The Witch in the Sleeping Forest -5-
"Go farm some EXP."
"Grooo!!"
"Uwooo!!"
"Grrrraaah!!!"
"Graaaah!!!"
Before fully exploring this castle, I gave orders to my undead. Now we had to move indoors. Bringing too many troops would just get in the way. And since almost none of my undead had died in the previous fights with the eye collectors, that made it even more of an issue.
"Everyone except the Geists and Shadow Walkers."
Of course, I kept the ones that could navigate tight spaces without any problems. I sent all the corporeal undead outside to gather EXP.
It's really not much longer now.
At level 1, I could resurrect my dick, and one more level after that would let me return to my original form. I just needed comprehensive level 2.
The EXP from enemies killed by my undead was a bit inferior to what I got personally, but with overwhelming numbers, it would get the job done.
Raise Dead
-Whoooong!!
That's why I used undead creation magic to mass-produce mid-grade undead. I could've made high-grade ones at my level, but even the strongest of these weak-ass fodder eye collectors weren't worth using as materials for high-grade undead. So I decided to churn out mid-grade ones with them instead.
"Au~ Omnomnom."
Of course, there were still too many even for that, so Kangjang and I gobbled up the leftovers. Even after eating a ton, Kangjang's mana went up by 1, but mine didn't budge.
For the executive and boss-grade eye collectors, I stashed the boss ones in the corpse vault to use later as elite undead materials. The ogre-sized executives, I decided to turn into high-grade undead materials.
Raise Immortal
-Whoooong!!
Black death energy poured from my hand and seeped into the massive, head-like bodies of the eye collectors.
-Crunch!!
-Squelch squelch squelch...
Black tar-like liquid burst from the corpses infused with dark energy, accompanied by the sound of twisting bones and flesh.
-Uwaaaaaahhh
-Flash
Soon, the black tar covering the corpses bulged outward, and pairs of blue ghost flames sprouted where eyes should be. The black liquid then formed two shapes.
"..."
One emerged wearing a worn but luxurious black frock coat that looked like early modern military garb, paired with gray trousers. Rusty metal medal fragments hung on the coat. A tattered red cape draped over his back, symbolizing his rank and current state. His head was topped with a bicorne hat like Napoleon might have worn.
-Fwoosh!!
His face was a skinless skull, blue ghost flames flickering in empty sockets.
-Whoooong
Faint black death energy flowed around his body like an aura, proclaiming he was no ordinary being.
-Thud!!
-Snap!!
The being snapped to attention and saluted me sharply with his right hand to his forehead.
That was its official name: Undead General. An undead specialized in commanding and controlling others, with attack-oriented buffs.
-Whoooong!!
Next, the creation finished on the other corpse nearby.
"Uwooooooo!!!!!"
Dozens of voices blended in a scream of hatred toward the world, tearing from the newborn undead's mouth like a wail.
"Uwaaa..."
"Graaaah..."
"Uwoooo..."
Dozens of translucent blue, agonized human shapes hovered there. Their eyes burned not just with pain, but with fanatical hatred for the living's warmth and life force. A massive undead formed from dozens of powerful wraiths: a high-grade Phantom.
"Uwooo!!"
"Good, good."
Back in my game days, I'd unlocked every undead recipe in Auroray Fantasia. That's why I could make so many high-grade types. I chose these two for specific reasons.
The Undead General would lead and buff the undead hunting outside for faster farming. The Phantom, being ethereal, could phase through walls and objects indoors, had decent combat power for a high-grade, and top-tier detection among them.
The high-grade White-Eyed Oni specialized in detection is great at that, but it's all-in on sensing—like a stationary detector, useless here.
Anyway, the Phantom would help with castle exploration.
"You get the idea? Move out."
-Snap!!
"Uwaaaaa..."
The Undead General saluted me sharply again, led the undead army out of the castle, and the Phantom joined the ethereal undead I'd left for indoor scouting.
"Alright, let's go."
"Au~"
"Uwe~"
Dena and Kangjang stuck right behind me, followed by dozens of ethereal monsters marching in black and pale blue, like a parade of night ghosts.
"You, over there."
"Uwooo!!"
"You, this way."
"Uwaaa..."
The castle exploration went smoothly. Unlike the underground labyrinth, there were no traps inside. Plenty of rooms fitting the castle's size, but the layout wasn't complex. If anything, the path to what seemed the center felt welcoming, like it was guiding us.
This direction... yeah, matches the path that woman took in the eye collector's memories.
The rooms were impeccably clean, like magic maintained them for immediate use. I sent Geists and Shadow Walkers to check for anything valuable, but nothing special. Mostly bedrooms, dining rooms, kitchens, studies—tidy, but ordinary.
Gotta check that study later.
The Forest of Beginnings predated the Roman Empire above and even the Grión Kingdom before it, so those books were ancient. Might have valuable knowledge.
True to a witch's tomb, there were alchemy labs, armories, material storerooms. But the alchemy stuff was useless since I didn't know isekai alchemy. Armory and storeroom? Empty.
Halfway through, I found a gem pulsing with mana—supposedly the witch's heart that the remnant princess mentioned. Didn't look great to me, so I left it.
Dozens of minutes later, my group reached the castle's heart.
-Creaaak...
A grand door depicted an armored man pinning a demon-like monster to the ground, spear through its heart. I had the Geists open it.
-Whish
A faint, refreshing breeze like a mountain gust brushed my body, carrying a sweet, fresh scent. Soft and rich, not overpowering—the fragrance approached gently. Its source was obvious.
The castle's center held a vast garden filled with pure white lilies. Their soft glow, like moonlight on a silent garden, evoked purity and grace.
"Uu~"
"Uwe~"
Kangjang and Dena behind me let out soft sounds of awe.
At the garden's heart sat a flat stone platform—like a bed or altar—big enough for one person, covered in lilies despite being stone. But atop it weren't just lilies. Amid the white blooms lay hard, bone-white objects: human skeletal remains, cradled as if born from the lilies themselves.
"Found it."
That had to be the witch—and the woman from the eye collector's memories. If she was as beautiful as remembered, I had one job.
But before I pimp her out...
Memento Mori
To confirm if those were really the witch's bones and uncover why this underground dungeon existed, I activated the spell.