If You're Buying the Game, the DLC is a Must
A chilling aura of death settled gloomily around Calandas. It was truly fitting for his title, 'the harbinger of death'—the very incarnation of death itself.
In the game, Calandas's aura inflicted a debuff on the living that made even basic movement difficult. It was only natural that Charlotte was trembling, her face pale. But it had no effect on me, who was already dead.
If I were alive, I might have lost my mind shivering in fear, but right now, I was undead.
"Lich King. Not everything can go according to your whims."
"..."
"If you wish to correct this even now, get out of my sight. Otherwise, attack me with the resolve to die. I, too, shall face you with the intent to kill."
The version of me he knew wasn't just the low-ranking 7th Lord of the Abyss Palace. Emboldened by his perception of me as the '7th Lord who killed the Hero in a single blow,' my bluffing reached method-acting levels.
Just then, the blue light in Calandas's eyes flickered out for a moment. All sorts of thoughts rushed through my head—was he plotting something, or had he lost consciousness?
Seeing that his level color remained orange, it seemed he had no intention of killing me. Honestly, even if he did want to kill me, there was absolutely nothing I could do. I would just die helplessly without even being able to struggle.
The blue light returned to his eyes, and I lifted my chin, completely unfazed.
"Is that human truly so precious to you?"
Look at him running his mouth because he's nervous too.
"If she weren't, I would have no reason to act like this."
"...I shall let it go."
Sliiiide. Calandas withdrew his hand.
"I committed a discourtesy by coming unannounced."
"No apology is necessary. Leave."
"Indeed... staying any longer would only make things awkward."
Whoosh! Calandas's shadow expanded in an instant, spreading across every inch of the ground where the undead stood. Unlike Charlotte, who flinched, I watched without moving a muscle. Because I knew this was the recall animation I had seen a thousand times in the game, I could easily feign composure.
The undead army dug into the ground as if digging their own graves, sinking into the Lich King's shadow all at once. Only after reclaiming all his undead did Calandas return his shadow to its original state.
"I thought we could establish a good relationship, but it seems I was mistaken."
"Likewise."
"Do not place too much trust in humans. They are a treacherous race."
"Thank you for the advice."
Yeah, yeah, just shut up and get lost already.
As if my silent plea had reached him, a purple portal opened in front of Calandas.
"Ah, yes."
He could have just left, but he just had to have the last word.
"My desire for you to join my faction remains unchanged. Do not take today's events too much to heart."
"..."
"The 72 Boss Gathering will be convened soon. It is only natural, given that the new Mugan 7-gung has been updated."
"And?"
"It is nothing. I simply hope we can meet with smiles on our faces next time."
With those final words, Calandas stepped into the portal. However, I did not let my guard down until the portal completely vanished. I thought he might try to catch me off guard by suddenly popping back out to attack. He probably wasn't that reckless, but it never hurt to be careful.
Just before he departed, his level indicator flashed for a split second, turning into a pitch-black color that symbolized absolute terror.
...I must have misseen it, right? I was the one who was terrified here.
Fortunately, the portal vanished without incident, and a sigh of relief naturally escaped my lips. The cold air constantly leaking from my mouth felt as if I were holding dry ice in my throat.
I thought I was going to die...
To be perfectly honest, I didn't have the slightest desire to become friendly with Calandas. Maybe that would change in the future, but that was how I felt right now.
Anyway, the 72 Boss Gathering.
And among them, the Mugan 7-gung. There were six other beings who could kill me as easily as breathing. I was placed in a position where I had to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with such monsters. As reality set in once again, my sighs kept coming like chain-smoking.
My train of thought was interrupted when Charlotte approached me.
"..."
Charlotte mumbled silently, her lips twitching. She had returned to her usual expressionless face, but I could catch a glimpse of her inner thoughts. She seemed to feel too guilty to even utter a single word. Well, it made sense, considering we had just made an enemy of a high-ranking Abyss Palace because of her.
I was about to speak first when I caught sight of her level and flinched. A pink so deep it was practically hot pink.
...There it is again, the bone-loving witch.
She really is beautiful, just looking at her face.
