Chapter 224

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on April 8, 2025

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Here’s the English translation of the provided novel text without any additional comments or notes:

—

Episode 224: Talent is Needed Even for Effort

『Pluto’s d*ath Knight requests a faction change.』

『You can unbind ownership by consuming 10 Quest Points.』

『Accept the request by naming it.』

What is this?

These were characters I’d never seen before. A faction change request? Unbinding ownership by consuming Quest Points?

“Hmm…”

I quickly racked my brain to grasp the situation. Roughly speaking, it seemed this Skeleton Knight originally had some form of ownership tied to another being, and by spending Quest Points, that ownership could be transferred to me.

I recalled my time as a slave.

Slaves sold in the kingdom’s official markets were usually bound to their masters in various ways, but sometimes, if a slave was disliked, they could be sold off to others, transferring ownership.

Thanks to that, as a rare and sturdy Samaritan slave, I received—unintentionally—plenty of “love calls” from adventurers.

Elpride, how about selling him to me for 90 silver? That’s a generous price, isn’t it?

Get lost.

But Elpride’s determination to keep me as a slave was unshakable, so I never got to experience any “owner-switching” events.

Anyway, this seemed similar to that.

But naming it?

I’m terrible at naming things.

Agumon’s here, so… Taeyil?

No, that’s too lame.

“Do you have a name or nickname you’d like?”

So I decided to ask the person in question directly. The Skeleton Knight, sitting in a chair, rested its chin on its hand and hummed.

No.

“Then, Arthas.”

What does that mean?

“Uh, well… don’t think too hard about it.”

That was the only name that came to mind when I thought of a d*ath Knight.

A Bone Wyvern and a Skeleton Knight? The name Arthas was the only one flashing in my head—so much so that I couldn’t think of anything else.

Huh, it shares a lot of letters with my original name. Interesting.

“Is that so?”

Ding!

『The d*ath Knight’s faction has been transferred.』

『Name: Hassan’s d*ath Knight – Arthas Lv. ?? +1』

『Status: Domination Boost (Divine Grace) > Fear Emission』

Its level wasn’t displayed.

I had a rough idea, but it seemed this undead was far stronger than me. Maybe on par with Hippolyte? The “+1” next to its level bothered me, though.

I felt power surging through me. Was this the Domination Boost from Divine Grace? Nice necklace.

The Skeleton Knight, Arthas, stood up from the chair and clattered as it inspected its body.

Must be an enhancement-type relic. The stronger the necklace gets, the stronger your minions become.

“Is that how it works?”

I had a vague suspicion, but the “+1” mark next to my minions’ levels seemed to be because of my necklace.

Right now, my Pluto’s Necklace was probably at “+1” after one enhancement. If I used Quest Points to upgrade it to “+2” or “+3,” would my minions’ levels also increase?

The thought was pretty exciting.

So, enhancing with Quest Points didn’t just apply to my body—it affected my minions’ levels too.

In any case, summing it up, could I consider this Skeleton Knight, Arthas, now my minion? Just in case, I tried giving a small command.

“Stand up and spin around.”

I bow to no one, half-wit.

But for a minion, it sure didn’t listen to me.

If you want to give me orders, get stronger than me first.

“d*mn it.”

This was embarrassing.

I was genuinely happy to have a powerful d*ath Knight as a subordinate, but like this, it was no different from not having one at all.

Wasted 10 Quest Points for nothing. With that thought, I boarded the gondola and went back up.

Behind me, I heard a voice saying, Come visit again, friend. I’ll train you sometime— but I didn’t answer, afraid the old rope might snap if I made too much noise.

But.

How do I get out?

When I followed the Skeleton Knight in, I just wandered through the cave in the ravine without much thought. But now that I tried to go back, the path was ridiculously complicated.

Should I ask the Skeleton Knight to guide me out?

But I really didn’t want to ride that rickety gondola again.

What to do…

“Ah—!”

Then, I suddenly remembered the fireflies Luna had given me. She had handed me a glass vial to use if I ever got lost in these caves.

