Monarch of Death

Emile often left the main estate to train alone. During one of these times, he accidentally discovered the partially revealed entrance to an ancient ruin deep in the forest.

The Strauss ducal family wielded influence not only over their own lands but throughout the entire Delphiad region.

Because their domain was so vast, it wasn’t particularly unusual for ancient ruins to be discovered within their territory.

Typically, when such discoveries occurred, it was customary to leave the cleanup to the Adventurers’ Guild.

However, this particular ruin was alarmingly close to the main estate—less than half a day’s walk away.

Because of this proximity, the Duke of Strauss decided to personally handle the potential threat.

He summoned renowned treasure hunters and selected knights and soldiers from the family to form an expeditionary team.

The ancient ruin they discovered was named the Keliant Dungeon.

However, Emile, the one who had discovered it, showed no interest in the dungeon exploration.

He was solely focused on the path of the sword. The only thing that bothered him was the fact that the commotion surrounding the dungeon exploration meant he could no longer train in his usual spot in the forest.

Laven, on the other hand, occasionally participated in the exploration.

At first, it was merely out of curiosity.

The dungeon was so close to home that he could visit it for a bit of fun whenever he had the time.

As a result, whenever he had some free time from training, he would tag along with the exploration team.

Having been trained in swordsmanship since childhood as a member of the Strauss family, Laven’s skills surpassed those of most knights.

Despite his young age of 16, he actively participated in battles inside the dungeon.

Even the Martial King Gallard left him be.

After all, Emile was the heir to the family. As the second son, Laven had a bit more freedom.

Of course, if Laven had been merely wandering around aimlessly, he would have been scolded. But participating in dungeon exploration was seen as a form of practical training.

During this time, Laven became deeply fascinated with dungeon exploration, especially treasure hunting.

The treasure hunters invited by the family weren’t particularly strong.

They were weaker than the Strauss family knights and even weaker than Laven himself.

In one-on-one combat, Laven was confident that he could defeat them ten times out of ten.

Yet, it was always the treasure hunters who ended up saving his life inside the dungeon.

For someone like Laven, who had only ever known the strength of the sword, this opened up a new world.

Swordsmanship wasn’t everything.

Sometimes, wisdom and knowledge could surpass the power of the sword.

–If I learn this, I might even be able to surpass Emile.

Laven knew that no matter how much of his life he dedicated to the sword, he would never be able to catch up to Emile.

So why not walk a different path, one that belonged to Laven alone?

Thus, a year passed.

Laven became more and more absorbed in treasure hunting.

Finally, when he turned 17, he officially spoke to his father.

He wanted to become an adventurer, a treasure hunter.

The response from the Martial King Gallard was unexpected.

–Do as you please.

The Duke of Strauss showed no particular reaction to the fact that his second son wanted to become a wandering adventurer.

For Gallard, the entire future of the family revolved around Emile. He had little interest in what his second son did.

His only response was, “Just don’t end up becoming a burden to Emile later.”

Laven wasn’t particularly hurt by his father’s favoritism toward Emile, as he had seen it all his life. He was simply happy to have received permission.

For the next two years, he wandered the world as an adventurer.

He followed senior treasure hunters and explored dungeons throughout the Seven Kingdoms, gaining experience.

During that time, he made quite a name for himself.

While he may have been weaker compared to Emile, Laven was far too skilled to be just a regular treasure hunter. Naturally, he became well-known.

And so, at the age of 19, the world changed.

The Prophecy of Doom concerning the Darkness of Doom was officially announced, and cultists and necromancers began to swarm everywhere.

This was no longer a time for leisurely exploring ruins.

Laven temporarily halted his treasure hunting activities and began working as a darkness hunter in cooperation with the Church of the Seven Goddesses.

“Somehow, I ended up becoming quite famous as a darkness hunter as well. A priest I had a connection with recommended me to the central church, and…”

Laven scratched his head sheepishly.

“So now, here I am, working for the King’s Order.”

***

After hearing the story, Baros secretly whispered to Karnak.

[As expected, the past has changed.]

Originally, even when Emile died, Laven was supposed to remain at the main estate, focused on his training.

[There’s been so much change since we regressed through space-time, it’s hardly surprising.]

[No, this is something we need to pay attention to.]

Karnak’s expression grew serious.

[It sounds oddly familiar, doesn’t it?]

[Familiar? In what way?]

[The fact that a dungeon was discovered when Laven was 16—about four years ago.]

It was around the same time that a copper mine was discovered in the Jestarad territory.

[And even the circumstances are similar.]

Emile discovered the entrance to the ancient ruin while training in the forest, right?

This wasn’t too different from what happened with Karnak’s second brother, Plaid.

He, too, had supposedly discovered a large copper vein while training in the mountains near their territory.

[Now that I think about it, it’s strange.]

[Strange? How so?]

[Baros, imagine you were in Plaid’s shoes. Let’s say you were training and accidentally discovered a cave.]

Karnak gave a wry smile.

[Do you think you’d be able to tell that the cave contained a copper mine?]

[Oh, now that you mention it…]

No matter how close the Jestarad copper mine was to the surface, recognizing it as a vein based on the exposed parts alone would require a considerable understanding of geology.

