Chapter 5 Cadec's Request

Jenn did not respond to Kadec's words. He just sat there in silence. The black cloak draped over him hid his face and blocked all sight.

At this moment, Kadec was trembling with fear. Doing business with a necromancer was as dangerous as dealing with a lich. If the necromancer was displeased, turning him into a mummy was a matter of moments.

In fact, Kadec had already noticed that the girl standing behind Jenn was not alive. Her unnaturally pale blue skin was a giveaway that she was an undead, and a high-level one at that. Having such a creature willingly submit to someone indicated that Jenn, the necromancer, was no ordinary individual.

As Jenn remained silent, Kadec couldn't guess his thoughts. Just as the dwarf magistrate was about to elaborate further, he suddenly felt a chill on his shoulders, followed by a banshee appearing out of thin air, pinning him down. At the same time, Jenn's deep voice came leisurely.

"Are you suggesting... that I serve you like those lowly half-orc mercenaries and those stinking goblin bears?"

Jenn's voice was not loud, but it was filled with a cold disdain and mockery. As if to complement Jenn's words, the banshee opened its dark mouth and let out a piercing, soul-shattering scream.

"No! No! No!! Of course not, my lord!! This is a humble request!!"

Faced with the threat of death, Kadec could no longer hold out. Most importantly, Jenn had hit the nail on the head. Although respectful in tone, Kadec indeed hoped to establish a majestic image in front of his subordinates. If he could persuade Jenn to work for him, it would naturally bring him great honor.

Unfortunately, Jenn was not swayed by this, which made Kadec even more terrified, especially feeling the "tenderness" of the banshee up close, which was anything but pleasant for any living being. It was like standing on the edge of a cliff, staring into the shadows of death in the dark abyss.

For the first time, Kadec realized how close death was to him, merely a finger's distance away.

Not just him, but also his subordinates, were now surrounded by other banshees that appeared out of nowhere. Although Kadec hoped they would remember their duty, it seemed they were hardly able to protect themselves.

"Great, great lord! Respected mage lord!! Please forgive us, we never meant to offend you!"

If Kadec had any doubts about Jenn's identity at first, now he had none. This was indeed the city of the dwarves, where, in theory, any conflict with the dwarves or killing a dwarf magistrate would not end well.

But the issue was, Jenn was a necromancer.

He wouldn't care about the dwarves' numerical superiority because, for a necromancer, more people meant more potential soldiers. If a full-scale war broke out with the dwarves, Jenn, as a "necromancer," could easily use necromantic spells to create hordes of undead for battle.

Unfortunately for the dwarves, they had no resistance to this. Their natural physique allowed them to resist most spells but also prevented them from learning magic. In this situation, dealing with a necromancer was quite passive. Even if they could eventually kill the necromancer, it would come at a great cost—a scenario the dwarves were unwilling to face.

Kadec was well aware of this.

Brandon Stone City, though touted as the pearl of the north, was just one of the many weaker underground cities, lacking high-end military protection. This was why Kadec wanted to recruit Jenn. Having a necromancer could make them feel more secure.

However, dealing with mages was dangerous. They were dangerous, reclusive, and odd.

Necromancers were even more so.

"Please forgive my rudeness, we truly did not intend to anger you!! We sincerely seek your help!"

That was enough.

Seeing Kadec sweating profusely and pale as paper, Jenn remained silent for a moment before waving his hand. The banshee quickly released the dwarf magistrate and floated backward.

Feeling the departure of death, the dwarf magistrate took a deep breath, his face showing relief from surviving a calamity.

He finally understood why necromancers were so poorly regarded.

Unfortunately, it's easy to get on a pirate ship but hard to get off. Dwarves who mixed in the underworld naturally understood this. Although Kadec deeply regretted his actions, he still continued speaking, albeit reluctantly.

"Please believe in our sincerity. This is truly a humble request. And we are willing to pay a sufficient price. You must need a lot of magic gems and materials for your experiments here. I assure you, if you can help us solve this problem, we..."

Here, Kadec paused, ultimately choosing his own life over potential benefits.

"...we in Brandon Stone City can provide these materials for you free of charge... as long as we have them."

Of course, if possible, he still wanted to retain some benefits.

"...Let's hear it then."

Hearing this, Jenn no longer remained silent. His goal had been achieved. Dwarves were also a greedy race, though not to the extent of preferring money over life. Pushing too hard was not good for either party, so hearing Kadec's words, Jenn nodded and spoke.

And seeing Jenn's response, Kadec immediately showed a look of surprise and joy.

"Good, my lord, the truth is..."

What Kadec had to say was actually quite simple. Some time ago, while excavating underground veins, the dwarves discovered a ruin (which startled Jenn at first, thinking his underground city had been discovered, but he later realized they were in different directions and was relieved). However, if that were all, it wouldn't be anything unusual for the dwarves.

The underground was different from the surface; you could never imagine how many historical ruins existed here. Due to the uniqueness of the underground, any place could potentially house ancient ruins or cities. There were various dangers, but also various treasures.

Exaggeratingly speaking, no matter where you were in the dark underground, as long as you kept following the crevices down, if you were lucky enough not to die halfway, you would eventually discover a building buried or sealed—possibly a ruin or a tomb.

But whatever it was, it would bring you rich benefits and rewards.

The dwarves were naturally well aware of this, so they sent a team of skilled slaves to explore. And then, the trouble began.

The slaves did not return, and then the dwarves sent a more elite force, which ended up even worse. A group of brave dwarf soldiers, wearing anti-magic armor, was almost completely annihilated. Only one person escaped, and he was so terrified that he couldn't clearly explain what had happened.

The dwarves then realized something was wrong, so they sealed the ruin and continued their mining work. But this time, their mining did not go smoothly.

The mining teams were attacked.

Every escaping dwarf could not clearly explain what they had encountered, but these teams suffered heavy casualties, even losing several combat masters. Faced with this mysterious threat, the dwarves found it very troublesome. They had sent adventurers to investigate more than once, but their fate was no different from the dwarves'.

Only a goblin mage warned the dwarves after inspecting the site, suggesting the ruin might be related to some mysterious ancient magical creature that ordinary people could not deal with. And the goblin mage did not have the ability to explore the ruin, so the matter had to be temporarily set aside.

For the dwarves, this was obviously not an easy decision to accept. Because the mining tunnel connected to a huge silver vein, which was of great interest to the dwarves. If they had to give it up, the dwarves would be so heartbroken they couldn't sleep.

This was precisely why Kadec, upon learning of a "powerful" "necromancer" entering Brandon Stone City, rushed to recruit him.

Only, he didn't expect that the necromancer was clearly beyond his ability to deal with, resulting in a loss rather than a gain, nearly costing him his life.

"So that's the situation..."

After listening to the dwarf's story, Jenn nodded. At the same time, he quickly pondered in his mind whether this was worth it. The dwarves would indeed prepare a rich reward for him, but Jenn was certain that if he couldn't complete the task, the dwarves would not give him any benefit. From what he could see, this task was relatively difficult for underground creatures.

But, that was only for underground creatures... If Jenn wasn't mistaken, from Kadec's story, he had already figured out the true identity of the so-called "ruin."

It seemed his trip to Brandon Stone City was not in vain.

Thinking this, a nearly imperceptible smile flashed in Jenn's eyes. Then he reached out, gently pushed his glasses, and said.

"Alright, I'll take a look at the situation."

Then, he spoke.