Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: The First Conqueror
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Tanaka Gunkichi.
The madman who tested how strong his sword was by slicing through three hundred civilians.
“……So it’s just the two of you.”
“No. Three.”
“Three?”
A man in a robe stepped out from behind our backs.
He pulled back his hood.
“You damn Chosun bastards. I’ve finally caught you.”
Yi Ok-hun.
“……So it is three.”
Gunkichi let out a sleazy chuckle.
“Puhaha! You made it this far, but too bad.”
“So it’s three, then?”
“……Yeah. And you two?”
I snorted.
“Do we look like just two? We’ve got a ton.”
“Don’t bluff.”
“It’s no bluff. You know what my class is, right?”
He furrowed his brows in annoyance.
“Necromancer.”
“Bingo!”
Animal cries echoed from outside the castle walls. Precisely from the wall where we stood.
Boom!
A giraffe’s neck burst through the wall.
-Kieeeek!
Skeleton suicide soldiers poured in through the hole. They charged at the enemies, bounding around like excited monkeys.
“What the—!”
Gunkichi and Hanjo drew their swords.
Yi Ok-hun gathered icy energy in his hand.
“Ice—”
His younger brother, Yi Ok-han, who had climbed up on the giraffe, hurled a fireball.
“Fireball.”
Boom.
I sprinted toward the stairs, yelling at Ma Jeongwoo.
“Cover the rear!”
“Got it.”
Ma Jeongwoo blocked the staircase entrance.
Gunkichi, fighting the skeleton suicide soldiers, shouted.
“No, stop that bastard!”
Hanjo spun like a whirlwind, knocking away the skeleton soldiers.
Then he dashed toward the stairs.
“Out of my way!”
Ma Jeongwoo swung his axe wide at the ceiling above the staircase entrance.
“Too late, asshole.”
Crash!
The entrance to the stairs collapsed.
Hanjo skidded to a halt.
“Damn it!”
“Our boss said earlier. The moment we conquer this place, no Japanese feet will touch this land.”
“……Gunkichi. I’ll pursue Kim Cheonjae.”
Gunkichi answered while battling the skeleton soldiers.
Thud!
“Go quick. Don’t let him plant that flag no matter what!”
Hanjo nodded and leaped out through the hole the giraffe had made in the wall.
Ma Jeongwoo pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and said to Gunkichi.
“You think you can handle me alone?”
“You damn Chosun bastard. A punk like you? I can do it solo!”
Sizzle. Sizzlesizzle.
Inhale.
Exhale.
“Then come at me. I’ll show you just how weak you are.”
* * * * *
Thud thud thud thud!
I raced full speed toward the top of the castle. Thanks to Yoo Sora’s injection, I could ignore and dodge the enemies blocking my path.
Bang! Bang!
NPC gunfire? I ignored it and kept running.
Player guns would be different, but their firepower couldn’t pierce my skin.
“Stop!”
I heard Hanjo’s voice.
I didn’t know where it came from, but it was clear.
“Deploy crows.”
Skeleton crows flying near the castle swooped in through the windows.
Crash!
The crows clustered tightly around me.
Protecting me, like bodyguards.
“…….”
Flash!
I sensed a presence behind me.
Without turning, I positioned the crows to the rear.
-Cawww!
Thud.
One crow’s health hit zero in an instant and dropped to the ground.
I pressed on to the upper floor, unconcerned.
“That damn bastard.”
Shurikens began flying from all directions. Even with my wild-animal sprinting, he kept up.
The crows fell one by one.
When the last crow dropped, I stopped.
[Time Remaining: 3 Minutes]
‘Just up these stairs to the top floor.’
Flash!
Presence from the left wall. I ducked and swung Dragon Fang.
Clang!
The shuriken struck the fang, flashed, and fell powerless to the ground.
“Come out, Hanjo.”
He didn’t appear.
Stalling for time, huh.
I backed up slowly, ascending the stairs.
Scanning my surroundings.
I needed to hurry.
Where was he?
Physically, no way he could keep up.
Did ninjas have a skill to catch me?
