Zaug's Pilfered Prize
The moment the fighting started, Zaug quietly slipped away.
‘A battlefield like this doesn’t suit me at all.’
Self-preservation was his first instinct, of course, but there was a practical reason too. When he had worn the body of an Armed Zombie Strengthened Soldier, things had been different. Sturdy armor, a body overflowing with power, and senses sharpened beyond his living days thanks to the Heavenly Martial Body. He could charge in trusting the armor’s defense.
‘With this body, I’d just die a second time.’
This one had been crafted from a C-rank ghoul base. Its specs were noticeably lower than the Armed Zombie Strengthened Soldier’s, even with the Resurrected stat bonuses. The instant he set foot in that chaotic melee, he would become nothing more than salt tossed into a boiling stew.
‘This is not desertion.’
Enemy reconnaissance. Yeah. That was it. Absolutely not because he hated fighting and was sneaking off.
Stealth
Being dead had its advantages. The dead did not breathe. They did not sweat. With no metabolism at all, hiding one’s presence became far easier. Flattened against the ground, he slowly crept down the hill and locked eyes with a group of Revenants.
“Guuuh.”
The undead passed right by without noticing him. In life he had been a successful thief who made a name for himself in the underworld as a grand highwayman. After his extreme “diet,” Zaug had put his full effort into vanishing. Without detection abilities, few beings could pierce his stealth.
‘If I bring back information, the Great Lord will praise me, won’t he?’
He crawled toward the interior of the gate, seeking areas with lower Revenant density. Even with his presence concealed and stealth clouding their vision, skin contact would still give him away. Ordinary risen dead were unlikely to see through him immediately, but caution was still required. Generously speaking, Zaug was careful. Less generously, he was a complete coward.
‘Dying once from greed was more than enough.’
He tore his gaze from the battlefield and wove between the undead. An old building came into view. Judging by its form, it looked like a temple.
‘Never seen this architectural style before.’
As a thief—no, as someone with a deep interest in archaeology—Zaug knew his architecture. You had to know the era and nation to know what was valuable. Steal intelligently! That was Zaug’s creed.
‘Best not to mess with that one.’
He glanced at the Abyss Revenant Odium, held his breath (which he already couldn’t draw), and carefully circled around. His presence was perfectly hidden, yet the opponent’s aura was so ominous that he grew even more cautious.
‘Something useful for the Great Lord is probably inside. Treasure, I mean. Information.’
Of course. Absolutely. He was not going in because of his old archaeological exploration habits. He circled around and entered through a window. A quick look around revealed nothing that would help Minho—money, that is.
‘Sniff. Sniff. There’s a scent.’
A professional thief’s instincts flared. Something was here! Zaug slowly examined the ceiling and walls. No special mechanisms or hidden spaces. That left only one place.
‘Must be under the floor.’
He pressed his entire body flat against the ground. His senses, already extremely sharp, were further corrected by the Heavenly Martial Body. Even in a dead body he was nearly as good as he had been in life. He crawled across the floor, scraping and tapping with his nails for several minutes.
Click!
‘Found it!’
A door leading underground opened. To an outsider it might have looked like he had simply rubbed himself against the floor, but Zaug’s work had been far from simple. There had been a mechanical trap and a security magic circle with twisted mana patterns. Bypassing the security system to reach the basement would have taken a considerable amount of time otherwise.
‘My mouth’s watering!’
Zaug glanced outside. The undead standing before the temple showed no sign of noticing. He silenced his footsteps and descended.
Wooong!
A chalice covered in dark-red filth trembled faintly.
‘Jackpot!’
Zaug tried to swallow. Ah. Being dead meant no saliva, so he could only mime the motion. The auspicious energy radiating from it was no ordinary thing. A little filth? Just brush it off. The undead outside were clearly guarding this chalice. Leave it behind?
‘Absolutely not.’
Reason and instinct aligned. Walking away from treasure in front of him would wound the pride of a self-proclaimed archaeologist. As if entranced, Zaug reached for the chalice.
Crack!
Sparks flew, but he took no damage.
His joyful mental voice thundered through the basement. The instant he pulled the chalice from the altar and hugged it to his chest—
Kuuuuung!
A massive tremor shook the entire gate.
‘Huh?’
Zaug stumbled backward. This… felt like he had touched something he shouldn’t have. If he stayed put, the terrifying undead outside would give him a thorough thrashing. He tucked the chalice into his clothes.
Stealth
He hid himself in a corner.
Thud! Thud!
Urgent footsteps pounded closer.
“Who… is it!!!”
The Abyss Revenant that arrived a beat too late roared and spun around. If Zaug had left immediately, they would have collided. Stealth or not, contact while the enemy’s wariness was at its peak would have shattered the skill.
‘Time to head back.’
If he reported to the Great Lord, a solution would present itself, right? Entertaining that irresponsible thought, Zaug crawled out of the old temple on all fours.
