Chapter 37: The Coffin's Deception
Fate and the others were still fighting the horde of skeletons, unaware of the danger they were about to witness.
Fate continued slaying the skeletons in front of him, swinging his weapon toward the fleshless beings.
It took a long time, but in the end, Isabelle killed the last remaining skeleton that they could see.
All of them dropped to the ground due to exhaustion from fighting a horde of skeletons for a whole hour without rest.
Kyle knelt on one knee while using his weapon, Vanguard, as support for stability by planting it into the ground.
Lisa bent forward with her hands on her knees, while Chloe and Autumn sat on the ground.
Meanwhile, Isabelle and Fate remained standing.
Fate's expression was serious and alert. The same went for Isabelle, as she had her own suspicions.
Isabelle looked at the System Window for confirmation of the dungeon's completion.
System Window
[The Hollow Bone Cemetery]
Type: Survival Dungeon
Rank: D
Objective: Reach Wave 3
When Isabelle saw that the dungeon's objective was still not completed, she stayed alert and gripped her rapier tightly.
Fate looked around, inspecting every direction carefully.
He then spoke in a serious tone.
"Everyone… you should all get up and raise your guard…"
Kyle was the first to act, as he had vast experience in situations like this.
He stood up and raised his weapon.
Chloe looked confused and asked,
"Isn't the dungeon already complete?"
Isabelle replied to Chloe,
"The System Window didn't show any notification about the dungeon being completed."
Autumn stood up and shared his thoughts.
"I have a bad feeling about this…"
Fate helped Lisa get up before speaking to everyone.
"We need to move and explore the dungeon to find out why it's still not finished."
Everyone nodded in agreement with Fate's suggestion and began their exploration.
Their guards were up, and they showed no openings.
They traversed the eerie cemetery.
The wind was cold, the entire cemetery was covered in white fog, and there was no noise or sound.
While walking, all of them heard a voice.
"...—lp...!" The voice was low and sounded broken.
The group slowly walked toward the source of the voice.
The closer they got, the clearer the voice became.
When they got close enough, they finally heard it clearly.
"…HELP…!" The voice was loud and clear, sounding like a child asking for help.
After hearing this, Chloe was the first to act.
She quickly ran toward the source of the voice.
"Wait!" Fate tried to stop Chloe, but she didn't hear him.
Before Chloe could get any closer, she was suddenly pulled from behind, stopping her from advancing any further.
Chloe turned around and saw Kyle grabbing the back of her clothes.
She shouted at him,
"Let go! There is a child asking for help!"
Chloe frowned at Kyle.
Kyle then spoke firmly,
"Are you out of your mind? Do you think that's a real child's voice?"
Chloe tried to respond,
"But—!"
"Enough." Fate shouted, cutting her off.
Fate then approached the source of the voice and saw a coffin.
He knelt beside it and spoke.
"Is there anyone there…?"
Everyone watched him closely.
The coffin responded with a trembling voice,
"I-is anyone th-there…?"
Fate answered calmly,
"Yes…"
The voice inside the coffin spoke again in a crying tone.
"R-really…? I-i was trapped here for ages…"
Chloe listened with a saddened expression.
Fate continued speaking.
"Then can you shout as loudly as you can?"
The voice inside the coffin sounded confused.
"H-huh…? Sh-shout? Why…?"
Fate replied,
"So I can determine where your head is, so that when we open it, nothing will fall on you."
"O-okay…" After hearing Fate's explanation, the voice shouted loudly.
"Aaahhhh…!"
Fate listened carefully and pinpointed the exact location of the voice.
"So that's where your head is…"
Fate stood up and grabbed his sword.
Chloe looked worried and asked,
"Fate? What are you doing?"
Fate ignored her and pointed his sword at the spot where he heard the voice.
Without hesitation, Fate thrust his sword into the coffin.
Chloe was horrified and covered her mouth with both hands.
Meanwhile, Kyle, Lisa, Isabelle, and Autumn remained unfazed.
Silence followed.
Chloe broke it and shouted,
"What did you do?!"
Fate withdrew his sword and stepped back.
The coffin suddenly began to shake violently.
Chloe stopped shouting as she stared at the trembling coffin.
Fate reacted immediately.
"All of you, back off!"
Everyone stepped back, including Chloe.
The moment they created distance, the coffin burst out of the ground, sending dirt and debris into the air and forming a thick cloud of dust.
Isabelle raised her voice and ordered everyone,
"Everyone! Get ready and prepare yourselves!"
Kyle took the front position once again, with Fate and Isabelle at his sides.
Lisa, Chloe, and Autumn positioned themselves at the rear.
Chloe was still shaken from what had just happened.
Fate noticed her expression.
Without looking at her, he spoke,
"Sorry… I had to do it before it attacked us."
Chloe replied softly,
"No… it's my fault for acting hastily without thinking…"
After saying that, Chloe regained her composure and lifted her staff, activating her skill.
(Blessing of Light!)
Blessing of Light
Rarity: Uncommon
– Grants allies enhanced defense and minor agility boost while shining a protective aura.
Small particles of light illuminated the surroundings as Chloe used her skill.
The buff was applied to everyone.
Isabelle then spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear,
"We are now going to fight a Grave Echo Brute."
She continued,
"It will be difficult, but with proper coordination, we might be able to defeat it. Everyone, get into position!"
Everyone followed her command and returned to formation.
The dust slowly settled, revealing a massive figure with a disfigured body made of flesh, with a coffin attached to its back by chains.
