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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“It seems you’re quite busy.”
Mutre was the one who called the Golem an “oaf” from afar.
“Hahaha. But this takes priority.”
Mutre held an artifact, the one I had requested from the Magic Tower, which had arrived last month along with the news that the royal family had accepted the deal.
It seemed Kayla had given him the artifact.
I had temporarily given Kayla control of the Bone Golem.
The fact that Mutre was now controlling it suggested Kayla’s involvement.
Knowing the situation, she seemed to have acted as my proxy.
“Do Inha!”
Athena rushed towards me, accompanied by Thea.
It seemed they were together.
“Did it… go well?”
Athena asked, glancing at the two undead behind me, and I nodded calmly.
Thea also understood the situation, and the sisters congratulated me.
I thanked them out of habit and briefly exchanged updates.
“How’s the underground dungeon?”
“They’re managing it well. The expansion exceeded my expectations.”
Apparently, they had added another level underground.
I wondered if it was necessary when Thea interjected defensively,
“You’re amazing, brother, but I thought you might not be able to establish yourself properly. So I wanted to create the best possible environment, just in case…”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. And it was unnecessary, it seems. I heard it was a temporary residence, but you’ve occupied an entire castle… and the number of undead has increased significantly.”
The Land of Death was still well-maintained, and I heard the Horned Orcs were doing well.
Enri, Thea’s former assistant, had been appointed as the next administrator.
“By the way, I heard you’ve advanced.”
“…You heard?”
Athena blushed and fiddled with her hair, seemingly thinking I hadn’t noticed during my period of intense focus.
“Well, as you advised, I traveled through the Monster Forest from the territory bordering Siglen to our dungeon. I ended up fighting various monsters along the way, and… well, it happened.”
“You didn’t sprint through the forest at full speed just because no one was watching, did you?”
“…N-not quite. I was in a bit of a hurry, but…”
I knew it.
With Athena’s abilities, she didn’t need to engage in numerous battles.
If she had proceeded cautiously, assessing her surroundings, she could have traversed the outer areas with minimal combat.
However, it seemed she hadn’t.
I sighed briefly, and Athena flinched slightly at my reaction.
“It’s fine as long as you’re safe.”
“…Right? But thanks to that, I broke through! Actually, I needed to, from a certain point onwards.”
Kayla also sighed and shook her head at Athena’s self-justifying words.
She had a blind spot when it came to her sister.
While it could be a weakness, as long as her sister was safe, it wouldn’t cause any problems.
‘Most people are like that anyway.’
“But how did Master reach peak Expert?”
“…You didn’t hear?”
“She asked me needlessly during sparring. I deemed it laziness and didn’t answer.”
“So she says.”
It wasn’t anything special.
While I was focused on creating undead, Kayla had been guarding me.
I had repeatedly urged her to rest, so she spent her time meditating or practicing her swordsmanship.
‘I was quite surprised when I heard she had suddenly reached peak Expert.’
I was the one who said my vessel was almost full, yet she had reached the next stage before me.
However, I wasn’t displeased.
Kayla was completely loyal to me, someone I trusted as much as my undead.
There was no reason to be unhappy about her becoming stronger.
I congratulated her sincerely, and I remember her smiling brightly in response.
Athena, who hadn’t heard the story, seemed frustrated. It seemed she had asked Baldur as well.
However, Baldur, busy with external affairs, didn’t know the details and couldn’t give her a satisfactory answer.
When she pestered me about it, Kayla, sighing, finally told her the truth, and Athena looked at her master incredulously.
“…Just from meditation and training? You overcame the peak Expert barrier?”
While real combat was the best training, breakthroughs through meditation and training were more common, especially at higher levels.
Mid to high-ranking Experts inevitably had combat experience, and after sufficient experience, they often gained enlightenment while refining their skills through meditation and personal training.
‘Indeed, most Masters reached their lofty heights not through combat itself, but through meditation and personal training afterwards.’
Of course, there were Masters who emerged from the crucible of war.
Still, Athena, her curiosity satisfied, seemed relieved.
She looked much brighter than a few months ago.
Perhaps it was because Thea was by her side.
Athena suggested we hold a celebratory party for my reaching 6th circle and her and Kayla’s advancements, drawing everyone’s attention to me.
As the de facto leader, the decision was mine.
I agreed, suggesting we also celebrate Thea’s return, and Athena hugged Thea, beaming.
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A small party was held.
Calling it a party was a bit of an overstatement; it was just a shared meal.
“You said you’d start moving in earnest after reaching 6th circle. Are you starting tomorrow?”
“The day after tomorrow.”
I planned to rest tomorrow and use the accumulated corpses to create a large number of undead.
“I also need to organize the Dullahan and the Knights, so I need some time.”
“But if you’re focusing on them, what about us?”
“Mutre still has work to do here. I’m leaving Thea behind as well.”
I intended to leave the Bone Golem, Entin, Nenson, and Lengvin behind.
I also planned to temporarily assign some mid and low-ranking undead to Entin’s command.
‘I need someone for protection.’
Having cleared the surrounding area for months, there weren’t any bold monsters approaching the castle.
Therefore, it wasn’t particularly dangerous.
Still, I needed to prepare for unforeseen circumstances.
