Dyren opened his eyes. At first, he remained silent, but the moment he remembered what had happened earlier, he immediately sat up and got ready to fight.
Suddenly, a laugh echoed through the air. Dyren turned toward the source of the voice.
He frowned. "You..." He touched his body. The pain was still unbearable, but… he was alive. "Why?"
The Bunny Girl stood. She walked toward Dyren. "You beat me. So, I won't kill you." When she got close, she patted Dyren's shoulder. "You're the only human who has ever defeated me."
Dyren jumped back. He drew his sword again. Trust someone who had tried to kill him? That was insane. He shook his head several times.
His gaze sharpened. He was about to attack again. The fight wasn't over yet. He would use this chance for a second round.
But just as he stepped forward to strike, a surge of unbearable pain tore through him. Dyren collapsed, his entire body feeling shattered. He could only support himself on one knee.
The Bunny Girl turned around. She sat again on the pile of rocks she had arranged. "I won't kill you. Go heal yourself."
Dyren still didn't believe her. He slowly backed away, putting distance between them. Once he was far enough, he slumped against the ruins of a house. A small sense of relief washed over him as he finally got to rest—his body was truly broken.
"That's right..."
Dyren moved his hand. He activated the skill [Necroguard Legion]. Instantly, several skeletons appeared. He raised his sword.
He pointed the tip of the blade right at his chest. He was going to kill himself.
From afar, the Bunny Girl noticed what Dyren was doing. She frowned. "What is that human doing?"
Dyren didn't hesitate. With trembling hands, he thrust the sword straight into his own chest—piercing through his body.
His body jerked. Blood gushed out. His consciousness faded… he died.
As his body collapsed, the skill [Soulbound Core] — Mythic Passive — activated. A faint light pulsed from within Dyren's dead chest and rapidly surged into one of the skeletons summoned by [Necroguard Legion].
Suddenly, the skeleton stopped moving. A green glow enveloped the dry bones, and then the bones began to swell, wrapped in flesh, tendons, and then skin. A face gradually formed—a human figure.
It was Dyren.
The left side of his face was damaged, peeling, with stitched scars and burn marks. Old wounds—scars from his past as an experimental subject of a dark organization. Scars that symbolized torment, betrayal, pain, and hatred.
His eyes opened. Heavy breath. His fingers moved. He felt the pulse of life return to him. As he touched his face, he could still feel the burn marks on his left cheek.
"So… this doesn't heal it, huh." That disappointed him a bit. He truly hated the burns and stitches on the left side of his face. Remembering them made his chest ache. "But at least… all the pain is gone."
He jumped a few times. Everything seemed normal. He turned to look at his former body. His old self still looked exactly the same—just lifeless. Seeing that, Dyren shivered.
It felt like looking at his own death. And it wasn't pleasant.
"What exactly are you, human?" the Bunny Girl asked.
Her gaze was serious. This was the first time she had seen a human die and come back to life. Even she, a powerful Demon, couldn't do that. If she died, she'd be gone forever. Though, that was almost impossible.
If she could be killed so easily, she wouldn't have been sealed inside a cursed egg.
"You're not a human," said the Bunny Girl.
Dyren turned to her. "I am human. But... my class is Necromancer."
"I've met a Necromancer before, and yes, he was troublesome. But when I killed him, he never came back. So don't lie to me, strange creature."
"I have a unique skill that lets me return to life. Does that answer all your questions?"
The Bunny Girl tilted her head. "Skill? What's that? Some kind of food?"
Dyren was shocked by her question. He clearly remembered that in the story Crimson Sovereign, the hero had the same system he now possessed.
Shouldn't everyone have it too? Dyren scratched his head. "You don't have a status window in front of your face?" he asked.
The Bunny Girl grew even more confused. "I don't understand what you mean."
Dyren fell silent. He just realized that not everyone in the Crimson Sovereign novel had a game-like system like he and Ereon did.
The novel was written about 90% from Ereon's perspective and those close to him. Though occasionally, it showed the viewpoint of villains—like the commanders of the dark organization, their leader, or the Demon generals and Demon King.
"But… most of them had something similar."
Dyren tilted his head. He wasn't sure. What he saw only included levels, skill names, stats, and a few other things. No missions or shops.
Dyren shook his head. "I don't understand. To hell with all of it. What matters now is… I need to find a way back to Earth."
The Bunny Girl stared at Dyren with a puzzled expression. Almost everything he said made no sense to her.
"You're weird," said the Bunny Girl.
Dyren looked back at her. He stared at the Bunny Girl for quite a while. From top to bottom, over and over again. Looking now, she didn't seem scary. She actually looked… cute. But remembering how strong she was, he quickly discarded that thought.
She was a monster who could destroy a city on her own.
"You really won't kill me, right?" Dyren asked.
The Bunny Girl shook her head. "I won't."
"Why?"
She stroked her chin repeatedly. "Why? Because you defeated me. And… I'm interested in you, so I won't kill you."
"Defeated? But didn't I pass out before finishing my final strike?" Her answer felt strange to him.
"You don't remember?"
Dyren shook his head.
The Bunny Girl looked slightly surprised. She then explained what had happened. When Dyren fell unconscious, she was about to kill him, but then an enormous skeleton appeared.
It released strange magic, and her mana was slowly drained. Thousands of skeletons appeared and attacked from all directions.
The battle lasted for three days. In the end, she gave up. She had completely run out of mana.
"… when I surrendered, the skeleton vanished. That's what happened."
Dyren was stunned. He had no memory of having a skill that could summon such a massive skeleton. He opened his status window. What he saw shocked him.
[Name: Dyren Valenhardt] [Level: 99] [Race: Human (Cursed)] [Status: Permanently Cursed (HP reduced by 0.10% per second)] [HP: 7,998 / 8,200] [MP: 20,000 / 20,000] [Strength: 380] [Intelligence: 900] [Vitality: 420] [Dexterity: 300] [Luck: 100]
Dyren stared at his stats in silence. He clearly remembered that the last time he checked, he was only level 75. Now he was already 99.
"When did that happen?"