Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: The Bolton Family's Curse
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“Ugh... Urk...”
The nose-piercing stench and gruesome sight had Chason dry-heaving.
“Snap out of it, Chason. You should be grateful they're undead instead.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?! How could anyone be grateful for those monsters?!”
“You should be. It'd be far worse if they were still alive.”
“...What?”
“Killing monsters is better than killing people, right?”
Chason's eyes wavered at his words.
“Draw your sword. We need you to clear this place.”
“M-Me?”
“Yeah. Your sword holds holy power. And it only shows its true might in the hands of Bolton blood.”
Chason stared at the seawater sword in his grip.
“I can't...”
“Is that so?”
His calm response, compared to Chason's desperate cries, only left the young man more flustered as he looked up at Woojin.
Woojin's sword sliced through the family members.
Flames seeping into the blade sparked fires everywhere, and those engulfed screamed in agony.
They were a shock as fresh undead, but not particularly strong.
Whoosh—! Whoosh—whoosh—!!
Boom—!!
Luen's arrows and Setsuna's barrage overwhelmed them effortlessly.
“Y-You can take them down without me.”
“True. We can beat them.”
“Th-Then isn't that enough?”
“The problem is just beating them. If you're fine leaving the Bolton family to suffer in that curse forever...”
“...!”
“They're monsters, sure. But they're still Bolton family.”
Chason's eyes trembled.
“If you want their souls fully erased, I'll handle it myself.”
Shing—.
Woojin raised his sword.
“But if you want to save their souls, you have to kill them with your sword.”
Healer was a class earned via first job change on the central continent at a church.
Holy water was available at auction houses, but no undead in Dark Forest meant no one carried it.
In a dungeon full of undead?
'After first clear info spreads, people will bring holy water...'
But for this pioneer clear, Chason was key, no question.
“Don't forget—without your father, you're the family's only bloodline.”
Woojin urged him on.
“You're the patriarch. Only you can break their chains.”
Clang—!!!
Woojin's sword cleaved an undead.
There were many, but hardly threatening.
No weapons, bare-handed, no special abilities.
Bang—! Bang—!! Boom—!!
Amid the chaotic combat and screams, the undead began thinning out.
Then, an undead hiding under a shattered piano appeared.
Face too mangled to identify, but the small frame suggested a child, maybe seven.
No will to fight—it just lay prone, sobbing grotesquely.
“Ah...”
Chason instinctively reached out.
“W-Wait a second!!!”
He rushed to block Woojin, who was about to reverse-grip and strike.
“Don't kill it!!!”
Chason hugged Woojin's back, yelling.
“Then?”
Woojin countered flatly, expression unchanged, unlike the teary youth.
“I'll... I'll do it.”
Did the dead child's form remind him of losing his own father?
Chason shook his flushed head.
Click—.
Woojin sheathed his sword and stepped back.
“Sorry... I'm sorry...”
Chason sobbed at the child.
“Hic... Sniff...”
He squeezed his eyes shut and thrust at the fallen child.
Crunch—!!!
A dull sound, and the body crumbled.
In that instant, blue water from the sword enveloped the child amazingly.
Was that what the earlier chirps meant?
The child's soul, swept away by the torrent, looked at peace.
“Well done.”
Woojin patted Chason's shaking shoulder.
“I... I should've been braver sooner...”
Chason bowed his head at the incinerated undead.
“No need to beat yourself up. What matters is you did it this time.”
Woojin looked up.
“You'll need even more courage from here.”
Boom—!!
The mansion's second-floor door burst open.
An ear-shredding wail echoed.
Ghosts with pale, hazy outlines poured from the door, shimmering like heat haze.
“M-Master...”
Luen paled at the wraiths and hid behind Woojin.
“Banshees. No need to fear. Just another monster type.”
“Y-Yes, but...”
Luen's hand trembled clutching his collar.
'Didn't expect her to fear ghosts.'
- Ahh... Uweh...
“...And what's your excuse?”
Woojin chuckled at Setsuna buried in his armor pocket.
“Banshees come to devour the living soul. Probably not Bolton family.”
Fwoosh—!!!
Woojin charged with his flaming sword.
The banshees swarmed Woojin.
Dragon Heaven Gate 1 - Sever
The dark hall flashed like a flaming dragon ascending.
Banshees around him incinerated instantly.
“I'll help too!”
Chason swung; water torrents spiraled from his sword, smashing banshees.
[Using Bolton Secret Technique.] [Bolton Secret Technique - Form 1]
[Using Seawater Sword.]
[Bolton Secret Technique power increased.]
Steadied, Chason's swordplay exceeded expectations.
As described, his body flowed like rolling waves, dodging banshee attacks and overwhelming them swiftly.
Banshees struck by water screamed into ash.
“Not as tough as I thought.”
Surprisingly generous EXP led to a level-up chime.
- Uhe...! Uhehehe...!
One banshee remained; Setsuna, touched by its hand, spun drunkenly.
Thwack—!!
Woojin smashed its head with his sword.
- Ugh... Uu... Dizzy...
Setsuna mumbled dejectedly, head down in Woojin's pocket.
“You've got a lot to learn.”
- Sorry.
Woojin couldn't help a hollow laugh at her ridiculous defeat.
'Ancient wisdom or not, she's basically a newborn kid.'
Knowledge and combat differed; fear was another beast.
“Luen, same for you. Central continent means more undead ahead.”
“...I have no excuse.”
The pair, frozen by banshees, mumbled apologies.
'Way too easy, though...'
Beginner zone undead were tough in principle, but compared to prior dungeons, these were weak.
'Uncharted area. Quest rank A too...'
Sensing more ahead, Woojin stayed alert.
“Boss room.”
Up the second-floor stairs, it appeared immediately.
“Oh... Boss room already? Too easy, right?”
Luen brightened at the ominous green door.
“Yeah. Too easy—suspicious. Usually means...”
Woojin opened the door slowly.
“The boss is a nightmare...”
“...Or some bullshit twist.”
Rumble—.
The door swung wide to reveal a burly middle-aged man on a throne.
The man rose, arms wide toward Woojin.
“Your butler was welcome enough.”
Gilbert smiled faintly at sword-drawn Woojin.
Fwoosh—!!!
Flames rose from the torch beside the patriarch.
Fwoosh—!!
Torches on walls ignited one by one.
Five souls materialized before Gilbert.
[Quest updated.]
Quest: Bolton Family Curse
▶ Eliminate all previous Bolton patriarchs.
Quest updated post-summon.
“Beat them, we're done.”
Simple objective, simple clear method.
But that lingering unease remained.
“Ah—.”
Woojin's face twisted seeing the summoned souls.
“...Dad?”
Chason's voice shook at the red-uniformed, sword-wielding soul.
“Dad!!!”
“Chason, stop!”
“...Let go!!”
He violently shook off Woojin's hand.
“You said he was alive! Liar!!”
- B-But no death scent...
Setsuna panicked at Chason's wail.
Gilbert scoffed at Setsuna.
He gestured like weighing scales, hands rising and falling.
“Chason, regrettable, but stay sharp. You wanna leave your father here?”
“You're saying erase Dad?!”
Woojin finally grasped the unease.
Not just Hartwin's soul.
He'd half-expected it knowing this was Bolton land.
“N-No! I can't do that!!!”
Woojin grimaced as Chason aimed his sword at him.
'...That was it.'
The reason for A-rank quest.
[Quest: Bolton Family Curse]
▶ Eliminate all previous Bolton patriarchs.
Chason was a Bolton patriarch too.