NOVEL NEXT Chapter 6
Somehow, I managed to escape. But now, where should I go?
Living in caves to evade humans and sunlight is optimal, but it also has the downside of being mistaken for a dungeon boss.
‘Should I really check out a magic realm?’
But that idea was dismissed almost immediately. Crossing the continent isn’t exactly a walk in the park.
There were about five hours left until dawn.
Time was limited, and I couldn’t think of any suitable locations.
‘First, let’s get away from them.’
The scariest situation right now is Charlotte’s pursuit.
I wanted to get as far away as possible, worried that she might come looking for me.
Maybe I should check out a nearby village.
To find a proper shelter, I’d need to go far away, and practically, walking isn’t an option. Unless I could somehow get a horse.
Fortunately, I had quite a bit of experience from my father’s enforced horse-riding lessons.
At the time, I thought this wouldn’t help with any job, but here I am, stuck in a medieval fantasy.
‘Ah, Father. You were right.’
This is what you call foresight at its finest. How many moves ahead were you thinking, Dad?
Thinking about my father suddenly made me miss my family.
Of course, crying and lamenting won’t change anything.
I swallowed my tears and moved on.
‘In a medieval village, there must be at least one stable, right?’
First plan: Sneak into the village, steal a horse, and ride away.
They say starting is half the battle. If I succeed, only half the work is left, and I can figure out the rest later.
Maybe the skies haven’t completely betrayed me yet.
Not far from the mountain, a village came into view.
As expected of a medieval village, there wasn’t a single light at night.
Thank goodness I’m a Death Knight with sharp night vision, or I would’ve missed it completely.
Walking quietly toward the village, I soon came upon a wooden fence surrounding it.
There were vigilantes guarding the entrance with torches, but…
“Zzzz…”
Two of them were dozing off at their posts.
‘Seriously, the duty officer needs some coffee.’
As a discharged soldier, I couldn’t just knock their heads off.
But thanks to their snoozing, I was able to sneak in safely.
Fortunately, there were no people wandering around in the village either.
There was a tavern with its lights on, but it didn’t seem like there was much commotion.
Unless someone was about to hurl, everyone was probably just sitting around.
One unsettling thing was that the stables were next to the tavern.
But I couldn’t back out now due to my anxious heart.
Quietly entering the stable, a black horse caught my eye.
A black knight on a black horse? Oh, this is too tempting.
“Eh.”
That’s when I heard a tiny gasp.
Turning my head toward the sound, I locked eyes with a little kid inside.
I didn’t expect to see a stablekeeper there at all.
“Thief! Everyone, come out! Horse thief!!”
The kid’s shrill voice echoed through the night.
I was about to cover my mouth to silence him but gave up and stepped into the stirrups to mount the black horse.
– Neigh!
But the horse started bucking like crazy, and I was thrown off.
‘Oh right.’
I just realized that Undead can’t ride living mounts.
Forget about being thankful for my night vision. It feels like I have a pile of bones instead.
“Th-that’s a Death Knight! The Death Knight! People of the village!”
That little brat?
Bang!
With the noise of the door, the townsfolk came rushing in.
I didn’t look back and bolted.
“It’s a Death Knight! Where?!”
“It’s over there! It’s running away!”
“Huh, it’s real? The rumor about the Death Knight in the back mountain was true?”
“Don’t worry! I’ve arrived! It’s the Death Knight! Um? There it is!”
“Hero! Where are you going?”
“Are you chasing after me!?”
What? Hero?
Reflexively, I turned my gaze and saw a person charging at me with terrifying speed.
But more than that, my eyes were fixed on the level above his head.
[Lv. 82]
Are you insane?
Looking again at that man’s face, it was oddly familiar.
A disheveled build with a skinhead and a beard that looked like hair was growing backward.
Wearing a martial arts uniform with a wooden necklace around his neck the size of my fist. The Eastern-style clothing and that level made it clear who he was.
It felt like a déjà vu overlapping my first meeting with Charlotte.
The hero of faith, Balmunk.
The man was none other than one of the Empire’s Four Heroes.
‘What the hell is he doing here!’
He’s not a civil servant nor is this some kind of dispatch mission.
He should be off somewhere in the mountains polishing his skills. What kind of luxury is he chasing to burst out of a village tavern like that?
“Be careful, Hero!”
“Don’t worry, brothers! I will surely vanquish the undead!”
Ignoring my lament, I had no time to think; I just kept running like crazy.
Even though I was in a sorry state, I was sprinting hard enough to understand what it felt like to run at top speed.
‘Ah. Why is my life like this?’
Of all things, I ended up possessing a Death Knight and was mistaken for a dungeon boss.
To make matters worse, I encountered a mad witch who claimed I was the boss of The Seven Lairs.
It’s only been a short while since I escaped that hell, and now I find myself being chased by a hero.
Getting kicked around this way and that—what a mess.
