Skol, the orc warrior who led the dungeon “Red-Haired Tribe.”
As befitted a chieftain who led a tribe, he had a head on his shoulders.
That was why he had even hosted banquets as a channel of communication for sharing information with the masters of nearby dungeons.
But this banquet was strange.
“Chwik?”
It was a being he had never seen before.
She boasted an astonishing appearance.
And that was not all.
To begin with, the aura pouring out of her was no joke.
Had there ever been such a being among those who had attended the banquets until now?
No matter how much he thought about it, absolutely not.
“Uh….”
At that very instant, Skol dropped to his knees before her and expressed his intention to surrender.
Though he was a chieftain who led a dungeon and a warrior, and had even knelt to surrender, there was no shame or humiliation.
Such things could only arise in the first place when the opponent was on the same level as oneself, but the woman before him now was an overwhelmingly superior existence.
A being on an entirely different dimension from him.
The world was originally ruled by the law of the jungle.
That was why Skol chose surrender, and at times, such swift decisions brought good results.
And the result of his choice?
“I am Skol, the chieftain who will rule you. Chwik.”
A great success.
First, the number of subordinates under him had increased tremendously.
With even the orcs from other dungeons joining under his command, their number was by no means small.
If there was one regrettable point, it was that he had even received goblins as subordinates.
‘To think I must live in the same dungeon as an inferior race….’
It was not that he had no complaints, but he was not foolish enough to voice them aloud.
This was the will of the new ruler.
To act against the will of such a ruler was no different from rebellion.
That was why Skol accepted them under his command as well.
If there was something fortunate, it was that the dungeon’s size had become far larger than before.
At the very least, it was large enough for the orcs and goblins to have separate living spaces.
In truth, the fact that the dungeon had grown larger came as a fresh shock to Skol.
‘An ability to change the size of a dungeon at will. Chwik.’
He had never heard of or seen such an ability.
If one had such an ability, there would be no need to expend money, labor, and time to painstakingly expand a dungeon.
‘She is an even more incredible being than I thought.’
And was that all?
From what he had heard, Lady Celia, the one to whom he had declared his surrender, was merely an existence who served the Master.
Then just how extraordinary was the ruler called Master?
As he was now, he could not even fathom it.
At the same time, as a warrior, he felt anticipation.
Skol, who had been lost in thought for quite some time, came to his senses and resolved to do his best at the task now given to him.
Because the new ruler had actually bestowed a position upon him.
Margrave.
He did not know the exact meaning.
But from what he had heard, it was said to be an honorable warrior who, as a vanguard, protected the safety of the dungeon and at times fought against enemies.
He liked it.
Because it was no different from the ruler acknowledging him as a warrior.
Of course, it did not end with merely granting him a position.
Skeletons appeared from somewhere and issued equipment to them.
Even the quality of all the equipment was quite good.
“Clack-clack-clack.” (This is the Master’s mercy.)
The lich leading the skeletons said.
“Clack-clack.” (Do well, and better equipment.)
They were goods bestowed by the new ruler.
And if they performed well, there would be new rewards.
Skol thought.
The ruler had not simply given him equipment.
For any warrior, a weapon befitting a warrior was life itself.
A warrior gained the glory of being able to charge toward the enemy without any worries, and that would be the completion of his honor as a warrior.
And yet, had the ruler not bestowed equipment upon him?
On top of that, he had even received confirmation that if he produced results, it would be exchanged for better equipment.
The new ruler was by no means someone who ruled by strength alone.
That person was one who knew the virtues of a warrior.
One who understood honor and glory as a warrior.
“Khk. Chwik.”
Skol sniffled, moved to tears.
A ruler who could draw even a warrior’s tears….
This was someone he had to follow unconditionally.
Beyond an eternal oath, Skol resolved to bring the hammer down upon anyone who harmed the ruler.
Thus, while Skol was emotionally establishing the dungeon’s ruling system—
“Chieftain! Intruders have appeared. Chwik.”
A subordinate who had belonged to the original “Red-Haired Tribe” came running while shouting.
The timing was perfect.
He had wanted to produce results as repayment for the ruler’s favor anyway.
Skol rose from his seat.
Then he raised the hand holding his weapon high.
“Everyone, listen!”
Everyone looked at Skol.
“Having been bestowed the title of Margrave by the ruler, meaning a brave warrior, chwik. As the chieftain who leads the Red-Haired Tribe, chwik. I shall never forgive that treacherous bunch who dared to invade the ruler’s territory, chwik! Follow me! Chwik!”
The time has come to show the strength of I, Skol!
“Uwooooooooh!”
All the orcs cheered and roared.
At this moment, it did not matter who had come from which dungeon.
The blood of warriors boiled in all of them.
Even the goblins, swept up in the atmosphere, shouted and cheered.
Everyone took up their weapons and began to leave the dungeon, following Skol.
They would make the fools who dared invade this place regret it.
* * *
Armed men entered the foot of the mountain range.
“Captain, do we really have to go into a dungeon ourselves? We’re not adventurers, and we’ve only experienced battlefields.”
Their identity was mercenaries.
And one of the mercenaries spoke to the man at the front.
At that, the man in front stopped walking and turned around.
“A battlefield and a dungeon subjugation are the same. You risk your life every moment.”
