Episode 117
In an instant, Zeke’s sword halted.
“A treasure, you say?”
The lich spoke hastily.
“Yes, yes! A precious artifact!”
“What use do I have for a dark magic artifact? I should just finish you off…”
“No, no! It’s not a dark magic artifact. It’s something even a knight like you can use!”
The lich pleaded desperately.
Zeke sheathed his sword once more.
“Let’s see what it is first.”
He adjusted the chains binding the lich, allowing it to move its hands and speak.
The lich, trembling, slowly rose and led the way deeper into the cave.
Zeke followed, keeping a firm grip on the chains and his eyes sharp for any tricks.
“Try anything funny, and you’ll lose your head.”
The lich shivered at Zeke’s menacing tone and opened a hidden passage within the cave.
A staircase leading underground was revealed.
“This way,” the lich stammered.
After ensuring there were no traps, Zeke followed the lich down the stairs.
They arrived at the lich’s laboratory, where the walls were adorned with the bones of various monsters, and shelves were lined with what appeared to be spellbooks.
“For a lich, you keep things surprisingly tidy.”
“Heh, thank you, sir.”
“Where’s the treasure?”
Zeke’s intent to seize the treasure was clear, but the lich had no choice.
The lich approached a wall disguised by magic and placed its hand on it, revealing a hidden vault.
From the vault, the lich retrieved a sealed box.
“Here it is, sir.”
“And you expect me to open it without knowing what’s inside? Open it.”
Grumbling internally about the demanding knight, the lich opened the sealed box.
Zeke was taken aback by the artifact inside.
“A crown?”
The lich nodded eagerly.
“Isn’t it magnificent? It will surely enhance your majesty, sir… Ah!”
Zeke unsheathed his purifying blade again, causing the lich to recoil in fear.
“Only a destroyed undead is a good undead.”
“But, but you promised to spare me if I gave you the treasure!”
“You call this an artifact? Trying to deceive me?”
“It is an artifact! There’s immense magical power hidden within! I just couldn’t identify it due to my limited skills!”
Zeke, observing the lich’s desperate excuses, turned his attention back to the crown, examining it closely with his dragon’s eye.
―Crown Information―
Description: A precious crown from the Lubern Dynasty era
Unique Abilities: [Shield of Light], [Mace of Light]
Special Note: 1.5 times effectiveness when used against undead and demons
“Ha, it really is an artifact.”
It wasn’t just a simple magic item; it was a high-grade artifact with both offensive and defensive skills.
Despite its value, Zeke was puzzled as to why the lich had it. He placed the crown on his head.
[You can now use the skills Shield of Light (B-grade) and Mace of Light (B-grade).]
After confirming the message, Zeke turned to the lich.
“Mace of Light.”
A massive hammer of light materialized and struck the lich.
“Aaaagh!”
Boom!
The overwhelming aura of light filled the laboratory.
With a single blow from the Mace of Light, the high-ranking undead lich was nearly obliterated.
“Ugh…”
Zeke felt a twinge of guilt seeing the lich, who had given him the artifact without deceit, on the brink of destruction.
Just then, a system message appeared.
[You have instilled fear in a lich with traces of a very insignificant dragon’s bone.]
[The unique authority of Dragon Domination is activated.]
[Would you like to subjugate the target?]
Zeke, bewildered, looked at the lich.
“Did you use dragon bones to create your body?”
The lich, trembling with fear, replied.
“How could I possibly obtain something as rare as dragon bones? I used a mix of basilisk, wyvern, and drake bone powder.”
It seemed that any creature with traces of dragon lineage could be designated for subjugation.
Zeke pondered how to utilize an undead summon.
“Well, having one can’t hurt.”
Following his previous subjugation of Gurav, Zeke decided to subjugate the lich as well.
[You have subjugated a lich with traces of a very insignificant dragon’s bone.]
Wooong!
Zeke’s shadow extended, enveloping the lich’s body.
“Ugh!”
The lich began to transform, no longer appearing as a mere skeleton but as a pale, somber man.
However, scales sprouted on his skin, and his eyes turned serpentine, giving him the appearance of a snake-like humanoid.
“Ho?”
The lich, astonished by his transformation, couldn’t believe his eyes.
“How… how is this possible?”
Through the power of the dragon’s authority, the lich had transformed into a humanoid summon.
He immediately knelt before Zeke.
“Master! You are truly extraordinary! You have saved me with your magnificent power! Thank you! Thank you! I will serve you until my soul is worn away!”
[Would you like to assign a name to the subjugated lich with traces of a very insignificant dragon’s bone? A named summon can be called by the authority holder at any time.]
“What was your name?”
“The insignificant name I used in life is unimportant. Please, grant me a name, great master.”
Zeke, too lazy to think deeply, quickly came up with a name.
“Then you’ll be Richmond.”
“Oh…”
[You have acquired the summon Richmond.]
The lich, now named Richmond, regretted not just giving his old name.
Zeke, indifferent to Richmond’s regrets, pondered over the crown he held.
“Hmm, it’s good, but do I have to wear it every time I want to use its skills?”
As if in response to his question, a system message appeared.
[You can consume the item with Gluttony to acquire its skills.]
“Oh?”
Zeke had forgotten that his Gluttony skill, now at the expert level, allowed him to consume items.
He used the Gluttony skill on the crown.
Shadows rose and absorbed the crown.
[You have consumed the crown.]
[You have acquired the skills Shield of Light (B-grade) and Mace of Light (B-grade).]
“Wow, so that’s possible too.”
Zeke immediately checked his active skills.
