King's Resting Place

Shh…!

The thick bushes lining the mountain path rustled violently. A few leaves detached from their stems and rained down with soft thuds. My limbs tingled like they'd been zapped by electricity—it wasn't just a natural gust of wind.

Then what?

Mana?

A whirlwind stirred by the flow of mana!

I'd been reaching into a knothole when I froze and whipped around. There they were.

"Heh heh heh. Heart skipping a beat, you little shit?"

A good dozen burly figures had already surrounded me. Their savage, beast-like faces were semi-transparent, so see-through I could make out the scenery behind them.

Invisibility?

A skill specialized for ambushes, rendering the user's body transparent and erasing their presence.

Damn it, I've been tailed.

If my sensitivity to mana flows had been higher, I could've easily detected their pursuit. The fact that I hadn't meant my current stats were just that pathetic.

"If you're gonna comfort me, start with this bolt-from-the-blue situation…."

"What's the little punk mumbling to himself? Haven't you sized up the situation?"

The hologram-like semi-transparent thugs solidified into sharp clarity. Thanks to that, I realized their numbers were way higher than I'd first thought—a depressing fact.

The man who seemed to be their leader stepped forward with a snicker.

"Cocky little shit. Second time today after this morning, huh? We owe you big time. Thanks to you, our guild's reputation is in the toilet—."

"Who are you guys?"

"We met this morning, asshole! Forgot already?!"

"Oh, yeah?"

No, seriously—who? Their faces rang a bell, sure.

Does Mom know?

Even Mom didn't know them, so they must've picked the wrong guy to mess with.

"We're the Bolt Guild—you stole our rice bowl this morning! Have some shame, you brazen punk. How dare you forget our faces after pulling that crap?!"

"…Ah!"

"'Ah,' my ass! Took you long enough!"

My memory wasn't big enough to catalog every ugly mug like theirs.

"Still whining about the rice bowl? Didn't we already settle that?"

"Ha! Who said it's settled just 'cause you decided? I'll lay out your two options, so listen up. One: die quietly. Two: crawl between my legs, bark like a dog, apologize, and—."

Instead of listening to more bullshit, I racked my brain hard.

Numbers… easily over ten at a glance. Maybe pushing twenty. Obviously, I was outnumbered. Plus, if they all had Invisibility, their base stats outclassed mine.

Talent to cover? One slip, and I'd be dead—that'd be the real waste.

Decision made.

"—join our guild and clean the toilets every day without fail. Be a good boy, and maybe we'll take you dungeon-running as a pack mule—."

"Thanks for your hard work."

"Huh? Wha—?! Hey!"

I shoved my arm into the knothole. Instantly, the variant gate inside sucked me in with insane force—from head to toe!

Slurp!

I absentmindedly touched that cross-shaped hole, and it swallowed me whole. I was genuinely startled.

I remember it clearly.

Before I could even catch my breath, the system popped up. Constellations often give trials to players and sponsor them as rewards. But a dungeon handing out quests? Never heard of that.

Am I the only one?

Lee Chan-hyuk. The guy who suddenly shot up the ranks, blabbing shamelessly in front of reporters' cameras.

Back then, a bundle of inferiority complexes, I envied him. Just like me, a bottom-tier player with nothing, but one lucky break flipped his life 180 degrees. That's why I still remembered his words after all this time.

Ding-.

The floating sensation from crossing the gate faded. I slowly opened my eyes.

Ugh, my stomach hurts.

What came into view first was a cave so chilly and shrouded in darkness that calling it a "resting place" felt wrong.

"Just like Lee Chan-hyuk said."

I'd been half-worried he might've lied. I'd come here banking solely on his public ramblings.

But it was fine. No surprises.

…Or so I thought, relaxing.

Shwooo—!

"Gah!"

"Urk!"

"Fuck!"

Uninvited guests?

The Bolt Guild leader who'd picked a fight earlier… nah, nameless, so Buckethead it is. Five of Buckethead's goons tumbled out through the swirling entrance, rolling across the floor.

His vanguard?

"Crazy guild master bastard! Tosses us in here 'cause he's too scared to go himself?! I'll get him later!"

"Oh, shit… there's really a dungeon here. Dude, aren't we totally screwed?"

"I dunno. Orders are orders, so first that bastard—huh?!"

Clutching their heads, the trash got up and pointed at me.

Wanna snap those fingers off.

"You little shit, you're here too!"

"Stay put. No resistance, and we'll make it quick and painless."

"We're in a shit mood right now, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so just behave."

Like some musical, they took turns spitting lines with perfect rhythm. Their whiny voices made my ears itch; I scratched with my pinky.

"Your guild master didn't straight-up order you to kill me, right? Gave me two choices."

