Episode 122 King of the Dead (1)
The next morning.
At 9 o’clock sharp, our group gathered at the front desk on the first floor.
“Did you sleep well?”
Abel flinched at my question. She avoided eye contact and mumbled.
“… Of course. Even if it’s a D-class dungeon, I won’t let my guard down.”
I squinted my eyes and looked at her. Her face was pale, clearly indicating that she had been tossing and turning in her sleep.
Although he spoke like that, there was a strange emotion in his voice.
‘Abel, this guy is really bad at lying.’
Still, I felt that the similarity between the front and back was quite refreshing.
I didn’t bother to elaborate.
“Miss, Master Geomma, if you are ready, shall we go right away?”
Shail asked. Abel nodded, his expression hardening for a moment.
“huh.”
A short answer with a lot of implications.
I looked at Abel’s profile. Her pupils were burning coldly.
* * *
It took a whole day to cross the border, so the distance from the accommodation to the dungeon was not that far. It was about a 30-minute drive.
The trip was by taxi, just like yesterday. Thanks to the driver who was familiar with the local geography, we arrived at our destination quickly, even at a crawling speed.
The knight left a message saying he would come pick me up before the sun went down and then descended like a turtle.
I stood right in front of the entrance and looked around.
‘…This is the undead dungeon.’
The dungeon rating is determined by the association, and the level of danger that matches the dungeon is classified alphabetically based on several complex criteria.
〈D〉, 〈C〉, 〈B〉, 〈A〉, 〈S〉, in order from lowest to highest grade.
Officially, there are five, but sometimes + or – is added secretly.
Among them, the danger level of the Undead Dungeon is ‘D-‘.
It was rock bottom. Even popularity was at rock bottom, so there were no permanent checkpoints.
As I said before, the reward is not great, and the demons that appear are just walking corpses.
These are heroes who are good at subduing demons with sharp horns or fangs.
However, the human-like ‘undead’ were enough to induce the uncanny valley.
So, the Undead Dungeon achieved the triple crown of being ‘low-rated’, ‘unpopular’, and ‘virtually neglected’. But―
“…Is this the undead dungeon?”
Abel muttered in confusion. Shail answered with a dumbfounded expression.
“I checked it several times and checked the geography, and this is definitely it. However… … .”
Shail couldn’t finish her sentence. She kept checking the GPS app as if she didn’t understand. Still, the location the app was pointing to was the same.
I took my gaze away from the two people and looked at the entrance to the road.
‘Why is Dungeon Force like this?’
-This place is supposed to be the lowest level dungeon.
Even though the S-class demon was asleep, it already exuded an overwhelming sense of intimidation from the entrance.
A grand scale, almost like a castle.
The chilly air reminded me of a haunted mansion. The surrounding scenery was also gloomy and barren even though the sun was high in the sky.
It was a menacing force that turned the Buffalo Dungeon, a C-class dungeon, into a neighborhood amusement park.
‘There’s a reason why the knight ran away.’
The smell of death tickles my nose.
I licked my dry lips with my tongue. Then, reflexively, I reached out to touch the sashimi. The sashimi was close to my heart.
“Let’s go in first.”
I opened my mouth first and woke them both up.
“Uh uh… yeah.”
“I’m sorry, Master Geomma. This is my first time in a place like this, so I guess I was a little flustered.”
Abel and Shail each responded in their own way as they approached the entrance.
As I approached, the even more eerie atmosphere sent a chill down my spine once again. A cold wind licked my cheek as it passed by.
A skeleton door messily composed of skulls and bone fragments.
Spider webs hanging everywhere were a sight to behold.
As the three of us were overwhelmed, a towering figure appeared in the corner of our vision.
“…zeolite?”
It was a tombstone about two meters high.
There was some kind of phrase engraved on the asbestos. The letters were not in Korean.
“What does it say over there?”
“Oh, okay.”
Before we knew it, all eyes were drawn to the stone monument.
I asked Abel.
“But I don’t know what language it is. Do you know?”
“Well, well… I know most of the languages used in Europe, but I have no idea what it says… … .”
“Well, I feel a little uneasy about just letting it go.”
While Abel and I observed with narrowed eyebrows, Shail, who had been silent, spoke quietly.
“It’s probably a rune.”
“Rune?”
Abel’s eyes widened. Shail nodded with a heavy chin.
“It’s not surprising that you two don’t know. Rune was a language that was used from the mythical era until 700 years ago. It has long since become a dead language that is no longer used.”
…a dead language.
It is an extremely ominous place, with not a single trace of life here or there.
“But Mr. Shail, how do you know what a rune is?”
I asked. Shail smiled and answered.
“I was interested in ancient languages while I was attending the Academy. I learned Runes in a short time. Of course, I am not an expert because I studied on my own.”
“Then, can you possibly decipher what it says?”
“Um- Well, I just learned it to kill time… … .”
Shail trailed off slightly. Abel looked at her with sparkling eyes.
Shayle smiled slightly.
“I can’t guarantee accuracy, but I’ll try my best.”
Perhaps there is a clue about ‘Draug’ left in this inscription. Even a small hint would be fine. Even that was desperately needed by me.
“please.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Shail studied the inscription with one hand resting his chin on it.
