LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 39
Chapter 39: Evolution of Spectrals (3)
The Spectrals must face their former selves.
What does that mean?
It means that their ‘former selves who opposed Yeonwol’ and ‘posthumous selves loyal to Yeonwol’ will clash with opposing wills.
Their abilities are evenly matched.
There is only one reason for failure.
‘Doubting their own loyalty.’
Their ‘former selves,’ existing at the threshold of life and death, will relentlessly question the Spectrals.
Will you truly pledge your pride and soul to the being who killed you?
However.
Absolute loyalty to the Necromaster cannot be questioned.
No matter how persistently their former selves question or try to sow discord, it is meaningless.
Their former existence.
Cannot persuade the Spectrals who have pledged their loyalty under the Necromaster’s powerful bond.
Especially for Spectrals with such loyalty that they strive desperately to grow stronger for their master…
It is absolutely impossible.
[The Necromaster absorbs the living memories of Eltis.]
When I closed my eyes, the world changed.
The world inside Eltis’s memories.
Starving citizens, elderly people collapsing from disease.
A father crying as he could only offer bark-infused water to his hungry child.
A baby desperately nursing on its mother’s cold, lifeless body—already dead for some time.
The scene was utterly miserable.
And yet, what about the palace?
The king of the land hosted endless feasts, reveling in indulgence.
He forced beautiful women to become his wives, squandered jewels and fruits, and held ceaseless banquets as a tyrant.
Eltis, a knight, couldn’t endure the sight of his suffering people and eventually acted.
Rebellion. He beheaded the king and executed the royal family to end the nation’s famine, becoming a hero of legend.
However, the kingdom to which he had pledged loyalty was Faelun, a holy nation offering astronomical tributes to gain the gods’ protection.
Thus, Eltis was subjected to divine retribution—an eternal, agonizing punishment that forced him to kill innocent civilians perpetually. Forever…
For a righteous knight, it was the most harrowing punishment.
[Spectral Eltis swears eternal loyalty to you, who freed him from the chains of divine punishment.]
[Spectral Eltis has successfully evolved!]
[Strength-based stats and defense have significantly increased.]
[New skill ‘Ironclad Stance’ has been added.]
This time, Mad’s memories flowed into me.
A blue meadow.
A pack of wolves running through a field of swaying reeds.
Free like drifting clouds, they never stayed in one place and earned the special name ‘Freed Wolf.’
But they lost their freedom.
Confined to a fixed territory, they were forced to nurture their ferocity to resist the humans who came to hunt them.
Thus, they became the ‘Freed Madwolves’ that lost their liberty…
[Spectral Mad swears eternal loyalty to you, who granted freedom.]
[Spectral Mad has successfully evolved!]
[Agility-based stats and attack power have significantly increased, with teeth becoming sturdier and sharper.]
[New skill ‘Steel Fangs’ has been added.]
Lastly, Cooling’s memories passed on to Yeonwol.
Unlike the other Spectrals, Cooling’s memories were still.
All his kin had frozen to death.
The Kulrak, by nature, were not built to endure the cold.
Trapped in eternal winter due to their habitat’s ‘Dungeonization,’ they had no choice but to accept the freezing conditions.
[Spectral Cooling swears eternal loyalty to you, who gifted warmth in eternal winter.]
[Spectral Cooling has successfully evolved!]
[Intelligence, strength, and frost-related attributes have all significantly increased.]
[New skill ‘Frost Wave’ has been added.]
Yeonwol opened his eyes as he waited, arms crossed.
“……”
The Spectrals had noticeably changed.
Eltis’s muscles had grown more defined, and his physique was slightly larger. His already imposing figure now seemed even more formidable.
Cooling, who had once appeared as a savage beast, now bore intelligent, clear eyes, as though he had found some semblance of reason.
Mad had also gained some degree of intelligence, with his exterior becoming more charismatic.
All three Spectrals, now enveloped in deep violet and silver auras, knelt before Yeonwol, bowing their heads.
–Greetings to the Master.
[The Spectrals have been upgraded by one rank. Please assign them a title for their grade!]
“A title…”
Although I hadn’t thought of one, I figured something straightforward would work best.
“From now on, you are Elite Soldiers.”
[Spectrals Eltis, Cooling, and Mad are now classified as ‘Elite Soldiers’!]
