Necromancer? No, I'm an artist (4k)

The room was decorated in shades of red, with carpets on the floor and dried herbs hung on the wall beside the bed to soothe the mind and aid sleep.

On the balcony stood a small table and a velvet-backed chair, usually used to serve Lin Ke exquisite refreshments.

After laying out the rough parchment, Lin Ke sat in the velvet chair, picked up the quill resting in ink made from an unknown plant, and began writing.

He needed to sort through everything he currently had to do.

Before entering the workforce in his previous life, he had gotten into good universities for his bachelor's, master's, and doctorate, and studied abroad on a government scholarship, all thanks to his strong self-discipline and time-management skills.

Whenever he felt he had too much on his plate, he would organize his thoughts and manage his time.

Looking at the parchment before him, he wrote "Most important and most urgent" in Chinese on the first sheet.

Then, on the second, third, and fourth sheets, he wrote "Less important and most urgent," "Most important and less urgent," and "Less important and less urgent."

He wrote all of it in Chinese. These people couldn't read Chinese anyway, and certain matters and secrets weren't suitable for others to know.

He picked up the first sheet.

First, there was only one thing that was both most important and most urgent to him right now: the system mission.

He needed to create enough professions within five months.

With profession trait ratios monopolized as they were today, accomplishing this without any experience was actually quite difficult.

If professions were so easy to create, their trait ratios wouldn't be monopolized by the various factions.

Still, he could feel his way forward.

Moreover, the system missions seemed to come one after another. So far, there had never been multiple missions running concurrently, which made completing them urgent.

Besides, the rewards from the system missions were quite good.

Whether it was a follower with exceptional potential like Nix, a Divine Artifact Fragment, or a guarantee of never being betrayed, they were all excellent.

"Hmm, there's this too."

Beneath "System mission," Lin Ke wrote the Arabic numerals 1, 2, 3, and so on, which were different from Nathang's native numerals.

He needed to organize his ideas concerning Professionals.

The first was naturally Nix's [Doctor] profession. At the very least, even Ove thought it was feasible.

The second involved the stage: the [Singer] and [Actor] professions Lin Ke had envisioned.

Lin Ke hadn't yet decided who would take up these two professions. After all, doing so meant having his teacher Ove awaken their bloodlines and provide some basic instruction.

Awakening people with extremely poor bloodline talent would be a waste of money, so he would use a competitive selection process when the time came.

The third was also related to the stage: the [Magician] profession Lin Ke had envisioned. It could deceive audiences through sight and language, and naturally could deceive enemies as well.

However, Lin Ke didn't know much about magic tricks. He only knew a few simple tricks from short videos he'd watched in his previous life, so this profession remained undecided.

Lin Ke wrote "Tentative" after this entry.

The fourth was [Engineer], which required mastery of materials science, mechanics, aesthetics, and so on, and even some study of aesthetics.

This resembled this world's [Architect] profession, but the [Architects] here were more like construction workers than engineers.

The fifth category concerned finance and economics: [Accountant], [Economist], and [Financial Specialist].

Nathang had no accounting system whatsoever, only rudimentary bookkeeping methods. They would write something like "Lin Ke Azan bought an egg" on paper, then cross it out once payment was made-the most primitive form of bookkeeping.

Economics was even worse. Noble lords, kings, and the like only thought about buying planar coordinates from legends, then teleporting there to establish colonial rule.

They knew nothing about macroeconomic regulation, market economies, or anything of the sort.

Finance was somewhat better. This place had the earliest form of a banking system: the temples of the Goddess of Wealth. Even the nearest temple was several earldoms away from Azan.

But that gold-digger who had become a goddess had chosen a one-to-ten ratio for even the most basic exchange rate simply for convenience, and other financial instruments were entirely absent.

Lin Ke had very ambitious plans for these three finance-related professions.

For instance, creating a male god of finance and economics to overthrow the Goddess of Wealth?

But that was merely a grand, distant vision. For now, these three professions could only remain tentative. After all, five months would probably be too short for a crash course in finance and economics.

The sixth category was the legal system: [Lawyer], [Judge], [Executioner], and so on.

The laws of some kingdoms and territories were a complete mess, with their creation depending almost entirely on the nobles themselves.

For example, if a noble disliked seeing cattle slaughtered, their territory would have a law forbidding the slaughter of cattle.

Lin Ke had limited energy. He needed people to draft and determine suitable laws for him, and others to enforce them, bringing his authority and influence to a new level.

After all, copying the laws of his previous life wholesale was inadvisable-in fact, it would be foolish.

Only adapting to local circumstances would truly work. Though the legal system of his previous life couldn't be copied outright, it could serve as a reference.

Only after writing down this string of professions did Lin Ke realize just how chaotic Nathang's entire social system was.

If not for the immense strength of those who actually held power, and the diversion of internal conflicts into outward expansion, this place might have been embroiled in endless wars year after year.

These were his only profession ideas for the moment. Other possibilities included [Designer], [Film Director], and the like.

