The Skeleton Soldier Failed to Defend the Dungeon

Even the Dullahans should recognize the value of my inventory. Or at least... they could act surprised.

Sssrk!

Holding the stone in my hand, I made sure Dullahan Gilaut could see it clearly. Then I slowly pushed it into the air, right into my inventory.

”Whoa!” Gilaut gasped aloud.

Owain had only been glancing my way, but even he suddenly turned his head with a metallic creak.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Gilaut swung his weapon wildly through the air, slicing at the space where the stone had vanished. Of course, he hit nothing. Only the faint hum of displaced air answered him.

Vwooom!

After frantically sweeping the area up and down, he clapped a heavy hand against my back, nearly sending me sprawling.

”It’s magic! Pure magic! The lady must’ve brought us a mage!”

Ding!

[Dullahan Gilaut’s Affection increased by 8!]

[Dullahan Owain’s Affection increased by 2!]

Even Owain, quiet as ever, seemed faintly intrigued. ”Can you do it again?”

Clack.

I nodded and extended a hand toward him as an action to indicate to give me something else.

***

Ding!

[Dullahan Owain’s Affection increased by 2!]

[Dullahan Gilaut’s Affection has reached 20.]

Not going any higher, huh?

When I first saved Rubia Ray, her Affection had stopped at 20 too. There seemed to be a cap or a limit to how far Affection could rise.

Meanwhile, Owain’s had stalled at 7. No matter how many times I repeated the inventory trick, it didn’t move an inch.

Loyal to the master, huh?

If repetition couldn’t raise it, then there wasn’t much point in continuing.

When I finally stopped, Gilaut looked genuinely disappointed. ”Already done?”

Ssssssh.

Before I could respond, we heard the sounds of shuffling.

”Having fun, are we?”

Three headless knights emerged from the far shadows of the cave. Different shadowy shapes drifted from their necks, each as black as the midnight void.

Fenrir. Hamelain. Andrei.

All five of Gith-Za-Rai’s Dullahans surrounded me.

”What’s this about?”

”The lady summons us.”

”Our lady?”

Tap. Tap. Tap...

Each footstep echoed heavy and deep, drawing closer and louder until the air itself seemed to hold its breath.

It’s her.

There was no mistaking that sound. It was the kind of presence that made chests tremble before she even appeared. The Dullahans parted to clear a path. Through that narrow space, Gith-Za-Rai emerged.

Even though I had seen her only recently, the chill and majesty she radiated struck me all over again, a cold, reverent terror that could make the dead shiver. And this time... it wasn’t just instinct.

[You are under the effect of a Trait.]

[Charisma B+: Commander of the Dead Legion]

[— Leadership over nearby allies greatly increases.

— Enemy morale within range is drastically reduced.

— Effectiveness increases by 300% against undead targets.]

I hadn’t seen that type of message before, and Gith-Za-Rai herself didn’t look any different. If anything, that trait suited her perfectly. No, what had changed... was probably me.

Lower Assimilation Rate? Scenario activation?

There were plenty of possibilities.

Whatever she read in my silence, her gaze locked onto me, sharp enough to pierce through bone.

Her voice was cold enough to freeze marrow. ”Good. The memory extraction is complete.”

Don’t panic.

I reminded myself why I was here. I had come to save her. And if she didn’t believe me, I had backup plans for that, too.

As soon as she released the spell restraining me, words slipped naturally from my mouth. ”Memory... extraction...?”

”I tortured the human who came with you,” she answered calmly. ”I pulled his memories out.”

Impressive.

I could still picture her fingers punching clean through his throat. Whether she’d revived him first or forced his corpse to speak afterward, I couldn’t tell. Either way, it was very much like her.

Since he wasn’t standing beside her now, I assumed he’d been discarded, or perhaps buried among her other skeletal servants.

Gith-Za-Rai continued, ”He was quite helpful, actually. Those imperial guards you came with? They reported the ambush location to the capital.”

Her smile curved faintly. ”That means we’ll have to withdraw.”

Ding!

