Regressor Instruction Manual

Chapter 1140: Fallen King’s Tomb (6)

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The torches that hadn't been lit for a long time were ignited, and I saw undead creatures aiming their spears at Rohen's descendants.

The flickering blue lights along the walls illuminated the undead, creating an eerie scene, but the glow in their eyes didn't feel menacing at all. Instead, their eyes shone with respect.

They weren’t like Bahamut, who had been waiting for the Priest of Prophecy for a long time, but it was undeniable that they had been waiting a long time as well. Reflecting their long wait, the king’s attendants carried themselves with the utmost courtesy.

— Open the path…

“...”

— Open the path… for Rohen’s descendants.

“...”

— Rohen’s descendants have arrived.

To make things worse, the named monster that spawned looked ridiculous. The undead creature dressed as a mage was known as the Royal Archmage, Chain Burning.

Perel Desire, the Fallen Queen, loved the Fallen King so much that she wished to be buried by his side. Alongside her, key named monsters were lining up to greet Rohen’s descendants.

“What’s… going on, Mr. Lee Ki-Young…” Nam Goong-Seon asked.

“We’re clearing the dungeon,” I answered.

“Th-That’s not what I was asking, Mr. Lee Ki-Young. I know I haven’t been an adventurer for a long time… but this… I have never heard of this at all. How is this even possible? How…” Nam Goong-Seon questioned.

‘Of course you haven’t seen this before.’

Surprisingly, dungeon logs or even adventurer logs were rare in Rohen. I was surprised that even these uncultured people had kept records, but of course, their situation was different from ours.

We encouraged adventurers to read publicly accessible logs in an institutionalized archival system, but these guys never really considered adventure logs as important.

Adventure logs were rare, and the documentation methods were far from sophisticated.

Thus, the continent hadn't been able to advance, and the people of Rohen didn't really understand how dungeons worked.

“Dungeons aren’t hunting grounds,” I said.

“What? What do you mean? Nam Goong-Seon asked.

“It’s just like I said. This isn’t a place to hunt mobs and boss monsters,” I answered.

Nam Goong-Chae-Ryeong duo and old man Raymond Bolt were looking at me. Woo Hyo-Yeol followed the undead creatures while pretending to be uninterested, but he was probably listening in.

“Dungeons are usually created in places with rich lore, including myths, legends, and histories of Rohen. The same thing applies to this Fallen King’s Tomb. The Fallen King of the Golden Civilization era was an actual historical event in Rohen,” I explained.

‘From the creator’s point of view, minimizing production cost is essential.’

Rather than creating a dungeon by writing a new story, it was a lot cheaper to use an existing story.

“...”

“I think clearing the dungeon means solving the problem tied to the story I told you earlier. Of course, hunting monsters is part of the process of solving problems, but… I won't consider that as the right way of solving the problem,” I said.

“I-I see.”

“I’m not saying that all dungeons have other ways of clearing them, but… at the very least, there’s a story left to tell in the Fallen King’s Tomb,” I added.

“Even if that’s true… I never imagined something like this would happen. I understand what you’re saying, but… I just can’t believe what I’m seeing,” Nam Goong-Seon said.

‘Yeah, there's a difference seeing it from a creator’s point of view and a player’s point of view.’

Without the aid of dungeon raid specialists or dungeon raid support teams, the most they could do was analyze monster patterns, guess the monster type, and estimate the number of named beings.

A more experienced party would go further than that and use the item hidden in the dungeon by throwing it at the boss. No matter how competent a party was, their perspective was bound to differ from a creator who had to think about external factors as well.

‘If this were a Level 5 or higher dungeon, this wouldn't end so easily.’

There would probably be a variety of monsters, and the named entities would have more character. Unfortunately, too much time had passed, and their memories had deteriorated to the point that the dungeon could no longer be a high-ranking dungeon.

Like the Mole Saint's dungeon, this story wasn't really a significant part of the continent’s main lore, which meant that it wasn’t worth the investment.

“Then the mainstream event that’s taking place right now… is that related to a lore that already existed in the Rohen Continent?” Nam Goong-Seon asked.

‘Why are you asking me that?’

“That's highly likely to be the case. Since it’s a dungeon that was chosen as a mainstream event, there’s a strong chance that an undiscovered story runs through the heart of Rohen. It could be an old tale that was never written down,” I replied.

“This brings somewhat of a new perspective to the table. Seeing dungeons as a place for solving problems… Come to think of it, I recall reading a paper discussing something similar. It’s likely a legend that was never written in old texts,” Nam Goong-Seon said.

‘Looks like there were some attempts to move forward.’

Of course, they weren’t going to accept it so easily.

Rather than investing time and money on unattainable goals, they were obviously more invested in survival and stats.

Raymond Bolt joined the conversation by nodding.

Just then, I heard Lim Chae-Ryeong mumble something to Woo Hyo-Yeol.

“Isn't he amazing? Mr Lee Ki-Young seems incredibly smart.”