They either offered little help to his territory at present or required a fully developed social foundation.

So he wouldn't consider them during these brief five months.

However...

The seventh was [Inventor].

This profession, which he had prepared for himself, likewise required an extremely solid foundation of knowledge.

Fortunately, he should just about qualify. Especially if this profession were attached to his "Luck" bloodline, he would be even more confident.

After all, many inventions had originally come from lucky people who stumbled upon something by chance.

Of course, Lin Ke was still wavering between [Inventor] and [Scientist].

After he finished writing these seven entries, the small sheet of parchment was almost full.

These were currently the most important and most urgent matters for him.

Next came the most urgent matters that weren't quite so important.

He needed to attend to these in whatever time he had left while completing the mission.

The first was developing some simple industries.

Never mind steam engines, generators, internal combustion engines, and the like. Those required an extremely strong industrial foundation.

What he could start with were actually some simpler things.

For example, clocks, ceramics... and paper!

What he had seen at the auction earlier had reminded Lin Ke of two principles: "Scarcity creates value" and "Excessive packaging."

Some lousy pottery shards, supposedly products of a certain [Scholar]'s experiment or magic, had been put up for auction under the name of the "Goddess of Luck."

They had even sold for a high price!

Then there were clocks.

The hardest part of making clocks was actually the precision components, such as nuts and gears. Their design principles were simple, and even their motive power could be replaced with small energy-absorbing magic arrays.

Next came weapons. Methods such as water-powered forging were simple; the difficult part was thinking of the method in the first place.

Weapons currently had to be forged individually, resulting in low output, with even fewer fine pieces forged by professional [Blacksmiths].

So the urgent but less important task at hand was to develop an adequate industrial system.

This would increase production capacity across military manufacturing, agriculture, clothing, and every other industry.

With sufficient production capacity, manpower could be freed up.

With manpower freed up, they could sustain a vast population.

And rare, outstanding bloodlines and Professionals could emerge in explosive numbers from that enormous population base.

At the same time, the vast population and sufficient-even excessive-production capacity would allow the entertainment industry to flourish.

Lin Ke could then earn plenty of gold coins and accomplish more and more, creating a healthy, virtuous cycle.

So an industrial system had to be established!

While Lin Ke was making his notes-

Two furtive figures appeared outside a patch of woods beside the main road.

The two entered the woods one after the other, then bent over to search for something.

After a while, the woman cried out and dropped to her knees. After feeling around for a moment, she covered her face and began sobbing softly.

The man beside her walked over and knelt down next to her.

Only after a long while did the woman raise her head.

"That damned Young Master Lin Ke dumped our Rosfor's corpse here!"

The short, plump, middle-aged woman spoke to the man beside her, her voice full of venom. "I can't find it!"

Rosfor had been a member of the guard squad, killed on the spot by Lin Ke for fleeing when they encountered the Deep Blue Giant Tiger.

Not far from her feet lay a dried-out corpse. The few remaining scraps of clothing covering it were recognizable as an Azan Castle guard's uniform.

The woman had just been feeling around Rosfor's body with her fingers.

"The Gilt Overlord's power is gone... we..."

Although the man's voice was sorrowful, he sounded somewhat hesitant. "Should we seek refuge with..."

"Absolutely not!" The short, plump woman's face twisted.

"Rosfor was supposed to run! The Overlord's power would have driven him back to us! But that Azan killed him! Otherwise, he definitely would have come back!"

"All the traces of power he gathered for us are gone! Every last bit! We can't go back!"

Just then, a chilling gust of wind blew past, making the man shudder.

He looked around in panic, but saw nothing except layers upon layers of trees looming like clawing monsters.

The longer he looked at those trees, the more unnerved he became. He nudged the short, plump woman beside him. "Why don't we hurry up, burn Rosfor's corpse, and leave? I've heard Nathang has necromancers who like to toy with corpses and are skilled at manipulating souls..."

"Necromancers died out long ago! That's a story Nathang uses to scare children!" The short, plump woman first snapped at the man, then stared blankly at the dried corpse before her and murmured, "We have to find another child like that, one who can perfectly receive the Gilt Overlord's presence..."

The man's face also fell at her words. The despair of reality instantly overwhelmed his fear of the surrounding shadows. "Azan has too many powerful people. And we've lost our power-we're ordinary people now. If we're discovered, the castle's people might..."

At the word "castle," the woman beside him interrupted him again. "Shut up! Shut up! Don't mention Azan to me! Those damned nobles all deserve to die! Every last one of them! ..."

The woman unleashed a torrent of abuse. As she cursed, she seemed to find it unsatisfying, so she stood up and began punching and kicking the man.

The man fearfully covered his head. After taking several blows, he couldn't help fighting back. He stood and slapped her. "Stop it! If you hadn't insisted on entering the Prismatic Altar back then, how would we have ended up in Nathang for no reason?"

Stunned by the slap, the woman sank to her knees, her face filled with disbelief. "You hit me... you... you actually hit me?!"

