Chapter 306
After settling the finer details of the plan, Konrad returned to the Luxresia Continent with Sebastian to lay the groundwork. Since the armed merchant ship belonged to Konrad, only he and his clan members went back.
In other words, Ann's Azure Scale Pirates are still here. However, they have all pitched tents along the coast and are living there. It wouldn't be any trouble if they stayed in the capital, but apparently they want to investigate the seas around the Tinbrika Continent before they leave. It's a very sea-folk way of thinking.
Someday, they'll probably have an island or cove of their own to use as a base, so this may be part of their preliminary research. Whether that place ends up somewhere else rather than on this continent, I want us to maintain our good relationship.
Konrad seems intent on weaving his conspiracy as soon as he returns to his trading company, but those of us who remained on the Tinbrika Continent are frankly bored until his conspiracy takes shape. This time, Konrad is the mastermind and we're the ones carrying it out. The ones carrying out a plan are busiest on the day it is executed, not beforehand.
Speaking of the ones carrying it out, the members of my clan are all fired up about this plan. Stealing pirate treasure and outwitting other players sounded like an entertaining adventure to them. Heh heh heh. No matter how old you get, the thrill of playing pranks is apparently sweet.
Although we decided to go along with Konrad's conspiracy, we have no intention of sitting around until he sends us a call to arms. We have our own matters to attend to, so there's plenty for us to do.
The first thing, of course, is evolution and job change. Every member of the clan reached level 80 in that battle. Even Cal, who needs an enormous amount of experience to level up, had accumulated enough to gain several levels. That should give you a good idea of how fierce and grueling that battle was.
Jigorou finished his evolution right away and is testing out his body, enhanced by evolution, but I still haven't evolved because I had many things to take care of, such as paying my respects to those who died in battle and distributing the rewards we happened to obtain. I'll do it after this.
The second thing is rebuilding the capital. Most of the buildings are in terrible shape, and they're nothing more than flimsy facades that were hastily assembled. The walls known as the Black Wall are sturdy, but Iris insisted that they should be repaired. I've been with her since the beginning, so I know that I should listen when she strongly asserts an opinion. Thus, we've decided to improve our base for now.
Fortunately, the four Races—the Scars, Centaurs, Dark Elves, and Metallicas—have promised to cooperate with this large-scale construction project. The Scars will carve the buildings to improve their appearance while making them sturdier, the Centaurs will transport stone from the riverbank, the Dark Elves will provide lumber, and the Metallicas will help with construction using heavy machinery.
In exchange, the Scars and Centaurs requested the right to live inside the walls, the Dark Elves requested the right to plant trees around the capital and then live there, and the Metallicas requested the right to come and go freely. At first, I wondered if that was all they wanted, but each of the four Races had their own reasons.
The Scars and Centaurs didn't want to leave the safe capital. The Scars had been driven from their settlement by Gokuju, but this capital was safer than the settlement where they had lived before. As for the Centaurs, they had finally obtained the homes they had long dreamed of and learned how comfortable it was to live in them. They probably couldn't return to their old-fashioned life of sleeping outdoors now.
The Dark Elves live in the forest, but apparently their hidden village has become cramped because they prospered in a safe environment. They could expand the village as they had before, but they're a curious people. After learning about us, who had come from outside the forest, some of them apparently suggested that they should build a new village outside it.
However, they are a people of the forest. Creating one temporarily with magic would be one thing, but making a forest from scratch by planting trees would take time and be dangerous. Thus, they chose to ask us, since we seemed likely to let them build one.
The Metallicas, who built a road directly to their city, want to make increasing use of it. Until we arrived, everything had been self-contained in Mepe City, but our arrival affected many different fields. As a result, their single-minded tendency to pursue anything that caught their interest has turned outward.
For their respective reasons, the four Races chose to continue their relationship with us and coexist for mutual prosperity. Helping with the capital's reconstruction can be called the first step toward that goal.
"There are many things we need to do, but for now, let's focus on evolution and job change."
I still can't stop myself from getting excited about evolution and job change, no matter how many times I've done it! Even now that I'm level 80, that hasn't changed, so I'm sure it never will.
No, this is no time to get carried away. The capital's reconstruction is progressing outside even now. I should help, however small my contribution may be, and we need to finish it as quickly as possible.
"All right, as usual, I'll start with evolution."
From the chair in my room, I examined the list of Races available for evolution with practiced ease. There were two choices.
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Chaos Abyss Dragonbone Undead Evil Lord
A new type of Undead Lord and a new Evil Lord that can use all Abyss-type magic, has parts of a dragon in its body, and has had various additional parts added through 【Alchemy】. It can even lead Races other than the Undead.
It is expected to possess strength incomparable to that of an ordinary Undead Lord, but its exact combat power cannot be measured because it is a new species.
As an Evil Lord, it is still immature.
Chaos Abyss Dragonbone Undead Kaiser
A new type of Undead Kaiser that can use all Abyss-type magic, has parts of a dragon in its body, and has had various additional parts added through 【Alchemy】, ruling multiple Races and the lands they inhabit.
