Chapter 26: The Path of Shadows and the Death Knight’s Gaze

Early in the morning, as the sun began to rise, the last watch started waking up the group.

Despite the arrival of morning, the sweltering forest climate remained unchanged, forcing the adventurers to wipe away the sweat that clung to their bodies from the start of the day.

Of course, I was an exception, no longer affected by the oppressive heat.

Thanks to the new mana circle I had formed in my heart after an arduous struggle late the previous night, the surrounding heat naturally dissipated from my body.

With the stifling heat no longer weighing down on my skin, I felt noticeably lighter and more agile.

Fully packed and ready, I took a moment to assess my physical condition.

In stark contrast to the weary adventurers, I felt energized and prepared.

“Let’s go!”

At Luna’s rallying call, we began moving together.

The moment to step into the unknown world of the dungeon had finally arrived.

With my heart pounding in anticipation, I followed the group down the stairs.

The deeper we descended, the darker it grew.

Luna soon lit a large lamp she had brought along.

Whoosh!

Though small, the light was sufficient to illuminate our surroundings, and we relied on it as we ventured deeper into the dungeon.

We had been walking for some time when one of the rangers suddenly ran ahead and halted the group.

Squinting intently at a particular spot, it seemed they had spotted a trap.

“A trap.”

What kind of trap could warrant such caution?

Examining the stairs carefully, the ranger pulled out a piece of charcoal and marked a spot on the steps.

It was a clear mark, visible enough for everyone in the group to notice.

“Don’t step on this stair.”

Although I was curious about the nature of the trap, I had no desire to test it by stepping on the marked stair.

The group avoided the marked step as they descended further.

Progress was naturally slow as we had to navigate carefully to avoid traps.

It took us 30 minutes from the moment we entered the dungeon to reach the bottom of the staircase.

Perhaps it was the sense of having overcome one hurdle, but the adventurers let out a sigh of relief.

However, this didn’t mean the dungeon itself was anywhere near its end.

There were still countless challenges ahead of us.

At the bottom of the stairs stretched a long corridor.

Or perhaps it only seemed long.

The pitch-black darkness obscured its end, leaving us uncertain of how far it extended.

The adventurers swallowed nervously as they stared into the impenetrable void.

“Let’s go…”

Naturally, the two rangers took the lead.

Holding the lamp Luna had handed them, they moved forward with stiffened expressions.

We had been walking for a while when a sound echoed from the other end of the corridor.

Clatter… Clatter…

The sound wasn’t loud, but it was clear enough for everyone to hear.

Instinctively, the group came to a halt.

Clatter—

Something moved in the darkness.

As the faint light illuminated the figure, its form slowly became clearer—a stark white skeleton.

Yes, bones. Human-like skeletons, wielding rusted swords, were walking toward us.

The moment I confirmed their appearance, I screamed silently.

Their lifeless, jerking movements resembled the eerie lurching of ghosts from a low-budget horror movie.

In other words, they were terrifying.

“Skeletons… It seems this is a necromancer’s dungeon,” someone muttered.

I couldn’t tell who spoke. While I was still reeling from the shock, the adventurers readied their weapons as if this were routine.

Five skeletons had appeared in total.

I couldn’t gauge their strength, but seeing the adventurers confidently take their stances, it didn’t seem like they would pose much of a challenge.

As the skeletons staggered closer, one of the swordsmen stepped forward and asked,

“Hey… Is it safe to move? Any traps nearby?”

“It’s fine. There are no dangerous traps around here.”

That was the signal.

The three swordsmen, who had been waiting with drawn weapons, charged toward the skeletons without hesitation.

Watching their blades swing under the faint light made it feel like I was being drawn into the darkness.

I glanced at Isoline.

She stood a step back, arms crossed, as if this situation didn’t warrant her intervention.

Her calm demeanor suggested the skeletons were an easy foe.

I exhaled softly and dashed forward.

Clatter—

How could these skeletons move without muscles?

The answer lay in the black mana permeating their bodies.

The faint mana they carried spread through their frames, serving as a substitute for muscle fibers.

Maintaining my momentum, I swung my sword.

The weight and speed of my strike were enough to shatter the skeleton’s fragile frame.

Crunch!

The skeleton’s body crumbled to pieces, scattering across the ground.

They were absurdly weak—goblins from the Carme Mountains had been more formidable.

However, I quickly realized I was mistaken.

The shattered white bones scattered on the ground began to rise into the air, reassembling into their original form.

Even in that unstable state, the skeleton swung its rusted sword.

