First Step to Munchkin, Immortal (1)
When Elaine asked that question after I finished explaining how Alhazard had ordered Geuk-eum to construct the dungeon, I felt a sudden chill. "Yeah. Two battlefields. If you look at Alhazard's dungeon as a whole, it'll probably consist of two massive battlefields."
I worried she might ask how I knew such details, but this part was too important to gloss over. I decided to explain what I knew in relatively clear terms. "The two battlefields recreate the First and Second Western Expeditions, the ones Emperor Kan personally led and suffered crushing defeats in. That's why we have to prepare thoroughly. Otherwise, we'll die in an instant."
At my grim warning, Leisa swallowed hard, her face paling with fear. "During the First Expedition, the Western and Eastern armies were preparing for a grand clash from a distance when... Lord Alhazard and his disciples used the holy great magic Indignation and utterly annihilated the Eastern forces."
When I nodded in confirmation, Leisa's expression slowly twisted into horror as realization dawned. "No way... That can't be right. Even if Lord Alhazard is a lunatic..."
"No. That 'no way' is exactly right. And yes, Alhazard is a lunatic."
Watching her face drain of color, I felt a pang of pity. But what could I do? Alhazard was the quintessential mad scientist mage—the worst kind, the sort who believed himself a pioneer. He was a deranged visionary who tried to force his enlightenment on everyone else, convinced they were too blind to see the truth. Naturally, that personality was deeply reflected in the dungeon he created.
"Hold on... From what you're saying, does that mean the holy great magic 'Thunder Baptism' will be fired at us when we challenge the dungeon?"
I nodded heavily. "That's right. More precisely, those who enter the dungeon will start as soldiers of the Eastern Empire during the First Western Expedition. So both of you need to remember this clearly. Once we're inside, don't panic when you see the undead Blood Jiangshi—the soldiers of the Eastern Empire. And under no circumstances should you attack them. Understood?"
This was the first trial Alhazard posed to challengers. Would they attack the undead simply because they were undead, or because they were Eastern soldiers, or because they couldn't communicate? Most people would naturally strike first. And what happened then? Needless to say, the once-mighty mounted archers of the Blood Jiangshi would respond by raining hundreds of arrows infused with bow energy, turning their attackers into pincushions.
"First and foremost, don't make enemies of them. This is the bare minimum requirement to clear the dungeon. Think of them as allies. Without them, there's no way to defeat the Western army and the archmage Alhazard's Blood Jiangshi."
"What?? Lord Alhazard's Blood Jiangshi?! Then... does that mean Lord Alhazard became an undead like a Lich?!"
Leisa looked so shocked that her soul seemed to have left her body. Her mouth hung open as her eyes spun in circles, unable to hold her head steady. "Th-that's impossible! No matter how great a mage he was, something like that... I can't accept it!"
She couldn't easily accept that the archmage she and her family had long revered had become undead. But what could she do? It was the truth. Alhazard had believed that as a follower of Lunaria, his soul would ascend to the moon where the goddess's temple resided upon his death. Since he considered his earthly body too precious to rot, he had ordered Geuk-eum to turn even his corpse into a Blood Jiangshi to serve as the dungeon's boss.
What a truly insane, lunatic mage bastard. Geuk-eum, Alhazard's automaton, had faithfully carried out the command and transformed his master's corpse into an automaton Blood Jiangshi. A creation born from its creator had, by that creator's own order, turned its master's body into one of its own creations. Alhazard had no idea how deeply this would wound Geuk-eum. Of course he wouldn't—he never imagined Geuk-eum could be a failure like Geuk-yang. In truth, it was Geuk-eum who had been far more influenced by the corpses used as the main material for the Blood Jiangshi, twisting its personality far beyond Geuk-yang's.
Because of all this, conquering Alhazard's dungeon was an incredibly difficult, hardcore challenge. Of course, it wasn't impossible. If we spent nearly fifty years grinding down the Blood Jiangshi by throwing countless armies and adventurer parties at them, we might eventually stand a chance at clearing it through direct confrontation. But that method took far too long—obviously rejected in my situation.
Alternatively, there was the orthodox method: wait about seventeen years for the hero and his companions to appear, level them up significantly, then challenge the dungeon. That, too, took far too long—also rejected.
Yeah... Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for us to clear this dungeon. So why was I trying to challenge it now? It was all because I had discovered that the world—King's Crown—was version 1.0.0. If it hadn't been 1.0.0, I never would have considered challenging Alhazard's dungeon in the first place. Because only in version 1.0.0 were there glitches that could be exploited to clear it!
The core of Alhazard's dungeon. The clear condition was, ultimately, just one thing: her. The one I'd mentioned endlessly—Geuk-eum. King's Crown players often argued about who the main heroine was. Swordmaster Elaine, the tragic crown princess and the face of King's Crown. Leisa, the great mage who had been a hopeless failure in her youth but awakened her talent through effort and perseverance, like something out of a shonen manga. Lorian, the ever-cheerful divine archer chosen by the World Tree Goddess to save the Hamaltia Continent from the Demon King, yet who threw that revelation aside to wander the world aimlessly. Isabel Solla, the half-divine saintess born between the Sun God Bel Solla and the princess of the Horaism Kingdom, who grew up as a commoner unaware of her heritage until she faced capture and enslavement by Western invaders during the next crusade.
Honestly, all four had distinct personalities and charms, and their appearances were all outstanding, so popularity polls were surprisingly competitive. But when it came to who the true heroine was, every King's Crown user unanimously pointed to a single person. The head maid, bishop, chancellor, butler, martial arts director, intelligence chief. A versatile genius who could perfectly fulfill any role in the advisory council. One who neither ate, slept, nor aged... the one and only loyal retainer who would stand by her lord until the very last moment of her house's fall. Geuk-eum was the ultimate vassal no lord playing King's Crown could afford to miss—the true heroine.
So I would use the affinity glitch on her and earn her recognition as her master. That was currently the only way to clear the dungeon. Of course, it wouldn't be easy. She was the Dungeon Master, after all—an absolute being within the dungeon, one who had built it from start to finish and managed it for hundreds of years. Making the affinity glitch work on such an existence would normally require extraordinary effort. But I was confident. Right before possessing Leon, the chancellor of the Belmond Empire—who had been the most successful in my entire King's Crown history, even though it was eventually destroyed by the Twelve Demon Kings—had been none other than Geuk-eum.
I'd failed many times trying to recruit her as a vassal while climbing the rankings, but I'd also succeeded countless times in earning her recognition as her master. Thanks to that, I knew everything about her—from her personality and habits down to her erogenous zones. And above all, I knew the status ailment she was currently suffering from. First, Geuk-eum was female. The condition of only being usable on the opposite sex of Papiyas's Great Root was satisfied. Second, physical contact wouldn't be easy. But it wasn't impossible. Because she was both the Dungeon Master and playing the role of Emperor Kan of the Eastern Empire, she had an obligation to meet with dungeon challengers. There would be plenty of opportunities then. Lastly, the most important and difficult part of the affinity glitch—sharing the same status ailment—was unexpectedly easy to fulfill, since it was a chronic condition both she and I suffered from frequently. Her status ailment was stress.