The captain who led the mercenary band “Red Fang.”
Beren Bloodworth spoke bluntly to his men.
A dungeon subjugation was no different from a battlefield.
“Don’t worry. If adventurers can do it, why wouldn’t we be able to?”
Fundamentally, mercenaries and adventurers did different work.
From the beginning, it was as though they stood in different positions.
Unlike adventurers, who accepted dungeon subjugations and various missions, mercenaries roamed only battlefields.
They valued material rewards over honor, and accordingly, they went to and from dangerous battlefields.
At this, Captain Beren thought.
Rather than adventurers who did odd jobs, mercenaries who staked their lives and roamed battlefields were far greater.
That was why there was no way he could not do a dungeon subjugation that adventurers could do.
Furthermore, these days were a time when wars between nations were scarce.
Occasionally, small-scale territorial wars broke out within the empire or kingdoms, but those alone did not make money.
That was why Beren had decided to make money by subjugating dungeons like adventurers.
Monster corpses were worth money, and there had occasionally been those who obtained gold, silver, and treasure while subjugating dungeons, so Beren had come to this mountain range.
“And they said there’s only one dungeon near here that we need to be careful of.”
To be precise, he had a connection in the Adventurers’ Guild of the Seil Kingdom.
According to him, they only needed to be careful of the dungeon that had recently been raised to silver rank.
He said the rest of the dungeons were all small fry.
Of course, a few gold coins had been spent in the process, but he had obtained important information as well.
‘Because of the matter with the Order, the Adventurers’ Guild cannot pay attention to us.’
All they had to do was quickly loot some dungeons and get out.
“Everyone, check your equipment!”
Beren shouted toward the mercenary members.
From now on, it was no different from a battlefield.
All they had to do was finish their preparations and head up.
* * *
‘Strange.’
How long had they climbed?
Beren Bloodworth, who led the “Red Fang” mercenary band, felt that something was strange.
‘There isn’t a single dungeon.’
He had secretly spent gold coins at the Adventurers’ Guild to obtain a map marked with dungeon locations.
But at the places marked on the map, there were no dungeons at all.
‘That guild bastard.’
Not a single thing matched.
Even now, they had already checked more than ten dungeons marked on the map, but none of them actually existed.
It was a complete waste.
And it was not as if that many dungeons could have been subjugated in such a short time.
Even if they had been subjugated, there should have been several groups of adventurers, but they had not encountered any group at all so far.
Beren could only think that he had been deceived by the guild member.
‘Son of a bitch.’
He took my gold and stabbed me in the back like this?
Beren immediately decided to descend from this place and head to the Adventurers’ Guild.
Shouldn’t he receive payment for being deceived?
To show retaliation far beyond what was done to them against a bastard who stabbed them in the back.
That was the principle mercenaries believed in.
Just as he was persuading his men and preparing to descend the mountain range—
Rattle—
Rattle—
A strange sound came from somewhere.
It was like the sound of something clashing together.
“Everyone, stop.”
Beren raised his hand, lowering his voice.
Rattle—
In the silence, the sound grew louder.
“C-Captain!”
Someone shouted in fright.
When he looked in the direction one man was pointing, there—
Rattle—
Rattle— rattle—
An overwhelming number of skeletons were surrounding them.
“Everyone, prepare for battle!”
If there was one fortunate thing, it was that they were only skeletons.
Skeletons were known as monsters that even novice adventurers could face.
That was why Beren did not even imagine he would lose.
At Captain Beren’s words, someone shouted and charged toward a skeleton.
However, the result was—
Boom—
The skeleton exploded, and the mercenary who had charged at it lost his life.
“…….”
Once again, silence fell.
A skeleton exploding?
As ignorant men who knew nothing about adventurers and dungeons, they could not understand the current situation.
The only thing they could tell was that they must not go near those skeletons.
The mercenaries pressed closer toward the center, fearing that they might be caught in an explosion as well.
“…….”
Beren looked around with a heavy heart.
There was already no space to escape.
The skeletons had surrounded them in a formation that enclosed them.
‘What is this?’
No matter how he looked at it, they did not seem to have any intention of moving.
It was at least a blessing among misfortunes.
Just as he thought that—
“Chwik!”
Another sound came from somewhere.
“Sir Lich! You are truly a warrior! To yield the prey to us like this! Chwik!”
Orcs began to appear in Beren’s sight.
“What the…!”
Orcs and skeletons.
It was a completely incomprehensible combination.
The skeletons even maintained their encirclement while making way so the orcs could enter inside.
“Chwik! I shall show the ruler my strength!”
The orc chieftain and warrior who had been bestowed the rank of Margrave, Skol.
Skol shouted with his weapon stretched high toward the sky.
Watching Skol, the lich nodded.
Then he took out a sheet of paper and a quill.
A skeleton beside him lifted a bottle filled with ink.
They were tools for recording.
The lich remembered.
The words that Lady Celia, the general administrator who managed the dungeon on behalf of the Master, handled diplomacy, and established regulations to maintain discipline, had emphasized.
“Go around the dungeon and record evaluations of everyone without missing a single one. I will use them as reference for future personnel assessments, Mr. Lich.”
The lich was striving to follow Celia’s orders.
That was the duty of Inspector Lich.