NOVEL NEXT Chapter 64
Chapter: 64
[It sure looks like a place where ghosts might appear.]
Grandpa said that as soon as he laid eyes on the mansion in the back alley.
Yeah, it did look a bit creepy. The iron gate was rusty, the walls that were supposed to protect the house looked like they could crumble at any moment, and in the garden beyond, there were only brown, withered plants. The house in the center looked like an eyesore.
…
Looking at it through the screen didn’t faze me at all, but seeing it in person gives me chills.
“This is the place the Young Lady mentioned.”
Karl beamed at the sight of the mansion.
How can he make that expression after seeing such a rundown place?
Do knights have to have big guts too?
“I used to come here a lot during my school days.”
As a punishment?
“Punishment?”
“Yes, there were rumors of ghosts, so we used it often…”
Looks like the set-up of students causing a ruckus persists.
I wonder if someone is here today?
It would be nice if no one was around to take a stroll inside.
“I came here often too, but I’ve never actually seen a ghost. It must have been a false rumor.”
There is one…
“There is. A ghost. A timid Sloppy Knight, but.”
“…What?”
Was she the daughter of the old owner of this mansion?
I vaguely remember something like that.
Anyway, since she’s not harmful, I don’t need to worry about her.
Let’s go.
“Let’s go, Sloppy.”
“Miss, wait a moment! You’re joking, right? Miss!”
We walked past the rusty gate and into the mansion.
Nothing was fine in this long-abandoned mansion.
If there’s a thief that feels joy in breaking and entering, they’d never touch a place like this.
With all the doors smashed to bits, it was easy to get in anywhere.
As I stepped inside, the wooden floor creaked under my weight.
Eek!
Turning my head at the scream, I saw Karl’s face had turned pale.
What’s up with him?
Is he seriously—
Karl, you…
“Sloppy! Are you scared of ghosts?”
“No! How could a knight fear such foul beings!”
Karl shouted loudly, trying to deny my question, but he couldn’t hide his trembling voice.
Really? How could this guy, who looks like he could take down a troll with his bare hands, be scared of ghosts?
What’s he going to do if we come across a dungeon full of ghosts later? That dungeon would have surprise elements that change the genre of the game!
“It’s true! Please believe me!”
I get it…
“Alright, Sloppy.”
There’s no point in arguing now, so I’ll just let it slide.
With Karl flinching at every sound, I headed down to the basement.
My intended destination was the iron door at the very end of the mansion’s basement.
The only thing in the whole crumbling mansion that retained its original shape.
“That key must open this door.”
Karl gulped at the sight of the door.
He might look like a knight standing in front of me, but judging by the trembling of his hands, he seemed pretty scared.
Sigh. Will I even be able to strategize this dungeon down below?
Just as I was about to take out the key to open the door, a thought crossed my mind.
In the game, I couldn’t break this door, so naturally, I had to open it with a key, but isn’t that different now?
I feel like I could smash this iron door with my mace!
With that thought, I raised my mace and brought it down on the iron door.
Bang!
Even though I struck the door with considerable force, it didn’t show any signs of damage.
“Miss, this door won’t break no matter what you do.”
[Sometimes, there are things like this. These items won’t move unless certain conditions are met, so no matter how hard you hit, it’ll be in vain.]
As I acted this way, Karl declared that it was unbreakable, while Grandpa told me that such items sometimes existed.
What do you mean?
So, doors like this won’t budge unless I have a quest like in the game?
Ugh, if I could break the door myself, I could’ve done some clever tricks moving forward.
Thinking regretfully, I opened the iron door with the key.
Then stairs leading to the underground, 2nd floor, came into view.
It was pitch dark, making it perfect to tumble down if I headed forward blindly.
Back in the day, I would’ve fetched a torch or something, but I have a different method now.
Oh divine light.
As I mentally recited the prayer, a sphere of suitable brightness appeared in front of me.
[You’ve gotten good at this now.]
When have I ever not managed this magic?
[Did you forget about the time you made a sphere way too big and set off a blinding flash?]
Ignoring Grandpa’s words about me covering my eyes and rolling on the ground, I moved forward.
“Now that we’re below, we just need to find the object that the female student asked for, right? Let’s find it quickly.”
Don’t worry about that.
“Sloppy, can’t you see one step ahead? Just don’t worry about it.”
“Uh? But…”
That’s just an excuse.
“The Young Lady is the one giving excuses.”
If I were to explain in detail, it would take long, but the request for an object was just a lie from the female student to send a user here.
The real objective lies elsewhere.
I casually replied to Karl as I walked into the innermost part of the 2nd floor.
Not long after, I opened the door at the very back, revealing a stone door inside.
“This is… the entrance to the dungeon, isn’t it?”
It was indeed the dungeon entrance.
– Ding!
[Quest Changes.]
[Request from the Female Student]
[???]
[Reward: ???]
This place…
“Making us tackle the dungeon here is the excuse of the Young Lady. What a shady girl.”
“How strange. If she intended to make us attack the dungeon, it would have been faster to report it to the Academy or the Church.”
