Chapter 51
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Pseudo-Necromancer
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Holding off on registering one of the Red Demon Tribe members as an [employee] for now. Thanks to the [Queen of Fire] talent that Rio had awakened, the Red Demons could now equip gear and receive buffs from [meals] just like Erzsebet's kin, even without being registered.
"Th-this is the Dungeon Master's blessing...!"
For starters, I bought a [High-Pressure Cleaner] and handed it over to Lina, whom Rio had registered as her subordinate employee. Luckily, Lina didn't have a talent like [Fire Seed], so water came out of the [High-Pressure Cleaner] normally instead of fire.
In exchange, though, Lina had gained an ability from becoming something like Rio's kin... It seemed pretty useful, so I made a mental note of it. I could put it to good use the next time intruders showed up.
'This means I won't have to stick around anymore.'
The accelerated farming with Dryad's ability required far more water than expected, so I'd been stuck watering all day with the [High-Pressure Cleaner] running nonstop, unable to do any cleaning or other tasks. Finally, I had some free time.
And what to do with that free time? What else—cleaning, obviously.
"I've left the intruder countermeasures to the kin..."
To begin with, I was completely clueless when it came to blocking intruders or preparing for combat. Better to leave it to those who might know a thing or two, so I'd ordered the kin to fortify our defenses.
That meant they were all out cleaning up the surroundings right now, except for the ones guarding the entrance. Time for me to get busy too.
"Let's go, Erzsebet."
"Master. Aren't you working me the hardest of all?"
"Don't worry. I'm not just taking you this time."
"Ughhh...!!"
Last time, we'd rushed out with only the essentials, but the underground level was still packed with undead... in other words, corpses. It was disgustingly filthy. Plenty of spots to clean, and a few undead still roaming free after slipping Desmond's control.
Some of them even looked like fairly high-ranking undead.
"Master. Should I clear them out?"
"Hold on."
I'd come here to clean, but there was something I needed to check first.
-Kikigik...!
As I approached the undead, a skeleton knight in black armor and a ghoul reeking of decay turned toward me and charged.
"Undead outside the master's control attack any living beings on sight, right?"
"That's right."
Their movements were raw hatred toward the living—nothing like the orderly attacks they made under Desmond's control before. I stood still, watching the undead close in, then muttered.
Collecting the relevant contaminants.
And that was it. Both the skeleton knight and the ghoul vanished from existence in an instant, as if they'd never been there. I'd confirmed this last time. But what I was testing now...
[Collection List]
I opened the system window and brought up the [Collection List] screen. Normally, I'd sell the collected items in the [Shop] from here. But right now...
"Extract."
-Thud!
"Kyaaack!!!"
"Whoa, shit!"
While keeping an eye forward, the moment I thought about pulling out a corpse—or rather, an undead—from the [Collection List], it popped out of thin air. In the exact state it was in when I just 'collected' it!
What do I mean? It was summoned in the same attacking pose!
[Janitor's Clothes (Lv. Max)]
-Swish!
The ghoul suddenly appeared right in front of me, lunging to bite, nearly getting me. But the [Janitor's Clothes] effect kicked in again, deflecting the ghoul's attack wildly.
I was so startled I forgot for a second. This outfit was why I could summon it right in front of me in the first place...
"Master. That just now..."
"Perfect."
My original plan was to 'collect' all the uncontrolled undead scattered around this underground level, dismantle them, and turn them into points... but this changes everything.
'Time to class change into a necromancer.'
Time to show them the joys of corpse chucking.
Collecting the undead scattered throughout the underground level? I left that to the golem I'd brought and Erzsebet.
Undead outside the master's control harbored endless hatred toward living beings, but they didn't show much hostility toward the golem, which was closer to an inanimate object.
So I'd deliberately ordered the golems to lure over any undead they spotted nearby. The undead didn't harbor much hostility toward the golems and weren't very intelligent, so the golems could easily block their path and force them to change direction.
And Erzsebet...
"Master. Isn't my treatment getting harsher by the day?"
The blood scent wafting from Erzsebet made her the perfect bait to lure the undead, so I'd ordered her to spread it around and herd them over.
Erzsebet, who despised undead due to her racial traits, hated it with a passion, but orders were orders.
"Phew... Anyway, Master? I found a door deeper in."
