Chapter 157
Chapter 157
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: The Wandering Knight Dullahan
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In the past, not a hero of an era, but a swordsman who had forged his own path—such a soul lingered within him.
"Stop right there. A mere human daring to cause trouble in this place."
"......Dullahan."
"You know my name?"
"Of course. You're the master of this place."
The Dullahan tossed his shattered head to the ground and picked up a random one from nearby, placing it atop his neck.
Had there been a fight?
Judging by the busted skull he'd discarded earlier, I could guess who he'd clashed with.
Someone with strength enough to cleave a skull helmet in two.
'......Must've been Jeongwoo.'
"I have no idea what mess is going on, but there sure have been a lot of humans visiting this place today."
"You've met other humans besides me?"
"......Yeah."
"Where are they?"
The Dullahan pointed his blade at me as he answered.
"You don't need to know."
"Heh heh...."
The Salamander spat flames and hid behind the Dullahan.
"Lord Dullahan!"
"If I'd been even a little later, you would've been gone."
"No, sir. For you, Lord Dullahan, I'd gladly give my life."
"......From now on, I'll handle things. Rest easy."
It was a reliable line, but it amused me. No matter how strong the enemy, the Dullahan was an undead monster.
He was no match for me.
He'd said that without knowing I was a Necromancer, of course.
"Trying to kill my child—this debt will be repaid in full."
"The debt's mine to collect. I got tricked by him and came all the way here."
I extended my hand, aiming at the Dullahan. Then, quietly chanted the spell.
Revive.
['Revive' spell canceled due to population limit.]
['Please cull unnecessary summons and try again.']
"......"
I see.
Park Gyuhwan.
Gawain.
Vulcanus.
Ares.
Bone Dragon.
I already had five main summons, no room for more.
To bring the Dullahan, I'd have to ditch one....
Park Gyuhwan took up the least population, so he'd be first out.
That left Gawain or Ares.
Ares for the final showdown with Lucifer, so the choice was the Flame Knight Gawain.
"......Recall, Gawain."
['Recall' spell activated.]
['Summoning only 1 unit due to specific summon designation.']
The air grew heavy, warping like space itself, and Gawain appeared before me.
"......You called, my lord?"
Gawain bowed nobly. I pointed at the Dullahan with my finger, asking him to fight.
"You and that guy—settle who's stronger once and for all."
"Understood, my lord."
The Dullahan snorted at Gawain. An armored tiger cub charging in must've seemed ridiculous.
Still, he didn't drop his guard. The aura pouring from Gawain was nothing to scoff at.
The Dullahan dismounted, gripping his sword hilt tightly.
"You clueless beast."
"......I am the 'Knight of the Sun,' who carries out my master's orders to annihilate foes. Not just some beast."
"......Fancy words, just like your master."
"......You'll soon see if they're just words."
The talk ended.
Both had been warriors in life, so they spent a long moment sizing up each other's presence.
Compared to Gawain's massive two-handed sword, the Dullahan's was a short one-hander.
But it wasn't a disadvantage.
He held a shield instead, which could give him the edge in close-quarters exchanges.
'......In a normal situation.'
Whoosh—
Gawain struck first. The slow, predictable arc seemed like a test.
The Dullahan swung in response, blades clashing.
Clang!
The Dullahan's blade halted midair—I'd expected it to be overpowered.
His aura wrapping was unexpectedly potent.
Gawain smirked at his opponent's blade tip.
"......Not bad."
"You're not either."
From that first clash, they exchanged countless blows. The ringing metal made my eardrums throb.
Yoo Sora, watching the fight, asked me.
"Cheonjae-ssi, shouldn't you help Gawain-ssi?"
"......It's a one-on-one. And to know who's stronger, I can't interfere."
"Know who's stronger?"
"Yeah. This is the Land of Ruin—only the strong survive. Plus, I can't take a summon weak enough to lose to an equal foe as a comrade."
"......"
Gawain roared, mouth wide, as they traded blows. That ability, etched into his great tiger body—the Dullahan's head cracked with a crunch and hit the ground.
"Graahaha! Turns out the fancy talker was you, bonehead."
The Dullahan grabbed the nearest skull from scattered corpses and plopped it on his neck.
"Not bad, tiger."
He thrust sword and shield forward, chanting a spell.
I knew it.
One of his infamous instant-kill moves, 'Death Cutter'.
I knew, but didn't warn Gawain. No need.
The reason why....
"Death—Cutter!"
A crescent of black aura flew at Gawain.
It pierced right through his raised two-hander, through the armor, hitting his chest.
Gawain staggered back from the impact, tilting his head in confusion.
"What is this? What did you do to me, bonehead!"
"......Why aren't you dead?"
"What?"
"......"
Visibly rattled, the Dullahan pressed on stiffly.
"I asked why you're not dead."
"Dead? Me?"
I burst out laughing at them. Couldn't help it.
What if your trump card does nothing to the enemy? Especially at a crucial moment.
As the foe, you had to laugh.
