09. Living Knight (1)
The ancient castle located north of the Ghost Town was surrounded by towering walls. Unlike the ruined city outside, the castle and its walls still retained their original form.
A ruined city. And within it, the only place left untouched — the ancient castle.
Ominous. But the gate’s core was located there, and to complete the Association’s request, Suho had to enter and make his way to the gate boss.
Standing before the wall, Kim Suho scanned the surroundings once before stepping slowly through the main gate.
Only the castle and its immediate area seemed to be preserved by some unknown force. The inside was clean, but it was unclear whether that power extended to life itself — the garden flowers were wilted, and the fountain was filled with rotten water.
“Weird.”
There was no better way to describe it. As he advanced toward the castle, Suho activated his detection skill, spreading mana in all directions to prepare for any danger.
Step. Step.
Clang!
It happened as he passed near the fountain. Sensing danger, Suho pushed off the ground and leapt back. At the same time, the sword demon perched on his shoulder extended its energy and slashed toward the fountain with its wooden blade.
Shhhk!
Kaang!
A rusty sword grazed past Suho’s face, while a corroded spear was deflected by the demon’s wooden sword.
On the wilted flower bed lay a decayed longsword. A spear floated above the fetid fountain.
Both weapons emanated the strange mana characteristic of Specters — no, of spiritual-type monsters.
“Living Series?”
Living Armor. Weapons possessed by evil spirits.
The longsword had a black gem embedded in its guard. The worn-out spear had one fixed to the butt of its shaft.
“Outside the castle, Specters without bodies. Inside, those with physical forms — Living Armors.”
Which were worse?
“Honestly, they’re both a pain. Sword Demon, go for the longsword.”
Clicking his tongue, Suho twisted his body to dodge the incoming Living Sword and Living Lance.
Deflect? No.
As the Sword Demon leapt toward the Living Sword, Suho charged forward. He dashed head-on toward the incoming spear, closing the distance rapidly.
The Living Lance, caught off-guard by Suho’s sudden approach, hesitated momentarily before accelerating again — but even that brief pause was enough.
Suho tilted his upper body and head slightly to the right.
He narrowly avoided the attack and grabbed the speeding spear with his outstretched hand.
Bzzzzzt!
As soon as he grabbed it, pain shot through him. Suho focused mana into his palm to suppress it.
“Hup!”
Swinging his sword, Suho muttered, “Sarang, now. Don’t block — knock it away.”
His detection skill picked up three Living Armors nearby.
Sarang obeyed and converted her flame arrow into a fireball, launching it toward the fountain. Just then, a small shield flew out from it.
‘Living Shield!’
Smack!
Boom!
The Living Shield failed to carry out its duty of protecting its allies and collided with the hovering fireball, ricocheting in the opposite direction.
Crack!
The blade infused with mana smashed the black gem embedded in the spear. With its core shattered, the spear lost its power and dropped lifelessly to the ground as Suho opened his palm.
Suho turned to check on the Living Shield.
Thud!
An arrow flew in from the front to draw the shield’s attention. While it was distracted, another arrow looped around and shattered the black gem from behind.
Living Shield and Living Lance — defeated.
Kim Suho and Sarang both turned their eyes toward the last remaining Living Armor — the Living Sword.
“Ma!”
“You’re definitely the muscle of our party.”
Suho muttered. Sarang tilted her head and asked,
“Nyaang?”
“Me? I’m the mana potion. Mana potion.”
As Suho got closer to the castle, more weapon-possessed spirits blocked his path — Living Swords, Lances, Shields, even Axes.
“Haa…”
This isn’t a castle. It’s an armory.
He muttered with an exasperated expression and readied his stance again.
The new Living Armors weren’t just different in type. Their tactics had changed.
“Five this time.”
Earlier, near the outer wall, there had only been three. Now, five had appeared as he neared the castle.
It was as if the spirits were reading the memories embedded in the weapons — coordinating their attacks, blocking for each other.
It was no longer the simple one-on-one battles he faced at the beginning. Now they attacked as a team, covering and flanking one another.
30 minutes.
That’s how long it took to hunt them all.
Suho slumped to the ground. He took off his backpack and pulled out a packed lunch.
“Sword Demon.”
“Ma!”
“There’ll be more inside, won’t there?”
“Ma!”
Realizing it was break time, the Demon King and Sword Demon hopped off his shoulder and began exploring the lifeless garden.
Living monsters with bodies could be dismantled for mana stones. Specters dropped mana stones upon death. But Living Armors were different — their core was the mana stone.
