The Path to the Castle of the Dead
From far off came the sound of bushes being disturbed.
The raiders split into three groups and began chasing the doll.
Kang Yoonsoo rose first and drew his pitch-black longsword.
Shanette and Henrik followed right behind him.
Movement stirred beyond the thin grass.
Kang Yoonsoo sprinted lightly, leaped, then drove his sword in reverse and spun it with savage force.
Scarlet blood exploded outward.
“Griaaaak—!”
The attacker screamed its death cry and toppled backward.
Henrik, who had checked the corpse, widened his eyes.
“What the hell? It was an orc?”
The green-skinned orc corpse clutched a longbow. The heavy leather armor it wore made it clear the creature had come fully intent on battle.
That was when it happened.
“Karuk—!”
An orc that had rushed over after hearing the clash of blades loosed an arrow.
At such close range there was no dodging it.
Just as the arrowhead threatened to sink into Shanette’s left shoulder, Kang Yoonsoo’s longsword flashed.
Clang—!
His blade severed the arrow’s path.
The orc hidden in the grass held its stance and fired arrows in rapid succession.
Kang Yoonsoo deflected every single one with his sword.
He advanced slowly. Not a single arrow touched him.
The orc shrieked in terror.
“Guriyaak—!”
The blood-soaked blade split the orc’s green hide.
Kang Yoonsoo flicked the gore from his sword and walked back without a scratch.
Henrik stared at him with deep suspicion.
“Is that guy even human?”
“You’ll get used to it soon.”
After the two orcs were slain, the rest came swarming.
There were at least a dozen.
“Gurui—! Guruiiik—!”
The orcs encircled them and nocked arrows.
They fired in unison.
There were no blind spots to exploit.
In that instant of crisis, Henrik thrust his hand into the doll summoning box.
“Twelve shield dolls.”
Wooden dolls bearing massive square shields planted themselves firmly around the three companions.
When Henrik tugged the threads of mana, every shield doll snapped into a perfect defensive stance.
The arrows slammed against the thick steel shields and clattered harmlessly to the ground.
Most puppeteers were considered skilled if they could handle two dolls at once. Henrik’s casual mastery of twelve was nothing short of astonishing.
“Uncle Henrik, are you sure you’re human?”
“Compared to that monster over there, I’m a joke, aren’t I?”
Kang Yoonsoo vaulted over the shield dolls and charged the orcs.
None of the incoming arrows could slow him.
He swept Labian’s longsword in a wide arc. Three or four orcs died instantly, throats pierced.
“Guruiiik—!”
The formation collapsed. The orcs dropped their weapons and fled in blind panic.
Shanette and Henrik threw themselves into the fight in earnest.
Shanette drew her Death Scythe and targeted the backs of the fleeing orcs. The crescent blade reaped them like a beast that drank blood.
Henrik recalled the shield dolls and summoned new ones—wooden archers gripping short bows.
“Not bad, these orc crossbows. I’ll put them to good use.”
Henrik’s mana-threaded hands moved without hesitation.
The archer dolls snatched up bows and quivers, then aimed at the orcs with mechanical precision.
Every arrow they loosed blew the back of an orc’s skull open. The creatures dropped like puppets with cut strings.
Henrik’s skill with dolls was on another level. The fact that he could calculate trajectories from the dolls’ perspectives with such deadly accuracy was genuinely impressive.
Soon every orc lay dead, blood soaking the ground.
The spoils were bent iron scraps, metal fragments, and one large hexagonal crystal.
“Where did these orcs come from?” Shanette asked.
“Probably lived in the nearby woods,” Henrik replied. “Crossbows, leather armor—they came dressed to hunt humans. Orcs rarely leave their tribes. Something’s off.”
At that moment Kang Yoonsoo stretched out his right arm.
Preserved 14 zombie orcs in the summoning inventory.
Current summons: 14 Zombie Orcs, White Wolf Monster White, Salamander Sally.
Maximum summon capacity: 684
Henrik made a face like he had bitten into something rotten and tapped Shanette on the shoulder.
“Hey, nagging lady. I have a feeling it’s going to take a long time to get used to that guy.”
“I felt the same at first,” she answered. “But once you adjust, it’s not so bad.”
“Hmm. Really?”
Shanette and Henrik shared a strange sense of solidarity.
Kang Yoonsoo stared at the hexagonal crystal the orcs had dropped. It was the same obsidian hue as the Ring of Life Oppression on his finger.
An unidentified mineral. Composed of a substance different from ordinary crystal.
He picked it up. The terminal’s text immediately changed.
By progressing the legendary quest, the crystal’s true nature has been revealed.
Legendary
A crystal created by Death General Caliburn. It contains the power to dominate living beings. Breaking it will reveal the path to the Castle of the Dead. However, doing so will establish a hostile relationship with Death General Caliburn.