It’s like the world is playing a practical joke on me.
Balmunk, being a martial arts guy, doesn’t even rely on enhanced techniques.
Shouldn’t a hero be wielding a sword? Why is the one martial artist among so many heroes chasing me? Could it be mere coincidence?
That’s just nasty. Do I have to die too? It felt like the world was saying as much to me.
“Stop right there, undead!”
Clop! Clop!
Did he get on a horse? I could hear the hoofbeats closing in.
I couldn’t outrun the horse’s speed. With no choice, I swung my black steel greatsword in a wide arc.
-Hiiing!
I heard a thud; maybe I hit the horse.
If only that could send him flying, but with superhuman reflexes, Balmunk landed softly.
‘What a crazy monstrous bastard.’
A Death Knight is a monster? What a load of nonsense. That guy looks way more monstrous to me.
I couldn’t believe I was being forced into that situation again.
No other choice. Better the devil I know than the devil I don’t.
I immediately turned towards the dungeon.
My opponent was not just any old fighter, but one of the Empire’s greatest forces—one of the Four Heroes.
Sure, Charlotte and the vampires were nothing compared to him, but I had nowhere else to lean on.
I knew all too well that there was a chance I could end up dead like some water ghost.
‘Sorry, but I gotta survive too.’
I’m a person too, and everyone is selfish in their way. My life is the most important thing; why care about anyone else?
If there’s even a 1% chance of survival, I’m betting on it!
“Stop right there! Let’s see whose skull is tougher—yours or my fist!”
I’m already dead once; I can’t afford to die again.
Anyone will do—Charlotte or whoever—just please spare me.
*
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
The elegant sound of heels echoed in the chamber.
Charlotte, glancing around, tilted her head.
‘Is this really a dungeon?’
It was too narrow, short, and small to be a dungeon.
While typical new dungeons might look like this, this is The Seven Lairs.
There was no way this makes sense for The Seven Lairs to be just this.
“Hmm. I might be mistaken.”
The origins of The Seven Lairs predate the history of the Empire by several folds.
Unchanging for a thousand years, The Seven Lairs meant that there was really no such concept as a ‘new’ The Seven Lairs until now.
The beginning of a ‘New Seven Lairs’ starts right here.
It may seem shabby and cramped for its fame, but if it’s new, then this is how The Seven Lairs must have looked.
It was.
Charlotte secretly thought that maybe she was the first to figure it out.
A dungeon that looked like it needed a complete overhaul from anywhere you looked.
To Charlotte, it was as if the entire place needed to be torn apart.
‘On the bright side, this is a good thing.’
It was an opportunity. If the dungeon was this shabby, she could really show off her skills as a deputy.
“Um, Deputy? I have a question, can I ask?”
Isabella peeked over, looking shy.
Charlotte nodded her head, signaling her to go ahead.
“I was just wondering… how are the rankings of the 72 dungeons determined?”
“Ah, so you were born in the Northern Continent, the bloodsucking penguin, huh?”
The Northern Continent is where the Human powers lie. The Southern Continent is the land of magic.
Monsters born in the Northern Continent often had no idea about the common sense of non-humans.
Charlotte sighed, clearly annoyed.
“The ranks of the 72 dungeons aren’t set by anyone, they get engraved.”
“Engraved?”
“As soon as a boss is born in the dungeon, a number gets engraved in their mind. That number indicates the dungeon’s ranking.”
The history of dungeons goes back over a thousand years.
Naturally, the mysteries surrounding dungeons ceased to be mysteries long ago.
“If the number is only engraved in the boss’s mind, then the rank is determined just by the boss’s strength, right?”
“No. The ranks are determined by comparing the overall strength of all the forces in the dungeon.”
And the dungeon’s rankings are variable.
While some dungeons may be stuck in a deadlock, if a lower-ranked dungeon focuses on strengthening its forces, the rankings could flip.
Bosses instinctively notice these changes.
That’s why the dungeon rankings are distinctly separated without any actual fighting involved.
It’s also why no one fights over who’s stronger, and simultaneously why The Seven Lairs has lasted for a thousand years.
Despite not clashing with each other, they were eventually shattered by humanity.
“I have a question too, Isabella. Were there no existing monsters in this dungeon?”
“Yeah. It seems that way.”
In a new dungeon, the core is created first, followed by the bosses and monsters in order.
But sometimes, there are dungeons where only the core and the boss are created. Those are called single entity dungeons.
“It’s surprising that this is a rank 7 dungeon. I can hardly believe that a single entity dungeon became one of The Seven Lairs.”
Other dungeons in The Seven Lairs were filled with hundreds or thousands of monsters, including bosses.
In contrast, this dungeon was claimed by the boss alone for the throne of The Seven Lairs.
Charlotte trembled with awe, feeling a mix of horror and reverence at such an achievement. The thrill and chill wouldn’t go away.
“…I can’t stand this. I must show everything to that person.”
