Chapter 15
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Those Evil Lich Clan Bastards (2)
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A few days later, we prepared to head out of the city once more.
In the mornings, after offering prayers to our respective gods, we gnawed on dry bread.
Mani prayed to her dwarven ancestors, while I offered mine to the hamster wheel totem.
The strange thing was that Sena had started praying to Rodentia too.
Probably just going through the motions since the self-proclaimed goddess was right there with us.
"Is it okay to pray like this twice? Won't the Hearth Goddess have something to say about it?"
"Don't worry about it! The lords of the Pantheon Temple are all gathered there anyway, right? The scriptures say it's fine as long as your prayers are sincere!"
Maybe it was because this was a polytheistic world, but they had this tolerant side to them.
After prayers, we'd head to the well outside the inn, wash our faces, and get ready to go.
This time, we'd decided to tackle multiple requests at once.
We wanted to hit Bronze Rank as soon as possible!
Once we reached Bronze Rank, we could access bigger dungeons with restricted entry and take on real money-making quests.
For now, we had three tasks lined up.
First up: gathering herbs and mushrooms from the nearby forest.
It wasn't an official request, but it was the quickest way for us to make some cash.
After a long walk, we arrived at the target spot.
"These will sell for money too! I learned how to spot them from the monastery."
"What if you can't find any?"
"Then we just ask Lady Rodentia! Lady Rodentia, Horned Rats are all-purpose, right?"
Ahem! Indeed. Spirit Horned Rats are adorable agents of my will! They possess the talent to find precious things that foolish humans cannot!
"Lady Rodentia is amazing, as expected!"
Hm hm, as expected of a child with the shrine maiden's bloodline—she recognizes my true value!
Rodentia beamed happily at Sena's words.
With bowguns slung on our backs, we followed the Horned Rat's guidance, carefully digging up herbs and mushrooms and stuffing them into our sacks.
After filling our sacks all morning, we moved on to our official Iron Rank quests.
First: Torani extermination.
"Kiyaaaaak!"
A shrill scream tore through the air from the bushes.
Pfssht!
The moment the creature burst from the undergrowth, we drew our weapons.
"Battle stations! It's a Torani!"
Torani were grotesque hybrids with a rabbit's round body, a deer’s long legs, and razor-sharp fangs.
Though calf-sized, their temper was worse than a wild boar's.
The moment it spotted us, it kicked up dirt with its hind legs and charged.
I recalled what the farmer who posted the request had said before we came.
"You sure you'll be okay? Those things see lynxes or small folk as easy prey and ram right into them."
"We'll be fine! We're proper adventurers!"
I remembered the farmer eyeing Sena's confident shout with clear skepticism.
Now I knew why.
All three of us were on that beast's easy-target list.
"Kyaaaaak!"
"What the heck is that?! Gross!"
Sena raised her shield with a grimace.
Rabbit ears and a deer face—clearly the creator had been drunk when making it.
Have you ever seen such a rootless beast! Truly befitting an evil monster!
Rodentia huffed indignantly.
"Incoming!"
The Torani sprang up like a coiled spring.
Straight at Mani!
But Mani didn't panic and swung her hammer.
"Not on my watch!"
Clang!
A metallic clang echoed from the creature's skull—impossible for living flesh!
The Torani went flying sideways.
Seizing the opening as it staggered, I pulled the trigger on my bowgun.
Thung!
Two bolts slammed into its body in rapid succession.
"Kieeeek!"
"Ugh! Shut up already!"
As it screamed and tried to flee, Sena blocked its path.
"Hearth Goddess!"
Sena swung her shortsword wreathed in flames, the intense heat making the Torani flinch in fear.
I didn't miss the chance and fired the finishing shot.
"Phew... got it."
We deftly extracted its fangs.
These were the proof of extermination—we just needed ten more.
And after the hunt, there was more work to do.
"This guy's hide is worth money!"
At Mani's suggestion, we awkwardly started skinning it amid grunts.
"You know how to tan it or anything?"
"Not perfectly, but I know the basics. Merchants love it like this."
First, we peeled the hide with daggers, then lightly singed the fur with Sena's flame sword.
Next, Mani pulled a vial from her belt and sprinkled some strange liquid on it.
"Dry it like this for a bit, and the basic prep's done!"
Working together, we ended up with hides of decent marketable quality.
"This'll fetch a nice price."
"We're not done yet! Look, we got meat too, right?"
"Ah!"
Mani held up the red meat, and Sena's round ears perked up.
My tail started wagging uncontrollably too.
"Torani meat is tough, but stew it long enough and it's edible!"
"Whoa! Meat party for dinner tonight!"
"Let's give the innkeeper a dong and have her cook it!"
We high-fived excitedly.
We couldn't afford whole chicken, but scoring meat like this? Score!
