This Necromancer Just Wants to Plant Trees - Chapter 76 (Patreon)

Abhorrence is a powerful and wicked undead creature.

Each birth of an abhorrence is filled with pain and inhumane nature, and they are dreadful, deformed creations, reflecting humanity's true fear.

Every abhorrence's appearance is vastly different.

The one standing before Matthew had seven heads, with six smaller heads surrounding the largest one in the center. If you looked from a distance, you might mistake the six smaller heads on its neck for some kind of jewelry.

Its limbs were bound together from multiple human thighs and shins. It had a gaping mouth on its abdomen, emitting a yellow sulfuric smoke, filled with serrated teeth. Occasionally, a hand would emerge from it. Perhaps due to spending a long time in the abhorrence's abdomen, the hand had an unhealthy, gel-like appearance and seemed incredibly smooth.

Sewing lines, symbolizing its origin, were everywhere on the abhorrence's body.

Even though Matthew detested these inhumane creations, he had to admit that the necromancer who created this abhorrence was highly skilled.

Her tailoring level must be above master level!

Otherwise, she couldn't have sewn such perfect wounds.

Matthew looked closely but couldn't find the starting point of the stitching lines!

In addition to that, apart from the mouth on its belly continuously emitting sulfur, there was no pus or foul odor from other parts of the abhorrence.

This was nearly a perfect abhorrence!

"Besides being made from the lives of Jango people... Oh, and naga?"

As Matthew approached, he noticed a large serpent tail behind the abhorrence. It was crafted from three naga lower bodies, and it looked somewhat like a twisted braided rope.

An abhorrence with a tail! What kind of twisted aesthetics is this?

Matthew couldn't help but question the mental state of the necromancer named Daniya.

But he quickly dismissed these chaotic thoughts from his mind.

The appearance of the abhorrence was of utmost importance to Matthew. It was both an opportunity and a challenge. The opportunity was twofold:

First, although the Night of the Undead was the simplest way to advance and had no strict requirements for the events that occurred between necromancers and undead during the night, if there were high-level undead presiding over the night, Matthew would have the opportunity to gain a significant amount of negative energy affinity.

His negative energy affinity had always been low, often requiring the use of negative energy stones. This was an excellent opportunity to make up for it.

Second, if he could establish a friendly relationship with this abhorrence, he would have a comfortable night ahead. Bullying among the undead was deeply ingrained, and nobody would dare offend a necromancer with an abhorrence shielding him.

Not even the recently expelled eccentric zombie.

So when the abhorrence approached, Matthew couldn't wait to greet it.

"Good evening, Mr. Abhorrence."

The abhorrence looked like it hadn't fully awakened. In response to Matthew's politeness, it just grunted heavily.

Its gaze drifted towards the small items on the ground.

Without hesitation, Matthew reached into his bag of magical items and presented a small imp's head with both hands.

"These low-grade items are not worthy of you. I have prepared premium items specially for a distinguished person like you."

The smaller heads under the abhorrence's main head began to praise in unison.

"This necromancer is a real flatterer!"

"He's afraid we'll eat him!"

"I like his attitude. If he could just bend a little lower when bowing, I could see..."

Smack! The abhorrence angrily slapped each of the smaller heads that had spoken.

"Enough! Stop talking; it's giving me a headache!"

With that, it rudely took the imp's head from Matthew's hands and stuffed it into the mouth on its belly.

Crunch, crunch!

The sound of chewing filled the air, and the sulfur emission from its mouth ceased.

"I want that one too!"

The abhorrence, unapologetically, moved to the stall and poked its thick fingers at several items.

"You can take them freely."

Matthew maintained a respectful demeanor throughout. These small items weren't valuable, and the abhorrence was relatively reasonable. It only took about half of the items from the stall.

Then, it found a comfortable spot near the incense burner and sat down enthusiastically, playing with the small items.

Matthew had plenty of items in his bag, but he didn't immediately take them out. He just observed quietly.