“If he doesn’t do at least that much, there’s no point in having him with us,” Woo Hyo-Yeol said.

“Hey, be nice. Geez, you’re a really strange one,” Lim Chae-Ryeong complained.

“Hmph, you’re one to talk. You should worry about improving your skills rather than admiring others,” Woo Hyo-Yeol said.

“Ugh… just you wait,” Lim Chae-Ryeong said.

“You’re going to land a hit on me one day? Is that what you were going to say?” Woo Hyo-Yeol asked.

“You’re so annoying,” Lim Chae-Ryeong said.

“Hmph."

The party continued walking through the tomb while having various conversations. The undead creatures that had charged at us a moment ago with the intention to kill were now on their knees while muttering something.

— The Fallen King…

— Fal…len… king…

— For the Fallen King…

I couldn’t help but think that we were getting closer to the Fallen King.

After passing through a narrow path, I saw a pretty open area.

Intricate patterns and tattered banners, weathered by time, surrounded the firmly sealed door.

The Fallen King was beyond that door, or at least that was what the surroundings suggested. Just as I expected, towering guards blocked our path. The surprised party members stared at me as if asking me what we were supposed to do, but it was obvious.

“Grandpa,” I said.

“Ahem.”

Old man Raymond Bolt seemed dissatisfied, but he still handed our weapons to the undead creatures.

Everyone looked nervous upon seeing that.

“D-Do we really need to give it to them?” Nam Goong-Seon asked.

“We’re going to meet their king. We should at least show him some respect,” I said.

“I-It’s making me nervous…” Nam Goong-Seon remarked.

‘These people are really…’

Clanking noises echoed from the towering guards as they retrieved our weapons.

Once we no longer had our weapons, the closed doors finally opened.

— We greet… the king.

— We greet the king.

— We…

I saw a disgusting undead sitting on a massive chair.

The king still had his skeletal frame, but a transparent and blue light outlined the figure he once had.

He was an old man who seemed to be in the same age range as Raymond Bolt. He was wearing a long, spiky crown, and he wasn't wearing any armor. What caught my attention more than that old ghost’s appearance were the rewards waiting in the king’s stone chamber.

‘Is he going to give all of that to us?’

“We greet the Fallen King,” I greeted.

“W-We greet the Fallen… King.”

Woo Hyo-Yeol didn’t care about the king and kept his head up.

I was kind of worried that the king would overreact and accuse Woo Hyo-Yeol of being disrespectful, but the Fallen King’s vengeful spirit seemed to be not that high-level. He gave the impression that he was just another typical NPC, but that wasn’t the case at all.

His words flowed smoothly, catching my attention. It sounded deep and ominous.

— H-How… How… am I… remembered…

“...”

— How… am I… being… remembered…

“A lot of time has passed, Fallen King. The once-brilliant Golden Civilization, your legacy, and the eight rulers… have been lost to history in present-day Rohen,” I answered.

— Everything… was for nothing…

“...”

- I fought to protect the Golden Civilization… I sought revenge on the eight kings who betrayed me… but in the end… it was all… meaningless…

“...”

— I’m… tired. Consumed by torment and grudges… In the end, none of it holds any meaning…

“...”

“Right now, I just… I just want to grant eternal rest to my loyal friends who continued to place their trust in this unworthy king. I just want to help… my subjects close their eyes while smiling… and that’s why… I… I welcome all of you.

“We’re honored, Your Highness,” I said.

— I’m not expecting… any big… I won’t ask… you to spread… the truth. It’s not easy even for me… to see what… the truth is… How I will be remembered in history… is something for the descendants to decide. The ghost of the past… is merely that. A ghost…

“...”

— So that Rohen’s descendants will not just know the history of those who triumphed… I want you to take away the records of me and my comrades. Promise me.

“I give you my word,” I said.

— That… is all I need.

“...”

— I want to close my eyes now.

The Fallen King slowly collapsed on the throne, and the lingering resentment, which had been holding his body together, slowly faded away.

I was sure the people outside were experiencing the same phenomenon. This was the end of the king and his subjects, who had been waiting to die for a long time. They had been waiting for this day.

Obviously, I was struck by an emotion I couldn’t quite describe. Although they had already died and had lost the forms they once knew, their final farewell left something that couldn’t be put into words.

‘It’s time for the light.’

All I could do was ease their passage and to light… a path. Anyone who saw me would think that I was comforting them with holy power. This was the final act of compassion for the restless, trapped in this world by their meaningless regret.

I stepped forward, and they moved aside, and the scene was reminiscent of the Red Sea's parting.

Even Woo Hyo-Yeol moved quietly.

I lowered my head and pressed my forehead against the skeletal remains of the king’s foot and offered a silent tribute to his passing.

“...”

It was a ritual performed by the Flower and Fertility Familia, and it was meant to comfort wandering souls.

Just then, a radiant light illuminated the Fallen King’s stone chamber.