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Chapter 296

296 · 11 min read · — unique readers

Previously Chapters 290–294

Jin Taekyung uses Martial Arts Manual Creation to produce a manual for the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique, disguising its origin as a family health regimen. He secretly teaches the technique to Team Leader Choi, Butler Kim, Song Song, and Im Kkeokjeong. During Choi’s instruction, Taekyung discovers a huge, mysterious mass of qi in Choi’s dantian. A Sudden Quest requires him to absorb only half of it; he consumes half while guiding the remainder, allowing Choi to complete his first circulation, become a martial artist, control his mana directly, and nearly double his reserves.

The absorption raises Taekyung’s internal energy to one hundred years, advances the Fire Gate Divine Technique to Seven Stars, grants him the title I’m a Master, and triggers a level-up. He nearly reaches Three Flowers Gather at the Crown but fails to enter the Supreme Peak realm for an unknown reason. Taekyung then guides all four core members through the technique; they learn the Small Circulation, with Im Kkeokjeong showing the greatest unexpected potential as a Second Awakener. Taekyung’s title changes from Trainee to Training Instructor.

During the following week, the Peace Guild completes a secret settlement with Lee Jungryong’s side, gaining exclusive rights to more than twenty Gates, real estate, and enormous compensation. Taekyung turns the Guild’s recruitment program into severe practical training, leading new Hunters through repeated Gate raids. In Black Wizard’s Black Forest, he lures a large undead force into the trainees’ formation. Three Skeleton Knights appear, two kneeling to the first, which transforms into a Level 105 Skeleton Warlord and orders the humans to descend.

How much time had passed?

He could no longer remember his name, his family, his friends or lover… He could not even remember where he had been born or what kind of life he had lived.

After passing through a long, deep darkness, he suddenly came to his senses and found himself in a forest.

Where is this?

The question lasted only a moment.

Soon, he was seized by the instincts of a monster and began fighting without purpose. He fought the humans who had once been his own kind, and he fought monsters as well.

Once an outstanding knight in life, he grew stronger as he cultivated his mana. He even surpassed the black wizard who ruled the vast Black Forest and controlled every dead thing sleeping within it.

Crack!

The fallen knight became the new master of the Black Forest.

And at last, he rose to become a chosen being.

Commander of the Skeleton army.

Skeleton Warlord was his new name.

So this is what it feels like?

It was astonishing. Everything around him had changed. He did not know why, but the mana flowing through the Black Forest had grown denser, and immense power surged through his body, despite it being nothing more than bones.

To him, newly reborn as something else, a mere handful of humans was utterly insignificant.

There aren’t many of them, and they’re all terrified.

To humans, death was simply another name for fear.

Since he had already become one of the dead, the humans’ fear was nothing but amusing.

Run. Then bring me more—more lives!

He was now the master of the Black Forest and the commander of the dead.

The larger groups of humans they brought would soon become his soldiers. Once he commanded thousands, tens of thousands of the dead…

The Black Forest would no longer be enough for him.

Only then could he be reborn not as the commander of the dead, but as a true lord.

I will leave this place and conquer a wider territory.

That was when, as he watched the fifty or so humans flee in panic with satisfaction, one of them caught his eye.

That one…

A human was surrounded by three Skeleton Knights, exchanging blows with them in a frantic battle.

Strangely enough, unlike the other humans who spoke in a bizarre language, every word that came from this one’s mouth was understandable.

“I’m fine! Hurry up and go!”

How was this possible? Such fluent demon-world speech?

He knew nothing of the System applied to Jin Taekyung, and even less about the Unified Language Pack.

He simply wanted to turn that one—who seemed useful enough for a human—into one of the dead and take him as a subordinate.

But he should have known.

The foolish one was himself.

“Phew. They’re finally all gone.”

He should never have led his entire army into this narrow path.

“You’re all going to fucking die here. That’s all you need to know.”

He would soon learn the answer to his question.

“One Annihilation.”

Whoooosh!

The moment a whirlwind of blue flame rose into the air, the Skeleton Warlord felt fear creeping over him.

It was an emotion he had forgotten long ago—the fear of death, which had already become his companion rather than something to fear.

The Warlord could not finish speaking.

Blue flames swept through the narrow path and engulfed him and hundreds of Skeletons.

KRAAAAAAASH!

System

All internal energy and Stamina have been depleted!

Status abnormality: Exhaustion has been applied!

Defeated Level 92 Skeleton Knight!

Gained a considerable amount of EXP!

Defeated Level 75 Skeleton Warrior!

Gained a small amount of EXP!

Defeated Level 78 Skeleton Mage!

Gained a small amount of EXP…!

.

.

.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The System notifications kept drilling into my ears without pause.

My vision spun, and my legs buckled.

I had never imagined the spear shaft in my hand could feel this heavy.

As the spearhead slowly collapsed toward the ground, I barely managed to drive it into the earth and use it to support my body.

Fuck, I’m dying.

One Annihilation was the only—and strongest—skill I possessed. It used internal energy and Stamina as fuel to produce more explosive power than anything else.

Unlike the first time, I had gained enough control over the force I imbued into it as my martial arts realm rose. But the aftermath was still devastating.

One Annihilation is as dangerous as it is destructive. I won’t survive long if I keep thinking in terms of all or nothing.

The best choice was to draw the greatest result from the smallest amount of power.

As someone who always pursued efficient combat, I could not recklessly use One Annihilation. A final move meant that if it failed, there would be no next move.

But this time was different.

If I don’t use it now, when will I get another chance?

A narrow path. Hundreds of monsters packed together without a single gap.