With the abhorrence present, the other undead were much more reserved. They didn't even want to speak.

If it weren't for the incense burner, they might have left already.

Matthew watched the situation coldly, fully aware of what was happening.

After a while...

The crunching sounds from the abhorrence's belly came to an end, and Matthew immediately turned to the zombie lady who had been daydreaming nearby. He asked gently, "Could you please deliver this to Mr. Abhorrence?"

He took out another head from his bag, this time a little imp's head, which was also a trophy from the previous battle.

The zombie lady seemed agreeable and nodded, then took the little imp's head and walked over to the abhorrence without asking any questions. She simply shoved it into the abhorrence's mouth on its abdomen.

Crunch, crunch.

A new round of chewing sounds began.

The abhorrence looked satisfied and said to her, "Oh, thank you! Lovely lady, your kindness reminds me of my late wife."

The zombie lady looked puzzled and asked, "Wow! What was her name?"

The abhorrence sighed deeply, "I'm sorry, it's not that I can't remember her name. It's just that I had so many wives because of my unique composition, a patchwork of more than thirty different humanoid creatures. It's not what you imagine, we were all faithful. But you have to understand, with so many deceased wives, I'm not sure where to start when talking about which one."

The zombie lady exclaimed, "Wow, that's amazing!"

The abhorrence chuckled and even somewhat embarrassedly patted the heads in a circle. Matthew noticed that the other six heads were now quiet, showing a shy and reclusive side, quite different from their previous behavior of interrupting conversations with Matthew.

While they were engaged in conversation, Matthew carefully observed the state of the other undead. They should have all been former subordinates of Daniya. After she left, they lost their master, resulting in a lack of negative energy to a certain extent.

Take the zombie lady, for example. Her skin was extremely dry, unlike the usual dampness on the surface of a zombie. This indicated that her body lacked the negative energy to retain moisture. Over time, she would become a desiccated corpse, significantly reducing her combat power.

The symptoms were similar for the others. Only the abhorrence remained unaffected due to its level being a staggering sixteen, allowing it to directly communicate with the negative energy plane.

To make these undead more comfortable, Matthew reluctantly took out six negative energy stones and placed them next to the incense burner. This action significantly increased the undead's goodwill towards him.

Meanwhile, the zombie lady seemed to have finished her conversation with Mr. Abhorrence and returned to Matthew's side.

As the night deepened, more and more undead gathered around. They were subdued by the abhorrence's presence and quietly settled on the periphery.

Matthew saw that the atmosphere was ripe, so he cleared his throat and addressed the undead present, "I've heard of a story about a headless knight and a floating skull in love. Would you be interested in hearing it?"

This statement broke the silence of the Night of the Undead and attracted the attention of all the undead.

The zombie lady was the first to show interest. She looked at Matthew with curiosity and asked, "But how can a headless knight and a floating skull be together? They don't have similar bodies, do they?"

Matthew smiled and asked in return, "Is it really that important for two beings to have similar physical forms to be together?"

With that, he handed another head to the zombie lady, encouraging her to continue feeding Mr. Abhorrence.

The undead began to contemplate the matter, some of them showing confusion. Then, a skeleton stood up and said, "I think it's not important. We're all already dead; if they love each other, they should be together, regardless of physical differences."

The skeleton's perspective won the agreement of many undead. However, some zombies held opposing views, saying, "This isn't about conforming to norms; it's about how to make it work. If they can't even share meals, what's the point of their love?"

Though fewer in number, the zombies were loud and vocal.

A heated debate ensued, and Matthew saw an opportunity to steer the discussion further. He said, "Well, that's an important point, but there's also the issue that the headless knight had a taste for sweet, while the floating skull preferred salty."

This time, the undead fell silent, seemingly in shock either by the abhorrence's power or its unexpected line of thinking.