In terms of looks alone, she easily outclassed all the official heroines. It was just her personality that made her hard to stomach.
Thud. Charlotte fell to her knees and pressed her forehead against the ground. I was slightly taken aback by her sudden action. Is she bowing because she can't put her feelings into words? I appreciated the sentiment, but the situation was only making me feel awkward.
"Get up."
"..."
"I said, get up."
"..."
Perhaps she felt too guilty to even look at me, as she kept her forehead pressed to the dirt. About a minute passed. Only then did Charlotte raise her body, but she continued to silently purse her lips.
To reassure her that she had suffered enough, I placed a hand on her shoulder. As my gaze naturally drifted downward, I noticed the wet patch of dirt on the ground. Given the position, it was exactly where Charlotte had buried her face... Now that I thought about it, she must have done that to hide her tears.
She was crying. She was totally crying.
I briefly considered teasing her about crying to lighten the mood. But I decided against it, thinking it would ruin my dignity as a Boss.
"Rest."
Pat, pat. I patted her shoulder and walked past her. I needed some time alone to cool my head as well.
The merchant guild had departed, and there was no retaliation from Calandas. Peace returned after the raging storm had passed.
"Deputy... just a little blood, please..."
"Shut up before I break your fangs. I feel like I'm going to get anemia just from listening to you."
Even as I watched their amusing bickering, I couldn't afford to be complacent.
The 72 Boss Gathering.
To defend my position as the 7th Lord among those monsters, I had to formulate a plan. The pretext for the gathering was undoubtedly the newly updated Mugan 7-gung. If I, one of those Lords, refused to attend, I wouldn't be able to escape the scrutiny of the 72 Dungeons. But if I blindly attended without a plan, it would surely end in a catastrophe. It was a truly wretched situation, but I had crossed the Rubicon long ago.
"You seem deeply troubled."
It was Charlotte, who had approached me without my noticing. Her level color had reverted from hot pink back to a deep green. She was probably telling herself something like, 'I cannot allow myself to harbor such feelings for my Lord!' again.
"Though it may be presumptuous of me, I might be able to offer some assistance."
She was openly showing concern for me, clearly assuming I was worried about Calandas. In truth, Calandas was only a small part of my worries. Experiencing the power of the Mugan 7-gung firsthand had forced me to face reality. I was in a position where I had to stand alongside monsters of that caliber.
Surviving among them through mere bluffs? Impossible. Moreover, I couldn't rely on my Enhancement skill forever. If I kept gambling my life on luck, I would eventually meet a disastrous end.
I need to secure some reliable cards other than Enhancement.
To secure stability against the 72 Dungeons internally and the subjugation forces externally, there was only one key solution. My dungeon's military power had to become as strong as a real Mugan 7-gung. Only then would the other Mugan 7-gung lords not suspect me, and only then could we fend off the subjugation forces.
"Charlotte. From your perspective as my deputy, how would you assess our dungeon's current strength?"
"Considering our reputation as an Abyss Palace, if we exclude you, Lord, we are practically an open door."
"Why do you exclude yourself?"
"I do not even reach your ankles, Lord. Without you, this dungeon could collapse overnight."
"...Then reinforcing our forces is an urgent matter."
"Indeed. I have been pressuring the merchant guild to supply us with monsters, but..."
Judging by how her voice trailed off, there had been no progress. Of course. Standard methods wouldn't make us a 'real' Abyss Palace. Unless, of course, we used non-standard methods. And I was no ordinary player.
Who am I? A 30,000-hour veteran of the 72 Dungeons.
Since it was a highly successful game, 72 Dungeons naturally had DLC content. The boss monsters introduced in the DLC were the new bosses of the updated Mugan 7-gung. In other words, they were the Abyss Palace bosses that replaced the old ones once the player defeated the original Mugan 7-gung.
Through Charlotte, I had learned that this was the past, and I had already figured out the current timeline. In terms of the Imperial Calendar, the current date was October 21st, Year 467. At the same time, let's consider the appearance dates of the new Mugan 7-gung bosses that I read about in the setting book. Estimating that timeline...
They will become bosses in less than ten years.