[Scenario updated: Rescuing Gith-Za-Rai (New!)]

[The causality of Death Beyond Reversal has been nullified.]

[New causality formed: The Blood-Soaked Mechanical City.]

[Demon King Bassago thanks you for saving one of his contractors.]

[— You can now sense greed, jealousy, and lust far more keenly.

— Affection with crocodilian monsters +5.]

The messages kept pouring in.

[If the information proves true, the Assassins’ Order will thank you.]

[Affection with Red Flake will increase more easily.]

[Linked Quest unlocked: ???]

All that from a single conversation. Unbelievable.

Death Beyond Reversal probably referred to the Ashen Knight.

But The Blood-Soaked Mechanical City?

I couldn’t even guess. And that other message...

Gith-Za-Rai... was Demon King Bassago’s contractor?

It wasn’t impossible.

The Seeker of the Hidden, The Lord of the Dead.

Both titles were tied to the Thirteenth Demon King, Bassago.

And what is a Linked Quest?

This was new, unprecedented territory with no clear way to find answers, at least not yet. Still...

Assassination thwarted. Success.

If she was thinking of retreating, then that was progress. However, I noticed the flicker of dark fire in her eyes.

”I’m trying to decide,” she murmured, ”how best to make you suffer for ruining our perfect plan... you sly little prophet.”

I cut her off before she could continue. ”W-wait! Stop!”

I already knew where this would go: rants about madness, prophecy, dissection, followed by weeks of captivity and ”study.” Time was the one thing I didn’t have. Even if today’s death was delayed, I couldn’t afford to be her specimen indefinitely.

There’s still too much I need to know.

I had to find out what happened to Isaac, Rubia, Rena, and Naneow. Even if it meant pushing too hard, speed was everything.

”Gith-Za-Rai! Owain, Gilaut, Hamelain, Fenrir, Andrei! I am no so-called prophet!”

The Dullahans, whose names I spoke, paused and looked at me.

”You say I ruined the assassination of the emperor you prepared? Congratulations.”

”What?”

”Because that’s an assassination that must never succeed!”

Wooo...

Black aura swelled around me. The mood turned ugly, but I could handle at least this much.

I thrust out my hand, pointing vaguely downward. I had no idea if it was the right direction. It didn’t matter.

It’s close enough.

”Your legionaries down there spent days digging traps. They’ve waited beneath the earth for who knows how long for the emperor to arrive. They’re your precious soldiers.”

Gith-Za-Rai’s expression twisted in disbelief. ”What would you know...”

If she’d truly meant to silence me, she would have exercised her power already. She had brought the Dullahans here to listen because the word Lindbrum had struck deep.

”Your plan to assassinate the emperor will sacrifice all of them!”

Her bone tendrils tightened with a harsh, crackling sound, coiling together. Amid that heavy grind, a chime cut through.

Ding!

[Gith-Za-Rai’s Affection increased by 6!]

”Explain. Properly.”

Despite the rising Affection, even more tendrils snaked around me, thicker and stronger. The white bones gleamed with a vicious red sheen, growing in number. If she wanted a proper explanation, she could have loosened up... but she didn’t.

”You’re joking that I’d lose to some imperial guards?”

”Khahaha!”

”Haha... hah...”

”At the level they’ve deployed, our lady wouldn’t even need to step in.”

The Dullahans laughed through their severed throats.

”No! The imperial guards, including the Wizards of Azure, and you, too! Zero survivors. Everyone dies.”

”What kind of lunacy is that?” one of the Dullahans muttered, arms folded.

I laid it all out: Red Flake, Starlight Blue Fox, the Ashen Knight, and everything Gith-Za-Rai herself had told me about Lindbrum.

[Gith-Za-Rai’s Affection increased by 6!]

[Dullahan Hamelain’s Affection increased by 3!]

[Dullahan Andrei’s Affection increased by 1!]

The more I spoke, the more notifications rolled in. Raising Gith-Za-Rai’s Affection seemed almost easy, or maybe every word I said hit exactly what stirred her.

