The underground tomb of a millennium of frost.

Around the deeply sleeping giant, dwarves and fairies gathered.

As a fairy passed, sparkling dust seemed to linger in the air as if tracing their route.

“Lord Daron. You must wake up.”

“Juaing! Juaing!”

The Great King, who watches over the small beings, had a band of diminutive non-human creatures as part of the dungeon.

Despite the chattering voices of his subordinates, Daron didn’t blink once.

Kugugugu.

Finally, Daron opened his eyes wide and raised his upper body.

His movement sent ripples through the surrounding space.

Daron opened only his index finger and gently stroked the small beings.

Yet his thoughts wandered elsewhere.

‘The hierarchy has changed.’

The reason he woke up was not due to the voices of his subordinates.

The unchanging hierarchy of the Unchanging Palace had been upturned after a thousand years.

Not by human whim, but by the true order.

It wasn’t surprising that the shrine of faith had risen to the second rank.

Being a human standard, it was only natural for it to fluctuate according to perceived threats.

However, it was the first change in the actual hierarchy since the Unchanging Palace was born.

Daron had been pushed from the 4th to the 5th rank.

He accepted his shame without hesitation. What concerned him more was who currently held the 4th rank.

Elderich, Barugore, Roseha.

Daron whispered a name softly with his eyes closed.

“…Elderich.”

The only Unchanging Palace lord capable of rapidly growing power in a short time.

Moreover, his grand plan was still in progress.

Ever since Elderich proclaimed the destruction of humanity, it had been predicted that the rankings would one day be reversed.

But never did he expect it to be now.

Unexpectedly, Elderich had rapidly built up power and even gained formidable strength.

Yet, Daron had no intention of interfering whether Elderich destroyed humanity or caused any changes in the ranks.

Only one thing weighed heavily on his heart.

“May my allies always walk the path of virtue.”

He hoped they wouldn’t become blinded by greed and grow arrogant.

Nor should they turn fellow members of the Unchanging Palace into enemies.

***

The ruins of the anti-mage were more grave than a mere site; it was closer to a tomb.

Given that all the chambers were sepulchers, it was a dungeon that felt more like a true burial site than the grave of a great dragon.

The developers said they changed the words one by one to avoid repetitive terminology.

Indeed, if all ancient dungeons were called tombs, it would lack identity.

“It’s just a tomb.”

Cecilia stared at me blankly.

She didn’t ask why we were here or if we had come knowing something.

Both Charlotte and Cecilia were conformist by nature, which made things easier.

Having passed through the Forest of Spirits, we now stood before a large stone resembling a table.

Any Korean with a basic education would recognize where this table-like monolith drew its inspiration from.

The markers for the great dragon’s tomb borrowed from Alnasu, while the markers for the anti-mage’s ruins clearly took from dolmens.

With such stone markers in place, it felt more like a grave than a ruin, more like a sepulcher than a tomb.

“Ria. Dig a hole here.”

Between the two monoliths supporting the flat stone coffin, there was ample space left.

As I pointed, Cecilia blinked her innocent eyes.

That was all the reaction I got. She didn’t inquire further.

Boom!

After a brief explosion, the ground caved in like a massive dent.

Brushing aside the grass and roots with my toes, I uncovered stairs leading underground.

It wasn’t exceedingly dark; thanks to the glowing stones, the area beyond was illuminated in orange.

The Forest of Spirits was a treacherous area harder to access than the Myeolje.

However, once you punched through the forest, the ruins of the anti-mage were easily found.

“Let’s go inside.”

“Have we become grave robbers now?”

“That’s an odd way to phrase it.”

“…What?”

Saying it like that made me feel a bit guilty.

I hadn’t worried about the great dragon since it wasn’t human, but this was the grave of a person.

My moral compass was slightly prodded.

I quickly dismissed my distractions and led the way down.

The main bosses of this area were all high-level evil spirits, tricky opponents.

Though spirits couldn’t detect the undead, the higher-ranking spirits were aware of their existence.

Otherwise, the difficulty of facing the undead would be ludicrous.

Taking the lead, I descended the stairs.

The pathway stretched straight ahead, brightened by the glowing stones, offering no limit to the sight of the other two.

The theme of the anti-mage ruin mashed together actual ancient tombs.

Dolmens from the Bronze Age of Korea. Most of the monsters were mummies resembling those of pyramids.

[Lv. 71]

[Lv. 72]

[Lv. 74]

-Guhawwww….

I could make out a dozen strangely twisted corpses from a distance.

Just by looking, I estimated there were around twenty; if I had come alone, the fight would have been troublesome from the start.

That was why I had brought them along.

“Don’t kill them, just subdue them.”

At my command, Cecilia tilted her head.

Her expression seemed to ask why we couldn’t just kill them instead. Despite her high loyalty, she didn’t argue back.

‘I need to level up.’

I had to kill them myself to gain experience points.

While it didn’t need an explanation, I had a prepared excuse handy.

“They’re not just simple undead. Killing those with long-standing grudges may invoke curses.”

