NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4
“Die or faint, there’s no other choice. To think I’d stake my life on failure enhancement.”
With the vampires on the verge of death, the first priority was to draw aggro. I stomped forward loudly, and the response came quick.
“Death Knight?”
One by one, they turned to look at me, unlike those regular people I’d seen before—none of them backed away.
The level color was orange, indicating their wariness. To them, I was just a monster to hunt down.
‘Everything is about luck.’
Whether I lived or died was up to the heavens.
*
The crimson eyes surveyed the team stealthily.
The Death Knight, the harbinger of doom. The team, having confirmed its presence, looked to Sergey for signals.
“What do we do, Captain? Keep going? Or just run?”
With the advanced vampire and the Death Knight, it was clear what we were dealing with.
Staying here any longer would put our lives at risk without any rewards.
Sergey silently raised his sword toward the Death Knight.
“It was once a knight. This is also my old sword.”
“And so?”
“We must give it freedom. That’s chivalry.”
“What does a non-knight know about that? If we die, we won’t care!”
“Don’t worry. If things look bad, I’m planning to run without hesitation.”
There were no living beings detected behind the Death Knight.
The vampires were barely alive, essentially retired and sprawled out.
Of course, for a human to face off against a Death Knight alone was nearly a suicidal act, but such laws didn’t apply to Sergey.
Before the former royal guard knight, even the Death Knight became ‘just another thing.’
“I beseech you, Solari, grant that unfortunate soul some peace.”
Though a knight serves a sword, it’s a knight’s duty to end a life serving a lich.
Using a sword in a cramped cave comes with many limitations.
To minimize these constraints, Sergey executed a half-swording technique, gripping the blade like a spear.
Through countless dungeon raids, half-swording had become his martial prowess.
On the other hand, the Death Knight would face all the spatial limitations head-on.
Kiiing—
The dim blue light imbued in the blade sparkled more brightly in the sun’s rays.
Zheek!
Suddenly, the sunlight extinguished.
To be more precise, the sword itself shattered like glass, vanishing without a trace. From the tip of the blade to the pommel, all gone.
‘An illusionary trap?’
Judging by the sensations in my hand, it wasn’t a hallucination.
No alternate presence could be felt, nor any trace of magical residue.
Sergey’s lost gaze fixated on the Death Knight.
Though he couldn’t pinpoint the cause, his instincts warned him it was definitely its doing.
Just when he snapped back to reality and unsheathed his shortsword.
Crack!
“…!”
Again, his shattered sword dissolved into nothingness.
Twice, a phenomenon beyond human comprehension occurred.
The sound of metal scraping against metal approached.
Faced with the advancing Death Knight, Sergey could only back away.
‘…This is The Seven Lairs.’
Seven mazes, unfathomable to human thought.
Not all Death Knights are the same.
Foolishly, he failed to consider that the Death Knight in The Seven Lairs could be an irregular entity.
That’s when I heard laughter from below.
The fallen advanced vampire’s crimson eyes twisted like a crescent moon.
“Foolish human. Do you still not know who the master of this dungeon is?”
“…What?”
“That figure is the boss of this dungeon. And you’re here offering ‘rest’ like it’s a picnic? You’ve boldly strutted into a dragon’s lair, haven’t you?”
The Death Knight is the boss of this dungeon? Of all places, the Seven Lairs? Then why is the boss appearing at the entrance?
The more I thought about it, the more questions piled up in my mind.
There’s no way it’s lying just to confuse me.
For monsters, having a dungeon boss is like having a king.
Even if it’s a gatekeeper or lieutenant, impersonating the boss would tarnish its reputation.
It wouldn’t impersonate the boss knowing it could die from just that. Especially not in such a disadvantageous situation.
The Death Knight was simply approaching slowly.
Just seeing it made Sergey struggle to breathe.
It hit him now—it wasn’t a casual stroll. It was an expression of utter contempt towards a mere creature.
Like a cornered rat biting a cat’s nose, you need at least some guts to pull that off.
Sergey’s body and mind were consumed by fear, leaving him frozen in place.
‘I was… such an idiot.’
