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Race: Death Knight
Permanent Traits: [Advanced Swordsmanship], [Natural Healing]
Active Traits: [Enhancement Art], [Evolution Art]
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Status...
"This is real."
The status window appeared clearly before my eyes.
I finally accepted it after denying reality for two hours.
Game possession. Something unrealistic that I'd only seen in webtoons and web novels had happened to me too.
"Hah."
A cold breath mixed with my sigh. The breath of the dead, not the living. It reminded me once again of the reality of becoming a Death Knight.
Even my reflection in the spring water was grotesque beyond comparison.
Instead of a face, what I saw was a skull reminiscent of a medieval plague doctor's crow mask. Above it were antler-like horns, and colorless, lifeless white hair hung down.
Though my body was hidden beneath black iron armor, it was probably all bones. Just as I remembered.
Of all games to possess, it had to be Demongate, and to make matters worse, the difficulty was set to Undead mode.
Setting aside my miserable situation, now what?
What else? I need to survive first.
The current era is one of dungeon conquests and monster subjugation. The moment I'm spotted by humans, I'll obviously be hunted down by subjugation teams.
Isn't that why the Undead difficulty is so brutal in the first place? Because of human forces.
"At least having a status window is fortunate."
The basic stats I confirmed through the status window are decent.
Does that make me overpowered? Not at all.
My level is just that of a Death Knight, an advanced undead.
The only difference is in the active traits, and even those are just Enhancement Art and Evolution Art.
Actually, contrary to being a Death Knight now, this character's original class was 'Enhancement Artist'.
The reason was an easter egg where becoming undead would turn you into a random undead type.
Anyway, Enhancement Artists were a class that fought by enhancing weapons or evolving familiars, or rather, making them fight.
So what about now? All enhanced weapons are gone, and the familiars too.
Yet the active traits remained intact.
"Well. Better than nothing."
It's better than having them reset.
Evolution Art is useless for now.
I can't apply it to myself, only to familiars.
For me, who's neither a high-level lich nor even has a baby skeleton familiar, it's as good as useless.
In contrast, Enhancement Art? A Death Knight's basic equipment is all A-grade. If I can succeed with enhancements, I might become an equipment-powered overpowered Death Knight.
Kigik, kigik.
Even drawing the greatsword from the rusty scabbard on my back was a struggle. My fingertips tingled with discomfort like nails on a chalkboard.
Finally pulling out the greatsword, a status window alert appeared.
[Black Knight's Black Iron Greatsword(A)]
[Durability: 90]
[Enhancement Success Rate: 10%]
[※Warning! Failed enhancement will automatically destroy the item!]
[Upon enhancement failure, cooldown will reset.]
[Would you like to enhance Black Knight's Black Iron Greatsword?]
[YES/NO]
"It gets destroyed?"
Did I see that wrong? This setting wasn't originally there.
In the game, even if you failed, you could retry after a 1-hour cooldown and keep trying until success.
Are they giving me such a harsh penalty because this is reality now?
...Don't tell me the others too?
[Black Knight's Black Iron Armor(A)]
[Enhancement Success Rate: 4%]
[※Warning! Failed enhancement will automatically destroy the item!]
[Black Knight's Black Iron Gauntlets(A)]
[Enhancement Success Rate: 8%]
[※Warning! Failed enhancement will automatically destroy the item!]
[Black Knight's Black Iron Helmet(A)]
[Enhancement Success Rate: 6%]
[※Warning! Failed enhancement will automatically destroy the item!]
My hopeful expectation that this wouldn't be the case fizzled out like dying embers.
No, let's not break down here.
It's easier to think that there were no traits to begin with.
Think positive. Positive thinking.
Who am I? A Death Knight who rarely ever dies.
No need to eat, sleep, or fight - isn't this totally lucky?
Basic necessities are already taken care of without lifting a finger.
The important thing is finding a way to hide from humans without being detected.
This forest I'm in looks dangerous at a glance. There are scattered human-made traps visible and many logged trees.
It's like advertising 'There's a human village nearby'.
Wandering around in broad daylight would be as good as natural death.
Plus, this is a place with a spring.
Where there's water, wild animals gather, and hunters patrol around springs to hunt these animals. That's probably why there are traps around.
Exaggerating a bit, someone might have already seen me through the bushes. I really hope that hasn't happened.
'I shouldn't move rashly right now.'
While villagers might venture into the forest during daytime, the forest at night is dangerous for humans.
If I want to avoid humans, dark night would be the perfect time. Moreover, undead take damage from prolonged exposure to sunlight.
Night will be an excellent curtain for me, a Death Knight.
It would have been nice if I had a stealth trait, but unfortunately being a magic artist class is regrettable.
Until night falls, where would be a good place to hide?
In a forest with scattered vegetation, there should be many places to hide.
Let's look for somewhere suitable for undead, where sunlight doesn't reach.
If there's nothing else, should I dig a hole and bury myself alive?
"Hmm?"
Just then, I spotted a hole of unknown depth behind some vines and a large rock.
Thanks to the vines covering it, you couldn't tell there was a cave there from a distance.
"Accepted."
There was no reason to refuse a naturally concealed spot.
==
"Hey rookie. First time exploring dungeons?"
"Huh? What? Are we going to a dungeon?"
"What are you talking about, explorers going to dungeons? Why are you scaring him? Hey rookie, shoulders back!"
Bang! Bang!
Henry nearly fell forward from the rough palm slapping his back.
The senior expedition members roared with laughter at the sight.
"Haah... really... why is this man so girly."