Death General. A general of death possessing outstanding leadership.
Among the countless terrifying undead, Death Generals were counted among the highest-ranking monsters. They were infamous not only for their ferocious swordsmanship but for commanding vast legions of undead troops.
To strengthen the necromancer class, I need to meet that thing now.
It was a monster he could not possibly face in his current state. Yet Kang Yoonsoo crushed the dark crystal without hesitation.
Crack—!
KYAAAAAAAAAK!
A blood-curdling scream echoed. Pale souls flowed out like mist—lost wraiths with nowhere to go.
The wraiths gathered and formed a straight, pure-white road.
It was a bleak, ominous path. Yet Kang Yoonsoo walked it with perfect calm.
Shanette and Henrik looked as if they might faint.
“K-Kang Yoonsoo?”
“Hey! Why are you going in there? Have you lost your damn mind?”
“I have business. Follow me.”
The two exchanged glances, sighed, and trailed after him.
Henrik ground his teeth. “We’ve been together less than a day, but I’ve made up my mind. If I die, it’s definitely that bastard’s fault.”
“Same here.”
Whether he noticed his companions’ murderous glares or not, Kang Yoonsoo walked on indifferently.
Every time his foot touched the path, the wraiths shrieked in agony.
The road grew deeper and more treacherous.
After walking through the deserted forest, a transparent lake appeared. It was so vast the opposite shore could not be seen.
“How do we cross that?”
Kang Yoonsoo jerked his chin, telling them to wait.
After a moment the path of wraiths extended across the water. The lake’s clear surface froze solid, forming a bridge of ice.
“Creepy as hell,” Henrik muttered.
The three walked across the long lake on the ice path without a boat.
Not a single wild animal or insect could be heard.
They walked for a long time, yet the end of the lake never appeared.
Henrik frowned. “Shouldn’t it be well past morning by now?”
“It should. But it’s still dark here. There isn’t a single sign of life.”
The place was not only gloomy—it radiated pure dread.
Suddenly Shanette pointed ahead, startled.
“A castle!”
A black castle. A colossal fortress floated at the center of the lake.
It possessed an antique elegance, yet every surface was uniformly obsidian.
Dark fog like storm clouds wrapped around it.
Henrik grimaced. “The castle on the frozen lake. Whoever the lord is, they must have a real taste for the dramatic.”
The fortress had been invisible from afar. Clearly only those who followed the path of the dead could reach it.
It was a splendid black castle, yet something about it felt deeply unsettling.
“Don’t you feel like there are corpses rolling around inside?”
“Don’t say that. If you say things like that, they really appear.”
Kang Yoonsoo spoke flatly.
“It is the castle where corpses live.”
“……”
They continued toward the black castle. The lakeshore around it was completely frozen.
The moment they reached the gates, knights in rusted armor dropped from the high stone wall.
“St…op…!”
The voice was not human. What wore the rusted armor were skeletons—Skull Knights, a higher form of skeleton.
“Clack! Insolent… intruders!”
“We shall… defend… the castle! Humans…!”
Kang Yoonsoo stated his business simply.
“Move.”
“We refuse!”
“Then die.”
The party instantly entered combat readiness.
Shanette drew her Death Scythe. Henrik pulled combat dolls from the summoning box.
The twenty Skull Knights drew their swords with clear killing intent. Their stances were far from ordinary. Their levels were roughly ninety.
The Skull Knights charged as one.
Kang Yoonsoo stepped forward and stabbed the lead knight’s collarbone. At the same time he swung his Lightning Storm staff, bringing down blue lightning.
Crack—!
Five Skull Knights were blasted backward.
Henrik seized the opening and ordered his combat dolls to pulverize their bones.
Meanwhile Shanette activated her new skill.
“Flame Art!”
Fire roared along her scythe. When she swung the Death Scythe in a long arc, flames erupted in its wake—far hotter and more intense than ordinary fire magic.
Five Skull Knights struck squarely by the blaze staggered, bodies wreathed in fire.
“Fire… hot!”
The burning knights scrambled backward.
That was when the anomaly occurred.
The thinner sections of the ice began to crack.
Craaaack—!
Parts of the ice shattered. The entire sheet started to tilt.
Henrik screamed. “You idiot girl! Who in their right mind uses fire while standing on ice? Argh!”
“S-sorry! It’s my first time using this skill… Kyaaak!”
The ice lost its balance and listed dangerously.
Crack! Crack!
Holes opened in the thinner sections. Skull Knights fell into the water and flailed.
Shanette and Henrik struggled to stay upright on the tilting ice.
Yet one person remained completely steady.
Only Kang Yoonsoo walked across the shaking ice as calmly as if taking a leisurely stroll.
“Come here.”