Not thinking about the grave danger, he had considered escaping the Seven Lairs.
The price for that would be horrendous.
“Captain!”
“Come out quickly!”
Sergey turned his head sharply.
The members witnessed the rapid series of events unfold. Yet, without hesitation, they ran towards Sergey.
Being teary-eyed with emotions is something out of fairy tales. In reality, camaraderie like this just leads to a dumb death, nothing more, nothing less.
“They all die if you come any closer! Get out of the dungeon! That’s how you survive!”
At his thunderous shout, the members hesitated.
With his back to them, Sergey withdrew a dagger from his thigh belt.
Thuk! Thuk! Thuk!
Each stab to his thigh sprayed blood everywhere.
His trembling legs finally stilled.
“Listen well! I’m burying myself here today! No two can fit in a grave! Go now!”
The hesitating members squeezed their eyes shut and turned toward the exit.
Well, they really do listen.
Though still reluctant, they glanced back; but so did Sergey.
Facing Sergey was the Death Knight.
*
‘Wait, why am I being treated like the bad guy?’
I was baffled.
Who started the invasion and tried to kill the vampires?
I hadn’t even used force; I just destroyed their weapons and aimed to talk things out!
I approached slowly, fearing they might panic. But they let their imaginations run wild, leading us to this point.
Suddenly, a man lunged at me and hugged me. It seemed like he wanted to buy time for his comrades to escape.
‘This feels disgusting.’
Is there any worse physical contact than an overly enthusiastic hug from a man?
“Ugh!”
I pushed him away impulsively, and he flew off into the distance.
Cough! Cough!
The man crashed against the wall, coughing repeatedly. Honestly, that didn’t even cool my anger.
I marched over to him, grabbed his collar, and lifted him up.
“Don’t ever come back.”
Woomph!
The man thrown towards the entrance vanished into the darkness. He should figure out how to disappear by himself.
Honestly, I was tempted to kill him, but that felt a bit excessive. No matter how angry I got, murder is just too much.
“Wow, you really are strong…”
It was Isabella’s voice, sounding a bit better than the rest.
Still, “a bit better” just meant she was lying down, unable to move.
She didn’t show it, but Isabella looked pretty down.
I mean, I was excited to see her awakened form, but almost dying right off the bat is a buzzkill.
“Well, I almost died too.”
An 8% chance and a 16% chance.
Even someone as hopeless as me could see those odds were terrible.
But hey, it wasn’t a 100% guarantee, and given the life-or-death situation, I was super nervous. What if I succeeded?
In the end, I got lucky with two back-to-back failures, and my opponent lost the will to fight—thank goodness. If they had kept attacking, I might have actually succeeded at some point.
“But is this really lucky?”
I’ve survived due to two failures, but I can’t tell if that’s good luck or bad luck.
The fact is, heaven’s on my side. With a Death Knight whose divine favor is a thing, how am I supposed to stop that?
I knelt in front of Isabella and reached out my hand.
She surprisingly took my hand and stood up.
“Don’t be disheartened. The opponent was just strong.”
“…Thank you for the words.”
Now that I think about it, I didn’t realize the vampires would be this sincere.
No matter how grateful I was, we were practically strangers. They could have easily ignored me, putting their own lives first.
If it were me, I would prioritize my life over gratitude and all that.
“They didn’t do that though.”
Not a single one of them showed any sign of running away.
Especially Isabella, who faced a level 52 opponent at the cost of her life—her courage was impressive.
Even if they weren’t much help, their intentions were clear.
They were willing to sacrifice their lives to repay kindness; I had to acknowledge that.
“In the end, I owe you once again.”
Now that I think about it, was that the reason for her gloomy expression? Well, with two saved lives, it’s understandable she might feel that way.
“I have a request. Can I stay until I repay the kindness I received today?”
Would that even be okay? I get the face-saving stuff, but I have my own situation too.
With the hunting party around, I needed to leave as soon as possible.
Before I could even say no, I noticed light pouring in from outside.
“Is it already dawn?”
I lost track of time with the vampires, listened to their predictable stories, and now I had to deal with the hunting party, and just like that, it was dawn.