Matthew hesitated for a moment and then explained, "The headless knight and the floating skull are indeed an unusual pair. If you can find a way to unite their different tastes, you'll have a love story for the ages."

Another round of argument broke out. This time, the undead split into two factions, no longer divided by race but by taste preference: the salty faction and the sweet faction.

As the debate continued, Matthew smiled. His goal was already starting to take shape. The undead arguing passionately was a good sign. As long as they didn't come to blows, it was all under control.

In the midst of the argument, the abhorrence suddenly spoke up, "Can't they be sewn together?"

Matthew was momentarily taken aback and asked, "You mean...?"

The abhorrence explained, "If they are sewn together, wouldn't they be together?"

The undead fell into silence, either awed by the abhorrence's power or shocked by its unusual idea. Matthew quickly caught on and said, "Well... that's indeed one way to solve the problem."

"But there's another challenge for the headless knight and the floating skull: their differing tastes in food. The headless knight liked sweet, while the floating skull preferred salty."

This time, the undead factions erupted in heated debate.

This was his secret weapon, specially prepared for the Night of the Undead!

Dealing with so many undead individually would be exhausting and risky, as chatting with one could lead to others suddenly attacking. However, remaining silent was not an option, as it contradicted the very essence of the Night of the Undead, which emphasized deep communication between both parties.

The more mature approach was for a necromancer to act as a moderator, guiding the undead in discussing various topics.

This wasn't an original idea from Matthew but something he had learned from the necromancers of Baiyan City.

The key was to select discussion topics that could spark heated debates. If the current group of undead had been previous online friends, Matthew might have thrown a gaming topic into the mix to stir things up. This might have helped him sail through the Night of the Undead with ease.

However, there was a catch.

To use this method effectively, you needed someone who could command the room and maintain control. This was why Matthew had been eager to please Mr. Abhorrence, as his presence was essential.

Additionally, there were many taboo topics when chatting with the undead. This was another reason Matthew was careful with his words. Speaking too much risked saying the wrong thing, which could ruin the night.

In such cases, the necromancers of Baiyan City had a near-cheating method. They would seek out a powerful undead, someone as intelligent as Peggy, to act as an intermediary. These intermediaries were known as "middlemen."

The necromancer would make a prior arrangement with the middleman. They would set a time and place, and once the Night of the Undead began, the middleman would enter the ritual venue as if drawn there, ensuring things went smoothly.

The process was so refined that Baiyan City even offered a service for renting middlemen, which was one of the reasons they could produce advanced necromancers in large quantities.

However, Matthew was not one to take shortcuts. He aimed for a genuine accomplishment. He was confident that he could pass the Night of the Undead with just his words.

Perhaps it had been a while since he last spoke, but the undead were lively and active, apart from Mr. Abhorrence, and almost everyone had something to say.

This made things a lot easier for Matthew. He just had to steer the conversation.

"You make a valid point, but what if the Headless Knight refuses? My point is, although he was male in his previous life and had male characteristics, he is now, after all, a member of the undead."

"Miss Floating Skull is very kind, but she always lacks a sense of security. She can't bear the Headless Knight's frequent nights out, and she even suspects that he still has a head hidden somewhere, using that head to chase after other women..."

"You're right. Floating Skull has always been known for her unattractive appearance, but does that mean that ugly people are destined not to find true love? Can't she just wait a bit longer? What if the right one comes along?"

With these well-timed soul-searching remarks, the debate among the undead escalated in waves.

However, Mr. Abhorrence occasionally disrupted the atmosphere by saying, "Can't they be sewn together, after all?"

Matthew estimated that he could keep the debate going all night, if it weren't for Mr. Abhorrence's occasional remark.

Nevertheless, time passed unnoticed, even amidst the intense debate.

Then, out of nowhere, someone exclaimed, "It's dawn!"

The once fervently arguing undead were struck dumb. Matthew lowered his gaze to the incense burner, where the incense had burned down to the last wisp.

