[One target of revenge has died]
A message popped up inside Yurei's head.
"What?! They... Fuck!"
Anger took over him momentarily as he punched the nearby wall. Cracks appeared on the bony knuckles.
"Damn it... Those bastards are my prey! But..."
Taking deep breaths(?), Yurei calmed himself down.
"... It was the right choice to not agitate the death knight. I would have died if I had tried to pick a fight with it... Besides, didn't I want this to happen anyway?"
He came here to take care of the targets without dying himself. Yet, he felt extremely angry.
"Alright... Let's just get this over with..."
Sighing, Yurei shook his head and walked towards the door leading to the fifth floor.
The guard here was just a normal Undead Mage, albeit a bit more powerful than usual.
It let him pass by without a fuss after he showed the sigil.
The sixth floor was normal too, and so was the seventh. The normal monsters didn't pay him any attention and the guards seemed more interested in the intruders than him.
The issue started again from the eighth floor.
"Another Death Knight?"
The hulking knight stared at Yurei with its glowing eyes and moved its chin towards the door.
"Go. I'll hold those intruders back."
"They have already broken through?"
"They will, soon. He has been critically damaged."
"You can tell from here?"
Yurei asked, sceptical. The knight just shrugged and nodded.
"We are connected by our souls. All undead are."
"Ah... I see. Then... Uh, I'll be going."
Yurei was still confused, but he decided to think about it later. But just as he passed by the death knight...
"And we know that you crushed a brethren of ours. If you weren't working for our king... Mark my words, fool, you would have been crushed by now."
"A-ah-"
The door closed with a loud thud and locked behind him. Yurei stood there, his jaw(?) open wide.
"... Isn't this bad?"
Not just bad, this was extremely bad. If there was a shared connection between undead monsters, then he couldn't kill monsters willy-nilly in the future.
His quests would get a shit-ton harder.
"F-fuck... I need to think about it more later... Damn it. Let's get to the Lich King first and then think about it."
Yurei composed himself and dashed forward once again, this time determined to not stop no matter what happened.
--------------------------------
"Why is this guard so tough?! This is a beginner dungeon for god's sake!"
Rio hissed as his sword pierced through the death knight's core.
The bones cracked and crumbled. Then they turned into ashes and disappeared.
"We lost two people, guild master... We have to retreat."
One of the healers said in a tired voice as she healed one of the wounded men. Only Rio and three others were unscratched, all other members have been injured one way or another.
"That's..."
Rio hesitated a bit. He wanted to push on... But if all of the guards were this strong, then the party would get wiped out before even reaching Axel.
"No... We must kill that bastard!"
Suddenly, a man stepped forward.
"Jack... You were a friend of Samuel's, weren't you?"
Rio asked with a sigh, he knew where this was going.
"Yeah, guild master. Samuel... He... We need to avenge him!"
The man called Jack hissed as he gripped his sword tightly.
"But going after him like this is foolish! Come on, think calmly!"
The healer from before tried to reason with Jack, but the latter paid it no heed.
"If we leave him be, he'll get too strong for us. We can't let this chance pass by!"
"But Jack, others can't keep up with us."
"That..."
Jack was among the three men who were unscathed from the previous battle. It clearly showed his skills... But it also made it clear that he couldn't sympathize with the injured.
"... Let's avenge Samuel, Guild Master."
But surprising everyone, one of the injured girls murmured while looking down.
They all knew who she was.
"I know you loved Samuel, Carol... But..."
Rio felt helpless. He knew that pushing forward would mean death, but most of his comrades were raring to go.
Except for two, all other party members wanted to avenge their fallen comrade.
"... Fine. We'll push on."
"But Guild Master!"
The healer from before objected.
"I know what you are going to say so... Just take this."
Sighing, Rio pulled out three potions and handed them to the injured members.
"W-wait, what?! [Revival Potion]s?"
The extremely valuable potions were right in front of them.
"Guild Master! Aren't these your life's savings?"
Jack cried out and tried to argue, but Rio shut him down.
"It's fine. Taking down Axel is more important right now. Just share the potions amongst yourselves and get back on your feet. We'll continue the hunt."
"... Understood."
Nobody dared to question his determination. Soon, the party was moving through the fourth floor while burning with the fire of revenge.
--------------------------------
The large door before him opened without a sound and Yurei stepped into the Lich King's Audience chamber.
"Your humble servant greets you, Your Majesty."
The spirit kneeled and said in a respectful tone. He didn't have any other choice, the whole room was filled with a powerful aura.
Yurei wouldn't be able to take this boss down by his own. Not unless he took control of a Death Knight... But that didn't seem like a good idea to him anymore.
"Hm. What brings you here?"
A dignified voice echoed in his head.
"Intruders have broken into the castle, Your Majesty."
"I know that very well. What else have you come to report?"
The Lich King dismissed Yurei with a sigh. Stiffening a bit, the spirit continued.
"... one of the intruders is an SS-ranker."
"Hou? Stand. Tell me more."
The undead King's voice turned serious as he stopped the oppressive aura surrounding Yurei.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Yurei stood up and looked at the Lich King.
The undead skeleton stared back through the golden fire burning inside the eye-holes.
"There are eleven people in that group... Well, now ten. One of them has already died to the guardian of the fourth floor. Most of them seem to be A-ranked, and a few of them were B-rankers. Their leader is the main problem, though. He is an SS-ranker."
"... You have gathered good information right there. Tell me more."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Three of them seem to be healers and three are damage-dealers, swordsmen mainly. The rest are either tankers or archers or mages. I haven't been able to confirm that."
Yurei muttered a bunch of Hunter-related terms, but the Lich King seemed to have no problem understanding them.
"Quite detailed. Alright, you three."
The Lich King gestured at the undead mages by his side.
"Take this one to one of the inner chambers. Let him rest. He has done well."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The three mages bowed and looked at Yurei.
"Come with us."
"Understood. Then, Your Majesty, I'll be going."
"Hm. Also..."
"Yes, Your Majesty... ?"
Yurei turned to look at the Lich King, only to shudder.
"You can drop the facade. I know very well that your soul does not belong to the body."
"Why are the monsters on this floor so insightful?!"
Was the first thought that came to Yurei's mind.
But he kept calm and bowed before ascending from the mage's body.
"You have seen through me, Your Majesty."
"Of course. I am the bestower of spirits, you can not hide from me."
The Lich King eerily laughed and waved him away.
"W-what? You are not going to kill me?"
Yurei asked, surprised and relieved at the same time.
"Why would I do that? I am the bestower of spirits, not a destroyer of them. Besides, you have done me no harm, so why must I kill you? Go and rest now. Possessing a mage must be taxing."
"U-understood, Your Majesty."
Yurei once again bowed and left the room with the mages. His mind was in shambles as he went over the encounter again and again.
"I-is it really possible to build an alliance with dungeon bosses... ?"
[Your quest details for {Evolution III} have been changed due to outside influence]
[Warning. This may have dire consequences]