Shining armor. A dark green cloak fluttering like wings. Purple ghost fire burning in empty eye sockets.
And then… there was a voice.
- Come. Down. Hu. Man.
The moment I heard that metallic, scraping voice, I nearly fell out of the tree.
It spoke?
This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. The Wyvern I’d killed in the past, “One-Eyed Carus,” had been capable of speech too.
But a monster speaking wasn’t something you could take lightly.
“A Named Monster…”
The words slipped from my mouth like a groan.
That was right. As far as anyone knew, only Named Monsters could use language.
And that very Named Monster had just been born before my eyes.
No—not born.
It had evolved.
System
Level 105 Skeleton Warlord
Evolution?
I had never heard or seen a Named Monster appear like this before.
What is this, Digimon?
So monsters were that kind of monster? They could evolve, too?
I’d already been thrown about five hundred light-years away from an ordinary life, and even I was bewildered. The other Guild members’ reactions went without saying.
“What is that?”
“Wait, didn’t it just say something?”
“I’ve never seen anything like that, not even in a monster encyclopedia…”
Of course they hadn’t.
Named Monsters were mutated species. Every individual had different traits and varying levels of strength. No one could know what they were like until they appeared.
But why now, of all times?
I licked my dry lips.
I didn’t know how powerful that Skeleton Warlord was, but it clearly possessed strength worthy of a Named Monster.
And on top of that, there are two A-rank monsters—the Skeleton Knights.
The remaining hundred and fifty or so were all B-rank Skeleton Mages or Warriors. They were practically an army, which made them extremely troublesome.
However, if I took on the Warlord and the two Knights—their leader and core forces—we had a fight we could win.
We’ve been raiding nonstop until now.
Only fifty Guild members had entered the Gate.
But more than half of them were Tosa mastiffs who had endured my whip and gone through hellish special training.
They had fought so many Skeletons over the past week that they were sick of the sight of them. If they responded calmly, they could handle two or three times their own numbers.
And the new recruits are quite capable, too.
We paid salaries at least as high as the major Guilds, so we had selected only the best.
This time, I had personally participated in multiple evaluations, including the interviews, and even scored their potential for growth.
To withstand the typhoon that was Ares Guild, I had selected only the finest saplings and transplanted them into the Peace Guild’s front yard.
A little risk is unavoidable, but this is a fight worth taking on.
Team Leader Choi and the other three had suspended most of their Guild duties and were focusing entirely on training the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique.
If they had been here, the battle would have been much easier. But even if they had been present, I wouldn’t have sent them in.
A dagger hidden up one’s sleeve was lethal precisely because it was hidden. I couldn’t reveal it in a place with so many eyes watching.
Once I had finished thinking, I called out to one person.
“Jinsoo!”
“Yes, sir!”
Kim Jinsoo, who was effectively acting as the deputy team leader, answered promptly. I pointed at the Skeleton Warlord with the dagger in my hand.
The green ghost fire burning in its hollow eye sockets was still fixed on me.
“That’s a Named Monster.”
A sharp gasp rose from among the Guild members.
Most of them had been Hunters for less than two years. Even after surviving twenty years in this field, it was difficult to encounter a Named Monster. The tension was plain on their faces.
But Kim Jinsoo was different. His surprise lasted only a moment before he calmly nodded.
“I see.”
“Oh? You’re doing a pretty good job pretending to be calm.”
“I’m a little flustered myself, but we can’t just stand there in a daze and take it.”
Well, look at him.
I’d known from the beginning that he had guts, but this was a boldness unusual for someone in his first year.
Perhaps sensing my gaze, Kim Jinsoo gave a small smile and added,
“If this were a hopeless situation, you would have sent the retreat signal long ago. Am I right?”
“Hmm.”
“…Uh, did I get that wrong?”
“No.”
I let out a quiet laugh and shook my head.
“You’re right. This is a fight we can take on.”
“Oh.”
“I’ll handle those three over there. You handle the rest. How long can you hold out?”
Kim Jinsoo thought briefly before answering.
