Conquering the Academy with Just a Sashimi Knife (Novel) - Chapter 125 - The King of the Dead (4)

Chapter 125 – The King of the Dead (4)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Chapter 125 – The King of the Dead (4)

“…What did that mean?”

Astonishment and confusion took over the faced of everyone who heard my words, including Abel, Shail, and even Michelan, the veteran of the Undead Dungeon.

As if they had previously agreed, all three of them exclaimed the same thing.

I slowly opened my mouth.

“What I just said was exactly that. Beneath that hole, there was an S-rank magical beast sealed away. And it seemed that your parents, Abel, were trying to subjugate that magical beast.”

“……”

I didn’t beat around the bush. Originally, I had intended to handle this alone, but I had obtained proof that Abel’s parents had gone in that direction.

Therefore, I chose to present shocking facts rather than sugarcoat them with lies.

I deeply understood their bewildered reactions. Finding an S-rank magical beast inside a D-rank dungeon was completely unexpected.

I would have reacted the same way if I were in their place.

The three of them stared at me with expressions of disbelief.

Absorbing their gazed, I continued slowly.

“That magical beast was a ‘Draugr,’ a troublesome creature that commands armies of the undead.”

“……”

Silence fell over the area. The dungeon, already quiet, sank into an even deeper stillness.

Surely, they were all contemplating various thoughts and ideas.

From this point, I needed to keep shocking them. That would naturally focus their attention on the ‘Draugr.’

“Although it’s a magical beast and could’t use ‘magic,’ it wields a magic staff called the ‘Staff of the God of Death.’ Its effect intensifies over time, a highly troublesome ability.”

“…If that’s true, how did you know about it, Mr. Kang Geom-ma?”

As expected, Shail asked with eyes clouded by confusion. I responded briefly.

“Through research.”

“……”

Shail frowned, so I added a bit more information.

“I always review all books related to a dungeon before attempting to subjugate it.”

Shail looked at me with an expression that seemed to say, ‘Was that all you’re going to say?’ but I had no intention of satisfying her curiosity.

At this moment, it didn’t matter ‘why’ I knew something, but rather ‘how’ we should handle the situation.

Obviously, unless they were fools, they would start feeling an increasing sense of unease toward me. But what could I ?

“I couldn’t just announce, ‘This world was a game, and I’m a human who fell from another world.’”

That would only devalue their feelings about the situation.

“I understand how you feel, Miss Shail. However, what’s more important now was ‘how’ we’re going to face this creature rather than ‘where’ this information came from.”

I quickly changed the subject. Shail, after staring at me for a moment, finally nodded.

It didn’t seem like the suspicion in her eyes had disappeared, but at least for now, she seemed to accept what I was saying.

Maintaining my neutral expression, I called out to Michelan.

“Sir.”

“Ah, yes, noble lord.”

“…Just call me Kang Geom-ma. Anyway, did you know anything about the magical beast I just mentioned? That’s all I know so far.”

“Ah… Even though I’ve been here for 700 years, I didn’t even know such a magical beast existed. This was truly shocking for me as well. But…”

Michelan paused, furrowing his brow and thinking deeply before continuing cautiously.

“Something suddenly came to mind—there was a tombstone near the entrance.”

“You mean the inscriptions in runes that were there?”

Shail asked. Michelan touched his chin with a surprised expression.

“Did people today still know about runes?”

“It’s just a personal interest of mine. Runes had been a dead language for hundreds of years.”

“Haha, that’s true. Even in my time, rune speakers were gradually declining. It was a difficult language in every aspect.”

Michelan smiled bitterly, a laugh filled with nostalgia. After a moment, he continued.

“As you saw on that tombstone, the text referred to a specific ‘subject.’”

“That was… only the last part was intact, and the upper portion was too damaged to decipher. It seemed as if someone had deliberately defaced it.”

“Hmm. I don’t know who would have done that, but for a tombstone that had been there for centuries, it’s not unusual for it to be in that state.”

Michelan shrugged as if he had expected it. Then he touched his temple with his fingers.

“But don’t worry. I had the full contents of that tombstone memorized.”

“…You remember all of it?”

Abel’s eyes widened. Michelan laughed heartily, showing his teeth.

“Despite how I look, I had a good memory. Though, lately, I forget things more often.”

Saying this, Michelan coughed loudly. A rough, hollow sound escaped from the dead.

“In any case, let me tell you what was written on that tombstone.”

—

== ==

This place was a sanctuary and a resting palace for the dead.

However, by nature, evil could arrive unexpectedly.

A curse ■ that binds and torments death had descended here.

It was a curse that, under the false name of immortality, causes the living to rot.

Could you hear me?

The cries of the suffering dead.

The desperate movements yearning for release.

The pleas that desire death.

Living one, break our curse, our chains.

Did not be deceived by appearances—listen to the whispered of the dead.

The true nature of the curse did not lie in the human, but in the demonic.

The dead wish for a human to appear and break this curse.

A saint of the ‘Final Class’ who would sever the chains of immortality.

He would receive our infinite blessings and be enthroned with our ■.

On the contrary, fools and ignorant ones would suffer eternally under the yoke of immortality.

Thus, we warn.

Those who disturb the rest of the dead—

They, too, shall become the same.

Those who bring rest to the dead—

They shall be the kings of the dead.

== ==

When Michelan finished, Shail frowned slightly.

“The latter part was already eerie… but the earlier content was even more grim.”

“Exactly. When Shail mentioned it before, I thought it was just a serious warning. But after hearing the earlier part…”

Abel’s expression darkened as well.

She deeply felt the despair emanating from those words.

‘…The dead I had been freeing had been waiting for a savior.’

Abel hugged her shoulders. She lowered her head deeply, as if she were a sinner.

