True Name―Ekarraat Dread

“Can you explain what’s going on?”

“Very well. I also bear the name of Sagacious-Eyed Vampire Princess. I’ll answer the child’s questions. After all, he is now also my master, is he not?”

The Crimson Vampire Princess rose from her throne and approached me.

“【Necromancer】—that is a class that appears only among the Shikai Tribe, who have the peculiar feature of black hair and black eyes—and if certain conditions are met, it class-changes into the extra class 【Shadow Necromancer】.”

I know what a class change means.

If a Warrior-class adventurer raises their level and trains tank-like skills, they class-change into a Heavy Knight.

Conversely, if they train offensive skills, they class-change into a Berserker.

Also, if a Mage hones both offensive and healing magic up to veteran class, they can become a Sage, and so on.

So my Necromancer class, a minor class, could also class-change under certain conditions…?

“That condition is: after casting ‘Necromance’ on yourself, obtain an Undead body.”

“An Undead body…?”

“You drank my blood, didn’t you? A human who drinks the blood of the Progenitor Vampire becomes Undead. It’s a famous fairy tale—well, not a fairy tale but an undeniable fact, hm.”

“An Undead body… me…?”

I looked at my hands and feet again.

All the birthmarks, scars, fresh wounds, and other bodily damage that had been all over me were gone.

That wasn’t all.

My arms, once scrawny from malnutrition, now had a reasonable amount of muscle, and my limbs seemed longer, making my ragged clothes strain tightly.

My eye level was higher too.

My line of sight was almost the same as the Crimson Vampire Princess standing before me.

By estimation, a little around over 175 centimeters…?

“The body of someone who becomes Undead is rejuvenated and fixed at their prime. In your case, you became Undead too young, so you actually look older. Hm, I thought you were a pathetic brat earlier, but this is rather handsome.”

Being told that made my voice feel lower too.

Literally, I felt reborn.

“It seems my Level and stats have risen considerably…?”

“Because I just slew the Minotaur. When a summoned monster defeats a monster, that experience goes to its master. I would think that’s common sense for the Shikai Tribe, wouldn’t you?”

“When I was a kid, my whole clan was killed in a witch-hunt and I didn’t get any proper education, and I haven’t done much of what an adventurer does, so I didn’t know.”

I traced my memories, recalled the last measured stats, and compared them to my current stats.

Merely picturing the stats in my head made the panel appear.

“I’ve gotten ridiculously strong…”

The Experience held by the Minotaur that Sylvan and the others left me for—the Minotaur that even four A-Rank Adventurers couldn’t beat—must have been a tremendous amount.

Even counting the Experience from the five orcs I killed along the way, I shot from Level 8 to 34, reaching B-Rank Adventurer-class stats.

“Maybe now I can seriously exact revenge on Sylvan and the others?”

“Revenge? Sounds amusing… tell me about it. Come on.”

I explained the whole sequence of events to the Crimson Vampire Princess.

That I’d lived as a slave of the hero party.

That I’d been left behind as bait for the Minotaur.

That I cast【 Necromance 】on myself.

That while escaping the Minotaur I had ended up in the final Boss’s room.

And――that I cast【Necromance 】on the Crimson Vampire Princess and succeeded.

“Wahaha, this is delightful and refreshing. But the delightful part is from now on—right? Revenge, what a pleasant sound. I will cooperate. Or rather, I am already a servant to the child, so use me as you wish.”

“Then stop calling me ‘child’. I have a name—Sid Ranorus.”

“Then call me Ekarraat. Ekarraat Dread—that is my true name.”

“So even monsters have names, huh.”

“Impertinent brat.”

My bad. I didn’t have any education.

“Then, to uneducated Sid Ranorus, I—also the Sagacious-Eyed Vampire Princess—will lecture you on the【 Shadow Necromancer 】. Use【Shadow Necromance 】on that Minotaur corpse there.”

“How is this different from the previous【 Necromance 】?”

“You’ll know when you use it.”

As Ekarraat said, I touched the Minotaur corpse that had been split in two—

“【 Shadow Necromance 】.”

—A black mist appeared from the Minotaur.

It looked as if a shadow was being extracted.

The shadow that leapt out of the Minotaur soon formed the silhouette of the Minotaur.

Its eyes glowed red, and a Minotaur painted entirely black manifested!

Even the battle-axe it had wielded in life was reproduced in shadow.

“BRUGAAAHHH!!!!”

“Whoa!?”

“Don’t be startled. Even without readying yourself, this is already Sid Ranorus’s servant.”

“This is【 Shadow Necromance 】…”

“Unlike normal【 Necromance 】, it uses shadows, so there’s no worry about corpses rotting. Because they are Shadows, even if they’re destroyed they revive, allowing eternal servitude. Moreover, Shadows can be stored in the caster’s shadow, so they won’t be a nuisance outside of combat.”

“Now no one can call me corpse-smelling anymore!”

When I commanded the Minotaur’s Shadow, it slipped into my shadow and became invisible.

When I ordered it to come out, my shadow warped and the Minotaur’s Shadow sprang out.

“Haha! This is great. Before, when I used monster corpses, I couldn’t enter towns.”

The Shikai Tribe, who manipulate corpses, have a history of persecution and deep-rooted discrimination, so if others saw someone manipulating corpses, they’d be looked upon poorly.

“Then shall we begin—revenge.”

I hooked a finger under the slave collar wrapped around my neck and yanked with all my strength.

—Snap!

The limiter in my brain released, and before the brute strength of my body—which had also gained B-Rank Adventurer-class stats—the metal collar shattered without resistance.

My body was already dead.

As I thought, the inscription on the collar—‘Slaves cannot remove their collar by their own will’—was gone as well.

With that, I was free at last.

“Wait for me… you bastards…”

Seeing the pitch-black eyes brimming with resolve and murderous intent, Ekarraat laughed merrily, “Fuhaha.”