The Nightmare of a Maiden Knight
Whoosh!
A girl swung her blade.
Each motion infused with mana sent gusts of wind whipping through the air.
The hem of her flared skirt billowed dramatically.
“Skirt?”
Yes.
Skirt.
I blinked a few times to make sure I hadn’t been tricked.
The illusion from my dreams remained unchanged.
Impossible.
Was Zaug actually a woman?
Hmm.
Her speech alone had sounded so thieving.
But no—the job title didn’t dictate gender.
Still, back in the day she’d swung a sword.
Seeing her from a distance, I couldn’t tell her appearance clearly.
Soon after, the scenery shifted.
A battlefield where the fight had just ended.
Corpses lay scattered everywhere.
Clank—clank—
A figure in full-plate armor that covered every inch of her body stepped on a skull.
Crack.
The sickly sound of shattering bone echoed with it.
“Is this the last one?”
The knight who had destroyed the skull removed her helmet.
Golden hair that looked like it had been melted gold.
Eyes that gleamed like sapphires.
“Commander. The extermination operation was difficult today as well.”
“Senior. You can just call me Isra.”
“I cannot. I must not disrupt the hierarchy of the knight order.”
What?
Why would she say that?
She wasn’t that self-proclaimed archaeologist Zaug.
She was Knight Isra?
That woman???
Hey.
Don’t lie to me.
A stuck-up who lived and breathed chivalry every single day.
No way could such a graceful and beautiful woman exist.
Oh dear.
My common sense was completely shattered.
Knight Isra!
You hypocrite!!!
To hide her gender and torment me like this!
The next scene showed Knight Isra in her nightgown opening a letter.
Clothing that covered her completely.
Thankfully, sunlight streaming in from the window gave her figure a subtle silhouette.
Ah.
There was absolutely no ulterior motive.
To fulfill her wish as closely as possible to her real-life appearance, this was a blessing.
Anyway, that was it.
Ruthless.
Isra tore open the seal with a small dagger, her forehead creasing.
“Another deployment?”
Whoosh!
The scenery changed once more.
This time it showed a panting Isra.
“Knight. Shouldn’t you reconsider even now?”
“Has it never been said that knights must betray their lord?”
“It’s for a better future.”
“No matter how you dress it up, your actions are treason.”
Isra in blood-soaked armor glared with a split voice, pointing her blood-red sword.
“Come at me. I shall teach you true chivalry by carving it into your bodies myself.”
The dream space grew gray.
When she blinked, the familiar ceiling appeared.
“Haa.”
The appearance from my dream had completely messed up my head.
Countless thoughts tangled together.
After blinking for quite a while, my mind finally cleared.
“Knight.”
[Speak.]
“You were a woman?”
[Didn’t you know that until now?!]
A thought that startled me flew into my brain.
***
The scream of Knight Isra echoed in the dead of night.
Uh.
I had no idea what this was.
“Haaam. You have no sleep, Iron Head?”
Inggrid, who had woken up, let out a long yawn.
[I didn’t mean to scare you!]
“What?”
[You said the lord didn’t know I was a woman, didn’t you!]
“Uwoong, that’s right.”
“Didn’t I look scary?”
“I knew it.”
“……”
The world.
Only I was the one who didn’t know?
[Don’t worry, Great Lord. I didn’t know either.]
Yes.
That was actually comforting.
When I thought about it, there were a few hints that could have suggested Isra’s gender.
She was obsessed with cleanliness.
She showed reluctance to expose flesh.
She preferred a female athlete’s physique over a large build during modifications.
Hmm.
But guessing that much wasn’t that difficult, was it?
[I’m disappointed, Lord.]
“You should have told me sooner!”
“Oh? When we talk, doesn’t your intuition kick in?”
Inggrid, you too!
Sniff.
My allies are nowhere to be found.
[It’s only natural that you didn’t know, Great Lord.]
Right.
At least Zaug became my ally.
[Thief. Be quiet.]
“Hmph. You don’t know where to butt in.”
Zaug collapsed.
[But what was the reason you suddenly noticed that fact?]
From Isra’s thoughts, I could sense a strong sense of anticipation.
“Just as you guessed.”
[Ooh, ooooooo!!!]
“Tsk. Lucky.”
Inggrid clicked her tongue, looking displeased.
[Great Lord! Me too!!]
[Hahaha! Your devotion is lacking, so work harder.]
By that logic, Inggrid’s loyalty should run even deeper.
Although it itched at my lips, I held back.
[Let’s go modify her right now!]
“Knight. Let’s look at the time first.”
[AM 01:15]
It was humanly right to sleep.
[I’m sorry. My enthusiasm got ahead of me, so I stopped.]
“Hah. Doesn’t chivalry say to wake the lord at dawn?”
[Kuuueh.]
Isra, who usually would have flared up, let out a whine.
Yeah.
It was a bit harsh.
“Haaam.”
Before closing my eyes again, I should order materials online.
With this, they should arrive by afternoon.
Like Inggrid, something that could replace flesh, such as deep slime’s mucus.
There were a few monster byproducts needed.
