Dark Knights of the Tomb
Mu-hyuk advanced leisurely, taking in the scenery.
Summon Exp Gained
A smile crossed his face at the floating message.
That's right!
With three new summons stronger than the Giant Cyclops added, it didn't make sense that they couldn't take down even a single low-grade demon.
Low-grade demons ranged from level 150 to 200 at most, so with their current forces, they could probably hunt up to four.
Only one issue remained.
Just when would a mid-grade demon show up?
Levels between 200 and 250.
If a low-200s mid-grade demon appeared, they might snag one with some luck. But if it was pushing 250, no amount of effort would let his current summons bring it down.
Summon Exp Gained
Summon Exp Gained
Summon Exp Gained
Lost in thought, three messages popped up in a row.
Hoo, as expected...!
He hurriedly checked the exp.
Enough to raise stats by a total of 41 points.
More than I thought.
That left him pondering.
All-in on one summon?
Or spread it out?
Even split among just ten, that's only four per summon.
Not all that satisfying, all things considered.
Until now, he'd divided it evenly for balance, but ever since summoning the Poison Ogre, his eyes kept drifting to it.
What if I dump it all on him?
Go all-in on stamina?
All 41 stats converting to defense and HP.
Not bad.
No, it'd be great.
A faint smile played on Mu-hyuk's lips.
Poison Ogre recalled.
Yeti recalled...
At that moment, even the last remaining Yeti was recalled. Just before arriving at Abenso Village, which had a warp gate, he called to his companions.
"Hold up."
"Huh? What's up?"
"Let's walk from here."
"Understood, my lord."
Doran nodded, but Sung Min-woo didn't.
"Why? Let's keep riding the warhorses. Walking's a pain."
"Gonna give some stats."
"Stats? To who?"
"My summons."
"Tch, alright then."
Sung Min-woo hopped off his warhorse in agreement, and only then did Mu-hyuk summon his skeletons.
He opened the exp window again and selected Yes on the stat conversion prompt.
Select exp to use.
Select summon.
Selection complete.
Select desired stat.
Using 410,000 exp.
Poison Ogre's Stamina +41.
Defense up by 41.
HP by a whopping 4,100.
The Poison Ogre now boasted over 40,000 total HP.
"Demon Realm dispatch."
He sent the summons back to the Demon Realm, then used Abenso Village's warp gate to head to another city.
Poison Ogre recalled.
Yeti recalled.
Giant Cyclops...
In the meantime, all the summons had been recalled.
Damn...
Seemed something stronger than a low-grade demon had appeared. Better to lay off the exp grinding for a while.
Regrettable, but unavoidable. Mu-hyuk shook off the distraction and rode south for quite a distance.
"We're here."
The destination: Death Knight's Tomb.
*
Dark Knights, average level 185.
Knight in life, unable to forget their existence after death, corrupted by darkness.
Monsters who gained power surpassing their living days, along with eternal life.
Grrrooooaaar—
Frowning at the incomprehensible groans from their mouths, he drew his weapon.
"Around level 185, so stay sharp."
"Got it."
"Understood, my lord."
Everyone summoned their own forces and took positions.
"Skeletons, squirrels, spirits."
"Impressive?"
"The more the cooler. Man, badass."
"Yeah, it is."
"Damn right."
Yerin clapped at the pair's self-praise.
"Okay, now focus on the fight?"
"Yeah, let's."
Right on cue, a Dark Knight approached.
Grrrooooaaar!
The wail grew thicker.
No need to say it, right?
That the cry signaled allies.
Would be weird if they knew.
Feigning ignorance, he nocked an arrow.
Storm, Powerful Arrow Shot.
Aimed at the approaching Dark Knight, he released the string.
The arrow sliced through the wind, slamming into its shield.
Despite the massive explosion, the Dark Knight pressed forward without pause.
Speed building gradually, it soon plunged into the skeleton ranks.
"Holy crap, that monster's nuts?"
"Dark Knight."
"Whatever. It just let the skeletons surround it. How dumb can you get?"
"Hmm."
"We'll drop it quick at that level."
Will we?
Mu-hyuk swallowed his words.
Dark Knight.
Stronger than most low-grade demons in the Demon Realm.
Retaining their living skills, movements fluid and organic unlike typical monsters—tricky as hell.
No arrogance, no fear or pain. Knights steeped in darkness, driven solely by the will to kill.
Grroooaaar...!
It began moving in earnest.
Whoosh.
Destructive power infused in the swung sword.
Looked ordinary, but laced with a living-era skill, shoving back the shield-bearing Armor Knight 3 with a skid.
Even rear skeletons staggered from the impact.
Leaping there, it smashed down its sword.
-KABOOM!
The low-HP Armor Knight 3 shattered and recalled under the second hit.
"Gah, what the—?!"
Sung Min-woo's jaw dropped as he watched.
"Armor Knights break that easy normally?"
"Nope."
"Th-then..."
