Chapter 67
Chapter 67
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Inspector Arch Lich's Notebook
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Companion Grecto's head thudded to the ground.
“…….”
The adventurers stared at the scene in silence.
Some shed tears at the gruesome sight, while others brimmed with regret.
Everyone wept without a sound.
“N-No way….”
Iselin muttered in disbelief.
Who was Grecto?
A hulking warrior boasting tremendous strength.
Gruff in personality, but as reliable a comrade as they came when together.
And above all, a silver-rank adventurer.
For someone like that to fall to a mere orc?
Orcs were typically 2-star monsters.
Even a silver-rank adventurer wouldn't struggle against a 2-star. An equivalent-rank adventurer would suffice.
But the result here was entirely different.
Iselin glanced around.
Just looking at the monsters spread out widely around them made it clear.
They were poised in formation, awaiting only the command from the orc who had felled Grecto.
'As expected, that orc is controlling the monsters in the area.'
Not your standard 2-star orc.
Something greater.
Perhaps she should have jumped into that fight earlier?
If she'd used her magic, at least Grecto might not have died.
'No, that's not right.'
But she shook her head.
Suppose she had done that and saved Grecto.
What about the remaining monsters?
Would all those countless orcs and goblins have stayed put?
No matter how she thought about it, that wasn't the answer.
The monsters would have gone berserk, and others would have suffered casualties.
Of course, that didn't make their current situation any better.
In the end, Grecto had lost to that orc, and no one knew what would become of the rest of them.
The silver lining—if there was one—was that the orc who fought Grecto possessed intelligence.
At least he could communicate, leaving room for negotiation.
Iselin stared at the orc.
He had definitely said his name was Skoll.
It hadn't been long since the battle ended.
She would have expected an orc named Skoll to be panting for breath, but he was utterly composed.
In fact, he was leisurely gathering his spoils.
“The gear of an honorable warrior... This will be mine!”
Skoll scooped up Grecto's greatsword and shield from the dirt.
“Uoooooh-!”
The monsters around him roared in cheers as he hoisted the weapons high.
'What do we do?'
No answers came to mind.
The others were in the same boat.
“W-What should we do?”
Nariel, trembling at her side, finally spoke up.
But in this situation, Iselin had no ideas either.
She simply stared at Skoll ahead.
Skoll was clearly different from other orcs.
Not just his massive frame, but his face covered in scars.
And that flowing red hair—what about it?
His very presence exuded menace.
'Can we survive this?'
In this situation, could they really escape unharmed?
Iselin kept her eyes fixed on Skoll, searching for an opening.
Conveniently, Skoll was inspecting the weapons he'd claimed.
“I've decided to honor this warrior!”
“U! U! U!”
The monsters around him echoed his every word.
Skoll gazed down at Grecto's fallen corpse.
“This warrior's honor must be known to all!”
He spouted something strange, then suddenly hoisted Grecto's head up high.
What in the world was he doing?
“…….”
Iselin—and all the adventurers—waited in tense silence for Skoll's next move.
But what came next was truly shocking.
Skoll lifted Grecto's head and began attaching it to the looted shield.
“Huh?”
Someone voiced their confusion.
Everyone was probably thinking the same thing.
Skoll mounted Grecto's head onto the shield he'd claimed.
Then he raised it high like a trophy.
“Uoooooh-!”
Grecto's head dangled from the shield.
Ugh—
The adventurers retched at the sight.
The surrounding orcs, meanwhile, cheered even louder.
He had spoken of honor.
Of making Grecto's honor known.
“What honor is there in that?!”
Iselin couldn't comprehend it.
She shouted before she knew it.
Her cry silenced the cheering crowd.
All eyes turned to Iselin.
“I-Iselin….”
Terrified, Nariel clung tightly to Iselin's side.
Fortunately, the monsters didn't budge.
Skoll merely shook his head and spoke.