“The new recruits don’t have much experience… but we should still be able to hold out for an hour.”
“An hour?”
“Yes. At least an hour.”
The instant Kim Jinsoo answered confidently, the Skeleton Warlord slowly opened its jaw and released a strange resonating sound that defied description.
- G. R. A. A. A. A. H!
Beep!
System
Level 105 Skeleton Warlord has used a Special Skill!
Special Skill Summon the Dead has activated!
The sleeping dead answer their commander’s call!
It was a howl that sent a chill down my spine—and a cry that awakened the cursed dead.
Crack. Crack-crack-crack!
Soil burst upward, and the ground trembled. Piles of pale skeletons rose from all around us, took shape, and joined the ranks.
Bone Swords covered in dirt. Wooden shields tangled with fine roots. Among the Skeleton Warriors, I could even see Mages wearing necklaces engraved with skulls.
Even the A-rank monsters known as Skeleton Knights had increased by two.
Adding the newcomers to the existing Skeleton army brought their numbers to well over three hundred.
“…”
“…”
I watched the scene in silence before finally speaking.
“Jinsoo.”
“Yes.”
“Can you still do an hour?”
“Uh, well…”
“Be honest.”
“…I think we can manage about thirty minutes.”
“Really?”
“Yes. The situation has gotten a little worse, but I think we can do it.”
Kim Jinsoo continued, eyeing the Skeleton Warlord with a dubious expression.
“If that bastard doesn’t pull any more crap.”
“He looks like he will.”
“No way.”
- G. R. A. A. A. A. H!
“See? Wasn’t I right?”
Kim Jinsoo let out a groan.
“Oh, please.”
Beep!
System
Level 105 Skeleton Warlord has used a Special Skill!
Special Skill Commander’s Rally has activated!
The strength, Agility, and magic of the monsters under the Skeleton Warlord’s command have been enhanced!
The enemies’ momentum rises sharply!
The Skeleton Warlord howled!
The effect was incredible!
“Wow…”
I activated Qi Sense and saw that every single one of them had gained five Levels.
The aura radiating from the Skeleton army of more than three hundred was on an entirely different level from before.
I turned my head slightly and found Kim Jinsoo staring blankly into space.
“Thirty minutes. Still possible?”
“…”
The bastard was cursing at me with his eyes now.
To be fair, even I thought it was unreasonable. Clicking my tongue, I gave the next order without hesitation.
“Fall back slowly. Don’t provoke them.”
“How far should we retreat?”
“To the path right in front of the Gate. Make sure we can get out at any time.”
“The path is narrow, so it should be easier to fight them there.”
“Exactly.”
As Kim Jinsoo had said, the path in front of the Gate was so narrow that five adult men could barely pass through shoulder to shoulder.
Even Skeletons, who were relatively thin by necessity, could only pass through seven or eight at a time.
However…
“Go straight out.”
There was no head-on battle with them in my revised plan.
“Huh?”
“Take the kids and get outside the Gate.”
Kim Jinsoo’s face filled with dismay.
“Then what about you, Senior?”
“Do you think they’ll play tag while you’re leaving? Someone has to buy time.”
“Senior! That’s dangerous!”
“Jinsoo. No—my dear Peace Guild members.”
I looked down with a solemn expression. Fifty Guild members were staring up at me, stretching their necks like baby birds.
“I—and the Peace Guild—always put the safety of our Guild members first.”
Several of the Tosa mastiffs muttered in voices barely loud enough to hear.
“That’s the biggest load of bullshit I’ve heard this year.”
“I think I nearly died seven times this week.”
“More like ten for me.”
Meanwhile, the eyes of the day-one pups trembled.
“Senior!”
“Ahh, Lord Fuck!”
“You’d go this far for us…!”
I continued in a voice thick with emotion.
“I’ll risk any danger for your safety. Even if my arm gets blown off! Even if my leg gets blown off! I will send every one of you back into the arms of those who love you!”
Several of them shouted with emotion.
“We can fight!”
“Please let us fight alongside you!”
I bit my lip tightly and shook my head.
