Regressor Instruction Manual-Chapter 1139: Fallen King’s Tomb (5)

‘It’s definitely old school.’

In other words, it felt a bit outdated. Colonel Smith from the neighboring continent, for example, was capable of firing magical bullets from his fingertips, so compared to that, loading a massive crossbow one shot at a time was really dated.

If he had incorporated Rohen’s engineering technology or had the help of a player with a production-related job, it would have looked a bit more stylish, but it seemed like the old man wasn’t interested in that.

Of course, from Raymond Bolt’s perspective, it was probably unavoidable. If various features were added to his crossbow, it could malfunction in different ways, and that would be another thing he would have to worry about.

Rather than not being able to use it when he needed to use it, he probably decided that it was better to have something he could use, even if it was a bit inconvenient to use.

‘It’s probably also easier to infuse mana into each shot.’

I considered modifying it for him a little, but I didn’t see the need to force him to use a different method to fight, as the result I was seeing wasn’t so bad.

The first named enemy in the tomb, the King’s Knight or something, was a typical undead knight that often appeared in low-level dungeons.

The knight was dressed in pitch-black armor with a massive greatsword in hand. It was the perfect opponent for party two's debut, and Grandpa Raymond looked like he was having a lot more fun than I expected.

Clunk.

Swoosh! Boom!

A massive javelin imbued with mana was fired from the crossbow.

The fact that he infused mana only into the arrowhead told me that he had a deep understanding of his abilities. Since the amount of energy he could use was limited, he was using his mana cost-effectively. The attack wasn’t powerful enough to deal a fatal blow, but it was more than enough to disrupt the first boss’s movements.

"Uh…"

"Don’t put your guard down… and let’s try moving together," Raymond suggested.

"Ah… okay, Grandfather."

Since Noh Dam-Hye was just a bard, the Nam Goong-Chae-Ryeong duo and Grandpa Bolt had to take care of the named monster.

Lim Chae-Ryeong still looked a bit flustered, but she quickly regained composure, and it was all because Grandpa Bolt was leading them calmly.

He calmly blocked the oncoming sword attack with his sword, and among the second weapons he had, he had chosen a mace. He probably thought that using a one-handed sword wouldn’t be enough to cut through the knight’s armor.

As someone who thought that carrying around a bunch of weapons was useless, I agreed with his decision. I had seen plenty of people slicing through armor, but not every adventurer had the same level of skill as those people.

‘He’s composed.’

I felt it during our first group hunt, but his defensive skill was something straight out of a textbook. I even considered having him tutor Park Deok-Gu.

‘That pig needs to learn from him. He’s just all brawn.’

When I saw him move with maximum efficiency in mind in relation to his Strength, Endurance, and mana, I couldn’t help but compare him to our pig.

His movements weren't just muscle memory due to his years of experience; he was constantly thinking and adjusting his strategy as a tank.

It was really impressive how he made space for Lim Chae-Ryeong, allowing her to move around freely. Of course, Park Deok-Gu wasn’t bad either because his teamwork with Kim Ye-Ri was already at a high level.

However, I couldn't help but question whether he could still show the same level of teamwork with a partner who wasn't Kim Ye-Ri.

‘Sure, the pig was stronger, but…’

Raymond Bolt was showing exactly what it meant to be a veteran. He was guiding the novice rogue with precision and efficiency, allowing Lim Chae-Ryeong to enjoy herself as well. She moved swiftly with her dagger to constantly harass the undead knight.

— For the Fallen King… The Fallen…

The undead knight slammed its sword into the ground.

‘Looks like the pattern has changed.’

Grandpa Bolt grabbed Lim Chae-Ryeong’s collar to stop her, and then he pulled her behind him. Then, Nam Goong-Seon cast a spell as if she had been waiting for it.

Crackle, crackle, crackle1

The wave of energy from the undead knight's sword collided with Nam Goong-Seon’s barrier.