I shook the vial from my waist pouch, and with a soft flutter, the faint glow of insects lit up inside.

Pretty.

If not for Luna, I’d have been hopelessly lost.

It had only been a few hours—maybe half a day or a full day at most—but I already missed the softness of Luna’s belly.

So, after shaking the fireflies a bit, I released them into the air and followed their light to safely make my way out.

—

『Settling minion battles.』

『Quest Points +10』

『Current Quest Points: 105』

“d*mn.”

I couldn’t help but marvel at the words floating before my eyes.

It had been days since I escaped the Manticore’s ravine where I met the Skeleton Knight.

Occasionally, seeing these floating messages made me feel like I was playing some idle mobile game.

They fought on their own and gave me Quest Points?

I wasn’t sure if the Skeleton Knight had hunted something or if the Bone Wyvern had finished a battle safely, but getting free Quest Points was always great.

“Stop spacing out!”

Bam!

Something long and hard slammed into my face, making my vision flash white.

People say you see stars when you get a bad head injury—well, that’s exactly what happened to me.

My vision flashed, then spun in circles.

When I came to, I was lying on the dusty training ground floor.

Seems I got knocked out by Hippolyte’s punch.

“Ugh…”

“How many times must I say it? Focus only on your opponent during a match.”

“Yeah, but… ugh…”

Maybe I had a mild concussion. My head was spinning, and I felt a faint nausea—it was awful.

Fighting Hippolyte always felt like this, but this time, I was too distracted by the Quest Points to dodge, making the hit even worse.

“Ugh…”

As I clutched my head, unable to get up, I heard Hippolyte’s slightly flustered voice.

“D-don’t exaggerate over one little hit. What you did—letting your mind wander instead of dodging—was far more reckless. Don’t you know that?”

“Yes, I know. ‘Don’t recklessly go to the Manticore’s ravine again,’ right? I’ve heard it over eight times now.”

“That place is one even Silver-tier adventurers rarely return from alive. Rumor has it, it’s teeming with truly terrifying monsters.”

“…”

Another round of Hippolyte’s nagging seemed imminent.

It had been days since I returned from the Manticore’s ravine, and every time Hippolyte saw me, she scolded me for being reckless. Of course, it wasn’t unpleasant since it came from concern.

But I’d heard it so much I could recite it by now.

『Settling minion battles.』

『Quest Points +10.』

『Current Quest Points: 115.』

Whoa, d*mn.

They’re fighting a lot today.

“Hassan, are you spacing out again? Ever since you came back from the ravine, you’ve been oddly unfocused. Did you see something there?”

“A baby Manticore?”

Before parting with the Skeleton Knight, I took a few pieces of the Manticore bones I’d burned. I submitted them to the Mars Guild and received 50 merit points.

I didn’t know how high 50 points was, but judging by the receptionist Daphne’s shocked face, it must’ve been significant.

My level was now 25.

With more Quest Points, I could level up again.

The Silver-tier necklace was no longer just a dream.

Me, in the same tier as Elpride?

It felt like a dream.

As I lost myself in thought, Hippolyte added,

“Even if it was a young one, hunting a Manticore is impressive. I only managed to hunt one after equipping my Silver-tier necklace.”

Hippolyte reached out a hand, so I grabbed it and stood, dusting off my back and rear. I was still a bit dizzy, but it was bearable.

“But a fearsome being lives in that ravine—the d*ath Knight. Did you see it?”

“Well—”

“No, if you’d met it, you wouldn’t have returned alive. Consider yourself lucky.”

Did Hippolyte know something about the Skeleton Knight in the ravine? Curious, I asked,

“Is it strong?”

“Oh, that thing is strong. Back when I was a rookie Silver-tier, I couldn’t even challenge it. Looking back, it might’ve been going easy on me.”

Hippolyte clenched her fist.

“Now, I think I could win. A forbidden undead, ranked ‘Gold.’”

“I see.”

“A revenant that strong… I wonder what it did in life.”

At Hippolyte’s question, I recalled my conversation with the Skeleton Knight. Days had passed, so my memory was hazy, but a few things stood out.

