Another World Reincarnation Chronicle

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Early in the morning, as the sun began to rise, the last lookout started to wake our party.

The muggy forest climate hadn’t changed much with the morning, so the adventurers had to wipe their sweat-soaked bodies from the start of the day.

Of course, I was a step away from the intense heat.

Thanks to the new mana circle formed in my heart after struggling through a late evening, I was naturally dissipating the surrounding warmth.

As the suffocating heat on my skin disappeared, my movements felt much lighter.

With my gear packed, I lightly checked my physical condition.

It was considerably different from the damp state of the other adventurers.

“Alright. Let’s go!”

At Luna’s voice, everyone began to move together.

The moment to step into the unknown world of the dungeon had arrived.

I clutched my racing heart and followed the party down the stairs.

As we descended the stairs, it grew progressively darker.

Then Luna lit a huge lamp she had brought with her.

Whoosh—!

Though it was a small light, it was more than sufficient to illuminate our surroundings.

The party relied on that little light as we ventured deeper.

After walking for a while, a ranger suddenly jumped ahead, stopping the party.

Narrowing his eyes, he seemed to have spotted a trap.

“There’s a trap.”

What kind of trap is set here that makes him move so cautiously?

The ranger, having approached to inspect the stairs, pulled charcoal from his pocket and marked the steps.

The mark was prominent enough for everyone behind him to see.

“Don’t step on this step.”

I was curious about what kind of trap was set, but I didn’t feel inclined to step on that stair to find out.

The party carefully went down while avoiding the step marked by the ranger.

Since we had to evade the installed traps, our progress through the dungeon was inevitably slow.

It took 30 minutes after entering the dungeon to descend all the stairs.

Perhaps due to the thought that we had overcome a hurdle?

The adventurers let out a sigh of relief.

Of course, that didn’t mean the dungeon was over.

We still had a mountain of obstacles to overcome.

After the stairs, laid out before us was a long corridor.

Or perhaps the corridor itself might be short.

It was likely just the deep darkness that prevented us from seeing the end.

The adventurers swallowed dryly as they stared into the pitch-black void.

“Let’s go…”

Naturally, the two rangers took the lead.

Holding the lamp passed to them by Luna, the two moved forward with serious expressions.

While we were walking for quite a while, a clattering sound came from across the hallway.

The sound was neither loud nor subtle, but it was enough for everyone to hear. The party’s steps naturally halted.

Clatter—

Something was moving in the darkness. Gradually, what began to emerge in the faint light was a skeletal figure.

Yes, skeletons. White bones with a shape similar to that of a human, wielding rusty swords, were approaching us.

The moment I confirmed that sight, I silently screamed.

Their lifeless, shambling movement resembled the ghostly shuffling found in low-budget horror films.

They looked quite terrifying.

“Skeletons… It seems this was the dungeon of a Dark Mage…”

I didn’t know whose voice it was. While I was busy being flustered, the adventurers calmly pointed their weapons and prepared for battle.

Five skeletons had appeared.

I wasn’t sure how strong they were, but given the adventurers were not panicking and quickly reassumed battle stances, they seemed like a manageable opponent.

As the skeletons staggered closer, one swordsman stepped forward and asked.

“Hey… is it alright to move? Any traps around?”

“You’re fine. There are no dangerous traps nearby.”

That was the signal. The three swordsmen standing by ready with their swords rushed at the skeletons without hesitation.

Watching them swing their swords, aided only by the faint light, it felt like they were about to be pulled into the depths of darkness.

I looked up at Isoline.

She stood a step back with crossed arms, as if she didn’t feel the need to exert herself in such a situation.

With a composed expression, she seemed to think they were an easy match not worth worrying about.

I let out a low sigh and dashed forward.

Clatter—

How can a skeleton move like this without muscles?

The answer lay in the black mana dwelling within them.

The feeble mana they possessed flowed throughout their bodies, replacing the role of muscle fibers.

I swung my sword as I charged.

The weight and speed of my strike were enough to push the skeleton’s wobbly body away.

With a crunch, the skeleton shattered and scattered across the ground.

What a pathetic opponent.

Even the goblins I encountered in the Karum Mountain Range were stronger.

However, I soon had to retract that thought.

The white bones that had rolled on the floor began to rise into the air, slowly regaining their original form.

In that unstable state, it swung its rusty sword.

Whoosh—!

A slow attack. I took a step back and surveyed the other swordsmen’s status.

