Chapter 28: There’s still one man left in the world

"Despite my strength, these guys are tough. D+ is no joke." Reiji muttered to himself.

"Alright... let’s get this over with..." Reiji’s grip around the sword tightened unconsciously as he pushed the big door open.

And his blood instantly ran cold.

"Sorry... wrong door. Haha..." Reiji said awkwardly as he slowly closed the door.

Meanwhile, the thousands of undead soldiers inside stared at each other in confusion.

Even the seven massive undead skeletons sitting beside the throne of the Undead King looked confused.

The Undead King seated at the center rubbed his chin in amusement as he muttered to himself. "A human...? How long has it been since I last laid my eyes on those cockroaches? They’re even worse than my undead legion."

"Soldiers! Bring that human to me now!" The Undead King growled.

Immediately, every soldier inside the hall rushed toward the door, except the generals sitting beside the Undead King.

"What the hell..." Reiji cursed under his breath as he ran for his life. "System, this is definitely a death trap!!!"

The moment he opened the door, thinking he might actually be able to defeat the Undead King’s Army, he realized just how wrong he was.

Every single soldier inside was D-Rank.

The larger undead, which were obviously higher-ranking soldiers, were D+.

Then the seven massive undead seated beside the Undead King were D++.

And the Undead King himself was D+++.

"System, how the hell do I get out of here?!" Reiji yelled as he heard the rumbling sounds behind him.

They were coming after him.

He didn’t even bother trying to make a plan because he knew he couldn’t win against them with his current strength.

Just fighting two D+ Rank Undead Guards had already taken quite a bit of time and effort. But fighting thousands of D-Rank undead soldiers alongside multiple D+ and D++ monsters?

That was a guaranteed death sentence.

Ding!

[Do you wish to exit the Undead King’s Palace, Host?]

"Yes! Yes! Yes...!"

[The Undead King’s Palace will reset and the items you took will be returned.]

[Note: This will not affect your progress.]

"I don’t care if it affects my progress or not, get me the hell out of here, system!"

Ding!

[Stand back, Host...]

Reiji immediately stopped and stepped back. But his heart couldn’t stop beating fast as the rumbling sounds became louder and louder.

"Hurry up, system! They’re coming!!!"

Then the massive door that had appeared in his living room materialized in front of him.

Reiji didn’t even waste a second and rushed in.

The door immediately disappeared.

"Tsk... What a coward," the Undead King muttered to himself as he could no longer sense the human’s presence. He guessed the human must have used some special artifact to escape.

***

Meanwhile, back in Reiji’s apartment, he lay on the ground breathing heavily.

’What if I was caught? What would they have done to me...?’ Reiji thought, his body trembling slightly.

"I didn’t expect all of them to be D-Rank and above... Because the miners were E-Rank, I thought some of the lesser soldiers would at least be E-Rank too. But it turns out I was completely wrong."

Reiji suddenly remembered the system penalty if he failed to complete the quest.

"I don’t want to become some mindless servant who only listens to the Undead King. I don’t want to become anybody’s lapdog."

Reiji suddenly turned and noticed that the door in his living room had disappeared.

"Phew... I thought it was going to stay there until I completed the quest."

Reiji dragged his tired body toward the bathroom and washed up. Then he plopped straight onto the bed.

***

Reiji was suddenly woken up by the sound of the system.

Ding!

[Urgent Side Quest Triggered!]

[An Unstable E-Rank Gate will open soon near the Host’s location! You are expected to clear it.]

[Rewards: ???]

[Penalty: Host will be forcefully sent back to the hall of the Undead King’s Palace with no weapons, and all your skills and items will temporarily become unavailable.]

"You should have just said death, you bastard!"

Reiji rubbed his temples in frustration as he sat up straight.

"...How long do I have?"

Ding!

