The Skeleton Soldier Failed to Defend the Dungeon

Chapter 351: The Lost World (6)

Gilaut laughed as if he found it amusing. "Cleanup? Hah..."

No one ever knew what might jump out in a cave like this, so it was natural to be prepared. Saying I only wanted to "finish things off" basically meant I wanted the experience without taking on much of the danger. My request was pretty shameless.

Unlike me, none of them could see the status window or gain levels by killing something, so it should be fine.

"Does that trouble you?" I asked.

"No, I can do that for you anytime!" Gilaut responded cheerfully.

Maybe because his Affection toward me was high, but Gilaut agreed without hesitation. The trolls, ogres, and orc skeleton soldiers lined up behind him all nodded in unison. It seemed they understood and approved.

Gilaut glanced back at them and gave a small shrug with his broad shoulders. Shadows rippled around the headless knight's armor.

"This is strange. They're being unusually friendly toward you," Gilaut commented.

"Friendly?"

"Yes. Not to our lord, not to me, but to you, someone they just met. Isn't that odd?"

Maybe it was. They weren't under my command. Naturally, I had never built up any Affection with them.

"That's not the only strange thing," Gilaut continued. "You know our lord vanished into the distance earlier, right?"

"Of course."

Gith-Za-Rai had left us behind and disappeared into the darkness. By now, she was far away.

"Those things collapse if they stop receiving mana. Yet, they are somehow still moving perfectly fine."

"If it's someone like Gith-Za-Rai... maybe she prepared something in advance?"

"Maybe, but I have no idea what it is."

I looked over the skeleton legion sprawled across the clearing. They had been resting, conserving the necromancer's mana. If that was the case, then I really did wonder what allowed the skeletons behind me to move so casually without mana.

"Hmmm..."

"To be honest, I think it might actually have something to do with your friend."

It was certainly possible. That made sense.

If she's the one who did it...

Even if Gith-Za-Rai had pulled some trick on me, I decided I would endure it, at least most of it, while continuing forward. That was when I suddenly felt that something was off. Faint translucent letters hovered above Gilaut's neck.

Gil... aut...?

I read his name. The moment I focused on the letters...

Ding!

[Name: Gilaut]

[Affection: 28]

[Headless Knight Lv. 48]

[Dark Man Lv. 31]

[Health: 80]

[Strength: 71]

[Agility: 54]

[Wisdom: 25]

[Basic Skills:

— Dark Swordsmanship Lv. 9

— Paralyzing Strike Lv. 4

— Shadow Blade Lv. 2

— ??? Lv. 1 (Insufficient Affection.)]

[Perks:

—  Increases with higher Affection.]

[Titles:

—  Increase Affection to unlock.]

What is this?

It wasn't my imagination. The status window floated brazenly in the air, refusing to vanish. I had not expected to be able to see Gilaut's status window. After my first regression, I could see the status of certain enemies involved in a scenario, but that was it. I could see nothing beyond that.

Now, I can even see his stats and Affection...

While I stood there stunned, Gilaut, completely unaware, looked back and called out, "Hey, are you all doing alright?"

The skeletons behind us all nodded again.

"We've been walking for a long time, but look at them. Not a single one is falling apart."

I quietly turned and looked at them. "..."

The closest skeleton met my gaze. A sturdy orc skeleton soldier marched confidently at the front.

I murmured in my mind.

Status window.

Ding!

[Name: 1023]

[Affection: 0]

[Orc Skeleton Lv. 18]

[Health: 29]

[Strength: 34]

[Agility: 18]

[Wisdom: 1]

[Basic Skills:

— Increase Affection to unlock.]

[Perks:

— Increase Affection to unlock.]

[Titles:

— Increase Affection to unlock.]

Even them—!

I was astonished.

"Gilaut."

"Hm?"

"How do you call them?"

"Them? You mean names?"

"Yes."

"We use numbers. 1001, 1002... like that. The ones here range from 1002 to 1083."

That matched perfectly.