"Haven't had a proper greasy meal in ages."
The joy didn't last long.
Things were fine when we sold the hides at the market.
It was pocket change, but enough for the three of us to buy a meal.
The trouble started when we tried selling the herbs, mushrooms, and other gathered materials.
"A bundle of herbs? Let me see... five dong."
"What? It was nine last time!"
"Take it or leave it. Warehouses are overflowing as it is."
The herb merchant waved us off without a glance.
Other shops were the same. Mushrooms, tree bark, monster claws—prices for all the miscellaneous stuff had tanked.
"Why have the rates suddenly gone to hell?"
As I pressed, a nearby adventurer clicked his tongue and chimed in.
"It's all because of those Lich Clan bastards."
"Lich Clan?"
"Yeah, those damn Necromancers. They've been sweeping every hunting ground around Oakwood clean! Even snatching up junk like this!"
Anger burned in the adventurers' eyes.
Lich Clan. That name again.
"Hey, Sena. What exactly is a lich?"
I figured I knew but asked cautiously anyway. Sena pulled out her magic slate from her pouch.
"Originally, it meant ancient dark mages who turned themselves undead for immortality... but these days, the term's changed a bit."
Sena opened the encyclopedia and showed me the screen.
What is Necromancy?
Once taboo, but legalized after the Magic Revolution due to mana efficiency and labor replacement effects. A branch of magic freed from black magic classification by the Twin Goddesses of Wisdom and Magic, under certain restrictions.
What?! Necromancy is legal?!
That wicked black magic of commanding the dead?! Hamster Wheel help us! Humans have gone mad!
"Calm down, Lord. It's approved by the Pantheon Temple."
Of course! The Goddess of Magic is a dark and sinister one! Something I would never approve!
As Rodentia grumbled, Sena scrolled to the gallery board.
"It's been chaos for days. Wanna see?"
"Yeah?"
The dark green screen was a riot.
Hit Bronze Rank and finally went to Ancient Belly Dungeon, but monsters were wiped out.
Dozens of skeleton heads running around, picking every blade of grass clean.
Wasted the whole day hunting monsters.
Material buy prices tanked again today.
Lich Clan dumping so much merchants won't even take it.
Guess small-time adventurers like us are supposed to starve, ffs.
The gallery was pure pandemonium.
The adventurers' rage seemed ready to burst through the screen.
From what I recalled, liches were dark mages who performed evil human sacrifices for immortality.
"Lich Clan" seemed like slang deriding Necromancers.
Necromancers didn't form parties like normal folk.
Instead, they soloed dungeons and hunting grounds with hordes of undead, flooding the market with materials and crashing prices. No wonder they had a bad rep among adventurers.
Rumor had it three Necromancers had shown up in this frontier town just days ago and were going wild.
"...Talk about rotten luck."
We sighed and dumped the herbs at a loss.
When whales like them stirred up chaos, Iron Rank adventurers like us suffered the most.
Two days later.
We headed back to the Glowing Cave.
The guild board had another [Mana Stone Urgent Request].
From the Mage Tower workshop again.
The reward was even higher this time.
"We won't miss it this time!"
"If we move at dawn, we'll be good!"
We slipped into the dungeon before the tax collectors clocked in, while it was still dark.
We descended the familiar path to B2, the mid-layers.
Something felt off, though.
"...It's too quiet."
Mani gripped her hammer tighter, scanning around.
No goblin cackles or Stoneman thuds that should have echoed by now.
Eerily silent.
"No monsters."
I sent out a Horned Rat to scout, but it came back empty-handed.
Not a Mana Stone Beetle or even a rat pup in sight.
It was spotless, like a giant vacuum had swept through.
That's when it happened.
A weird noise came from the passage ahead.
Clatter! Clatter!
"What is that?"
We ducked behind a rock and peeked out.
And saw them.
The true face of the Lich Clan.
A dozen or so figures in crisp white uniforms and porcelain masks marched in a line.
They mechanically chipped at walls and rummaged crevices.
Snatching up Mana Stone Beetles that popped out and fled.
Stiff motions, but no wasted effort.
Their tireless hand movements felt oddly disconcerting.
"Lady Goddess, know what those are?"
I haven't a clue... The fact that even I don't know means it's something recent...
Then, from the opposite passage, a pack of creatures came splashing through.
Green skin glistened under the cave's glowing stones.
"Goblins? Battle ready..."
Mani reached for her crossbow, but I grabbed her arm.
"Wait, Mani! Hold fire. They're not after us."
The goblins were targeting the masked figures.
"Kieek!"
The masked humans didn't flinch.
Clack!
They charged the goblins with rigid but precise movements.
Smashing goblin skulls with pickaxes and shovels.
Goblins dropped dead in seconds.
