Dungeon Hunter - Chapter 134

Chapter 134: Episode 41. The Seven Sins and Oswen, the Blacksmith of Twilight (1)

The 100 undead, who chose to remain in the castle, joined the bandwagon when they heard about my victory.

Looking very anxious, the previous lord asked me if I would take him as my subordinate. He knew that it was the only option. I won an unwinnable battle, and no one could, or would dare, say anything against me.

A celebration took place that night. The feast of the undead wasn’t much different from that of humans. After all, they were once humans, too. The undead ate branches of Jellim and danced. However, it was more fun than the party that I went to on Earth.

After taking some much-needed rest, I focused on practicing swordsmanship again. As a new lord, I was given a large room, and I analyzed the battle in that room.

‘Everything’s slowly coming together,’ I thought.

I went back to basics. When I did, I was able to find things that I had missed.

“I can master Highendall’s swordsmanship only if I completely immerse myself into it,” I told myself.

Ironically, the stronger the user was, the harder it was for them to master Highendall’s swordsmanship. One could imitate, but they could not attain a complete command of it.

Even when I transformed into a darker version of myself, I was still lacking that last one percent. I was slowly gaining what I was lacking.

Perhaps Ariel Diablo attempted to transform herself because she had learned that she couldn’t completely master the swordsmanship no matter what. The Archduke probably thought that if she transformed into a weaker being and had a different perspective of the world, then she would be able to understand the ways to master it.

Ariel was lost, and she must have decided to try a bunch of different methods to see if any of them might work.

However, I was different from her.

I wanted to learn the swordsmanship as it was and to master it.

‘The swordsmanship reflects his life,’ I realized.

I needed to understand Highendall’s life and philosophy, which were the foundations of his swordsmanship.

No one was born strong, and neither was Highendall.

He dedicated his life mastering one kind of swordsmanship.

Mastering the swordsmanship must have been a lonely path. Every night, the man spent hours perfecting the craft, and the moonlight was his only friend during such lonely hours.

Slash!

I swung my sword. I couldn’t see the Moon, but I could picture Highendall practicing under the moonlight.

Then I thought about the life of Highendall. It was said that no one could beat the swordmaster. However, Highendall wasn’t born with such skill.

“He wanted to become powerful,” I stated.

I knew a little bit about his life. He was sold as a prisoner of war, and he started from the bottom. In battles, he shielded himself with the dead bodies of his fellow soldiers to survive. The lack of power made the man desperate to learn his enemies’ skills.

In retrospect, Highendall and I shared some similarities.

There was a big difference, though. The man put together everything that he had learned in battles. Based on them, he created a type of swordsmanship. Meanwhile, I settled for the present.

Whoosh!

The wind blew inside of this closed room.

It came out from the sword, and it was slightly emitting the moonlight.

The moonlight looked more beautiful than any kind of light that I had seen when I used skills.

I headed to an open space in the castle.

Torium and dozens of Skeleton Soldiers were waiting there for me.

“What are these?”

“When zombies stop moving, their skins rot away, and they turn into Skeleton Soldiers. Of course, if their bones were broken, the transformation is impossible. I have collected intact bones and created about 50 Skeleton Soldiers out of them.”

“That’s cool.”

I nodded in agreement.

Torium just taught me something that I had never heard about. Of course, collecting bones and reviving them as Skeleton Soldiers didn’t happen every day, but I didn’t know such transformation was possible. Nowhere else could a bunch of bones, when put together, become a Skeleton Soldier.

Looking serious, Torium continued speaking, “I have told you about the final rest, haven’t I? These soldiers couldn’t rest in peace. Their souls are caught inside their bones. They can’t leave this world and are forever confined to the pain of this world.”

“Can you distinguish those who could reset and who could not?” I asked Torium out of curiosity.

Then Torium slowly shook his head.

“We do not know for sure. However, some leave without traces. And we can only guess that they were able to be at peace.”

In other words, Torium’s attempt to rest in peace might be futile. Despite the uncertainty, the undead didn’t give up. Perhaps the hope of resting in peace someday was the only thing that kept him going.

