!! This is crazy!!"
Even with his eyes closed, Oh Jin-hyuk eagerly relayed everything.
Since Overpalace had moved, Lee Won-sang knew he had to report this.
On his way to report to Team Leader Ji Hye-jeong, Lee Won-sang took out an envelope from his pocket.
‘Should I submit my resignation while I’m at it?’
For a moment, stressed by the situation, Lee Won-sang made an irrational decision.
But, realizing how foolish it seemed, he wiped away a tear and put the resignation letter back in his pocket.
5.
A Legendary-tier skill book.
Was it really appropriate to apologize and cry while giving something like this?
Seong felt his common sense crumbling.
‘What kind of standard is this?’
It seemed more than enough, but in comparison to the name Overpalace, it felt a bit low.
Still, crying while giving away a Legendary-tier skill book seemed strange.
As Seong felt perplexed, the three of them cautiously bowed their heads, trembling.
Did they mistake Seong’s slightly twisted mood for anger?
He wanted to say no, but...
‘It seems hard to deny the mood here.’
Even Seong, usually so calm, was a little overwhelmed by their behavior.
However, they had been so considerate, it felt like he had to meet them halfway.
"This is more than enough."
"Ah, we are simply ashamed to stand before the gracious successor."
"......"
"Uuuuuuuh!"
As Seong expressed his awkwardness, the crow-masked man cautiously spoke.
"Due to the treaty, we cannot always be at your service, but we will strive to do better next time."
"......Treaty?"
Even Overpalace couldn’t do anything about this "treaty."
Seong figured it was probably referring to the system.
He nodded, realizing this.
After all, growing with the protection of Overpalace, the strongest faction in Eternal World, could be considered close to cheating.
It was natural that the system would want to prevent that.
Seong nodded in understanding.
He wasn’t interested in such protection anyway.
‘Growing under their protection would make it boring.’
Receiving occasional gifts was fine, but he felt this was just the right amount.
With that thought, Seong noticed the crow-masked man gently speaking to him.
"We wish to watch your growth, but for now, we shall take our leave. Please take care of yourself. Eternal glory to the Overlord."
"......"
"Ooouuuuaaaahhh!"
As the crow-masked man spoke, the hundreds, thousands of crows that had gathered in the village rushed to envelop them.
The black wings of the crows fluttered as they vanished into the sky.
The ominous dark magic that had filled the village disappeared without a trace, and even Seong could no longer feel its lingering presence.
From their grand entrance to their departure, the Lions of Overpalace left an unforgettable impression.
‘Incredible.’
To think such a faction was supporting him.
It made Helena’s greatness stand out even more.
Though it had been chaotic, the benefits had been substantial.
No, it was more than just substantial.
It was incredible.
Since he couldn’t check the compass right away, there was only one thing left.
But even that was extraordinary.
‘A Legendary skill book.’
Even a useless Rare-tier skill book could cost millions of won, right?
Good Rare-tier skill books could fetch tens of millions.
He had heard that from his sister, so it felt more real now.
So, what about a Legendary skill book?
Just selling it would yield billions.
Even the least valuable Legendary skill books went for billions.
So, if it was an exceptional skill...
Seong was holding that skill book now.
‘This is ridiculous.’
He never even considered selling it.
The idea of selling a gift was utterly absurd.
Most importantly, wouldn’t it be a skill suited to him?
With that expectation, Seong immediately used the skill book.
[You are using the Legendary-tier skill book, 『Skill Book - Add More』.]
[You have acquired the Legendary-tier skill, 『Add More』!]
There was no hesitation.
Seong immediately checked the skill.
『Add More』
→《Legendary》
→[Lv Max][Complete]
[Continuous Effect][Passive]
→Summon-type exclusive skill.
→When summoning, summoned creatures will appear in double the quantity.
→Additionally, the mana of the additional summoned creatures is free of charge.
→This effect can be toggled on and off at any time.
→Undead creation works the same.
When summoning undead from the underworld, the effect of doubling applies. Cannot be stacked.
"???"
Seong’s expression turned even more confused than when he first received the skill book.
He couldn’t process it at first.
What was this even?
But after reading it carefully again, he realized it was exactly as he had understood it.
He blinked and scratched his head.
"Summoned creatures are duplicated."
Even when summoning undead from the underworld, it was applied doubly.
This meant...
‘Barfur, two of them?’
His strongest undead, Barfur, could be doubled?
Seong scratched his cheek in disbelief.
Could this be happening?
And they had apologized and cried while giving him this?
Well, he had received it, so...
‘Let’s go use it right now.’
When you get a skill, it’s natural to use it right away.
This time, he decided to test it out at the graveyard, trying out both the Corpse Explosion and Lord’s Silence.
The excitement to test it out was overwhelming, and Seong made it to the graveyard faster than usual.
With all the ghosts and undead around, he opened the gateway to the underworld and summoned his minions.