Though the man was trembling with fear, his voice was grim. "We can't feel the Gilt Overlord's power now. Without enough of the nobles' gold coins... we'll die in the end!"

"We need gold coins! Gold coins carrying the Goddess of Wealth's presence! And only Azan Castle has coins with that goddess's presence!"

The man's brow furrowed deeper as he spoke. "But there's a powerful professional [Butler] there, and now there's an Overlord too... there's no way we can break in!"

The short, plump, middle-aged woman seemed to have been stunned senseless by the slap. She merely listened to him.

The man paced back and forth, his voice heavy. "What do we do... what do we do... what do we do..."

"Azan... damned Azan..." Seeing that the man was ignoring her, the woman sitting on the ground shot him a vicious glare, then continued cursing Azan to herself.

Just then, an unexpected voice suddenly rang out not far behind them.

"Hello! Honored visitors from a lesser plane, may I ask if Azan Castle is just ahead?"

The voice sounded bright and sunny, belonging to a young man in his twenties.

But it was nighttime, and neither the short, plump woman nor the man felt any sunshine in it.

"My lord! My wife and I are ordinary commoners from Azan's village. May I ask why you seek our lord..." Reacting quickly, the man grabbed the short, plump woman and pulled her down to her knees, bowing to the young man behind them.

The man's body trembled, his forehead covered in sweat. The woman's face was also filled with panic.

"You two... aren't being honest~" By some unknown means, the young man appeared before them in an instant. "Commoners wouldn't call themselves 'ordinary commoners,' you know~"

Trembling, the man lifted his head and saw a pale, delicate face, exquisitely beautiful and alluring.

It was a long-haired young man dressed in pale pink, with soft, dainty features!

But the man's pupils had already contracted to pinpoints, because the young man's high nose was almost touching his own.

The long-haired young man bent over, bringing his face right before the man and woman, meeting their eyes.

"Hmm~ What unfamiliar souls... Gilt? What an ugly title. Hmm, the presence of a level-twenty false god... can someone become an Overlord at level twenty where you're from?"

Bent over, the young man smiled until his eyes curved into crescents, staring directly into the man's eyes.

The man desperately wanted to retreat, but his entire body was immobile. He screamed in terror within his mind, "My soul! You're touching my soul... necromancer! Necromancer!"

Rumor had it that necromancers followed the scent of death, then wantonly toyed with the souls and corpses of the dead!

In reality, the light in the man's eyes suddenly flickered, then went out. His body toppled to one side and lay motionless. He was already dead.

The young man extended a small, vivid red tongue and licked his lips. A tongue stud made from some unknown red crystal gleamed on its tip.

He smacked his lips. "Fear, anger... passable. Hmm, seems he used to be a Professional, at least. No, I should say a Warrior. Oh? A Frogfolk Warrior. Such an ancient yet fresh flavor."

As he spoke, the young man's bright, dark eyes turned toward the short, plump woman.

"You... who are you?! Don't kill me! Don't kill me! I'm an apprentice of the Prismatic Amethyst Tower! I'm a disciple of a Holy Domain powerhouse!" The short, plump woman began crying in panic. The man's death had already terrified her.

"Oh? Are you introducing yourself? Now, that's my favorite part..."

At her words, the young man's eyes brightened slightly. He straightened up, curled the five pale, delicate fingers of his right hand into a fist, and tapped his left chest with elegant nonchalance.

He said softly, "I come from the 'Abyss,' and my profession is [Soul Manipulator]. Yes, I'm not a necromancer. I'm an artist. You may call me Ruiwen..."

"Remember, I'm an artist! I don't like people calling me 'Lord Professional.'"

"Also, life is a grand process of decay. Why don't... you experience it a little early?"

As he spoke, Ruiwen smiled faintly.

The short, plump woman's stunned expression abruptly froze at the sight of Ruiwen's smile. Her body suddenly collapsed like a heap of mush, and in an instant, she was utterly still.

The young man named Ruiwen smacked his lips again, then licked his long, pale fingers with his studded tongue, sounding somewhat displeased. "Envy, arrogance, greed... ptooey!"

At the word "greed," Ruiwen spat in a manner entirely at odds with his appearance, then wiped the corner of his mouth. "Andrew's Leg! Sure enough, greed tastes the worst..."

After spitting, Ruiwen leisurely tidied his long hair, then closed his eyes to savor the two souls from the lesser plane. Only after a long while did he open them and look south.

"Hmm, is Azan over there? A minor lord isn't very interesting. I won't bother visiting... I'll go straight to the Great Swamp! If I remember correctly, the Great Swamp is south of Azan!"

Ruiwen was just about to leave when he suddenly frowned and looked down at his feet.

Besides the bodies of the man and woman, there was also a dried corpse, seemingly that of an ordinary Nathang native.

"Strange... why is there a trace of divine power... and it doesn't seem to belong to trash like that Gilt Overlord, but to someone above Nathang's Supreme Gods..."