Isabella and the vampires stared at me with bright eyes. My gaze drifted more towards their injuries than their expressions.
“I can’t just tell the injured ones to scram.”
More than anything, having a group around was safer than being alone at night.
I exhaled a cold breath and nodded.
“Thank you, boss!”
“I will definitely be of help!”
“Take good care of your wounds!”
With that, I waved my hand.
“Could the hunting party be coming again in the meantime?”
Maybe I was being overly paranoid.
It’s not easy for three groups to show up in two days, is it? Isn’t that a little over-the-top, like getting hit by bad luck three times in two minutes?
Please, just give me a day where I can be left alone.
*
Fortunately, the night passed without anyone intruding.
It was time to say goodbye to the vampires I had been with, which was a bit sad.
It was nice being together, but let’s not meet again. Just kidding; if I get the chance, we’ll definitely meet again.
There was a time when I thought that way.
“I think there’s an intruder coming. Just one, but they’re heading this way.”
It’s only been a few hours, and they’re already banging down the door again.
‘Do these guys really think this place is a dungeon?’
I should find a way to get out of here soon.
But hey, there’s just one of them. At first glance, the numbers might seem reassuring, but then my focus shifted to their intentions.
How common is it for someone to wander into a cave in the middle of the night?
It’s obvious they came in with some solid purpose like a hunting squad, but there was something else that I needed to know.
I kept my distance, staring toward the entrance. The number of people and their intentions were less important than the level of the opponent.
I always prepare for the worst-case scenario. And it could very well be that they are overwhelmingly stronger than me, which means the worst-case scenario might actually happen.
[Lv. 72]
For a moment, I thought I was seeing things.
But even after closing my eyes and looking again, it was still level 72.
Crap, no—focus! Who knows? Maybe they’re just a human who relies on their weapon like last time.
If they mess up their enhancements, I might be able to handle it somehow.
But what I saw behind the level was the wide-brimmed hat, a symbol of a mage.
Of all things, a magician. One that can’t be countered by enhancements.
What can I possibly do with a level 72 mage approaching me? The only thing I can do is lament my fate and get blasted by explosion magic.
I restrained the vampires who were ready to welcome the intruder and wracked my brain.
This situation far surpassed the question of whether they could do something.
‘This time, I’ll try to settle it through conversation.’
This isn’t a dungeon, and I’m not the boss here. Killing me would only bring you guilt. I bear no hostility towards you, so please just spare my life.
I ruminated over various lines in my head and put down my great sword just in case they took it the wrong way.
I raised both hands and slowly moved forward.
As we got closer, the mage’s face came into clearer view.
Somehow, I felt like I’d seen that face before.
‘Charlotte?’
Her outfit screamed typical magician. Purple eyes. If game graphics became reality, she’d look just like that.
Her face was youthful, like she had just become an adult, and she was unbelievably beautiful but…
‘Her personality is totally psycho!’
Charlotte is a notorious named boss. The merciless witch Charlotte from Jinto.
She is none other than the guardian of the second layer of the Seven Lairs’ dungeon known as ‘The Ten Degrees of Descent.’
The question is, the Charlotte I remember was over level 80. Maybe she looks a bit younger now.
Could it be that I’ve been possessed in a past timeframe?
No, that’s not important right now.
I’m filled with questions about when this is and why Witch Charlotte has come here, but first things first, I need to find a way to survive.
I signaled to the vampires with my eyes to step back.
If I annoy her, things will only turn to ashes.
Before I knew it, Charlotte had stopped right in front of me.
I felt like my nonexistent balls were being squeezed in fear.
Her sharp gaze felt like it was piercing through my neck.
“Are you perhaps—”
“I’ll skip the introductions and get straight to the point.”
Suddenly?
I didn’t know what was coming, but I felt a sense of relief.
For someone like her, it wouldn’t be surprising to suddenly unleash some magic, but she actually left room for conversation.
And if she’s here with a goal, that means she wants something. Whatever it is, just say it so I can get out of here quickly. Before I lose my breath.
“Could you accept me into this dungeon?”
…What?