NOVEL NEXT Chapter 49
The Ancient Dungeon Core differed from the 72 Dungeon Cores in several ways.
Most importantly, unlike the existing Dungeon Cores, it didn’t impose any restrictions on the targets that could be absorbed.
This meant that even someone like me, not a Dungeon Boss, could absorb the Ancient Dungeon Core.
The location of that place, which is harder to find than relics, would be known only to me.
In fact, it was a bit inaccurate to call it a location.
I knew a definitive landmark and was going to find the location through it.
‘If I can absorb that, I’ll get close to being a munchkin.’
Each Ancient Dungeon Core displayed power that easily surpassed the 72 Dungeon Cores.
Was it because they had been maturing for a long time? That was true, but there was one fraudulent setting.
When the boss of the ancient dungeon dies, their life force is directly transferred to the Dungeon Core.
Soon, the grave of the High Dragon I was about to visit would be the same.
The Dragon Heart left behind by the High Dragon would be fused into the Dungeon Core.
Thus, by absorbing the Dungeon Core, I could utilize the traits of the ancient boss.
That said, it wasn’t possible to use it freely; it was temporary and had many other restrictions.
In simpler terms, it was a conditionally munchkin-like ability, but even that was something to be grateful for.
Isabella and Charlotte.
Just the two of them seemed to signal success in conquering the High Dragon’s grave.
Just as I was preparing to embark on the journey.
“Lord, may I attempt to undead Wilhelm?”
Charlotte’s words, entering the boss room after knocking, reminded me of something I had forgotten.
Wilhelm!
Since he’s a hero in his prime, if things go well, he should become a top-tier undead.
Moreover, unlike Balmunk’s case, he was an intact corpse.
Without the Holy Sword, Wilhelm’s level was 84.
If the undead transformation succeeded, aiming for levels 85 or 86 wasn’t out of the question.
Whatever happened, if we succeeded, I thought we had about an 80% chance of success with the Ancient Dungeon.
Recognizing the gravity of the matter, I asked with slight caution.
“Are you confident?”
“Yes. I have read about the Dullahan undead transformation twenty times. I will never disappoint you. Please give me the chance.”
Charlotte spoke with a determined expression, more serious than ever.
I could feel her strong resolve behind her emotionless face.
She said she was confident, and more than that.
[Lv. 83]
Her level had risen by one again.
Despite being a high-level 80s character, since receiving the Necronomicon, she had made a steep climb of three levels.
Indeed, the combination of the Necronomicon and the mind Charlotte didn’t lie.
“I give you permission.”
“I will definitely succeed.”
Now that I thought about it, she looked like she had developed dark circles under her eyes since I last saw her.
She had probably been studying necromancy without any rest. How commendable.
After leaving the boss room, while waiting in the 10th-floor hall, Charlotte headed somewhere.
She must have gone to thaw Wilhelm’s corpse, which she had frozen with ice magic in the storage room.
Eventually, I saw skeleton soldiers carefully bringing Wilhelm’s corpse from a distance.
They carefully laid his body and head down separately on the ground.
Charlotte stared at me intently as she opened her mouth.
“I will begin.”
Please, oh please. Let it succeed.
While I was a nervous wreck, Charlotte appeared calm.
With both hands outstretched, Charlotte began to mutter incantations.
The ominous energy emanating from her fingertips gradually became clearer. Every single particle of dark magic materialized.
‘This time, the start seems promising.’
After dark magic made contact, the corpse began to stir intermittently.
The dark gray mana wafted like incense, entering and exiting the corpse’s airways like the nose and mouth.
Whoosh!
At that moment, green flames flickered from the severed neck.
The body that had been writhing with a metallic grinding noise stood up properly.
As the Dullahan spread its arms, shadows vanished, and it seized a pitch-black great sword in its hand.
Its other hand was now cradling its head.
“I will follow my master.”
Thud. The Dullahan knelt before Charlotte.
[Lv. 86]
From 84 to 86. This was a breakthrough success.
It was proof that all of the hard work hadn’t been in vain.
Perhaps aware of my gaze, Charlotte immediately locked eyes with me.
“We did it. Well done.”
