Necromancer Survival

‘If it was as easy as he makes it sounds, I would have done it immediately. Damn it.’

I felt frustrated as I saw Jung Garam using my body. I understood that there was a difference in the way we moved, but I couldn’t understand that difference well through just observation.

In the end, our first training session, which lasted three hours, ended without much gain except in helping the other servants to match each other’s movements… and for Koo Hui-seo and Kim Sangyoon to be added into our formations.

Because I didn’t think this could continue, I asked Garam-ie to tutor me one-on-one. After Seo Dawon, he, as a close-range damage dealer, would be the second-best opponent to force me to move my body.

Garam readily agreed yes, saying that it’d be fun. “Ham-Lee-kyung, first of all, your walking sounds too loud.”

“What do you mean by loud?”

“You’re making too much noise, and you have unnecessary movements–that’s what makes you stand out. It feels like you’re the only one that’s wearing flashy clothes while running about.” Then, Garam said he’d show me directly and told me to summon him.

“[Jung Garam].”

As soon as his body materialized, Garam-ie proceeded to show me various movements, such as jumping in place, lying down, or running in place.

Even though the young Assassin moved at a great speed, he made no sound. Like a cat, only light taps accompanied his steps.

On the other hand, a heavy thump accompanied my movements. Of course, I weighed more than Garam-ie but… no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t reduce my sledge-hammer like footsteps.

“What kind of shoes do you use?” I asked.

“Ah, geez, then why don’t we go barefoot?”

I suspected that Garam was using an item, but that was impossible because he continued with his suggestion to run barefoot.

He even executed a training program in the training room and demonstrated jumping down from a tree about 10 meters high. Garam told me to turn around while he did it, and when I felt that he had landed, he instructed me to look back.

Of course, I was unable to notice his landing. It wasn’t until Garam-ie had playfully hugged my neck, startling me, that I realized his presence.

I asked if he had used a skill, but Garam-ie corrected my misconception again. “If you need to use skills to move around like this, then you won’t be able to use them when you really need the boost.”

After saying that, he raised his heels and demonstrated how I should move. However, after walking as Garam-ie had demonstrated, I felt pain bursting through my calves, and I couldn’t move as I had intended.

“You really have no idea how to use your muscles.”

“……”

After running through simulations, Garam-ie prescribed at least 2 hours of strength training per day. “Well, I can teach you ways to hide or utilize misdirection… But, Ham-Lee-kyung, your body is the issue. There’s not much you can do with your fluttering, paper-doll-like body.”

“Is it really that bad?”

“Yep!”

When Garam-ie nodded without a second thought, I felt frustrated.

Honestly, I had no time to build a body when we needed to capture Moon Issak and Bae Jaemin straight away.

However, Garam-ie noticed my impatience, and said, “Honestly, you have high mental fortitude compared to your trashy body. If we can just tame your body–a bit–you’ll get better immediately.”

“R-Really?”

“Yeah. And, don’t you have a lot of high-quality people surrounding you who can help you grow quickly? There’s not only Dawon-ie hyung, but also Koo Hui-seo as well. Also, there’s peers at a similar to slightly better level with you–Kim Sangyoon. You two can motivate each other to improve together.”

“……”

“This is the best environment, to be honest.”

I still felt a bit of impatience creeping in as I listened to Jung Garam’s words.

However, according to Jung Garam’s training regimen, I changed my training method. From that day on, I immersed myself in basic physical training and occasionally participated in training alongside my Servants.

* * *

“This is Today’s Meal, Master.”

“……”

Since that day Choi Kyung-sik had been making fun of me, calling me Master, he had also been brewing potions.

I sighed once more as today, like the days before it, Choi Kyung-sik approached with a tray full of various potions. Solid food was temporarily banned while I had to eat this enormous volume of potions.

Well, it couldn’t be helped–I needed to become stronger. Though I could accept that logic, I got queasy at the sight of the potions. I took a deep breath and tried to settle my stomach as much as possible.

‘Still, I think my hand is getting better…’

Perhaps it was due to Choi Kyung-sik’s recovery potions–or perhaps I had simply become used to this hand–but my near immobile fingers gradually felt better.

