Necromancer Survival

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     “Hm?”

     “You must have a party when you enter the dungeons.
You don’t have a guild…”

     “Ah…” After a moment’s silence, I recalled the names on my friend tab in the system.
“There’s someone named Kim Sangyoon… Perhaps you know him? He’s a streamer…” I chose the most normal person on that list.

     “Kim Sangyoon? Hmm… Sorry, I don’t know who he is.
I don’t really watch User streams.”

     “Ah, okay…”

     “……”

     “……”

     I felt another difference that separated the past from the present; as students, the conversation didn’t feel so awkward even when we were silent.
But now, there was an unbearable awkward atmosphere as silence stretched between us.

     Han Kiseok must have felt the same way; he repeatedly opened and closed his mouth, trying to say something.
I stirred the blameless iced americano with a straw, careful to not make eye contact with him.

     “I guess he’s a celebrity that only I don’t know.” Meanwhile, Han Kiseok must have been searching the Warrior up; he was looking at his cell phone screen.
I wondered what he had read, but then I saw Kim Sangyoon’s profile on the screen.

     “It’s valid to not know him if you don’t watch streams.
It’s only been a few months since his channel’s popularity has shot up.”

     “Shot up?”

     “Yeah.
It hasn’t been long since his subscriber count exponentially increased… Ah! Kiseok-ie, do you want to watch him too? He often does slapstick comedy…” To overcome this silence, I hurriedly turned on my cell phone and showed him my favorite Kim Sangyoon stream clip… Han Kiseok was expressionless; it was as if he were watching some serious nature documentary.

     He did not even chuckle when he saw Kim Sangyoon crumple to the ground as he was about to sit down (his chair had wheels and had moved backwards).
I almost quietly laughed–the clip was still funny on a second watch…

     Bashful, I hurriedly took my cell phone back from Han Kiseok’s hand and muttered an excuse, “There are some folks that don’t really understand his humor…”

     “No, it’s just… It’s fascinating that you’re in a fixed party with someone like him.
How did you meet him?”

     “Ah! That’s… We got closer after Sangyoon-ssi carried me…”

     “Carried you?”

     “Mhmm… First, he accepted money for that service, but… Mmm… Somehow we just got closer.” To be exact, we became friendly through Seo Dawon–standing behind me–instigating a slave contract through violence and intimidation.
We subdued the Warrior through those tactics, but… I couldn’t exactly be forthright with this explanation. 

     Instead, I tried to fabricate a moving story.
“Sangyoon-ssi is truly a kind person… He willingly goes around the dungeons with me.”

     “Ah… Then, was Kim Sangyoon-ssi the one to first propose clearing dungeons together?”

“Mhmm.”

     “How often do you go with him?”

     “About…two or three times a week?” The more I talked, the stranger Han Kiseok’s expression became.
As if he discovered some major plothole in my explanation, he became increasingly persistent with his questions.

     “So you entered this Kim Sangyoon person’s party?”

     “No? We just raid together–just the two of us…”

     “There’s quite the level difference between the two of you.
Wait–just the two of you?”

     “……” It sounded like the Han Kiseok was questioning why someone like Kim Sangyoon would drag around an incompetent User like me.
I crossed my arms across my chest.
“Yeah.
It seems like he still likes me even though I’m so incompetent.”

“”

     Han Kiseok looked up with a startled expression after he heard my answer.
“That’s not what I meant… Normally, at your level, it’s faster to raid dungeons as a party.”

     “…I also don’t know why Kim Sangyoon prefers to raid with just the two of us.”

     “I apologize.
This wasn’t what I intended.” He apologized quite neatly, but I still felt uncomfortable.

     ‘As Choi Kyung-sik said… Did Han Kiseok meet me to fulfill some ulterior motive?’

     His persistent interrogation was not what I expected from the Han Kiseok I remembered…

     Furthermore, he’d listened to my situation, but he hadn’t talked about himself at all.
So this time, I resolved to put on an act and pretend to be interested in his life.
The servants said that his girlfriend worked for a company run by Geum Miyoung, right…?

     ‘S-So… How are you doing these days?” I asked.

      “…Nothing special.
Life is just travelling from job to house to job to house.” Han Kiseok spoke as if he were living some joyless, boring life, but, as far as I knew, the man was a fairly successful User.
Before I met Seo Dawon, if someone were to ask me to describe a fanciful User’s life… I might have imagined Han Kiseok’s current lifestyle.

     I didn’t know if the man was showcasing his humility or merely bluffing, but Han Kiseok firmly shut his mouth tight after that answer.
I took note of his attitude and, in an awkward tone, asked him another question.
“Mm, then… Did you meet your current girlfriend at your job?”

     Han Kiseok, who had been looking down with his gaze focused on his coffee, slowly raised his head.
Then, with a bewildered expression, he countered, “Girlfriend?”

     “Yeah?”

     “I don’t have a girlfriend?”

Footnotes

The original is ‘created porridge.’ Rice porridge requires hours of constant stirring to make sure rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
It’s slang for ‘extremely hard work.’