Dungeon.
It is an unknown world that exists beyond a concealed veil.
Yet adventurers explore this unknown world, braving the dangers.
Even though it teemed with monsters starving with lust and lurked with life-threatening traps, to adventurers it was regarded as a land of opportunity.
Because great danger invariably brought proportionally great rewards.
But that danger often transcended the adventurers' imaginations. No, at times unimaginable terror devoured them.
Nevertheless, adventurers stepped into dungeons without hesitation.
To fulfill their endless thirst for wealth and honor. And holding the arrogant belief that they, at the very least, would never die.
Just like them, who had now entered the dungeon.
"Bastards! The information the guild gave us was completely wrong!"
Drun, the warrior of massive build, shouted in a voice boiling with rage.
The Adventurers' Guild had clearly stated that it was a dungeon manageable by adventurers of the same rank.
They had merely been told to be careful because the goblins used bows.
But the scene unfolding before them now was completely different from what they had heard.
It was indeed a goblin dungeon. It was true that they used bows.
But.
"When do these arrows stop!"
The arrows pouring down without rest were like a torrential rain. The din of the flying arrows felt as though it would tear their ears apart.
After watching arrows fly for several minutes, it was a phenomenon only possible if every single goblin present was wielding a bow.
The number of goblins was probably not small either.
"At this level, it's absolutely not the same rank! It should be at least Silver rank! Fuck!"
Rilseu, whose hand had been pierced by an arrow, agreed with Drun's words.
She was a mage, but there was no way she could use magic in this situation. A seasoned mage might have managed, but she was merely a novice who had not been training in magic for long.
Rilseu was useless right now.
Drun quickly shouted loudly to the others.
"Jairo! What do you think! If we run like this, do you think we can get out of the dungeon?"
Jairo was an archer who primarily used a bow. He was also their guide.
Shouting at Jairo with a faint hope, Drun found that Jairo was no different—he had no answer either.
"I don't know! But there is one hope!"
"Hope?"
Drun repeated, his expression incredulous.
Hope, in a situation where arrows were flying endlessly?
But there was no other way right now.
He held his breath and waited for Jairo's next words.
"Those goblin bastards! I don't think they want to kill us! They're deliberately using the arrows only as a threat!"
At Jairo's words, Drun wracked his memory.
Come to think of it, Rilseu too had only been pierced through the hand. They had avoided fatal areas like the head or heart.
If they had wanted to kill, they would have done so already.
'Could Jairo really be right?'
Rilseu had taken an arrow to the hand simply because she had tried to use magic.
Above all, there was Dambi, who had stepped to the very front.
Even now, Dambi was simply standing still, yet he had not been hit by a single arrow.
At that sight, Drun laughed as if dumbfounded.
"Haha... turns out these bastards are nothing special?"
Not all monsters were unintelligent.
Occasionally, there were those who put on a strong front like this to hide their own weakness.
And as time passed, they would try to negotiate with the adventurers.
Having surmised this much, Drun stood up boldly.
"Fine! I get it, I said I get it! Let's negotiate! So stop shooting those damn arrows!"
But that was a miscalculation.
Sshk—
Thuk—
An arrow that flew in embedded itself in Drun's shoulder.
"Keuk!"
Thanks to his trained body, the arrow didn't embed deeply. It was a minor injury that would recover quickly with treatment after leaving the dungeon.
But something felt off.
The moment he stood, an arrow had flown precisely toward his shoulder.
'Were goblins always this good with bows?'
It was too strange to be a coincidence.
Above all, Dambi, who had remained standing the entire time, had not been hit once. Even though he stood in front of Drun.
Just as he was thinking it was strange.
"Huh? The arrows have stopped."
As the apprentice priest Hildon said, the dungeon fell silent again.
At the same time, footsteps could be heard.
'Not just one or two.'
It was likely all the goblins inside the dungeon moving.
Drun frowned and looked around.
He immediately stopped Rilseu, who was beside him trying to take a stance to cast magic.