For a split second, thousands of ninja skills flashed through my mind.
My head sparked.
One skill that fit this situation surfaced.
“……There you are.”
With the kitchen knife at my waist, I slashed hard at my own shadow.
Thud!
[Player in ‘Shadow Step’ detected.]
[Critical hit on defenseless enemy.]
-Ugh!
“As expected.”
The shadow responded.
“H-… how?”
“……Experience gap.”
Black energy crept up from my shadow, and a hand emerged.
‘Syringe?’
He twirled the syringe like a pen and said to me.
“……This isn’t for you, so hold off.”
“What?”
“We’ll meet again soon.”
Hanjo’s hand slipped back into the shadow and vanished like a scurrying rat.
Beep.
I checked the time and bolted up the stairs.
At the castle rooftop, Kim Jeongjae waited with a massive bell.
[‘Kim Jeongjae (Hero)’ glares at you unpleasantly.]
“As expected.”
I flashed a wordless grin and climbed the short stairs to the top.
Step. Step. Step. Step.
[Time Remaining: 1 Minute]
“Kim Jeongjae.”
“Speak.”
“You hate the ‘Opener,’ right?”
“……Let’s say so.”
“Who sent you here?”
Kim Jeongjae stroked the dragon’s head.
“One from on high.”
“On high.”
“……You speak as if you know.”
I planted the flag at the castle peak.
Thud!
“Might know. Tell Him I’ll visit soon.”
[Main event of the fourth round ends now.]
My body froze.
A barrier enveloped the entire city.
The signal that the game was over.
Kim Jeongjae mounted the dragon with a meaningful smile.
“I’ll pass it on.”
I winked in response.
As Kim Jeongjae flew up from the castle, system messages scrolled.
[Victorious Nation: Korea]
[Conqueror: Kim Cheonjae]
[Welcome as the new owner of ‘Conqueror’s Tomb’!]
[From now, this city’s owner is Korean players.]
[Korean forces will garrison the castle until the next game.]
Piiiuuung—!
Fireworks burst from the castle top.
Boom! Boom boom boom! Boom boom!
Clouds parted, light bathing the city.
[Congratulations, Conqueror Kim Cheonjae and other Korean players.]
Cheers erupted from everywhere.
-Wooooah!
-Hey, we really own this castle now?
“Yeah, you bastards! That guy right there—he planted the flag!”
Japanese NPC soldiers in the castle began withdrawing one by one.
Restrictions prevented attacking them.
We could only watch until they left the city.
As Japanese forces left and Korean forces took over, the next message came.
[Special reward for leader player Kim Cheonjae of Nation: Korea.]
[Choose your reward.]
1. Distribute blessing items to all national players.
2. Receive golden items with group members.
3. Take the conqueror’s item alone.
“…….”
None.
I swiped the bottom of the system screen like scratching a lottery ticket.
Text appeared gradually, like silver foil peeling.
4. Enter ‘Conqueror’s Tomb’.
I grinned in excitement.
“Select. 4.”
[Option 4]
[Entering ‘Conqueror’s Tomb’.]
My body lurched.
Light flashed before my eyes, landing me in pitch darkness. Not a speck of visibility.
I waved my hand through empty air—nothing.
First time, but familiar.
I knew what to do.
Eyes closed, I walked forward. Pure blackness anyway—nothing visible.
Eventually, a wall blocked me.
I pushed with both hands.
Creak. Creeeak!
Light poured out.
Even eyes closed, it dazzled.
[‘Opener’ has arrived at Conqueror’s Tomb.]
[Past conquerors watch you.]
[Choose your path.]
-East.
-West.
-South.
-North.
Rewards here are unknown in advance. They change periodically.
But I knew.
Which path held what I wanted.
Right before third to fourth round shift, hint from coin in ‘Angel Statue’.
“Yeah….”
「Sun rising from the west and night approaching from the east will make you take flight.」
Options: west and east.
Sun or night.
‘……Night.’
I pointed at the first option and told the system.
“East.”
Rumble rumble rumble.
The ground twisted in place, circling.