When I picked up my phone to open the Hunter Market app.
[Unidentified Message 1]
[Crack Gate]
“Huh?”
A message I hadn’t seen before my turn arrived.
—Tu Rang sent his analysis results.
We would like to confirm the dissection results and deliver the corpses and items to the hunter.
When would it be possible for you to visit?
Tu Rang? That was those Chinese hunters, right?
Oh.
I heard they were all B-rank hunters.
“Perfect.”
[What is it?]
“It seems one more byproduct suitable for modification appeared.”
What would happen if I modified a B-rank hunter’s body?
Obviously, but.
Up until now, I hadn’t created any undead based on humans.
You could just buy monster corpses if you paid, so why touch human corpses?
A legal(?) chance to turn human corpses into undead.
And not ordinary people.
A hunter’s body that had awakened mana and transcended humanity.
I was already excited to see what results would come.
***
On the way to the Crack Gate.
Today I was blessedly given a driver.
“Please take care.”
“You’re welcome.”
“If you need anything, just tell me.”
The driver Baek-san had mentioned had become my attendant.
When I first saw the waiting car, it felt a bit heavy.
After ten minutes, I had become comfortable.
Good driving.
A relaxing feeling like I could even close my eyes.
Entering the entrance of Gwacheon Government Complex.
We stopped at the parking lot near the Crack Gate headquarters.
“I will wait here.”
“Are you okay?”
“That’s my job.”
The driver answered flatly.
When I got back, I should buy Merona too.
“Park Minho Hunter. We have been waiting.”
Following the Crack Gate staff’s guidance, we headed to the autopsy room.
“All of them are B-rank hunters, and the maximum level ones.”
“When I met them at the gate, they weren’t that strong.”
“Yes. It seems they reduced their specs through some means.”
Skill or item effect?
The fact that the dissection results returned to normal suggested the penalty wasn’t permanent.
[Do we need to suppress our abilities and come in lower?]
“You only know one thing.”
[The skills you’ve learned don’t disappear.]
That was right.
If you used Mana Release, you could output strength and speed beyond your stat limits.
As seen with Isra.
[Hmph. Not everyone can do as I do.]
Yes. Yes.
That’s how it is.
I examined the corpses with Spirit Eye.
[Human species corpse]
Grade: B
A corpse of a human species that has reached the realm of releasing mana.
*Mana enhancement skill effect +24%
*Strength +11%
*Agility +8%
*Stamina +4%
Oooooh.
Look at the performance.
Unbelievable. Chinese hunters!
At the right time, there was also a corpse with a build similar to Isra.
Good.
I would use that corpse as the main one.
“Please send all Tu Rang corpses to the workshop.”
“Understood.”
A corpse of a B-rank hunter who could use Mana Release.
I was looking forward to the results.
“The items are gathered over there.”
“Thank you.”
[Great Lord. Be careful. They probably stole a couple.]
Thieves from the Crack Gate stealing rare items?
They even joked well.
I laughed and looked at the items.
Rare items: 13
Magic items: 23
Exactly as I remembered.
[Strange. The count should be short, yet it matches.]
[Only thieves see thieves.]
This time, Isra’s words were right.
Mr. Zaug.
Don’t suspect too much.
[This time, what?]
Alright.
Then let’s look at the items.
[Silencing Dagger]
Grade: Rare
Classification: Sword
Limit: Warrior class
Durability: 560/710
A dagger forged from dark obsidian.
A weapon good for disrupting the opponent’s senses and targeting openings.
*Stab Lv 41
*Slash Lv 31
*Recognition Interference Lv 29
*Critical Hit Lv 25
[Thief Hide Belt]
Grade: Rare
Classification: Waist belt
Limit: None
Durability: 150/200
A waist belt used by a famous thief of the highway.
Improves hiding ability and helps prepare for situations.
*Stealth Block Lv 35
*Skill embedded slot change.
[Slot Change]
Grade: D
Classification: Passive
Releases stored items. Consumable items can be used immediately.
Slot count – 0/3
Other items were mostly ambush-friendly.
“You can use the belt, Master.”
“Yeah. It’s fine.”
I should dispose of the remaining items.
The Crack Gate staff pointed to the dagger with his right hand.
“The recognition interference option is rare, so I recommend keeping it.”
Recognition interference meant the opponent didn’t feel threatened by the attack.
A more specific example.
Walking and seeing a trash can, you wouldn’t think of it, but you wouldn’t recognize that flying blade as danger?
It wasn’t absolute.
Still.
It could steal the opponent’s breath, and with good luck, it could land a fatal blow, so it was a very good option.
Should Isra try it?
[Sneaking cowardly is not fitting for chivalry.]
Yeah.
I understand.
[You can’t touch it?]
“It won’t fit in the Armed Zombie Warrior’s body.”
[U, but if you modify it in a ghoul style.]
[Hahaha. You’ve learned the virtue of devotion.]
It seemed like greed for items was bigger than devotion.
Adding one specialized in mobility and ambush wasn’t bad, so I’d overlook it.
While looking at the remaining items slowly.
“Eh?”
This one seemed okay.
And then the screen went dark.