“This means I acknowledged him as a warrior! It's a mark of respect passed down among warriors!”
She couldn't make sense of Skoll's words.
But she had no intention of arguing further.
It would be a waste of time.
Besides, it was their turn now. She steeled herself.
'Should I strike first? Or just run no matter what...'
Various options flashed through her mind, but they were all reckless gambles.
The adventurers had all fallen into panic.
The grotesque scene only made it worse.
Their thoughts weren't far from Iselin's.
- We have to run.
To survive now, it was every adventurer for themselves.
But this was the mountains.
Even running, could they slip past that horde of orcs and goblins unscathed?
Launching a preemptive attack was equally foolish.
Scattering in different directions might let at least some survive.
As the adventurers' deliberations dragged on.
Skoll finally spoke.
“You're no longer needed.”
“?”
What did that monster just say?
Iselin's mind blanked for a moment.
“Didn't you hear? You're dismissed. Go ahead.”
She hadn't misheard.
Skoll grabbed only his weapons and the shield bearing Grecto's head—as if they were truly all he needed—and departed in another direction.
The monsters followed behind him.
The suffocating gazes vanished in an instant.
“Hoo—”
“W-We survived?! We're really okay?!”
As the orcs and goblins departed, the adventurers collapsed where they stood.
They'd been lucky.
“…….”
Leaving the adventurers to sigh in relief, Skoll pressed forward.
He addressed the presence at his side.
“Tell the Administrator! Chit, that one adventurer was honorably dealt with by this Skoll!”
It was a shadow.
The shadow listened to Skoll's words before vanishing.
Once it was completely gone, Skoll muttered to himself.
“Indeed... Is the Ruler testing us?”
Skoll sparing those adventurers wasn't some idle amusement.
It was simply following the sole command delivered by total administrator Celia.
If adventurers appeared, don't massacre them all.
That was the order the shadow had brought.
Prior to this, the inspector had passed through.
The Ruler seemed to be gauging their worth.
“I must stand at the Ruler's side.”
No matter the others, Skoll himself would remain by the Ruler's side.
What could be more honorable than pledging loyalty to a Ruler who respected warriors?
The objective was achieved anyway.
This much should earn high marks from the Ruler.
Skoll hefted the shield bearing the head of the honorable warrior and set off for his own dungeon.
The surviving adventurers walked and walked.
What had just happened was pure luck.
Iselin reflected on the events, a question lingering.
'Monsters just... let us go?'
Come to think of it, the orc proposing a one-on-one duel from the start hadn't made sense.
They'd cleared one hurdle, fortunately—but the real problem lay ahead.
What were they supposed to do now?
Iselin glanced back.
The other adventurers had long since lost their will.
She could somewhat understand why the Sail Kingdom had banned entry to the mountains.
'A mutant monster, of all things...'
That orc named Skoll was definitely no ordinary orc.
A monster that had gained power for some reason.
A so-called mutant.
It was a problem she hadn't even considered.
And there were other issues piling up.
First off, despite knowing this, no one was thinking of abandoning the mountains.
They'd already accepted a massive sum for the commission.
Quitting now would be nice, but the penalties worried them.
The contract had stated that abandoning the mission midway would bring various disadvantages.
Back then, quitting hadn't crossed their minds, so they'd signed without hesitation.
But reality was different.
And reality had already broken their spirits.
“Should we just run?”
Regrettably, they were all formal adventurers.
A noble commissioning them would have looked into their backgrounds beforehand.
Fleeing now meant no more legitimate adventurer quests in the future.
Nobles were like that, and adventurers who lost trust were as good as spent.
It was a secret commission, sure—but entry to the mountains was banned now anyway.
Losing trust as adventurers was the same either way.
They were trapped.
The money was already in hand.
So they couldn't quit.
Somehow, they had to complete the commission for the remaining duration.
“What if we just hole up somewhere?”
Someone suggested.
Hide out for the rest of the period.