It is expected to possess strength incomparable to that of an ordinary Undead Kaiser, but its exact combat power cannot be measured because it is a new species.
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The choice was between Undead Evil Lord and Undead Kaiser. Both names were overblown, their descriptions were barely different, and even the conditions for evolving into either were difficult to distinguish. Was that meant to prevent people from easily mass-producing Evil Lords?
In any case, choosing between them was difficult. I couldn't tell which one was better. Personally, I think an emperor ranks a level above a king. But Evil Lord has a better ring to it... All right, I've decided!
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You have selected Chaos Abyss Dragonbone Undead Evil Lord.
You will evolve into Chaos Abyss Dragonbone Undead Evil Lord.
Your 【Undead Wisdom】 level has increased through evolution.
Your 【Abyss Dweller】 level has increased through evolution.
Your 【Abyss Aura】 level has increased through evolution.
You have acquired the 【Floating Skull】 Skill through evolution.
You have acquired the 【Ruler of Evil】 Skill through evolution.
You have acquired the 【Grand Command of the Undead Evil Lord】 Skill through evolution.
【Upper Undead Domination】 has evolved into 【Supreme Undead Domination】 through evolution.
Your Penglai Staff, Skull Mask, and Moon's Feather Robe have each grown by one stage as a result of evolution.
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Yes, I went with Evil Lord. It wasn't merely because the name sounded better. The Kaiser evolution condition says, 'Rule multiple Races and the lands they inhabit.'
This almost certainly refers to the Dark Elves' village and the Metallicas' Mepe City. I don't intend to have them under my rule, but apparently the system judged it that way.
I'll set aside the system's judgment for now. Assuming that ruling over them is the condition for becoming a Kaiser, whether I bring them under my banner peacefully or conquer them by force, wouldn't it be risky to become a Race whose condition is having others under my control when I don't even realize I'm doing it? That's why I didn't choose Undead Kaiser.
"The Skills I gained are 【Ruler of Evil】 and 【Grand Command of the Undead Evil Lord】. Their effects look... pretty good, don't they?"
As the newly evolved Chaos Abyss Dragonbone Undead Evil Lord, I gained two new Skills: 【Ruler of Evil】 and 【Grand Command of the Undead Evil Lord】. Their effects are as follows.
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【Ruler of Evil】
Your stats are enhanced in proportion to the number of individuals under your command and the variety of their Races and Jobs.
【Grand Command of the Undead Evil Lord】
Can only be activated when commanding more than one thousand subordinates.
When activated, it greatly enhances your subordinates' stats and resistance to status ailments.
If the targets are Undead, their stats are enhanced even further.
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Both were Skills that enhanced stats. However, the former affects me, while the latter affects my companions.
Apparently, the more companions I gather across different Races and Jobs, the stronger I become through 【Ruler of Evil】. An ordinary king might not need to be strong himself, but I'm a monster and a player. If I'm weak, people are bound to look down on me, and there's no downside to being strong.
【Grand Command of the Undead Evil Lord】 will be useful in large-scale battles like the previous one. Apparently, Undead receive an even greater enhancement, so I'll gradually strengthen the Undead corps while recruiting more members.
"Next is job change, but there are also two choices here: Undead Lord and Evil Lord, both of which I saw last time. In that case, Evil Lord is the obvious choice."
Undead Lord is a Job that provides benefits specialized for Undead companions. We have more non-Undead members, so Evil Lord is the only choice.
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You have selected 'Evil Lord.'
You acquired the Title 'Undead Evil Lord.'
【Upper Undead Domination】 has evolved into 【Supreme Undead Domination】.
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Oh, it looks like I gained a new Title at the same time as my job change. And the 【Upper Undead Domination】 that evolved just a moment ago has now become 【Supreme Undead Domination】. I wonder what effect it has. I'll check it along with 'Undead Evil Lord.'
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'Undead Evil Lord'
Proof that an Undead has become an Evil Lord.
You gain absolute awe and charisma among monsters, especially the Undead.
A king's reputation is determined by what he accomplishes as a king.
Be a king who will never be ashamed of himself.
【Supreme Undead Domination】
You can dominate Undead up to your own level.
A Skill usable only by an Undead Evil Lord.
Its effect on players is limited.
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Hmm, awe and charisma, huh... I don't really understand. It might be difficult to experience the effect of 'Undead Evil Lord,' but I can tell from the short description alone that 【Supreme Undead Domination】 is useful. It says that, with this, I can now dominate any Undead at level 80 or below unconditionally.
If I find a place crawling with Undead, could I bring all its inhabitants under my control at once? If so, the day when I can use 【Grand Command of the Undead Evil Lord】 may be close. Heh heh heh! My heart is racing!
Now that evolution and job change are complete, I'll join the construction work. I can dig holes with magic and direct my subordinates' labor, after all. Now then, this is my first job as an Evil Lord!