chapter 08

The Dragon Knight

A pitch-black void, completely devoid of light.

Out of the gloom, a sullen, melancholy voice echoed.

[The fact that this has been activated means someone has accepted my power.]

My power?

"Are you, by any chance, the Death Lord himself?" Min-woo asked.

[It is useless to ask questions. This is merely a recorded voice. Just listen.]

The answer came without a second's delay.

Min-woo realized it immediately. Whatever was going to happen, the real ordeal would begin the moment these pre-recorded lines ended. Right now, this was his prep time!

"Wake up, minions."

[Activating Skill: Summon Skeleton!]

Clack. Clatter!

A horde of skeletons erupted from the ground. Because of his item modifiers, the sheer number of bones bursting forth was staggering. Well over three hundred skeletons materialized in the darkness!

[Opening Subspace Ring (Intermediate)!]

A literal mountain of equipment piled up in front of the skeleton army. Among the heap was the Black Heart Set—his ultimate cost-effective setup—alongside countless other pieces of gear lined up in neat rows. Swords, spears, halberds, and maces. Every single one was a vicious weapon capable of devastating power with even a casual swing.

"Put them on, hurry! Grab a weapon, each and every one of you! We don't have time! Move!"

Min-woo barked orders while chugging a mana potion. This short window was his only chance to gear up his skeleton army. Meanwhile, the ghostly voice continued to play in the background.

[I marched forth for vengeance. I dyed the continent in the hues of death. I believed I had achieved my purpose.]

Clack! Clank!

Helmets, chest pieces, greaves, gauntlets, and boots. The skeletons busily equipped the five-piece, ink-black armor sets.

"Equip the leftovers too! If you don't know what to grab, just throw on an extra chest plate!"

He had roughly two hundred full sets of the Black Heart armor. The remaining skeletons would just have to make do with whatever mismatched gear was left over.

[But at some point, I finally realized... I was nothing more than... a puppet on a stage...]

"So you were a total loser," Min-woo quipped.

[Even with all my power, I could not oppose them. Therefore, I chose to plan for the future.]

Wow, zero reaction.

The dialogue flowed continuously without even a millisecond of hesitation. It really was just a recorded playback.

‘Was he used by someone?’

Considering the man claimed to have dyed the continent in death, the Death Lord was clearly no pushover. Who could possibly be strong enough to make a Necromancer of that caliber so utterly helpless?

‘Could it be an Outer God?’

Since they were deities from the outside, influencing another world wouldn't be out of the question for them. Well, it wasn't a pressing issue at the moment. Case in point—the second Min-woo took his eyes off his minions, one particularly dim-witted skeleton stood there with its arm dangling, holding two heavy shields.

"Hey, you idiot! Only pick up one shield!"

Min-woo smacked the skull, snatched one shield away, and forced a sword into its bony hand instead.

[Now, I shall test your worthiness.]

[If you survive and prove yourself, you shall inherit my authority.]

[But if you fail to prove your worth...]

[You shall be trapped in eternity alongside me. A peaceful death will be a luxury you cannot afford.]

Man, talk about a dramatic threat.

"Yeah, whatever. My guys are already fully geared."

With this equipment, his combat power had shot up by at least five times. Whatever was coming, let it come.

[The first arrangement begins...]

The scenery shifted once again. Everything blurred around him.

[Entering the Battlefield of Eternity – The Battle of Hrulunif!] [You have entered an Ancient Battlefield!] [You have acquired the Title: 'Seriously, How Far Are You Going to Go?']

Before he knew it, Kim Min-woo was standing atop a massive fortress wall.

It was a space steeped in an oppressive silence, as if time itself had ground to a halt.

‘Huh?’

He looked around, scanning a world entirely washed out in shades of gray. Fortunately, his newly armored skeleton army stood arranged in neat rows along the wall right beside him. But something was off.

‘Those aren't the skeletons I summoned.’

Endless ranks of skeletons he hadn't raised were drawn up in formation. Skeleton Mages, Skeleton Warriors, Skeleton Archers... and the undead didn't stop there. Dullahans, Liches, Specters, Death Knights, and even...

‘A Bone Dragon?’

Beneath the fortress walls, a colossal dragon composed entirely of ancient bones loomed. It was a veritable citadel of the damned.

[This is a battlefield of the past, manifested from the regrets of 'Dragon Knight Cedric.'] [The player is currently in a 'Virtual Body.' Skills, stats, and inventory remain identical.] [However, you cannot acquire experience points.] [The player enters the fray.] [Frozen time begins to flow.]

Color bled back into the gray stage. One by one, a sinister fire ignited within the eyes of the undead.

Right then... a voice echoed directly inside his head.

—Is it you? The one the Lord prepared for.

Min-woo’s head turned instinctively.

Mounted upon the back of the Bone Dragon was a massive, golden skeleton knight.

‘What kind of monster is that...?’

A skeleton knight forged from bones of pure gold. Blue flames blazed furiously within its hollow sockets. An suffocating pressure radiated from it, making regular Death Knights look like child's play.

"...Are you, by any chance, Mr. Cedric?"

