The Dark Master of the Abandoned Auto-Hunting Game

Chapter 7

The undead that had been created a hundred years ago had all become formidable beings.

Rayzen felt a dryness in his mouth.

‘…The fact that they defeated a lord means the undead are incredibly strong.’

That’s a good thing. A really good thing!

It is good…

Of course, it is good.

But it also meant that there would be a price to pay.

While some lords stand alone, many possess power.

In particular, there are lords who directly collaborate with the empire.

One such lord has died.

Would the forces that made up the lord remain still?

‘They’ll hunt like rats.’

The undead that killed the lord would surely try to kill their master as well.

Rayzen let out a hollow laugh.

After a breath escaped his lips.

Rayzen opened his closed eyes.

His pupils glimmered with light.

‘So what? They can try not to die.’

If the undead defeated the lord, there must have been a reason for it.

Dungeon Replay is a time of survival of the fittest.

It’s the weak who are at fault.

‘In the end, they will all become my strength.’

They had proven their worth.

Rather, they deserved praise.

“Syria, where are the others? What are they up to?”

“The others?”

Syria blinked her eyes and then pressed her chin down firmly.

Then she glanced at Rayzen, as if gauging his reaction.

From her expression, it seemed she didn’t know.

“Didn’t one of them kill a lord earlier? Don’t you remember?”

Syria quickly turned on the charm.

“Ehehe, that was a story from ten years ago, you know.”

So it was already ten years ago that they were capable of killing a lord.

“I’m sorry. Everyone is so free-spirited. They don’t really care about each other.”

That was certainly evident when looking at Syria.

She also seemed to have little interest in the other undead.

“Of course, this is all thanks to Rayzen’s great generosity!”

“I haven’t really done anything special.”

“No, it’s because of you that we can live freely!”

Sorry, but I just left you all alone.

Still, I appreciated her positive view.

A positive attitude is always nice to see.

“Syria, do you think the others will listen to me like you do?”

Syria’s loyalty was absolute.

Though they had only met for a few minutes.

Rayzen felt Syria’s loyalty firmly.

“Of course! If Rayzen gives an order, everyone will be very happy!”

“Still, someone might think I just left them alone, right?”

Syria blinked her eyes.

Then she crossed her arms and fell deep into thought.

From her reaction, it seemed someone was coming to mind.

“Eh, no way!”

A delayed response came back.

She seemed anxious.

‘It was lucky that I met Syria first.’

Syria was exceptionally beautiful, enough for Rayzen to take special care of her.

That influence remained to this day.

It is said that a person’s experiences in infancy stay with them into adulthood.

The same goes for the undead.

‘Above all, they’ve lived freely for a hundred years.’

This is reality.

No matter how much of a subordinate relationship there is.

It’s impossible to know what thoughts they harbor.

Still, they wouldn’t directly point a blade at their master.

‘However, I can’t say I know the situations surrounding the undead.’

Even if the undead do not harbor hostility.

The situations involving the undead could threaten Rayzen.

‘I’m still not at a level where I can protect myself by my own strength.’

Until I acquire undeniable strength.

For the time being, it might be best to act as if I don’t know those undead.

“It’s okay. If they don’t listen, I’ll make them listen!”

Syria struck a cute muscle pose with her thin arms.

It felt like looking at a daughter.

‘If I say daughter, it’s not wrong.’

After all, Rayzen had brought her into existence.

“Yeah, that’s reliable.”

Rayzen patted Syria’s head.

She seemed to enjoy Rayzen’s touch, smiling brightly.

If she had a tail, it would have been wagging vigorously behind her.

He had a cute daughter now.

“And there’s no need for that. They’ve all lived freely for a while, so I don’t particularly plan to oppress them again.”

Upon hearing Rayzen’s words, Syria’s eyes widened.

Then they sparkled with excitement.

“Indeed, Rayzen, you are so merciful.”

In reality, it was far from mercy.

Rayzen decided to let it slide.

“Are you going back to the lord’s dungeon now, Rayzen?”

Rayzen had only been running through the lord’s dungeon for a hundred years.

Syria would likely remember him that way.

But Rayzen shook his head.

“No, I’m going to ascend.”

“Y-yes?”

Syria’s eyes widened dramatically at Rayzen’s words.

“Rayzen, are you serious?”

Syria grabbed the collar of Rayzen’s clothes.

Urgency was evident in her eyes.

Her reaction was strange.

“Uh, yeah, I really am.”

Upon hearing Rayzen’s answer, Syria wore a blank expression.

Tears soon welled up in her eyes.

Seeing that, Rayzen was taken aback.

No matter how he thought about it, there was no reason to cry.

“Syria?”

Rayzen hurriedly called out to her.

Syria, who was usually so expressive, suddenly crying was unexpected.

Then Syria wiped her tears with her long sleeves.

“100 years, it’s been a long time. The sacrifices you made for us, Rayzen…”

What nonsense is this?

Rayzen racked his brain to understand Syria’s words.

But no answer came.

“…Syria, you say I sacrificed?”

“You don’t have to pretend you don’t know. We all know you’ve been deliberately holding back your ascension for us.”

At that moment, something clicked for Rayzen.

‘Now that I think about it.’

Skill Auto-Growth Undead Manufacturing.

