Chapter 198: Late Exploration

With that said, Tyler led the dwarves to Bungo who was currently in the outer ward trying to mend the main gate as Mammon had smashed it cleanly off its hinges. Still, they were quite lucky as although there were now several dents in the gate, it hadn't completely been destroyed.

Although with the way it was now Tyler couldn't trust it to provide any sort of defense, they didn't have the materials to make another one for now so it was best he had this one fixed temporarily.

However, Bungo was a blacksmith that specializes in both armor and weapons and not metal structures like gates so there wasn't much he could do except help mend the broken gate back in place without actually fixing anything about the damages it had sustained. Causing the gate to be in a more fragile state than before. 

Besides, the gate was lined with magic runes and he could only read a semblance of basic magic runes so it was harder to fix than a normal gate. However, Gerl and Darren were Craftsmen that could fluidly read basic magic runes and even transcribe intermediate runes so this was a job for them.

Tyler wanted them to meet the ogre blacksmith that claimed to have been taught by dwarves so he could see his reaction. Dwarves weren't common in the demon continent you know. Currently, aside from the territory/regions ruled by the seven primordial behemoths that were out of control. There shouldn't be any dwarves in the demon continent.

Arriving at the gate with spatial teleportation, he could see Bungo ordering some ogres as they tried to lift the heavy metal gate themselves. It seems all of his undead aside from the Lich and Black knight that was locked in a cell and used for training were destroyed in the fight against Mammon.

However, the only important undead to him were the three shadow rogues Zelda, Kali, and Flare. He could always make more of the other undead although that may be riskier as the negative corruption had taken a deeper root in his body and he didn't want to lose an arm again. A well-placed holy attack could also take his life so that realization made him very hesitant.

The moment they arrived, Albert moved forward to inform Bungo of his arrival and he came running over. Upon getting there, his gaze met the five dwarves who were smiling at him in glee but Bungo was shocked to see them.

His mouth went agape and his eyes widened. Being someone that didn't leave his chambers no matter what even when Mammon was attacking, he was still unaware of the dwarves' presence in the castle.

Tyler smiled in satisfaction at his reaction. This was what he had wanted to see after all.

"Oy lad, you must be the blacksmith we've heard so much about. A pleasure to make your acquaintance. I hear your skills are famed across these parts."

Ragdek greeted with a friendly expression before Tyler could even introduce them. He had told them about his so-called famed blacksmith that claimed to have been taught by the dwarves and they had taken an interest in him.

This would also help Tyler find out if Bungo had just been making shit up the entire time or was he really trained by dwarves. Either way didn't really matter though. As his skill were enough that not even dwarves would underestimate him.

Bungo looked amazed by them as they all introduced themselves and he finally snapped out of his stupor and did the same. In the end, Tyler couldn't find out if he had met dwarves before but it looked as though he did master some dwarven techniques that made his words hold more weight in his eyes.

He probably shouldn't doubt him in the future. Such a thing was unbecoming of a Lord. 

They bonded quite fast over similar techniques and their love and interest in smithing. The matter with the gate would now be left to Darren and Gerl who would be able to easily fix it without a problem. They seem to think they could even further reinforce its defenses.

Making it more durable and able to absorb magic power with the Runite Tyler had given them. Such a thing would allow the gate to get more durable as time passed and more magic power is poured into it.

Tyler had no idea Runites had such an effect but he was glad he had cleaned out that cavern although he had left a few behind because of those five Hunter idiots.

While Tyler wanted to leave Bungo in charge because he was here first, the dude was just too irresponsible and only focused on his work so the more reliable Ragdek was put in charge while Bungo would assist him as the flames of learning more dwarven techniques was burning deep inside of him.

They were also to be accompanied by Lora as they familiarized themselves with the castle. Making notes of everything they needed to fix.

She was one of the sentries, a beastgirl with golden dog ears and well-maintained blonde hair. Being one of the people that had died and had been resurrected, Tyler thought it would be best if he got them to do something else other than just standing in the towers and keeping watch as that was unnecessary for now.

Those that had participated in the fight seem to be feeling down due to their loss. So he expected the ones who died to be in a worse state so he had made sure Albert had Hart and the others help out with the barbecue preparations so they could hang out with the women and children and get their minds of the fight for a bit.

However, his worries for the sentries may have been for naught as the girl ran over happily when Albert had called her and was accompanied by a listless Gail. 

She seemed to be of high spirits when reporting to Albert's call so maybe she had no such thoughts as he had imagined so he decided to put the matter aside for now.