In the blink of an eye, the lively undead had turned rigid, as if a force had stripped them of the intelligence and memories they had temporarily gained.

Dawn's light spilled into the rainforest.

The undead, one by one, returned to their befuddled state and began to leave Matthew's gathering.

This included Mr. Abhorrence.

Under the influence of the ritual, they left the scene without resistance.

Matthew watched them depart with relief, except for one eccentric zombie:

He walked up to him, raised his foot, and tripped him. The zombie stumbled and fell to the ground, grimacing at Matthew. He managed to get up after some effort.

Matthew didn't stop there and kicked him back down. It wasn't until he dislodged the zombie's head from its neck that the zombie stopped trying to rise.

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

Three consecutive slaps turned the zombie's sturdy chest into loose pieces of flesh. Then, Matthew squeezed the creature's neck between his palms and removed its head.

Ding! Dong!

It was the sound of a nameplate falling to the ground.

Matthew kicked the zombie's head away and then gradually returned to his human form.

The next moment, he bent down, picked up the nameplate, and read:

...

"This zombie is a pervert. Don't approach if you're not already dead."

...

"A very timely reminder," Matthew said with a wry smile.

At that moment, Bobo, who had been watching from a distance, skipped over and said, "It was certainly an unconventional night. Although I didn't see the content I was expecting, it was still quite impressive."

"I have a question," Matthew said.

"Go ahead," Bobo replied.

"So, did the Headless Knight and Floating Skull end up together?" Bobo's curiosity was evident as he tilted his head.

"No," Matthew answered.

"Why not?" Bobo seemed disappointed.

"Because the Headless Knight has no head, and Floating Skull has no body, they'll just forever pass each other by, unless they're stitched together the way Mr. Abhorrence suggested. But does that qualify as true love?"

Matthew chuckled in response, "Of course, the above was all made up by me. They're all undead, yet they still long for love. Their 'soul fire' must be quite ill."

...

"Notification: You have completed the 'Advanced Ritual: Night of the Undead,' and you have attained the 'Advanced Profession: High-Level Necromancer.' Since the High-Level Necromancer profession is closely related to the Basic Necromancer profession, it will replace the latter's title henceforth.

Please distribute your experience points!"

...

Experience distribution:

Your level has jumped from LV8 to LV12!

Your attributes have received enhancements: Intelligence +1 & Perception +1;

Your pact slots have increased by +2;

You have gained the High-Level Necromancer's professional trait, 'Soul Projection';

You have acquired new abilities: 'Tombstone Crafting' and 'Death Shockwave';

Your ability 'Necrotic Pouch Mastery' has been upgraded to 'Necrotic Pouch Mastery';

Due to your outstanding performance during the Night of the Undead, you will receive additional rewards:

Your Negative Energy Affinity has received a minor boost;

You will obtain a new necromantic summon (Random/3-4 ranks)!"

...

A substantial amount of XP was consumed, and Matthew's level shot up like a rocket.

He leaped from the pinnacle of the second rank to the pinnacle of the third rank in a single bound, significantly improving his overall strength.

First and foremost, the increase in attributes became immediately apparent. The additional Intelligence would help him learn spells faster and cast them more effectively. Perception was precisely the attribute required by Druids, sharpening their senses to detect things that ordinary people might overlook, while also improving the Wildshape form's effects.

Regarding traits and abilities, high-level necromancers typically obtained one of the following four: 'Raise Undead,' 'Wither Aura,' 'Fangs of the Ancestors,' and 'Soul Projection.'

'Raise Undead' allowed them to raise more undead, increasing their limit by about two to three times;

'Wither Aura' provided the undead with an effect similar to 'Decay Light,' but it performed slightly worse than the latter;

'Fangs of the Ancestors' was a decent trait; it allowed necromancers to generate a stone that significantly increased their favorability with the Bloodsuckers. Most necromancers who obtained 'Fangs of the Ancestors' usually opted to ascend the 'Blue Sky' path. After all, the Bloodsuckers were among the few undead creatures that excelled in individual combat, possessed decent intelligence, and were willing to cooperate.