"Stop! Don't do anything!"
The reason Drun stopped Rilseu was simple.
The opposing goblins had stopped attacking as well.
Why would they stop attacking now?
"Everyone get ready. We'll probably end up negotiating with the dungeon's master."
Drun was confident.
"Negotiate? Can't we just sweep them away with magic?"
Rilseu made a displeased expression, but the other two followed Drun's words.
It was better to negotiate and preserve their lives.
If they could just get out alive, they could enter a dungeon anytime as adventurers.
He was thinking of confronting the Adventurers' Guild immediately upon getting out.
Therefore, everyone waited quietly for the goblins.
"Still, isn't it fortunate? At worst, our opponents are goblins. We'll probably have the upper hand in negotiations."
Anyone who thinks negotiation means an equal negotiation is a fool.
Negotiations never proceeded fairly.
Negotiations between adventurers and monsters proceeded by weighing the adventurers' strength against the dungeon's strength.
Of course, this was only when the monsters possessed intelligence; if they were a bit dim like goblins, one could take a favorable position.
"Sir Drun is right. At worst, our opponents are goblins. Perhaps we may gain significant profit. This too must be a blessing bestowed by the Goddess."
Apprentice priest Hildon also spoke in an excited voice.
The goblins had probably hidden their wealth deep within the dungeon. If one simply destroyed the dungeon's core, the dungeon would vanish before such treasures could be found.
But if they negotiated as they were now, it was worth hoping for hidden riches.
Before long, the goblins revealed themselves.
Since it was a negotiating table for the moment, Drun bowed his head and greeted politely.
"Haha, my name is Drun. As for your honor—"
But he could not finish his words.
Not only because of the number of goblins, but because of the being leading them at the front, his words were lodged in his throat.
"……!"
It was not just Drun.
Rilseu, Jairo, and Hildon too stood frozen with their mouths agape.
"You have come."
All except Dambi, that is.
The reason they were surprised was simple.
"Wh-why is a Goblin Lord here!"
Because the being leading the goblins out was none other than a Goblin Lord.
Unlike regular goblins, a Goblin Lord wore a golden crown upon its head.
The goblin they were looking at now was also wearing a crown upon its head.
It was so intuitively obvious that everyone present could tell.
"……."
A Goblin Lord was a five-star monster.
It was an existence that they could absolutely not hunt in their current state.
'Keuk, no wonder the goblins were so systematic....'
Drun regretted this belatedly, but it was too late.
The moment the Goblin Lord revealed himself, the negotiation was as good as over.
The gap in strength was already too great.
To face a Goblin Lord, one needed at least a Gold rank adventurer—no, several Platinum rank adventurers.
Only then could they barely hunt it.
And could they possibly catch a Goblin Lord with just four same-rank adventurers?
Judging by the large-bodied ones in the back, it seemed hobgoblins were present as well.
It was a complete blunder.
When everyone had fallen into despair, the Goblin Lord opened his mouth.
"Kruhk... Is there anyone who wants to be saved?"
He had clearly asked if there was anyone who wanted to be saved.
True to a Goblin Lord, his pronunciation was far better than that of regular goblins, and at his words the adventurers held onto hope and raised their heads.
"C-could wanting to be saved mean we get to live!"
Rilseu's voice rose with excitement as well.
Could it be that he intended to negotiate using their lives?
At this thought, everyone's minds raced busily.
But there was someone else who answered the Goblin Lord's words.
"That is troubling."
Dambi said.
Dambi used honorific speech toward the Goblin Lord, who belonged to the same dungeon as him and was of a higher rank.
"Is it impossible to save all of them?"
The adventurers were surprised again at Dambi's words.
They were surprised by Dambi's boldness even in this situation, and above all, they were surprised again by his attitude of trying to save everyone despite them having discriminated against him.
But the Goblin Lord shook his head.
"Only one is possible. Kruhk! The available banshee is... just one."
"That is a pity."
The adventurers could not understand the conversation between those two.
