Death King Karnak

Chapter 2: Chapter 1: Something feels strange (1)

The first thing Karnak saw when he opened his eyes was a clumsy-looking young man in his twenties with blond hair.

'...Who is this? Somehow, he looks familiar.'

As Karnak pondered, a familiar voice reached his ears.

"Excuse me, are you the young master?"

He remembered who it was.

"Ah, it's Baros."

The young man in front of him was his loyal subordinate before he became a Death Knight, back when he was still young.

"Things feel different from what I expected."

Baros blinked and looked dazed.

"Hello, my present self... A new life unfolds now... I expected my mind to grow hazy... something like that."

Karnak didn't bother to scold him.

"Yeah, to be honest, I thought the same."

Who would've thought that everything would completely change the moment he closed and reopened his eyes?

It was so sudden that it didn't feel real at all.

"Bring me a mirror. I want to see myself."

"Talk about a mirror. There's no way we could have such an expensive item at this point in time, could we?"

If Karnak were still the King of Death who ruled over the world, a mirror would be a common, cheap item. But as an illegitimate child of a provincial noble right now, it was a luxury he couldn't afford.

Instead, Baros checked his face for him.

"Don't worry. You're exactly as you were at 20, young master. Lean build, black hair, black eyes, and that arrogant expression—all the same."

"...Was my impression that bad?"

"That's why I told you to try smiling more often. For someone as handsome as you, you always had a look of constant dissatisfaction with the world. Tsk, tsk."

Karnak smiled warmly.

"At least some things haven't changed."

Even after returning to the past, Baros was still very much Baros.

"You're still as cheeky as ever."

And he had kept this cheeky subordinate by his side for over 100 years.

At this point, he was too used to it to get upset.

"Yeah, I was quite dissatisfied with the world when I was younger."

Karnak looked around.

The place where the two were standing was a dimly lit cave.

A small table was set against one wall, with a single book open on it. The only source of light was the flickering flame of a small candle.

Picking up the book that looked more like a notebook full of scribbles, Karnak muttered to himself.

"Here it is, the beginning of everything."

He had found this ancient book by chance deep within his family's storage. Though calling it an ancient book was generous—it wasn't even a proper book.

It was a crude notebook, scribbled in chaotic handwriting with no title.

It wasn't a formally published book but rather something someone had jotted down for personal use.

However, it was the knowledge from this book that allowed him to first walk the path of necromancy.

"Shall I give it a try...?"

Muttering to himself, Karnak snapped his fingers.

A tiny flame the size of a fingernail appeared and began to grow, engulfing the old book and turning it to ashes.

Fwoosh!

The fire quickly reduced the book to ashes and then died down.

"My command over necromancy at this point is about this level," Karnak nodded in approval.

"As expected. This is just about where I was when I first started learning necromancy, so it makes sense."

Baros, who had been watching, flinched and asked in surprise.

"What?! Is it okay to burn that?"

"I already have everything in my head, so why not?"

The book itself didn't contain any special mana of darkness. It was just a regular book with knowledge written down in it.

"It wasn't even advanced knowledge, just basic necromancy."

The reason Karnak had become the most powerful necromancer in the world was that he traveled far and wide, continuously gathering ancient knowledge. It wasn't as if reading this one book instantly made him a top-tier necromancer.

"That's why I had to burn it. After all, this book was what allowed me to begin learning necromancy."

If it had allowed him to start, it could allow someone else, perhaps someone unexpected, to begin as well.

And if anyone found out he had this book, the best-case scenario would be getting hanged. Worst case? Burned at the stake.

"It's not something I need anymore, so there's no point in leaving behind potential trouble."

After brushing off the ashes, he turned his gaze outside the cave.

In the distance, he could see a faint, almost shimmering light.

"Shall we go outside for now?"

***

Karnak screamed.

"Ugh!"

Baros was also horrified.

"W-what is this?"

An overwhelming light was pouring down on them from above!

It was a terrifying amount of brightness, as if it could set the entire world on fire!

Baros mumbled in a daze.

"Ah, it's that."

"Huh?"

"The sunlight."

"Come to think of it, this is what the sun used to be like, right?"

The two of them looked around with dazed expressions. Soon, their eyes adjusted, and they could properly see the world.

It was, of course, only natural.

They were no longer undead but fully human again, so there was no reason for sunlight to feel like the flames of hell.

In reality, it was just a few seconds of mild discomfort for their eyes. The panic they felt was more about their emotional reaction than anything else.

But their excitement wasn't over yet.

"Oh!"

"The sunlight feels warm, young master!"

"The smell of grass! I can smell grass!"

"And I can smell dirt too!"

The sensory experiences that every human naturally feels and takes for granted were hitting the two of them like a tidal wave.

Karnak and Baros were moved to tears. And the fact that they could cry brought them even more joy.

