“Dogs of the magic realm! Go ahead and struggle more! This Balmunk will wipe you all out!”
Each punch displayed a truly destructive power.
The rumors that had circulated were not false; the hero was a force that couldn’t be underestimated despite numerical superiority.
Only then did Charlotte realize her mistake and understand she was far outmatched.
‘What about the boss?’
Before she could finish her thought, she felt a chill.
This defeat of the hero was a qualification test for her as a deputy. Relying on the boss was the first step to disqualification.
-Crunch…
Even the supposedly indomitable Minotaur and Basilisk fell.
It instilled fear in the monsters, and their plummeted morale spread like an epidemic.
Being incapacitated and losing the will to fight was a shortcut to defeat.
They had already played all their cards. There was no way to defeat the hero.
“Ha! Right! I forgot about you.”
The hero said this as he jumped to the other side.
There stood the dungeon’s boss, the Death Knight, unconcerned.
In an instant, a look of despair crossed Charlotte’s face.
The dungeon was the boss, and the boss was the dungeon.
The responsibility for defeat could be made up for someday. However, allowing contact with the boss was an irreversible catastrophe.
‘I am… so powerless.’
When subordinates lacked ability, situations turned out like this.
At that moment, as Charlotte squeezed her eyes shut in helplessness, Balmunk had vanished from view.
All that remained in his place were blood and pieces of flesh.
No signs of life or even a presence disappeared like a lie.
The silence settled in an instant.
The Death Knight looked down at his bloodied black steel armor with cold eyes.
“You’re flinging around your filth upon dying.”
That was the extent of his sentiment. The Death Knight turned his back to the bloodstains at his feet.
Only when Charlotte’s halted thoughts kicked back into gear did she grasp the situation.
The hero Balmunk had been slain by the boss. In the blink of an eye, just like that.
To say he was ‘killed’ by the boss’s ‘hands’ was misleading.
In truth, he had been obliterated without so much as a finger lifted.
‘How on earth?’
Without any words or actions, the hero had been killed. The hero who had slaughtered dozens of monsters.
It didn’t seem real, even so soon after it happened.
Despite having instantly dispatched the hero, the Death Knight’s reaction was utterly indifferent.
It was as if an elephant had stepped on an ant—nothing could be more absurd.
Naturally, all gazes turned to the boss.
It felt like one needed permission just to breathe; the pressure in the air was suffocating.
“Huh.”
With someone’s inhalation, all breaths that had been held in that moment were released.
“This… is going to make the magic realm noisy for a while.”
The Demon Merchant said with a dazed expression.
For a hero, the Empire’s greatest force, to die so easily was unprecedented in the Empire’s history.
A feat achieved by the newly emerged boss of the Seven Lairs that the bosses of the past thousand years could not achieve.
It wouldn’t just be the magic realm; between the Empire and the 72 dungeons, it would become the talk of the town.
‘Just how strong is he?’
If other bosses from the Seven Lairs saw this sight, they would have been astonished.
The Death Knight, the very subject of this awe, had already left without any pronounced sentiment.
In his departing figure, everyone felt a sense of reverence surpassing mere admiration.
‘…That individual rendered the hero less than a fly.’
The only reaction visible was the disgust he displayed at the sight of the splattered blood. A reaction akin to someone squashing a bug.
The Demon Merchant was a notorious gossip even among the guild.
Now that he had witnessed it personally, it was only a matter of time before the achievements of the new boss of the Seven Lairs spread like wildfire.
Especially as he would pique the interest of the bored bosses of the Seven Lairs.
‘What is this?’
It was then that a familiar scent brushed against his nose.
The Demon Merchant, a half-incubus, could sniff out human desires.
His malevolent gaze landed on Charlotte.
How dare a human hybrid…
Her unbecoming display of desire, oblivious to her own station, was utterly disgusting.
It was utterly disgusting to see someone harboring lust without even realizing it.
In an instant, Charlotte shook her head repeatedly.
And just like that, the lust flickered out like a candle in the wind.
Looks like she knows it too.
Don’t get ahead of yourself. You’re not someone who can desire that.
‘Yeah. If it’s that person…’
It would only make sense if that person were the boss of The Seven Lairs.
Then I remembered how that person complained about being lonely at the fortress.
It’s still too early, but if I get the chance later, I’ll set it up.
‘But now that I think about it, maybe there’s no need for that?’
The inevitable resumption of the long-delayed gathering of the 72 bosses was a future I could foresee.
The new boss of The Seven Lairs would be the star of that gathering.
*
Once the Balmunk fiasco was wrapped up, the Demon Merchant left with a bunch of monsters through the portal.
Before leaving, he even mentioned he’d be back soon. Apparently, he’s making all the arrangements for dungeon restoration and expansion or something.
‘Suddenly, it’s feeling empty.’
Charlotte said the only monsters she bought were a Minotaur and a Basilisk, but they all died in the fight against the hero.
In the end, the only ones left in the dungeon, or rather the cave, were me, a bunch of vampires, and Charlotte—back to square one.