The Divine Blessing shattered into pieces, but the remaining wave of energy wasn’t dangerous enough to be a real threat to those three. Grandpa Bolt had to be thinking the same thing as me, as he used his shield and body to block the black wave.

"Grandpa Bolt!" Lim Chae-Ryeong shouted.

"Don’t worry about me," Raymond reassured.

"Ah…"

— For the… Fallen King… for him…

"Holy weapon!" Raymond shouted.

Soon, holy magic illuminated the old man’s mace. The undead knight’s helmet, which was on the verge of breaking due to the continuous attacks, shattered as soon as the glowing mace made contact with it.

Boom!

"Nice!"

"…"

After confirming that the undead knight's armor was finally destroyed, Raymond swapped back to a one-handed sword and decapitated the knight to finish the job.

— Save… him…

The undead knight muttered its final words.

Lim Chae-Ryeong grabbed Nam Goong-Seon’s hand and excitedly jumped around.

"We did it, unni!" Lim Chae-Ryeong said excitedly.

‘Even though you didn’t really do much.’

"Grandpa, you’re really strong. I knew you were Level 4, but I didn’t know you were this strong. Seriously…" Lim Chae-Ryeong complimented him.

"Hahaha, I’m not that strong." Raymond laughed.

"What? What are you saying? You basically did everything. That undead knight didn’t stand a chance against you," Lim Chae-Ryeong said.

"Without all of you, I wouldn’t have been able to pull it off. Goong-Seon was the one who blocked the knight’s attack, and… Chae-Ryeong, you’re the one who kept the knight under constant pressure. My strength and mana alone wouldn’t have been enough to deal a critical blow to it," Raymond said.

"Then how… did you—"

"That's what you call experience," Woo Hyo-Yeol said, interrupting from the sidelines. "Unlike you, that old man is a real warrior, troublemaker. You need to learn that outcomes can change depending on how you use your limited resources. Being low level or having low stats isn’t an excuse.”

"…"

"Once the battle starts, you need to figure out what you can do no matter the situation. Obviously, obtaining his level of experience in a short time isn’t easy, but no matter the method, you must have a backup plan. That’s how you stay competitive," Woo Hyo-Yeol said.

"T-Then how do I get stronger…" she asked.

"There are many ways to become even stronger. You can change your job by being chosen by GENIUS, change your equipment, or… train yourself to death.

"Your question is pretty ridiculous… Do I really need to tell you the answer to everything?" Woo Hyo-Yeol questioned.

"No, but…"

"You’re getting more than you deserve, so it’s up to you to figure out what you can do to make yourself useful,” Woo Hyo-Yeol added.

The conversation was pretty long, but it finally ended with a piece of advice. He leaned on the wall with his arms crossed again as if he wasn’t interested in what was going on.

Lim Chae-Ryeong seemed to have felt something, as she seemed slightly anxious. I was cautious because I thought he was being kind of harsh to a beginner who had just entered a dungeon.

"To become stronger, the most important thing is…" Grandpa Bolt chimed in.

"Yes, Grandpa…" Lim Chae-Ryeong said.

"…"

"…"

"…keeping your resolve no matter the situation,” he continued.

"…"

"…"

"Ah!"

"That’s so heartwarming, Grandpa."

“…”

“Th-Thank you, Grandpa,” Lim Chae-Ryeong said.

I noticed Woo Hyo-Yeol’s unhappy face, but he refrained from saying anything because Raymond wasn’t exactly wrong.

‘Hyo-Yeol, you should listen to him. He’s saying useful things.’

Mental power was difficult to quantify as stats. Depending on one’s mindset, one could defeat unbeatable opponents and exert strength beyond one's existing stats.

‘That’s why it’s important to take care of the party members’ mental health.’

The most challenging dungeons had psychic-type monsters as well.

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Even Epic and Legendary adventurers could fail to clear dungeons, and as far as I could remember, the majority of those failures were due to psychic-type monsters acting as the boss monsters.