She must transform it to be worthy of the reputation of The Seven Lairs.
What Charlotte pulled out from her pouch was a paper made of black goat skin.
It was a merchant summoning ticket, only given to those who built a favorable relationship with the Dungeon Association.
Dungeon Association tickets aren’t something just anyone can have.
Charlotte had an extra ticket because she had once been affiliated with a dungeon.
Help from the Dungeon Association, which spans across the land of magic, was essential for dungeon construction.
Zzzzzt!
As the ticket tore, a pitch-black portal blending darkness and camouflage opened in the air.
Soon, a red demon sprang out of the portal. Bowing gracefully as it touched the ground.
It was the demon merchant she had contracted with when she was part of her old dungeon.
“Long time no see, Charlotte. Oh? It seems you’ve entered a new dungeon. In that case, our association’s help will be crucial.”
“Then do your best to serve me.”
The demon merchant’s brows twitched.
That was a somewhat arrogant statement. Even humans who showed skill had been tolerated a few times.
“That comment… is a bit off-putting, don’t you think?”
“Is that so?”
“This is the new Seven Lairs. I’m the vice commander here.”
“Huh?”
The demon asked foolishly.
As he pondered to himself, his eyes and mouth widened in shock.
“Is this really the Seven Lairs? Wow! I thought it was time for something to happen, and finally! The resurrection of the Demon Lord ranked seventh…!”
In the demon territories of the magic realm, the bosses of the dungeons were also referred to as Demon Lords.
“I was so upset to hear the news of the previous Demon Lord being defeated by the heroes! If it were up to me, I’d want to capture and kill all those heroes. Oh, I got off track. By the way, being the vice commander of the Seven Lairs, it seems Lady Charlotte is quite capable.”
“Spare me the flattery. First, we need to start with dungeon expansion; wait a second. There might be some useful monsters around…”
Charlotte trailed off her words while scanning the vampires.
When her gaze met Isabella’s, Isabella smiled brightly and pointed to herself with her fingertips.
Whoosh!
Charlotte turned her head.
“I’ve changed my mind. Let’s start with recruiting monsters.”
Isabella’s face fell instantly.
The weakness of the new dungeon was its poor defenses.
One shouldn’t rule out the possibility of a raid party coming to attack.
It was always best to prepare for variables.
“Please give me the inventory list of advanced monsters handled by the trading company. They should be intelligent but lacking in individuality.”
“Advanced monsters that are easy to handle, huh? I figured you might want that, so I brought it with me.”
With that, the demon handed over a rolled-up parchment.
Charlotte slowly scanned it and then folded the scroll.
She then estimated the vertical dimensions of the dungeon visually.
‘I can widen the horizontal space using my magic. Then there won’t be a problem, and I can smash through it with the employed monsters.’
At the current size, it was too cramped for large monsters to reside.
Still, with a little tweaking, it could be just enough to house a few.
“Please prepare two well-trained Minotaurs and one Basilisk.”
The demon flinched at that.
Both Minotaurs and Basilisks were ranked as top-tier monsters.
Three monsters, each worth tens of millions of cells?
“Please prepare them right away.”
“Right away, you say?”
“For the magic realm portal, it should be done within five minutes, right?”
“That would incur an additional 10% fee, but is that okay? Wait, do you even have the money?”
“If it’s the Seven Lairs, I can get a loan of 100 million cells.”
That statement made things clear.
I don’t have money, but if you lend it to me, I’ll buy it.
The demon, sweating slightly, tried to gauge her intentions.
‘Borrowing money under the pretense of being the Seven Lairs? No way.’
The Charlotte he knew was meticulous and had her wits about her.
Besides, if she were to impersonate the Seven Lairs, the Dungeon Trading Company would annihilate that dungeon. Charlotte couldn’t possibly be oblivious to such an obvious fact.
‘If it were the real Seven Lairs, it would be an opportunity we couldn’t let slip away.’
The Dungeon Trading Company valued trust more than money; a transaction with the Seven Lairs was paramount.
Ten other dungeons combined wouldn’t be worth even one of the Seven Lairs. There’s a reason the Seven Lairs hold their title.
In any case, forming a connection with the newly established Seven Lairs would undoubtedly yield significant benefits for the company.
“Where is Lord Rod?”
“He’s out for a bit.”
“As expected of the Seven Lairs, you can never predict things here. Has your consultation with Rod concluded?”
“I take full responsibility for everything. Even if it’s unilaterally, as long as I satisfy him, that’s all that matters.”
“If he’s disappointed, well, I trust you to handle it accordingly.”
The demon merchant’s lips curled up slightly.
If everything goes smoothly, it might greatly boost his performance.
“I’ll prepare them immediately.”
The demon happily opened the portal.
Five minutes later, was it? A massive creature began to emerge from the portal one by one.
“With this, even if a hero comes, I won’t have to worry.”
Charlotte nodded satisfactorily.