"Then... is that one 1023?"

"Oh? How did you know that?"

Gilaut's shadow rippled noticeably.

"I just guessed."

"That makes no sense! Ah! This is magic, isn't it?"

There was no longer any room for doubt.

"The fastest one is 1040. The strongest... 1002?"

When I pointed out the soldier with the highest Strength and the one with the highest Agility, Gilaut exploded with surprise.

"Exactly! Honestly, even I don't know their details that well, but that's pretty close. You can tell things like that?"

Clatter.

Even the skeleton I had called the strongest nodded.

[1040's Affection has increased by 2!]

[1002's Affection has increased by 3!]

They gained Affection... from that? Were they actually pleased to be acknowledged?

After checking the status windows of all the soldiers, I sank into deeper thought.

Why is this happening? Is it because of the regression? Could it be related to the drastic drop in my synchronicity level?

No.

The imperial guards at the graveyard never displayed their status windows, no matter how many times I encountered them. The difference between those guards and these undead troops was clear: the guards were allies, while the undead were not. That was all I could conclude for now.

Unless...

I recalled Gith-Za-Rai's words.

As expected of you. I knew you would trigger a skill the moment you had the chance. Fufu. If we stay together, I might end up overworking you.

She recognized the Lurium flowing through my bones. If she was using that as a mana source and channeling it into these undead, then seeing their status windows through that connection made sense.

But... I need more samples.

If I checked every new enemy I encountered, I would find my answer soon enough.

"Let's keep walking for now."

***

"They call me Gilaut of the East because of this thing," the headless knight said, raising a blade carved with four deep grooves.

Its edge looked sharp, but the weapon itself resembled a mace more than a sword. Any ordinary blade would snap instantly against it; the core was too thick.

"I'm not actually from the East. My lord resurrected me here, on this continent."

"..."

"What? Disappointed? Want me to tell you something about the East?"

"I'd appreciate it."

I didn't need to ask where he had heard it. Of course, it would've been from Gith-Za-Rai.

There were two kinds of Eastern lands. First, on the mainland, the existence of the Merchants' Guild had only recently been discovered. Second, or the replica, was the small island that Isaac had mentioned.

Which one had the necromancer crossed the sea from? Not the island Chandler explored.

Then it was probably the mainland Isaac and Nexmond spoke of.

Gilaut told me his story.

"The East is the continent of Yokai."

His voice that emerged from a shadowed, severed neck struck with eerie weight. Even his presence felt different. I almost stopped walking due to its strangeness.

"Yokai?" I repeated.

The Dullahan's shadow nodded. "Yes."

"And... they're different from monsters?"

His answer was unwavering.

"Completely. Yokai pursue humans. Separated from humans, they wither and die. They blend into human life and mimic them. Sometimes they even turn humans into Yokai."

I had no doubt he was repeating something he had heard from Gith-Za-Rai, but something about the tone and his cadence was different. It was as if the story itself carried power or Gith-Za-Rai had cast some spell on it.

So she really did come from the mainland.

My suspicion deepened. If she had come from a mere replica island or a simple imitation, then a story like this wouldn't echo with such supernatural weight.

"They..."

As Gilaut continued telling his story, it became harder to picture what a Yokai truly was. They might spend their entire lives alongside humans as a mirror or a broom. They could transform into clothing or fruit and settle in a human's stomach to become an organ. They could predict the future. However, the essential point was clear: Yokai lived by clinging to humans. They wanted to integrate with them.

"I don't understand."

"That's how Yokai are," Gilaut said.

His strange tone faded, but the words he left behind lingered.

Their power is strange, their forms ever-changing, and their hearts unknowable.

Complicated thoughts swirled in my mind.

Would the Demon Kings conquer the Yokai continent ten years from now, too? Could the East become a place of refuge?

The Merchants' Guild claimed they had recently found a route to the East.

Had people escaped there when the Demon Kings descended?

No matter what, I knew I would have to go someday. Even the briefest glimpse of that world was enough to convince me it was worth exploring.