The golden skeleton knight nodded slowly.

—...A novice Necromancer. I do not expect much from you. Simply attempt to survive. If you are capable, that is.

[Authority is granted to you by Commander-in-Chief Cedric!] [You can now command the undead forces of Fortress Wall Sector 16!] [Undead currently under your command: 1 Death Knight, 1 Lich, 5 Dullahans, 5 Specters, 500 Skeletons] [You have acquired the Title: 'Baby Commander!']

Immediately following the notification...

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! "Orc! Orc! Orc!"

A deafening war cry erupted from the front.

Spreading across the plains before the fortress wall was an innumerable host of Orcs, stretching beyond what the eye could see. Clad in pitch-black armor, the Orc horde beat their weapons against the ground in a rhythmic, terrifying cadence, whipping themselves into a battle frenzy.

But that wasn't the real problem.

‘Are you insane...?’

Forget a Bone Dragon. Far in the distance, a real, living dragon—so massive its silhouette was clear even from afar—flapped its titanic wings. Roaming near it were Wyverns, Hydras, Cyclopes, Kodos, and Death Witches. Every single one was a top-tier, spine-chilling monster drawn up in terrifying battle lines.

‘Wow, this is brutal.’

The situation was a disaster. Even with the defensive advantage of the fortress wall, the sheer disparity in numbers was overwhelming. Was their quality any better to make up for it? Not a chance. A living dragon was vastly superior to a Bone Dragon. While they had high-tier undead like Death Knights and Liches, they were few and far between. They were utterly outmatched in both quality and quantity, from the grunts to the vanguard.

‘And there’s nowhere to run.’

The front was swarming with a plague of Orcs. And the rear? A sheer, dizzying drop down a bottomless abyss.

‘This castle layout is a literal burning-the-bridges scenario.’

Surely the solution wasn't to leap off the cliff to find some secret hidden treasure, so...

‘It means I just have to fight.’

The first thing that came to mind was a time limit. Survive for a set duration, earn the recognition of this Cedric guy, and the battlefield clears. Or perhaps reinforcements would arrive.

‘Sure, Cedric looks incredibly strong, but...’

There was one glaring issue.

"Orc! Orc!"

Standing dead center among the Orc Royal Guards was an enormous figure—an Orc Hero. That Orc was no ordinary monster. One look was all it took to know he was a harbinger of absolute destruction. A gruesome, bloodthirsty aura completely dominated the surrounding airspace. Honestly, he looked significantly stronger than the living dragon.

Could they even drag this out?

‘Let’s think. A straightforward frontal clash is suicide.’

A normal player in this setup would have a stat cap of 50 and probably just a single basic summon skill. How strong could a summon be under those restrictions? At best, they’d be a clumsy Level 30 or 40 Necromancer. They wouldn't even be able to utilize a skill like Death Lord (EX). To throw someone like that into a hellhole like this and tell them to survive?

Gate Hunter was a punishing game, but it wasn't an inherently unfair one.

‘There has to be a detour. Is "regret" the keyword?’

A battlefield built upon regret. Min-woo didn't know what exactly Mr. Cedric regretted just yet, but if he could resolve that regret, the battlefield would likely clear.

‘Whatever the case, a strategy exists.’

He had to find it. If he wanted to live, he absolutely had to!

ROOOOOAAAR!

The Orc Hero thrust his glaive forward.

"Orc! Orc! Orc!"

The Orcs charged toward the fortress walls like a tidal wave, carrying elongated siege ladders.

"Fire! Don't conserve arrows! Unleash everything!"

"The Commander has ordered it. Fire!" At Min-woo's shout, the Death Knight stationed on the wall thrust his hand forward.

Shshshshshk!

A torrential rain of arrows blotted out the sky. A few Orcs tumbled to the dirt, but it was a drop in the bucket.

Thud! Clack!

Siege ladders slammed against the parapets in rapid succession. The Orcs surged upward like a rising tsunami.

"Boys, grab your tools!"

Shring!

Beside him, the Death Knight drew his blade. A malevolent light flared in the eyes of the Lich as it raised its staff. The Dullahans unsheathed their twin-bladed axes, and a thick, black haze began to billow from the Specters' mouths.

The baby skeletons under Min-woo's direct command prepared for combat all the same, hoisting their weapons high, ready to strike. He chose to ignore the fact that their arms were visibly trembling because their Level 1 stats lacked the strength to hold the heavy gear.

The moment an Orc's head popped over the crest of the wall, Min-woo swung his sword with all his might.

Slash!

In that split second, Min-woo realized something.

‘My body... it moves way more fluidly!’

His stats were definitely the same. Yet, the way his body moved was entirely different. It felt lighter, sharper—like a butterfly breaking free from its cocoon. It seemed that entering a virtual body had stripped away Kim Min-woo’s original physical limitations.

‘I'll take it!’

An Orc's head flew off in a clean arc. But the onslaught was just beginning. Like a horrific game of Whack-A-Mole, Orc heads popped up from every direction.

"Bring your weapons down with everything you've got!"

