The Tale of Gerald Vader, the Heretic Knightโs Rampage Through Another World
About an hour earlier.
Dirk, Matt, and Karl were walking through the dimly lit corridors of the dungeon known as the Old Castle of Ur-Doran.
โHey, are we really doing this?โ
โWhat choice do we have? Can we defy him?โ
โI know we can’tโฆ but I still think we should run.โ
โIf we could, we would.โ
They argued back and forth, but ultimately, there was only one thing the three could do.
Complete the man’s request.
Which meant they had to go to some dungeon and discard the talisman they held.
Still, Dirk and the others were ultimately fledgling adventurers.
Even if they were close to advancing to the next rank, their skill level was only good for gathering magic stones bit by bit in the lower to middle levels of low-difficulty dungeons.
Reaching the innermost depths was a life-or-death endeavor just to get there.
Given that, the three had only one choice.
โI never thought I’d be back here againโฆโ
Dirk muttered this with a sigh as he walked.
This โOld Castle of Ur-Doranโ was where they’d spent countless hours back when they were true beginners, practicing combat drills and weapon handling together.
Therefore, they knew exactly where this dungeon’s โinnermost depthsโ lay.
Namely, the throne room.
ใโ
They reached the throne room in no time.
After all, he knew the path perfectly; there was no chance of getting lost.
They fought a dozen or so skeletons along the way, but they were just moving bones, after all.
They had no muscle, moved only by magic, and their attacks were incredibly light because they were just bones.
For the three of them, who had gained some experience, they weren’t even a hindrance.
โโฆThey’re here.โ
Dirk peered through the door leading to the hall, cautiously scanning the interior.
Armor suits lined the walls of the hall.
Each held different weapons or shields, positioned in poses that seemed to pay homage to the throne.
Six on each side, twelve in total.
Four of these were moving suits of armor.
However, Dirk couldn’t recall which one was the monster.
โAhโฆ sorry, Karl. Which ones move again?โ
โOn the right, it’s the third and fifth ones from the front. On the left, it’s the very front one and the fourth one.โ
Karl answered Dirk’s question smoothly.
โDamnโฆ you remember that well.โ
โThis is the least I can do. How many times do you think we’ve done combat training here? I’ve got their spawn points and every quirk in their behavior memorized.โ
โMe too! Me too!โ
โWell, yeah, me tooโฆ but hey, it’s for a million ron. Let’s just get this over with.โ
Just dumping that cursed talisman here would net them enough money to split three ways and live comfortably for a month.
The man was scary, but the lure of big money was irresistible.
โAlright! We’re gonna live it up when we get back!โ
โHey Matt! Don’t speak ill omens! Save that stuff for after it’s all over!โ
โSo you’re superstitious too, Dirk?โ
โShut up, Karl! Unlike you guys, I’m devout!โ
Bickering like this, the three advanced to the middle of the hall.
Sure enough, several suits of armor began moving, approaching them.
โAlright then, let’s give ’em a little twist.โ
โHey Karl, don’t get taken out by some moving armor!โ
โLike that’s gonna happen! Dirk, you get too cocky and you’ll get your skull smashed in!โ
โHey, you two, they’re coming!โ
After some casual banter, they quickly spread out.
There was no need to engage in a large-scale battle against enemies of this caliber.
A large sword-wielding one charged at Dirk.
As it closed in, the armor swung its massive blade with clumsy, heavy movementsโbringing the greatsword down.
โโโโโโ
โHa! Like I’d lose to some toy soldier!โ
But he dodged it easily.
A sweeping strike followed.
He dodged that too.
Howeverโฆ he knew that after this sweep, if he stayed close, it would transition into an upward slash.
This attack was difficult to anticipate, and its speed was surprisingly fast.
Therefore, Dirk chose not to risk it and stepped out of the enemy’s range for now.
Unlike humans, magical automatons like the Living Armor don’t engage in mind games or strategic maneuvering.
So once you memorize their movement patterns, that’s the end of it.
โโโโโโ
Once again, the Living Armor charged toward him.
It seemed the next attack would be a series of slashes after closing the distance.
This attack was faster than others, but once you grasped the timing, it was nothing special.
Andโฆ after dodging this attack, a huge opening appeared.
โHa! This is the end!!โ
The moment the enemy finished swinging its greatsword, Dirk stepped in like a whirlwind.
He slipped cleanly into its guard.
The Living Armor’s torso was wide open.
