NOVEL NEXT Chapter 37
“Why is she pink again?”
Charlotte’s level had turned hot pink.
Just like a bone-headed witch, huh?
Charlotte and Balutak just stayed by my side, not really joining the conversation.
Since Estizel, being a singular entity, had no companions, the two could chat back and forth.
When I raised my hand, a wine-serving demon approached.
Seeing me, Estizel cautiously accepted her wine glass.
“Cheers.”
“Cheers…”
Clink.
As we clinked glasses, Estizel brought her lips to it.
As an Undead, I just watched her drink.
“Cough! Ack! Hurf!”
Was my gaze that burdening?
She choked before finishing half and started coughing dryly.
All the attention in the room began focusing on us even more.
“Cough! Cough!”
Estizel seemed conscious of this too, covering her mouth with both hands.
Struggling to calm down, her pupils only moved slightly to glance at me.
“Um, Lord?”
“Speak.”
“I know it’s not my place, but… wouldn’t this just embarrass you, Lord?”
As she said, the majority of levels around us were tinged with hostility.
I hadn’t done anything wrong. We just talked, and yet colors were changing every moment.
It was a glimpse of how the 72 Lords perceived Estizel.
“It doesn’t matter.”
In any case, I didn’t need to care much about their perceptions.
Since I was one of the Seven Lairs, my demeanor needed to be proper only in front of the other Seven Lairs.
“Uh… I’m really really curious. Why are you being so nice to me?”
“Don’t like it, huh?”
“No, no! That’s not it…”
“There’s no particular reason. I purely saw potential in you.”
Those who endure will find blessings.
Slowly but surely, Estizel’s value would only go up.
“Potential? In me?”
“Yeah.”
As expected, she had a look of disbelief. Whether she believed it or not, I didn’t want to plead for her trust.
“Anyway, you can ask me for help anytime.”
“…I do owe the association a debt, though.”
Even after mentioning it, she was subtly checking my reaction.
In a moment of realization, Estizel lowered her gaze.
“How much?”
“A, about a million sel, give or take.”
I was at a loss for words and let out a laugh.
For the 72 Lords, even that must be a huge debt.
“I’ll take care of it after the meeting.”
“Huh! Thank you!”
“Do you need any other help? How’s the dungeon security?”
“Um… I still don’t know since no intruders have come yet.”
Well, that may still be the case, but the 72 Lords’ dungeon had a high risk of being conquered.
Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have her move into my dungeon.
As a singular entity, it was easy to leave a dungeon and simply take the core with you.
In games, a singular entity boss could move to another dungeon, resulting in one dungeon having two bosses.
“Don’t you want to come to the Tomb of Faith?”
“…What?”
“I’m asking your thoughts. Do you want to be a member of the Seven Lairs?”
At my question, all of Estizel’s movements stopped.
Eventually, her pupils widened slowly, and her mouth opened wide like Kirby.
“Someone like me, being a Lord’s─! Gasp!”
Again, Estizel instinctively covered her mouth, probably afraid of attracting attention.
“No need to rush. Take your time to think. Just tell me your thoughts by the end of the meeting.”
“Ah, no… How could I possibly join the Seven Lairs…”
From that moment on, Estizel’s level color changed.
It changed.
The level was a light green. The number 44 was still a dark black.
It was an ambiguous feeling mixed with favor and fear.
Isn’t it enough of a significant leap?
It was the sense of accomplishment from a puppy that had been wary and scared finally opening its heart.
“There are many places to stay. My underlings will welcome you too. Feel free to come anytime if you want.”
“Ughhhh…”
“The 72nd dungeon is dangerous. Most within rank 72 don’t last long; they often get replaced within days.”
Estizel was a boss with high magical potential.
With Charlotte’s teachings, she would surely blossom and improve rapidly.
Who knows? She might even break into the top 50 in less than a month.
‘She might like it too.’
If you take away the fear, it was only natural that Estizel would welcome it.
Estizel is a typical social outcast. Yet, she longs to make friends.
Her life as a loner, hiding away, was simply a forced choice to avoid the storms of the world.
In reality, she was a girl who craved warmth from others due to her loneliness.
There was also an Easter egg revealing Estizel’s personality.
If a player enters the 72nd dungeon unarmed, Estizel lowers her guard and approaches.
What she says next is quite unexpected.
“Are you here to hide too? Then you can stay with me here.”
Seeing a boss approach so warmly, anyone would have similar thoughts.