“Oh, great boss who defies the natural order! I’m eternally grateful for your lack of help. I will repay my debt as quickly as I can.”
On a side note, for some reason, the gazes fixed on me felt extremely burdensome.
Especially that Isabella—she’s gone too far. I wondered if this was what it felt like to sit on a bed of nails every moment.
When I told her to fix her speech, she reverted back to normal, thankfully.
“You’ve done more than enough from your positions.”
“Boss…!”
Isabella and the vampires looked up at me with teary eyes. It’s annoying.
I waved my hand to issue a summoning spell, and the vampires rushed over.
‘Hah. What do I do now?’
I, who couldn’t even defeat that dim-witted vampire, had become the boss of The Seven Lairs.
Just that was already headache-inducing, and on top of that, I killed a hero.
‘The newly formed The Seven Lairs killed a hero? Oh, snap.’
No doubt the empire would hear about this and consider me their top enemy. They might even be more wary of us than the other The Seven Lairs.
The humanity side was a problem, but there was an even bigger issue.
All eyes from the 72 dungeons and the magic realm would be on me for a while. Me, who was nothing more than a shadow of The Seven Lairs.
Thanks to the false impression of myself being the new The Seven Lairs, it seemed like there was a recently conquered The Seven Lairs.
Considering this was a past timeline as well, the only dungeon that had likely been conquered was the Shadows of Ban-go.
‘I only viewed the Shadows of Ban-go as mere lore.’
The timeline of the game itself started after the conquest of the Shadows of Ban-go.
So, naturally, questions arose.
What on earth is this fake, newly formed The Seven Lairs that I impersonated?
‘The ranking is 7th, the Colorless Calm. The boss was probably the hermit named Hermit.’
Fortunately, if there was any silver lining in this misfortune, it was that.
As suggested by the name, Hermit focuses on isolation in dungeons like a recluse. It’s his way of growing, but still.
According to game lore, one could only conquer the 7th dungeon after clearing the 5th.
This was because Hermit rarely showed himself, and the dungeon’s location became known quite late.
‘He had no interest in the outside world either.’
At least he was the perfect candidate for impersonation.
Of course, he was hiding, not nonexistent.
I had to live with the anxiety of never knowing when I’d be discovered. Damn it.
“Boss. I have a request.”
Charlotte’s words snapped me out of my thoughts.
I arrogantly nodded my head as if I were the true boss of The Seven Lairs.
What kind of attitude is that in front of a crazy girl who could easily kill me?
[Lv. 72]
My level remained the same, but the color changed.
A faint light green expressed goodwill. As long as that color doesn’t change, there’s no reason to fear Charlotte.
There was no reason to do it.
“If the boss doesn’t need it, can I take ownership of the hero’s corpse?”
Corpse? Ah, I get the intention behind the question.
But Balmunk was turned into dust, making the term ‘corpse’ meaningless, right?
“There probably isn’t even a body left.”
“Forgive my presumption. If you grant permission, I want to gather the fragments and use them.”
So you mean you’re going to gather the pieces scattered like dust and resurrect them as Undead?
The very idea was insane. This girl was a prime example of a notorious psycho.
Setting aside her duties as a human, it was just plain inefficient.
Beyond a wizard’s abilities, it’s hard to turn even a body with a missing limb into Undead.
Even if we pretend that a limb was magically reattached and it worked, it would be like a shell—empty inside and weak.
The benefit of Undead transformation is to increase one’s combat power beyond their living self.
So with an intact corpse, the average level could increase by about 2 to 5. I mean, only with an intact corpse.
But Balmunk had been reduced to dust, not just a body part!
No matter how you cut it, even for Charlotte, turning that into Undead would be a heavy task.
“Unless you’re just wasting mana, stop it.”
“No! I can do it.”
Was this even the same Charlotte? This was nothing like her usual self.
I could somehow sense a stubbornness within her expressionless face.
“Please. I want to make up for my mistake.”
“Your mistake, huh?”
What nonsense is that? What mistake did you make?
“I know I’m unqualified as a subordinate. So I want to prove my worth somehow.”
Now I get what she means.
She felt responsible for the commotion with Balmunk.
‘Come to think of it, I did mention a test to her.’
The situation where she’s still a subordinate despite failing the test given by the boss must be weighing on her.
“Do what you want.”
As if she’d been waiting for this, Charlotte pulled out a potion bottle, popped the cork, and downed it.
It was a mana potion she had saved up.
Having quickly drained three bottles, Charlotte dashed off somewhere.
Before long, she returned with a bundle in front of me, and I frowned the moment I saw it.
‘This crazy girl?’
I crossed my arms, trying to appear indifferent, and closed my eyes.
I had no interest in watching fragments of a corpse.
What in the world did she plan to show me right now?
It was like a kid wanting their parents to watch the dance they learned in kindergarten.
…I’m really going crazy. Comparing a cute child’s performance to a necromancer reviving Undead?