"Look, Baros! Tears! I'm crying!"

"I have snot coming out too!"

"And I'm even drooling!"

"At this rate, could we even pee?"

"Of course we can! We're back to being human!"

"...Let's stop with the gross talk here."

In any case, they had regained it all.

They had regained a real body—one that could feel sensations, emotions, and be moved.

In exchange, they had lost their absolute power.

No longer were they the greatest necromancer in human history or the most powerful Death Knight.

"Ah, who needs that kind of thing!" Karnak shouted.

"Exactly! Having that doesn't make you happy anyway!"

Facing his long-time loyal servant, Karnak declared:

"This time, let's live like real people!"

***

In a small forest on a low hill, two men walked along a sunlit path between the green trees under the summer sky.

Both were dressed in simple, somewhat shabby travel clothes.

The young man with disheveled blond hair suddenly placed his hand on his forehead and looked up at the sky.

"The weather's nice."

The handsome young man with smooth black hair responded absentmindedly.

"Yeah, the weather really is nice."

The sun blazed down, and the sand sparkled.

It was undeniably a fresh and warm day.

"...Isn't it a bit too hot, though?"

"The sweat is making me irritated."

"Yeah, it's oddly annoying, this whole feeling thing."

The black-haired young man, Karnak, sighed deeply.

"I didn't know that a living body could be this annoying."

It had been half a day since they packed up and left the cave to hit the road.

They were hot and irritated, hungry and irritated, thirsty and irritated.

The initial thrill of having regained their senses had quickly faded, and now Karnak found himself missing the powers he had left behind.

So this is what people mean when they say the human heart is fickle.

"Well, there's no turning back now, so we'll just have to get used to it."

Grumbling, Baros unfolded the map.

"It should be about time to reach Darha Village..."

Comparing the map to the surrounding landscape, he scratched his head in frustration.

"It's been so long, I can't remember anything."

They had gone back over 100 years. It would be stranger if he did remember.

"Still, there should be a tavern or something, right? It's a village on the main road."

"Of course, that's why my past self chose this place."

At this point in time, Karnak had just secretly left his family to learn necromancy.

It was the period when he had hidden away in a cave deep in the forest to avoid prying eyes, spending a few months learning the mana of darkness.

"Judging by my current mana level, it's probably been a couple of months since I first gained my necromancy power."

"So, it's not exactly the moment you first sensed necromancy power?"

"Going back 100 years is bound to cause that much of an error."

Even while mastering necromancy, they still needed to eat, and it was difficult to find food or supplies in such a remote area with no visitors.

That's why Karnak had chosen the hills near Darha Village.

Darha Village was located along the central trade route of the Kingdom of Yustil.

It was a trade town with inns, restaurants, and shops for merchants passing through. Karnak often sent Baros to buy necessities there.

"Now that I think about it, it's starting to come back to me."

Baros, who had been mumbling, suddenly lit up.

"Wait, does this mean we can finally enjoy some rich wine and juicy beef now?"

Karnak, trying hard to ignore the starry-eyed look in his servant's eyes, made a sad expression.

"There's no way Darha Village has fancy restaurants."

Even if there was such a restaurant, they couldn't afford it anyway.

"We don't have any money."

"True, we were poor, weren't we?"

Baros casually lifted the small pouch at his waist.

"It's pretty heavy, but that's only because it's full of coins."

This era's Karnak had no connection to higher-quality currencies like silver coins.

Gold coins? He'd only ever seen them from a distance a few times.

Karnak let out a deep sigh.

"What good is being born into a noble family? They're completely bankrupt."

And to make matters worse, he was the despised illegitimate child of this ruined family.

He still vividly remembered scraping together small change for this secret journey. Even though it was over 100 years ago, that memory was still fresh in his mind.

"That's why I went crazy trying to learn necromancy, right? Now I really feel like I'm back."

As they walked, Karnak reminisced about the past.

"Come to think of it, I'm going to have to see my parents and my two older brothers again, aren't I? Ugh, I really don't want to."

"Ugh, I don't like that idea either," Baros grimaced.

Being from a ruined family, Karnak's relatives were particularly harsh toward him.

An illegitimate child was inherently a source of conflict.

If the family had been more well-off, they might have shown a bit of tolerance, but Karnak's brothers were struggling to take care of themselves. Naturally, they vented their frustrations on Karnak whenever they could.

Of course, back then, Karnak had also ground his teeth every time he had to deal with them.

Would he be able to stay calm when he saw his brothers again?

Thinking of the past, Baros looked worried.

"Anyway, let's get something to eat. We'll think about it after we eat first."

At Karnak's suggestion, Baros' face lit up.

They still needed to save enough money for the trip back home, but they could at least afford a meal.

"I completely agree, young master!"