“Ah, and there is more…”

Torium hesitated for a minute and took out a letter.

“A messenger arrived in the morning. He handed me an envelope, which had the seal of the Commander of the South. I sent a message to the commander about our new lord not four days ago. The reply was very quick, and I think that the prompt response is good news.”

I had been waiting for that letter.

I took the letter and said, “You’re a bit late on notifying me.”

“I went to you as soon as I received the letter from the messenger. However, you seemed to be immersed in practice. I’m sorry.”

For the last few days, I had done nothing but practiced swordsmanship.

However, I was surprised at myself for not noticing the visit.

‘I guess Torium was right. I was focused on trying to master Highendall’s swordsmanship,’ I thought.

Slightly clicking my tongue, I opened the letter from the Commander of the South.

The letter contained a lot of information.

[Randalf Bruciel, the new lord of Pavrem, I heard about your victory against Dullahan Soulram. Soulram was one of Makdalli’s top 20 undead, and I want to congratulate you on your victory against him. It was quite an achievement. You shall be called the Hero of the South, for you have defended the South against greedy Makdalli. Finally, I would like to invite you to the Fortress of the South. We shall celebrate your victory together. I am looking forward to your visit.]

The letter was verbose, but the gist of it was, “I don’t know who you are, but I’m quite curious about you. Come and let’s grab a meal.”

However, I couldn’t understand something about the letter.

“Torium, what’s the name of the Commander of the South?”

The letter didn’t mention the name of the commander. Furthermore, Torium had never mentioned it, too.

“Ah, I haven’t told you the name before,” Torium spoke as though he just realized something. “The name of the commander is Oswen.”

“Oswen?”

I was silent for a minute.

I had definitely heard that name before.

Could it be possible that the commander had the same name as the Blacksmith of Twilight, Oswen, who created the Seven Sins?

Torium observed my reaction and saw that I was confused. “Do you know him?” he asked me.

“No…no, I don’t. Anyway, the Commander of the South wants to see me.”

“That’s good news! The commander would be curious about our victory, too. Makdalli never lost a battle, and we crushed his army.”

“I will have to leave soon then.”

“You’re going to leave now? Are you going in that outfit?”

“Do you have a problem with it?”

I could not understand why he asked such a question. I was wielding Rage and Sloth, and I was also wearing the Infinity Armor. I didn’t look bad at all.

However, Torium thought differently.

“First expression matters a lot. You look okay now. However, if the commander himself invited you, I’m sure many others will be watching. You are now the rising hero, and you should dress up accordingly. Can I help you with that?” Torium told me plainly.

I didn’t want to make things more complicated, but it wouldn’t hurt to prepare a better outfit.

“Sure. Go ahead.”

I could always refuse if Torium’s outfit did not suit my taste.

Now there were about 50 Skeleton Soldiers, Torium, and Jeff.

In front of them was me.

It was an easy journey to the Fortress of the South. After traveling for four days and nights, we finally arrived at the fortress.

The fortress was huge, and it was as large as a city. Many parts of the fortress showed that it took a long time to construct it.

As we neared the gate, several Ghouls appeared and blocked our way.

Then Torium stepped in.

“This is the new lord of Pavrem,” he began, introducing me. “We have the letter and the seal from the Commander of the South. Take a look at them and make way for us.”

He took out the letter and showed it to the Ghouls. Then they bowed to us at once.

Cling!

The gate of the fortress opened. The fortress looked completely different inside, nothing like we had seen elsewhere.

There were lines of beautiful two- and three-story buildings. It seemed that humans lived in the buildings. Furthermore, there were many Jellims, which only had branches, and they created a nice scenery in the fortress.

“Didn’t you say Jellims are precious?”

“This is the capital, and only certain undead are allowed to live in here. It’s no surprise that there are many Jellims in such a large and important city. Besides the Jellims, look around. Everyone’s staring at you!” Torium informed me. He was obviously pleased.

