Traces of the Dead One
The glass tubes came into view first.
Then, the various monster body parts inside them stabbed into his vision.
“Hup!”
Until now, when monsters died, they had turned gray and vanished in flames. Their wounds had filled with silver light as well.
Even corpse dissection had been handled by the game system, so it hadn't been all that gruesome.
This was the first time he'd seen them in their raw, unprocessed state, without any effects.
He couldn't hold back the dry heaves.
It was just too filthy. Too cruel.
Crazy...!
It took several deep breaths and calming his wildly pounding heart before he could finally lift his head.
Even then, he didn't stare directly into the tubes. A mere glance was enough to bring the nausea surging back.
Eyeballs, faces, shoulders, arms, legs, entrails.
Everything was there.
As he started to lower his head again.
Eh...?
A strange sense of incongruity hit him. Lifting his gaze slightly, he saw that the tubes in the back held what looked like human body parts, not monsters.
With a grim expression, he headed there. His stomach still churned, but his feet didn't stop.
Step.
He arrived at the tube before he knew it.
And below the tube.
A worn-out pouch lay discarded on the floor.
He picked it up.
Looking inside, he saw a name written there.
Cocoon...?
Quest 'Finding Traces' completed.
The quest completed as soon as he confirmed the name.
“Huh?”
Of course, it wasn't the end.
Deliver the Pouch
📍 Cocoon's pouch was found beneath a Papan tribe building, in a suspicious space. Deliver it to his close friend, Kraksu.
🎁 Reward: ?
It led into a new quest.
He checked the details.
Deliver the Pouch
Cocoon had been close friends with Mercenary Captain Kraksu. Mu-hyuk carefully stowed the pouch in his inventory. All he had to do now was deliver it properly.
But more than that...
The quest was done, but something still felt off.
He couldn't just leave a bizarre place like this alone.
I need to tell the captain.
He hurried out of the suspicious space.
Once outside the building, he confirmed the battle was in its final stages.
It ended soon after.
“Everyone, good work!”
Mu-hyuk approached the captain immediately.
“Captain.”
“Ah, Thousand-Man Commander. You did well.”
“Thank you. But...”
“What is it?”
“I stumbled upon a strange place beneath that building.”
“A strange place?”
“Yes. There were glass tubes there, and...”
He trailed off for a moment.
Whoosh.
Exhaling slowly, he continued.
“They contained monster and human body parts.”
Captain Muke's eyes widened.
“Body parts in glass tubes?”
“Yes.”
“That's definitely suspicious.”
The captain gathered the formal knights.
“The Thousand-Man Commander found a suspicious location. We'll move together and search it.”
“Should we notify the apprentice knights and foreigners too?”
“No, let them rest.”
“Understood.”
Muke looked at Mu-hyuk.
“Lead the way.”
“Yes, sir.”
Mu-hyuk returned to the building where he'd found the space. Entering and pressing the wall in the corner opened a passage big enough for one person.
“It's here.”
“Hmm.”
Captain Muke nodded.
“I'll go first. Then the Thousand-Man Commander, and the rest of the knights in order.”
“Understood.”
Muke entered.
*
What Mu-hyuk had seen was merely the tip of the iceberg.
The deeper they went, the more horrific the scenes became.
The fragmented body parts in those initial tubes had been just a fraction.
What filled this place now were body parts unnaturally fused together—monstrosities that transcended mere gruesomeness, embodiments of pure malice.
“What in the...!”
Even Muke was at a loss for words.
One of the formal knights following behind muttered.
“It's viciously ruthless.”
“Beyond that.”
They reached the end of the path.
There was a small door.
Creeeak.
Muke opened it and stepped inside.
Mu-hyuk followed.
Quest 'Gathering Darkness' information updated.
Gathering Darkness
[Acquired Information]
1. Contaminated Dungeon. Confirmed variant Lizardman Knights tainted by darkness.
2. Contaminated Unique Dungeon. Confirmed Dark Knight tainted by darkness.
3. Beneath Papan Tribe Building. Discovered traces of darkness experimentation in suspicious space.
🎁 Success Reward: ?
❌ Failure Penalty: Loss of class
[Failure determined later]
Mu-hyuk frowned at the floating message.
What's this now?
Gathering Darkness
New info had been added to the quest.
Traces of darkness experimentation, huh.
For now, he scanned the room.
Papers were scattered everywhere.
Captain Muke was checking them, but his expression soured.
What's wrong?
Approaching, he saw why.
Nothing.
All the papers were blank.
“Seems like magical processing.”
“They erased the contents?”
“Probably.”
Unfortunately, no details could be gleaned.
But speculation was possible.
He pieced together the massive flow he already knew. The stuff outside was surely traces of chimera experiments. These blank papers must relate to that.
