episode_0127

“Hmm, I wonder what to do with this… … .”

After Cesar and Levs left, I couldn’t help but worry over and over again because of the words Levs left behind. After seeing the departing carriage off, I continued to worry as I returned to the mansion.

Since I heard that the noble faction might be paying a lot of attention to me, it was strange that I didn’t worry about it. As much as that interest is never good.

In order to protect myself and my women, Jienna and Amy, as well as my territory and residents, and even my business, I had to pay a little more attention.

Although we already had some means in place, I felt like we needed to prepare more because of what Levs said.

“Of course, the easiest way is to scatter skeletons throughout the territory.”

And, the most convenient way was to use the undead, which was my specialty. By spreading the skeletons throughout the territory, a very quick response was possible even if an emergency situation occurred.

To put it a little exaggeratedly, if you placed one skeleton every meter, it would not have been impossible to decapitate the assassin the moment he appeared.

“Tsk… … . It’s a pity that I can’t do the easiest way.”

But I couldn’t choose that method. This is because, since I was already operating a large number of undead, it felt like I was slowly reaching my limit.

The number of skeletons I was operating right now was over a thousand. In mines, in blast furnaces, in smithies, in and around cities. Skeletons were being operated in all kinds of places, so there were over a thousand skeletons in operation.

There were over a thousand people moving without stopping. If you count the skeletons that I take out and use additionally as needed, and make them smaller and store them when they are no longer needed, there are about 1,500 of them under my control.

“There are many places where skeletons are needed, and the number that I can directly operate right now is limited… … . It’s a pain in the ass.”

As there was a regular service contract with Count Art, several more skeletons were needed for transportation. Moreover, since three mines were available for mining, a greater number of skeletons were needed.

However, unfortunately, it was not possible to freely create and operate all the necessary skeletons. It was not that there was a lack of monster corpses or dark magic. It was possible to solve both of those problems with the enormous amount of capital I had at hand right now.

The problem now was that the connecting passage between me and the undead was half saturated.

Basically, when undead, including skeletons, are created, they have a kind of string-like connection with the warlock who created them. Through that connection, it was possible to send dark magic and control it by sending will.

Of course, the connection was not visible. This is because they are connected through a kind of subspace or another dimension. Therefore, it was impossible for others to feel the connection, and it was not affected by the exchange of dark magic.

Also, since it was through another dimension, it was possible to escape spatial constraints to some extent. Although it was impossible for me to understand the detailed situation of the regular skeletons in the mine or blast furnace, it was possible to exchange short messages through a more strongly connected skeleton mage, although it was not easy.

In any case, the place where such connections gathered was the connecting passage. And, it was this connecting passage that was the problem now.

The size of the passage varies depending on the warlock’s capabilities, but my passage was very large, just like my talent that my grandmother said was outstanding. But that didn’t mean it could handle thousands of undead at once.

Although I was growing it through training, it was not enough to operate all the skeletons I needed now. No, I could have done more, but I couldn’t because if I did that, big trouble would come up. The death energy of the undead, the dead people, comes through the passage and drives people crazy.

Even though I was talented in black magic and could easily accept the energy of death, there were limits. If I used the undead to the point where the connecting passage was saturated, I could go crazy.

“Gun… … . What should I really do?”

We needed skeletons, but we couldn’t make enough skeletons, so it was very difficult.

I wish I could create hundreds of thousands of skeletons so that no one would dare target me, but right now it’s just too far away.

“Insufficient cleaning… … . do it properly… … .”

However, as I entered the mansion with many thoughts in my head, what I saw was a Skeleton Mage beating up a skeleton. To be exact, the butler skeleton of my mansion.

Perhaps one part of the broom was not swept properly and other dust had collected, and the butler skeleton was hitting the skeleton in charge of cleaning.

The cleaning skeleton moved its jawbone as it clicked and cleared away the dust in a huff. Holding a broom made of horsehair, I quickly cleaned with a dustpan made by folding an iron plate.

“Satisfied… … .”

The butler skeleton was satisfied with the sight, and immediately moved to another location. The guy checked something and started taking care of the skeleton that was doing the laundry. Which part is insufficient and how should I dry it?

Of course, that appearance was what I ordered in the first place. This is because once a regular skeleton is ordered, it will do it until the end, so an entity was needed to manage it. A process of periodically assigning tasks to an intelligent entity like a skeleton mage was essential.

“Oh… … ?”

And, after looking at the butler skeleton like that, I thought of a solution.

The idea was that, like the Skeleton Mage who manages regular skeletons, it would be possible to create a skeleton that could replace the passage connecting the skeletons. I wasn’t sure it would be possible, but I still felt like it could be done if I did it right.