The core of the Nightmare Pit has vanished.
The formula maintaining the gate is collapsing.
“The gate core vanished?!”
What in the world was going on? We hadn’t even left the starting area. We hadn’t seen so much as the boss monster’s shadow, yet this sudden message appeared. I was thoroughly confused.
“What do you mean?”
When Sir Isra asked again, I recited the messages that had just appeared.
“That’s a little strange.”
“Is the undead we just felled not the boss?”
“No. If it were, the gate would have cleared immediately.”
Loss of the core. Collapse of the formula. Nothing about this was ordinary.
“Could it be that kind of gate?”
I had heard of gates that cleared not by defeating a boss monster but by destroying a specific place or item. Was this one of those? Even so, we hadn’t touched anything. Why the sudden change?
“The power of the sorcery is weakening.”
“Mage, what does that mean for us?”
“Those undead will spawn more slowly.”
“Hahaha! Then simply holding out will deliver us victory.”
We might finish the gate before reinforcements even arrived. I didn’t know the cause, but this was good news. Holding the line had been starting to wear on me. My subordinates and retainers never tired, but my own stamina and mana were approaching dangerous levels. Continuously applying Invisible Hand while swinging a hammer was no small effort.
【Great Lord! Great Lord!!】
“Zaug. You’re safe.”
“Thief. Where have you been hiding?”
“Ugh. Completely useless as always.”
Despite the scolding from the two retainers, Zaug wore a proud expression I had never seen on him before.
【My lords. Would you care to see what I have brought?】
He produced the object he had been cradling against his chest. The way he treated it like a sacred treasure was rather comical. A stained chalice? Yet the energy coming off it was anything but ordinary.
“M-M-M-Master! That’s it!”
“What is?”
“The gate’s core!”
I blinked.
“What?!”
Ingrid’s analysis was never wrong. She was the most skilled with magic among us. So the self-proclaimed archaeologist had quietly slipped away and stolen that chalice, weakening the gate?
【Hehehehe! I can manage at least this much, my lords!】
Zaug thrust his nose high into the air.
“Khh. How galling.”
“This once, we have no choice but to concede.”
A look of defeat crossed both retainers’ faces. To land a blow on the Continent’s Greatest Sword and the strongest archmage… perhaps that was the minimum requirement to become an otherworldly soul.
“Well done, Zaug.”
【Hehe! Acknowledged! By the Great Lord himself!】
Still, what exactly was this stained chalice that it could serve as a gate core?
◈ Category: $@!
◈ Restriction: *&^%
◈ Durability: 19/100
A ■■ ■■ that has long ■■ in the ■■ ■■.
%^$#&^*&*······.
Look at the state of this item description. More than half the characters were unreadable. Was that really okay?
“I sense an extraordinary energy from it.”
“Can you figure out what it is?”
“I’m sorry. Not immediately.”
“That’s enough.”
Given time, she would uncover it. We could research it properly once we left the gate.
Wiiing—
The chalice in my hand trembled lightly. It felt like a phone vibrating.
—······ri······ ?
Hold on. Are you… speaking, Mr. Chalice?
“Why do you startle so?”
“There seems to be an otherworldly soul inside.”
“Oh my, oh my.”
【Does that mean I finally get a junior?!】
Nothing was confirmed yet, so everyone calm down.
“It appears my lord is the least calm of us all.”
Ah. She noticed my hands shaking. For a moment I even wondered whether the trembling came from the soul reacting or simply from my own nerves.
“Otherworldly soul?”
—······here······ is······ s······.
“Yes, I’m here too.”
Focusing hard made a few more words audible.
“But I’m a little hurt. You weren’t this gentle when you first met the maiden.”
“Hahaha. I was forced into my lord’s service.”
Would someone please turn off the local broadcast?
—Sto······y······ listen······.
The mental voice grew clearer, and with it the soul’s energy seeping into the chalice strengthened. If I could draw out a little more reaction, I might be able to pull the soul free from the item.
“Like me?”
“Yeah. Though I’ll have to think carefully about whether to assimilate it into an undead right away.”
Sir Isra and Zaug had been earthbound spirits, so I had stuffed them straight into undead bodies and modified them as I pleased. Ingrid, however, had been bound to an item, which let me calmly prepare a suitable vessel. If we could communicate, I would need to consult first. Knowing what line of work the soul had pursued in its previous life would help me set things up properly.
“I’ll kill you all!!!”
Haaah. Who was that yelling and making a scene?
【Great Lord! That’s the one!】
The Abyss Revenant came charging from a distance. Sigh. I was trying to concentrate and it wouldn’t leave me alone.
“Sir Isra.”
“I shall return before the tea cools.”
Fully restored by the Ring of Life, Sir Isra moved. Moments later, the head of the Abyss Revenant that had interrupted us rested in her hand.