The Second Life of a Legendary Necromancer

Chapter 41: Hideous Witch (2)

As expected, when Yeonwol’s video was uploaded, the reaction on the community was even more explosive than it was for Song Yeon-Ju’s video.

[Breaking News! Khazaram Killer Yeonwol Acquires Hidden Summoner Class!]

Many had been eagerly waiting for Yeonwol’s video.

Some were curious about his swordsmanship like they were with Song Yeon-Ju, some simply enjoyed watching his videos, and others were keen to find a new excuse to criticize him.

Even the rankers had been anticipating his video, wondering how he resolved the Dilen County incident.

Where and how did he solve a quest that even rankers couldn’t?

However, all those reasons became irrelevant.

Through this video, it was revealed that Yeonwol’s class wasn’t a swordsman or an alchemist but of the ‘Summoner’ line.

The Summoner class—a profession that many combat-oriented players subtly looked down upon.

Because summoners typically avoided direct combat and relied on their summoned creatures, the class was often chosen by women and children.

In terms of actual combat power, it wasn’t impressive, and their poor compatibility in party play made them unpopular for dungeon exploration.

“Summons…?”

Therefore, when Song Yeon-Ju first played Yeonwol’s video, she couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed.

According to Velkiri, Yeonwol wasn’t a swordsman.

Even so, she had hoped he hadn’t completely abandoned the path of the sword, but he had ultimately chosen a different class.

However.

“He’s fighting directly with the summons?”

Yeonwol was distinctly different from other summoner classes.

While most summoners lacked personal combat power and avoided direct fights, Yeonwol fought alongside his summons!

-What kind of class is this? Even the summons are pretty strong!

-Hold on a second. That boss is level 130? And he’s hunting it solo?

-Yeonwol’s level was estimated to be around 100 back then… How does he have three summons that strong?

-Is this even possible?

-And yet, his base stats are comparable to a level 100 combat class?

Most users focused on the performance and stats of the summons.

Given Yeonwol’s level, the strength of his summons seemed absurd.

Even rankers began analyzing the hidden class Yeonwol revealed with keen interest.

It was extremely unusual for a summoner class player at level 100 to control three summons, each around level 100.

Furthermore, the summons had regenerative abilities, making it impossible to overlook.

If this hidden class could be acquired by others, it could significantly enhance a guild’s strength.

Summoners might be disregarded in party play, but they shined in guild wars.

In siege battles where there was no choice but to face enemies head-on, the durability and raw power of summoners became invaluable.

While everyone else was focused on the performance of the summons, Song Yeon-Ju was the only one paying attention to Yeonwol’s swordsmanship.

“He’s improved even more.”

The Yeonwol in the video was yet to receive swordsmanship training from Duke Dilen.

Even so, Yeonwol was steadily integrating the swordsmanship of his past life into the game.

“In the past, he always acted solo, creating openings intentionally and striking when he could… But now it’s different. He baits attacks onto himself, creates openings for his summons, and then delivers a critical blow while safely disengaging.”

Yet, something still bothered her.

In the video, Yeonwol delegated all the tanking to his summons while playing a hit-and-run style, akin to an assassin.

For Song Yeon-Ju, who had waited so long, this video didn’t quite quench her thirst.

As the battle reached its climax and all the summons suffered critical damage and collapsed, Yeonwol finally began his one-on-one confrontation with the Zombie Knight.

The Zombie Knight, though not in perfect condition, moved effortlessly due to its undead nature.

“Ah!”

When Yeonwol launched his attack on the Zombie Knight, Song Yeon-Ju forgot her surroundings and let out a scream.

Others wouldn’t understand, but Song Yeon-Ju knew.

That unique footwork and timing.

The strategy of exploiting the moment an opponent adjusts their stance to charge in and deliver a decisive strike.

That was…

“My strategy?”

During a standoff, both parties seemed impenetrable. But there were always openings.

When an opponent briefly loosens their grip on their weapon and readjusts.

When they lift a foot to shift their position.

When they blink.

When they switch their grip to execute a different strategy.

Every one of those moments was an opening for Song Yeon-Ju.

A strategy born from sharp observation and an instinctive grasp of fleeting opportunities.

It was a strategy no one else had used or could replicate.

Yet, Yeonwol was doing it.

“Could it be… Did he observe my swordsmanship?”

She had felt it before. Yeonwol’s swordsmanship resembled hers.

His habits, strategies, even his techniques.

But she shook her head.

“N-No way. Thinking he modeled his swordsmanship after me just because I’m a little famous is such an egotistical thought.”

The world was full of swordsmanship masters, many of whom had lived longer and were more skilled than Song Yeon-Ju.

Even if there were similarities—no, many similarities—believing it originated from her was foolish.

-Clang!!

While Song Yeon-Ju wrestled with her thoughts, the battle in the video reached its peak.

The Zombie Knight still had plenty of HP remaining.

Finishing it off solo seemed impossible.

The reason was simple.

There were no summons left to absorb the Zombie Knight’s attacks.

The Zombie Knight wielded its massive greatsword with surprising agility, and Yeonwol’s speed wasn’t enough to consistently evade it.

Without heavy armor or a shield, engaging in a battle of attrition would only lead to his defeat.

He couldn’t counter the greatsword. It was too fast to dodge. He was too frail to endure its strikes.

The situation seemed utterly disadvantageous.

“Huh?”

As the Zombie Knight swung its massive greatsword, Yeonwol swung his sword to meet it head-on.

To anyone watching, it seemed like a reckless move!

The overwhelming difference in strength stats and weapon size made it clear Yeonwol would be overpowered.

-Screeech!!

Instead, the greatsword slid along Yeonwol’s blade, slicing harmlessly through empty air.

