Chapter 141
Chapter 141
Necromancy (2)
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
As we prepared for Necromancy, the Imperial Princess’s bedroom became unusually busy. Occult-like objects resembling bone-made totems sprang up everywhere like mushrooms after rain.
Aro sat cross-legged, wrapping red prayer beads around her body. I also sat cross-legged across from her, but the Vice-Commander’s gaze felt particularly piercing.
“No, it’s just fascinating.”
At my question asking if something was wrong, the Vice-Commander shook her head.
“Student Davide is quite creative. Moments like this happen often.”
I raised one eyebrow and nodded. These were common strategies in the game, but to the people here, they could look entirely different.
If you broke it down, the mechanism of Necromancy was nothing more than stealing a skill used by a field boss, so there was nothing particularly creative about it.
“In matters related to the mind and soul, Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess is invincible.”
“…To that extent?”
The Vice-Commander handed me a glass of water as she said that. I pondered whether the Imperial Princess’s mental strength had really been that great.
She had been portrayed as quite strong, but I didn’t recall it being to the point where one could call her invincible.
“She has a related artifact. Though her innate mental strength is already remarkable.”
“Ah. I see.”
Simply put, she possessed an artifact on a level similar to Silent Bell. Having fully experienced the effects of Silent Bell myself, I understood why the word invincible was used.
“Junior. I’m ready.”
I calmly closed my eyes and steadied my mind. Soon after, Aro called out that she was ready.
“I’ll say this again. The Necromancy we’re about to perform will place Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess’s soul into your body. If the soul is too large for you to handle, your body will burst. And even if there’s just a difference in size, you’ll lose control of your body.”
“Yes.”
Aro’s expression was more serious than ever.
“Honestly, I don’t know what state Her Imperial Highness is in. But you’re also very important to us. There won’t be anything for me to worry about, right?”
“Of course.”
I answered firmly to Aro’s concern. It was my first time performing Necromancy as well, but I wasn’t worried.
What mattered for the one receiving the soul in Necromancy was a strong soul and a strong body. I wasn’t sure about my soul, but at the very least, my body was exceptional.
Moreover, I had a friendly relationship with the Imperial Princess, so even in the worst-case scenario, there was some leeway.
“Then I’ll begin.”
Aro closed her eyes and began to draw up her magic power. Behind her, two fox tails appeared, emitting a faint glow.
Red prayer beads floated around her, and red talismans appeared, wrapping around the bone totems.
From the body of the Imperial Princess, who had been lying down, something enormous burst out.
“Hold your mind together!”
Something that appeared to be her soul rushed toward me. It felt similar to the pressure I had once experienced when I was crushed by a massive light in the Sanctuary.
My body, which was about to collapse under the weight pressing down on it, straightened at Aro’s shout.
“Hm!”
It felt like I was being pushed underground. No, it felt more like sinking into the deep sea. My body shrank, and my breath caught in my throat.
With a suffocating pressure I couldn’t understand and the sensation of my head being violently shaken as the last thing I felt, I lost consciousness.
***
“This is ridiculous.”
The Vice-Commander’s words had been true. The claim that the Imperial Princess was invincible in this sort of thing.
When I opened my eyes, what I saw was the Imperial Palace with water filled up to my ankles. It was a scene of the Imperial Palace I had seen several times in game illustrations.
“It’s seawater.”
The water around my ankles was seawater. There was no way seawater should exist in the Imperial Palace located in the center of the continent, which meant this was connected to my mental image.
Even though this was my base and she was the one entering, the Imperial Princess had overwritten my mental world with her own.
‘Is it because she’s part fairy?’
I figured that might be the case since she had partially inherited fairy blood. As I slowly moved my feet, a change occurred.
▶[Event Dungeon: The Imperial Princess’s Mental World]
Please select one of the four options below.
―Trace of Anaye.
―Adaptive Body (Anaye).
―Blood Magic.
―Anaye’s Legacy.
I let out a small chuckle at the system choice that suddenly appeared. One of the reasons [Difficult Dungeon] was so highly praised wasn’t just its variety of events and overall quality, but the sheer amount of content it offered.
And this dungeon, called [The Imperial Princess’s Mental World], was a roguelike dungeon that had to be cleared for the story to progress.
▶You have selected Adaptive Body (Anaye).
Without a moment’s hesitation, I chose Adaptive Body. Most of my combat power came from the integration of multiple skills under Trace of Anaye.
However, that only produced proper synergy when supported by Adaptive Body. In most situations, Adaptive Body was far more versatile.
Feeling a deep sense of fullness welling up within my body, I let out a savage grin.
“Where could Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess be?”
I shook my right hand clad in a gauntlet and began walking. My top priority was to find the Imperial Princess, who was likely suffering.
“……”
I walked endlessly down the vast corridors of the Imperial Palace. There were no monsters, no traps—nothing.
Only the sound of seawater splashing beneath my feet echoed through the halls. Then, I heard something strange. My finely honed hearing picked up an unfamiliar noise.
“They look disgusting.”
I frowned as I saw zombies filling the corridor. With their sluggish movements, they were trying to enter somewhere.
However, the massive and grand door before them did not open easily. In front of it, countless zombies had gathered, enough to fill the great walls of the Imperial Palace.
The zombies reacted to the sound of my voice. I steadied my stance. Since I had no weapon right now, I had no choice but to beat them down with my bare hands.
―Graaah!
I thrust my gauntlet toward the first zombie charging at me. Its head burst apart as it was sent flying, and I immediately rushed toward the next one.
