"Human... Let... Me... Eat you..."
The Skeleton King's eerie voice echoed through the dark chamber, its words disjointed as if it was struggling to mimic human speech.
Ken stood frozen, his breathing uneven as he watched the towering undead entity before him.
"You don't... feel pain... That's... Good~"
The Skeleton King's voice shifted, becoming joyful yet unnervingly sinister.
Its bony jaw clattered as if it was laughing to itself.
Ken's mind raced, trying to process the words.
*Huh?
A sharp, burning sensation flared from his right shoulder, making him snap out of his daze.
It felt like fire was searing through his nerves.
He instinctively looked down.
His right arm was lying on the ground, drenched in a growing pool of blood.
*H-Huh? Is that my arm?
His breathing hitched as he turned his head toward his shoulder.
The stump where his arm used to be was gushing blood like a fountain, the flesh torn cleanly.
The pain finally registered in full force.
"AHHHHHH! MY ARRRMMM! IT BURNS!"
"MY ARM! NGGGGHHH!"
Ken's screams filled the chamber, raw and filled with agony.
His mind blanked, unable to process anything except the unbearable pain.
His knees buckled as he clutched at his shoulder, desperately trying to stop the bleeding.
*It's always like this... Every time... I can't do anything... I can't even help my team...
The pain clouded his vision, and despair crept into his heart.
The realization hit him like a hammer.
*This boss is too strong... We... I... We will all die at this point...
The Skeleton King, instead of attacking, let out a delighted laugh.
"He he he... He kke ke ke ke~"
"Yes... Louder~ Louder~"
"You... are indeed... different... from the others..."
The chamber reverberated with echoes of Ken's suffering.
*The world is... So unfair....
His body trembled as his face drained of all color.
His vision blurred, and the strength in his legs gave out completely.
[WARNING!]
His heart rate slowed.
[WARNING!]
His body collapsed onto the cold stone floor.
[WARNING!]
His breathing turned shallow.
His face was almost completely white.
[WARNING!]
*Is this the end? Am I going to die in my first dungeon? Why am I so weak?
Ken's eyes welled up with tears. His body felt distant, numb. He couldn't even move his fingers anymore.
*I... I don't want to... die... I don't...
The tears streaked down his pale cheeks.
His consciousness was fading, the darkness creeping in from all sides.
The Skeleton King, seeing Ken in such a pitiful state, sighed and stood up.
The amusement in its glowing eyes faded.
"I... Am... Wrong... You're no different... from a normal... human..."
The Skeleton King raised its massive, rusted sword above Ken's limp body.
The jagged edges glowed faintly with necrotic aura, ready to separate his head from his shoulders.
"Good bye. Human."
But before the sword could swing down.
The world around them changed.
A deep, suffocating blackness spread from the ground, engulfing the entire room.
[WARNING!]
[THE HOST'S HP HAS REACHED 2%! WARNING!]
[WARNING!]
[THE HOST'S HP HAS REACHED 2%! WARNING!]
[WARNING!]
[THE HOST'S HP HAS REACHED 2%! WARNING!]
[WARNING!]
[THE HOST'S HP HAS REACHED 2%! WARNING!]
[WARNING!]
[FORCING TO USE INSTANT HEAL.]
[!!!!!!!!! ERROR!]
[FORCING TO USE INSTANT HEAL.]
[!!!!!!!!! ERROR!]
[FORCING TO USE INSTANT HEAL.]
[!!!!!!!!! ERROR!]
[FORCING TO USE INSTANT HEAL.]
[!!!!!!!!! ERROR!]
[SKILL 'INSTANT HEAL' HAS NOT BEEN UNLOCKED!]
[SKILL 'INSTANT HEAL' HAS NOT BEEN UNLOCKED!]
Ken's hazy vision caught the glowing red text flashing in front of him, accompanied by loud, ringing sounds.
*What... is this...
[SKILL 'INSTANT HEAL' HAS NOT BEEN UNLOCKED!]