"Yeah. Figured there'd be one."
And then Erzsebet brought the news she'd been waiting for. There was a door leading to the next area in the underground level too. Following her guidance to the door she'd found, a set of doors awaited me, exuding a different vibe from all the ones I'd seen so far.
"Something... feels off."
All the doors we'd found up to now had this ancient, eerie feel—bloodstained or overgrown with ancient wooden roots, that sort of image. But this one...
"It's all pink overall... and full of cute decorations."
Behind the bloodstained door had been the Blood Demon Tribe's Erzsebet, and behind the root-covered one, the dryad had emerged. No clue what might be behind this one.
"Going in, Master?"
"What are you talking about?"
Erzsebet, who'd found the door as ordered, looked ready to charge in at any moment, but I stared at her like she'd lost her mind.
"Uh... you're not going in?"
"If we do, it'll be later. Who knows what problems might crop up."
Based on my experience so far, discovering a new area in this godforsaken ruin always came with some kind of issue. Erzsebet had tried to kill me at our first meeting, Dryad had popped out after surviving that insane trap zone, only to be surrounded by treants that immediately tried to eat Erzsebet, and the underground level we'd finally reached had given us a lunatic archlich named Desmond.
Of course, thinking about the [Main Quest], I'd have to check it out eventually... but not right now.
"Just marking the location for now. And as a bonus...!"
I opened the [Shop] window and searched for the largest, heaviest item I could buy. Heading into the [Furniture] category...
[Decorative Rock A]: A massive rock.
...items like this were available in the [Shop].
The [Furniture] category items were clearly meant to decorate the inside of the massive cleaning truck used as the player character's home base, but I had no idea why there'd be a rock... Well, back on Earth, I'd seen 'Cleaning Game' community posts where people turned their truck interiors into full-on jungles sometimes...
-Thud! Thud!
I bought rocks from the [Shop] and completely blocked off the entrance. This should at least prevent anything from bursting out from behind the door, like those undead that climbed up from the underground before.
If I play this right, I could even use them offensively. Though it'd cost points each time. Nah, even then, would it outdo the [High-Pressure Cleaner]'s power?
"Erzsebet. Set up a barrier too."
"You're really working me to the bone..."
As a bonus, I instructed her to lay down a blood barrier so we'd know immediately if anything—or anyone—tried to come out from inside. I didn't want a repeat of that skeleton ambush.
Maybe station one of the kin here later to guard the door? This didn't feel secure enough. If there was something like Desmond inside...
'Eh, I'll think about that later.'
No point fretting over hypotheticals when my options were limited anyway. Might as well call it good and move on... Hold up.
"Erzsebet. What are you doing?"
"Trying to pry off this decoration on the door... but it won't budge. Master, could I use a bit of power to slice off just part of the door?"
"Are you insane...? We just sealed it. No cutting."
Lately, she'd been asking the kin to fetch jewels or snagged one from Desmond's(?) belongings. Did Erzsebet like gems? It suited her image pretty well...
"Put it down."
"Tch."
In the end, Erzsebet's attempt to remove the pink gem from the door was thwarted, and she obediently spread the blood barrier as requested. This should be sufficient for now.
"Once that's done, bring more undead. I'll be cleaning."
"Sigh..."
With the door sealed tight, I headed back to start cleaning again.
Points were completely tapped out, so I needed to farm some first. Wanted more [Robot Vacuums], curious what happens if I level them up, need gear for the kin and Red Demons... Points to spend everywhere.
Plus, collect every last undead in the underground. Desmond might freak if he wakes up... but that's not my problem.
After Eugene and Erzsebet left.
-.....Hiss...
The door, which Erzsebet had tugged on while trying to remove the pink gem, cracked open ever so slightly, creating a tiny gap. An extremely small gap—one that even a little bug might struggle to squeeze through.
-....Hiss....
Something slipped out through that gap. It easily passed through the rocks blocking the door without a hitch and even slipped past Erzsebet's blood barrier, which should've detected anything emerging.
That made sense, since whatever had come out of the door right now had no distinct form.
-Whoosh!
Mist.
Not the usual white mist, but a faint haze blending pink and black that seeped from the door crack, effortlessly bypassing the rocks and barrier before slowly spreading through the underground level.