Chapter 111: The Fallen Knight's Soul & Broken ring of Loyalty.

[14th Everdusk 2103], CGA Branch, Dyna Crest country, Test Dungeon.

"Kid, aren't you thinking too much right now?" A voice came from behind me, causing me to flinch a little. I recognized the voice immediately, as it was someone I couldn't forget even after leaving this dungeon.

As I turned around, my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

I shouted after coming out of my daze, "What the heeeelll~~~~~~~."

Standing in front of me was someone who looked similar to the boss, resembling a human.

His armor and sword were identical to those of the fallen boss whose body lay on the ground. I grabbed my sword, which was lying beside me, and prepared for the battle that had not yet started.

"Wow, wow~~! Kid, lower that blade. I'm not here to fight but to talk with you. If I wanted to kill you, I could have done so like this!"

He raised his sword, and I could feel the wind element energy rising from it, increasing to the point where even a single bit of it could kill me.

He moved his sword, and a slash made of wind headed toward the mountain above us. In next second, the entire area above us was gone, with not a bit of debris left after the impact, which nearly pulled my eyeballs from their sockets.

I knew I couldn't fight him, let alone defeat him. I tried to stall for time, waiting for the dungeon notification of completion to appear, but nothing came. Then told me,

"Kid, I think you're waiting for the announcement of the dungeon raid success, but waste time on it. It won't appear until I wish it to be." For the first time, I saw his whole body, which was shocking. In the darkness of the mountain cave, I hadn't been able to see him clearly, but after the roof was removed,

I saw that the standing in front of me was not the same but a transparent human, possibly the soul of the boss I had just destroyed. The skeleton's body still lay there, motionless.

"Listen, kid, I won't be harming you, so just carefully listen to my story," he said, but I tried not to give him any reply, showing that I wasn't able to see him.

"Maybe I really have to kill you, huh," he said as he raised his sword, which was also transparent like him, showing that his sword was a mere image of his soul.

"Wait, I am listening, don't attack me," I said, as I didn't want to get erased like the mountain.

"Then, it's good. As I was saying, I won't be harming you because I can't, as I am now a soul. I am here for the final time to tell you something and even give away a little sorry gift for what I did to you back then in fight," he said. I didn't focus much on the first part, but the mention of a gift made my mood good.

"What gift? Give it to me quickly," I said, as the soul of the knight just nodded and told me.

"Yes, I will give you a gift, but please, can you promise to help me with something first? I think you can gain more advantage by helping me," he said, as my interest was piqued when I heard that I could benefit from helping him.

"Advantages? Tell me quickly what I can help you with," I said, as the knight nodded and began telling me his story.

"So, as you may know, I am a knight who once served a lord who was the Baron of the Empire. I served him for twelve years and was once a loyal member of their family until everything fell apart..."

He was silent for a few minutes, seemingly thinking about the incident, then snapped out of it and continued.

"Yes, I was saying that everything fell apart when one day our lord and his family were attacked by an evil god worshipper who claimed to be the successor of the god's power while they were returning from the viscount's mansion. His power was so immense that our guards were no match for him, and one by one, we all fell. I was the sole survivor, defending my lord when that person used his art to raise my fallen comrades as his puppets.

They lost their minds and began attacking our lord's family, resulting in the fall of our lord's mistress and son. Our lord and I were fending the remaining puppets and fighting the evil when he used the lord's daughter to force him to surrender, as we had to save her. The true horror began when he killed my lord before my eyes and raised him as well. He then revealed to me, the final survivor, that he sought our lord's daughter, who had a special constitution that could grant him immense favor from the god and increase his power.

Left alone at the site of the tragedy, I vowed to find the worshippers and save the lord's daughter. For three weeks, I traveled the Empire with no clues until I heard news of a ritual taking place at our lord's fallen barony. I rushed back to find that the fiend was using our lord's mansion to complete the ritual and gain strength to take over the empire. I tried to stop it, fighting desperately with my trusted horse, but I failed and lost all hope when the evil creature ripped the girl's chest and offered it to his god, who granted him the power he sought.

He became so powerful that I had to flee. Though we both managed to escape, his cursed power remained within us, ultimately leading to our demise.The evil being sent many puppets to kill me, but I was fortunate enough to evade them all. During one such chase, I suffered massive injuries, causing me to hide in this forest cave where I eventually died and became trapped for an unknown number of years."

As he finally finished his story, expecting my reaction to be full of sympathy and sadness, he was met with a straight face.

"What are you thinking, kid? Isn't my story heart-breaking?" he said, wiping away some fake tears.

"Well, what happened to you was certainly bad, but what can I do to help you? I am a weak tier 0 being while you were much more powerful and still failed. Besides, I am not even from your world, as there doesn't seem to be an empire here. I won't fight for you against that person without a proper reason," I said, as it was true for me; I couldn't just fight someone stronger than myself for no reason.

"But I can give you treasure and many other things," he stammered.

"But how? I don't think you have such things here, and there is no way to leave this dungeon area as the system has made the boundaries clear," I replied, doubting whether he could give me anything at all, as I am not some random protagonist who helps others without a reason.

"B-B-But..." the knight said in a low, barely audible voice.

"What?" I asked, unable to hear him clearly.

"Then I won't let you leave this dungeon ever," he shouted like moody child, standing still.

"Huh, what do you mean I can't exit without your permission?" I asked as the ghost or soul nodded.

"Then I can't leave, huh? But why? I already said I definitely can't help you. Can't you find someone else to help you? And yes, I have someone who will help without any reason and even won't ask for anything in return."

"No, I won't. I know that this is my final moment after which this area will collapse into nothingness and cease to exist as you've completed the final requirement to finish it. My presence here in the soul state is the reason for this."

"So, I don't have a choice, huh?" I said after a few minutes of thinking, as he nodded with a childlike smile.

"Hahh~~! Okay, fine, I will help you, but listen, I won't go anywhere to find that person. Give me something to let me find him if he is near me or something." I said, knowing that arguing with him was pointless after seeing his childlike mood.

"Oh, don't worry. Along with the gifts, I was also going to give you the item which can let you teleport to the place where that vile creature is living. Don't worry, it will only be used when you have the necessary strength to kill him, which means reaching my strength or a little higher." He said as he sent something toward me that appeared to be a ring, though it was too old to recognize.

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[Name: The Broken Ring of Loyalty

Type: N/A

Grade: N/A

Requirement: Tier 2 (Low)

Attributes: +15% Wind element damage, {Several other features are cancelled due to the damage on the ring.}

Description: The ring of loyalty belonging to a fallen knight who used his remaining soul to locate his worst enemy with the aid of his cursed energy. It can be used when the holder, Evan, reaches the required power. This is a non-tradable and cannot be held by another being otherwise, it will be destroyed into pieces.]

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I saw the item, and after contemplating for a moment, I nodded, held it, and placed it inside my inventory to use when the time comes.

"Okay, so now I agree to help you. Give me my gift and let me get out of here," I said as the soul of the boss nodded and extended his hand, which was flickering slightly as if fading away.

I didn't fully understand, but I stretched out my hand to shake his. When our hands touched, a strange shock entered my body, causing me to shudder as notifications began appearing, leaving me stunned.

"I hope you like my little gift, and please avenge me, oh warrior who defeated my ego form", he said as he vanished into the air, indicating that he was gone for good.

"I will. I won't let your soul's sacrifice go to waste," I said as I looked ahead where he had stood and began walking toward the boss's body to take my loot and start my tasks, which would give me double benefits.

As I am kind or the King of greedy people.

-- To be continued --