The dwarves all seemed to be freaking out over Lora's cuteness and were showering her with praises which were making her embarrassed as her face turned bright red but Tyler didn't see that as he tasked her with accompanying the dwarves to keep their spirits high.

The ogress that remained behind was Gail, she was also a sentry who had died and revived. Tyler was able to tell even without being told as he could sense their strengthened soul. 

This did not mean they had become stronger though as their potential remained the same but he presumed they would be able to more easily master their skills and maybe even develop new ones naturally without having to learn from a skill book.

Gail was a pretty girl with a tanned skin tone and dirt blonde hair that was so messily cut it emphasized her laziness. Her eyes were usually lackluster as she hated using any energy for whatever it was she was doing.

However, she was currently staring at Tyler with unusual energized eyes. Tyler hadn't spoken to her before so he wasn't sure what was happening but it didn't seem to be a problem so he ignored it. 

Since she wasn't doing anything he allowed her to accompany him alongside Albert which seemed to have put a smile on her face. With that, he had three people with him including Zelda who was just lurking in his shadow.

For now, he would have to table the issue of making new weapons and armor until the castle was completely restored so there wasn't much he could do but felt strangely pressured by the two beside him so he thought it was best to do something.

Although it had been amusing at first, it was now a bit boring just watching five grown men fool themselves in front of an adorable petite beastgirl as they moved away.

With no plan in mind, Tyler decided to explore the castle till it was time for the barbecue. 

It was currently late in the afternoon so the barbecue was most likely to start at night when they could make a bonfire for those who didn't have much cold resistance as it was still winter and the scrolls they had been using to control the Temperature inside the barrier had been exhausted.

As they walked back towards the castle, Albert silently accompanied him in his exploration and didn't ask why the master of the castle was only just now exploring it. Well, the place was massive, so forgetting the layout was possible even for someone with perfect memories like Z. 

Telling himself such an obvious lie, Tyler forged ahead without looking back at them.

Originally, he had only ever explored the North and West wing of the castle and had only been to the training halls in the south wing. So naturally, he would start his exploration from the east. Apparently, the east and south wings both have ten floors each which told Tyler they contained more than the other two wings. 

Although the north wing had an underground floor, so did the south and east. The west wing was just a residential area where almost all the private chambers were located.

There were more than two thousand bedrooms and hundreds of large baths with other facilities including a small kitchen, several lounges, and even a bar although those were all stripped of their pieces of furniture and were still completely empty. Still, those things could be made easily by the dwarves so Tyler just had to get them the raw materials.

'Great Five my ass. More like great thieving bastards.'

Tyler cursed the ones responsible in his mind as he walked down the halls of the east wing. There was what seemed to be a chapel here for some reason even though he couldn't imagine the demon king to be the religious type. A larger kitchen was also in this wing alongside what should be a canteen, several large pantries & butteries.

There were a lot of empty halls and rooms he wasn't sure what they had been used for but could make an educative guess. A courthouse was located in this wing as well, it was obvious what it was for but Tyler still found it funny they even made one at all. There was also a large library here that still constrained books that had been dusted by the maids but none of these books had much value to him.

There wasn't even a map of the Darknar region much less the demon continent. The library was also quite large, befitting of what a royal library should look like but it also paled in comparison to the seemingly endless magic library.

Although that unreasonable size was a problem of its own and make it insanely taxing and time-consuming trying to find anything there. The place badly needed a librarian.

Continuing his exploration, he left the east wing to the south. The south wing contained the massive training halls and an underground cell as well as the armory and treasury. Of course, those have also been emptied out.

Tyler's little exploration had taken more than two hours to complete as he chose to walk the entire way. He thought it would've been boring for Albert and Gail who were already familiar with the place but as he turned around they didn't seem to mind.

Even the listless Gail seem to have a hop to her step today as she walked beside him. By the time they were done, it was already dark outside so the bonfire had been started.

Several large grills that were constructed by Bungo had been set out in the outer ward with wooden seats and a large wooden table. 

It reminded Tyler of when he was at the red ogre settlement and they had thrown a feast to celebrate him as well. It was a shame this seem to only happen after a terrible situation had occurred so maybe he should try to change that.

As they exited the castle, he saw someone standing by the side almost as though she had been waiting for him.

Contrary to his expectations, it hadn't been Rain but Liz who had fully recovered after Erin had taken a look at her. Thanks to Snow, she hadn't suffered any mental damage just expended all her mana like Tyler. There were also slight scratches on her but Tyler hadn't already taken care of that back at the facility so everything else was way too easy for the current Erin to fix.