A few adventurers nodded in agreement.
Everyone knew the mountains were in turmoil.
Playing it safe made sense.
Nariel—and Iselin beside her—could only agree.
The situation was that dire.
And the sun was setting.
The worst outcome was meeting night unprepared.
Everyone sought a place to spend the night.
How long had they walked?
Nariel pointed ahead.
“A cave...? No, a dungeon?”
Iselin approached as she said it.
They needed shelter at least.
Even a dungeon—clear it first, then overnight inside.
Iselin and Nariel led the adventurers into the place.
“It's dark.”
The cave interior was pitch black.
And oppressively humid.
The deeper they went, the warmer it got.
Adventurers began shedding outer layers.
Deeper still, something lunged out.
“Puyoo!”
Their greeter was a slime.
A particularly large one.
“King Slime...?”
More slimes appeared behind the King Slime.
Slimes of various colors lined up and approached the adventurers.
“Quu! Pweok!”
The King Slime seemed to say something, but sadly, it was unintelligible.
The silver lining: they seemed friendly.
The adventurers followed the slimes even deeper.
“Whoa? A hot spring!”
A spot where warm water bubbled up appeared.
A genuine hot spring.
One adventurer, overjoyed, dove straight in with a splash.
Before anyone could stop him.
“That idiot...!”
Iselin snapped at the one who'd jumped in.
In a dungeon, caution was everything.
Missing even a trifle meant death.
Such recklessness was beyond stupid.
Still, fortune smiled.
Nothing happened to the adventurer in the water.
“You guys come in too! It's warm and great!”
He even beckoned the others.
One by one, they cautiously entered the water.
Truly, nothing happened.
The warm spring water, mingled with slimes, felt even more soothing.
The fatigue of the day melted away.
More adventurers plunged in.
As if their earlier worries were a lie, everyone wore happy expressions.
Iselin and Nariel simply watched the scene.
“Iselin, you aren't going in...?”
At Nariel's question, Iselin just nodded.
Then she sat on the ground.
This was still a dungeon.
Vigilance until the end.
Unlike the others, Iselin vowed to stay sharp to the last.
Nariel took a seat beside her.
They sat quietly, watching the adventurers in the water.
“So this is the report?”
Celia scowled at the thick notebook the shadow presented.
The hefty tome was the item Arch Lich carried.
She'd ordered the shadow to fetch Arch Lich's notebook for a mid-report...
“Why is it all good news?”
This was supposed to be an evaluation record?
“…….”
Every entry was glowing praise.
“…….”
With a faint hope, she flipped to the next page.
It was so brief, barely a few lines.
“This is really the record, right?”
Celia harbored doubts.
Maybe the shadow had grabbed the wrong notebook?
The back was filled solely with praise for her master.
“…….”
Celia found herself at a loss for words today.
Evaluations like this made it impossible to objectively assess the dungeons' strength.
Celia pondered whether to keep Arch Lich in the inspector role.
Though it was the great Master's decree, she could at least make a suggestion.
Moments later, another shadow delivered additional documents to Celia.
She checked the contents immediately.
Simple enough.
Skoll, leader of the ‘Red-Headed Tribe’ dungeon.
A report that he had repelled adventurers.
Even took down one presumed silver-rank.
“Showing conduct befitting the great one's mercy.”
Bearing the Master's will meant handling that much with ease.
Celia nodded.
Her evaluation of Arch Lich ticked up slightly.
At least on Skoll, it seemed impartial.
But even granting that, the assessment of the next dungeon was too skimpy.
The ‘Sticky Pool’ dungeon.
Celia checked the next document.
The report was straightforward.
Most of the adventurers had died in the process, apparently.
Seemed Arch Lich had managed some objectivity after all.
“…….”
But none of this was Arch Lich's doing.
Hadn't the great Master assigned him the inspector role?
“As expected of the Master.”
Celia felt awe at her magnificent Master's discernment.