Right, the episode.
Thinking of chimeras brought one main episode to mind.
The Dead One.
If this was truly connected to that episode?
Is this the starting point?
The amazing part was its link to the quest he'd received.
What I know is the location of the final lab, the guy's appearance, and that the monsters he commanded were chimeras. That's it.
He couldn't recall who the madman behind it all had been in life.
That was a bit regrettable. Knowing that would have made intervening much easier.
If mid-story intervention was tough, he'd use the final method.
Head to the last lab of the Dead One episode.
There had been quite a few labs, from memory. Mu-hyuk remembered one precisely: the final one. It had been so grotesque it was unforgettable.
Even though he'd only seen it once in a video, it lingered in his mind.
The problem was the level.
You had to be extremely strong to go there.
Impossible right now.
Mu-hyuk shook his head.
Still, he prepared for the what-if.
No such thing as certainty.
It might not even connect to the Dead One episode.
So, before reaching the level to hit the lab, if he got one more hint, he'd re-analyze based on that.
Of course, no hint meant heading to the lab anyway.
“For now, gather all the papers.”
“Yes, sir!”
The five knights moved briskly. After collecting everything and exiting the space, Muke ordered the knight holding the papers to return.
“Report the situation.”
“Understood.”
It was to lift the magical seal on the papers and establish this as the first forward base for the uncharted subjugation.
“Rest up, then we advance further.”
“Yes, sir!”
That day, they marched until sunset.
After the battle ended, it was finally time to sleep.
Sung Min-woo approached, grumbling.
“Man, this is freaking exhausting.”
“What is?”
“I tried commanding as a Hundred-Man Commander...”
He could guess from that alone.
Of course they wouldn't listen.
That's why even Mu-hyuk didn't bother.
“They straight-up ignored me.”
“Obviously.”
“Why?”
“Would you want to take orders in a game you logged into to have fun? You get chewed out by your boss at work, stress piling up—imagine that in-game too. How'd that feel?”
“Ah!”
Sung Min-woo's face lit with realization.
“That's why.”
“Idiot.”
“Tch, then studying strategy and tactics was pointless.”
“You actually studied?”
“Duh. I'm all-in on Illusion. But hey, with four spirits, it ain't useless. You got tons of skeletons—aren't you studying?”
“Hmm, studying...”
Truth was, he knew little about strategy and tactics. His fights so far had been charge, arrows, magic. That was it.
Clearly, adding them would enable proper battles.
Even if Mu-hyuk studied, skeletons might not follow complex orders reliably.
His wisdom was high, though.
Nearly 50 now.
This might work.
“I'll think about it.”
“You gotta study. Numbers advantage and all.”
“Got it, got it. See you tomorrow.”
“Okay!”
After logging out, Mu-hyuk emerged from the capsule and drank some water. He booted up his laptop and logged into the homepage.
He'd uploaded over 20 monster guides already. Views were still low, sadly.
Average 600.
Total views so far: about 12,000.
100 won per view meant 1.2 million won total, but he took 40%. So next month's monster guide sales: 480,000 won. Minus 3.3% tax, of course.
Definitely not much.
Still, gotta keep at it.
He wrote today's guide.
Tap, tap-tap.
Fingers flew across the keys.
The Yak is a level 36 monster appearing north of Kaken Village, resembling a small grim reaper with a sickle. Short but agile, it challenges same-level users. To handle easily, first buy from the general store...
He finished registering.
Alright, time for bed...
As he tried to wrap up, Sung Min-woo's words flashed through his mind.
Strategy, tactics.
He pondered briefly, then sighed and searched.
What is strategy?
Definitions varied slightly, but one thing was common.
A way to deceive the enemy.
A prime example: feigning troops to make enemies retreat.
Mu-hyuk wanted specifics, but details were scarce.
What about tactics, then?
Another search.
The methods and techniques for efficiently deploying, maneuvering, and operating forces.
From his perspective: operating skeletons more efficiently.
Tactics seemed fine.
He questioned strategy's necessity. He mostly fought monsters.
Sure, massive guild wars, empire wars, or continental wars would come later, but those scales always had dedicated strategists.
Tactics first, then.
Decision made.
He bought a promising book.
Finally, he lay down to sleep.
A few days later.
The tactics book arrived.
He read it right away, but it didn't click.
What the...?
Back to the internet.
Study military science first?
The note below explained: Build basics with military science, then tactics become easier. It naturally leads to strategy too.
Usually, strategy precedes tactics.
Haa, seriously.
Felt like his to-do list exploded.
Ah, annoying.
Mu-hyuk slammed the laptop shut.
Then logged into Illusion.
Someday, the need would arise.