He thrust his dagger into the seam of its breastplate and gouged it.
The armor’s joint snapped, and the left arm clattered to the ground.
Through the gaping hole, he twisted his arm inโscraping the engraved magic circuits inside with his dagger.
That settled it.
โโโโโโ
The moment its magic circuits were damaged, the Living Armor jerked to a halt.
It collapsed to the spot like a puppet whose strings had snapped.
โHmph. Just a wooden puppet after all.โ
Kicking away the gauntlet of the Living Armor, now reduced to mere armor, Dirk spat out the words.
This sort of โmagic puppetโ could be easily defeated if you struck its weak point.
โDirk, good work.โ
โYeah, you done over there too?โ
โWe’re done over here too.โ
Before he knew it, the hall had fallen silent again.
Matt and Carl seemed to have defeated their Living Armor at the same time as him.
โJust the difficulty level of a standard dungeon, after all,โ Dirk snorted.
All that remained was to complete the requested job.
Dirk pulled a talisman from the pouch at his waist.
It was a creepy talisman modeled after some kind of monster.
He walked to the back of the throne room and tossed it down. โEnter.โ
โโฆHuh?โ
He thought he heard something just now.
It was a low, muffled whisper, so he couldn’t tell whose it was.
Matt? Carl? Whatever.
Dirk glanced at the talisman lying on the floor and sighed.
โTch. This should do it, right?โ
Once it was over, it felt disappointingly easy.
The throne room remained silent as ever, not a sound to be heard.
โNot a sound to be heard.
โโฆโฆโฆโฆ?โ
Feeling a sense of unease and a strange foreboding, Dirk turned around.
No one was behind him.
โโฆMatt? โฆKarl?โ
Only Dirk’s voice echoed through the silent hall.
What? Some kind of prank?
โHey, you guys! Cut the crap!โ
โโฆRunโ
โHuh!?โ
A groan reached his ears, and Dirk’s voice rose involuntarily.
True, this โOld Castle of Ur-Doranโ was a beginner-friendly dungeon.
But it was definitely not a place to fool around.
โHey Matt! Carl!โ
โโฆGuh.โ
This time it was clear.
A groan, but unmistakably Carl’s voice.
That was when it happened.
โWhoa!?โ
Suddenly, pat-ta-taโฆ something liquid dripped onto the back of his neck, and Dirk couldn’t help but cry out.
A lukewarm, slimy sensation.
โDamn it, what the hell is this nowโฆ Hey, what the hell is this?โ
Cursing under his breath, he wiped the back of his neckโฆ and froze.
The fingers that had wiped away the liquid were stained bright red.
โฆBlood.
He instinctively looked straight up.
At that very moment, something large fell from the ceiling.
โHuh!?โ
He stumbled backward.
It was a headless corpse.
But Dirk knew immediately who it was.
Matt and Carl.
โโฆโฆโฆโฆโฆโฆHuh?โ
He couldn’t make sense of it.
Why were the two of them suddenly dead?
But there was something even more baffling.
A man stood between them.
He’d just appeared there.
Dirk had no idea how long he’d been there.
โWell, well, what a relief to see you, fellow countryman. Honestly, you are the only ones who actually did the job properly.โ
He said this, spreading his arms wide and flashing a broad grin.
His flashy clothes, white teeth, and cheerful demeanor felt familiar.
He was the client for this job.
“You see, dungeons, no matter how run-down, always have a master. That makes things inconvenient for us โdemonsโ. We can’t just barge in unless we’re โinvitedโ from within, and โdemonizingโ the place is absolutely out of the question. Man, you really saved me. Most people get suspicious, toss it aside, or run off to some guards or something, making cleanup a pain. But I finally succeeded. And what’s more, it’s a castle right up my alley! โฆYou lot have pretty good taste, I must say. Alright, it’s settled! I’ll add the three of you to my โRetainersโ! That’s your extra reward for this job.”
The man approached, chattering away.
Dirk couldn’t understand a word the man was saying.
He didn’t want to understand.
โD-don’t come any closerโโ
He stopped mid-sentence, realizing his own voice wasn’t coming out.
And that his vision was tilted.
The ground rushed toward him, and with a violent impact, his vision went pitch black.
โโฆWell, well. Things are about to get busy! I finally found this castle, after all. First, I’ll use this corpse as material to start producing monstersโโ
And then, that voice gradually faded awayโDirk’s consciousness ended there.