Two masked ones grabbed a fleeing goblin.
"Ki, kieeek!"
The goblin was torn apart in an instant!
Even we shuddered watching it.
The goblin pack became bloody chunks rolling on the floor.
"Eek..."
Sena clamped a hand over her mouth.
Ruthless, efficient slaughter.
Then, a Mana Stone Beetle fled toward us.
Within my crossbow's range.
"Grab that one!"
I aimed and fired.
The bolt pierced the beetle.
But before I could pick it up, one masked figure popped up and snatched it.
"Hey! That's ours!"
I yelled, but it ignored me and stuffed the beetle into its sack.
Rage boiled over.
I stepped in its path.
"Hey! You can't just steal what someone else..."
Mid-sentence, the figure glitched—its foot tangled, and it stumbled.
The impact knocked off its porcelain mask.
Clang!
The mask rolled across the floor.
We froze at the face revealed behind it.
"Wh-what?!"
Empty eye sockets with glowing blue lights.
A skull.
Eeek! Skeletons! The lich's minions!
Rodentia shrieked in horror.
Now it clicked—their clothes and gloves were camouflage to hide bony frames.
The masked humans were undead!
"What the...?"
Mani backed away.
The skeleton calmly picked up its mask and resumed marching as if nothing happened.
"...Where the hell did they come from?"
Curiosity got the better of us, and we followed them.
In one corner of the cave, wooden crates were stacked.
Among them sat a woman gracefully reading a book on a folding chair.
Black straight hair down to her waist, pale skin.
Immaculately clean white robe.
One eye hidden by bangs, long pointed ears peeking through her hair.
A refined, eerie beauty that didn't belong here.
"Hey! You their boss?"
I confronted her. She slowly looked up.
Obsidian eyes pierced me coldly.
"That's ours! Your minions stole it!"
"Stole? How hurtful."
She turned a page indifferently.
"Finders keepers, little one. My children are just diligent."
She gestured, and skeletons shouldered crates in perfect sync, heading for the exit.
Stuffed with mana stones and materials, no doubt.
They were stripping this dungeon to the bone.
"Wait up!"
I tried to grab her, but skeletons blocked us.
She folded her chair with an icy smile.
"Step aside if you don't want to get hurt. I'm busy."
As she passed, she paused, eyes lingering on me, Sena, and Mani.
"Oh my... how did I miss this?"
Her cold gaze flickered with odd gleam.
"Two rat girls... and a dwarf tot!"
She bent at the waist, face inches from mine.
"...Eek! What?!"
My heart nearly stopped.
Lilac scent mixed with a faint embalming fluid tang.
"Ratkin! And adventurers to boot? Right?"
She reached to touch my ear.
"Eek...!"
Her creepy touch made me jerk back instinctively.
First chills since coming to this world!
She called us cute, but she saw us like pretty dolls or stuffed specimens!
"Such a shame. If you weren't alive, I'd collect you right now..."
She licked her lips regretfully and straightened.
"Hee hee... see you next time, little children of the earth."
The Necromancer left meaningful words and vanished with her skeletons.
We could only stare blankly at her retreating figure.
Overwhelming numbers and creepy vibes.
"...That's a Lich Clanner? Grosses me out."
Sena rubbed her arms, voice shaky.
"Yeah. Her eyes were totally unhinged."
Mani shuddered too.
Even the mid-layers were empty.
Took a day for monsters to respawn, probably.
Deeper levels? Hobgoblins made them iffy.
This hunt was a bust, naturally.
As we exited the dungeon, I asked Sena on a whim.
"Hey, Sena! Lend me the slate. You said you could check requests with it, right?"
"Yeah, just view-only. Oh, right! Let me check!"
Sena hurriedly activated the magic slate.
Once outside near the city, the magic network connected.
We anxiously watched the screen.
The guild app's request board loaded sluggishly.
[Urgent] Mana Stones Needed! - [Closed]
"Ah..."
The request had just ended.
Someone dumped a massive haul, filling the quota.
Obvious culprit.
That woman from earlier.
"Argh! Seriously?!"
Mani slammed her hammer on the ground.
Our plan to earn legit cash through hard work? Shattered.
Blame those diligent Necromancers!
My round ears and tail trembled with fury.
Apostle Reti! Apostle Sena! Did you see that! Ominous as can be! Did you see that woman's ears?!
"Ears?"
Wait—that Necromancer woman had unusually pointy ears.
Yes! Long and pointy ears! An elf! Elf Necromancer! How horrifying!
Mani, who had been moping at "elf-ears," suddenly jumped up.
"Elf-ears? Elves! The elders back home said elves are a sneaky lot!"
Finally, it clicked what the problem was.
"An elf Necromancer!"
The wicked elf-ears Lich Clan was wrecking Oakwood's peaceful market economy.