She had tried to erase her guilt with a sense of duty and vocation.

Yet now, Abel felt that crumbling in an instant.

While Michelan and Shail continued their discussion, Abel stood there with a somber expression.

She felt suffocated. As if she had committed an unforgivable sin.

She had resolved to prioritize the objective, attempting to emulate the stubborn righteousness of the Sword Emperor.

‘…My grandfather never regretted his actions.’

But she blamed herself. She regretted it. A dull pain throbbed in her heart, like a deep bruise.

At that moment, as Abel’s expression darkened even further—

Suddenly.

A firm hand gently grasped her shoulder.

“…?”

It was Kang Geom-ma. He smiled softly and then spoke.

“You worry too much.”

At those words, Abel blinked in surprise.

Worry? Her expression was far from just concern. And Kang Geom-ma was too perceptive to mistake it.

Then why? Abel and Kang Geom-ma’s gazes met.

His eyes, calm and gentle, sought to dispel the negative emotions overwhelming her.

Sometimes, Kang Geom-ma would throw out nonsensical jokes, and although Abel found them perplexing, now she vaguely understood his intentions.

More than the words spoken without thought, she found comfort in his seriousness.

Once Abel calmed down, Kang Geom-ma smiled slightly and released her shoulder. Then, he joined the conversation Michelan and Shail were having.

“……”

Abel watched him silently. Then, absentmindedly, she rubbed her right shoulder.

A lingering warmth remained.

* * *

…Shortly after, the discussion about the inscriptions on the stele ended.

I hadn’t expected much, but thanks to Michelan, I was able to obtain a rather important clue.

He had lived for centuries, and his memory and mind were remarkably sharp.

He immediately recalled a stele he had once seen and spared no details about it.

Suddenly, I wondered what Michelan had been in life.

However, the answer that came back was that he had no clear memories.

He doesn’t even remember why he had entered this dungeon or how he had become an undead.

He only vaguely recalled that it was related to the great swordsman, Aron Nibelung.

Well, his past wasn’t of great importance, so I let it go.

He didn’t seem to be lying, and most importantly, he had proactively offered to help.

“I’ve always had doubts about the words on the tombstone. But thanks to the information that Kang Geom-ma had provided, it seemed like I’m starting to see things more clearly,” Michelan said, emphasizing with his index finger.

“Of course, this was just my personal opinion, but I suspect that the ‘curse’ mentioned here might be the ‘Draugr’ we were talking about.”

“I think so too. At first, I thought it might be the ‘King of the Dead,’ but the characteristics of the magic amulet and the nature of the ‘curse’ that Kang Geom-ma explained seemed to align.”

Shail nodded in agreement with his words.

Michelan took over as if receiving the baton.

“If our theory was correct, what we need to focus on was the phrase, ‘The true nature of the curse resides not in the human, but in the demonic.’ This could be a clue left by whoever inscribed those words.”

“The demonic…”

Shail murmured and suddenly turned her head toward me.

She stared at me with weary eyes before shaking her head in resignation.

Like someone caught in a dilemma, the complexity of her emotions was evident on her face.

Amidst all this, Abel, who had remained silent, spoke cautiously.

“But isn’t it too dangerous for us to try to face it directly…? It’s an S-rank creature. Even with you and Shail, who was almost at the senior level, the risk was too great.”

Naturally, I had expected this concern to be raised. There was undoubtedly considerable risk.

An S-rank Draugr, akin to a natural disaster.

Even with this team, I couldn’t fully guarantee we could defeat it.

According to Abel, the logical course of action would be to report it to the association.

However, I had completely dismissed that option.

If we reported it, it would undoubtedly trigger a large-scale investigation.

That would mean delays, and they might discover the mana stone.

I had heard that the association’s labs were desperately searching for mana stones.

In this world, mana stones were rare and valuable.

That was also why I had planned to face it alone.

There’s a saying about sharing even a single grain of rice, but that doesn’t apply to mana stones.

Because if you try to process them artificially, they explode like bombs.

The only exception was when they’re used for ‘forging’ in enhancement. It was a subtle difference. But that’s how the system works.

Besides, Abel’s parents were very likely to be there. For these reasons, external intervention had to be avoided.

And, above all, I already had a battle plan in mind.

“I don’t agree with that opinion.”

“So, the three of us were going to take on an S-rank demon?”

I briefly explained my reasoning to Abel and Shail, who looked bewildered. I left out the part about the mana stone.

And I told them that even if it was too much for them, I would go alone.

That had been the plan from the start, and there was no need to share the risk.

…Thirty minutes passed, and they finally nodded.

Probably because of Abel’s objective—to confirm her parents’ situation.

“…Let’s try it. It’s an S-rank creature, but with Shail and you, Kang Geom-ma, it’s not entirely impossible.”

Shail hesitated slightly. But as they say, no servant surpasses their master, and soon, she nodded.

“…Alright, but promise me that if it’s too dangerous, we’ll retreat immediately.”

“Of course.”

I finally obtained everyone’s approval.

“Michelan, please guide us to that opening you mentioned earlier.”

“Ah, of course. I won’t forget this favor, Michelan. I’ll guide you safely.”

And so, led by Michelan, we headed toward our destination.

After walking for about ten minutes, Michelan pointed to a place surrounded by a pile of stones.

At the center was an opening leading downward, firmly sealed with a door made of dark material and six locks.

However, the hinges seemed a bit loose, as if it had been opened before.

Not many times—at most, a couple of times. But since it was still sealed, it seemed there had never been a successful attempt to defeat whatever was inside.

‘Normally, you’d need to find those six keys to enter.’

But I already had a master key.

“Everyone, step back a bit.”

Saying that, I immediately drew Permafrost.

Shing—

[The Blessing of the Sword God manifests.]