But Dambi and the Goblin Lord were having an important conversation.
Only one out of the four adventurers would survive.
They planned to have that one controlled by a banshee to replace the adventurer's role.
And they planned to form a two-person party with Dambi to accept adventurer commissions.
They would have liked to replace everyone present with banshees, but there was a limit.
Most banshees were currently controlling other adventurers.
And they were headed to various parts of the continent according to Celia's orders.
Therefore, the only banshee available right now was just one.
"Let's exclude the apprentice priest for now. In the end, he belongs to the Order. I would rather avoid troublesome matters."
Hildon belonged to the Order.
Even as an apprentice priest, because he belonged to the Order, there might be many things that would prove convenient.
But Dambi shook his head.
When the two moved together, they had to consider the possibility of contact with other priests or paladins.
In such a situation, troublesome matters could arise.
At Dambi's decision, the Goblin Lord slammed his fist down toward apprentice priest Hildon.
Hildon, despite his sturdy physique, was smashed into the floor by the Goblin Lord's blow.
His body was so mangled as to be beyond recognition; anyone could see it was instant death.
"Hiek!"
The adventurers screamed at that sight.
They did not know why the Goblin Lord had appeared.
They did not know why the Goblin Lord listened to Dambi.
But they knew one fact.
"Please...! Please save me! I'm sorry for everything. I'll apologize like this!"
Drun prostrated himself on the ground and apologized to Dambi.
He couldn't understand the current situation, but he felt he had no choice but to beg Dambi for his life.
But soon the others pleaded as well.
"You should save me! I'm more valuable than that lump of muscle!"
Rilseu shouted as if unwilling to be outdone.
As she did so, she tore her clothes and exposed her chest.
But Dambi paid no mind to such things.
"A mage would certainly be nice, but it would be different from a banshee using magic, would it not?"
Even if a banshee took over the body of Rilseu the mage, using magic was a separate issue.
No matter how much the mind was controlled, there was no guarantee it could bring out the magic's full power.
But the Goblin Lord shook his head.
"Kyah, the Great One is far more amazing. Kuk! That is not a problem at all."
It was true.
If it was the Great One's ability, nothing was a problem.
It was the Great One who had bestowed holy power upon a banshee controlling a paladin.
Dambi pondered for a moment.
Apprentice priest Hildon was already dead.
And thinking about it, they didn't particularly need a guide. Nor was the warrior Drun greatly necessary.
Comparing combat strength alone, it was far better for him to act directly rather than Drun.
If they did that, the one remaining would be Rilseu.
"Let's save the mage."
Rilseu shouted joyfully at Dambi's words.
But that was not something to be happy about.
"Kheuk. Understood. I will kill the rest."
Just as the Goblin Lord raised his hand to deal with the adventurers.
A hobgoblin stepped forward from behind.
"Kureut, Chief."
The hobgoblin spoke again.
"Area 1 mid-boss! Humans. Need request. Krin!"
"Ah, I see. Kuk!"
At the hobgoblin's words, the Goblin Lord lowered his hand again, as if remembering something.
The mid-boss of Area 1, the Death Knight, had made a request.
That he needed slaves suitable for dungeon construction work.
"Krut, then, save them all."
Drun and Jairo were led away by the goblins without understanding anything.
And Rilseu, who remained.
“Huh? What the hell?! Aren’t you supposed to save m—”
His attention was stolen by the banshee that had appeared before he knew it.
“Lady Celia has instructed me to operate together with Lady Dambi.”
The banshee—no, Rils—said.
Dambi gave a brief nod and left the dungeon with Rils.
* * *
Before long, the sun was setting.
Even at the Adventurers’ Guild, the adventurers’ footsteps were gradually thinning out.
“I’m back.”
Dambi, her expression blunt, approached Catherine.
“Huh? Miss Dambi? Wait, Miss Rils, what happened to your hand…!”
Catherine looked at the two who had returned to the Adventurers’ Guild.
The problem was that five people had set out for the dungeon.