Rayzen had seen a post about this before.

[Interesting Points About Auto-Growth Undead Manufacturing.]

The content of the post was as follows.

‘Unlike players, auto-growth undead have a corruption level.’

There are two ways for auto-growth undead to gain experience.

When a player hunts a fantasy creature.

They gain experience equal to the amount the player earns.

Experience gained by the undead hunting directly.

‘The problem is that auto-growth undead gain less experience than players.’

Even if the undead hunt the same fantasy creatures as players, they only gain 1/10 of the experience.

This applies not only to the hunting experience of players.

But also when the undead hunt fantasy creatures directly.

‘In other words, undead have a constant experience penalty.’

However, there is a correction that comes into play.

This occurs when the undead are at a higher level than the player.

The experience gained by a low-level player.

This is extremely minimal for high-level undead.

Let alone the 1/10 penalty that exists.

The experience gained by the player becomes virtually meaningless for the undead.

‘Thus, a correction comes into play here.’

The original experience penalty of 1/10 is reduced.

To give a simple example.

Player ascension level 4.

Undead corruption level 9.

A correction of 5 levels is applied.

The penalty changes from 1/10 to 1/5.

However, the developers made one mistake here.

That is, this correction was also applied when the undead hunted themselves.

‘Originally, it should only apply to the experience shared between players and undead.’

Somewhere along the line, it was incorrectly applied.

The experience gained by the undead through their own hunting also had its penalty reduced.

‘High-Level Undead would naturally hunt fantasy creatures appropriate for their level.’

Originally, undead had a low experience gain due to the 1/10 penalty.

However, when a correction due to level difference occurs.

The undead can grow at a rate comparable to players.

This is quite an old bug.

However, the developers did not issue a follow-up patch.

‘Such things don’t happen often.’

Undead generally gain less experience than players.

Thus, players usually level up much faster.

While it is possible to intentionally avoid leveling up and endure.

It would be better for the player to grow rapidly and take the undead to high-level dungeons.

Thus, that bug was merely a note that such a bug existed.

But now.

That bug had fully manifested.

‘And for a full 100 years.’

Rayzen finally realized why the undead had transformed into monsters.

Moreover, he understood why Syria had such a misunderstanding.

‘In Syria’s eyes, I appear to be someone who sacrificed my ascension for the undead.’

For a full 100 years, no less.

“No matter how many times I say it’s enough, Rayzen hasn’t ascended. I’m truly moved.”

Syria, overwhelmed with emotion, wiped the tears that had gathered in her eyes.

Rayzen, looking at Syria, stopped thinking.

The misunderstanding was deep.

It seemed that no matter how much he explained, it wouldn’t clear up the misunderstanding.

The undead must have interpreted Rayzen’s automatic hunting in their own way.

If he were to honestly say he just left them alone, he might face some backlash.

‘What’s done is done.’

What has happened cannot be changed.

Rayzen accepted it humbly.

Rayzen displayed a confident smile.

“Yeah, I’m thinking of ascending now too.”

Good things are good.

“Syria, can you help me with my ascension?”

She is the Vampire Queen.

If she helps, the range of options would widen significantly.

“Yes, of course!”

Syria clenched her fists tightly, showing her determination.

“Wow, that’s reassuring.”

“Hehe, who do you think I am, an undead!”

He had gained a reliable ally.

‘Now all that’s left is.’

To check how much ascension experience had accumulated over the past 100 years.

Rayzen opened the storage door.

Syria had already slipped into Rayzen’s shadow and disappeared.

How fascinating.

[I’ll come out when you call me, Rayzen!]

The Nippleheim Empire is chasing after necromancers.

If she were to walk around with Syria, she would surely be caught as a necromancer.

Rayzen felt grateful for her understanding.

Now he understood what it meant to not envy having ten sons when you have a well-raised daughter.

As Rayzen stepped outside, the interior scenery of the workshop came into view.

It had led directly to the workshop without a corridor.

What a well-made magic.

“Oh, Rayzen, you’ve arrived. I’ll renew your explorer’s certificate, so please come this way.”

Rayzen quickly approached the clerk who had spoken earlier.

She then presented a crystal orb to Rayzen.

“Please place your explorer’s certificate below and put your hand on top.”

Rayzen placed the explorer’s certificate into the hole beneath the crystal orb.

Then, following the clerk’s instructions, he placed his hand on top of the orb.

The orb glowed several times in quick succession.

How long did he wait?

Creak—

Rayzen’s explorer’s certificate emerged from the orb.

“Renewal complete.”

Rayzen quickly took out the explorer’s certificate.

Then he hurriedly checked the ascension experience.

And Rayzen froze in place.

“Rayzen?”

The clerk looked at the frozen Rayzen with a puzzled expression.

But Rayzen couldn’t snap out of it.

,

Ascension Experience Accumulated: MAX%

(!18 Ascensions Possible!)

“…18 ascensions.”

Rayzen muttered blankly.

Rayzen’s current ascension level was 6.

And with the experience accumulated now, he could ascend to level 18. In other words…

He had accumulated more than double the experience needed for ascension compared to what he had experienced so far.

Even Rayzen, who lived positively, began to feel a creeping fear.

It was too much to give away.