Reincarnation of a Hunter Chapter 49.1 - Pyramid

Since this pyramid was an administrative building, I hadn’t really expected there to be a dungeon here.

 

But this is a world where magic and monsters exist. It’s dangerous to prejudge what might appear.

 

Our group gathered before the door Axel had found.

 

Holding the canary cage again, I spoke, “The procedure is the same as before. Maintain silence, and I will take the lead. Keep your weapons ready to engage in combat at any moment.”

 

“Yes, my lord!”

 

The knights checked and switched their weapons. 

 

Since the passage was narrow and wouldn’t allow for longswords, they switched to short spears, greatswords, maces, and the like.

 

The knight captain, Axel, asked me, seeming slightly nervous.

 

“Could the undead appear?”

 

“Hard to say. If many people died underground, perhaps.”

 

“If it was swept up in a war, it’s possible many people died there.”

 

Considering the scale of this place, the staff working here is estimated to be over 50 people.

 

If all those people were massacred at once and abandoned underground, it wouldn’t be strange for the undead to appear.

 

“I’m opening the door.”

 

I used 〈Convenient Low-Level Appraisal〉 to input the code.

 

—Clunk, clunk, clunk

 

The iron door leading underground opened. Then, the wind and the smell of dust hit me.

‘Seems there’s no gas.’

 

The canary in the cage I held was still calm.

 

“Moving in.”

 

Holding the cage in my left hand and the Soul Reaper in my right, I slowly stepped forward, one step at a time.

 

‘It’s quiet.’

 

Only the sound of the Canary’s wings fluttering could be heard. The knights also all moved without making a sound.

 

We passed through a path connected by stairs and corridors.

 

The air was circulating even this far down, and it wasn’t difficult to breathe. I need to find out the principle behind that later.

 

Once we reached what felt like a depth of about 15 meters underground, another large iron door appeared.

 

“All units, combat preparations.”

 

The knights adjusted their formation, gripped their weapons, and raised their aura.

 

―Thud, thud, thud

 

Again, the password discovered through 〈Convenient Low-Level Appraisal〉 was used to open the door.

 

And then.

 

―Gaaargh!!

 

A zombie lunged out.

 

―Schlep!

 

Instantly deleted zombie. There were five of them, but it took less than two seconds for the knights to pulverize them all. Zombies in this world are weak, after all.

 

Even a zombie nearly 3,000 years old is a one-shot, one-kill.

 

“Advance.”

 

Maintaining their formation, they slowly advanced inside the iron door.

 

This place was like a large warehouse. But the boxes piled up everywhere, and the partitions made it as complex as a maze.

 

They hadn’t advanced even 10 meters before encountering another monster.

 

―Swoosh…

 

A glowing, floating spirit—a Specter.

 

These things use mental attacks to cause confusion, fear, and other effects.

 

“Ack!”

 

Instantly, several knights began to suffer from the mental attacks.

 

―Whoosh, whoosh

 

A knight swung his mace, but ordinary physical attacks don’t work on Specters, which are spiritual entities.

 

If there were a knight who could use aura concentration, they might gather aura on their weapon to attack and deal some damage.

 

But there are only two knights in the domain who know how to do that—Chief of Security Raul Anvo and the retired Sir Pierre, and neither of them is here right now.

 

Even if you tried to generate an aura all over your body to attack, it would only deal a small amount of damage.

 

“Tsk! Winnie, can you use magic attacks?”

 

“I’m preparing it now!”

 

In the meantime, since I am immune to mental attacks due to 〈Status Ailment Immunity〉, I decided to lure the specters.

 

I focused mana into the Soul Reaper and swung it at the specters to draw their attention.

 

―Swish!

 

―Scree…

 

But the specter was cut down in a single strike.

 

“Huh? What’s this?”

 

I don’t know what it is, but I’ll capture it for now. I started diligently cutting down five or six specters, and when I vanquished one of them—

 

The soul stack of the item 《Soul Reaper 》has increased. (1/100)

 

Now I understood why this sword was called the ‘Soul Reaper.’ Whenever you defeat something, it absorbs souls and increases a stack whose purpose is unknown.

 

Maybe when it reaches 100, a special move will go. 

 

—Whoosh, wham!

 

Anyway, I now had a means to easily handle troublesome undead monsters.

 

“All you undead bastards, drop dead.”

 

At my muttering, the knights’ expressions turned strange, but I was too busy to care.

 

―Swish, swish, swaaaash!

 

―Screee…

 

The soul stack of the item 《Soul Reaper 》 has increased. (6/100)

 

I single-handedly annihilated all the specters. The knights who saw this were astonished and praised me.

 

“Oh, Lord. As expected of one blessed by the gods.”

 

“To have defeated such troublesome monsters is truly remarkable.”

 

What’s the big deal about something like this?

 

It’s just my gear carrying me.

 

“We advance again. This is a large chamber, so be prepared for undead to swarm us all at once.”

 

The knights tensed up, gripping their weapons and emitting aura.

 

After zombies and specters, who knows what kind of creatures will come next.

 

As we moved further inside.

 

An open space appeared.

 

In that space, about a hundred zombies and skeletons were gathered, and in the center stood a knight with a burning head.

 

Not burning with red flames, but with black flames.

 

‘Looks cool. Looks fucking strong.’

 

His level is roughly that of a high-tier Sword Expert knight.

 

Since our knights’ highest level is mid-tier Sword Expert, one-on-one combat is impossible.

 

Axel stepped forward to block my path.

 

“My lord, it’s a Death Knight. Please fall back.”

 

“Sir Axel, have you faced one before?”

 

“When I was young.”

 

Which is pretty much saying no.

 

He probably provided support back then. I have experience fighting a Death Knight in my past life. They are tricky foes that use both physical and mental attacks simultaneously.

 

Even though Axel’s level is higher than mine, this time it’s right for me to step forward.

 

“I will take the lead. Follow me in a wedge formation.”

 

“…Yes, my lord.”

 

Entrusting the Canary Cage to Winnie, I enlarged the Soul Reaper to the size of a longsword and gripped it with both hands.

 

And just as I was about to charge—

 

―Who are you?

 

It was [Telepathic Communication].

The work of the Death Knight with a burning head.

 

It allows communication even if languages differ. It’s a skill often used by powerful monsters, and having encountered it frequently in my past life, I wasn’t flustered.

 

“Faded knight, I am the lord of this land, Eric Marseille.”

 

―Marseille? This land is named Massilia of the Caliphate Dynasty.

 

Undead monsters, even if they possess ego, are not fully functional. Their perception of time and space is greatly diminished.

 

“You are a specter of the Caliphate. The Caliphate fell three thousand years ago.”

 

―Three thousand years? Do not lie! Our master will come to save us!

 

It seems they were trapped here during the war, waiting for rescue until they died.

 

Perhaps because of that, resentment accumulated, and they became undead as a group.