And yet only two had returned now. On top of that, Rils’s hand was injured.
Dambi handed over the large sack slung across her back.
Inside were the heads of goblins.
They were goblins the Goblin Lord had killed after occupying that dungeon.
Even if they were of the same race, killing those who defied the will of the Great One was the principle.
And he had cut off only their heads and packed them for Dambi.
The reason was that she had to complete the request.
“The request is complete.”
There were indeed many goblin heads.
“But the others are dead.”
At Dambi’s words, Catherine could only nod.
The mage beside Dambi, Rils, had a bandage wrapped around her hand, and blood had soaked through it darkly.
‘Seeing even that prickly Miss Rils staying quiet, it must have been no ordinary dungeon.’
There were dungeons that sometimes grew stronger as time passed. Variables would arise, such as the number of monsters increasing or the dungeon’s master becoming stronger.
This case was probably like that as well.
Normally, an investigation would have been the right course, but Catherine let it pass.
After all, that mage named Rils and the three adventurers who hadn’t returned had been on the same team.
These two had not been on good terms even that morning. And it didn’t make sense that the two of them had killed the other three for their shares.
As Catherine was thinking this, Dambi made another request.
“I’d like the reward from this to be given as the shares of the three who died.”
At Dambi’s words, Catherine set aside the last trace of doubt.
The adventurer named Dambi, as Catherine had seen her, possessed remarkable skill and character.
With an expression that said, “As expected,” Catherine nodded and answered.
“I see. I also offer my condolences. For now, it’s late, so if you come tomorrow, I’ll settle the payment then.”
Settlement would take quite a bit of time.
More than anything, judging from Rils’s condition, treatment seemed more urgent than payment.
Dambi gave a rough nod and was about to turn away.
“Ah, Miss Dambi! Just a moment…!”
Catherine stopped Dambi again as she was about to leave.
“A designated request has come in for you, Miss Dambi. Would you be interested?”
“A designated request?”
It meant someone wanted to entrust a request specifically to Dambi.
Such designated requests came in more often the higher an adventurer’s fame was, and since the rewards tended to be quite good, they were generally preferred.
Above all, they also made it easier to raise one’s adventurer rank.
“Yes. Perhaps because you handled the zombie so well, a designated request came in this time.”
“Ah.”
She had completed the request by capturing a zombie alive in an intact state.
They were probably trying to entrust her with the task once more.
But Dambi shook her head.
“No, I’ll take another request. I refuse that one.”
When it came down to it, that zombie from last time had also been the possession of the Great One.
But she had no intention of borrowing the Great One’s power to make a name for herself as an adventurer.
Dambi intended to serve Him entirely with her own strength.
“Yes! Understood. I’m sure you have your own thoughts, Miss Dambi. Then I’ll mark this request as refused.”
Catherine, too, smiled and respected Dambi’s choice.
She believed that Dambi would surely grow into a great adventurer before long.
Another day at the Adventurers’ Guild came to an end.
* * *
“Lord Malcolm. There is something you must see.”
A man in a black mask bowed at the waist as he reported.
Malcolm, who had a large red hooked nose, turned his head while smoking a cigarette.
“What is it this time? I told you to handle it yourself unless it’s zombie-related.”
Malcolm waved his hand as if he couldn’t be bothered.
Aside from the Supreme Council of the Pitch-Black Hand, everything was a nuisance to him.
In truth, even the council meetings were a nuisance, but regulations required him to attend, so he had no choice. In ordinary times, he left most matters to others.
But this time, that was not possible.
“However, you truly must see this.”
“Why? Did you find the adventurer I mentioned?”
Malcolm said as he rose.
Gathering information on the adventurer the Master had ordered them to look into during the meeting.
It was not just any adventurer, but one who had captured a zombie alive in an intact state, so Malcolm, too, was greatly interested.
“That is not it. However, someone has brought in a ghoul, not a zombie. The ghoul is also in prime condition.”
