Chapter 15

Become a Legendary Necromancer - Chapter 015

[Avoid the Rat Knights and reach the destination at the end of the Gate.]

[Objective: Reach the Destination]

[Reward: F-rank Magic Stone ×5]

A System message appeared as soon as we entered.

I pushed the message aside.

Then I examined our surroundings.

A wall blocked the area behind us, and a single door stood in front of it.

That was the exit leading outside the Gate.

In other words, if we wanted to give up on clearing the Gate and leave, we would have to return here.

This time, I turned my head and looked straight ahead.

A long corridor stretched out before me, so long that I couldn't see its end.

The structure of this place only allowed movement forward or backward.

Because walls enclosed the left, right, and overhead.

'You could call it the simplest possible layout.'

Generally, most Gates with a 'Reach the Destination' objective were structured like mazes.

They contained dozens of branching paths, making it easy to get lost.

That made them extremely troublesome. They also took a great deal of time.

But this place was different.

'Because you only have to keep moving forward.'

All you had to do was defeat monsters while advancing.

The same applied if you abandoned the Gate midway through.

You simply had to turn around and head back.

There was no need to remember the path you'd taken.

However.

'That doesn't mean it's easy.'

The structure was relatively simple, but the difficulty itself was by no means low.

After a certain amount of time passed, monsters would respawn behind you.

That meant if you wanted to abandon the challenge midway and leave...

You would have to defeat the monsters again over the entire distance you'd traveled before you could escape.

'It's a dilemma.'

If you continued forward, there was no telling how long you'd have to keep fighting monsters.

But if you turned back, you'd have to kill just as many monsters all over again.

What if you made a mistake and let your greed push you a little too far?

You could find yourself trapped in a situation where you could neither advance nor retreat.

That was the ultimate reason this Gate was called Ant Hell.

'It's also why this is one of the Gates with so many casualties.'

...Of course, I'd only heard about it. I'd never experienced it myself.

Because nobody had been willing to let me join their party.

“...”

Remembering those days, a sense of sorrow suddenly threatened to rise within me.

However, a voice reached my ears before it could.

“I'll explain the details as we walk. We have quite a distance to cover before the Rat Knights start appearing. You said this is your first time here, right?”

I turned my head toward the voice.

It was Ryu Jun-hwi.

“Yes. It's my first time.”

Ryu Jun-hwi nodded.

“I feel a little awkward saying this... but you don't need to worry too much. You could say we have a fair amount of experience.”

Ryu Jun-hwi smiled faintly.

“Although we've failed to clear this Gate every time, we've entered it quite a few times. We've also worked together as a team for a long time.”

In other words, they were experienced.

“Let's talk while we walk.”

The three men, including Ryu Jun-hwi, began walking slightly ahead of me.

The explanation continued.

“Since reaching the end of the Gate is beyond our capabilities anyway, we'll proceed as safely as possible.”

Ryu Jun-hwi, who was walking at the front, glanced back over his shoulder.

“For now, our target is the halfway point. Going any farther would be too dangerous. Of course, we'll make our decision after considering everyone's condition, how well you work with us, Mr. Yoo Seong, and the overall situation...”

A bitter smile formed on Ryu Jun-hwi's lips.

“But that probably won't happen. You remember what I told you over the phone, right?”

“Yes. I remember.”

I nodded.

During our phone call yesterday, Ryu Jun-hwi had told me.

That I had to follow his judgment without question.

If he said we should turn back, we had to turn back no matter what.

He had repeated that several times.

Only after that had Ryu Jun-hwi agreed to let me join the party.

Of course, I knew it was nothing more than a trick to put his target at ease.

Afterward, Ryu Jun-hwi continued explaining how we would approach the Gate.

To summarize briefly.

Since they were frontliners, they would fight the monsters at the front.

And I was supposed to stay behind them and fire my bow.

In truth, the fact that he was explaining all this now was completely outside the norm.

'Normally, you would receive all these explanations before entering the Gate.'

Before entering a Gate.

You would be briefed on the formation, precautions, and other important matters...

Only after repeatedly confirming and verifying that everyone fully understood everything would you enter.

Why?

Because people's lives were at stake.

One person's mistake could get the entire party killed.

However, this time was an exception.

Because I was the only outsider among the three of them.

'Well, the fact that it's an F-rank Gate probably contributes to that, too.'

Anyway.

I didn't bother questioning them about the details.

“I think it's about time we got ready. Mr. Yoo Seong, please adjust your distance from us as you see fit and take down the monsters.”

“Understood.”

The three men walking ahead adjusted their grips on their weapons.

It seemed the battle would begin soon.

How much time passed after that?

Graaaagh!

A sharp sound like fingernails scraping across a blackboard pierced my eardrums.

A Rat Knight had appeared.

It looked like someone had removed a human's head and replaced it with a rat's head.

But that wasn't the only difference.

Its arms looked as though blades had been attached in place of its hands.

The battle began immediately.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Sharp metallic sounds rang out as the weapons of Ryu Jun-hwi and the other two collided with the Rat Knights' arms.

'Not bad.'

Perhaps because we were still near the beginning, the three men were handling the Rat Knights quite well.

I couldn't just stand around doing nothing, either.

Creeeeak!

Whoosh!