“Hey, Hippolyte. Have you heard of someone who can run faster than a river? Something about a ‘Weapon Master’… Do you know who that is?”

“Weapon Master—? Hah, only one person in this world has ever held that title.”

“Who?”

“Who else? The War Magus, Achilles. Why ask about him suddenly?”

“Ah.”

Achilles—I’d heard that name before.

Just as Koreans think of Admiral Yi Sun-sin when they hear “hero,” the people of this kingdom associate Achilles with the word.

A real big shot, huh?

No idea why such a figure ended up as an undead hiding in the Manticore’s ravine, but everything that happened there felt like a dream.

“Regardless, don’t set foot in the Manticore’s ravine again until your training is complete. You got lucky this time, but there’s no guarantee next time.”

“Yes, I’ll be careful.”

I had no choice but to agree.

“Though, I didn’t realize you were so overprotective, Hippolyte. Weren’t you the type to push me off cliffs to ‘build character’?”

“…You make me sound like some heartless lioness. And by the way, lionesses don’t push their cubs off cliffs—that’s a baseless myth. They nurture their young with care.”

“I see.”

I imagined Hippolyte raising a child.

Despite her eccentric training methods, she might actually be a good mother—assuming she wasn’t trading stocks.

“How’s the stock market?”

“I bought more recently. The day you brought back the baby Manticore’s bones. If you keep growing like this, going public might not be a dream.”

Hippolyte smirked.

That day, I ended up with several lumps on my head before escaping her training.

—

“I have a question.”

Tap, tap-tap.

Staring into the campfire, I suddenly spoke up.

“How do you defeat an opponent stronger than you?”

The Skeleton Knight’s blue eyes flickered.

How to beat a stronger opponent? Simple.

“What is it?”

Don’t fight them. Run away. Or beg pathetically if you must. Surviving by any means is your victory.

“That’s… a broad definition of victory.”

Victory isn’t just about defeating your foe. Staying alive is victory in itself. Even if you live like a beggar, being alive is better.

This was the Manticore’s ravine—the deep cave within the cliffs, the Skeleton Knight’s hideout.

Hippolyte had yelled at me never to return, warning of the terrifying d*ath Knight here. Yet, I kept coming back to meet it.

Despite being a bony skeleton, this guy was articulate, knowledgeable, and strong—perfect for answering my secret questions.

Hippolyte and others were excellent adventurers, but as a male mentor, they had their shortcomings.

For example:

“There’s a girl I like. But I secretly met other girls a few times. What should I do? Should I confess?”

You’re truly trash. You want to be a Gold-tier adventurer just to hoard multiple wives?

“That’s not it.”

Well, as a fellow man, I get it. Nothing gives men more headaches than women. I died because of a woman, you know.

“A woman killed you?”

Not exactly. Close enough. Anyway, what’s done is done. Take it to your grave. And beyond.

Such bone-chilling advice.

“What happens if I get caught?”

No idea. Try it and see. Experience is the best teacher—though I don’t recommend it.

Women…

The Skeleton Knight stared into the campfire, its eyes flickering like flames.

I could tell it was lost in thought.

Thinking about women? I suddenly wondered if undead even felt lust. Must be horrible—having the urge but not the equipment.

Just as I grimaced at the thought, the Skeleton Knight spoke.

Speaking of women… I met that female party you mentioned. Cute bunch.

“Did you discipline them?”

No, it looked like a big fight was brewing, so I just watched. They seemed desperate for merit points. Said they were heading underground. That white-haired… Never mind.

The Skeleton Knight shut its mouth.

Underground?

At the word, I glanced at the dark abyss in the distance. The bottomless black void was terrifying.

“They went deeper than here?”

Yeah. You know by now—the lower abyss is crawling with unimaginable horrors. Baby Manticores look like kittens in comparison.

Whoosh.

I stood and peered into the dark chasm below.

As I stared into the abyss…

It felt like the abyss stared back.

Elpride’s party went down there?

Bold. I wouldn’t go unless I was paid a chest of gold coins.

I won’t stop you if you want to follow, Hassan.