Old Memories Ignite Fury

The old memories brought rage. For a moment, I had forgotten. The horrifying bastards waiting behind us.

'What the...? It awakened because of Nargul's aura?!'

"Are those the bastards that were chasing us?!"

"No way—! All stats up by twenty percent? How the hell are we supposed to beat that?! Did they just throw balance to the dogs?!"

The hunters who hadn't even taken a single step forward froze in place as cold sweat began to bead on their backs. The Skeleton Knight was already difficult enough to handle, and now Nargul was charging toward them at the head of a massive army with impossible momentum. To make matters worse, the Skeleton Knight that even possessed a unique name—Natalan Jackmon or whatever—had seen its stats skyrocket to ridiculous levels. It was a clear balance break.

Just how high had that Skeleton Knight's rank climbed now? It had been at least mid-to-low C-rank before, but now it had risen to a height beyond comprehension. The one thing that's certain is that it's stronger than the Tooth Monster.

When looking purely at total stats, it was roughly on par with 'Tooth,' but this one operated on an entirely different level from that simple brute.

"Whatever the case, it's clear we need to take down the Skeleton Knight first!"

Just as Yeom Tae-seok said. If they got pincered from both front and back, there would be no answer. Since Nargul's forces were so numerous anyway, it would take them at least as long as us—or perhaps a little longer—to reach this point.

"W-we have enough time, right? R-right?"

"Y-yeah. Of course we do."

The hunters who had begun advancing again exchanged words, borrowing the power of reason to ease their worries. Their conversation was perfectly logical. There was no way thousands of monsters could traverse the route that had taken us two full days and arrive here any faster. Besides, no matter how strong the Skeleton Knight was, the fight shouldn't last more than two hours at most. They could put Nargul on the back burner.

"For now, let's just focus on that Corrupted Knight or whatever the hell it is!"

Hong Yong-seok shouted as if it were no big deal. The hunters steadied their shaken hearts and began taking one step forward at a time. Yeonhee had already summoned every available beast she could.

She had leveled up in this dungeon and received summoning rewards as well, but perhaps conscious of the others' eyes, she hadn't used them yet. That meant the total number of summons, including myself, remained at forty-two. Even so, simply bringing out all her summons gave the people a great sense of stability. They were a reassuring sight just to look at.

The reason Yeonhee had hurried her summons was to provide psychological stability.

"Very well! I shall take the lead!"

Yeom Tae-seok declared that he would stand at the front and guide the hunters. In terms of position, he was better suited to supporting the party from the middle, but this was the moment when a trusted figure needed to step forward.

"Hiiik!"

"Kghhhk! T-they're coming...!"

The eerie energy of death carried on the wind. At the heavy voice of the Corrupted Knight, the thousand undead that had been standing silently toward us simultaneously opened eyes that gleamed with darkness.

Rumble rumble rumble—!

"Huuu..."

"Fear is exactly what the undead desire most! Steel your minds!"

Along with Yeom Tae-seok's shout, Ham Eun-young's song began to fill the ever-widening passage. Thanks to it, the hunters' eyes grew clear again and their hunched shoulders straightened.

Before long, a cavern exactly half the size of the 'Hook Bat Spawning Ground' came into view.

Thud thud thud— Thud thud thud—

"I-it really is... different."

"That's supposed to be a skeleton soldier?"

On the opposite side of the cavern, the monsters we had to face were packed tightly together. The formation was mainly composed of skeleton soldiers and ghouls, but what made their presence feel so distinctly different was the incredibly rhythmic sound of their feet striking the ground. Their ranks and files were perfectly straight, like watching a well-trained army on the march. If anything, it made us and our summons look like the ragtag mob.

So that's the effect of the Advanced Commander trait...

An astonishing ability to command lower monsters according to its will. It was similar to Yeonhee's ability to handle her summons, but in the sense that it could inject its own experience to correct and control the summons' movements, it could be considered a more advanced trait.

But what was even more concerning was that the massive Skeleton Knight, standing a full three meters tall, was charging at the head of the monsters alongside them.

Shall we begin?

Over the two days it had taken us to reach this point, we had discussed how to deal with the Skeleton Knight. Rushing it all at once while it led a thousand troops wouldn't be very efficient. If we were to face it, it needed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to be someone who could quickly exchange blows with the creature and escape if necessary.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

But no one stepped forward recklessly, and naturally, all eyes turned to me as I quietly watched the scene. The hunters had some sense of shame, so they couldn't bring themselves to say it out loud. Still, I could tell what they wanted just from their eyes.

I had pretended not to notice, but that wasn't my style. So I agreed to face it alone on the condition that I receive suitable compensation. Of course Yeonhee worried a lot, but honestly, was I really going to die?

The memory of subduing 'Tooth' was more than enough to give me confidence.

"Uwaaaa— It's coming right from the start!"

"Can Ilwol really handle it alone? Shouldn't we just coordinate an attack...!"

"Trust him! He's the friend who always does what he says he'll do!"

Bae Jua showed strong faith as she gave me a thumbs-up.

Thanks.

Receiving trust from comrades was always ticklish, yet it brought forth an unknown power from deep within.

