Chapter 69
Chapter 69
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: The Warrior Accepts a Contract Worker
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Drak, the one called Karian's friend, waved from the ghost ship, and the vessel gradually approached the island where we were.
"Skeleton merchant, don't tell me the undead here are playing the role of trash mobs!"
"They do sometimes, and sometimes they don't."
"Huh? What does that even mean?"
"My friends are pretty strong."
After hearing him call them strong, I checked the eerie aura of this undead named Drak, and it was on par with those old knight regulars of my dungeon.
Th-that means!
"Ah, so they're the mobs you made so they won't get caught!"
"Exactly. When sailing the seas, there has to be some danger, or it gets boring. Sure, storms will brew here too, but we concluded that alone would be too dull. Of course, beating those guys will get you something, but I'll save that for later."
Good lord....
Dungeon merchants are way too serious about their mini-dungeons!
This is what it means to build a dungeon together.
True collaboration.
"But skeleton merchant, I get avoiding your friends while sailing, but what do you get out of it here?"
"What else? 'Treasure.'"
"Tr-treasure?!"
"Every set period, chests filled with elixirs or gear will drift across these seas. That's what we go after."
"Doesn't that leave you with nothing?"
"That's why we stuff them with defective goods of no merchant value. Still, what we call failed experiments fetch decent prices outside. And if one of those countless chests actually has the real deal?"
"That'd be a huge score!"
So they're dumping defective inventory as random loot boxes on players?
From the extra details, Karian's friends control the chest spawns, and treasure chests appear on the various islands in the mini-dungeon's sea too.
"And my friends will be active on those various islands."
"Aha!! So it's stealth!"
Dodging powerful undead pirates to farm treasure chests.
Now that's a solid concept!
"Undead pirate islands...."
"Lord Balrak, what do you think?"
"It's perfect!!"
Floating sky islands for battles with various spirits!
Sea islands for stealth-farming treasure chests while avoiding pirates!
No overlapping concepts, each with their own unique domain.
But there's one issue....
"Won't your friends be in danger?"
"I suppose that's a valid concern."
When the mini-dungeon reopens, heavy hitters will flock here to hunt gold spirits.
Unlike infinitely respawning powerhouses, pointless sacrifices could happen.
But Karian brushed off my worries, saying he'd let me know when his friends arrived and that I could look forward to it.
Just what method will they use to overcome this?
It's truly exciting.
****************
With the dhampir, we headed to the dilapidated harbor on the island, where the ghost ship was fully docked.
The undead aboard disembarked to rest at the harbor.
"Hey~!"
"Karian! Hard at work again today, huh!"
"You guys are about to be the ones working hard."
"Aw~ This is nothing~"
Karian really seemed close to the various undead here, greeting them as he guided us, and soon we met Drak.
Maybe my reputation had spread among the dungeon merchants, because Drak suddenly shoved his shield at me.
"L-Lord Balrak!"
"Hm?"
"Could you maybe dent my shield a bit with your palm?"
"That's easy enough...."
"Thank you so much! I'll treasure this shield until my soul fades!"
I slammed my palm into the front of the shield, leaving a slight dent in the shape of my hand.
He acted like it was the greatest thing, bowing repeatedly in gratitude.
"Hahaha! Everyone will be jealous when they see this shield!"
"Drak...."
"Ah, sorry. My apologies, Lord Balrak. I got too excited."
"No matter. But you all seem to know me well?"
"Of course! The powerhouse all us warriors on our side admire! You're our role model!"
Oh ho, from Drak's fanboy reaction, it seems they view me very positively beyond just the dungeon merchants' leadership.
This could lead to an even better symbiotic relationship.
Anyway, Drak guided us onto the ghost ship.
"O~ Nice atmosphere."
"Hahaha! A special design by our master... er, I mean! Branch manager!"
"Br-branch manager?!"
Come to think of it, when I first met Karian in the dungeon, he said he was sent by the branch manager.
And this guy leads powerful, competent subordinates like Karian and Drak, on top of great design sense?
That existence is getting more intriguing.
"Whoops, got so excited I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Drak, Skeleton Knight and captain of the Calbram."
"Hm...? Not a Death Knight?!"
"He's my superior. Currently admiral of the fleet's 2nd squadron."
"W-wait, fleet?"
"Lord Balrak, did you think only this ship led by Drak would roam these seas?"
Just how big is the scale here?