Instead of slicing through the skeletons, they were smashing them apart.

As one swordsman stepped on the scattered white bones on the floor, the mana clinging to the skeleton’s body vanished.

I realized how to deal with them.

Without hesitation, I dove in and struck at the skeleton’s waist.

With a wide swing of my sword, the skeleton’s midsection was shattered, causing white bones to spill onto the ground.

I quickly sprinted over and crushed the white bones beneath my feet.

“Phew…”

Since the skeleton itself wasn’t a difficult opponent, the battle concluded swiftly.

The swordsmen shoved the scattered white bone dust into a corner, showing their distaste.

Then, suddenly, a rumbling sound echoed, and the entire dungeon began to shake.

It seemed that the swordsmen’s actions had triggered something.

“What, what’s happening!”

“Crazy…!”

Everyone began to panic at the sudden phenomenon.

Even Isoline, who always maintained a calm demeanor while observing the situation, was no exception.

I quickly dashed to her side.

It was a natural action to protect the party’s strongest asset.

And just at that moment, a black wall suddenly rose up.

The enormous wall, rising from the ground, separated our party into two groups.

“Oh no…!”

“Hey! Are you alright over there?”

From behind the great wall, the voices of the swordsmen mixed with Luna’s scream.

“I’m fine!”

I responded to the question from across the divide while squinting my eyes.

The separation of our party meant that the light illuminating our surroundings had vanished.

It was a situation where one couldn’t see an inch ahead.

Then, a feeble flame flared up right beside me.

Isoline had cast a spell to light the area.

“It seems it’s just the two of us left…”

Isoline mumbled while glancing around.

At that moment, the voices from across the wall came again.

“I can’t see the way back! Should we go on like this?”

It was Luna’s voice.

I looked at Isoline at her question.

“What should we do…?”

“Uh…”

Isoline began to ponder my question.

After a while, she finally answered.

“Go ahead without me!”

While Isoline conversed with the people on the other side, I began examining my surroundings relying on the light she had conjured.

The massive wall blocking the corridor seemed impossible to breach with any ordinary attack.

Even the corridor leading back was sealed off.

I felt the solid wall and asked Isoline.

“Can we break through this?”

“That’s too risky.”

“Too risky?”

“The dungeon itself could collapse. And I can’t use powerful magic like that…”

“Ah…”

In the end, it meant we had to wait for the other party to rescue us.

With a deep sigh, I leaned against the wall and sat down.

And at that moment, the wall I was leaning against suddenly gave way with a bang, the sound echoing.

“H-huh…!”

Startled by the noise, I gripped my sword tightly and pointed it at the wall.

The massive noise was followed by the wall starting to move downwards, creating a new path.

It was no longer the straight corridor we had seen; it was a new path that turned sideways.

Was it a trap, or perhaps a secret passage?

I swallowed hard as I looked at Isoline.

“W-w-what should we do?”

“What other choice do we have?”

“Should we go?”

“It’s probably better than waiting here aimlessly. They might not even come to rescue us.”

“No way they wouldn’t…”

“The encounters of adventurers are spontaneous, and separations aren’t taken lightly. Once you turn away, they may be people you never see again without feeling guilt.”

Isoline said this and began to walk forward.

She had an attitude as if she didn’t care whether I followed or not.

As she grew farther away, the darkness crept closer.

I swallowed dryly and followed Isoline.

Noticing I was trailing behind, Isoline smiled lightly.

It was as if she had anticipated I would follow her.

I walked alongside her, engaging in trivial conversation.

“Do you have a lot of experience exploring dungeons, Isoline?”

“Does it look like it?”

“Uh… yeah.”

“Not really. Just twice?”

While I was having this conversation with her, a clattering sound suddenly came from across the corridor.

It was a heavier sound than the footsteps of skeletons.

Clatter—

Clatter—

As time passed, the noise got closer.

Isoline and I came to a natural stop.

“That sound… it doesn’t seem like skeletons, does it?”

“True. It’s too heavy for skeleton footsteps. It sounds like…”

Clatter—

As the sound approached, the faint light revealed the figure.

Worn-out iron boots, faded iron leggings, and a crumpled plate mail wrapped tightly around it.

As it took another step closer, it became fully revealed in Isoline’s light.

What stood before us was a knight in old armor.

“A Death Knight…?”

As Isoline finished speaking, a violet glow flashed from within the crumpled helm.