According to the official lore, the six new Abyss Palaces would be updated in roughly five to eight years. Of course, without a player present, things might remain unchanged. But even so, the potential of those DLC bosses—the potential to become Mugan 7-gung lords—wouldn't just vanish.
The birth narrative of a new Abyss Palace boss fell into two categories. First, a Dungeon Core would form, and that core would birth an entirely new monster. Second, a Dungeon Core would detect a high-potential monster nearby and draw them in to make them the boss.
Out of the six new Abyss Palaces, three of the bosses belonged to the former category. Meaning they hadn't even been born into the world yet. In other words, the other three bosses were currently living somewhere out there, harboring their gem-like potential.
And conveniently, I have the Evolution skill.
If I could recruit those three to my side and evolve them, it would be like gaining an army of a million men. Of course, they wouldn't be quite as powerful as they were when they officially became Abyss Palace bosses in the DLC. No matter how much I evolved them, it wouldn't compare to an Abyss Palace's Dungeon Core fully awakening them as a boss.
But they'll still be incredibly strong.
After all, their potential was high enough to make them Abyss Palace bosses. What more was there to say? My primary objective was set. To recruit the future Abyss Palace bosses from the DLC to my side.
But simply recruiting them wouldn't solve everything. What was the point of having incredibly strong subordinates if I remained weak? I didn't know for sure yet, but let's assume leveling up was possible. Even if I pushed my level to the absolute limit, could I become as strong as an Abyss Palace boss? It would probably be difficult even if I spent hundreds of years trying. Because of my innate limitations. Every class had a set level cap, and if I recalled correctly, an undead body capped out at level 80 at best. There was a reason why the Undead Difficulty was notoriously brutal.
What if I hit the level cap and spent hundreds of years mastering swordsmanship and magic? Even then, I wouldn't even reach the ankles of those Abyss Palace monsters.
I need to find the fastest method possible.
Now that I had made an enemy of the Rank 5 Lord, the matter was as urgent as a fire at my feet. I had to reinforce the dungeon's forces and build up my own personal strength as quickly as possible. Was there no easy way to get strong in a short period, like in those fantasy web novels? Ideally, a hidden piece that only I knew about at this point in time.
The answer to that, too, lay in the DLC. There were two DLCs in the game. The first DLC, as I just mentioned, was themed around the new Abyss Palaces. And the second DLC was themed around the Ancient Dungeons. The Ancient Dungeons, buried deep beneath the shifting sands, which could be considered the origin of the 72 Dungeons. If I could absorb the Dungeon Cores sleeping within them, I could grow powerful in a short span of time.
It wasn't a complete freebie, though, as the process was incredibly perilous. True to their name, the Ancient Dungeons were filled with countless active traps and guarded by powerful sentinels. That was probably why it was DLC content, but regardless... Even if I could map out all the traps, the monsters were the real issue. Who would handle them for me?
The future Abyss Palace bosses will have to do it.
And...
"Charlotte. To what extent are you willing to devote yourself to me?"
"Though my life is insignificant, I am willing to sacrifice it to be of some help to you, Lord."
Satisfactory. With a fully grown Charlotte and the future Abyss Palace bosses, conquering the Ancient Dungeons would be entirely feasible. In any case, the primary objective was decided.
"Bring me a map of the Empire."
The moment the words left my mouth, Charlotte politely presented a map.
...Damn, she's fast at executing orders.
I took it and spread it out immediately. I knew exactly where the DLC bosses resided at this point in time. Since my own dungeon's location was also marked on the map, it didn't take long to orient myself. As it turned out, my dungeon was located in the south. Because of this, it wasn't too far from the tropical rainforest, where the closest of the three future bosses resided.
The Insect King, Balutak.
The future Rank 6 of the Abyss Palaces, the Spiral Cave of Deceit. Boss: Insect King Balutak. I've claimed you.
"Charlotte."
"Yes, Boss."
"Prepare yourself. There is a place the two of us must go."
"!"
The corners of Charlotte's mouth twitched slightly. Though she quickly returned to her usual expressionless face, her level indicator had already flashed hot pink. Was she excited because I said the two of us were going alone? Alternating between fierce loyalty and deep affection—she really is all over the place.