Active Skills: Lightning Strike [A-grade (Novice)], Flashbang [C-grade (Skilled)], Dissonance [C-grade (Skilled)], Magic Reflection [A-grade (Novice)], Area Buff [A-grade (Novice)], Curse Reflection [A-grade (Novice)], Stealth [A-grade (Novice)], Shield of Light [B-grade (Novice)], Mace of Light [B-grade (Novice)]
His list of skills had grown considerably since the beginning.
Zeke suddenly thought of Agamemnon’s Mask.
“Should I consume it to acquire the purification skill?”
Knowing it would be useful, Zeke pondered for a while but decided to postpone consuming the mask.
Agamemnon’s Mask was more of a family heirloom than a typical artifact, and it wasn’t something he could dispose of at will.
He was merely the custodian of the heirloom as the family’s successor, not its outright owner.
After deciding on the mask’s fate, Zeke turned to Richmond.
“Are the monsters outside your doing?”
Richmond nodded.
“Yes, yes. My specialty is in monsters, you see.”
“Interesting. I haven’t seen many dark mages who specialize in monsters.”
Richmond scratched his head.
“Even during my time in the Holy Empire, monster specialization was quite niche, with few mages pursuing it.”
“An intriguing talent. So, can you gather monsters as well?”
“Those within my influence, yes.”
“Really?”
If Zeke could leverage Richmond’s abilities, he could amass a significant amount of points.
Outside Richmond’s cave, an adventurer party was still struggling against the monsters.
Though the dark magic controlling the monsters had been lifted when Zeke confronted Richmond, wild monsters continued to swarm, keeping the battle ongoing.
The archer had run out of arrows, the knight was exhausted, and the mage was out of mana.
Yet, the surrounding monsters still eyed them menacingly.
The knight spoke to his companions.
“Damn, looks like this is it for us.”
The young mage beside him replied.
“So, Rick dies a virgin after all.”
The female archer nodded.
“Yeah. Maybe I should’ve helped him out.”
The female mage across from them blushed.
“Cl-Claire!”
The young mage grinned.
“The romance of virgin Rick and virgin Arin will be remembered forever.”
Rick chuckled at Jason’s joke, even in their dire situation.
Then, suddenly, Rick charged forward with his sword.
“It was a pleasure being with you all!”
Arin shouted in surprise.
“Rick!”
Rick intended to sacrifice himself to give his friends a chance to escape.
“Haaah!”
Rick’s sword swiftly decapitated a monster in front of him.
He shouted to his companions.
“Run!”
At that moment, a minotaur charged at Rick, wielding an axe as large as a person.
Roar!
Rick, prepared to face death, charged at the minotaur.
Crash!
With a single swing of the Minotaur’s axe, Rick lost his grip on his sword.
“Raaaargh!”
The Minotaur raised its axe again, ready to strike. Rick stood frozen, staring death in the face as the axe came crashing down toward his head.
Swoosh!
In a flash of light, the Minotaur was sliced clean in half.
“What the…?”
Rick, standing at the front, was dumbfounded by the unbelievable sight. Suddenly, a somber-faced wizard appeared beside them.
The young man who had effortlessly split the Minotaur spoke to him. “Richmond, do your job well. Fail, and you’re done for.”
“D-don’t worry, Master!” The wizard raised his staff and chanted a spell. To everyone’s surprise, monsters from near and far began converging on their location.
Rick’s group cried out in alarm. “M-more monsters…! We need to run!”
But the young man didn’t retreat. Instead, he grabbed a black sword that looked unfinished and charged forward, slicing through the monsters at a speed too fast to follow.
Swoosh—
Thud—
Slash!
In an instant, dozens of monsters were reduced to mere chunks, leaving Rick and his companions pale with shock.
After dispatching the monsters, Zeke turned to Richmond. “Not bad. Richmond, summon more.”
Richmond chanted again, drawing more monsters to them. After repeating this process ten times, Zeke had amassed over 2,000 points.
Having defeated all the monsters, Zeke camped with Rick’s group to gather information about the Giant Mountains.
“Thank you so much for saving our lives.”
Rick’s group, having witnessed Zeke’s incredible prowess, treated him with cautious respect. Despite his youthful appearance, they were convinced he must be a knight from a prestigious family.
Zeke, noticing Rick’s demeanor, replied, “No need to mention it. But I must say, you all seem quite experienced for your age. Your teamwork is impressive.”
Jason stepped forward at this, “Well, it’s because we have a pure-hearted guy and girl in our party, so the harmony is… umph!” Rick and Arin quickly clamped a hand over his mouth.
Zeke chuckled at the lively group. The archer, Claire, looked at Zeke and asked, “Are you affiliated with any particular order, Sir Knight?”
Zeke shook his head, deflecting the question. “A knight? Hardly. I’m just an adventurer.” He showed them his adventurer’s ID.
Rick was taken aback. “No way. Then how did you master such incredible swordsmanship? I was sure you were a knight from a noble family.”
“I’m from the north. I picked up various sword techniques from rangers and mercenaries I grew up around.”
Though his skills seemed far too advanced for someone self-taught, they decided not to press further.
Arin nodded and changed the subject, pointing to Richmond. “Is it okay to just leave him like that?”
Richmond was huddled in a corner of the cave, away from the fire. Zeke nodded. “Yes, don’t worry about him. He has a fear of crowds.”
Jason nodded in understanding, knowing that many wizards had their quirks.
As the soup began to boil, Zeke served a bowl to each member of Rick’s group. They were amazed at the exceptional taste, far better than typical camp fare.
“This is… really delicious.”
The flavor was thanks to the fresh ingredients preserved in his inventory. As they ate, Zeke asked, “So, what brings you all the way out here?”
Rick hesitated but then spoke up, “How could we not tell our savior? We’re actually here on a mission from Duke Graham.”
Zeke was taken aback. “Wait, could it be…?”
Rick continued, “We’re searching for the sorcerer who cast an evil spell on Lady Angelina.”