Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Bestowing Names
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Those gathered before my throne right now were all born with orange bands wrapped around them.
Even in this dungeon, which had taken its first steps, they were an exceedingly rare 5-star resource. They were more than capable of serving as leaders in their respective fields.
My gaze first landed on the Ruin Guardian, the first 5-star familiar I had summoned today.
- Groooaaar...
Unable to properly bend its body, it supported itself on the ground with both arms. It seemed to be a form that could switch between bipedal and quadrupedal movement.
‘I’ll leave this one as is for the time being.’
Until I could at least set up a basic Earth field, its greatest use would probably be in developing the dungeon. While the dungeon core’s magic handled construction on its own, tasks like compacting the ground or altering structures would be best suited to this one.
There was the Forest Troll, which had similar strength and size among the familiars...
‘But that thing can’t understand a word I say.’
At least it grasped the idea of not harming its comrades, so that was fortunate. Sigh.
Anyway, this one wouldn’t see action for a while yet.
“I bestow upon you the name Moam.”
- Groooaaar...
Was that satisfaction or dissatisfaction?
Thud...
Thud...
The rocky features around its face seemed to form a smile, so it must have been pleased.
‘Next...’
Arrogance, boredom, or perhaps both. A woman looked up at me with eyes filled with a strange emotion.
This woman was no ordinary human—she was extraordinarily beautiful.
“Do you desire a name?”
“You’ll give me a name?”
What would be a suitable name?
I was giving her one not for her sake, but for mine. I couldn’t keep calling the ever-growing horde of familiars “hey, you.”
“Where is your homeland?”
“Lubitorium. It was a rural backwater, but not a bad place. Until Aslan’s army occupied it.”
Wolfkin were one of the representative races sacrificed to Solomon’s continental conquest. Among them, the balance of power had been maintained between those who couldn’t control their bloodline’s power and those who could, but Solomon had crushed both factions equally.
As a result, the few remaining wolfkin on the Solaria continent was the established lore. They weren’t much different from dark elves in that regard.
“...Ruby. That will be your name from now on.”
“Ruby...”
She grinned.
She seemed to like it.
“Thanks, Ruby! It’s a great name. So, what do I do from now on?”
“On the appointed date, someone will come to fetch you. Just follow them.”
“That’s it?”
“They’ll tell you what needs doing going forward, but you’ll have to figure out exactly how to do it yourself.”
I spoke in a slightly heavier tone, wary that she might treat it like a picnic.
“If you’re not useful to me, there’s no point in the contract.”
“Useful, huh... Fine! I’ll show you just how useful I can be!”
Ruby seemed like a brawler type, overall similar to Phenex...
‘I can’t put those two together.’
Phenex should stick with me or Lucifer, while Ruby pairs with Bill or Mori. That’s what synergy is all about.
Ruby trudged over and took her place at the end of the line of familiars standing to either side.
“Whoa... Hmm!”
She appeared intrigued by the ceremony itself. Becoming a familiar was akin to a new birth, so her curiosity was only natural.
‘Alright, next...’
Whoosh...
Flames suddenly erupted around us, only to be sucked into someone’s nostrils.
“Hee hee... Hee hee hee...”
[Summoning the ★★★★★ Leader of the Mad Traveling Troupe.]
...
A familiar that resembled a stereotypical clown.
Its face was painted white, but every time the flames it emitted passed over it, the makeup burned away to reveal scorched skin beneath. But it was only for an instant.
Its unsettling appearance made communication tricky, but it generally understood me well enough.
“Puh-heeek! Puh-hee-hee-hee-heek!”
...Is laughing all you can do?
Come to think of it, its dialogue script had always been pretty limited.
This one was a highly specialized familiar. It possessed dream, fire, and mental attributes.
Back when I first acquired it in the early game, the rule was to slot it into any field where at least one of those three could be built.
This familiar... well, it couldn’t serve as a leader and would hog space by displacing most other familiars in a field. In simple terms, it devoured tons of the field’s supplied mana without fulfilling a leader role.
That could be a drawback, but viewed differently, it was also an advantage.
‘Especially when you’re short on the required number of familiars for field construction.’
...This one was basically a field unto itself.
That was due to the special persistent effects and abilities of the Leader of the Mad Traveling Troupe. Explaining them one by one would take too long; better to let it experience them directly.
‘Thanks to this, I can finally give Phenex her own field.’
She’d chosen Crocell’s lake over her master’s peony garden, so she must have felt overlooked. Failing to grant a proper territory to the first demon to join me would feel like blatant discrimination.
Phenex was strong.
She would grow even stronger. But for that, she needed certain conditions.
Namely, the right amount of whipping.
All demons had their deficiencies. Phenex, having always been discarded by other demons, craved acknowledgment. Amon had some bizarre lack unbecoming of an archdemon.
As Faust, to control them smoothly, I had to exploit those deficiencies.
Well, that was the plan going forward. For now, I needed to send this familiar back to its place.
“Santo. That is your name.”
“Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!”
...Creepy bastard.