Exploiting the opening, Yeonwol landed another strike!

The Zombie Knight, with its armor now shattered, staggered backward, severely damaged.

‘How….’

His peculiar movements didn’t happen just once.

-Kwaggak!

The Zombie Knight’s overwhelming greatsword strikes kept sliding off the side of Yeonwol’s blade, missing their mark, and every gap created became an opportunity for an attack.

At first, it was incomprehensible.

But after watching it happen a second and third time, she began to understand.

‘He’s using the opponent’s strength against them. That overwhelming power… he deflects it by tilting his blade at just the right moment and letting it slide off.’

Normally, this would have been incredibly difficult.

However, with the Zombie Knight’s greatsword half-broken due to the sacrifice of one of Yeonwol’s summons, its range advantage was diminished.

Yeonwol leveraged that to execute this seemingly impossible feat.

For an ordinary swordsman, this would have been utterly impossible.

Had Yeonwol been a swordsman class, he might have used the [Guard] skill and suffered a piercing blow with severe damage.

But since he wasn’t a swordsman class, he could bypass the reliance on guard skills and adopt a pure swordsmanship technique to counter the greatsword’s massive power.

‘Skills aren’t the only thing that matters.’

Song Yeon-Ju realized that she had been mistaken.

The past months spent trying to combine swordsmanship with skills now felt foolish.

‘What’s important is creating new and astounding strategic ideas in this fantasy world, where stats and levels exist, and then making them a reality….’

That’s right.

This world was a game.

A literal fantasy world, where any imagination or dream could come true.

She felt a thrill run through her.

Each time she watched Yeonwol’s videos, it felt like her rigid mindset shattered and emerged, soaring like a bird with newfound wings.

This new realization quickly became another motivator for Song Yeon-Ju to grow.

It reminded her why she had given up real-world kendo so quickly and immersed herself in the game.

In reality, kendo no longer seemed to offer any room for improvement.

She felt as though she had hit an unbreakable wall, a path with no way forward.

But in this world, it was different.

‘I can improve far beyond where I am now. Far, far more!’

As Yeonwol’s video ended, Song Yeon-Ju sprang to her feet and sprinted toward the hunting grounds.

Her eyes sparkled with curiosity like starlight, brimming with new ideas and strategies.

Jabern Neutral City.

This massive city, known as a paradise for criminal players, was unique in that it wasn’t a ‘safe zone’ despite being a town.

In other words, crimes could occur here without receiving any help from the guards.

Of course, committing crimes still resulted in ‘karma’ turning evil and a drop in reputation points, even if the guards didn’t protect the area.

Players who committed murder and became wanted had a red brand appear on their foreheads.

The brighter and more vibrant the brand, the more heinous the criminal.

In Jabern, notorious criminals with red brands on their foreheads often appeared.

However, thanks to the tacit alliances among players within the city, crimes didn’t occur as frequently.

But being under the protection of these informal alliances didn’t guarantee that crimes wouldn’t happen.

“Ugh! W-Why!”

[You are critically injured. If you do not heal quickly, you will die.]

Gedman, a level 209 warrior player, staggered backward, blood pouring from his abdomen.

This was an alleyway where no one ever came.

No one could help him.

“Why? Because you possess a C-rank hidden class.”

C-rank hidden classes were recognized as some of the best among existing classes and were notoriously difficult to obtain.

As a level 200 hidden class, Gedman was highly regarded for his combat prowess, but his opponent was effortlessly overwhelming him.

“No way, you…!”

“Did you just figure it out?”

Sweating profusely, Gedman muttered the nickname of his opponent.

“Hidden Class Killer….”

A nickname given to someone who targeted and killed players with hidden classes.

Being killed by this individual resulted in a death penalty three times harsher than usual, and they could even steal your skills.

For hidden class players, whose defining advantage lay in their unique skills, dying to him was a catastrophic loss.

“If you kill me just to steal one skill, the alliance will hunt you down!”

Hearing that, the murderer, cloaked in a black robe, grinned and approached.

“I’m already so popular; I’m worried. If I get more stalker fans, that’d be such a hassle.”

“You bastard!”

Enraged by the killer’s mocking tone, Gedman swung his hammer.

But the killer darted forward faster, plunging a dagger into Gedman’s neck.

Stab-!

“Guh…!”

“Take a break for a few days. Games should be played at a leisurely pace.”

[You have killed the level 209 Blazing Warrior (C) ‘Gedman.’]

[Due to a death penalty three times harsher than usual, their level has dropped by nine, and their stats and skill proficiency have been significantly reduced!]

[You have absorbed some of their level and stats and acquired one of their skills.]

From level 200 onward, gaining even a single level was notoriously difficult.

Losing nine levels would make anyone want to die out of despair.

“Time to choose a skill.”

Muttering, the killer summoned a roulette-like interface that began spinning.

The roulette had smaller sections representing high-rank skills and larger sections for lower-rank skills.

“Last time, I got unlucky and stole a useless skill….”

The spinning roulette stopped when the killer stabbed it with his dagger.

[You have absorbed the A-rank skill ‘Blaze Rampage’!]

[Be warned: if you die under Divine Judgment, you will lose all absorbed skills.]

“Bingo.”

He had absorbed the very identity of the Blazing Warrior class—a skill that defined it.

Without it, the Blazing Warrior would be nothing more than trash, even inferior to an E-rank class.

Watching Gedman cry out in despair upon returning to the game would be amusing enough, but…

“To avoid unnecessary pursuit, I’ll have to leave the city.”

Feeling pleased after obtaining such a valuable skill, the Hidden Class Killer, ‘Rudrick,’ opened a bottle of whiskey and took a swig.

“Well then. Who should I target next…?”