*Is this what happens when someone dies? Am I hallucinating?
[!!!!!!!!! ERROR!]
[!!!!!!!!! ERROR!]
Ken groaned.
*So noisy... Just let me die in peace...
Then—
[DING!]
[CONGRATULATIONS, HOST! YOU HAVE UNLOCKED A NEW SKILL: 'INSTANT HEAL'!]
[RANK: S]
[INFO: INSTANTLY HEALS ALL INJURIES OF THE TARGET. CHARGES: 3/3]
[DING!]
[DUE TO THE HOST BEING UNABLE TO ACTIVATE THE SKILL, 'INSTANT HEAL', IT HAS BEEN CONVERTED INTO A PASSIVE SKILL.]
[SKILL 'INSTANT HEALV CONVERTED INTO A PASSIVE SKILL HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL!]
[PASSIVE SKILL 'INSTANT HEAL' ACTIVATED.]
[DING!]
[SUCCESFULLY USED 'INSTANT HEAL.']
[DING!]
[THE HOST BODY HAS BEEN HEALED.]
The darkness in the chamber was pulled toward the center, swirling like a vortex.
At the very center of it all.
Ken floated midair, bathed in a mesmerizing purple light.
His severed arm had reattached, his wounds completely erased as if they had never existed.
The once-deadly pale color of his skin had returned to normal.
His body radiated an ominous, unknown power.
His eyes snapped open, glowing with a deep, pulsating purple.
The Skeleton King took an instinctive step back, its bones rattling.
"What... On... Undead..."
TSOOOO!
Dark energy erupted from the Skeleton King's body as it activated 'Necrotic Aura.' The boss charged forward, the chamber shaking under its might.
"You... Have... The same... Aura as me...!"
Its speed was astonishing. In an instant, it closed the distance between them, its sword brimming with a deadly glow.
The Skeleton King leaped into the air, its weapon raised high.
"LET ME... KILL YOU! AND GIVE ME YOUR POWER!"
Ken, still dazed from his miraculous recovery, barely had time to react.
*What happened? This is... the Skeleton King's chamber? I'm still alive?
A screen suddenly popped up in front of him.
[WARNING!]
[A THREAT HAS BEEN DETECTED!]
[PLEASE USE 'EVERY BEING CAN BE SUBDUE'!]
Ken's glowing eyes narrowed as he read the words on the screen.
"What?... Oh... Okay..."
The Skeleton King, still in midair, had its sword raised high, fully prepared to strike Ken down with its devastating attack.
"'Sword of Dominion'!"
SWORD OF DOMINION
Rank:S
- Info: A single slash that enforces absolute supremacy, rendering the target powerless.
The air around the chamber trembled with dark energy as the undead monarch descended.
However, something strange happened.
Just as the Skeleton King was about to deliver its fatal blow, a mysterious force suddenly activated.
Its body stopped moving.
Then, without warning.
THUD!
The Skeleton King crashed to the ground, kneeling.
Its sword disappeared into thin air as if it had been erased from existence.
The force of the impact cracked the stone floor beneath it, forming a deep crater.
Ken, floating midair and still dazed from his miraculous survival, watched the scene in shock.
*What... just happened?
His eyes darted around, trying to process the situation.
The Skeleton King remained motionless, head pressed against the ground, unable to lift itself.
A deep, unsettling silence filled the chamber.
The once mighty S rank boss, the creature that had just nearly killed ken, was now utterly defenseless.
The Skeleton King itself was equally baffled.
*What is this? What is happening to me? Why am I kneeling?! Why can't I move?!
It tried to move but found itself completely paralyzed, an invisible force holding it in place.
It had no memory of what had just occurred.
One moment, it was about to kill the humans.
The next, everything had gone black.
And now…
Now it was kneeling, its body refusing to obey.
*I can't talk! Arggghh! I will kill you human!
*So frustrating!
Ken's breath hitched as he stared at the Skeleton King kneeling in the ground.
[DING!]
