Reverse Dungeon

After shaking off the elf merchant, Ian and Keith entered the area.

There was something strange about that vast stretch of land—something that made it difficult to call it a tomb at all. For one thing, there were no tombstones. No graves. Not even a columbarium in sight.

“Why is this place called an ancient tomb?”

Keith sounded genuinely puzzled.

Before long, they came across something even stranger: a volcano-like structure that looked as if it had thrust itself up out of nowhere.

Keith hesitated to call it a volcano. It was too low to be a mountain, closer in height to a burial mound. At the same time, it was not low enough for anyone to see what lay at its peak. It was simply an enormous mound.

Keith thought it finally looked like something that belonged in a graveyard, but Ian’s view was different.

Ian already knew what was up there.

It was the jar sealing Kyarakus.

And that mound-like volcano was the result of Kyarakus’s fury. Whenever its wrath overflowed, it spewed fire and lava. That explained why the surrounding land was buried beneath ash and bizarre stones.

There had probably been graves here once. But each time Kyarakus’s volcanic rage erupted, ash and rubble swallowed the remains and crushed their original shapes beyond recognition.

“At this point, the trigger should activate.”

Ian was lost in thought when Keith suddenly thrust out an arm and stopped him in his tracks.

“Lord Ian, wait a moment.”

Keith scanned the surroundings, his gaze sharpening.

“I sense malice.”

The instant he finished speaking, a strange sound echoed through the area.

At first, it sounded like stones knocking together.

Clack... Clack...

Then they realized it was not stone.

It was bone.

A skeleton emerged from behind the volcano. Its head resembled the rotted remains of a fish, while the rest of its body was made of human bones.

Clatter?

It tilted its head when it spotted Ian and Keith, then began shambling toward them. A rusted sword hung from its bony hand.

Keith found it odd that only one had appeared.

He soon realized he was wrong.

Clack... Clack...

Screeech... Screeech...

The sound of dragging feet rose from every direction.

This so-called ancient tomb was not empty.

From beneath the ash-covered ground, scattered fragments of bone began assembling themselves. They creaked upright, seized whatever lay within reach—swords, spears, bows, even someone else’s femur—and closed in around Ian and Keith.

“This is my first time seeing a merman skeleton,” Keith admitted.

It was Ian’s first time seeing one in real life as well. He had only ever seen them on-screen.

Ian grinned and encouraged him.

“You’ll get your fill today.”

“It reminds me of the day we first met. You were surrounded by skeletons then as well. I am forever grateful that you forgave me that day. Without your mercy, I would not be standing here now. It seems I am destined to keep wronging you, while you continue to forgive me with grace.”

Keith spoke with reverence, then crossed himself in prayer, as though blessing the memory of their first meeting.

‘This guy is seriously nuts.’

“Uh... can we focus? Your opponents today aren’t just skeletons.”

“They aren’t?”

Keith glanced back at Ian, as if doubting whether Ian could handle the situation on his own.

‘This bastard thinks I’m weak.’

Of course, Ian was confident he could manage.

If he could not deal with an army of skeletons at his current skill levels, that would be a serious problem.

Granted, most of that confidence came from his gaming experience.

Ian knew firsthand how much leveling up changed things. When he had raised his archery level, his shots had practically gained auto-aim.

That had made him wonder.

‘If I raise my swordsmanship level, won’t my movements auto-adjust too?’

His guess had been right.

After raising the swordsmanship skill Keith had taught him to level 4, Ian had been able to toy with dwarves with ease.

For Ian, that level of real-world control was more than enough. With all his years of gaming experience on top of it, there was no way he would fall victim to the sluggish attacks of a few skeletons.

“Alright. I’ll handle the skeletons. You’ve got something else to do.”

“And what would that be?”

“Take out the necromancer summoning these guys.”

“Necromancy!”

Keith’s voice dripped with loathing.

Ian’s words meant these skeletons were not naturally occurring monsters.

There were two kinds of monsters: those formed naturally from condensed dark energy, and those created artificially. Skeletons summoned through necromancy belonged to the latter.

“Are you saying these defilers are desecrating this tomb?”

“Exactly.”

‘Hate them all you want. You need to grow strong enough to kill the Demon King, after all.’

Ian gave him a firm nod.

“But this place has been saturated with dark energy for a long time. It may take time to locate the necromancer. Would it not be better for you to move with me, Lord Ian?”

“Nope.”

“...?”

Keith hesitated at Ian’s blunt refusal, clearly waiting for an explanation Ian could not give.

‘I need the experience points.’

How was Ian supposed to say that out loud?

Ian had two reasons for coming to this underwater city.

The first was to destroy the Demon King’s life vessel.

The second was to grind for experience. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

This place was a perfect farming spot. Not only could he level up here, it came with the added bonus of endlessly respawning skeletons.

‘Once the cooldown resets, the necromancer just keeps summoning more skeletons.’

Where else could he find an infinite monster respawn zone?

There was only ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) one catch.

Kyarakus.

‘If Kyarakus awakens while the necromancers are still alive, it’ll be a nightmare.’

The necromancers could break Kyarakus’s seal. The condition was simple.

There were six necromancers here. If Ian and Keith eliminated three of them, the remaining three would join forces and unseal Kyarakus.

‘Did these guys seal Kyarakus in the first place?’

Ian did not particularly care to find out.

His plan was simple.

Farm skeletons for experience while Kyarakus remained sealed.

Then eliminate all the necromancers in one sweep.

After that, beat the sealed Kyarakus to a pulp.

That way, Ian could finish off Kyarakus safely.

‘Sealed or unsealed, Kyarakus gives the same amount of experience.’

The only difference was the achievement badge.

Ian had already defeated Kyarakus in multiple ways and concluded there was no need to break the seal for no reason.

‘It’s not like field bosses can be dragged into dungeons anyway.’

Ian nodded to himself.

“There are six necromancers, so we can’t pick them off one by one. We need to deal with them all at once.”

Keith, curious about Ian’s scheme, asked, “How do you know there are six?”

“Oh, I just received a divine revelation.”

“Of course you did...”

Keith let out a dry laugh, then surprised himself with it.

Was it not his duty to chastise Ian for speaking of the divine so lightly?

And yet here he was, letting it pass.

The Keith from his early days in the temple would never have reacted this way.

“I’ll handle the skeletons. You run ahead. Take out up to two necromancers. But if you can, don’t kill them.”

“Are you telling me to kill them or not...?”

“Just figure it out! And if I’m about to get crushed under a pile of skeletons, step in, okay?”

Keith turned away, shaking his head.

Then he realized he was smiling again.

With a sigh, he drew his sword and looked toward the volcano’s summit.

Reaching the top was his first goal.

Finding the necromancers was the second.

Keith launched himself forward, and the ground beneath his feet cracked from the force.

Crash!

He cleaved through the skeletons blocking his path like a tank bulldozing straight ahead.

Ian watched in awe.

Not that it mattered.

The two of them shared experience points anyway.

‘Three directions left.’

Ian nocked an arrow.

From the ash-covered ground, skeletons staggered to their feet and shambled toward him.

Ian aimed at the closest one, gathering a brilliant point of light at the arrowhead.

Swish!