I decided to postpone enhancing the Bone Golem.
The reason was simple, I hadn’t made a final decision yet.
‘There are other large-scale undead besides Golems.’
With my current abilities, I could create a Draugr with some modifications, and with the right corpse, I could even create an Undead Worm.
‘There might even be Deathworms in the Barren Lands.’
There was no rush.
My current forces were sufficient to achieve significant results in the Barren Lands.
Having reached 6th circle, my options had expanded considerably, so I decided to observe the situation for now.
My companions relaxed and enjoyed the party, and Athena, caught up in the festive mood, even sparred with Entin, the Knight Banneret, and Gagar, the Dullahan, to test their strength.
I didn’t drink any alcohol.
Even though we had cleared the surrounding area, the Barren Lands were right on our doorstep.
I couldn’t afford to lose my focus.
“Wow, they’re really strong!”
“Well, they’re based on a high-ranking and a peak Expert.”
While they were currently weaker than Athena due to the changes they underwent upon becoming undead, they would eventually regain their former strength.
‘And their souls are intact, making them even more efficient.’
Of course, even if they regained their full strength, they wouldn’t be a match for Kayla.
Kayla was a peak Expert with a Mana Heart, objectively the closest to Master level.
Incidentally, both Entin and Gagar could use Unholy Aura.
‘…Though it would consume a tremendous amount of demonic energy.’
The problem was having enough demonic energy to sustain it, but it wasn’t a concern for now.
I hadn’t been idle for the past three months. While creating undead, I had also made some preparations for the future.
I had stockpiled a large quantity of black bones imbued with my demonic energy and a considerable amount of black water.
‘It’s been fine so far, but the scale has become too large.’
Reaching 6th circle had indeed increased my demonic energy reserves.
However, the scale of my undead army had grown even more.
‘That’s one of the reasons for settling down and building structures.’
Simply fighting wasn’t a problem.
However, enhancing undead, using Unholy Aura, and regenerating damaged undead all consumed my demonic energy.
Thanks to my large capacity, rapid regeneration, and the black water produced by the corrupted sacred relic, it hadn’t been an issue so far, but things were about to change.
‘The monsters around here were manageable. But those…’
After several reconnaissance missions, I knew the Barren Lands weren’t to be trifled with.
The surface teemed with powerful monsters like Desert Orcs, Gray Panthers, Steel Rhinos, Red-Eyed Hyenas, and Blue-Maned Lions. And beneath the surface lurked dangerous creatures like Giant Scorpions and Swamplickers.
I wasn’t just speculating about the possibility of Deathworms.
‘Even the plants can’t be ignored.’
Most of the plants were poisonous, and some even ‘hunted’ monsters.
Therefore, my undead were more likely to be damaged than before, increasing the risk of demonic energy depletion.
‘I might even lose some permanently.’
Undead dragged underground might have to be abandoned if the situation became too dire.
And that wasn’t all. The environmental conditions were also harsh.
Scorching days and freezing nights, extreme temperature fluctuations.
Food, aside from monsters, was scarce, and water was especially difficult to obtain.
It was practically a desert.
‘But that’s why I have a chance.’
Such a harsh environment made it difficult for humans to operate.
Prina had mentioned clearing the area in the past.
It gave me a sense of how powerful Lineta County once was.
However, even then, they hadn’t been able to hold onto it.
I understood.
The harsh environment made it difficult to maintain a permanent presence.
Especially since monsters, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, constantly reclaimed the land, requiring a large, permanent garrison, which was impossible.
But what about undead?
They were unaffected by the environment.
While I and my companions would need to be stationed there, we were a small group, and there were ways to resupply food and water.
‘I have the dimensional rift and the subspace artifact.’
After the short party, I ordered a day of rest, as promised.
I used the remaining corpses to create more Skeleton Warriors and assigned them to Gagar, the Dullahan.
I used the rest of the corpses to create a large number of mid and low-ranking undead and assigned them to Entin, the Knight Banneret.
Having finalized the organization, I finally enjoyed some well-deserved rest.
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On the day of departure, Thea and Mutre came to see us off.
“I’ll leave the castle to you.”
“I understand your intentions and will do my best to modify it. …Though that oaf isn’t very cooperative.”
“Well… good luck with that.”
Turning the Bone Golem into a high-ranking undead would solve that problem, but even without that, it wasn’t a major obstacle to the construction work.
Time wasn’t an issue.
“It’s a shame we haven’t seen each other for so long. I think it will be lonely.”
Thea seemed quite disappointed, but she didn’t ask to come with us.
She seemed to understand the dangers of the Barren Lands.
‘It will be lonely, indeed.’
She had been busy managing the underground dungeon, but she wouldn’t be able to do that anymore.
Of course, she wouldn’t be completely idle.
“As you instructed, I’ll manage the supplies. I’ll also do my best with the additional material purchases and negotiations.”
“They’ll treat you well. You’re one of us. Consider it a learning experience.”
Thea had managed the underground dungeon relatively well.
Therefore, I intended to entrust her with internal management and external negotiations after the magic tower was built.
While she wouldn’t be managing the entire tower, her position would be quite important due to its location.
Therefore, she needed to gain experience.
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