Occasionally, before going to sleep, Dawon-ie gave me a grip strenth(?) device for me to grip, and Dawon-ie also said that my condition was much better than before. So, I endured the pain of not being able to eat and diligently consumed various types of potions.

“Try this [High-Protein Rookie Gym-Rat] potion first.” ¹ Choi Kyung-sik said.

“The chocolate flavor is awful.”

“That’s what I thought, so I changed it to mango flavor.”

“……” I tried to show my displeasure by criticizing its taste, but it didn’t work.

So, today, I started with the most challenging potion: the [High-Protein Rookie Gym-Rat]. Fitness enthusiasts were sure to love it, as it greatly helped with muscle growth. And, after drinking it, I did feel my body becoming stronger. The only problem was its taste. “…I finished.”

“Did you drink every single drop?”

“Haah…” I didn’t like sweet drinks that cloyed and clung to my mouth, but I drank everything as he told me to. However, Choi Kyung-sik immediately handed me the next potion without even giving me the chance to rinse my mouth with water.

“Here’s the [Exercise for Anchovies, Awakening Potion]. If you drink this before exercising, the exercise effect is doubled.”

“…Your naming sense sucks.”

“Mmm, you’re not angry, are you?”

“……” When I saw his wide grin, I tensed my fist. However, I held my anger in for now.

At least this potion was bite-sized, so even though it tasted horrible, I could close my eyes and swallow it right away. The cough syrup-like taste made me shudder, but at least the next potion was tolerable. My frown lessened.

“This potion raises your [Curse Resistance]. You drink this one well,” Choi Kyung-sik said.

“It tastes like barley tea, so it’s palatable.”

“The base does contain oolong leaves, but…” Choi Kyung-sik began moving his finger in the air, as if he were taking notes.

When I saw his movements, I said, pouting, “What are you writing down now.”

“I’m writing down Master’s likes and dislikes.”

“You say you keep notes on this, but hardly anything changes.”

“What sort of parent only gives their child what they like because they’re picky?”

I wanted to ask if I was his son, but Choi Kyung-sik popped a sour candy into my mouth while I was off-guard.

I slightly frowned, but the candy didn’t taste too bad so I sucked on it, placated.

Choi Kyung-sik smiled a bit despicably when I had no complaints. “Last is my lime-flavored [No Complaints] candy. I brought it with me when your boyfriend tipped me off that you like candy.”

“…No–Seo Dawon…!” This time, I was incredibly embarrassed, so I couldn’t help but criticize the blameless Seo Dawon. I lowered my head and swiftly finished the remaining potions before Choi Kyung-sik could further tease me.

“You drank it all,” He commented.

“…I feel like throwing up.”

“Do you want another candy?”

“…Enough.”

Fortunately, within a few minutes, my nauseated, rolling stomach subsided.

Before leaving the room, Choi Kyung-sik said, pointing to a few potions on the tray, “You should drink these four bottles after exercising. At the end, you should drink the red potions three hours afterwards.”

“Alright.”

“Then, Fighting!”

The door reopened shortly after Choi Kyung-sik left.

“Are you ready?” Kim Sangyoon inquired.

[Clack Clack Clack!]

[Master!]

“Yes.”

It was Kim Sangyoon and Lackey.

We usually trained together, so they would wait until I finished drinking my daily potions before walking together to the training room.

Today, as well, the three of us trained together again. Then, later we would gather with the rest of the servants to train our positioning.

And, the leader of our training team was…

“Then, shall we start with stretching?”

It was Kim Olim.

To be precise, I was the only one who needed to do some light stretching–Kim Sangyoon and Lackey exercised hard next to me so I wouldn’t feel alienated and uncomfortable.

I copied the posture Kim Olim indicated, but I alone kept stumbling and losing balance.

“You’re stiffer than Lackey–a skeleton, Ham-Lee-kyung-ah,” Olim said.

“……”

“Your cheeks were so fluffy… You’ve completely deceived me.”

“Just when did I deceive you?”

“Don’t talk back and keep your head down. Tense your stomach properly.”

“Haah…”

Become a member!

TL: The training menu from hell… Literally…

But also, I just find it hilarious how Kim Olim is just so focused on Lee-kyung’s puffy cheeks.