Blacksmithing Is Child’s Play for a Dark Mage - Chapter 59

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 59
Hayan’s eyes narrowed to slits.
Right now, he commanded lower-tier undead without limit.
But what if he grew stronger and could command mid-tier undead without restriction?
Mid-tier undead.
Ghouls. Wraiths. Skeleton warriors.
Each one possessed combat prowess rivaling a seasoned fighter.
If he fielded thousands of them?
Hayan watched the Merchant’s back as he walked ahead.
A one-eyed imp perched on his shoulder chattered away at something, and the Merchant snorted, moving toward the next corridor.
Beside him, the girl Lant followed quietly, while a curious contraption—something like a mechanical hand—clicked and whirred against the Merchant’s shoulder.
There was nothing ordinary about any of it.
‘I must inform the Religious Order.’
Hayan made her decision.
Merchant Tay of the Maker Barony. He posed no immediate threat now.
But if he continued to grow, there was a real possibility he would become someone the Religious Order—or even the continent itself—could not ignore.
Hayan kept her mouth shut and followed the group from behind, as she always had. Silent. Unremarked.
It was the role she played.
* * *
“Extraordinary, my lord! All of this came from the Ant Dungeon?”
The innkeeper exclaimed with astonishment.
Before Tay lay a mountain of spoils.
Dozens of giant ant corpses.
Several sacks of Mana Stones extracted from the bodies.
And the personal effects of victims buried deep within the dungeon—weapons, armor, ornaments, magical items, and more.
All salvaged from the depths of the ant tunnels, belongings of mercenaries who had delved before and perished.
He had turned the ant corpses into zombies inside the dungeon, making them walk themselves out.
Once outside, he had simply destroyed their heads one by one to reduce them to ordinary corpses again.
It was purely for the sake of transport.
A remarkably efficient method that required no separate employment of living porters.
Thanks to this, he had managed to bring back a vast quantity of spoils all at once, and now it lay spread out entirely before a shop in Harundel.
“Give me a fair price for it all.”
Tay gestured with his chin at the heap of loot.
He had gone to level up in the first place, not to make money.
Had profit been the goal, crafting and selling wares in his territory would have served better than dungeon delving.
‘Raising two levels at once proved impossible, it seems. Well, the higher the level, the more experience required anyway.’
While the innkeeper examined the spoils, Tay’s mind wandered.
Black Mage Level 4.
Gaining a single level from one dungeon clear was solid progress, but greed made him wish for two.
Next time, he would need to venture deeper, or find a larger dungeon.
“The accounting is complete, my lord.”
The innkeeper returned.
“Five thousand Goldmanta Gold Coins, clean and simple.”
Five thousand coins.
For a single expedition’s haul, it was an enormous sum.
Though naturally, having brought back a mountain of spoils, the result was expected.
Even after paying the fees for two Gold-Rank Mercenaries and one Silver-Rank, a comfortable surplus remained.
“Fine. I’ll take it.”
“Thank you, my lord!”
The innkeeper handed over the purse of coins with a beaming face.
Tay accepted the money and left the shop.
* * *
He walked along Silver Street in Harundel, heading toward a fine inn.
The skeleton guards waited near the inn, so for now it was just Tay and Lant.
Aster remained in the shadows, and Dialogue dozed on his shoulder.
Tay opened his mouth.
“Well, Lant. What do you think should come next?”
Lant pondered for a moment, then replied carefully.
“I can only advise properly if I understand your true purpose, master.”
“My purpose, then.”
“You established the barony to protect yourself during your commercial activities, didn’t you? To hide your income, conceal your abilities, and prevent outside interference. That objective has already been achieved.”
Lant’s analysis was precise. The fundamental reason for establishing the barony had been to conceal the income Tay earned through his Crazy Craftsman ability and the existence of the Hunter system.
Now that he was a lord, that purpose had been achieved to a considerable degree.
“Then what is your next objective?” she asked.
Lant posed the question.
Tay paused mid-step.
“To grow stronger.”
“To grow stronger?”
“My Blood Lineage Ability grows more powerful the more things I kill.”
Level Up.
He had never revealed the true nature of the Hunter system to either Lant or Aster.
He merely presented it as a Blood Lineage Ability, and Lant had not pressed for details beyond that.
“Then you’ll need to venture into dungeons regularly or engage in territorial warfare.”
Tay resumed walking as he spoke.
“But I won’t be able to enter dungeons frequently. I can’t leave the barony unattended for long.”
“In that case,” said Lant without hesitation, “you should expand your retinue.”
Lant answered without hesitation.