[Path to the east opens.]
[New conqueror, proceed forward.]
I opened the door and entered.
A golden path.
Walls depicted murals of angels battling demons.
At the end, a tomb.
Before it, a golden treasure chest.
One item from the first conqueror’s gear.
[Conqueror’s treasure slumbers.]
[Open the chest?]
[YES/NO]
“No,” I said firmly.
[Really not open the treasure chest?]
“Yes.”
The chest glowed and vanished.
A top-tier item in this game, the conqueror’s item.
“What….”
Other players would call me insane.
But I didn’t need it.
No—precisely, to get something better.
A choice even high-level player Jeongwoo didn’t know. Only I did.
[Player has finished choosing. Exit the room.]
Thud.
Stone door behind the tomb opened.
Door through the castle’s top floor.
“Wait. Choices aren’t done.”
I approached the coffin.
Ancient coffin, like a mummy might emerge.
[Remains of the ‘First Conqueror’.]
[Inspect?]
[YES/NO]
“Yes.”
Creeeak.
Coffin opened.
Inside, a mummy wrapped in white bandages.
In PC version, only one player reached here.
Me.
Most took the conqueror’s item and left.
“Ugh…. Stinks.”
Foul odor assaulted my nose.
I pinched my nose and placed a hand on the bones.
“Revive.”
[‘First Conqueror’’s remains glow.]
Light burst from the coffin.
[‘First Conqueror’ with new life rises.]
The mummy jerked up.
Crack crack—as if assembling a skeleton soldier, bones realigned and settled.
[The man once called Sword Saint, first conqueror ‘Knight of the Sun Gawain’, follows you.]
I said to the assembling bones.
“You’re no longer Knight of the Sun. You move under me as Knight of Darkness.”
Gawain nodded.
“From now, I name you Death Knight. Your soul and body are mine.”
Gawain nodded again.
Assembly complete, black armor flew from somewhere and attached.
Clang! Clang clang!
At his armor’s center, not a cross, but Necromancer’s symbol: inverted cross.
Whoosh—
Wind heralded the skull helmet’s arrival.
Helmet on, Gawain shuddered.
“……Perfect.”
I approached the finished Gawain.
[Make Death Knight Gawain (Sword Saint) your subordinate?]
[YES/NO]
In this game, few hero-grade summons exist.
One: Holy Knight Gawain.
Having him equals ‘best summon’ in practice.
Cheok Jun-kyung level summon.
I exhaled deeply, hand on Gawain’s chest.
“……No.”
Blue screen filled my vision.
[System Error]
[Unknown error. Deleted faulty system code ‘Character:Gawain’ folder.]
[‘Land of Ruin’ devs express shock at your choice!]
First time I accidentally picked this, I thought I’d gone mad.
‘But considering the power it brought later….’
Crash!
Gawain’s bones crumbled.
His armor spilled to the ground.
“…….”
Step. Step. Step. Step.
I tossed aside Jeongwoo’s coat. Picked up Gawain’s gear one by one.
[Equip Death Knight Boots.]
[Equip Death Knight Armor.]
[Equip Death Knight Gloves.]
Heavy.
Never knew wearing full metal was this taxing.
Equipping Gawain’s last piece, I lifted the helmet.
“……Land of Ruin, now it begins.”
[Equip Death Knight Helmet.]
Black mist poured from my eyes.
“Urk!”
Sudden agony wracked my body. So this is death’s pain in text form.
Body twisted like wrung laundry.
“Hngh.”
Groan escaped.
Mind fading.
No sounds, yet eardrums buzzed. Darkness fell, blinding me.
I breathed slow, enduring.
“Hu….”
How much time passed?
Mind returned—armor fit like rubber gloves.
Pain faded.
Armor felt light.
“……Done?”
Vision and hearing restored.
Lifted head: black message window.
[Death Knight Set (SSS): All stats +50 / Hidden trait unlocked]
[Death Knight trait activates.]
-Corrupted Sword Saint’s soul flies, sharing dark energy with wearer’s subordinates.
“…….”
I forwent the best.
For the strongest.
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