"Fuck if I know? We'll just say you resisted and we had to. We're the ones stuck in this godforsaken dungeon 'cause of you!"

"Having disobedient underlings like you must be hell for Buckethead."

He did look a bit thin on top, like some uncle. Stress, maybe?

The trash snarled at my jab, drawing weapons. Swords, spears, axes… all nasty pieces.

"You just kicked away your chance at an easy death."

Mom must've figured victory was a long shot for me.

Fair enough. Even with talent, I had one chipped longsword. They had superior numbers and full gear. It'd be a tough fight, if not a loss.

But,

"No need for sponsorship, Mom."

No point wasting borrowed God Coins.

"What? Mom? Haha! This punk. Calling for Mommy? Dreaming! You're about to die, what the—."

"Mom… didn't you hear that?"

Yeah, I heard it fine.

Crack!

The source of that horrific roar burst through the cave wall. They were the ones sealed here long ago in this 'King's Resting Place'.

Skeletons.

Clatter, clatter!

Skeletons, you say? You might picture scrawny human skulls. Far from it—that's for human-based ones.

These were skeletons from the Dragonkin Tribe. Dragon-headed bones bellowed thunderously. Their skeletal frames rattled menacingly in response.

"……!"

"Eek?!"

The trash paled; even I, who knew, grimaced and flinched.

Dragon Fear!

The ancient dragon's roar that instills terror, rendering resistance impossible, exploded in the cave.

"I said no need… yeah, right…!"

My limbs went limp like the muscles had vanished. Goosebumps prickled; the hairs on my neck stood on end.

Thud!

"Th-this… f-fu…."

"Sh-shouldn't… have come… told you… bad feeling…!"

"U-uaaa…."

They'd lost all will to fight, dropping their weapons. I'd be the same without my ace.

"Hup…!"

Veins bulging on my neck, I desperately reached out a trembling hand toward the metal case beside me.

Click!

Pressing the center button split the case, ejecting the rusty longsword like toast from a toaster.

At the same time.

The skeleton horde charged like bees to honey, targeting me as the first entrant.

Faster…!

Clack.

My sweat-slick hand gripped the hilt. Almost simultaneously, a skeleton's scimitar halted mid-swing at my skull.

With me gripping the sword right in front of them, the skeletons awkwardly backpedaled.

In that moment, the Dragon Fear's aftereffects vanished like a lie.

"Phew."

Close call.

They took one look at my sword and got scared first. Fear? Nah… awe was more like it.

I was clueless, spacing out, when a message appeared.

Ding-.

I'd somehow become their king. This shabby, rusted sword was their symbol of royalty.

And a king wields command over loyal subjects.

"You guys, cooped up lonely in this cramped cave—don't more friends sound nice?"

Nod nod!

The skeletons nodded vigorously, necks nearly snapping. Cute now, after the scare.

Shouldering the pathetic sword, I commanded as king.

"Go make those guys your friends. You get what I mean, right?"

I glanced at the shivering trash in the corner, and the skeletons roared.

Overjoyed at new pals?

True friendship is forged by hand! The proactive skeletons charged the panicking trash with fresh enthusiasm.

"U-uaaaah—! D-don't come!"

"S-save me—!"

"Mooommmmyyy—!"

The one who'd mocked me for calling Mom now wailed for her. Hope he learns family value in his final moments.

Crunch!

Snap crackle!

The skeletons massacred the vanguard mercilessly. One split a skull like a watermelon with its scimitar; another gnawed flesh and crunched bones with serrated fangs. Overkill friendship.

My stomach churned.

"Urp…."

Sounds silly, but even as a player, human death felt alien to me.

High-rankers see it daily. They live on battlefields closer to death than anyone.

But I'm F-rank. A nobody. Never that close to death.

Monster kills? Routine. Humans? Different.

Especially since I sent them to die. Revulsion wriggled like worms in my gut.

Skeletons did the killing, but I caused it.

Gotta get used to it.

They tried to kill me. Over something trivial, unfairly treating my life like a fly.

To kill, be ready to die. Outside's 21st-century rule of law; here, savage dungeon heart.

Get it together.

Don't puke like a wuss.

Smack!

"Ack!"

A formless energy ball smacked my back…. Like this morning?

Tears welling, I protested.

"Mom?! I almost hurled! What the hell?!"

"…Ah."

Yeah, my bad.

To Mom, it'd looked like I was seconds from certain death. Should've explained before entering.

"S-sorry… I'll explain properly next time, no more surprises."

"M-Mom?"

Wait. Calm down. Why the spam?

Miracle? What's that? Constellations can do that? If ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so, why not earlier when I nearly died?

What the hell's happening?

…Nanny?