“…Thank you.”
Upon closer inspection, her fingertips were trembling ever so slightly.
Now that I realized, the one who was most nervous was Charlotte.
Seeing her succeed despite the pressure made her even more commendable.
As a reward, I should help her evolve as well.
[All evolution conditions have been met.]
[Would you like to evolve Dullahan Wilhelm?]
…All conditions?
Wilhelm’s death surely wasn’t a sacrifice.
‘Or not? If leaving his comrades to escape and dying alone counts as a sacrifice, then it is a sacrifice.’
I thought the criteria for sacrifice hinged on mindset, but it seemed like it’s not that simple.
Well, as long as it’s good.
I approach casually and placed my hand on the Dullahan’s shoulder.
[Evolving Dullahan Wilhelm.]
[All conditions are met, so the success rate is 100%.]
[Evolution complete!! Dullahan Wilhelm has successfully evolved!]
Since his potential was already somewhat awakened, a second evolution would have been too much.
A 100% success rate is nothing to complain about.
Whoosh!
Due to evolution, the flames of the head changed from green to purple.
The strength scale of the Dullahan is divided based on the color of the flames.
Blue, green, and purple. Those are the three types.
I remember that Carleon’s flame color was exactly that purple.
[Lv. 88]
The level matched Carleon’s.
Where my gaze fell, Charlotte was indeed staring back at me.
She parted her lips and approached me.
After meeting my gaze, she bowed her head before speaking.
“Thank you for always filling in my shortcomings.”
“It’s not a shortcoming. You have done sufficiently well.”
It wasn’t just empty words; I meant it sincerely.
As a gesture of encouragement, I patted Charlotte’s shoulder.
In response, Charlotte’s shoulder twitched slightly.
The level again… I was too tired to even mention it now.
Lately, I’ve seen more hot pink than dark green. Even now.
As Charlotte turned her back to the Dullahan, it vanished smoothly and melted into the shadows.
High-level necromancers typically hid their minions like that and called upon them when needed.
Charlotte had now entered that rank.
‘Now the time has come.’
Ancient Dungeon exploration.
Charlotte, Isabella, Wilhelm, Barugore. Let’s go.
***
Before leaving the dungeon, I broke off my horns and covered my face with my helmet.
Although the horns would regenerate, it still pained me.
‘Honestly, the horns are stylish.’
The Holy Sword was also tightly wrapped in bandages, making it look like an ordinary sword.
Charlotte also changed into her outing outfit.
A tunic made of linen, a woolen coat, and leather pants.
Right now, it was drizzling, so she had also oiled her travel cloak.
Charlotte volunteered to carry the backpack.
Originally, I was going to carry it, but she firmly refused.
It was funny for the boss to act as a porter anyway.
“Oh. This might actually be quite comfortable?”
Flap, flap.
I just realized it, but Isabella could transform into a bat, so she didn’t need any disguise magic.
I had seen some setting where the Vampire Queen could transform into a bat.
I had never encountered the real thing inside the game.
Since a pet bat was too iffy for an excuse, we decided she’d fly behind us from a distance.
Charlotte checked her handheld mirror one last time.
The control magic was working well, and her magical pupils had reverted to human ones.
I knew it was cumbersome, but all of this was essential to pass through the Empire’s cities.
“By the way, Boss. What business do we have in Meljien?”
It’s quite amazing to hear a bat talk.
Previously, I had just said we had some matters to attend to without a definite reason.
I added that you two were the most trustworthy guards, so I took you along.
Charlotte accepted without saying much, but Isabella was very curious.
As I remained silent, another question came flying my way.
“So how long are we going to be there?”
“At least a week.”
“Eww…”
“I’m fine. I will stick closely to the Boss.”
It would be at least one week, possibly even a month-long affair.
Nevertheless, I had to go for the Ancient Dungeon Core.
The abilities obtainable from the High Dragon’s grave Dungeon Core are two.
The first is Dragon’s Aura. The second is the power of Draconic Words.
Aura is the killing intent akin to the pressure from the bosses of The Seven Lairs.
The very origin of Aura is the Dragon, and at one point, it belonged exclusively to dragons.