[Elite Soldier-grade Spectrals can command lower-tier Undead and Spectrals.]
[Evolved Spectrals can be further enhanced in a straightforward manner moving forward.]
Any evolved subject can have their bones and muscles reinforced at Yeonwol’s discretion as their level increases, boosting their stats and combat power.
This means minor enhancements can now be made without going through tedious processes.
[However, to achieve ‘Second Evolution’ and rank advancement, another trial must be overcome.]
Second Evolution.
It seems there’s a special method akin to the Summoner class’s creatures to make them stronger.
But since it wasn’t immediately necessary, I set it aside.
[Eltis Lv. 157]
[Mad Lv. 154]
[Cooling Lv. 151]
The higher their level before evolution and the stronger their will, the higher their level post-evolution.
While Cooling had the highest level in life, it seemed Eltis’s sheer determination granted him the highest level after evolving.
Cooling’s case was understandable.
Monsters are more feral and instinct-driven than beasts, so the fact that he had any will to grow stronger was extraordinary.
‘Monsters having high base stats but penalties in evolution… This is troublesome.’
Yeonwol frowned.
He wanted all his Spectrals to be monsters. The advantage of strong base stats was undeniable.
But these were not ordinary Undead; they were ‘Resurrected Spectrals,’ so I couldn’t think of them in simple terms.
They could think for themselves, possessing mental strength and willpower.
‘…I’ll need to adjust my plans.’
Currently, Yeonwol could summon two more Spectrals.
What type of Spectrals was he lacking?
For tanking, he could rely on Eltis and Cooling, and for mobility and distraction, there was Mad.
However, he lacked someone who could provide stable ranged attacks.
Every party requires a ranged damage dealer.
An archer could support with long-range attacks and enable safe hunting, while a mage, though with shorter range, could hit wide areas or deal explosive damage to quickly eliminate targets.
‘I need an archer and a mage.’
Yes.
A Spectral doesn’t necessarily have to be human.
There are plenty of monsters skilled in archery and magic.
On the contrary, non-human types tend to have better stats than humans.
However, knowing that there’s a penalty for their evolution made it necessary to be cautious.
‘When I think about it, an archer has to act as a control tower, and a magician must delicately adjust the power of their spells according to my commands.’
Spectrals in monster form lack the ability to comprehend precise instructions.
This was a significant disadvantage for archers and magicians.
Thus, it meant I had no choice but to create another human-shaped Spectral, just like Eltis.
Based on the rules I had set for myself earlier, I planned to avoid turning good people into Spectrals as much as possible.
‘But there are plenty of humanoid monsters in this world.’
Bandits or thieves on the roads, pirates on the seas, terrorists, dark magicians, murderers, mafia members, and so on.
Elthera is full of people whose deaths wouldn’t be mourned.
And I also needed a place to experiment with the new skill and the abilities of my Spectrals.
“But before that…”
Yeonwol’s current level was 100.
This meant he could equip items with a level-100 restriction.
There was a clear performance gap between items for levels below 100 and those for levels beyond it.
So far, Yeonwol had been using the level-50 Aturn Set.
While it was highly cost-effective for beginners, its performance wasn’t extraordinary.
However, starting from level 100, even items with the same level restriction varied greatly in performance based on their price.
‘The weapon is still usable. I need to upgrade the armor first.’
The Blue Sea Blade was a decent item for a level-10 beginner.
But by level 100, it was quite ordinary.
Although its unique skill was an attractive feature, it wasn’t very meaningful for Yeonwol, who lacked sufficient mana to use the skill frequently.
However, it was worth noting that the Blue Sea Blade was classified as an ‘Epic’ item.
‘I can strengthen the Blue Sea Blade later.’
Regular items cannot be strengthened.
However, items classified as Epic or higher could be enhanced up to three stages, and Unique items could go beyond six stages.
With each enhancement, the level restriction increases, but the stats improve significantly.
This was one way to use low-level Epic items for a long time.
Enhancements were done at a blacksmith’s shop, but not just anyone could be trusted.
‘It has to be done by a player specializing in enhancements, but there aren’t many of them at this point in time.’
Currently, only a handful of enhancement-specialized blacksmith players existed, and most had already been recruited by large guilds.
‘Finding a blacksmith right now would be difficult.’
Weapon enhancement could wait.
For now, he needed armor with a level-100 restriction.