However, in comparison to all these traits, 'Soul Projection' overshadowed them all.

...

"Soul Projection: Your soul can leave your body, leaving your physical form in a trance. In this state, you gain the following unique properties:

Your soul can roam the nearby world, flying at twice the speed of your walking pace and gaining abilities such as 'X-Ray Vision,' 'Phase Through,' and 'Invisibility to Mortals';

Your soul and your body simultaneously acquire high resistance against slashing, stabbing, and other forms of physical damage;

You can cast spells while in your soul state, without the need for somatic components or a medium. When casting necromantic spells in this state, you gain the 'Material-Free Casting' ability;

You can attempt to possess any target, preferably inanimate objects. During the early stages of soul projection, any attempt to possess a living being can result in disastrous consequences;

While in the soul state, you will continuously consume soul energy. Return to your physical body for respite;

You can create containers around your body, suitable for resting during soul projection. However, regardless of the method, your soul projection duration cannot exceed one hour, and the maximum distance must not exceed 70 meters from your physical form;

During your soul projection, you possess the 'Terror Form.' When activated, it induces paralyzing fear in all mortals who see it.

After using the 'Terror Form,' you must return to your physical body within a maximum of three minutes, or there is a risk of inability to return."

...

Despite certain restrictions, 'Soul Projection' remained one of the most powerful traits that high-level necromancers could attain.

Perhaps it was due to Matthew's good fortune or his outstanding performance during the Night of the Undead, but this trait excelled in various areas, whether for reconnaissance, combat, or scheming.

Additionally, Matthew was quite pleased with his new abilities.

...

"Tombstone Crafting: You can craft gravestones for resting undead. In the vicinity of these tombstones, undead recover more quickly, absorb negative energy more efficiently, and exhibit significantly higher potential loyalty. Undead who rest near the tombstone for extended periods will have a lower chance of being transformed into elite templates. You can also detonate tombstones, which can be considered units that simultaneously meet the conditions of 'Last Dance' and 'Corpse Explosion.'"

...

"Death Shockwave: You can unleash a terrifying wave of negative energy across a vast fan-shaped area, boasting powerful knockback, knockdown, and intimidation effects. Enemies struck by the shockwave will undergo a 'Severe Injury Assessment.' If successful, they'll lose at least half their life. Even if the assessment fails, those hit by the shockwave will still lose about a fifth of their life. This ability can be used twice daily."

...

The two abilities, one supporting logistics and the other being a rare area-of-effect (AOE) skill, were invaluable.

The shockwave provided the area damage that Matthew had been lacking. Necromantic spells were known for point-to-point detonations, with few options for group damage.

This skill greatly compensated for Matthew's shortcomings.

...

"Finally, my silver tongue didn't go to waste," Matthew remarked with increasing delight.

His dual role as the Balance Messenger and advancement as a High-Level Necromancer had caused a substantial leap in his abilities. He believed that with a bit of time to become familiar with these newfound powers, even as a third-rank being, he could easily dispatch quite a few fourth-rank adversaries. In this world, levels were the least significant among the five main factors.

In Matthew's view, the priority of the other four factors was as follows:

Domain > Connections > Equipment (including items) > Abilities and Level

Domains were the most crucial as they were the seed of legendary power and the key to accessing the truth of the world. They also offered substantial assistance in battles.

Connections were next, and in Matthew's eyes, problems that could be solved by networking were not truly problems.

Equipment and items represented wealth, and having money could solve many problems.

As for abilities and levels, they were the least significant.

With a quick scan of the specifics of each enhancement, Matthew's mood grew increasingly tense.

Next, it was time to test his luck.

...

"Notification: Do you wish to summon a new necromantic summon? Summon in progress; please wait..."

Chapter 77 >>

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