Chapter 296

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

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

“Y-you bastard! How dare a mere Skeleton Knight…!”

“GRAAAAAH!”

Crack!

Thus, 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.

Now that he was already one of the dead, the humans’ terror was nothing but amusing.

Run. Then bring me more—more lives!

He was now the master of the Black Forest and 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 a mere 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 surrounded by three Skeleton Knights, frantically exchanging blows with them.

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

“I’m fine! Hurry up and go!”

How was this possible? Such fluent command of the Demon Realm language.

Was he perhaps a monster in human form?

He knew nothing of the System applied to Jin Taekyung, much less the function of the Integrated 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.

“F. O. O. L. I. S. H. H. U. M. A. N.”

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.”

“W. H. A. T?”

He soon learned the answer to his question.

“One Annihilation.”

Whoooosh!

The moment a vortex wreathed in blue flame erupted into the air, fear crept over the Skeleton Warlord.

It was an emotion he had forgotten long ago—the fear of death, which had become more a friend than something to dread.

“E. V. E. R. Y. O. N. E. D. O. D. G. E—!”

The Warlord could not finish speaking.

Blue flames swept through the narrow path, engulfing 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 drilled endlessly into my ears.

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 sank toward the ground, I barely managed to drive it into the earth and use it to support myself.

Fuck, I’m dying.

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

Unlike the first time, my rising martial arts realm now allowed me to control how much force I put into it. 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 achieve the greatest result with the least amount of power.

As someone who always pursued efficient combat, I could not afford to use One Annihilation recklessly. 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!

The notification I had been waiting for sounded, and 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 like this, but the reality was beyond anything I had imagined.

I marveled at the sight spread out before me.

Crackle. Crackle-crackle.

The force of One Annihilation had widened the narrow path to twice its original width.

The enormous trees and rocks that had surrounded it had been uprooted, and piles of bones engulfed in flames slowly burned 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 undead monsters, so they were already dead. I should say still moving.

In any case, fewer than fifty remained. 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.

Every little bit added up. With the EXP required for each level rising like a mountain, every single trash mob mattered.

“Kreeeek. Krik.”

Crack!

I crushed the skull of a Skeleton 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.

“Oh. Ohhh. Could that be…!”

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

Heart pounding with excitement, I approached the creature buried in a mound of dirt.

A Skeleton, trembling with only its head remaining.

The green ghost fire that had once blazed like a torch had shriveled to a tiny flame, like a candle flickering in the wind. But it was still enough for me 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?”

“Krik. Kreeeek?”

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

Feigning disappointment, I raised the spearhead.

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

“W. A. I. T!”

“Whoa. It can talk. Could it be…?”

“Y. E. S. That. Is. Right. It. Is. I.”

The Skeleton Warlord opened its eyes wide and continued.

“Master. Of. The. Black. Forest. Commander. Who. Leads. The. Dead. This. Body. Is. The. Warlord.”

“Wow! Warlord!”

“Only. Now. Do. You. Recognize. Me?”

“Wow! EXP!”

“…W. H. A. T?”

Sensing something was wrong, the Warlord hurriedly continued.

“Surely you do not intend to kill me?”

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

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

“Could this body not die and die again, a hundred times over?”

“…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 clacked his jaw.

“Human. Instead. Of. This. Why. Do. You. Not. Make. A. Deal. With. Me?”

“A deal?”

“That. Is. Right. I. Can. Give. You. Many. Things.”

“You make the first offer.”

“Make. The. First. Offer? What. Does. That. Mean?”

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

The Warlord fell silent for a moment as though deep in thought, then answered.

“I. Am. The. Ruler. Of. The. Forest. I. Shall. Bestow. This. Vast. Black. Forest. Upon. You!”

“The Black Forest is ours.”

“…?”

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

“Exclusive. Rights. To. The. Gate? I. Do. Not. Know. What. That. Is. But. Becoming. The. Ruler. Of. The. Forest. Would. Be. Far. Better!”

“No, it wouldn’t. I’d much rather come here whenever the monsters respawn, round them all up, and farm them.”

“R-round. Us. Up? How. Dare. A. Mere. Human. Hunt. Us!”

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

Crack.

When I tightened my grip around his skull, the Warlord’s jaw trembled violently, and he shouted in panic.

“Wait! Wait! I. Just. Heard. A. Strange. Sound!”

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

“There. Is. A. Crack. In. The. Crown. Of. My. Skull! If. This. Continues. I. Will. Be. Erased!”

“Wow! Fucking sweet EXP!”

“You. Insolent. Wretch! I. Am. The. Ruler. Of. The. Black. Forest. And. The. Commander. Of. The. Dead—”

Crack!

“O. Ruler. Of. The. Black. Forest! O. Lord. Of. The. Dead! Please. Show. Mercy!”

“…”

That turnaround was Hyuk Mujin-tier at the very least.

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

“Inventory open. Summon dagger.”

Shing.

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

“W-what are you going to do, sir?”

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

“O-over? What do you mean?”

“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 ought to sell for a pretty penny as a decoration, right?

A prize was still a prize. The surface of his bones gleamed with a black sheen and was actually rather beautiful.

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

“Wait! Please, wait!”

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.

“E-EXP! I will give you EXP!”

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

“No! I will give it to you! I will have my subordinates find it and bring it to you somehow!”

“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?”

“Y-yes. Yes, yes!”

“How many subordinates do you have?”

“All! All of them! Not right away, but if I search the Black Forest, I can summon more than a thousand!”

“A thousand?”

“More than a thousand at the bare minimum! Have you forgotten who I am?”

“A Skeleton Warlord.”

“Y-yes. No soldier can defy its commander. The lesser creatures would never dare oppose me!”

“Hmm.”

“I will find whatever you want, even if I have to scour the entire Black Forest—or turn it upside down!”

I organized my thoughts as I gazed into the green ghost fire flickering desperately in his eyes.

The deliberation did not last long.

“Hey.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s work together on a job.”

“What kind of job…?”

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

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