In the first place, there were undead who could have a connection passage on my behalf. Among the undead, in the case of entities such as lichs, it was possible to create undead on one’s own, so it would definitely not be impossible.

What I wanted was not an entity that could cause undead, but an entity that could simply replace the connecting passage. In some ways, it was no different from creating a subcontract to replace a connecting passage.

Simply put, the goal was to become an octopus with three legs, not an octopus with thousands of legs.

“An octopus with octopuses on its legs… … . That’s a bit gross.”

Although I thought it was pointless for a moment, I immediately started researching. It was nothing else, it was to protect myself, my surroundings, and my things, so there was no time to hesitate.

The start was to check again the book my grandmother left behind. When my grandmother passed away, she told me to use her body to make my own lychee, so there was also information written about how to make lychee.

Of course, the method was not that simple. Since they were not ordinary undead, they required a lot of materials and had to go through a cumbersome and dangerous process. In particular, it was to the extent that even life force had to be used as a kind of sacrifice.

However, as I did not need a complete reach, I conducted research thinking that it might not be that difficult.

Because they had amassed an enormous amount of wealth through a large number of orders, if we look at just the ingredients alone, there was an abundance of them. In addition, dozens of shamans and warriors used for special purposes had been secured. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the corpse of a large monster because I couldn’t get it just because I had money.

“What is the difference between a lich and a skeleton mage? First of all, the biggest difference in making it is the use of vitality… … .”

“Of course, simply adding vitality doesn’t work. Still, there are some differences from the existing skeleton mage.”

“It is possible to replace the connecting passageway… … . Maintaining it is the key. If you move the connecting passage, well, it will be destroyed almost instantly and you won’t be able to use it.”

In order to create an undead that could handle part of the connecting passage in my place, I devoted myself to research in the mansion’s studio for about ten days, eating and sleeping less time. Jienna and Amy were worried that they were overdoing it, but it was something that could not be helped.

Through all kinds of trial and error, little by little progress was made, so I couldn’t stop. Although this research was simply done out of necessity, surprisingly, the research itself was more enjoyable than I expected.

Anyway, after about 10 days of research, I was able to find a method. Although there are some shortcomings, I was able to create undead that could replace the connection path with the undead for me as I wanted.

If I had to give it a name, I thought it could be called a repeater skeleton. First of all, since it was created based on a lich, its appearance itself was similar to a skeleton, and all it could do was act as a connecting passage between me and the undead.

“… … president. what is this? Did you have to stay out of the studio to make this?”

“Is this undead? It looks more like a decoration than an undead.”

And, looking at the repeater skeleton, the two women tilted their heads as if it was a little strange.

This is because the repeater skeleton I created was different from an ordinary skeleton. There was a huge difference in their appearance, so it couldn’t help but feel strange to the two women who were used to skeletons.

Even though it is a skeleton, it is possible to move around normally with all limbs, whereas a repeater skeleton has a different appearance. This is because the bones of the entire body, including the limbs, were spread out around the skull like ornaments. Moreover, there was no burning naturalization in the eye sockets, which is one of the characteristics of the skeleton, so it was natural that it looked even more strange.

“Undead are undead. However, it is not something that can be judged or moved arbitrarily. I made it for the purpose of being in charge of connecting with the undead on my behalf. what… … . In some ways, the loss of spirit is a side effect of the production process.”

The repeater skeleton that was created was in fact devoid of any spirit. This was a case where a huge amount of life force was put into it, as in creating a lich, but the spirit was actually destroyed due to that life force.

However, even if he was out of his mind, he was able to take charge of the connecting passage on my behalf, so I made him take on the form of an ornament.

“It’s a very important skeleton, so try not to touch it if possible. If this is destroyed… … .”

“If it is destroyed, will it be a big problem?”

“Oh, that’s not it. It’s just that I suddenly feel burdened.”

In fact, the destruction of the repeater skeleton did not immediately cause any major problems. The connection that was cut off for a moment would be connected directly to me, the original owner. However, if the connection path becomes saturated in the process, there is a possibility that problems may arise for me.

Moreover, as part of the ‘pension money’ received from the crown prince was used to create this repeater skeleton, the production cost was not that high. So much so that it would be quite a burden if I had to make it again.

After explaining these things briefly, Jiena and Amy looked at the repeater skeleton as if they were looking at a treasure.

“Shouldn’t we bury this in the ground and prevent anyone from accessing it?”

“That’s right. president. No one can touch it!”

The two women, who seemed more passionate than me, dug up the ground in the center of the mansion’s garden before I could say anything, and buried the repeater skeleton there. He then called the butler skeleton and had skeletons patrol the area around him at all times.

“Okay, well… … .”

Even though it was buried in the ground, there was no functional problem, so I just watched as Giena and Amy, who had buried the repeater skeleton, gave a high five as if they were satisfied.