Fwoosh...
Santo, the Leader of the Mad Traveling Troupe, mounted a bizarre fireball and trotted back to his position.
Only one remained.
“Grant me a name as well.”
A hulking figure with a hunched back.
It had a hooked nose, a rusted crown on its head, and a kingly cloak that dragged along the floor.
[Summoning the ★★★★★ Goblin King.]
...
One of the leaders for the forest attribute.
I’d built up the forest attribute fairly solidly, and it already had a leader. Adding another forest leader in this situation wasn’t ideal.
Efficiency-wise, a leader from another attribute would have been preferable.
So, someone might wonder: if you embed the highest-rated leaders into fields, aren’t all newly summoned ones redundant?
The short answer: no.
Remegaton had a hidden boss system. If intruders stuck to the designated path without causing trouble, they’d never encounter a hidden boss. But satisfy certain conditions or scour every corner of the field, and you’d run into them occasionally.
‘Well... if the intruder was a player, they’d deliberately hunt for hidden bosses anyway.’
Clearing out every last seed of the dungeon was an age-old invader tradition, so it made sense.
Thus, having multiple bosses per field wasn’t an issue. Hidden bosses weren’t met on the normal route, and they had little to do with dungeon conquest anyway.
“Jachim.”
“Jachim? Jachim...”
The Goblin King bobbed its head, lost in thought. For the time being, it would serve as a hidden boss in the forest field.
“Milord contractor. Might I know your name?”
“Faust.”
“Faust... Excellent. Faust, what must I do here?”
Well... for now...
“Nothing immediate.”
“...I see.”
Right, back to your place.
...
“Faust, I have one request.”
“...What?”
This was surprising.
To voice its will before even receiving orders.
“......”
Lucifer glared down at it coldly, clearly displeased.
“A request, you say... Speak.”
“Grant me... a chance to prove myself.”
“...Prove?”
“Yes, prove. Prove that I am of use to you, Faust.”
“...Interesting. Go on.”
“A familiar contract is tantamount to submission. We cannot defy the contractor’s will. Yet why do the strong willingly enter such contracts? Do you know?”
The beings who formed familiar contracts included dead souls as well as living ones from Solaria.
Cases like the dark elf queen Ariel or the assassin Bill exemplified living beings who had agreed to familiar contracts.
As Faust, I could bind them to the Hell Gate contract because they had no home to return to.
They were lost due to Solomon’s conquest wars...
Limp...
The Goblin King limped on one leg.
It was crippled.
“Rebirth. The belief that I can become stronger than before... if I prove useful to my contractor.”
“Hmm...”
In essence, it wanted to provide me power, earn my favor, and grow.
‘It’s not wrong. Familiars I use often grow stronger as I, the dungeon master, feed them resources.’
Through this process, they became far stronger than when left in the wild.
“Grant me... a chance. I am surely useful.”
I exchanged a glance with Ariel.
She stepped forward, lightly lifting her skirt hem and bending her knees slightly.
“Do as you wish. As long as I can tend to the forest, it’s fine.”
“Kekeke... Such a magnanimous lady.”
The Goblin King’s gleaming eyes conveyed gratitude to Ariel.
Nod...
“Very well. I’ll expect results in the next battle, Jachim.”
“Heh heh heh...”
“But from now on, mind your attitude toward me.”
“......”
“There are plenty of candidates to replace you.”
There weren’t. Even if there were, not plenty.
Still, its swaggering presence before me grated.
At my words, veins bulged at Jachim’s temple as it glanced around, but the other familiars remained obedient to me.
“I shall... take special care.”
* * *
“He’s a dangerous one.”
Once most familiars had withdrawn, Ariel spoke to me.
“You know him?”
“Before becoming a familiar, I’d heard of him.”
“Solaria that small?”
“No, dark elves were mostly wanderers, so few forests across the continent escaped our footsteps.”
“Dangerous how?”
“The one you named Jachim... he started as just another small goblin. The difference was... his greed far exceeded his station.”
“That much was obvious.”
“Every chieftain who ever harbored him was slain by his hand.”
I nearly snorted.
Right, a goblin kingslayer or something.
“Why the limp?”
“I heard it was karma for his actions. He’s been a wanderer for quite some time.”
“Hmm... Understood. Withdraw.”
“Yes.”
As Ariel left, two mischievous ones appeared.
“Who’s Jachim?”
“The goblin, y’know. The big one!”
“Aha!”
One was naturally Phenex, the other the wolfkin Ruby.
They’d hit it off already and grown close.
“Milord! Don’t worry! If he acts suspicious, I’ll beat him up!”
“Great! Me too!”
To their absurd declarations, I returned a cold stare.
“......”
“...Shall we go eat?”
“Y-yeah?”
They scurried out the heart chamber door.
In their place—or rather, as they left—a new guest arrived.
...The air grew heavy in an instant.
“...Amon?”
“Ah, Faust.”
Amon, mid-stride, half-turned and began walking away again.
“Follow me. I’ll show you something amusing.”
...Amusing?