Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Arch Lich's Dungeon Inspection (1)
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Celia had returned from Earth after completing her mission.
She immediately dove back into her work.
"To think so much piled up just from being away a short while..."
Indeed, her desk was buried under stacks of related documents.
Most were letters from Princess Irena of the Sail Kingdom or reports from the shadow she'd attached to Irena.
A few came from the Demon Realm Merchant Guild as well.
Celia started with Irena's letters.
The contents were straightforward.
The first announced that a visit from the White Church to the Sail Kingdom was imminent.
"Irena will handle this one just fine on her own."
Celia wasn't in a position to meddle in such matters.
These were best left to those skilled in them from the start, so she planned to delegate full authority to Irena.
Celia moved on to the next letter.
It was from Princess Irena again.
"As expected."
The next letter's contents were as follows.
Once the Church's business concluded, she planned to hand over the mountain development rights to the nobles.
This was a countermeasure they'd offered in deference to Celia's command.
But a new issue had arisen here.
Before heading to Earth to carry out her master's orders, Celia had once commanded Irena.
To impose a total ban on access to the mountains.
That part was fine, but the letter reported that some nobles, suspicious of the order, had secretly sent adventurers into the mountains.
"Hm."
Princess Irena vowed to track down those involved and punish them harshly, but Celia saw no need.
"Shadow. Tell them to leave this matter alone."
During her trip to Earth, Celia had done a lot of thinking.
Combat wasn't a solo endeavor—it involved many.
Being strong alone meant nothing.
Wasn't this recent situation proof enough?
Before she left, she'd had to prepare everything herself, which showed the dungeon defenses weren't perfect yet.
If they had been, there'd have been no need for a mountain access ban in the first place.
So, she decided to turn the nobles sending adventurers into an opportunity.
"Might as well use this to gauge their forces."
There were four dungeons under Celia.
These four were positioned to the east, west, south, and north of the dungeon she currently managed, encircling it.
With distances between them not too close, each needed minimal defenses at least.
Thus, assessing their forces was all the more crucial.
Conveniently, the Arch Lich was already on inspection duty, so this would be quick to clarify.
If they fell short of Celia's standards, she planned to formally suggest a merger to her master.
She might even need to expand the range of the goblin scout units currently in operation.
"Let's wait and see for now."
Celia opened the next document.
It was from the Death Knight.
She skipped straight to the one after.
"This one's from Goblin Lord, huh?"
This document was penned by the Goblin Lord himself.
Calling it a document was generous—the scrawls wriggled like worms, making it hard to read.
Still, a few words stood out.
"Mana gun... Guard...?"
Mana gun.
She knew this well from what the Goblin Lord had told her.
He'd picked it up on his own trip to Earth.
Following her orders to secure escape routes, he'd clashed with hunters.
In the process, he'd acquired a few more of these mana gun weapons.
"Hm."
Celia puzzled out the words.
The Goblin Lord was likely proposing to form a goblin guard unit with the extra mana guns.
"Well, it's a commendable idea to bolster forces, so I'll approve it."
In this way, the dungeon forces were steadily growing stronger.
With the great master's protection to boot, there was nothing to fear.
Celia smiled as she pressed on with her work.
The Arch Lich and his skeletons wandered through the forest.
Their kind were undead.
They knew no fatigue, needed no sustenance.
Thus, they reached the first dungeon soon after setting out.
[Red Head Tribe]
The master of this dungeon was the orc Skol.
He had been the first to surrender to the master and was rewarded with the role of frontier viscount.
His abilities were decent enough in practice.
The Arch Lich nodded and entered the dungeon.
"Chwik! Been waiting! Lich Lord."
Skol, the orc with red hair whipping about.
"Ah, seeing your power grown even stronger, chwik, suppose I should call you Arch Lich Lord now!"
Skol welcomed the Arch Lich enthusiastically.
The Arch Lich nodded back at Skol.
- Slow on information. A point deduction.
Ever the impartial inspector.
"As chieftain, I've prepared a feast for Arch Lich Lord!"
The Arch Lich nodded.
He added one line to his earlier note.
- Slow on information. A point deduction, but in a rapidly changing dungeon, pursuing the aesthetic of slowness shows steadfastness—a point of praise.
The Arch Lich followed Skol, jotting notes as they toured the dungeon.
Skol showed him every nook and cranny, explaining proudly.
True to orcs who revered strength, the walls bristled with weapons.
Some orcs were polishing them.
"This is our warriors' training ground!"
Skol pointed proudly to one area.
It was the training hall.
Most orcs spent their time there, bellowing hearty kiais amid drills.
Bare-handed, yet their massive frames loomed threateningly.
Some even sparred with weapons.
To an outsider, it might look less like sparring and more like attempts to kill each other.
Contrary to such concerns, Skol explained calmly.