“Ah….”

“A curse that carries the anguish of the deceased causes torment for the living. So, just subdue them. I’ll sever their life force.”

“…What about the master?”

“I am one of the departed. Even if exposed to the curse, I’ll be fine.”

“I don’t want to pass it off on the master. I can kill them.”

“No. I say this for your sake.”

Cecilia stared at me blankly.

It was hard to meet her gaze, seeing the expression of someone clearly touched.

Even if leveling up was the goal, the curse of the dead wasn’t a lie.

Of course, such a curse wouldn’t affect Cecilia in the slightest.

Swoosh─!

As the mummy group slowly approached, a determined expression arose on Cecilia’s face like an offense.

Swish! Thud!

Each time the short slicing sound rang, one by one, the mummies fell.

Before I could even mentally count down, it was all over.

Who would have thought they would be handled easily? These mob enemies were defeated in three seconds flat.

The mummies, now without limbs, writhed pitifully on the ground like maggots.

‘Gross.’

Using the holy sword as a weapon, I severed their lifelines one by one.

I had hopes for a level-up given their high level and sheer number.

[Lv: 76]

In reality, after eliminating them all, my level did rise by one as I had expected.

Raising it further by 40 more would get me to level 80.

Thus, I would reach the point where I could use spell words of the Eight Realms.

Spell words truly displayed their extraordinary potential starting at level 80, so I aimed to push through to ensure I was ready for Calandas.

Wouldn’t it be better to just use a potion to raise my level temporarily?

If that were possible, I would have already stocked up on plenty of potions.

‘Since I’m undead, I can’t take potions.’

Realizing anew the limitations of being undead, I couldn’t even drink water.

The only way for me to level up was to exert effort at every turn.

‘…There is one way, though.’

Slyly, I fixed my eyes on the Moonlight Blade.

The only trick would be to borrow the Moonlight Blade and, thanks to Luna, raise my physical level.

First, I would raise my level to 80 on my own; if need be, I could ask Cecilia to lend me the Moonlight Blade afterward.

She would likely lend it without any hesitation.

“Let’s go.”

Without hesitation, we sped through the dungeon.

Before long, we encountered a significantly greater number of mummies.

Right before Charlotte launched a spell, I interrupted her with words.

“Just bind their legs. I’ll sever their life force.”

“…Are you worried about the curse?”

“Yes.”

“You really are kind, Lord.”

As soon as I said that, Charlotte flinched.

I was the one to wave my hands first, worried she might bow her head.

I knew very well that kindness would be a shame to the Unchanging Palace.

After that, our approach to the mummies divided into three steps.

Charlotte would bind the mummies’ legs using seals.

With the holy sword, I would sever their lifelines instantly.

Cecilia would suppress any remaining scraps using the same sword to rack up kills.

[LV. 78]

As a result, my current level (excluding the holy sword) had increased from initially 75 to now 78.

‘Free farming is so sweet.’

By now, even without a mana eater, I felt glad I came here.

Part of me regretted not having done this during the great dragon’s tomb.

Anyway, after a smooth path without much incident, we finally arrived before a rusted iron door.

The tomb of the dungeon’s gatekeeper lay asleep.

Noticing the unusual tension, both stood still, waiting for my command.

Charlotte looked like the nightmare of that golem had revived in her expression.

In some respects, this gatekeeper was a tougher opponent than the golem.

Newbies who didn’t know how to tackle it often failed a dozen times.

“Let’s go inside.”

This didn’t apply to me, of course.

Creak, squeak─

As the iron door opened, an unsettling noise echoed in my ears.

An ominous spirit seeped through the opened door.

The thick aura in the tomb made the previous forest’s spirit seem trivial.

Even as an undead, I felt a chill run down my spine from the sinister energy.

“Both of you stay behind me. You mustn’t move ahead.”

If even one of them wandered off, our plan would go to waste.

After seeing both nod their heads, I turned my gaze ahead.

The inner structure of the tomb was simple enough to be memorable.

In the center laid a sarcophagus draped in a gold-embroidered blue cloth, with nothing else around but a hollow chamber.

The valuables placed around the sarcophagus were breathtaking.

A variety of ornaments shimmering in multiple colors adorned the outer edge of the coffin.

Among them, a gold bracelet studded with jewels emitted an especially unique aura.

Even knowing the strategy, I couldn’t help but feel apprehensive.

Swallowing my fear, I cautiously took a step forward.

As I did, crimson letters appeared to flow down the far wall.

Get out

Not ink, but fresh red blood.

It had been scary in gaming graphics, but the real thing was beyond comparison.

A creeping energy climbed my spine, and my heart shrank in primal fear.

I discreetly glanced at the two behind me.

With these two, there was no reason to be scared, so I desperately swallowed my dread.

The moment I stepped forward again, the letters of blood filled the wall.

Get out get out get out get out get out get out get out get out get out get out

Get out get out get out get out get out get out get out get out get out get out

Get out get out get out get out get out get out get out get out get out get out

Get out AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

“….”

Without hesitation, I took a step forward.