I just noticed the attention when he mentioned it. All the undead were staring at me.

Torium was ambidextrous, and he was also a talented blacksmith. Although he was more specialized in making accessories than actual weapons and armor, he made a suit of armor out of bones so that I could put it on top of my Infinity Armor.

I looked like a terrifying skeleton warrior from a legend.

“Ugh…I don’t know how I am supposed to move in that. Armor is good enough for me.”

Jeff was also wearing armor like a knight. He looked uncomfortable and was walking in a very awkward fashion.

Torium didn’t care much about what Jeff said. He looked at the center of the fortress and spoke.

“Let’s start moving. You are tonight’s guest, Lord.”

A larger castle stood in the center of the fortress. I struggled a little for a glimpse of the top of the castle. The castle was as large as that of the Duke of Devildom.

‘He knows what he’s doing,’ I mused.

I always had this idea that a castle should be large. Otherwise, it looks pitiful.

In addition, the undead inside the castle looked powerful.

Two Dark Warriors were guarding the front gate. Setting expectations, I pondered, ‘Perhaps when I entered it, there were either Liches or Death Knights. The monsters in this area were indeed strong.’

One of the monsters guided me to where the Commander of the South was.

“I had never met the Commander of the South myself. However, according to rumors, he disliked anything ostentatious. Please mind your attitude and how you act in his presence, and you will be fine,” Torium gently warned me.

I ignored half of his advice.

While we were walking, I thought about Oswen, the commander.

Oswen was a pretty common name. What were the odds of people having the same name?

The commander’s name being similar to that of the Blacksmith of Twilight could just be a coincidence.

We passed through a spiral staircase and reached the top floor of the castle. There was only one room on that floor, and it was where the Commander of the South resided.

“…full-fledged attack…”

“We’re tired of continuous defeat…”

“Even Makdalli could do so much…”

When we arrived at the top floor of the castle, we could hear loud noises echoing.

The Dark Warrior, who had guided us so far, knocked on the door and informed the commander of our visit.

“Commander, the new lord of Pavrem has come.”

“Tell him to come in.” The commander’s voice boomed.

The Dark Warrior opened the door, and I immediately entered the room.

There were 12 undead sitting around a table.

As I expected, there were Liches and Death Knights among them. A Bug-bear was also there. Indeed, the most powerful undead of the South had gathered in this place.

Out of all the monsters in the room, the monster at the center grabbed my attention.

It was a Doom Knight.

A Doom Knight was known as an evolved version of a Death Knight. The cause of evolution was unknown up to this day. It was one of the highest monsters, and its level was two.

The knight had six hands. Its bones also stretched out from its back, and they looked like wings.

The Doom Knight was Oswen, the Commander of the South.

Oswen turned around and spoke to me, “Are you the new lord of Pavrem? You look great.”

He was quite surprised by my appearance. Torium’s strategy worked after all.

However, I couldn’t take my eyes off from his glove.

I did not have any skills nor did any message windows popped up, but I knew how to use the Mind’s Eyes. At a glance, I could roughly tell what the glove was and what effects it had.

‘The Seven Sins…,’ I thought.

Oswen’s glove was one of the Seven Sins!

Was the commander really Oswen, the Blacksmith of Twilight?

Based on the information about the Seven Sins, which I could see from previous message windows, Oswen had gone mad. While he was making the Seven Sins, the items consumed his mind, and the legendary blacksmith had lost it. However, I could not fathom why the blacksmith, who must have gone crazy, was in the Underworld.

I needed to confirm if my assumptions were correct.

Clang!

I took out one of my swords, Rage.

It was one of the Seven Sins. If the commander was really the legendary blacksmith Oswen, he would recognize it, because he created it.

However, the commander didn’t seem to recognize my sword.

“What are you doing?”

He frowned.

Was the commander the same Oswen I was thinking about? The legendary Blacksmith of Twilight? One of the Seven Sins was in his possession.

I wanted to be sure, so I spoke, “Oswen, the Commander of the South, I, Randalf Bruciel, challenge you to a duel.”