[The effect of 『Add More』 is applied.]
[Undead summoned from the underworld will be duplicated.]
The undead that appeared through the turquoise portal.
Sssss.
But unlike before, their numbers were doubled.
More importantly, there was no additional mana cost.
It was truly an overpowered effect.
The ghosts within the undead were making a huge fuss, praising Seong.
Amid the loud noise, Seong felt something strange.
Was it a sense of discomfort?
Though their numbers had increased, the noise didn’t seem to have doubled.
He studied the situation closely and realized the cause.
“Ah.”
The undead had been duplicated, but the ghosts inside them were not.
Only the physical bodies of the undead were copied.
Because of this, even though Barfur, the necromancer’s strongest undead, had been duplicated, the duplicate lacked the imposing presence of the original.
The same applied to the goblin undead.
It was disappointing, but there was nothing to be done about it.
‘Still, the numbers have increased.’
At least he had more to work with.
As Seong was settling with that, the ghosts nearby started to approach, drooling.
‘What are they doing?’
Even though Seong had seen many ghosts, this was the first time seeing them act like this.
No, actually, he felt like he had seen this before.
Was it in Persville?
When undead without souls had been created by the Aura of Death, ghosts had gathered in that situation.
Back then, he had ignored them since he was too busy, but now it seemed more curious.
Seong approached one of the ghosts and asked.
“What’s going on?”
The two ghosts who approached cautiously spoke, and Seong tilted his head in confusion.
Why were they speaking so carefully?
Seong continued observing them.
The ghosts, claiming to be from a mercenary group, approached.
There were about twenty of them.
But what did they mean by “grant possession”?
Seong suddenly had a thought and looked at the undead with empty souls.
Could it be?
‘Do they want to be placed inside there?’
Was that even possible?
Well, now that he thought about it...
It seemed plausible.
Seong first absorbed the memories of the mercenaries.
The memories of twenty mercenaries!
The turquoise energy from the ghosts flowed into Seong.
As Seong greedily absorbed the energy, his veins began to bulge, as if in pain.
‘This is tough.’
And he instinctively realized something.
At least for today, he wouldn’t be able to absorb more memories.
[You have displayed power beyond your current capabilities due to "Unknown Power."]
[Strength +10, Agility +20, Health +10 permanently increase.]
The memories and experiences of twenty mercenaries flowed into Seong, but instead of feeling refreshed, it was more like he had overeaten, as the turquoise energy began leaking from around his mouth.
‘Hoo…’
The turquoise energy scattered like mist in the winter.
Some memories were lost.
He wasn’t too upset about it, though, since he knew his limit.
That was enough.
However, the ghosts of the mercenaries raised their stats by roughly 2 points each, unlike the famous figures like Eddie the former instructor or Apik the hunter, who had raised their stats by 5.
‘Still, my total stat increase was 40.’
It was an impressive increase.
As Seong began to feel satisfied, the faces of the mercenary ghosts brightened, realizing that they had now connected with Seong.
However, after reading their memories, Seong realized something.
‘They shouldn’t be placed in there.’
He shouldn’t place them inside the goblin undead.
It wasn’t that they had committed evil acts or were malicious people.
But…
Seong immediately dissolved the duplicated goblin undead using 『Add More』.
The faces of the mercenaries turned dark again, realizing they wouldn’t be able to possess them.
Would they not be able to possess anything after all?
Seeing their gloomy expressions, Seong smiled and snapped his fingers.
A turquoise heart appeared behind him, pulsing with life.
And at the same time, a turquoise mist spread out.
The skeletons that came into contact with the mist began to vomit out the same turquoise energy.
Seong then turned those skeletons into death soldiers, matching them with the mercenary ghosts.
“Seems the goblin bodies aren’t a good fit for you.”
Seong then used his abilities.
Even though he had never known how to use his powers in his 22 years of life, Helena had taught him how.
How to utilize his abilities and handle ghosts.
Now, it came so naturally to him.
He made twelve skeleton warriors, six skeleton archers, and two skeleton mages, and placed the mercenary ghosts inside them.
The newly formed twenty skeleton death soldiers.
The existing death soldiers were excited, as if welcoming them.
Seong nodded in satisfaction as he watched.
Although he hadn’t found a soul to fill the duplicate Barfur, it was fine.
‘It’s better to place a superior ghost in there.’
Seong thought, looking at his new army.
They immediately understood Seong’s wishes and shouted together.
As they all shouted in unison, the surrounding undead who hadn’t been assimilated by Seong's army were quickly swept away.
Seong, observing how well his army fought, kept his Death Aura active, watching his army clear the graveyard.
By the end, the only undead left in the graveyard were Seong’s death soldiers.
[Level up!] x4
[You have reached level 34.]
Having obtained 『Add More』 and learned how to fill undead with ghosts, Seong thought quietly to himself.
‘Incredible.’
It was a simple, yet powerful realization.