It's hard to say if it was fortunate, but we didn't face much trouble while passing through points <8> and <9>. Vivienne, having traveled with me and the others for some time, had a rough idea of how I approached battles. She didn't take a leading role in combat, sticking to a defined limit and restraining herself from going beyond it.
The same went for Go Yeon-Joo.
Go Yeon-Joo faithfully carried out her role as the Keeper I had assigned her, refraining from stepping into the forefront unless the situation was dire. She occasionally assisted the others through her shadow abilities, but that level of help was something I could easily overlook.
As a result, the threats that Vivienne and Go Yeon-Joo didn't handle naturally fell to the rest of the party.
Not struggling at points <8> and <9> meant that the undead Death Knights and Liches I had been wary of didn't appear in hordes. I had wondered if they might be trickier to deal with if they had absorbed the malevolent energy, as Go Yeon-Joo suggested, but thankfully, no absurd swarm of them showed up.
At point <9>, our caravan finally encountered a single Lich. Dark smoke seeped from its hollow, blackened eye sockets, instantly revealing that it had absorbed the malevolent energy. It wasn't alone—skeletons formed ranks around it. Facing a high-tier undead like this meant we had to adjust our usual combat strategy.
The new approach was to let Vivienne control the battlefield while I broke through separately to deal with the Lich. I couldn't entrust it to the kids, and handing it to the other party members felt slightly unreliable. (Go Yeon-Joo had to stay as the Keeper, and as a temporary member, she was out of the question.) As a swordsman, I was the best match against a mage-type enemy, making it the most logical choice for me to step up.
Moreover, we were nearing point <10>, and I planned to let the group experience a boss raid this time. Since
For a swordsman facing a ranged enemy, the strategy is simple: close the distance to bring them within your reach and have the means—strength—to kill them. That might sound like an oversimplification to other swordsmen, but I had the ability to make it a reality.
The Lich, empowered by the malevolent energy, was undoubtedly formidable. It wielded magic twice as powerful as its untainted counterparts and cast spells at a much faster rate. But when it came to facing mages, I was beyond a mere specialist—I had the potential to dominate. The Lich unleashed a frenzy of spells, but it ultimately failed to keep me at bay. I seized the opening, slashing through its entire body with precision. The outcome was obvious. It didn't even have time to phase into an ethereal state before its corpse collapsed onto the cold ground.
Soon, pure flames erupted across the Lich's body, and I turned away without hesitation. There was no time to search for its Life Vessel, and leaving it intact risked a backstab. Using Hwajung to ensure its destruction was the safer bet.
Though we encountered a Lich at point <9>, strangely, no Death Knights appeared. Back in my first life, when we took the detour, I ran into them frequently, so their absence now felt odd. Even though we had already passed the detour and were on the main path, I expected to see at least one by now. Yet, despite our straightforward charge, not a single Death Knight had shown up.
As we resumed our march, a sudden thought struck me, and I called Sol, who was quietly trailing behind, to the front.
"Sol, come to the front for a moment."
"Uung? Okay!"
Seeing Sol respond with her cute voice and scurry over, a smile nearly crept onto my face, but I held it back. As expected, she immediately grabbed the hem of my clothes. I wanted to say, 'What, were you possessed by a ghost in a past life that died from not grabbing enough clothes? Let go already!' but I swallowed the urge, knowing her eyes would well up with tears. Instead, I spoke calmly.
"Before we entered the clearing earlier, I asked if anyone had other good ideas. Remember?"
"Ung… Ohh! That place with the black smoke and skeleton dolls?"
Black smoke and skeleton dolls. I heard someone behind us—probably stifling a laugh—let out a "Pfft." Barely suppressing my own embarrassment, I continued in a composed tone.
"Right. Back then, did you want to go forward, or did you want to take the detour? I know you probably didn't want to do either, but if you had to pick one."
I half-expected Sol to blurt out, 'I didn't want to go either way!' but my preemptive clarification made her close her mouth. She gently shut her eyes, as if recalling her feelings from that moment, her brow slightly furrowing. While waiting, I extended my detection to a 200-meter radius around us, all while admiring Sol's delicate features—her small, upturned nose and cherry-like lips. Come to think of it, once this expedition was over, I'd need to teach the kids about multitasking too.
As we continued marching, I noticed her pursed lips slowly part.
"It's kinda vague… But if I had to be pushed to choose, I think I would've gone into the clearing."
"I didn't push you. Anyway, why? I know it's just a gut feeling, but I'm curious about what you felt."
"It's just… Thinking about taking the detour made me feel really stifled inside."
Sol's clear voice was enough to resolve my curiosity. After gently prying her hand off my clothes and sending her back, I finally had a moment to calmly organize my thoughts.
Living monsters typically roam; they rarely stay in one place. While undead can't exactly be called 'living,' they do harbor emotions like resentment or bloodlust. However, a thought struck me: what if, after point <5>, someone had deliberately orchestrated the placement of these undead?
Picture this: a skeleton legion stationed at the clearing leading to the main path, Death Knights positioned along the detour, and Liches scattered here and there. Placement strategies vary by individual, so I can't judge. But over time, as that arrangement loosened, the undead's roaming range might have expanded.