"If he was born a woman, he'd be popular. Even now he's popular with men who have strange preferences, right Henry?"
"Haha..."
Henry scratched his cheek and laughed awkwardly.
The Wemad Ivory Expedition. They weren't particularly famous, just one of many expedition teams scattered across the continent.
Only a few of them lived as professional explorers, most were just idlers looking to strike it rich with treasure ruins.
Though their mindset might be questionable, their experience couldn't be ignored.
Except for the rookie Henry, the members had been explorers for over a year, and the captain was a veteran who had lived as an explorer for decades.
"Captain, isn't that it? The place the villagers mentioned?"
"Looks like it."
"Whew, you really can't tell unless you look closely. But it doesn't look like ruins at all."
"Better than nothing."
"That's true."
Climbing halfway up the mountain behind the village, there was a cave hidden by vines and boulders.
Though the entrance looked eerie and gloomy, to the expedition team it felt like home.
The members followed behind the captain without hesitation as he entered the front line.
'We're going in there?'
Only Henry stood frozen.
He had only heard rumors that ancient ruins could be in such creepy places.
But there was a big difference between hearing about it and seeing it.
Going into such a scary cave just like that? It looks just like a dungeon!
Henry, who wanted to strike it rich like others, only realized after seeing it like others did. This wasn't something that could be done with a casual attitude.
"What are you doing there? Rookie? Hey rookie! Henry!!!"
"Yes, yes!"
"Ah shit. There's a limit to being nervous as a rookie. Take it easy."
"Sorry, senior!"
Even his belated footsteps weren't light.
As the expedition team entered the entrance, the member at the front lit an oil-soaked torch.
As visibility improved, there wasn't anything particularly surprising. Henry, who had been tense, let out a sigh of relief.
"What. Were you scared?"
"Well, yes. A little bit."
"A little my ass. I can see your face is completely pale. I understand though. When you first enter places like this, they seem more like dungeons than ruins, right?"
"Gasp. How did you know?"
"Everyone's the same, man. We're all human after all."
Their voices echoed in the low-ceilinged cave.
Though it should have been noisy, there were no voices of protest.
Even if they were adapted through long exploration, humans' primitive instincts feared darkness, and creating this atmosphere in the dark provided emotional stability.
"You think I was joking about going to a dungeon for nothing?"
"Ahaha. Right. If you had tricked me, I would have really thought it was a dungeon."
"You wouldn't have even gone in. You would have screamed about why an expedition team, not a subjugation team, would enter such a place!"
The members who knew Henry's high-pitched voice let out small laughs.
Henry, who wanted to pretend he hadn't heard, blurted out anything to change the subject.
"But this can't really be a dungeon, right?"
"Of course not. You think we're going in without preliminary investigation? We check everything before entering."
"Really? There's really none, right?"
"Kid's just a scaredy-cat. Think a bit. The villagers said this cave has been here for a long time, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Don't you think there would be people among them who had the same thought as you? Even without reports, when places like this are discovered, subjugation guild teams come at least once to identify mana."
There are many ways to distinguish whether something is a dungeon or not from the outside.
Most can be identified definitively through mana identification.
In reality, only places that have undergone mana identification are registered as dungeons by the subjugation guild.
The cave where the expedition team was had already been identified as just a cave, and there was no reason to suspect it as ruins.
While staying in the village, they heard the village chief's suggestion that explorers should check it out, and they were just going because they were curious.
"Ah. You never know. This could be a dungeon."
"...Pardon?"
In an instant, Henry's face turned pale.
The senior tried to hold back his laughter while continuing to speak.
"Have you heard of irregular dungeons?"
"W-what's that?"
"Sometimes there are dungeons that can't be identified from the outside. They say it's incomprehensible even to the most skilled magicians. They call those irregular dungeons or something? Anyway, literally speaking, this place could be an irregular dungeon."
Gulp. Henry's Adam's apple bobbed.
Catching this, the senior's eyes curved like crescents. Teasing nervous rookies was a senior specialty everywhere.
"Irregular dungeons are much more dangerous than normal dungeons. I told you, right? They're dungeons that can't be identified from the outside. Why do you think that is?"
"You just said it's incomprehensible..."
"Oh damn, you blockhead! That means there's no established theory, but there are many speculations. Want to know the most likely theory put forward by the subjugation guild? Mana concealment."
"Concealment?"
"Yeah. What if the dungeon boss can hide the dungeon's mana? Then there must be some intention behind it. And that means the boss is high-ranked and intelligent. Actually, the irregular dungeons that have been discovered belong to Demongate, and they're among the higher-ranked ones at that."
"Demongate!"
Demongate, the origin of dungeons and also called humanity's nemesis.
If children fear the boogeyman, Demongate is an object of terror regardless of age or gender.
Henry's already pale lips trembled.
If this place really was an irregular dungeon? Doesn't that mean it's also part of Demongate?
"If this is an irregular dungeon, we'll all die together. We'll all probably die screaming? Well, if you cried loudly when you were born, you should do the same when you die."
"That's enough, Jack. You're going too far with someone who just joined."
"Yes, yes. Looking at his expression, he might wet himself if I continue."
Clang, clang.
Just then, a metallic sound echoed from an unknown source. It was a noise coming from beyond the darkness, not from their own.
"Shh!"
Starting with the captain at the front, the members one by one noticed something suspicious.
The vice-captain extinguished the torch and lit a lantern. Then as he extended his arm towards the depths, everyone froze in place.
Full body armor as dark as the darkness itself. A skull face instead of a human face.
As the Death Knight turned its head, piercing blue lights emanated from its eye sockets.