RD | Chapter 17

Tung! Tung!

Ian’s arrow struck the approaching skeleton’s chest with surprising accuracy. However, the skeleton merely staggered before continuing to move. In contrast, the skeleton whose skull was shattered by Louise’s arrow stopped moving entirely.

“Lord Ian, aim for the head! Usually, the weak points of monsters are either the head or the heart!”

‘I know that too!’

It seemed Louise didn’t consider that Ian couldn’t shoot because of a lack of skill. Ian wanted to explain, but there was no time for pointless chatter.

Tung! Bang!

Louise’s arrow smashed into the skeleton with an incredible sound. However, the mindless skeletons felt no fear and advanced relentlessly. Ian barely managed to hit one in the head, but with his skill level, he couldn’t deal as much damage as Louise. He only managed to crack the skull.

‘Should I level up?’

Ian felt conflicted. However, even if he used the remaining experience points to raise his <Archery> level, it would only reach level 4. He could become skilled enough to shatter skeletons’ skulls, but it wouldn’t be enough to close the overwhelming gap in numbers.

Ian decided to stop relying on arrows that wouldn’t hit their mark. Instead, he cast <Purification> on his arrow.

He secured an arrow to the bowstring, pulled it back, feeling the string press against his lips and chin, and then released it.

An arrow of light cut through the battlefield’s miasma as it flew. In an instant, the dark sky split open. The clouds parted in half, and light shone through.

Louise’s eyes widened at the sacred sight.

However, the effect of <Purification> wasn’t just to show them a spectacular scene.

“<Water Ball>!” Sema’s spell hit a skeleton’s chest. The skeleton seemed to stiffen from the shock before its spine broke.

Sema’s mouth gaped open.

“Lord Ian! Lord Ian, did you see that?! I took one down!”

“Yeah, I saw.”

“The skeleton got weaker.” Louise pointed out.

“The arrow of purification pushed away the malice of the dead. It’s practically you who brought it down.”

Sema didn’t lose spirit.

“Lord Ian! Can’t you weaken them more? If you could completely purify them, making these skeletons unable to move…”

“No.”

“Why?!”

“My power isn’t enough.”

‘This is why I should save my experience points.’

But Ian saved his experience points as much as possible. At least he didn’t invest any in useless things like <Archery>. He invested all of it in <Purification> and still ended up like this.

This could only be seen as an absurd trick by the game company. When he got out of here, Ian wanted to write a 5,000-word report about this bug and send it via email!

Clack, clack.

Drag… thump, thump…

The skeleton legion approached slowly. Even after defeating dozens, their numbers didn’t seem to decrease at all.

All that remained between Ian and them was the staircase leading up to the temple. Once they climbed all the stairs, lies the entrance. From there, the only way was to go down into the collapsed temple below, which would be tantamount to trapping themselves. Moreover, once inside the temple, the skeletons would receive a buff to their stats.

‘Was it a 50% increase in movement speed and attack power?’

In a narrow space, the advantage of combat would be less than the likelihood of being torn apart by skeletons before any real fight could occur.

Ian watched as a skeleton with a broken spine realigned its own vertebrae and rejoined the group.

‘Crazy undead…’

<Turn Undead> as a sub-skill of <Purification> only comes at level 7. Ian’s purification skill alone couldn’t stop them. The same goes for his pathetic archery.

“Lord Ian, run!”

“Where to?!”

‘Calm down. Think! There must be a way!’ Ian urged himself while shooting arrows. But as the skeleton legion drew near, all composure vanished.

They reached out. Their empty eye sockets clattered as they focused on Ian.

They would eliminate the intruder.

They would destroy him.

That will emanate from their skeletal bodies.

An eerie sense of reality washed over Ian. If caught here, he would die.

As surely as if he were caught in a factory machine. He would die. And it would happen in real life. Ian would die.

He was certain of it. It was an instinctual feeling. A chill ran down his spine, and his palms grew sweaty.

Jeong Yiwon would die here.

‘Why me?’

Why should he die here?

An emotion as intense as the fear suddenly surged.