There’s a reason for her being half-human, half-beast. The developers’ intent to pull a fast one with that innocent appearance was glaringly obvious.
At first, I thought of it as some kind of trick.
But once I dug deeper, it became clear that Estizel’s words were utterly sincere.
“I’m in the same situation as you! We could be friends!”
When I actually pressed the accept button, Estizel’s affinity score started to rise.
Players looking for healing abandoned story progression to enjoy playing house with Estizel.
But I was a player who wanted smooth story progression.
I always entered unarmed, raised the affinity, then stabbed her to death.
This way not only saved time, but I could kill her without any collateral damage.
“W-Why do you want to kill me? I thought we were close…?”
Even her dying words tugged at players’ hearts.
With the combination of her lines, screams, and expressions being quite realistic, she became famously known as a guilt-inducing type of boss among gamers.
“W-Well, how dare you…?”
Estizel was babbling and trailing off.
Hmm. Seeing her in person made me feel strangely guilty.
I’d killed her hundreds of times.
“Well, now it’s the opposite.”
I was in the position to comfort her rather than to kill.
Full of potential and with less guilt.
Tap.
As I placed my hand on her shoulder again, she flinched.
“It’s a single entity dungeon, isn’t it? It must be quite lonely by yourself.”
“Well, that’s true…”
“I’m a single entity boss like you. I know that feeling better than anyone.”
“!”
Estizel stopped breathing and stared up at me wide-eyed.
“Look. That’s why I have my underlings beside me.”
“Is, is that so?”
“So think positively.”
Before I knew it, the green level had deepened while the black faded.
Indeed, nothing builds affection like a sense of shared experience.
Tap. Tap.
That’s when the sound of something knocking on the floor echoed.
From the source of the sound came a troll shaman with a visual that looked like a hunched old witch.
Rank 8 Babayaga was walking over, tapping the ground with a stick.
As the distance between us closed, Estizel inhaled deeply.
I silently glared at Babayaga.
“You seem to be in good spirits.”
A sense of displeasure crept into the old hag’s voice.
It got tense.
Just before that guy got close to me, Charlotte and Balutak stepped in the way.
Only after I nodded did they both step back at the same time.
“What’s going on?”
“Haha… Sorry for the late introduction. I’m Babayaga, boss of the Swamp Valley, ranked 8th.”
Light red level, and pretty obvious hostility.
I sharpened my tone in response.
“Did you come here just to introduce yourself?”
“Yeah, well. It’d be an honor if the master of the Seven Lairs remembers me.”
While saying that, he shot a glance at Estizel.
“By the way, you’re quite lucky. To be with someone who turned out to be a mess in the Lairs.”
Estizel, already feeling small, shrank even more. He seemed to have found a good excuse to look down on us.
I hid Estizel behind me and tilted my chin.
“You got a problem?”
“Haha, of course not. How could I possibly harbor resentment toward the will of the Seven Lairs? In fact, everything makes sense now.”
Babayaga smirked.
“I was curious about your thoughts on killing Gergor, but it seems like you had none at all?”
That’s a criticism that’s downright blunt.
Before I could respond, reactions came flying in from both sides.
“Apologize for your insult, Mr. Babayaga. This person is the lord of the Seven Lairs.”
“Chirik. Troll, that’s way out of line. My head chief here.”
“Even your subordinates are a human lieutenant and an insect as a guard. Seems like you’re making a fool of yourself?”
Despite the rank difference, there was a huge chasm between the 7th and 8th positions. We’re talking at least ten ranks apart, no exaggeration.
Was he acting this way because he couldn’t handle his own status? Or did he simply overestimate his faction?
Should he really be acting on his own will here?
“It would be blasphemous if the other masters of the Seven Lairs heard this. Don’t you realize that, your noble highness?”
In my eyes, Babayaga looked like a puppeteer’s marionette, strings attached.
The provocations so far were purely at Calandas’s behest.
If the Seven Lairs had support, there was nothing to fear about turning them into enemies.
Moreover, Calandas was ranked 5th—two ranks above me.
I couldn’t just cower in fear either.
“Babayaga. Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
“Haha, would you like to try killing me like Gergor?”
Babayaga shot back without changing his expression.
With Calandas as his backing, he wasn’t intimidated by even bluffing.
If I closed my eyes and let this slide, it would be the tipping point where all my secrets were revealed to the world.