"Chwik, we orcs always revere strength! That's why we train hard. For our ruler, we push ourselves!"
Skol raised a confident hand.
These orcs trained in mock battles to gain true power.
- Solid forces. Effort for the master merits praise.
No one could deny this aspect.
Skol truly strove to strengthen the dungeon's forces.
The Arch Lich commended him for it.
Then his gaze shifted to another section.
There, not orcs, but goblins lived clustered together.
"Ah, those are goblins!"
Skol went on with a chwik.
"Orcs and goblins living together defies nature! So I separated the areas at least!"
As Skol said, the living quarters split neatly between orcs and goblins.
Of course, Skol wasn't thrilled, but it was the ruler's will, so he took solace where he could.
The Arch Lich nodded.
"See! Arch Lich Lord understands!"
Skol cried out, overcome with emotion.
- The dungeon master divides rather than fosters unity—
"A gift for you, Arch Lich Lord!"
Then Skol handed something to the note-taking Arch Lich.
"An artifact called a fountain pen, taken from adventurers!"
It looked unmistakably luxurious.
No ink needed—it flowed smoothly on its own.
The Arch Lich carefully took it from Skol.
He tested it on his notebook right away.
The smooth ink flow pleased him greatly.
- The dungeon master attempts division of labor over unity. A good attitude.
Wasn't Skol demonstrating it now?
"So I'm using goblins as scout teams, suited to their traits!"
Assigning roles by racial strengths was a dungeon master's duty.
Skol's dungeon had no issues in forces or other areas.
It was thriving, in fact.
The Arch Lich nodded and gave his final evaluation.
- Red Head Tribe Dungeon: No problems.
Absolutely no personal bias.
The Arch Lich exited the dungeon.
The first inspection was complete.
The skeleton on the left held the thick notebook, the one on the right now wielded Skol's gifted fountain pen instead of a quill.
The rear skeleton no longer carried an ink bottle.
No need with the fountain pen.
Instead, he clutched the "small tokens of appreciation" from Skol.
"Snap!"
The Arch Lich set off for the next dungeon with his skeletons in tow.
A group of adventurers climbed the mountainside.
"But... is it really okay for us to be doing this?"
One in the group voiced doubt.
Her name was Nariel.
Lightly armored head to toe, with a large hat pulled low over her head.
A bow slung across her back—she looked every bit the ordinary adventurer.
Thanks to her agility, she doubled as the group's guide.
Another answered her question.
"It'll be fine. The nobles commissioned it, after all."
All were from the adventurer guild in the Sail Kingdom.
Even as adventurers, they often bent to the kingdom's policies.
This time was no different.
The Sail Kingdom currently awaited a White Church visit.
Not a friendly one, so the kingdom's guilds hunkered down quietly.
For instance, halting dungeon commissions in the mountains.
Then the royals banned mountain access outright.
Climbing now was indeed discouraged.
Yet here they were, ascending anyway.
Not just that—they'd taken a scouting and subjugation request for the mountain dungeons.
Of course, not official.
Not through the guild.
Still possible because a noble had issued a secret commission.
A Sail Kingdom noble, no less, leading this.
Accepting meant treason against the crown and defiance of the guild.
But the sum offered was astronomical.
The noble backing helped, but the money swayed them.
And the task? Simple.
Just scout the mountains and note anything unusual.
The dungeon scout and subjugation requests were similar.
"Who'd have thought Sail nobles would commission something like this..."
Even the accepting adventurers found it odd.
Nobles defying royal orders was strange.
"What if this sparks civil war?"
"Nah, no way. They wouldn't commission dungeons if so."
They aired their thoughts on the situation.
But the commission was accepted.
No one was fool enough to refuse such wealth.
Just sneak in and out—easy.
The kingdom and guild now controlled mountain access together.
Quick in-and-out, no detection.
So they climbed without further worry.
Nariel led silently.
But her expression soured.
"Nariel, something wrong? You look awful."
One approached her.
Islin, an ice mage.
"Islin..."
Islin touched Nariel's forehead.
"Eek."
Nariel flinched at the contact.
"No fever. What's up then?"
"J-just... bad feeling..."
Nariel trailed off, voicing her intuition.
Her hunches hit often, so they didn't dismiss it lightly.
But quitting? No.
Advance payment was already pocketed—a fortune.
Completion meant life-changing riches.
Couldn't abandon over a bad vibe.
Quitting meant penalties—multiples of what they'd got, unimaginable sums.
So they reassured her instead.
"It's okay. Just an off day."
"Tired? We can rest."
They called her name kindly.
Surface kindness.
Dark greed lurked within.
Nariel saw through it.
All she could do was nod.
"No, I'm fine."
She forced a smile.
And kept walking forward.
She knew it too.
Far too late to turn back now.