This Necromancer Raised Civilization Instead Of The Dead

“Puuush!” they shouted together as they forced the logs downward.

The boulder shifted just a little, then rolled back into place.

“Puuush!”

They drove the lever down again, harder this time. The boulder budged further than before, grinding against the rock beneath it, before once again settling back.

No one stopped. They reset their footing, tightened their grip, and pushed again, and again. Each attempt moved it a little more, each failure brought it closer to tipping. Then finally—

It gave. The boulder lurched forward, its weight carrying past the point of balance.

And then—

Rumble—Rumble—WOOOOSH

It rolled down the cliff. As it went, it tore loose everything in its path. Smaller rocks broke free, then larger ones, until the single boulder became something far more dangerous, a cascading rockslide roaring down toward the narrow path below.

The demon hounds reacted instantly. The pack scattered backward, retreating several steps as the avalanche crashed down ahead of them.

Stone slammed into stone, dust exploded into the air. The entire path shook under the force. And within seconds, the route was buried.

Where there had once been a narrow passage now stood a jagged wall of collapsed rock, nearly six meters high, sealing the way completely. For a moment, only settling dust filled the air.

Then—

“We did it! We trapped them!” Erika shouted, beaming as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

“Yeah… we did it,” Theo muttered, breathing heavily, a faint smile forming as he looked down.

Below them, the demon hound pack paced and shifted, their movements uncertain for the first time. Confused and contained.

“Don’t relax yet!” David’s voice cut across from a different cliff, loud and steady without losing its natural rhythm.

He was already running toward them, his own group of scavengers trailing behind, trying their best to keep up.

“Push the other boulder! Make the blockade higher!” David called out as he moved, his voice steady despite the speed.

He didn’t slow down as he crossed the terrain. He flowed through it, stepping across narrow ledges, clearing gaps, and using the uneven cliffside as if it were flat ground. Every movement was deliberate, efficient, and fast enough that the others struggled to follow his path without stumbling.

Halflings were naturally suited for this kind of terrain. Their bodies were built for balance, for climbing, for navigating vertical spaces that would slow others down. And David had taken to it unnervingly well.

It had only been two days since he took over this body, yet he was already using it to a level that likely surpassed what Dunley—the original owner—had ever managed.

“Hurry it up!” he shouted again, closing the distance. “Do it while we’re coverin’ you!”

Theo, Erika, and the rest of their group didn’t hesitate. They immediately returned to work, repositioning themselves around a second boulder that had already been prepared in advance.

This was the result of an entire night’s effort. Scouting routes, mapping paths, identifying the best choke point. Then hauling and positioning the right boulders—something the stone ravine had in abundance—to create a controlled collapse that could trap the demon hounds inside a designated kill zone.

The first avalanche had done its job but it wasn’t enough. A six-meter wall of rubble might have been more than sufficient to block ordinary wolves. But these weren’t ordinary wolves. These were three-meter-tall demon hounds.

And sure enough, several members of the pack had already begun testing the blockade, claws digging into loose rock as they tried to climb their way over.

A sharp sound cut through the air.

Whoosh—thud.

One of the hounds—just as it reached the highest point—jerked violently as a stone struck it cleanly in the head.

David had arrived.

The impact staggered the creature, breaking its balance. Its footing slipped against the unstable rubble, and within seconds, it lost its grip entirely and slid back down the blockade, dislodging smaller stones as it fell and bumped into another hound.

“Puuuush!”

Theo, Erika, and the other scavengers strained together, their voices rising as they forced the wooden lever downward. Muscles tightened, boots dug into the ground, and the second boulder groaned under its own weight as it began to shift.

For a moment, it resisted, just like the first one had.

Then it tipped.

The massive stone rolled forward, slow at first, before gravity took over. As it descended, it tore loose everything in its path, pulling smaller rocks and jagged chunks of stone along with it.

Rumble—Rumble—Whooosh

The second rockslide crashed down onto the already-blocked path.

Two hounds that had been attempting to climb were caught mid-motion, their bodies disappearing beneath the falling debris as the avalanche swallowed them whole.

This collapse wasn’t as massive as the first, but it didn’t need to be. As the dust settled, the result became clear.

The already formidable wall of rubble had grown even higher, now towering at nearly 14 meters, its surface uneven and unstable, layered with loose stones that shifted under any weight.

Climbing it would be difficult, climbing it under pressure would be worse.

“Yeaaahh! We did it!” Theo shouted, this time unable to hold back his excitement.

“Hurraay!” the other scavengers echoed, relief and adrenaline mixing into their voices.

Even David allowed himself a smile as he looked over the result of their work. A towering mass of rock and debris stood between them and the demon hounds, a barrier tall enough, and unstable enough, to make even those massive beasts struggle.

Erika turned toward him, practically glowing.

“Dun— I mean David!” she corrected quickly. “Now how do we kill the demon hounds?!”

David let out a short laugh, easy and confident.

“Hah, that’s the simple part, ma’am. We just keep ’em from climbin’ out… then let time do the rest. Thirst and hunger’ll handle the job for us.”

“Nice!” Theo chimed in immediately. “That means without risking any more lives, we can just collect their corpses for materials in a few weeks!”

“Great thinking, David!” Erika added, clearly impressed.

“That’s right, boss,” David replied with a thumbs-up and a relaxed grin.