Our footsteps carried us deeper underground. Paths twisted in every direction, and the air grew thick and sticky. The moisture came from moss covering the cave walls, spreading from shadow to shadow like something alive, writhing and breathing. Gilaut walked without hesitation, almost refreshed by the darkness.

Of course.

Dullahans were born from the shadows. They were a tangle of resentment and broken memories resurrected as headless knights. It made sense that Gilaut felt at home in the darkness.

After a few more steps, a system message popped up and a translucent window appeared in the air.

Ding!

[Southern Demon Realm Encroachment Zone]

[Dungeon Rank: ?]

[Recommended Level: ???]

[Unable to assess current conditions.]

[Optimal Clear Party: ??]

So it is a dungeon.

It wasn't hard to imagine enemies lurking in the dark ahead. I turned to Gilaut, and he immediately felt my stare.

"What is it?"

"Do you sense anything?"

"Hmm? Feels like a headless knight might jump out at any moment." He joked, but the tension didn't ease. "Be careful. From here on..."

I couldn't explain the status windows or the messages just yet.

"Enemies will start appearing," I warned.

"Oh? Just intuition? Well, in a place like this, that makes sense."

Maybe it was the effect of his high Affection toward me, but the Dullahan accepted my warning without question and signaled his troops forward.

The deeper we went, the wider the path became above and below.

Gilaut suddenly froze. "Well, I'll be damned. You were right. Everyone, on guard!"

At his low shout, the soldiers tightened their formation. I scanned the sides too. I hadn't sensed them as quickly as he had, but once I looked closely, I saw creatures digging into the cave walls.

The creatures had yellow-brown skin mottled with green patches, and large faces and ears. They were gremlins.

Gremlins?!

Similar in size to goblins, gremlins were far more dangerous, a species I had never seen before the Demon Kings descended. They had toxic claws, teeth infused with Demon Realm poison, and skin hardened by demonic adaptation. They might have lived on the continent long before the Demon Kings appeared, but...

I was only a foot soldier. My information was limited. This is the first time I've gone this deep.

Thunk! Thunk!

The gremlins didn't even look at us. They were busy harvesting the writhing moss from the walls with little hand-sized shovels.

I focused on a nearby gremlin.

Status window.

Nothing appeared.

Status window. Status window.

It was the same with the others. There was no response. No matter how many times I called for it, nothing came to light.

So it's not Affection.

Ruby and Rena were both tied to the scenario, and their windows showed even with low Affection. Gith-Za-Rai's soldiers behind me all had low Affection, too.

So the link must be through mana... between the soldiers and me.

As I looked around, one gremlin finally noticed us and stared with round red eyes. Its pupils darted quickly. A chill tightened around my spine, and I gripped my hilt. It could open that huge mouth and screech at any second.

There are so many. Should I strike first? But I have no idea how strong they are. I can't even see their windows...

Maybe I should take one out before things escalate.

I didn't know much about gremlins since Baal's legion never used them, but I had heard enough about their cruelty.

If they swarm us...

Suddenly, a shockingly cheerful laugh boomed through the cavern.

"Heh heh heh! Hey there, little friends!"

What the hell?!

The sound exploded right beside me, and I almost swung my sword on instinct.

Gilaut, however, casually greeted the gremlins, utterly devoid of tension. "Do you all live here?"

"What are you doing?!"

I hissed quietly at him, but Gilaut only shrugged, not even tightening his grip on his weapon.

"Kukaka! Kukat!"

All the gremlins paused their work and turned their red eyes toward us.

Forty... fifty...

The number was nearly a hundred.

We're done for.

The closest gremlin waddled toward us on its stubby legs.

A fight?

That would be a disaster. But then...

"Kyuu~ Kyukat! Good to see you!"

"Good... to see us?"

"Gathering shadow moss is boring! Gathering demon stones is boring! Happy to meet you!" the approaching gremlin shouted in a raspy voice.