No, back when they first made this mini-dungeon, the dungeon merchants showed artisan-level craftsmanship in every detail.
So this level of quality is only natural, I suppose.
"But don't you have your main jobs? Is working here okay?"
"Honestly, things have been so slow lately I was bored. This is a nice change."
"Things slow lately?"
"Hahaha, well, Bal— Gahk?!"
Bwooom!!
As Drak started to say something, Karian suddenly hurled a massive fireball.
"Come on, Drak. No unnecessary TMI. That was just our internal affairs, so no need for Lord Balrak to worry."
"Since it's your business, I'll let it slide."
"Thank you."
"Ugh... Warn a guy next time."
"You never listen otherwise. Anyway, since Lord Balrak is worried about our safety, explain it."
"Our safety?"
Karian explained I was concerned about the safety of the undead who'd work here, and Drak laughed heartily as he called over the other undead.
"No need to worry about our safety. We're already dead once over, and now we respawn anyway."
"Lord Balrak, it'll be faster to show you than tell you. Care to smash Drak as a test?"
"Is that okay?"
"Like Karian said, it's fine. We don't feel pain anyway. So, could you show me that star? It's my wish!"
Getting killed by me is a wish?
But I respect the spirit!
I summoned the red star to my fist and unleashed a full-power punch at Drak.
KABOOOOOM!!!
"GRAAAAAH!!"
Drak vanished without a single bone fragment, cleaved apart by the massive force parting the sea.
Yet, where he stood, a blue flame remained.
His soul entered a coffin brought by other skeletons, and a new skeleton emerged from within.
"Drak! Respawn!!"
"Ah, so that's how you respawn."
"Our master... er, Branch manager! Recently led a research group and developed this resurrection method."
"Like Drak said, as long as we have bodies to swap into, we can revive infinitely. It's soul-binding, but you probably don't care for the details, Lord Balrak."
"Ooooh! Any downsides, skeleton merchant?"
"We get a bit weaker on respawn. But we adapt to the new body right away. Souls are what matter to us, not muscles."
So like the sky island trash mob spirits, the undead here have infinite spawns too!
And on top of leading a pillar of the dungeon merchants, they run some science group?!
Damn! Branch manager, just how competent are you?!
"Hmm... I'd like to meet that branch manager sometime."
"He wants to meet you too, Lord Balrak. Look forward to the banquet."
"Right, the banquet!"
Now the banquet's even more anticipated?
Afterward, we toured the mini-dungeon's beautiful seas aboard Drak's ghost ship.
"Storms too.... You control those directly as well?"
"Skeleton mages like me on each ship. They summon storms while resting here."
Beyond treasure hunts, there's fishing, future fleet battles, magic fragments dropped by mass-produced mindless skeleton puppets—the branch manager's failed works. Sea content is stacked.
But is Dhampir next to me seasick?
Yeah, she had a rough past life, so riding a ship this size for the first time makes sense.
Even with her face turning ghastly pale, just let it be.
Finally... Now that I've shown our dungeon's level, time to hear their answer.
*******************
Why else would Kairel, traveling with Balrak and Karian, look so pale?
'Was the world I lived in actually on the brink of apocalypse...?'
Yes!
The words of one who glimpsed the world's underbelly!
Even the spell Karian casually lobbed to silence Drak—like a normal swing—was Hell Flare, a top-tier magic in her knowledge.
Yet Karian cast it chantless, ultra-fast, zero mana cost, and Drak tanked it unscathed. Pure terror.
Of course, Karian and Drak became that way thanks to Balrak, letting their master Alterion pour time and passion into research with the group. But how could Kairel know?
Plus, after witnessing the Star of Death on Balrak's fist, her mana-sensitive self nearly dry-heaved in shock, and the instant-respawn Skeleton Knight was another issue.
If Balrak and these respawning undead roamed outside, the Middle Realm would shatter instantly, she judged.
Having glimpsed the world's underbelly, what was Kairel's best choice now?
When Balrak called her forward, she stood before him, heeding Karian's earlier advice.
"Dhampir, want to work in this dungeon?"
"Th-that's...."
"No need to worry. Speak freely."
How could anyone speak freely before cosmic horror incarnate!
But a question asked demands an answer.
Suppressing her sky-high terror, she opened her mouth.
"P-please take care of meeeee!!"
"Hahaha! Contract position or not, this way—please take care of me, Dhampir!"
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
Thus, Kairel joined the dungeon's 1st floor as contract staff.