At the man’s words, Malcolm’s eyes widened.
“What? A g-ghoul? Is that true?”
“Yes, it is. For now, we have escorted them to the reception room and are keeping watch.”
“Good. Well done. Is it that adventurer again, by any chance?”
To think they had captured a ghoul alive, not a zombie.
Though a ghoul was only 2-star, capturing one alive in an intact state was another matter altogether.
He had heard they had only just become an adventurer, and yet they had already captured a ghoul alive?
‘Truly impressive.’
But what came from the man’s mouth was something completely different.
“It is not that adventurer. Their identity is unknown. However, they are holding a large notebook and communicate by writing. It seems they cannot speak.”
“I’ll go at once!”
It didn’t matter even if it wasn’t the adventurer who had brought in the zombie.
The story that Malcolm was seeking zombies had already spread far and wide. To begin with, Malcolm himself had spread that information outside.
And even if the other party couldn’t speak, it was no problem for Malcolm.
Whatever the case, if talented people who could be of help to him came to him, they were always welcome.
‘Perhaps my plan may be moved forward!’
With a delighted expression, Malcolm headed to the reception room.
And there, he could see them.
A being whose entire body was wrapped in a black robe.
They were a stranger presence than he had expected.
But that, too, posed no problem whatsoever.
“Hmm, I hear you brought in a ghoul…”
Malcolm looked the other party up and down.
They had even worn a white mask to hide their face, and their hands, too, were covered with gloves.
Since their whole body was concealed, he couldn’t even guess who they were.
‘They have an atmosphere similar to the Master.’
The color of the mask differed from that of the Master, who wore a black mask, but Malcolm felt a similar kinship from this person.
And the monster behind them was certainly a ghoul.
‘To think they would bring it in intact!’
Suddenly in a good mood, Malcolm grinned broadly and introduced himself.
“Heehee! My name is Malcolm.”
At Malcolm’s question, the unidentified other party also wrote something in the large notebook.
He had been informed that they could not speak, so he was not surprised.
—My name is Necros.
“Heeheehee. All right, Necros. I’d like to speak with you a little more.”
He didn’t know their identity, but their ability, at least, was remarkable.
At the point they had already brought in a ghoul, it was fair to say their skills had been verified.
Most of all, such a capable person was rare. And a being with an atmosphere that suited the Pitch-Black Hand so well was rarer still.
Malcolm calculated various things.
The other party’s skill was genuine.
What if he proposed that they work together?
If he joined hands with the other party, it felt as though things would go smoothly.
Even if they refused his proposal, there would be no need to worry about silencing them.
The dead told no tales, so if they refused, he intended to let them experience that personally.
As a member of the Pitch-Black Hand, Malcolm had more than enough power for that.
“I like money very much. As much as zombies, you see. Heeheehee. Are you perhaps very interested in money?”
Malcolm crossed his legs and put the cigarette to his lips.
When Necros nodded, Malcolm even clapped his hands in delight.
“As expected, you love money just as much as I do! Heehee!”
Malcolm stopped clapping and continued.
“Then listen to my proposal. Would you perhaps consider joining hands with me? We could achieve tremendous wealth together.”
It was a proposal that seemed sudden to anyone.
But Malcolm paid that no mind and pushed on.
He didn’t know why, but today, he had a feeling.
A strong feeling that he had to join hands with this person here and now.
Necros wrote in the notebook again.
—What is it?
“Khehehe, it was originally a secret, but I think I can tell you. You smell like the same kind as me.”
Malcolm chuckled for a moment, then opened his mouth.
“The truth is, collecting zombies isn’t just a simple hobby of mine. This is all connected to business.”
Business?
Necros tilted his head.
How could zombies have anything to do with business?
As if reading Necros’s question, Malcolm continued.
“Curious, aren’t you? Heeheehee. What I’m planning is a monster arena! An arena where monsters fight each other! What do you think? With your skills and me together, we can make an enormous amount of money! Well? Isn’t it a fine business idea? Heehee.”