It was practically a stage built for One Annihilation.

I had exhausted my full strength and fallen into the Exhaustion status, but there was a contingency for every action.

Beep.

System

Massacre!

Gained a massive amount of EXP!

Level Up!

Gained Points!

All status abnormalities have been recovered!

At the same time as the notification I had been waiting for, a refreshing sensation swept through my entire body.

Whoooosh.

The dantian that had been emptied by the aftermath of One Annihilation filled once more, and strength returned to my trembling limbs.

Only then did my whitened vision clear, allowing me to see the results of One Annihilation.

“Wow…”

I had expected something, but this was beyond my imagination.

I could only marvel at the sight spread out before me.

Crackle. Crackle-crackle.

The narrow path had been widened to twice its original breadth by the force of One Annihilation.

The enormous trees and rocks that had filled the surroundings had been uprooted, and piles of bones engulfed in flames were slowly burning across the blackened ground.

How many did I send straight to the grave in one shot?

There were still some that were breathing—

No. They were already dead undead monsters, so I had to correct that to still moving.

In any case, fewer than fifty of them were left. Even those were practically incapable of fighting.

Did I kill… about three hundred?

Now I understood why the System had called it a massacre.

Of course, compared to that grand choice of words, the EXP it gave me was absolutely pathetic.

“What’s the point of leveling up only once? So stingy.”

Clicking my tongue, I began finishing off the remaining Skeletons.

With the EXP required for each level rising like a mountain, every single trash mob mattered.

Crack!

I crushed the skull of a Skeleton that was crawling along with both legs missing.

Beep.

System

Defeated Level 73 Skeleton Warrior!

Gained a small amount of EXP!

Damn. The EXP really was stingy.

I grumbled as I turned my head to search for the next monster.

Then my eyes flew open, and a warm feeling spread through one corner of my chest.

“Oh. Ohhh. Could that be…!”

With excitement building, I approached the creature buried in the mound of dirt.

A Skeleton, trembling with only its head remaining.

The green ghost fire that had once blazed like a torch had shrunk to a tiny flame, like a candle flickering in the wind. But it was still enough to identify him.

[Level 105 Skeleton Warlord]

I smiled broadly and waved at the skull.

“Nice to meet you, friend!”

“You were here! Why didn’t you say so sooner? Why were you just sitting there?”

Look at this sly bastard, pretending to be a Skeleton Warrior.

I deliberately raised the spearhead with a disappointed expression.

“Ah, what? You were just a trash mob. I guess I’ll kill you.”

“Whoa. It can talk. Could it be…?”

The Skeleton Warlord opened its eyes wide and continued.

“Wow! Warlord!”

“Wow! EXP!”

The Warlord sensed something was wrong and hurriedly continued.

This bastard… Look how smoothly he talks now that he’s desperate.

“Who said anything about killing? You’re already dead.”

“…Are you Jeong Mong-ju?”1

Has this guy actually read the Song of My Single Heart?

When I stared at him in disbelief, the Warlord began clacking its jaw.

“A deal?”

“Lead with an offer.”

“Tell me what you can give me. I’ll listen and decide.”

The Warlord was silent for a moment, as if thinking hard, then answered.

“The Black Forest is ours.”

“We have exclusive rights to the Gate, so it doesn’t matter.”

“No, it wouldn’t. I much prefer coming here whenever the monsters respawn and farming them by luring them together.”

“Yeah. I’m thinking of sending one more on its way right now.”

Crack.

When I tightened my grip around its skull, the Warlord’s jaw began trembling violently as it shouted in panic.

“Come to think of it, you don’t even have a cochlea. How can you hear sounds? What a fascinating creature.”

“Wow! Fucking sweet EXP!”

Crack!

“….”

This bastard changes sides at least as fast as Hyuk Mujin.

It was certainly novel to have such a long conversation with a monster, but it was time to stop playing around.

“Inventory open. Summon dagger.”

Shing.

When I held the dark-blue blade in front of its eyes, the Warlord asked anxiously,

“Huh? Nothing much. Close your eyes and stay still. It’ll be over soon.”

“Shh. Keep your jaw still. If even a bone gets cut, the resale value will drop.”

The corpse of the Wyvern I had killed before, One-Eyed Carus, had been worth its weight in gold. But I had no idea which parts of this Skeleton would be valuable.

Still, a Named Monster’s skull as a decorative piece ought to sell for a pretty penny, right?

A prize was still a prize. Its bones gleamed with a black sheen and were actually rather beautiful.

I planned to erase him for good first, then collect the bones nearby.

Clack! Clack-clack-clack-clack!

God, this guy was noisy.

Just as I was about to grab the Warlord’s jaw, which kept jerking up and down without pause, he shouted.

“Huh? I’m already here to take it. Will you stay still? Besides, you don’t even know what EXP is.”

“What the hell are you talking about? EXP isn’t an item…”

I stopped speaking.

A thought had flashed through my mind.

Could this actually work?

“You said you were the master of the Black Forest, right?”

“How many subordinates do you have?”

“A thousand?”

“A Skeleton Warlord.”

“Hmm.”

Looking into his green eyes, which flickered with desperate pleading, I organized my thoughts.

The deliberation did not last long.

“Hey.”

“Let’s work together on a job.”

“Something like that. You just have to do what I tell you.”

At my sinister smile, the Warlord’s skull began to tremble.

Footnotes

  1. Jeong Mong-ju was a fourteenth-century Korean scholar-official remembered for Dansimga, or “Song of My Single Heart,” a poem about unwavering loyalty. ↩

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