[Babayaga’s Poplar Staff of Sorcery (A)]
[Enhancement Probability: 10%]
[※ Caution! If enhancement fails, it will be destroyed automatically!]
[Would you like to enhance Babayaga’s Poplar Staff of Sorcery (A)?]
[YES/NO]
As long as it wasn’t a physical threat, it was no big deal.
If it was just a threat like last time with Calandas, the momentum would shift to me.
It was actually more appropriate to act this way rather than dragging out the conflict.
[Enhancing Babayaga’s Poplar Staff of Sorcery (A).]
[Congratulations! Enhancement succeeded at 10%! Babayaga’s Poplar Staff of Sorcery (A) has been enhanced.]
…What?
The subsequent state window notifications seemed to mock me with their lengthy sentences.
[Babayaga’s Poplar Staff of Sorcery (A) +1 enhancement]
[Enhancement Result: Overall stats have slightly increased.]
I had a feeling there would be a significant backlash from overestimating enhancement skills someday.
But I never expected it to be now…
A sense of defeat began to sprout and grow in my heart. If I weren’t wearing a poker face, my true feelings would have been obvious long ago.
This was solely my mistake. I had become overconfident thanks to the ongoing enhancement spells.
The price I paid was devastating, gnawing at my heart.
Babayaga raised his staff.
Looking around, he tilted his head and touched the ground again.
“Don’t be too angry. It’s just a piece of advice.”
“….”
“It seems the Lord is unaware of the prestige of the Seven Lairs, being new and all. So, as an elder, isn’t it fair that I provide some advice?”
After the successful enhancement, I would have to wait an entire hour for the cooldown.
I didn’t even feel the overwhelming presence of the bosses from the Seven Lairs.
Using force against Babayaga would be far from enough. It would just expose my weaknesses.
I needed to flip this atmosphere with words, but my mind was so tangled that it felt like I had been hit with a hammer at the back of my head, leaving me utterly clueless.
“Do you want to kill me? You’ve been doing as you please up until now. Go ahead and kill me right here. The other Lords of the Seven Lairs would be thrilled.”
“This is your final warning. Stop right there.”
Charlotte stepped up in my place.
I hoped she could buy me at least a little time.
“Apologize for your rudeness immediately. If you cross any further lines, there will be no turning back.”
“Are you threatening me? Just a human?”
“Kirik. The chief is strong. The troll cannot win.”
“How dare you, a worthless bug… You’re in no position to interfere. Get lost while you still can.”
A red-level group was approaching from a distance.
They were the bosses of the Babayaga faction.
“This person is not someone you can contend with. Kneel and apologize to my master right now.”
“Kirik. Troll, eat a lot. I will consume again and evolve this time.”
“You could end up dead at this rate.”
“Go ahead and try. Before that, you’ll be the one to die.”
“Shut up.”
“What? A lieutenant with no fear? Who’s dying?”
In the meantime, dozens of bosses surrounded us, and all eyes in the venue were focused here.
If the boss just stood back and let his subordinates take the lead, my position would be uncontrollably shaken.
This was a disgrace among the disgraces of the Seven Lairs.
However, I was vastly outnumbered. My bluster and authority were useless against them.
Damn that Calandas. I was being driven into a corner by his scheming.
‘What the hell am I supposed to do?’
I never expected Babayaga to come at me this hard.
I couldn’t have imagined that my bluster would not shake their momentum at all.
Failure in enhancement. If that had gone well, the results would have been different, but fortune was never on my side.
Damn, damn, damn. My mind echoed with curses like a tidal wave.
Kugugugu─
The sound of the stone door opening further disoriented me.
Charlotte and Balutak kept quiet, sneaking glances my way.
My position was so pathetic that I couldn’t even take action despite their urging looks.
– The owner of the grand castle, filled with the musical tones of rank 6! Night Queen Valentia Roseha has arrived─!
At that moment, all thoughts halted.
My gaze instinctively turned towards the stone door.
[Lv. 81]
[Lv. 88]
The Vampire Drabule and Dullahan Carleon.
A woman with fiery red hair walked in, flanked by the two of them.
She radiated an aura of elegance just by moving.
Her presence commanded all attention and stirred emotions while overwhelming everyone around her.
It felt like a pressure pressing down on the air, spreading in all directions as her level came to mind.
[Lv. 93]
As her blood-red eyes turned towards me, the previously white level blushed a deep pink for just a moment.
“Hey darling? I came because I missed you.”
With her characteristic wink, Roseha waved her hand.