This theory ties most things together. In my first life, there were users who entered before our caravan, and they failed to progress beyond point <5>. If we take point <5> as the benchmark, it proves my memories of the Cave Of Wailing are accurate. The surest way to confirm would be to take the detour and encounter a Death Knight, but I had zero desire to do that.
I can't say with certainty whether my speculation is right or wrong. Still, having crafted a hypothesis close to an answer, my steps through the cave felt noticeably lighter.
*
In the Cave Of Wailing, the final target we were aiming for,
Anyway, the survivors, including me, immediately reported our findings to the temple. Upon hearing our report, the temple requested an investigation team from the city's leading clan. The leading clan of Mule, which received the request, completely ignored our input. We emphasized that we'd lost a number of skilled players, but all we got in response was a sneer.
So, they assembled an investigation team with about thirty of their mediocre clan members and some residents, and sent them out. They ended up losing seventy percent of the people they sent. Shocked by the news, the leading clan quickly formed a massive investigation team of over a hundred people, even bringing in several renowned players from allied clans. Only then did they finally manage to receive a report that
At the time, the Northern Continent was fractured, with clans that got along splitting off into small groups. I vividly remember how rival clans mocked us, saying we were struggling with a mere small-city dungeon.
But the truth was undeniable:
Suddenly, an image of him flashed through my mind. Those bottomless eyes. The jet-black armor draped over his entire body. And the thick, oozing murderous intent radiating from him. The true identity of
"Ako!"
"Hold up."
I stopped in my tracks as something pinged on my detection, and I felt a slight impact on my back. It seemed someone had been tailing me closely. Turning around slowly, I saw Vivienne, rubbing her nose with a sulky expression. When she saw my calm face, her cheeks puffed up in frustration.
"Y-You could've warned me sooner!"
"Weren't you the one walking without paying attention?"
"Ugh…"
"We're in the middle of a march. You should be on high alert, not daydreaming."
At my words, Vivienne looked down, unable to argue. She mumbled something like, "You always warn me when there's danger," but since my own words had stung me a bit, I didn't press further. Besides, there were more important things to talk about.
"There are no reactions within a 200-meter radius. However, I'm picking up the most powerful and dangerous aura among the malevolent energies I've felt so far. I'm curious if any other players are sensing something similar."
The group stared at me with blank expressions. As I calmly met their gazes, their attention split. Some looked toward Go Yeon-Joo, others toward Sol. But Sol shook her head, as if to say, 'I didn't even want to come here in the first place.' I'm sure I wasn't the only one who interpreted it that way.
Soon, all eyes turned to Go Yeon-Joo, who tilted her head with an ambiguous expression.
"Well… I don't feel anything distinct enough to pinpoint. But now that Player Kim Soo-hyun mentions it, I do sense a kind of unsettling aura creeping up."
I nodded once or twice and turned back around. While lost in various thoughts, it seemed we'd already passed Point <9>. That meant we were now on the verge of facing the boss of the Cave Of Wailing. A flood of memories surged within me, but I quickly steadied myself and resumed the march.
Perhaps my words had stirred an odd sense of déjà vu, as the group followed me in silence. After walking for another ten minutes or so, a massive black gate came into view, large enough to be seen clearly with the naked eye.
The sight of the enormous gate caused a slight stir among the group. The iron gate was far too massive to be considered a mere door, exuding an abyssal darkness. Only after scanning it with my Third Eye did I understand why the others hadn't reacted much earlier.
I could feel my body gradually heating up. The dormant Hwajung within me was awakening on its own as we approached the gate, circulating through my body. But this time, I resolved not to rely on Hwajung's power. I'd decided to raid with the group, and we had Go Yeon-Joo, a player who'd reached
Careful not to let my current confidence turn into arrogance, I stopped a short distance from the gate. The gate stood over six meters tall, with a combined width of about three meters. I heard Lee Yoo-jung gasp at the sight.
"Hm. I don't sense any particular aura."
As I stared at the gate for a moment, Go Yeon-Joo stepped forward and reached out toward the pitch-black gate. The instant her hand grazed it, she let out a low groan and, with a horrified expression, violently yanked her arm back.
"Hngh!"
"Player Go Yeon-Joo! Are you okay?"
"Don't touch that gate!"
Go Yeon-Joo's sharp cry made Shin Sang-Yong flinch and step back. She bit her lip hard, frantically rubbing the hand that had touched the gate. Seeing the
After rubbing her hand for a while, she seemed to calm down slightly, though she shuddered as she spoke. Her voice, unlike her usual tone, was heavily subdued.
"This is insane. What kind of emotions are these? Pain, resentment, murderous intent, venom, rage, sadness, despair, curses, anguish… It's like every negative emotion in the world is condensed here. What the hell is inside…?"
"We'll find out once we go in."
Cutting her off with a calm voice, I drew the attention of the group, who swallowed hard and fixed their eyes on me, except for Go Yeon-Joo. She wore a conflicted expression, as if unsure whether she could handle whatever was inside.
But soon, she locked eyes with me and nodded once or twice with a resolute look. From here on, her role would be critical, so she needed to mentally prepare herself before we entered. I signaled the group to be ready for battle, and they all adopted tense expressions, beginning their preparations.
Watching Ha-yeon prepare her Memorize, I slowly drew my sword.
Now, only the final hurdle remained:
In other words, the Knight of Ruin, Horrence.
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