"Hey, Dullahan. Want me to tell you why it didn't work on this tiger?"
"......"
"Your instant-kill Death Cutter ruptures the life force of living beings. Sorry, but that tiger's not alive."
"......What?"
"Dead, yet walks this land. Undead, like you."
* * * * *
The fight that followed was Gawain's victory. Their swordsmanship was evenly matched.
But levels and gear made the difference.
As they clashed on, the Dullahan's sword shattered, shield crumpled.
Without his instant-kill, he was like a beanless steamed bun.
Clang—clang—crunch!
Gawain's blade pierced the Dullahan's chest. Empty inside the armor, but the hit still shaved his health bar.
The Dullahan lost his head too, couldn't even reply.
Gawain dragged him by the impaled sword to the ravine and tossed him into the lava.
Splash—boom!
He thrashed.
Gawain gazed down at the melting Dullahan and monologued.
"The outcome was set from that first clash. No regrets."
['Forgotten Valley's master 'Wandering Knight Dullahan' defeated. Special reward granted to player Kim Cheonjae!']
Yoo Sora clapped like an audience at the finale.
Clap clap clap clap!
"Amazing! Cheonjae-ssi's summons are always so cool, no matter how many times I see them."
"......Didn't you say they scared you at first?"
"That was because I didn't know better.... Haha."
[System grants 'Soul Orb' as Dullahan kill reward.]
['Soul Orb' consumption grants player two health bars.]
'Whoa?!'
A player getting two health bars?
A purple orb appeared before me. I swallowed it whole.
Two health bars—first I'd heard of it, had to check quick.
Gulp!
['Player Kim Cheonjae' health bars increased to two.]
['First Two-Bar Player!' title acquired.]
[Summon level +1!]
[Summon level '13' achieved.]
[Subordinates' attack, defense, stamina slightly increased.]
Above my head, the green health bar now had a '2' beside it.
Length unchanged, so just doubled up.
"......Nice."
Ding! Ding ding ding! Ding!
Suddenly, golden light spun wildly above my head.
Level-up signal, but exploding like this? Where'd all the exp come from?
'......Ah!'
The skeleton soldiers I'd placed elsewhere.
I'd told them to gather monsters past a threshold, then hunt.
More monsters in the dungeon than I'd thought.
"Status."
______________________________---
● Status Window
Name: Kim Cheonjae
Class: Necromancer
Level: 99
Health: ?????*2 / ?????*2
Stamina: 99+???? Attack: 99+????
Defense: 99+???? Speed: 99+????
______________________________---
'Finally....'
Master level reached.
[The developers send congratulations to 'Kim Cheonjae.']
['First Master Level Ascension' achievement acquired.]
[All skills of player 'Kim Cheonjae' upgraded to Master rank.]
The pinnacle for a Necromancer.
Higher levels mean more summons....
But others seeing my status now wouldn't get it.
Why all the question marks on health and stats?
Simple answer.
-Kieeeek!
Because I'd linked my stats to that spirit flying over the Forgotten Valley.
Who knew early-game stat sharing would pay off this big.
"......Nice."
Now, prep for Lucifer was complete.
* * * * *
The leading Salamander whispered.
"Th-that way."
I glared sharply at him.
"This time it's real, right?"
"Yes! Spare my life, and I'll do anything."
After losing the Dullahan, the Salamander did a 180. Suddenly groveling, offering to serve me as master.
He claimed the Dullahan's curse had made him act weird till now—of course, a lie, I knew.
But he swore he knew Lucifer's trail....
One last chance.
"So, where to now?"
"Just keep going straight up. You'll see a cave—Lucifer-sama vanished inside."
"......Inside a cave?"
"Yes. He was drawing some pattern on the ground. As a spirit, I don't know demon powers exactly."
Drew a magic circle on the cave floor and vanished.
Matched the story I knew, at least.
Didn't know it was a cave, though.
"There! Right there!"
The Salamander suddenly yelled. Looking up the cliff, a big hole.
"......Hold up."
Battle scars everywhere. Blood drops scattered—humans or animals nearby for sure.
I scanned afar.
Then approached a bloodstain, touched it. Still wet—fight wasn't long ago.
"......You bastard, lying again?!"
I roared.
The Salamander's eyes flickered.
"No!"
"What's it this time? Wyvern after Dullahan? Think you can escape me?"
"N-no! Calm do—"
Before he finished, I smashed him with my fist.
His body burst like slime, scattering everywhere.
"You damn...."
Expected him to know the trail? Still pissed even after killing him.
Thought I'd wrap this up easy....
Yoo Sora patted my shoulder.
"Cheonjae-ssi, calm down. We can start over from here, right?"
"......Yeah. Got a bit heated."
"It's a straight path anyway—shall we keep going?"
"Sure. Gawain, scout ahead. We'll follow."
Gawain nodded lowly.
"Yes."
Step. Step. Step.
Just as we moved, a shout from the cave.
"H-hey. Necromancer dude."