[Quest Begins: 00:01:22]

"Okay... I’ve got less than a minute." Reiji muttered to himself. "I also need to complete this quest before anybody notices a gate has opened here. I don’t want to leave this house, and I don’t want anyone to see me. So to avoid any unnecessary problems, I need to clear this gate within thirty minutes max..."

Ding!

[Host Debt has increased to 500 Xcoins!]

"Huh...? What do you mean 500 Xcoins? I thought it was 300... How did it suddenly..."

Ding!

[Interest rates increase the longer Host delays repayment.]

"You know what... Just convert 700 yen from my savings into Xcoins, pay off the debt, and get me a D-Rank sword..."

Ding!

[Converting...]

[Loan paid successfully.]

Ding!

[No D-Rank sword under 200 Xcoins.]

Reiji’s face instantly darkened.

"...No D-Rank sword under 200 Xcoins?"

Ding!

[Correct.]

[Would Host like to browse cheaper alternatives?]

"...Why does that sound so insulting?" Reiji twitched slightly.

Ding!

[Recommended Item Available.]

[Broken Knight Sword (E+) – 130 Xcoins]

[Durability: Poor]

[Attack Power: Average]

[Description: A worn-out sword once used by a failed knight. It may break at any moment, but it is still capable of cutting through flesh.]

"...You’re seriously recommending me trash?" Reiji deadpanned.

Ding!

[Host currently has trash-level finances.]

"..."

Reiji stared blankly at the floating system screen.

"...One day I’m definitely destroying this system."

Ding!

[Host currently lacks the qualifications to destroy the system.]

"Tch."

Reiji clicked his tongue before rubbing his forehead.

"Fine. Buy the Broken Knight Sword."

Ding!

[You’ve successfully purchased the Broken Knight Sword (130 Xcoins) from the system market, Host!]

A rusty silver sword suddenly materialized on the bed beside him.

Reiji picked it up and immediately frowned.

"This thing looks like it’ll snap after three swings..."

Ding!

[Restoration Fluid – 100 Xcoins]

[Restoration Fluid restores durability and condition. It does not increase item rank.]

"You piece of... Well, just do what needs to be done, Host."

Moments later, a small bottle appeared in Reiji’s hands.

He poured it onto the sword and instantly a bright light enveloped it.

The rusty sword immediately became polished and looked as good as new.

"Alright..."

Ding!

[Quest Begins In: 00:00:41]

"...Shit."

Reiji immediately stood up.

He quickly put on another jacket and rushed out through the window.

Almost instantly, he spotted a rift in the middle of the road.

Thankfully, nobody was around because of the imposed curfew.

Then suddenly, the rift became bigger before a blue gate appeared.

Ding!

[Dungeon Gate (E)] – {Unstable}

"Why does it feel like my peaceful life is disappearing more every day?" he muttered as he stepped into the gate.

*** 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Oww... Today’s raid definitely wasn’t playing nice... I didn’t know a D-Rank dungeon could be that terrifying... And I’m D-Rank..." Aoi felt like crying as she plopped onto the couch.

She opened the takeout she had bought and ate in silence, muttering nonsense to herself.

After a short rest, she stood up and went upstairs.

After hot shower, she changed into her nightgown. But just as she was about to collapse onto her bed, she stopped.

Something felt wrong.

As a D-Rank adventurer, she was able to sense strong mana fluctuations. But this one was unstable.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "...A gate is forming here."

She moved to the window.

Outside, mana was already condensing in the airdistorting space itself like a slow-burning wound. Then it twisted and opened.

A blue vortex formed in the middle of the street.

"...An E-Rank Gate?"

Just as she was about to call the guild to inform them about the sudden gate, she saw a figure coming out from her neighbor’s apartment. Not only that, the person seemed to be heading toward the gate.

From the build, it was obvious that the person was a man.

"So it wasn’t just my hallucination. There is still one man left in the world..."

A smirk played on her lips as she stared at the back of Reiji, who was heading into the gate. "He’s even an awakened..."