Her pupils moved slowly up and down under her drooping eyelashes.
Soon Shail’s gaze shifted to this side. She opened her mouth.
“For some reason, the upper part has been intentionally damaged to make it unreadable. As you can see, it looks like it was cut straight with a sword or something.”
“… … .”
Even though his expression turned gloomy for a moment, for some reason a bright smile appeared on Shail’s lips.
“Still, I guess I can extract a few words from the latter part.”
“… … !”
“I know there are a lot of paraphrases mixed in, but please listen with that in mind.”
Ahem- After coughing twice, Shayle began to recite the contents like poetry.
One who disturbs the rest of the dead.
He too will be the same.
He who brings peace to the dead.
He is the king of the dead.
“…hmm.”
It was a little creepy. It felt like a curse.
If we can infer anything… the “King of the Dead” would most likely be referring to “Draug”, the king of the liches.
But the connection between the three sentences above was ambiguous.
‘… Something is a bit ambiguous.’
While I was standing there mulling over the idea for a while, Shayle spoke up sheepishly.
“That’s all I know. I would like to tell you more, but it’s beyond my capabilities. I apologize.”
“No, it was helpful enough.”
If it weren’t for Shail, I would have just passed it by.
Nana Abel would be blind in front of a language that died out 700 years ago. I’ve seen many Shail Ducks on this trip.
‘Let’s go in first.’
More accurate clues are always at the scene.
I immediately pushed the door hard.
-Keep going, going, going, going.
The door cracks open and lets out an ominous noise. At first glance, it sounds like a person screaming.
I took the first step. The stinging air rushed out like a tidal wave.
“““… … .”””
I tried to turn my stiff head back.
“…Let’s go in.”
* * *
Thud, thud.
A space without a single ounce of light. We are walking through a darkened passage.
Since I brought a flashlight in preparation for this, I had no trouble moving around.
Unlike the exterior that was so ominous that it made one shudder, there was only silence beyond the door.
The entrance was very tense. On the other hand, the inside was as solemn and static as a graveyard. That actually made things a bit boring.
‘Is this why it’s D-class…?’
The occasional faint screaming sound is quite disturbing.
Since there were three of them together, it wasn’t a big deal.
Abel’s shoulders shook slightly, and Shail silently looked behind him.
‘I wonder if something will pop out around here.’
It was around that time that I even felt bored.
… A moment later, a new type of swarm stirred in the abyss-like darkness. A primal disgust spread through my entire body.
““““Kkeu …
A distorted and twisted scream echoed through the hall.
‘Undead.’
Five corpses staggered toward us. Undead, staggering with their arms outstretched like mummies.
They were never threatening, but their approach was extremely repulsive.
Flesh sparsely attached to the skeleton. Maggots crawled over the rotting, rotten skin, and the joints of the limbs dangled.
As the saying goes, it is a walking corpse, and it has an extremely ugly appearance. If a weak-willed weapon saw it, it would scream and fall backwards.
She only turned her eyes to the side. A handful of surprise appeared on Abel’s face. However, she quickly smiled and drew her sword.
Kiririn.
A smooth sword was pulled out of its scabbard.
Abel took a step forward, holding the hilt of his sword at an angle.
“Miss, I will do it.”
Abel shook his head excitedly at Shail’s words.
“I’ll go first.”
“but…….”
Shail’s pupils trembled with depth.
Regardless of the danger, the undead are to be avoided. There was concern that their rotten flesh might stick to Abel.
Abel smiled at Shail. She soothed him gently.
“Shaile, I appreciate your concern as always. But today is a battle of endurance. I just have the priority. Later on, when my stamina runs out, it will be Shaile’s turn to step up, so for now, just rest well. Got it?”
“… Yes, if that is what you wish, Miss.”
Abel smiles with satisfaction at the answer.
Her gaze passed over me for a moment before moving on to the deceased.
Abel looked at them with silent pupils.
The aspect she is looking for is not visible.
…then.
Thud, thud.
A gait full of anticipation. Her hair fluttered blue.
Abel twisted his sword.
A faint glow surrounded the blade. It wasn’t an aura. It was just a finely honed spirit. The fruits of labor were set in iron.
Finally, Abel approached.
““““Shut up!”””
The undead horde roared. It was the cries of the dead.
Abel closed his eyes and opened them, mumbling softly.
“…I’m sorry.”
-Sarak.
One horizontal slash.
The blade swept across five necks at once.
Bam.
After a brief pause in the noise, heads rolled across the pavement.
“…her.”
I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
It’s a perfect swordsmanship without any unnecessary details. It’s hard to believe that it’s a seventeen-level skill.
‘But I don’t think it was that bad in the game.’
…no way?
Originally, Abel was the head. But things got a little complicated and I ended up usurping that position.
If so, it will be enough stimulation to instill a sense of victory in the proud descendants of the swordsman.
The bottom line is that because of me, Abel grew up several times faster than Jeongsa.
Abel stared at the floor, almost as if he were praying for the soul of the deceased to rest in peace.
‘… That’s amazing.’
While Abel was talking to himself with only his lips moving, he suddenly turned his head.
““… … .””
The staring contest lasted for 30 seconds. Abel took the lead, looking away with a fresh expression.