The Dullahans’ rising Affection unsettled me a little. They murmured and gasped, their neck shadows swelling and shrinking. They sighed deeply and even clapped at times.

When I reached the part where the Ashen Knight appeared, they gripped their weapons tighter, unable to hide their excitement.

Perhaps she only kept subordinates with temperaments like her own. When I mentioned the promised heroes’ necropolis as the reward for the assassination, the last traces of red drained from her tendrils.

”Hm...”

”How could that be...?”

She was convinced I wasn’t lying.

After a long silence, Gith-Za-Rai briefly asked, ”What’s the proof...?”

”My lady, everything he said matches what we know,” one Dullahan offered.

”He even knows Lindbrum,” added another.

That’s a little disappointing.

Gith-Za-Rai had acted as if she’d entrusted that word to me alone, but it seemed all five Dullahans were aware. Even with my Affection perks, expecting to outrank comrades who had served her for so long would be too much.

”Fine... I’ll believe you. For now.”

At that instant, a system message popped up.

Ding!

[You succeeded at telling an astonishing lie!]

[You have managed to fabricate an impossible tale.]

[Your talent is exceptional!]

[Trait: Deceptive Lies has gained significant experience.]

[Title: Storyteller acquired.]

[All stats +3.]

[Whether truth or false, others will find your words easier to believe.]

A... lie?

Absurd. Not a single word I’d spoken was false. I had not even exaggerated.

Clack.

A prickling sense of déjà vu made me close my hand into a fist.

It’s an error.

Ever since my power was drained, the same patterns kept repeating.

Tutorial clear. Meeting Gith-Za-Rai. Skill restoration.

The system’s recognition of me was cross-wired and warped.

The world doesn’t know my past.

At least, not correctly. That was the gap I had to exploit.

Whatever the outcome... fine.

If the world labeled my past as a lie...

Then I’ll lie as much as it takes.

If it had given me bonus stats for it, there would have been no reason to hesitate. I prepared the next part.

”Secondly...”

”What?”

”There’s a second reason you must not carry out the assassination.”

This one was a gamble. Half-guesswork, but if even unembellished truth was branded false in this world, there was no reason to hold back.

”Gith-Za-Rai, you... cannot collect the reward for the assassination.”

My only evidence that the Ashen Knight would kill everyone was my word. However, I had something tangible this time. She said she’d believe me, but making it airtight would be better. Rather than drip-feed hints later, I would lay everything out now while the mood was right.

”Go on...”

As expected. Before her mood could turn, I pressed forward. ”Obsidian Hill Park.”

Gith-Za-Rai flinched.

”The wedge-stone memorial park,” I added.

”Did... did I tell you that much?”

Of course.

Back then, I’d even had the Affection perk.

”Tell me, did you confirm the inside of those heroes’ tombs before taking the job?”

”What are you... No. You’re not saying...”

I hadn’t met this necromancer only once or twice. Reading her was easy. She clearly had the same suspicion.

”Yes. What’s inside isn’t the heroes’ corpses you’re expecting.”

That was the second story I’d prepared. It wasn’t a lie, but a deduction.

I thought about this for a long time.

I’d set aside this tale for the day she refused to accept her own failure. This one also had plenty of material proof.

Gilaut’s shadow writhed with impatience. ”What is it? What is it?”

Most of the Dullahans’ Affections had shot past ten. It was time to go deeper.

”I didn’t just witness your failed assassination. I descended into the imperial archives.”

”A weakling like you?”

”Ridiculous!”

”Our lady is still. Why does everyone else interrupt?”

Gith-Za-Rai quietly whispered, ”Evidence?”

I didn’t answer right away.

”Gith-Za-Rai.”

Maybe she’d snap and I’d die here for nothing, but even so...

”I want your promise.”

”Speak...”

”Promise you won’t seize the items I’m about to show you.”

”Items... to show me?”

”Oh! You didn’t show our lady yet? He’s a mage! A mage!” Gilaut cut in eagerly.

Gith-Za-Rai’s eyes glimmered with curiosity. ”I won’t take them. Show me.”

Inventory.

Whoosh...