[Was that man really that knowledgeable?]

Karnak scoffed.

[The guy could barely read, let alone have such knowledge.]

Baros’s expression tightened slightly.

[Wait, when was the Keliant Dungeon supposed to be discovered originally? I know it was near the Strauss family’s territory, but…]

Most ancient ruins were shrouded in mystery, their locations and origins unclear.

They were often hidden in remote areas, and treasure hunters frequently concealed information about them to keep rivals at bay.

But the Keliant Dungeon was famous.

Mostly because of its location.

Appearing right next to the Strauss family estate, a house that rivaled royal families, meant it was bound to be talked about by treasure hunters and gossipers alike.

Moreover, Karnak knew the exact timing of the dungeon’s discovery.

[It wasn’t supposed to be discovered for another 10 years.]

He remembered it clearly for a reason.

Not only the Keliant Dungeon but many dungeons across the Seven Kingdoms were supposed to be unearthed 10 years later.

It was due to a famine that Karnak himself had caused.

Most of the crops people relied on had withered and died. With no way to survive, many peasants left their homes in search of a new way of life.

Some even ventured into the deep mountains and treacherous forests, teeming with monsters.

The famine Karnak had caused wasn’t the result of a natural disaster. It was a man-made famine, where a disease specifically targeted crops.

That meant the fruits of the forests and the animals in the mountains were unaffected.

The only reason people hadn’t ventured there before was because the areas were full of monsters.

With their farms ruined, many tried their hand at gathering and hunting in these dangerous lands.

In doing so, many lost their lives to monsters, but they also uncovered hidden ruins in the process.

[The Keliant Dungeon was supposed to be discovered in that way. It wasn’t supposed to be revealed this early.]

Serati, who had been listening to the conversation, asked cautiously.

[But didn’t you say the copper mine in the Jestarad territory was never discovered in the future? Isn’t that a different situation?]

[Well, until now, I thought so too…]

Karnak shrugged.

[But now that I think about it, I don’t know if the mine was ever developed later.]

[How could you not know about a copper mine being discovered in your own territory?]

[Because it wasn’t my territory by that time.]

A few years later, a copper mine in the Jestarad territory?

That was impossible.

By that time, the Jestarad family no longer existed.

The territory had been taken over by another noble family, who might have developed the mine later on…

[Back then, I was already too busy being chased around to care. I had no interest in my homeland, which I’d long since lost any attachment to.]

Karnak fell into thought for a moment.

One copper mine could be written off as coincidence, but if the same thing happened again, there had to be something more going on.

‘Is someone deliberately developing mines and dungeons ahead of time?’

If there was another person who knew the future like Karnak, it was entirely possible.

Karnak turned back to Laven and asked,

“I have a question.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“In that dungeon, did you find any ancient treasures?”

“Yes, we found quite a few. It was an untouched ruin, after all.”

“And how were the treasures dealt with?”

“As usual, they were divided between the treasure hunters and our family. Most were sold to the Tekas Merchant Group, though.”

“Tekas Merchant Group?”

“Yes. They were the ones who introduced us to the treasure hunters.”

As he answered, Laven tilted his head.

It wasn’t particularly strange information, so he wondered why Karnak was so interested.

Karnak quickly covered it up.

“I was just curious what to do if we found treasures here. Do they sell for a good price?”

Laven shook his head.

“I wouldn’t expect much. This place is a deserted ruin, after all.”

The Maleficus Dungeon wasn’t an untouched ruin. It had been explored multiple times before being abandoned and later reclaimed by monsters.

“The treasures were probably taken a long time ago.”

“I see. That’s disappointing.”

After wrapping up the conversation, Karnak furrowed his brow in thought.

[The Tekas Merchant Group again?]

When he first regressed, Karnak had thought of them as merely a convenient group that handled tedious matters like mines.

But they seemed to be involved in more than he initially realized.

[These guys are suspicious.]

Serati, with some doubt in her voice, asked,

[Could a simple merchant group really pull something on the scale of manipulating the Martial King’s family?]

[A scheme like this wouldn’t cause any major issues.]

Whatever methods they used, the dungeons and mines were still discovered by the relevant noble families, not the Tekas Merchant Group.

The merchants had approached them legally and taken only a reasonable amount of profit.

There was no reason to suspect them.

[Even we didn’t find anything suspicious about them.]

For now, their priority was to rescue Edia.

[Let’s deal with saving our merchant first, and then we can investigate them. Since they’re competitors anyway, it won’t hurt to dig up some dirt.]

***

Karnak’s party continued deeper into the dungeon.

They dealt with monsters and avoided evil spirits as they pressed on.

At some point, the environment around them began to change.

The frequency of structural damage decreased significantly. The ceilings and walls were in much better condition.

After turning down a long corridor, they came upon a relatively large room.

Laven peeked inside and whispered,

“It’s a residential area.”

Even without him saying it, everyone could tell it was a residential area.

Unlike the places they had passed before, this area had magical lights and torches hanging on the walls.

In addition, there were objects present that simply couldn’t exist in a place filled with monsters or evil spirits.

There were piles of laundry hanging everywhere.