“I can’t! In a situation like this, someone has to make the sacrifice, and I’m the best one to step forward!”
“But still…!”
Whoooosh! Shrrrk!
Before anyone could continue, an ominous black aura came flying toward us.
The Skeleton Warlord had sliced straight through a massive tree dozens of meters tall and several meters around. It shouted in a voice like metal scraping against metal.
- I. Will. Kill. Every. Last. One. Of. You!
Tap!
I leaped lightly from the tree and shouted,
“Everyone, return to the Gate! I’ll cover the rear!”
This time, no one tried to stop me.
The army of more than three hundred Skeletons had begun advancing.
Clatter. Thud. Clatter. Thud.
The monsters moved in perfect ranks and files, their aura utterly menacing.
The Warlord’s special skill had strengthened their steps, filling them with power. Faint lights flickered inside their hollow skulls.
- GRAAAAH!
When one of the Skeleton Knights, serving as a deputy commander, let out a fierce cry, rusted arrows and attack magic rose from the rear and shot toward the Peace Guild members.
Fwish-fwish-fwish! Whoooosh!
“Block them!”
“Tanks! Don’t lower your shields! Keep retreating slowly!”
“Commence covering fire!”
The two groups were about three hundred paces apart. To retreat safely, we needed to widen the distance further.
I swung White Flame and blocked the army’s advance.
“You bastards! How dare you threaten our precious Peace Guild members!”
Sssshhhk! Crack!
The force-loaded spear shaft shattered bones, and the Spear Energy extending from the transparent spearhead sliced in every direction.
Just as I killed ten of them in one blow, three Skeleton Knights charged in at once.
-
GRAAAAH!
-
GRAAAAH!
Sssshhhk!
Three streams of black aura grazed different parts of my body by the narrowest margin.
As blood trickled from my nape, sliced by the force of the wind, anguished cries erupted from among the Guild members who had already entered the narrow path.
“Senior!”
“Look out!”
Clang-clang-clang!
I deflected the aura that kept boring relentlessly into me and shouted with difficulty,
“Go! I’ll catch up soon!”
“But…!”
“Jinsoo! Go!”
Kim Jinsoo hesitated before leading the Guild members toward the Gate and shouting,
“You have to come back!”
I gave him a faint smile and nodded.
“Yeah.”
“I’m sorry, Senior!”
“It’s fine. Go!”
“Urgh!”
Kim Jinsoo hesitated until the very end, but then his back disappeared beyond the Gate.
Now, only I and the hundreds of Skeletons packed tightly into the narrow path remained.
- F. O. O. L. I. S. H.
Clatter-clatter-clatter!
The Skeleton Warlord emerged through the gap between the bones that split apart like the Red Sea.
- H. A. V. E. Y. O. U. R. E. S. I. G. N. E. D. Y. O. U. R. S. E. L. F. T. O. D. I. E, H. U. M. A. N?
But I wasn’t listening to it.
Only after thoroughly scanning the surroundings with hawk eyes did I let out a sigh of relief.
“Phew. They’re finally all gone.”
- …?
“The kids are way too sentimental for their own good. When the Team Leader tells you to go, you run. What do you mean, help? Right?”
I wiped the blood from my nape. I’d tried to keep the cut shallow, but it was deeper than expected. About 0.2 centimeters?
“Damn. That’s a waste of blood.”
The purple ghost fire in the Warlord’s eye sockets flickered uneasily.
- W. H. A. T. I. N. T. H. E. W. O. R. L. D. A. R. E. Y. O. U. P. L. O. T. T. I. N. G?
“Nothing much.”
Looking at the EXP—no, the Skeleton army—filling the narrow path without a single gap, I smiled with satisfaction.
“You’re all going to die here. That’s all you need to know.”
- W. H. A. T?
Instead of answering, I drew a deep breath.
The muscles throughout my body writhed, and the fire dragon coiled inside my dantian began to move according to the formula of the Fire Gate Divine Technique.
And then, in the next instant, I shot forward as one with the spear shaft in my hand.
“One Annihilation.”
KRAAAAAAASH!
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