Honestly, I just wanted her to wrap this up quickly, whether it succeeded or failed.
I tapped my arms impatiently.
I couldn’t see it, but I felt an ominous ritual taking place in front of me.
Mumbling. Charlotte began chanting a spell.
How long had it been since then?
“Ugh…”
That horrible groan sounded like a signal, and I opened my eyes.
A tattered Undead, stitched together from various body parts, stood there.
She had succeeded in the Undead transformation, at least.
[Lv. 32]
Of course, she had ‘only’ succeeded.
Compared to when they were alive, not even a single toe to be compared with.
She turned the highest quality material, an 84-level hero, into a pathetic Undead.
It was like making nail clippers out of high-grade mithril.
“Ah…”
It seemed she knew it too, as a short lament slipped from Charlotte’s lips.
Even without seeing her expression, I could clearly sense her dejected heart.
To be honest, I had some expectations that maybe Charlotte could pull this off.
She probably had the same mindset, being the type to think highly of her dark magic.
“Undead, respond to your master’s call.”
“Ugh…”
See? It’s not working, is it?
A mindless Undead that can’t even speak is considered low to mid-tier.
Charlotte hung her head low once she confirmed that grim reality. She couldn’t even bring herself to look back up.
‘But wow, it’s really ugly.’
Perhaps because it was all pieced together, this Undead was a terrible sight even among its kind.
I wanted to tell it to get lost, but out of respect for the atmosphere, I held my tongue.
I wanted to tell the person to just buzz off. I couldn’t say it because of the atmosphere.
[The target has partially met the evolution conditions.]
[Would you like to evolve the ragged Undead?]
I couldn’t believe my eyes at the sudden notification.
Can I really evolve that ragged thing?
“I’m sorry to disappoint you.”
I didn’t even have time to react to Charlotte’s words.
Even though the status window notification popped up, I was filled with questions.
What evolution condition did that ragged one meet?
“Uh. Um. Did I do something wrong?”
Look at Isabella, the success case.
She had plenty of potential, died and came back to life at that time, and had the spirit to sacrifice for her companions, so she was 100% successful in evolving.
But what about the ragged Balmunk?
Considering his body, let’s say he has enough potential.
But he would need to meet at least two requirements to even attempt evolution.
Did Balmunk sacrifice himself for someone right before he died? Definitely not.
So is it a ‘dying moment’ situation now?
…He did die, right?
‘Ah. This must be a bug.’
The evolution condition is that the target must be exposed to the threat of death.
And the Undead are always exposed to death; to put it simply, they’re already dead.
I don’t know if this is an Easter egg or a bug, but anyway, as long as there’s great potential, evolution could apply to the Undead.
Through potential and the threat of death, those two basic conditions were met.
“I owe you a great debt for this short time. I apologize for showing you such a pathetic sight before leaving.”
I didn’t say anything, but he was drowning in self-doubt and was about to leave.
Don’t go. We’re doomed without you.
Now that we’re in the Seven Lairs, I couldn’t lose a talented individual.
Feeling a bit eerie, I glanced at Charlotte while messing with the ragged Undead.
“Wait.”
Evolve, you ragged one.
[Evolving the ragged Undead.]
[Two conditions have been met, so success or failure will be determined with a 50% chance.]
[Evolution successful! The ragged Undead has successfully evolved.]
[Lv. 56]
I silently cheered inside.
Not a 100% like Isabella, but a 50% chance made the sense of accomplishment even more intense.
[The target’s potential is extremely outstanding! Beyond MAX evolution, it will now attempt a second evolution with a 50% chance!]
Second evolution, not a Pokemon!
Can this really happen?
I had quite a few occasions where I flipped a coin twice and got the same side.
Thinking like that, it felt worth the hope.
[Second evolution successful!!! The ragged Undead has successfully evolved! You can now give it a new name.]
No genitals, but I’m blown away.
Unlike when it was Isabella, the whole form of the ragged one was cloaked in a halo of light.
When the light finally faded, the patched-up ragged one transformed into a dignified Undead that resembled a human.
[Lv. 74]
“Your name is Balmunk.”
“Bal, Monk… I will follow you…”
“Balmunk. Raise your hands.”
As soon as I finished speaking, bam! He raised both hands.
I couldn’t help but nod in satisfaction.
He responded well and executed orders without delay.
Thus, a ghoul stronger than a Death Knight and a Lich was born.
Charlotte was gawking at me from the corner of my vision.
After pondering what to say, she finally spoke.
“Stay here as my lieutenant. I will compensate for your mistakes.”
“….”
Charlotte, who had been gaping like a goldfish, tightly closed her lips.
Thud.
Suddenly, she knelt in front of me.
“I will serve you forever as my boss.”
[Lv. 72]
The light green level started to change color again.
It would become a very deep green. The darker the brightness, the deeper the emotion.
But the color that caught my eye was not green at all.
The color that changed was an unexpected pink. A color that signifies affection.
…Is she actually feeling flustered around me as a romantic interest?
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