Thud! Crunch! Gwahahrk!

[Skeleton 1 has caused an enemy vastly stronger than itself to fall to its death! Combat experience is accumulating rapidly!] [Skeleton 171 has caused an enemy vastly stronger than itself to fall to...] [Skeleton 223 has...] . .

They held the high ground. Unleashing downward strikes with maximum gravity-assisted force, they sent the climbing Orcs plummeting to their deaths before they could even gain a foothold.

But the advantage was short-lived.

Following its orders, one baby skeleton brought its weapon down hard onto an Orc’s skull. However, the climbing Orc caught the descending mace with a single, bare hand.

Clatter?

The skeleton frantically rattled, trying to yank its weapon free, but the Orc’s grip was like iron glue.

Grargh!

With a powerful tug from the Orc, the skeleton was pulled forward, tumbling clean over the fortress wall.

Crash!

One by one, his skeleton horde began to be pulverized into bone meal.

[Undead is resurrecting...] [Summon for Skeleton 1 has been canceled!] [Summon for Skeleton 16 has been canceled...]

Even if they resurrected, the ground below was a sea of Orcs. The skeletons were being forcefully unsummoned left and right. And the hardship didn't stop there.

Whiz!

The Orc archers on the ground began to rain arrows upward. Min-woo narrowly tilted his head as an arrow grazed his cheek.

"Lich! Destroy the ladders! Acid magic!"

[Lich 'Hans' uses Acidic Touch (Rank C)!]

Spectral hands forged of burning acid materialized in midair, clamping down tightly on the upper beams of the ladders. The wood dissolved instantly. The climbing Orcs let out wretched screams as they plunged into the abyss.

Yet, the line of approaching Orcs remained endless. To make matters worse, while the initial waves consisted merely of basic Orc conscripts and warriors, higher-tier Orcs were finally beginning to appear.

ROOAR!

An Orc Berserker. A sub-species that grew exponentially stronger the more blood of its own kind it witnessed. Its massive battleaxe narrowly cleaved the air above Min-woo's head.

Min-woo lunged forward, plunging his sword deep into the beast's abdomen. The blade slid in smoothly. Vomiting a torrent of dark blood, the berserker unhinged its jaw, attempting to tear Min-woo's face off.

Min-woo delivered a fierce kick to the brute's chest, throwing him backward, and smoothly executed another Orc climbing up beside him.

[You have hunted one hundred Orcs of a significantly higher level than yourself!] [You have acquired the Title: 'Orc Hunter!']

What did the effect for that do again? Right, increased damage against Orcs.

Min-woo immediately re-summoned the skeletons whose summons had been canceled. His mana reserves took a sharp hit. In an instant, nearly two hundred skeletons replenished his ranks, but sadly, the vast majority were completely unarmed. Their gear had fallen below the wall long ago, entirely unrecoverable.

"Pick up anything you can find, fast!"

The skeletons scrambled to grab discarded weapons. The chaos was so absolute that he needed every single extra hand he could get, no matter how weak.

Thirty minutes. One hour. Two hours.

They blocked, slashed, and held. In the interim, mid-tier undead like the Dullahans and Specters began to perish one by one. In the distance, even the default Death Knights and Liches were starting to disintegrate. Min-woo cleaved and butchered through endless waves of green skin.

[You have hunted five hundred Orcs of a significantly higher level than yourself!] [The Title: 'Orc Hunter' has upgraded to 'Orc Slayer!'] [Warning!] [You have consumed too many potions in a short duration! Toxicity overload is beginning to manifest!]

‘This is getting bad.’

If he hoarded his big spells now, he’d die with them.

"Hans! Use the big one!"

[Lich 'Hans' uses Earthquake (Rank A)!]

Rumble...!

The ground before the fortress walls fractured violently like a glacial crevasse, swallowing hundreds of Orcs into the earth. It bought them a brief, precious moment to breathe. They were holding quite well, all things considered.

Until now.

ROOOOOAAAR!

The battle cry of the Orc Hero rippled across the sky, paralyzing the air.

Flap!

The titanic wings of the living dragon snapped downward.

ROAR!

The draconic silhouette closed the distance to the fortress walls at terrifying speed. And of all places, it was heading straight for Sector 16—his sector.

‘I can't dodge this!’

He had a Death Knight and Lich Hans by his side, but looking at that incoming monstrosity, he didn't feel a single shred of security. Instinctively, he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"CEDRIICC!"

Do something! I'm going to die here!

Right then.

Flap!

Swooping in from the rear, the Bone Dragon collided heavily with the living dragon. The golden skeleton knight mounted upon its back leaped high into the air toward the beast. A spearhead overflowing with a turbulent, dark energy drove violently into the dragon's skull.

The dragon thrashed its head in agonizing pain.

—...I was already planning to step in.

Bullshit, you were just standing back there with your arms crossed watching the entire time.

Swallowing the retort that instinctively bubbled up in his throat, Min-woo decapitated an encroaching Orc.

That golden bastard.

If he ever becomes my subordinate, I am going to work him like a dog. Min-woo silently swore to himself.