A screen popped up before him.
[THREAT HAS BEEN ELIMINATED.]
[SUPREME PROTECTION'S DURATION WILL END.]
[SUPREME PROTECTION WILL END IN 3... 2... 1...]
As the text faded, Ken blinked in confusion.
"Threat? What threat? Are they talking about... the Skeleton King?"
[YES]
Then, before he could even react, his body lost its mysterious floating state.
THUMP!
Ken dropped to the ground, landing hard on his butt.
"Ow! It hurts!"
He groaned, rubbing his sore butt.
[DING!]
[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY SUBDUED THE SKELETON KING!]
[DING!]
[YOU HAVE RECEIVED A REWARD: +100 POINTS TO ALL STATS]
[DING!]
[SKILL 'EVERY BEING CAN BE SUBDUE' HAS LEVELED UP!]
[CAPACITY HAS DOUBLED.]
Ken stared at the notifications in disbelief.
"What... the hell? Subdued? The Skeleton King? ME?"
His mind struggled to comprehend what was happening.
"This has to be a dream. There's no way I just... I just tamed a freaking dungeon boss!"
He glanced down at his hands, then at the Skeleton King still kneeling before him.
"Am I hallucinating or something? Maybe I'm actually dead, and this is my last seven minutes of brain activity before I completely fade away?"
The thoughts swirled in his mind, creating an overwhelming sense of unreality.
FWOOSH!
The Skeleton King's body suddenly disintegrated into fine ash, vanishing before his eyes.
Ken's breath caught in his throat. He watched as the powerful boss that had nearly killed him ceased to exist, leaving behind only eerie silence.
The reality of the situation finally sank in.
It wasn't a dream.
It wasn't an illusion.
"I really did it... I really subdued the Skeleton King..."
His body trembled, a mixture of disbelief and exhilaration flooding his senses.
"What the hell does this even mean? And what is this skill?"
Ken's thoughts were interrupted when his eyes landed on his fallen comrades.
His heart clenched.
"Sasha! Miya! Grand! Troy!"
Without hesitation, he sprinted across the chamber, reaching his teammates' unconscious bodies. They were scattered across the floor, covered in wounds, their breathing weak.
Ken quickly knelt beside Sasha, the team's healer, and checked for a pulse.
"She's alive... but barely."
One by one, he examined the others. They were all in bad shape, but none of them were dead. Relief flooded through him.
"Thank god..."
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his frantically beating heart.
Then, as if reality had just slapped him in the face.
...
.....
*Wait a minute...
Ken looked down at his right arm.
It was still there.
Perfectly intact.
*Huh? My arm… wasn't it cut off?
He flexed his fingers, feeling the strength return to them.
"It's really here... It's like I was never injured in the first place!"
"Ha ha..."
He let out a dry laugh.
*What the hell... I've read this kind of thing in novels, but this... this is way too real!
Ken sat down on the cold stone floor, overwhelmed.
In fantasy novels, when someone dies, they usually get reincarnated into another world with some kind of overpowered magic, power, and even system.
But this was not an another world.
This was Earth.
And yet.
Ken had a 'System' .
And Ken had just subdued a dungeon boss.
[DING!]
A new notification appeared before him.
[I CAN ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS. PLEASE ASK.]
Ken's breath caught.
*What...?
He stared at the glowing text in disbelief.
*Is this thing... talking to me?
Ken hesitated for a moment, then gathered his courage.
"Alright, then... What are you?"
The screen responded immediately.
[I AM YOUR ASSISTANT. PLEASE CALL ME 'ASSISTANT MASTER.']
[I AM HERE TO SERVE, GUIDE, AND SUPPORT YOU IN ALL MATTERS. WHETHER YOU SEEK KNOWLEDGE, ADVICE, OR ASSISTANCE IN YOUR JOURNEY TO BECOME THE STRONGEST. I SHALL FULFILL MY ROLE WITH UNWAVERING DEDICATION.]
Ken furrowed his brows.