‘No, that’s ridiculous.’

Even if he died in a car accident or from cancer, it would be unfair, but to be bitten to death by skeletons?

Is that even conceivable as a cause of death for a modern person?

“Lord Ian!” Louise stepped in front of Ian, blocking his way.

Because the 4-star hero was doing something crazy, Ian pushed him aside.

‘Ah, crazy…’ He should have just left him be.

A skeleton opened its jaws right in front of Ian’s face.

At that moment, a massive beam of light pierced through the skull.

Bang!

It was a sword.

A sword, white from blade to hilt, flew in. It looked like light itself.

Ian saw the man on horseback draw another bright sword from his back, slashing through the skeletons like harvesting wheat. The skeletons crumbled as if they had never been creatures of bone.

Bang, bang!

The man was clad in white armor from head to toe. He rushed towards Ian. Nothing stood in his way as he charged straight ahead. With each swing of his hand, the skeletons turned into bone piles.

One skeleton leaped towards the man’s head, trying to bite him.

“Watch out…!”

Ian tried to warn him. Without even looking, the man blocked the skeleton with one arm and smashed its face with the hilt of his sword in the other.

Bang!

Having cleared the situation with overwhelming force, the man stopped his horse in front of Ian. He retrieved the white sword from a skeleton’s head and asked Ian.

“Are you alright?”

The man didn’t seem to need any protection, lifting the visor of his helmet. Thanks to that, his handsome face was revealed.

His deep-set eyes and blue irises, along with the dense golden eyelashes that moved with every gaze, made him seem almost inhuman. His nose was sharp, his lips thin as if drawn, his eyebrows dark and strong. His overall pale complexion gave him a sacred look. An appearance that would shine even in darkness.

‘Freaking badass.’ Ian thought.

Thump, thump…

His heart was racing. The relief of survival, the thrill of finally meeting him, mixed with adrenaline, making his heart race. Ian could do nothing but stare at him.

Holy Knight Keith smiled.

“You follow the will of the divine. It is an honor to meet you here. I will greet you properly soon.”

He looked around. His gaze on the skeleton legion was emotionless, his expression blank. With the sharpness of an arrow on a bowstring, Ian couldn’t help but tense up. At that moment, Keith turned back to Ian.

“Ah.”

As if he had forgotten, he extended his hand. When he placed his hand on Ian’s cheek, a warm sensation enveloped the stinging area. Ian realized a wound he didn’t even know he had was healing.

Keith held Ian’s chin, turning it from side to side, checking for other injuries before letting go.

Keith gripped his reins and charged back at the skeleton horde.

‘Real freaking badass…’ Ian exhaled the breath he had been holding.

Despite the forced choices, there was a reason Keith maintained the number one pick rate. And there was a perverse pleasure in slightly twisting those forced choices, as described in another player’s strategy post…

Ian, who had been frozen, suddenly thought. But why is he appearing now?

‘Ah, no way.’ Ian realized who had triggered the event.

The one who had intruded into the elf god’s domain without praying was not Ian’s party. It was Keith.

“He’s just cleaning up his own mess…” Ian’s gratitude vanished.

“Lord I-Ian. Sir Keith! It’s Sir Keith!” Sema tugged at Ian’s clothes.

“I know. Only Keith would wear armor like that.”

“Ke, Keith?! Even if you’re Lord Ian, you should call him ‘Sir Keith’! He’s the divine representative, after all!”

“Alright, alright, stop shaking me.”

‘Damn reputation system.’

Keith was either staunchly devout or a fanatic by any standard, but thanks to his reputation, he made a good first impression.

The opposite of Ian. But setting that aside…

Ian was curious about something else.

“Wait, can I get him?”

Keith?

Keith?!

‘Hidden route, crazy!’ Ian’s heart pounded.

After dealing with all the skeletons, Keith sheathed his sword and approached them.

“I’ve taken care of them all. Rest assured. But why has the priest come to such a place…”

As he spoke gently, Keith suddenly drew his sword, his eyes turning fierce.

“Clan of traitors!”