The three of them stood there, visibly pleased with themselves. From their perspective, it was a clean solution. A logical solution, at least when using Earth logic.

Behind them, however, the rest of the scavenger tribe didn’t share the same enthusiasm. There was hesitation and unease. A few exchanged glances, as if waiting for someone else to say it first.

Eventually, one of them spoke up, voice low and hesitant.

“Uhh… demon hounds can survive for a year without eating or drinking…”

The trio froze.

“…Eh?”

---

Scavenger's Tribe Village

The next day, the scavenger village had returned to motion.

What had once been packed in preparation for evacuation was now being unpacked again. Supplies were carried back into place. Tents were raised and secured. Livestock was guided back into their enclosures, the quiet rhythm of daily life slowly reassembling itself after the disruption.

Many of the villagers were visibly relieved. There was no need to relocate. No need to abandon everything they had built here. The looming threat of the demon hounds had been… dealt with.

Well, relatively dealt with.

---

Inside Tara’s Tent

Erika sat stiffly at the table, her expression caught somewhere between confusion and disbelief as she watched Theo and Tara go back and forth.

This was their second negotiation. And somehow, it felt even worse than the first.

“You said you would handle the demon hounds,” Tara said, her tone flat and cold.

“It IS already handled,” Theo replied just as coldly.

“Them being alive right next door cannot be considered handled.”

“Well, it’s better them next door than sleeping in your village,” Theo shot back. “Just keep your promise and let me live here comfortably.”

“Why should I keep my promise when you didn’t fully keep yours?” Tara countered without missing a beat. “Where are the demon hound pelts and materials you promised me?”

Theo didn’t even hesitate.

“Just like you said,” he replied, voice steady, “it’s next door. You just need to wait a year to collect it.”

“EXCUSE ME!” Erika suddenly shot up from her seat, slamming her hands on the table as she finally snapped.

“I can’t listen to this anymore!” she shouted, her voice rising with frustration. “While both of you keep going back and forth like this, David and the others are still at the stone ravine, stopping those hounds from climbing out while waiting for you two to make a decision!”

For once, she made perfect sense. The tent fell quiet.

Theo leaned back in his seat with a long exhale and Tara did the same.

“For once, you said something that wasn’t stupid,” Theo muttered.

“Hey, that’s my daughter you’re talking about,” Tara replied with a frown. Then, after a brief pause, she added, “And yes… my idiot daughter is actually right this time.”

“Hey!” Erika protested, glaring at both of them.

Tara ignored her. Her gaze returned to Theo, eyes narrowing slightly as she considered him in silence.

Then she spoke.

“…You’ll live like any other man in this village.”

Theo raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

“You sleep in the shared tent,” Tara continued, “and you do basic chores like everyone else.”

“Tch,” Theo clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed. “Fine. Whatever, you ungrateful woman. Just don’t put me on butchering duty or send me out hunting. I’ve never done anything like that back in my world.”

“Of course I won’t,” Tara scoffed, her eyes briefly scanning him from head to toe. “I can tell just by looking at you, you’ve never worked a hard day in your life.”

“Hey, I worked hard using my brain!” Theo shot back, clearly offended. “So what are you even going to assign me? Scavenging? Herding cattle?”

Tara gave him a flat look.

“What are you talking about? Of course you’ll do what a chief’s right-hand man does,” she said. “You’ll help me manage this village.”

“…Huh?”

That caught him off guard.

“You mean… you’re actually okay with making me your right-hand man?” Theo asked, disbelief creeping into his voice.

“Well, what else can you do?” Tara scoffed. “But like I said, don’t expect any special treatment. You’ll live like any other villager. Not even close to how I live as chief.”

“Ugh…” Theo leaned back slightly, clearly dissatisfied.

It wasn’t what he had in mind. He’d been hoping for something a little more… comfortable. A position with authority and benefits. Preferably fewer chores, more control. But he already knew that this woman won't budge.

“Fine!” Theo said at last. “But this deal isn’t permanent.”

Tara raised an eyebrow.

“There’ll be an assessment,” Theo continued, his tone shifting into something more businesslike. “And a renegotiation every six months.”

“…Huh. First time I’ve heard someone ask for that,” Tara admitted, sounding mildly puzzled. Then she shrugged. “But sure. That just gives me a proper reason to kick you out in six months if you turn out useless.”

Theo smirked faintly.

“You’ll see. I’ll be the best investment you’ve ever made.” Theo said, like he'd already said the millions of times.

He extended his hand forward but Tara didn’t take it. Instead, she stared at it.

“…What are you doing?”

Theo blinked, then seemed to remember.

“Oh. Right. This is called a handshake,” he explained. “Back in my world, when people reach an agreement, they seal it by holding hands and shaking.”

Tara tilted her head slightly, clearly unconvinced.

“Weird… but fine.”

She reached out anyway and took his hand.

“We still need to decide what to do with the demon hounds,” she added as their hands met.

They shook.

“That’s your first job for managing this village,” Tara said.

And then—

TRING

A sharp notification rang out in Theo’s mind.

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[TERRITORY GAINED]

Scavenger Tribe–Nomadic Village

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[ CONTROLLED TERRITORY ]

Numbers : 1

Population : 127

Stability : Fractured Balance

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