I could answer Karl’s question.
The female student was actually a rookie necromancer who could communicate with the mansion’s ghost.
So she had become friends with the mansion ghost.
The ghost had requested that she have us tackle the dungeon within the mansion.
However, if she asked the Academy or the Church for help, the ghost would be banished as the dungeon was conquered, so she was in a dilemma.
Knowing that Karl would be scared if I mentioned the ghost, I shrugged and pushed open the dungeon door.
The scenery around me changed.
It was a gloomy graveyard.
The sky was filled with dark clouds, not letting a single star shine through, and in place of that light, rain fell from the sky, creating a pitter-patter sound.
An unpleasant odor wafted up from the muddy graves soaked by the rain.
I didn’t pay much attention in the game, but in reality, it was quite bothersome.
I should solve this and go back before my head turns to mush.
Thinking that, I conjured a divine shield.
“Just when I thought I had escaped the eerie mansion, I ended up in a graveyard.”
Karl sighed at the sight of the dungeon.
Don’t worry, Karl…
“Sloppy, don’t worry. There are no ghosts here.”
Ghosts, huh.
No sooner had I spoken than I felt a presence coming from the graves.
Shifting my gaze in that direction, I saw a body clawing its way out of the grave, like in a B-grade zombie movie.
A zombie.
The main monster of this dungeon.
I was sure the Sloppy Knight would freak out seeing that.
I waited for the scream, but it didn’t come.
Instead, the zombie that crawled from the grave swung its head around.
“Undead? How fortunate.”
What’s that…
“What’s the matter, Sloppy? Aren’t you scared of things like this?”
“I’m not afraid of weak monsters like that! What I hate is the unknown!”
In the end, aren’t they both the same undead? But it seems it’s something Karl can’t accept.
At least that’s a relief.
I brought him along just in case Agra decided to pull something, but it wouldn’t be good if he froze in fear of the undead.
[In the end, didn’t this guy acknowledge that he’s scared of ghosts?]
Grandpa, just ignore it this time.
But if he’s treated like a coward, wouldn’t that hurt the pride of a knight?
I think it’s the duty of a master to generously overlook that.
Karl…
“Sloppy, we don’t need to deal with trash like that. Let’s go.”
“Huh? But it’s a monster.”
Just do as you’re told!
“Just follow your master like a good dog, got it?”
Like hell I’d want to deal with that and then have to level up and make everything more annoying.
As I said that, Karl looked a bit reluctant but nodded his head.
Having secured Karl’s agreement, I sprinted forward with him.
Those zombies move so slowly anyway.
They might have good stamina and strength, but that’s about it. If I run fast enough, they can’t catch up.
Thus, the best method for tackling this dungeon was to ignore the zombies and keep charging ahead.
How long did I run through the graveyard?
In the distance, I saw the end of the graveyard.
Under a split cross, someone digging a hole looked up as we approached, putting down their shovel.
“Welcome, honored guests. Did you enjoy my kin’s greetings?”
The sorceress, the boss of this dungeon, waved her tattered coat, which hung down like it was soaked in rain, and exaggeratedly greeted us.
“Miss, is that guy the owner of this dungeon?”
That’s right.
“Right? He looks like he’s got something wrong with his head, doesn’t fit this dungeon at all?”
“Oh, how kind of you to say so. Thank you!”
Despite my criticism, the sorceress chuckled and moved her hands.
That’s when it happened.
Karl stepped forward.
Driven by a battle logic that said to take her down before she could make a move.
The sorceress didn’t react at all.
Karl’s sword struck and tore through the sorceress’s coat.
“Wow! You’re strong!”
But despite Karl’s attack, the sorceress remained unscathed.
She hadn’t defended with magic.
Nor had she dodged.
There was simply nothing beneath that coat to slice through.
“However, it’s quite unfortunate! I exist between this world and the next.”
As the leather coat shredded and fell away, what lay hidden beneath came into view.
The body of the sorceress was translucent.
Like a ghost from a horror movie.
“With such attacks, you can’t injure me.”
The master of this dungeon was the sorceress and a lich herself.
To take her down, it required something other than physical attacks.
To deal damage to her, it would take at least a level 30 priest or wizard.
In other words, it was a boss that shouldn’t be taken down in the early game with conventional methods.
But there was a trick here.
Ignoring the flustered expression of Karl, I swung my mace.
“Such a waste of effort.”
The sorceress smiled as she spread her arms wide to receive the mace.
As if to say, that wouldn’t harm her at all.
But the result was different.
“Ugh?!”
The instant the mace connected, I heard the sorceress suck in her breath.
Was she taken aback from unexpected pain?
The sorceress staggered back and with a flustered voice shouted at me.
“What have you done?!”
“Got brain rot, can’t think?♡ I attacked you!♡ You scrap of a spirit!♡”
“You! You shouldn’t be able to injure me!”
That’s right. Normally, that would be correct.
But you know what? You shouldn’t expect normal from a veteran gamer.
You Sloppy.