Whoosh—

Its attack was slow. I took a step back and observed the other swordsmen.

Rather than slicing through the skeletons, they were smashing them into pieces with brute force.

One swordsman stomped on the scattered white bones, grinding them into dust, which caused the mana animating the skeleton to dissipate.

I had figured out how to deal with them.

Without hesitation, I ducked low and struck at the skeleton’s waist.

With a powerful swing, the skeleton’s midsection shattered, scattering its white bones across the ground.

I quickly moved and stomped on the scattered bones, crushing them completely.

“Hah…”

Since the skeletons weren’t particularly challenging opponents, the battle ended swiftly.

The swordsmen brushed the scattered white bone fragments to the side as if they couldn’t stand the sight of them.

Then it happened.

A sudden rumbling noise echoed as the entire dungeon began to shake.

It seemed the swordsmen’s actions had triggered some sort of mechanism.

“What the—!”

“Damn it…!”

Everyone was thrown into confusion by the unexpected phenomenon.

Even Isoline, who usually observed situations with a calm expression, looked unsettled.

I quickly ran to her side—a natural instinct to protect the party’s strongest member.

And at that moment, a black wall suddenly shot up.

The massive wall, rising from the ground, divided the group into two.

“Damn it…!”

“Hey! Are you alright over there?”

The voices of the swordsmen came from the other side of the wall, mixed with Luna’s panicked cries.

“We’re fine!”

I answered their question, squinting to peer into the darkness.

With the group split, the light they had carried was gone, leaving us in pitch-black surroundings.

At that moment, a faint flame flickered to life beside me.

Isoline had used magic to create a small light.

“It’s just the two of us now…”

Isoline muttered, glancing around cautiously.

Then, another voice came from beyond the wall.

“There’s no way back! We’re going to move forward. How about you?”

It was Luna’s voice.

I looked at Isoline after hearing her question.

“What should we do?”

“Hmm…”

Isoline pondered for a long while before finally responding.

“Go on ahead without us!”

While she conversed with the others on the other side, I used the light she had conjured to examine our surroundings.

The massive wall blocking the corridor looked impervious to most attacks.

Even the hallway leading back was sealed off.

As I touched the solid wall, I turned to Isoline and asked,

“Can you break through this?”

“That would be far too dangerous.”

“Dangerous? How?”

“The entire dungeon might collapse. And I can’t cast magic powerful enough to break it…”

“Ah…”

It meant we’d have to wait for the others to find a way to rescue us.

Letting out a deep sigh, I leaned against the wall and slid to the ground.

Then, suddenly, the part of the wall I was leaning on gave way.

Rumble—!

“Wha—what the…!”

Startled by the sound, I grabbed my sword and aimed it at the wall.

The wall, which had begun to move with a loud rumble, sank downward, eventually revealing a new path.

Unlike the previously straight corridor, this one veered to the side, forming a new route.

Was it a trap, or a hidden passage?

I swallowed hard and looked at Isoline.

“W-what should we do?”

“There’s no other way, is there?”

“Should we go?”

“Better than waiting aimlessly. Who knows if those people will even come back for us?”

“There’s no way they’d just leave us…”

“Adventurers meet impulsively and part casually. Once we turn our backs, we might never see them again—they probably wouldn’t even feel guilty about it.”

With that, Isoline began walking ahead.

Her demeanor suggested she didn’t care if I followed or not.

The further she walked, the more the darkness crept in.

I gulped and quickly caught up to her side.

When she noticed me beside her, she gave a faint smile, as if she had anticipated I’d follow.

We walked along the path, chatting about various topics.

“Do you have a lot of experience exploring dungeons, Isoline?”

“Do I seem like I do?”

“Uh… yes.”

“Not really. Maybe twice?”

As we talked, the sound of clanking echoed from the far end of the corridor.

The heavy steps were louder and carried more weight than those of a skeleton.

Clank… clank…

The footsteps grew closer with each passing moment.

Naturally, Isoline and I came to a halt.

“This sound… it doesn’t seem like a skeleton, does it?”

“No, it doesn’t. It’s too heavy for a skeleton. It’s almost like…”

Clank… clank…

As the footsteps drew nearer, the dim light began to reveal the figure.

Rusty iron boots and a long, faded pair of iron leggings came into view.

Above that was a battered, dented plate mail.

Clank…

The figure took another step closer.

With the illumination from Isoline’s light, its full form was revealed.

Standing before us was a knight clad in old, decrepit armor.

“A Death Knight…?”

The moment Isoline spoke, a violet glow flared within the dented helmet.