“You’ll need retainers. The barony must continue operating even in your absence. I’m handling administration now, but I also need to accompany you into dungeons. If both you and I leave, the barony grinds to a halt.”
“Retainers,” Tay mused.
“Yes. You need retainers so the barony can function while you’re away. Right now I manage the administration, but I must also fight alongside you in the dungeons. If we’re both absent, the entire operation collapses.”
Tay nodded.
She was right. Lant was both essential to administration and equally vital as a combat partner.
Without either of them, the barony would cease to function.
“Hmm…”
Tay cupped his chin, lost in thought.
Retainers. People he could trust, who possessed genuine capability, and who could manage the barony in his absence.
Such talent was not easily found.
Retainers.
Tay pondered as he walked.
‘The Academy lottery already turned out to be a bust…’
He had attempted it once before.
He had tried to recruit fresh Academy graduates, but the results had been poor.
No talented individuals were willing to come to a newly established barony like Maker Barony.
Even those who did lacked the caliber he sought.
So how did one find retainers? Moreover, managing a barony involved far more than domestic affairs alone.
Military decisions had to be made, and one needed to command undead to a certain degree in Tay’s stead.
The more he thought about it, the more difficult it seemed.
Tay sank deeper into contemplation.
Watching him struggle, Lant finally spoke up.
“What if you consulted an information guild?”
“An information guild?”
“Yes. You could purchase information about semi-nobles with circumstances.”
Tay’s footsteps halted.
Lant continued.
“Among semi-nobles, there are those trapped by debt, cast out by their families, or politically ruined. They possess ability but face dire circumstances. If you resolved their difficulties, they could become your retainers. Or you could be introduced to Wandering Knights or mages seeking to become retainers.”
“Ah.”
Tay’s eyes gleamed.
It was an excellent idea.
Capable yet struggling semi-nobles would be far more likely to grasp at his offered hand.
Whether he paid their debts, guaranteed their status, or granted them aid in some other form, loyalty would surely follow.
“Let’s do it immediately.”
Tay pulled Lant toward the Black Spear Guild.
The Black Spear Guild handled all manner of things—they sold information, dispatched mercenaries, brokered contracts.
It was the natural place to start.
* * *
To put it bluntly, it was a failure.
The Black Spear Guild could not provide that sort of information.
Handling everything also meant lacking specialized expertise.
Details about semi-noble circumstances and internal information on fallen houses fell outside the Black Spear Guild’s purview.
Yet it was not entirely wasted effort.
Instead, he was introduced to Harundel’s finest information guild.
Shadow’s Voice.
Tay had heard rumors of the place even during his days as a Debt-Slave Mercenary.
It was an information guild with roots buried deep in Harundel—expensive, but with a reputation for acquiring information that couldn’t be found anywhere else.
Though during his Debt-Slave Mercenary days, he’d had neither the money nor reason to patronize such a place.
Now things were different.
He had the money, and he had the reason.
Tay left Lant at a fine inn and moved out alone.
Alone, though Dialogue perched on his shoulder, and Aster lurked in the shadows—so truly never alone at all.
He made his way past Steel Street toward the boundary of Bronze Street.
Information guilds, as they always were, couldn’t possibly be situated in the heart of a bustling district.
Then Aster’s voice emerged from the shadows.
-Contractor. You’ve grown stronger.
“Why the sudden observation?”
-I felt it in the dungeon. Your Black Magic power has increased by a stage since before. Your movements are faster too.
“Ah. It’s because of my Blood Lineage Ability.”
Tay answered without concern.
Aster fell silent for a moment, then spoke quietly.
-The more you slaughter, the stronger you become… It seems you have the blessing of some slaughter deity.
“Perhaps.”
Not true, but he went along with it anyway.
After all, even in his past life, the origin of the System was never made known.
-I didn’t throw that out as mere speculation. Well, if you’d rather not speak of it, I won’t press further.
“Good. I’d prefer it that way.”
-Understood.
Aster withdrew.
Tay thought to himself.
‘He’s starting to catch on, isn’t he? Not that I can hide it forever, but delaying as long as possible is best.’
The existence of the Hunter System was Tay’s greatest secret.
He hadn’t revealed his true nature to Aster, nor to Lant.
He was passing it off as a Blood Lineage Ability, and so far it had held.
But Aster was a demon.
A being who lived longer than humans and had witnessed far more.
One day suspicion might harden into certainty.
‘I’ll deal with that when it comes.’
Tay set his mind in order and moved forward.
Shadow’s Voice.
His footsteps carried him toward Harundel’s greatest information guild.
The Black Mage Is Too Suited to Being a Blacksmith
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Automaton G
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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