From this point, it was time to focus on performance rather than cost-efficiency.
Equipment performance significantly impacted hunting efficiency.
‘I could get equipment from the auction house, but it would take time, and decent gear would be unnecessarily expensive with competitive bidding.’
That would just be a waste of time.
‘I’ll get some temporary equipment for now and farm high-tier items myself later.’
Equipment that matched his level and had the right options for him.
For most players, finding such items would be nearly impossible even after extensive searching.
But…
He had plenty of information.
Players typically checked the community when deciding on hunting grounds.
Doing quests alongside hunting provided much better rewards, so they sought quest-related information.
Yeonwol also occasionally used the community.
It was essential to keep up with real-time information and jog his memory by revisiting old posts.
[There are rumors that the current top ranker has reached level 300. Investigations are underway to verify the truth…]
[Where are the rankers in the late 200s hunting?]
[For hidden dungeons and quest information, visit the game info site Elven!]
While browsing the community, Yeonwol guessed that the top rankers had probably reached level 300 by now.
Although it wasn’t officially announced, such rumors usually surfaced when someone had actually achieved the milestone.
Rankers already at level 300.
Most of those who focused excessively on leveling up would fall behind in the future due to their lack of foundation.
However, there were bound to be genuine rankers among them.
One such figure was ‘Madric,’ a top-tier ranker who had raced ahead from the game’s early days and ultimately secured the position of ‘World’s No. 3 Ranker.’
‘If Madric is at level 300, his combat power might exceed 350.’
Madric was part of a small group of elite players who consistently raised their stats and skill proficiency while leveling up.
This was one reason he remained a ranker until the end.
While other early players fell behind, only Madric survived.
And the reason was simple.
‘Relentless grinding.’
Hunting, grinding, hunting, grinding.
Although Yeonwol considered himself experienced in grinding, he was nothing compared to Madric.
Madric was a true genius of grinding.
“Phew, level 300, huh.”
Yeonwol felt a complicated mix of emotions.
Anyone who had played an RPG knew.
Repeating what you’d done before was mind-numbingly dull.
Knowing it beforehand only made it worse.
Being aware of the hardship awaiting him wasn’t entirely advantageous.
There’s a reason people say ignorance is bliss.
‘From level 200 onward, it’s going to be a hellish grind.’
Starting at level 300, hidden pieces would become critical to explosive growth.
This would further widen the gap between elite players like Madric and the rest.
Chensolla.
That man would likely be no different.
If he reached level 300, he would rush toward becoming the strongest faster than anyone else.
Shaking off his thoughts, Yeonwol returned to browsing quest information.
There was no time to waste.
‘Something worthwhile…’
Just because he was a regressor didn’t mean he always had to tackle grand hidden quests.
Quests needed for leveling up could be anything.
[Arson Incident in the City of Elron!]
[Once again, residents near the Crimson Magic Tower are plagued by terror following another attack…]
[However, because it’s a region protected by Dark Elves, a bounty has been placed on the Crimson Tower, offering considerable rewards for level-170 intermediate players. Despite the attractive rewards, the difficulty is high, so it’s not particularly recommended.]
While reading the arson incident post, a memory suddenly surfaced, causing Yeonwol to frown.
“Crimson Magic Tower? Were those guys active even at this point?”
The Crimson Magic Tower was a notorious group of magicians.
They weren’t dark magicians, yet they were infamous for burning down innocent cities, villages, forests, and non-human settlements.
‘And they burned down Elron City?’
Looking at the photos of the village, Yeonwol tilted his head.
The Crimson Magic Tower was known for targeting places without affiliations, such as independent towns or cities of non-human races, exploiting power voids.
But Elron City?
It wasn’t unaffiliated—it was protected by Dark Elves.
Of course, they’d be immediately marked as wanted.
[According to quest information posted by nearby residents, the minimum level for the hunt is estimated at 170-180, requiring a small group.]
Something felt off.
If it was the real Crimson Magic Tower, their level was far beyond what even the top rankers could handle.
The full-scale ‘Crimson Magic Tower Suppression’ wouldn’t happen for a few more years.
Yet here they were, with a mere level-170 restriction?
‘This smells like remnants of the Crimson Magic Tower. Cases like this weren’t uncommon.’
Closing the community, Yeonwol packed his belongings and stood up.
“I happened to need a lighter anyway…”
This might be for the best.