That Skeleton Knight bastard... Last time it only commanded from the back and stepped forward at the very end.

Watching the creature already put its emergency plan into action, I too dashed forward rapidly.

Shiiiing—

The distance between us and the knight closed quickly, and soon our cold gazes crossed.

Let's start with a test to see how much it's changed.

Right before clashing with the Skeleton Knight, I dropped the forty bombs I had stored evenly across their formation.

Boom boom boom boom boom—!

Bone fragments and ghoul pieces exploded in all directions. I felt the knight's gaze, which had been fixed solely on me, momentarily ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠falter.

I had debated whether to use bombs on the Skeleton Knight itself, but it would be more efficient than having them explode meaninglessly against its monstrous swordsmanship.

[Swooooo—]

As if proud of its subordinates who had suffered little damage despite the massive explosion, the knight was muttering something.

What the hell is it babbling about... It still looks like it has plenty of leeway. I'll make sure the others can't even pay attention to anything else!

I set the daggers aside for now, gripped the club I had received from Ttungi tightly, and swung it with full force toward the knight's torso.

Kwaaaaaang—!

A massive greatsword that had sprung out from somewhere collided with the swung club, creating a huge burst of flame bright enough to illuminate the entire cave. The vibration from the clash of high-density metal caused the hunters to instinctively cover their ears and stagger on their knees.

Clang—! Clang—! Kaga-ga-ga-gak—!

A club made from the ore called Undeadite, which could only be wielded with over 70 strength. Naturally, it was a weapon of tremendous mass, yet the knight's greatsword boasted comparable weight.

I'm the one pushing it back the moment we clash... but something's off...

There was no doubt my strength was superior. The weapon was specialized for undead, so that made it even more so. Every time it received my attack, I could feel the knight stagger and lift slightly off the ground.

Bang! Ka-ga-gang—! Clunk!

The ear-piercing shockwaves erupted without pause. Sharp shockwaves fierce enough to stab a person to death with sound alone. After dozens of such metallic clashes, I realized I was gradually being pushed back, little by little.

Tsk— As expected, pure swordsmanship alone isn't enough.

The elegant and refined ancient swordsmanship that Hyeon Jung-gil had studied and used as reference to establish his own school. The lines it drew were truly beautiful. There was no doubt this thing was a master of that swordsmanship.

My attacks were subtly deflected time and again, while its concise thrusts left coin-sized holes all over my bone armor.

The penetration power is insane. What the hell is that swordsmanship?

The amount of stamina lost was minimal, but seeing my body riddled with holes made me furious. Even as an undead, it possessed this much power. There was no need to guess how formidable a warrior it must have been while alive.

In the span of just a few minutes, the two of us exchanged dozens of blows as we probed each other's skill. Its movements were growing increasingly bold. It was several steps ahead of me technically.

If anything, I felt the urge to prolong the fight somehow, clashing swords directly to learn its techniques. Thankfully, even after realizing it was clearly ahead, the Skeleton Knight only slightly increased the proportion of movements that allowed it to put more power into its strikes. It didn't recklessly try to finish me off.

What is this guy...? No matter what, its wariness seems excessive?

Landing effective hits wasn't easy. No, at this point it was impossible. I needed to at least graze it to stack Flame Slash, but that swordsmanship was a perfected style that shone not only in offense but in defense as well.

Its footwork is also incredibly mysterious. When I come to my senses, my attacks are cutting through empty air.

Of course, I had no intention of just admiring it. My job was to tie down this bastard's ankles, but I didn't plan to do so indefinitely.

While swinging the club with one hand, I condensed a Fireball in the other. I continued stacking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Fireballs on top of each other. It was quite a conspicuous large technique to use when being pushed back in battle, but this should be enough to force a change in the Skeleton Knight that was slowly gnawing away at my stamina.

Surprisingly, the knight created distance and showed wariness.

It's not coming in even after seeing this? Is it trying to conserve its strength?

Judging from the message that had appeared earlier, this guy might want to conserve its power until Nargul arrived. But I had no intention of letting it do so. Even if I had to push myself a bit, I would force a decisive move.

Crackle—

I mimicked A-rin's Lightning Step and burst mana at the tips of my feet. My movement speed instantly doubled, giving the illusion that sound was following behind.

Adding the Big Boar skill on top of that to empower my speed allowed me to completely surpass the knight that had been retreating.

The Skeleton Knight was greatly flustered and for the first time launched an attack from a broken stance. I also had difficulty controlling my speed, so I couldn't even think about dodging its strike.

Thud—!

Once again, several holes were punched through my body. At the same time, my swing flashed twice.

Shiiik— Thump—!

The first attack only grazed it, but the second strike shattered part of the knight's knee.

Got it—

Haha, you're dead now, you bastard.

Just three more stacks and—

[Swooooo—]

Huh?! Danger—

Kwaaaaang—!

Suddenly, blue threads of light burst out in all directions from the knight's entire body, followed by an invisible thrust aimed straight at my face.

Whoosh—!

I barely managed to dodge the greatsword by the width of a single sheet of paper. If I hadn't layered multiple layers of sensory awareness around my body, I wouldn't have been able to react to that incredible pinpoint attack at all.

What was that? A draw strike?