“In other words, not profitable.”
He needed to sell mana stones to earn money. But to defeat a Living Armor, the core — the mana stone — had to be destroyed.
“And my level cap’s coming up anyway…”
He’d have to switch activity gates soon. Still, it was worth pushing through here to get the gate-clear rewards, even if the day’s earnings were lower.
“Nyaaa.”
Sarang’s meow came from beside him.
Suho turned and saw her wagging her tail, eyes fixed longingly on the candied sweet potato he held with his chopsticks.
“You want some?”
“Nyaaang.”
“…Can you even eat this?”
“Nyaaang!”
You think I’m just a cat?
“Nyaaang! Nyaang! Nyaaang!”
I’m a lion, damn it!
“…Lions eat candied sweet potato?”
“Nyaaaang!”
I can eat honey too! Just give it here!
Suho stared at her with a conflicted expression, then finally placed the sweet potato in front of her.
Sarang happily munched on it, later licking her paws to savor the flavor. Suho shared a few side dishes with her before continuing his meal while reviewing the recent battle.
Thump thump thump.
“Maah!”
The Demon King ran up and jabbed Suho in the thigh.
“Huh? What is it?”
“Maah!”
He turned around and threw both hands up — his usual gesture when asking for praise.
Suho narrowed his eyes and looked around.
The lifeless garden had been filled only with wilted flowers and black blooms that had absorbed Specter mana.
“…What the?”
But in an instant, everything changed. The wilted flowers were facing the sky again, vibrant and alive. The once-blackened flowers had returned to their original colors, blooming in full. Even the foul fountain was pristine.
The Demon King’s skill: King’s Domain.
“Is he… the King of Plants or something?”
He wasn’t sure. Maybe it was an undocumented racial ability.
Suho stood up and looked at the garden.
What mattered was this — the garden had come back to life, and no trace of Specter or Living Armor mana remained.
“Demon King.”
“Maah!”
“Is this part of your King’s Domain skill?”
“Maah!”
He shook his head, then nodded up and down.
“So… Plant King?”
Same response — shake, then nod. But this time he crossed his arms in an X.
“Plant King plus King’s Domain?”
“Maah!”
“Interesting.”
By combining two skills, he could revive dead land. Suho found it fascinating — but the Demon King didn’t like his casual tone.
“Maah! Maah!”
Trying to reclaim Suho’s attention, the Demon King began a play with the Sword Demon.
He threw a punch, and the Sword Demon blocked it with difficulty.
Then the Demon King turned and walked away. After gaining some distance, he used Suho’s mana to activate the skills again.
Plant King. King’s Domain.
The land glowed green again.
The Demon King rushed the Sword Demon — but this time, unlike before, he was knocked back in a single hit.
Lying flat on the ground, he lifted his head to meet Suho’s gaze.
“Maah! Maah!”
“…A quiz?”
Thankfully, the answer wasn’t hard to guess.
“You were playing the role of a Living Armor, and the Sword Demon was playing me?”
“Maah!”
“So after using the skill, the Living Armor weakened?”
“Maah! Maah!”
The Demon King shook his head but then drew a large circle in the air.
“All monsters get weaker?”
“Maah!”
He jumped up and raised both hands.
“Huh? Then why haven’t you used it before?”
“Maah!”
Apparently, using the skill attracted Specters — and while it weakened monsters, it didn’t actually harm them. So he hadn’t used it until now to avoid being swarmed.
“Oh wow, our Demon King’s actually smart.”
“Maah! Maah!”
He bounced joyfully on the spot while the Sword Demon and Sarang clapped for him.
Clink.
“…!”
Suho turned his head.
The Demon King darted behind his leg and peeked out.
The Sword Demon raised its sword. Sarang narrowed her eyes.
Clink, clink.
Accompanied by strange metallic noises, a single monster emerged from the wide-open castle gate.
“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”
A knight. A fully armored knight wielding a longsword and a buckler. His helmet was hollow — no face inside.
Living Knight.
Boom!
The knight stomped as it stepped out of the castle, sending black mana rippling across the green-tinted earth — instantly erasing the Demon King’s power.
“…The gate boss?”
Suho guessed, but the Sword Demon and Sarang shook their heads.
“A castle monster then. How many Living Knights?”
“Nyaaang.”
Three.
Sarang, more attuned than the Sword Demon, answered in his stead.
“A mid-boss, huh…”
As Suho whispered to himself, the Living Knight, who had just canceled the Demon King’s power, turned its head.
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