Its dreadful green eyes stared at the group.
The monster let out a furious roar, enraged from being discovered and attacked.
Fate and his friends felt overwhelmed by its presence.
Fate activated his skill.
(Dragon Eyes…!)
System Window
Name: Grave Echo Brute
Race: Grave Echo Brute
Skills:
– Voice Mimicry
– Coffin Trap
– Undead Strength
– Cry of Fear
Info:
– An undead-type monster that hides underground, pretending to be a coffin with someone trapped inside.
– It uses Voice Mimicry and Coffin Trap to deceive and kill its prey.
Fate read the information while sweat dripped from his face.
(I need to calm down and make sure I fight properly.)
The coffin on the monster's back was broken due to Fate's earlier attack.
The monster tapped its back, confirming the damage, before shifting its gaze toward Fate.
Fate saw this but did not back down. He raised his sword with both hands.
Enraged, the Grave Echo Brute rushed toward him.
Everyone quickly dodged the incoming attack.
Fate also dodged, but the monster immediately charged at him again.
Seeing the situation, Kyle rushed forward and swung Vanguard, attempting to knock the monster back.
But—
The attack had no effect.
Kyle was shocked.
"What…? How did my attack not even leave a dent?"
Before he could recover, the monster raised its fist and tried to slam it down on him.
At that moment, Eugene appeared and grabbed both Fate and Kyle, pulling them away just in time.
The attack struck the ground, causing it to shatter.
Eugene moved them to a safe distance before setting them down.
He spoke calmly,
"I'll take it from here. All of you have done well."
"No…" Fate said, stopping him.
"We will do it ourselves."
Eugene looked at him with concern.
"Young Master, that monster is too powerful for all of you at your current level."
Fate shook his head.
"We came here to get stronger, so this monster is ours…"
After he said that, Kyle, Lisa, Isabelle, Chloe, and even Autumn stood up.
Eugene closed his eyes and smiled faintly.
"I understand. I will only intervene when all of you are in true danger."
Fate, Kyle, and Isabelle moved forward, while Chloe, Lisa, and Autumn stayed at a distance.
Fate then spoke,
"From the past hours of fighting skeletons, our levels and stats have increased."
Status Window
Name: Fate Kindspring
Level: 35
Stats:
Strength: 70 (Colorless)
Agility: 75 (Colorless) (+5)
Endurance: 60 (Colorless)
Intelligence: 60 (Colorless)
Mana: 70 (Colorless)
Status Window
Name: Kyle Ashensteel
Level: 35
Strength: 85 (Colorless)
Agility: 80 (Colorless) (+5)
Endurance: 70 (Colorless)
Intelligence: 45 (Colorless)
Mana: 50 (Colorless)
Status Window
Name: Isabelle Aurevane
Level: 35
Stats:
Strength: 70 (Colorless)
Agility: 80 (Colorless) (+5)
Endurance: 60 (Colorless)
Intelligence: 70 (Colorless)
Mana: 80 (Colorless)
The Grave Echo Brute roared fiercely and charged at them, swinging its massive arms left and right, attempting to strike them.
With each step it took, the iron chains on its body rattled loudly.
Fate, Kyle, and Isabelle dodged its attacks with agility and precision.
Fate used his skill Swift Wind Steps.
Kyle used Sword Step.
Isabelle used Soft Acrobatics.
The monster grew annoyed as its attacks continued to miss.
It suddenly stopped moving and raised both of its arms into the air.
Fate and the others were confused by the sudden change.
Then—
Dark green energy began to gather around its arms.
It was preparing to use its skill.
Undead Strength
Rarity: Common
– Boosts the user's strength by covering its body in dark mana.
Suddenly—
The Grave Echo Brute slammed both of its arms into the ground.
No one reacted in time.
The impact shook the entire area like an earthquake.
The ground cracked and broke apart, making movement much more difficult.
Fate stepped back as he realized the monster's intention.
(This creature is more intelligent than I thought… even for an undead.)
The monster showed a twisted grin.
Fate took a deep breath and relaxed his body.
"Looks like running won't work anymore."
He activated his skill.
Flowing Butterfly Sword
A small green mirage of a butterfly appeared and began circling his blade.
"The only option we have is to fight it head-on."
Fate rushed toward the monster, using Swift Wind Steps to increase his speed.
He moved along the wind as if he had become one with it.
When he got close, he slashed at the monster's arm.
The attack landed, but—
(Tch… too shallow…)
The wound was deep, but not enough to sever the limb as he intended.
The monster roared and tried to grab him, but Fate managed to dodge each attempt.
Then—
"Fate, get out—!"
Fate heard Isabelle's voice and instinctively turned toward her.
But Isabelle shouted,
"That wasn't me!"
"It's mimicking my voice!"
Fate realized it too late.
As he turned back—
The monster's fist was already in front of him.
The impact struck his chest and sent him flying.
He crashed into a tombstone and coughed up blood.
Isabelle and Kyle, enraged, rushed toward the monster.
Lisa also reacted in anger, casting multiple Light Arrows at once.
Meanwhile, Chloe and Autumn ran toward Fate to check his condition and treat him.
Eugene remained at a distance, watching silently.
"I will respect your decision, Young Master…"
"I will only step in when the situation becomes truly dangerous…"
Fate's vision began to blur as he saw Chloe and Autumn tending to him.
In the end—
Fate slowly closed his eyes.
Chapter 37 End