I was talking about dungeons similar to the Cursed Shrine, where Juliena was the boss monster.

Compared to the Cursed Shrine, the Fallen King’s Tomb was really easy.

The boss had mechanics, so if the party members’ levels were high, the boss wouldn't be that big of a threat. In addition, there was also a strategy to deal with the boss's mechanics because Level 3 dungeons were just Rare dungeons on our continent.

“By the way… did anyone hear what that Undead Knight said just now? They mentioned the Fallen King…” Nam Goong-Seon asked.

“It's probably a strategy to clear this dungeon,” I answered.

“So you thought that as well,” Nam Goong-Seon said.

‘Is there really a need to think about that? It’s pretty obvious.’

“As its name suggests, the Fallen King’s Tomb was created for the Fallen King. Most of the monsters here are those who used to serve the Fallen King, and the named monster you defeated just now was also a knight who once served the Fallen King,” I explained.

“Ah.”

“I don’t know why this place became a dungeon, but I don’t think it was because of a curse or lingering resentment. There’s impure mana here, but I don’t sense any lingering grudges.

"The monsters also don’t show any signs of uncontrollable frenzy,” I continued.

“I see.”

“They rose again because of the Fallen King… and I’m sure they want to rest again. When the knight asked us to save the Fallen King, they were probably asking us to help the king fall into eternal sleep again.

"I’m assuming the condition for clearing the dungeon lies somewhere here,” I said.

“How were you able to figure out that much?” Nam Goong-Seon asked.

‘The designs of low-level dungeons like these are pretty typical.’

Unlike Juliena, the dungeon master wasn't a lunatic. Otherwise, we would have had a hard time breathing at the entrance of the dungeon. We would have been hearing and seeing things, and mobs would have been saying some pretty ridiculous things.

Considering the fact that a priest’s purification spell couldn't purify everything, the Fallen King’s Tomb was pretty boring and peaceful. Obviously, since the difficulty wasn’t high, hints were hidden all over the dungeon.

“I-I-I think oppa is right. I-It’s… written right here. It was in the armory storage over there. It’s the personal journal of Hartel Herich,” Jung Ha-Yan chimed in.

‘Hints like this.’

“What does it say, Miss Jung Ha-Yan?” Nam Goong-Seon asked.

“After the Fallen King was buried in his tomb… his servants spent their time here. I-I don’t think they were locked up in here… I think they chose to live here, and they traveled back and forth to the surface… also…” Jung Ha-Yan trailed off.

“…”

“I-It talks about how great of a ruler he was,” Jung Ha-Yan added.

I was sure it was a text filled with admiration, and it was probably filled with lots of keys that’d help us unlock locks. It probably had things like patterns or murals drawn on walls. It was difficult to see because time had eroded it, but a skilled linguist or cryptographer would have no problems interpreting it.

Mages specializing in dungeon exploration often had a background in archaeology, so there were numerous ways to clear the dungeon.

“Despite his nickname… many people were loyal to him,” Jung Ha-Yan said.

“That’s right. From this moment on, we’re going to fulfill their wishes,” Jung Ha-Yan said.

“What?”

I ignored Nam Goong-Seon’s confused face and stepped forward, saying, “Rohen’s descendants are here to cleanse the tarnished name of the Fallen King!”

“Just now…”

“Hear me, loyal friends and subjects of the Fallen King! Rohen’s descendants are here! They are here to restore his sullied name!” I continued.

— Open…

“Huh?”

— Open… the path.

“…”

— Open the path… and greet Rohen’s descendants.

“…”

— For Rohen’s descendants. Rohen's descendants… are finally… at the king’s tomb.

The party members looked at me with confusion.

‘I’m not even surprised.’

There were usually many alternative ways to clear a dungeon.

I was sure the same was true for the Demon King of Sunset’s Castle.

‘We need to figure that out first.’

— Rohen’s descendants… have finally… stepped foot into the king’s tomb!