It was an indispensable ability for someone like me, impersonating the Seven Lairs.
If I had Aura, no one would doubt me.
The second, Draconic Words, is to imbue unknown power in a brief phrase.
It’s an ultimate upgrade of the incantation, allowing one to overpower or even kill an opponent just with words.
In fact, Draconic Words seem ambiguous to be called words and definitely don’t fit the mold of sentences.
Literally, it’s just one to four syllables.
Interestingly, in the game, using Draconic Words required typing in the chat.
That’s why the chat feature was activated even offline.
‘I remember spamming Ctrl C, V during raids.’
Even though it was a short chat, I pasted it because I wasn’t familiar with kanji.
The High Dragon, who was the boss of the dungeon, was fundamentally distanced from a pureblood dragon from a modern perspective.
In terms of game settings, they were all dragons, but at least from my observation, it resembled a hybrid of Eastern dragons.
‘The design is telling of that too.’
Of course, it had already died, so it couldn’t make an appearance.
After all, the design of the High Dragon was once revealed by the developers on their SNS.
Alongside its limbs, the body was mostly that of a dragon.
However, its horns resembled deer antlers, and it also had a jewel that it carried like a magic orb.
Even the Draconic Words used by the High Dragon were in hanja, not Western or European varieties.
I wondered if the Dragon Heart embedded in the Dungeon Core was actually like that jewel.
However, since the developers officially insisted it was a pureblood dragon, what could I do? I had to believe it.
“Boss. I’m sorry. I forgot something.”
I was slightly surprised to hear that from Charlotte.
…How clumsy of her.
“I’ll allow it.”
“Sorry.”
Charlotte hurried towards the dungeon.
As I watched her retreating figure, my mind wandered into trivial thoughts.
‘…Now that I think about it, my horn resembles that too?’
I had just realized that my horns were the same deer-like horns as the High Dragon’s.
What a strange coincidence.
***
At this time, Charlotte was scouring through the 5th floor.
Soon, what she tripped over were two horns resembling deer antlers.
It was so regrettable to see them discarded like garbage.
Hastily gathering the horns, Charlotte stealthily headed toward the sub-officer’s room with quick strides.
On the way, she did not forget to be cautious to not get caught by anyone.
Once inside the sub-officer’s room, Charlotte carefully placed the horns into a secret drawer.
Next, she headed to the Boss room of the Shrine of Faith.
As she stealthily peeked into the boss room, Charlotte surveyed her surroundings.
Her gaze fell upon a Helbok that was tearing at a piece of meat.
Despite being a smelly piece of cheap meat bought from the market, it was feasting happily.
-Hek hek.
As soon as Helbok spotted Charlotte, it stopped eating and approached her.
Charlotte petted the back of its neck while looking around.
Soon, her eye caught the bones that lay scattered on the ground.
‘…the bones of the boss.’
Since she had been observing them closely, there was no way she was mistaken.
Gulp. The weight of the saliva traveling down her throat was heavy.
-Wang! Wang!
As soon as Charlotte reached for the bones, Helbok barked at her.
Was it telling her not to take its toy?
With no choice, she immediately summoned a skeleton and disassembled it.
As the bones collapsed into a pile, Helbok bounced excitedly.
“Take everything. If it’s not enough, I’ll give you more.”
-Hek hek. Wang!
I’ll take that as a reply.
Phew. Charlotte took a deep breath and extended her hand.
Her trembling fingertips cautiously grasped one of the boss’s ribs.
“….”
While feeling up various places, Charlotte finally opened her front flap.
She placed the bone, located near her heart, into her chest and closed the flap once more.
-Kiying….
Was it her first toy, or was it that she sensed it wasn’t an ordinary bone?
Helbok looked at Charlotte with a pained expression, as if it felt a sense of loss.
“This isn’t just a toy. It’s a sacred artifact.”
-Kiyiiing….
“Please don’t look at me like that. I promise to treat it with care.”
She gently caressed the bone through the linen fabric.
Because of her pounding heart, she could feel a faint vibration.
“Thanks to you, I’ve acquired a sacred artifact.”
With a subtle smile, Charlotte petted Helbok.