The arrow I fired struck a Rat Knight directly between the eyes.

[Nice shot!]

Clatter— Clatter—

Yulias clapped his hands in midair.

Afterward, I continued supporting the three men, firing my bow at a pace that was neither too fast nor too slow.

I deliberately avoided aiming precisely between the eyes.

Instead, I targeted their bodies or legs.

Nevertheless.

“Looking good!”

“Thank you!”

“You're quite skilled!”

The three men expressed their gratitude, looking satisfied.

And so the fighting continued.

As time passed, the Rat Knights began appearing more frequently and in greater numbers.

What had initially been only two or three had increased to six or seven at a time.

From that point onward, the three naturally began using Mana Release to strengthen their bodies.

They also started actively using their skills.

[Their teamwork isn't bad, is it?]

“Yeah, you're right.”

I nodded at Yulias's words.

I thought the same thing.

Not only did the three men work well together, but their individual abilities also seemed decent.

At that moment.

“Huh?! One got past us!”

Ryu Jun-hwi shouted in alarm.

A Rat Knight had broken through their formation and was charging toward me.

“Watch out!”

Instead of answering, I showed them through my actions.

I rapidly fired arrows.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Arrows struck the Rat Knight all over its body.

Its arms, legs, shoulders, chest—practically everywhere.

Of course, that was only how it appeared.

In truth, the Rat Knight had died because one of those arrows had struck it between the eyes.

Naturally, I'd done it deliberately.

To encourage Ryu Jun-hwi and his companions to let their guard down.

Thud!

The Rat Knight fell straight backward.

“Are you all right?! I'm sorry!”

Ryu Jun-hwi shouted as he looked toward the rear.

I waved my hand, pretending everything was fine.

The battle continued.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

While the fighting went on without pause.

Another Rat Knight broke through the three men and charged toward me.

Of course.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Just like before, it died without even managing to get close to me.

And the same situation repeated itself twice more afterward.

[They're doing it on purpose.]

Yulias, who had been fluttering around in midair, turned his head and looked at me.

I nodded.

Because I had been thinking the same thing.

I had watched their fighting closely the entire time.

Were they allowing one Rat Knight at a time to slip past because they lacked skill? Or because they were making mistakes?

'No.'

They were deliberately sending the Rat Knights toward me, one at a time, while pretending to have let them slip through.

Acting as though it couldn't be helped.

'They're probably trying to gauge how skilled I am.'

That was likely why they hadn't attacked me immediately after we entered the Gate.

They were thoroughly concealing their intentions until they were certain they could kill their target.

'And they're killing monsters while they're at it. These guys really are systematic.'

Well, that must have been how they'd managed to keep their crimes hidden for so long.

But...

Then why had they attacked Lee Hyun-do's younger brother?

Had Lee Hyun-do's younger brother been hiding his abilities?

The question suddenly occurred to me, but it wasn't particularly important.

I quickly pushed it out of my mind.

At that moment.

“Let's finish this group and take a short break. Everyone, hang in there just a little longer!”

Ryu Jun-hwi's voice rang out.

And a short while later.

[This time, there are two of them.]

Two Rat Knights broke through the three men at the front and came charging toward me.

This time, they didn't even say they'd let them slip past or warn me to be careful.

I immediately understood the situation.

They were finally making their move.

They intended to kill me.

'Looks like they're finally confident.'

Tap, tap, tap!

Two Rat Knights approached me, one slightly behind the other.

I fired an arrow toward the Rat Knight approaching first.

Creeeeak!

Thud!

This time, I deliberately aimed between its eyes. I wanted to kill it in a single shot.

And at that moment.

[Honored Master!!]

Yulias shouted.

But I already knew, even without his warning.

Because I had been watching.

I had seen the chest of the Rat Knight charging behind the first one split wide open.

And...

Something immediately shoot toward me!

Tap!

I instantly moved out of the way.

At the same time.

BOOM!

An explosion erupted in the exact spot where I'd been standing just moments earlier.

If I hadn't dodged, I would have been hit.

A voice reached my ears.

“Ah. I'm sorry. Are you all right?”

It was Ryu Jun-hwi.

He pretended to breathe a sigh of relief, placing a hand over his chest as he exhaled deeply.

By then, all the Rat Knights surrounding them had already been dealt with.

“Phew. I'm glad you weren't hurt. It was a mistake.”

“...”

I silently stared at Ryu Jun-hwi.

A mistake?

'What a load of bullshit.'

Even though I'd already expected something like this to happen...

Actually finding myself in that situation caused something to boil up from deep within my heart.

It was unmistakably anger.

Because they'd tried to kill me.

And on top of that.

Ryu Jun-hwi was now lying so shamelessly.

Just how much of an idiot did he think I was?

It was at that moment.

[You fucking bastard! What?! A mistake? A miiistake?! I'll suck the black ink right out of your eyeballs! You think you can say whatever the hell you want, you piece of shit!!]

The words came pouring out in a rapid torrent.

The voice belonged to Yulias, who was fuming with the flames in his eyes blazing fiercely.

Immediately afterward, our eyes met.

“...”

[...]

Silence fell.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds...

Clatter— Clatter—

Yulias scratched his skull.

[He-hehe... I got carried away... Sorry for swearing...]