Chapter 46
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Ashen Cemetery (2)
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The zombies swarming in from left and right couldn't lay a hand on me. But that was only if I stayed perfectly still.
Any aggressive action—like shoving away the ones encircling me—would make the protective barrier shielding me vanish.
Without that system in place, I could've just swung my sword around freely.
In any case, I was completely stuck right now. I wouldn't take damage immediately, but if all my Valkyries fell, I'd be dead too.
“Kai!”
That's when Elastra dashed to my side.
With virtually no melee ability, zombies latched onto her shoulders and legs, biting down viciously.
“Urgh!!”
The moment she took a hit, dozens piled on, tearing into her relentlessly.
BOOM!!!
Suddenly, an explosion ripped through the zombies atop her, light flooding out.
Startled, I whipped around to see Elastra unleashing a fireball even as they mauled her.
The blast so close shredded her body too.
She'd sacrificed herself.
In that instant, a path cleared in front of me.
I couldn't waste the gap she'd barely carved out.
For Elastra, who'd detonated for my sake, I had to bolt.
Dodging the zombies lunging after me, I sprinted like a madman.
My nimble body let me narrowly slip past their grasping claws as I fled.
“Huff... huff... Dismiss summon...”
Finally out of the Ashen Cemetery, I frantically opened the summon menu to unsummon my Valkyries.
But by then, only Lije was left among them.
Garujan and Holla must've succumbed to the zombies, while Lussera fell to the Death Knight.
Thanks to Lije holding the line, I'd escaped unscathed.
“What... what the hell happened...?”
We'd strutted in so cockily, only to suffer near-total annihilation.
That's when it hit me—this world wasn't some playground.
It was worlds apart from the game I'd grinded for five years.
Unlike the game, where mobs spawned in tidy little groups, here they came in hordes of dozens, hundreds—thinking, coordinating.
I'd learned the hard way: game and reality ain't the same.
My one edge? Some foreknowledge of this place. That was it.
Hunt over for today. Sua and Heiji were backups, but pushing on was suicide.
I hailed a Valkyrie carriage and hightailed it back to Diana's mansion.
The whole ride, my mind raced: Never let this happen again.
Too many easy wins had made me arrogant.
People here saw my potential, not that I was hot shit yet.
I needed to get plenty stronger.
The Ashen Cemetery I returned to the next day still oozed its eerie gloom.
I'd waited out the resurrection timers for the fallen Valkyries and resummoned them: Lije, Jaira, Lussera, Garujan, Holla, and Elastra.
They gazed at me with stoic expressions.
“Everyone okay?”
“We're fine.”
“We were too weak to protect you.”
Elastra and Garujan spoke up.
They hadn't witnessed the others' deaths, but they'd seared Elastra's into memory—probably felt the worst about that.
Yet here they were, apologizing for dying and failing me.
“Let's level steadily and push forward. No rushing.”
They nodded. Yesterday's fiasco had drilled home the danger.
Especially with Death Knights lurking—a single one could wipe us.
We entered the cemetery, Garujan up front, advancing slow and steady.
Slower than day one, but stable hunting.
Way better for XP than two hours then bail.
Two weeks in, Valkyries hit around level 24.
30 was in the bag now. But that wasn't the goal.
Stronger than anyone here—that was it.
Mansion gold at 400 million? Check. Knighthood? Locked in.
New target: top dog in this world.
Like in the game, it'd happen here too.
Higher levels smoothed hunts.
“Fifteen zombies, left ahead. Engaging.”
Garujan led, scouting as we moved.
“No Death Knight signatures.”
Lije trailed, senses wide for them.
She outshone Garujan at sniffing out heavies.
Thanks to her, no Death Knight run-ins this week.
Garujan's spear whistled out, dropping a zombie—battle on.
Jaira and Lussera plunged in, smashing foes. Mobs clumped? Elastra fireballed 'em. Heiji mopped up the rest.
This time, Heiji subbed for Holla to amp speed.
Levels let Lije's shield and Lussera's heals handle it.
“Big signature right. Shift left.”
Lije called boss spots mid-hunt.
“Left. Keep retreat open.”
I maneuvered them on her intel.
Fifteen zombies vaporized in seconds. Bosses dodged, we rolled on.
Rotated Valkyries on battlefield clears to even levels.
At first, I figured pump just the endgame ones. But eyeing 15-mans? Better build the whole squad.
“Strong signature from right, homing on us. Full exit.”
Lije flagged the persistent one.
I scanned: clear.
Level 24 now—worth a shot?
“Can we take it?”
“No. My level's still too low.”
She recalled her scrap: barely blocked, owed life to Jaira and Lussera.
“Roger. Safe play. Fall back!”
We peeled out on her readings.
“Whew... Tough gig. Swap fields?”
Gloom and Death Knights soured the vibe—no peace.
“Stick here for now. We're surging. Level 30, Death Knights are doable.”
Lussera urged, but her face fell—blaming herself for stressing me.
I stroked her hair.
Prideful ones like her only said this when it stung bad.
“Yeah. Tough it out a bit. Good stuff incoming.”
Recharge loomed: payday 2 mil won = 1.6 mil diamonds.
Over 5x the starter 300k.
Monthly haul—suck up the grind.
Out already? Rested up, dove back in.
Never probed the depths.
Day one's deepest run? Near-wipe central.
Now we skirted safe outer loops. Core push later.
Steady grinding bumped us to 27.
Early morn, cheery pings hit:
80,000 Diamonds charged.
80,000 Diamonds charged.
80,000 Diamonds charged.
80,000 Diamonds charged.
...
80,000 Diamonds charged.
80,000 Diamonds charged.
My lips curled into a grin amid the spam.
Bang on: twenty chimes, 1.6 mil diamonds mine.
“Heh heh... I'm the king of this world...”
5,900 won for 3k diamonds. 49k for 30k. 99k for 80k.
Payday hit? Blasted 2 mil won on the spot.
Status screen gleamed with the hoard.
Plus 3k from mining guild untouched.
Now the crossroads: what to blow it on?
Diamonds opened endless doors.
Summon Valkyries for firepower. Affection items for bonds. Weapons for boosts. Or transfer as Pilot to amp allies.
Didn't wanna skip a single one.