"It's just that strong."
The Dark Knight continued its flashy display.
Dodging strikes from all sides with twists, blocking with shield and using the recoil to backflip, shattering three Bone Swords in an instant.
"Insane...!"
Its movements were more fluid than even top rankers.
Mu-hyuk focused on attacking over admiring, but then it twisted, thrusting its shield.
-CLANG!
It blocked Mu-hyuk's arrow.
Ki Wave.
Burtan's ki wave shot from behind.
The Dark Knight wobbled—but only for a split second.
Regaining balance swiftly, it leaped into the air to evade the Armor Knights' onslaught.
Yeti, Ice Hold.
Frozen mid-air.
Now!
As swords thrust out, the ice cracked. It stepped on a swung blade for another leap.
Swinging from there, a fierce gust shook the skeletons.
Astonishing movement, but Mu-hyuk had anticipated it.
Pre-issued orders, and arrows and spells rained down right on cue.
-BOOM! KABOOM!
Shield out to block, but plenty of hits landed.
Even so, it minimized damage.
Tilting the shield to deflect, using recoil for a smooth landing.
Hit the ground faster than expected, causing remaining spells to whiff overhead.
"Ha, real monster. Guess I gotta join!"
No more spectating.
Sung Min-woo charged in, face lit with excitement.
"Come on, you bastard!"
Linked skill with his spirit.
Flurry of attacks followed.
Skeletons assisting.
"Hraaah!"
The Dark Knight flowed like water.
Tanking weak hits, dodging the strong ones.
Poison Ogre, Yeti, Red Orc Warrior strikes.
Especially wary of Mu-hyuk's attacks.
"This fucker!"
Sung Min-woo's spirit links were strong too, so it dodged maximally.
Hard to land hits.
"Why's it so damn fast?!"
"I'll close the gap!"
Skeletons narrowed the space.
"Nice!"
Now the Dark Knight couldn't evade, countering head-on.
"Let's see who drops first!"
Its HP plummeting amid the barrage—then.
Grrrooo. Grrooo.
The telltale Dark Knight cry echoed from somewhere.
"Two more incoming!"
Sung Min-woo fell back at Mu-hyuk's shout.
"Crazy, two more?!"
They joined soon after, shifting the tide.
Bone Sword 3 recalled.
Bone Sword 7 recalled.
Armor Knight 11 recalled...
The skeleton formation crumbled.
The first Dark Knight tried to rampage through the gap.
Can't let it.
Mu-hyuk stepped in personally.
Dormant Power Burst.
Stats surged 15% in an instant.
Summons strengthened accordingly.
Power of Darkness.
Dark Spirit Summon.
More skills activated, then he eyed the Dark Knight and kicked off the ground.
Storm, Power Attack.
Body accelerated, slamming its shoulder.
Shield-thrust to shove it back further, sword extended.
-CLANG!
Dark Knight countered.
Ki Wave.
Burtan fired on standby.
Storm, Cross Slash.
Sword swung at the fleeting moment.
-2,419 Damage
-Additional 4,352 Damage
Reeling hard from the shock, as it escaped the ki wave, it swept its sword horizontally.
Gale-force wind pressure erupted.
A massive shockwave engulfed Mu-hyuk and the skeletons.
Poison Ogre, Ground Shatter.
The rising earth barely blocked the gust.
Exchanged a few more sword clashes with the approaching Dark Knight before retreating sharply.
It's weakening.
HP halved in seconds.
Storm, Powerful Arrow Shot.
Nocked and fired.
———!
Pierce shot simultaneously.
-Powerful Strike!
-Powerful Strike!
-Powerful...
Waiting Armor Knights thrust swords.
Exp Gained.
Finally downed one, now facing the remaining two.
*
Took heavy losses downing the three.
"Lost a ton of summons. Need a break."
"Hoo, yeah. Let's rest."
"Oppa, this is brutal. Even my squirrels are all dead."
The three sat around Mu-hyuk.
Sung Min-woo, Yerin, Doran.
All wore fatigued expressions.
"So this is level 185..."
"Pretty tough, huh?"
"Regret brushing 'em off early."
Levels were never to be ignored.
Especially Dark Knights.
But the harder to kill, the better the bones they'd yield.
And solid exp too.
Mu-hyuk eyed the surviving skeletons and summoned a Yeti.
Approaching Yeti.
Extended hand, yanked a bone.
Yeti's Agility decreased.
Dexterity influence: -0.12 decrease.
Inserted Dark Knight bone in the empty spot.
Yeti's Strength increased.
Dexterity influence: +0.28 increase.
Swapped two more bones, then pulled a weapon for enhancement.
Clang, clang!
Succeeded one sword to +6, cooked up a meal.
Satiety as base.
Stamina +2 (30 min)
Stats boosted too.
Higher cooking level meant better effects.
"Alright, back to hunting."
"Roger."
Resummoned skeletons and headed for the distant Dark Knights.