Zombies, being nothing more than reanimated corpses, had insignificant combat ability. With each swing of my fist, I could take one down.
‘Maybe I should have chosen Trace instead.’
At times like this, I missed Divine Power, which was the bane of the undead. It wasn’t difficult, just tedious work, which made me long for it even more.
Even so, considering the later stages and my synergy with the Imperial Princess, it couldn’t compare to Adaptive Body.
“Hoo.”
Roughly around seventy. That was the number of zombies whose heads I had crushed.
The once-beautiful walls of the Imperial Palace were now smeared with the flesh of zombies.
I took a deep breath and checked my body. I wasn’t injured, nor was I particularly exhausted. The only problem was that I had been covered in zombie flesh during the fight.
“My nose is going to fall off.”
After gaining Adaptive Body, my senses had sharpened—vision, hearing, even smell.
It had been a while since I encountered such a vile stench, not since Fiendbeasts, and I couldn’t quite get used to it.
“Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess!”
After roughly shaking off the gore, I immediately knocked on the massive door. Calling out loudly, I knocked with what could only be described as punches.
“Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess! Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess!”
The terrifying knocking continued. A door this grand and ornate surely belonged to someone connected to the Imperial Palace.
And if there was someone being targeted by monsters in this world, it had to be the Imperial Princess.
“Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess! Eliza Atticus!”
I even went as far as to call her name—an act bordering on disrespect—but there was no response. I stepped back from the door for a moment.
I considered breaking it down, but it didn’t seem possible in my current state.
“Maybe it’s not here… huh?”
I felt a bit awkward, thinking I might have the wrong place. Then I noticed something strange on the door. There was a groove large enough for a hand to fit into.
“Ah. No way.”
I put my hand into the groove and pulled. The door opened with surprising ease, leaving me momentarily speechless.
“Pull…….”
Thankfully, the door reminded me that I was Korean. Letting out a sigh, I stepped through the easily opened entrance.
“This is it. Definitely.”
The moment I saw the room, I realized the Imperial Princess was here. It was identical to her room at the academy.
Everything—from the curtains to the furniture—was exactly the same. I immediately drew back the curtains and headed toward the bedroom where she would be sleeping.
“Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess?”
There, I finally came face to face with the Imperial Princess. In the corner of the room was a small girl, hugging her knees with her face buried in them.
She wasn’t wearing the armor she always had on, but the moment I saw her red hair, I recognized her immediately. I carefully approached the girl.
‘Wait a second.’
As I got closer, I was taken aback. I had thought she was just small, but now that I considered it, the Imperial Princess was actually quite tall.
As a warrior, she had trained her body and possessed a sturdy physique—there was no way she could be this small.
“Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess. I’ve come.”
“Davide…?”
When I softly called out to her, the small girl lifted her head. The first thing I noticed was her eyes, heavy with dark circles, and her dry, lifeless skin.
Her unfocused gaze steadied the moment she recognized my hair. Only then did I realize—the Imperial Princess was in her childhood form.
“…Where is this?”
“This is my mental world.”
“No. How have you come here?”
Her voice also sounded distinctly young. Judging by her size, she looked about nine? Ten? years old.
“You told me to meet you in your nightmare. So I came.”
At my words, the Imperial Princess stared blankly before burying her face in her hands. I quietly waited on one knee.
“…Truly a loyal subject.”
After regaining her composure, the Imperial Princess stood up. I immediately bowed my head in respect.
“I express my deepest gratitude for your efforts.”
She patted my shoulder, showing her appreciation.
“So. What is your plan now?”
“We need to escape the nightmare. More importantly, you’ve become younger—are you aware of that?”
“Of course. This is how I looked when I was six.”
“…?”
My eyes widened. She looked about 130 cm tall—only six?
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It’s nothing, Your Highness. Even in your childhood form, you are dazzling.”
“I-Is that so?”
“?”
I gave a habitual compliment, but the response I received was unusual. Normally, she would have snapped, “Enough with the flattery!”
When I looked at her curiously, the Imperial Princess cleared her throat. She then sat on the bed and held her forehead.
“What happened to the attack?”
“It has been resolved. During the process of tracking down those behind it, around thirty knights lost their lives, but we eliminated one of the masterminds and captured another.”
“Wretched scum. He will not die easily.”
She immediately asked about the situation outside, and I answered at once. At the mention of the mastermind, she gritted her teeth and muttered viciously.
“So how much time has passed outside?”
“It has been about four days since the attack occurred.”
“Not long. About 26 days remain.”
Those 26 days referred to the time until she would awaken. I shook my head.
“That is not the case. I will do everything in my power to help you escape this place.”
“……”
As I said that and bowed my head, I could feel the Imperial Princess’s lingering gaze from above.
“You. Davide.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“In these four days, I have died a total of four times.”
“…What?”
I ended up asking back, forgetting my manners. At my shocked question, she calmly continued.
“Once a day. I die—here.”
The reason the Imperial Princess hated this nightmare. The reason she suffered so much. It wasn’t simply because those she had killed appeared before her.
A setting never revealed in the game. My expression hardened as I stared at her—the Imperial Princess who faced inevitable death over and over again.
“When I die, I am reborn here. Do you know what must be done to escape this nightmare?”
I couldn’t answer her question immediately. To clear this roguelike, you had to defeat the final boss.
But one day was nowhere near enough. By the nature of a roguelike, everything reset upon death. Then, something came to mind.
“Of course, Your Highness.”
I answered confidently. There had been places along the way that looked like outposts. Those were safe zones.
If we could reach one of them, there was a chance.