"Assistant Master? What kind of weird name is that?"
[... ]
He decided to ask a more pressing question.
"Who sent you?"
There was a pause for a moment then suddenly,
[ERROR.]
[ERROR.]
The screen flashed red, glitching violently.
Ken instinctively took a step back.
"What the-!? Why is it freaking out? It said it could answer my questions!"
The red screen continued to flicker. Then, all at once.
WHOOOOSH-ZZZZZZZAH!
WHOOOSH!
A portal appeared in the room.
A swirling, ominous rift, pulsating with chilling aura.
Ken turned around, his eyes landing on his fallen teammates.
Sasha groaned as she slowly opened her eyes.
Grand stirred, his breathing heavy.
They were alive.
Ken let out a deep sigh of relief.
Then, to his surprise, Grand slowly pushed himself up, wobbling but determined.
"Everyone... Get up,"
Grand commanded, his voice hoarse but firm.
Ken and the others looked at him, surprised.
"Come on, you lazy kids, we're leaving!"
Grand said, trying to inject some energy into his tone despite his exhaustion.
Sasha groaned.
"Ugh... I feel like I got run over by a truck…"
"You're not the only one,"
Miya muttered, rubbing her head.
Despite the pain, despite the exhaustion, they all pushed themselves up, standing together.
Grand looked at each of them, his expression unreadable for a moment. Then, he let out a deep breath.
"This moment... This damn moment will forever be burned into our memory,"
He said, his voice thick with emotion.
Everyone went silent, listening.
"I really was worried for all of us, as a father and as a leader… I really thought that we were done for."
Grant clenched his fists.
"Even though we lost Cid..."
Ken felt his heart clench at the mention of their fallen comrade.
Cid had been with them from the start. A reliable ally, a friend.
And now… he was gone even his remains is gone.
The weight of it settled over them.
Sasha bit her lip.
Miya looked down.
Troy tightened his grip on his bag.
Grant exhaled, his gaze hardening.
"But we survived! "
He continued, his voice filled with determination.
"And we will keep moving forward. For Cid. For ourselves. We made it through hell, and that means something! So don't you dare look down! Stand tall, because we just survived the impossible!"
They survived.
And even though Cid was gone, they would carry on.
Sasha wiped her eyes and gave a small nod.
Miya inhaled deeply, standing straighter.
"Yeah."
Troy sighed.
Grand turned to Ken, his eyes filled with something unreadable.
Then, he smirked.
"And you, Ken…"
Grant stepped forward and patted his shoulder.
"I don't know what happened, but... My instincts say that I need to thank you, Ken, from the bottom of my heart thank you."
Ken blinked, caught off guard.
"I-"
Ken opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.
Instead, he just nodded.
Grand smiled, then turned toward the portal.
"Alright, enough talking,"
He said.
"Let's get out of here."
One by one, they walked toward the swirling vortex.
Ken took one last glance at the chamber, the battlefield where he had almost died.
Then, without looking back.
He stepped through the portal.
*Ma, Pa, I made it alive! (Mom, Dad, I made it alive!)
...
_________________________________________
KEN'S INFO
Name: Ken
Age: 18
Class: Undead Master
Rank Level: E
Summons: 2/???
Stats:
-Strength:116
-Agility:111
-Defense: 103
-Speed: 109
-Intelligence: 191
-Charisma: 101
Skills:
'Every Beings Can Be Subdue'
-Rank: SSS
-Info: Can Subdue Every Beings
Passive Skill:
'Instant Heal'
-Rank: S
-Info: Instantly heal the user when injured
KEN'S SUMMONS
Name: Undead Spider
Species:Spider
Rank: E+
Type: Undead
Skill: Imitation
Weakness: Holy magic, fire-based attacks
Name: Skeleton King
Species: Undead
Rank: S
Type:Undead
Skill: Sword of Dominion, Necrotic Aura, Teleportation, Hand of Decay
Weakness: High-level Holy magic, high-level fire magic