Chapter 4—I can't die?
"What is this place? It's so dark." That was the first thing that Daewon said when the squad entered the dungeon gate; they had no idea where they were.
They kept looking around, looking for any clue. It was a dark cave that was tunnel-shaped but very huge; the area around them alone could fit multiple huge mansions, and it was very vast.
"It seems like we got moved to a completely different place from before," Takumi said while looking around interested.
"Are we even still within the empire's borders? "I have never seen these plants or trees before," Jin said while carefully looking at the trees that are next to them. They looked like nothing they've seen in the Holy Empire before; the leaves were red, and it was weirdly shaped like it had human arms.
"For now let's move forward while carefully examining our surroundings; we will assume we are in unknown enemy territory," Daewon said, looking at the others. Everyone nodded and started moving.
While they were moving forward in the area surrounded by trees and weird plants, they started noticing weird presences around them as if they were being watched by multiple creatures at once.
"It feels like we are prey being watched by predators waiting for the moment to strike us," said Shaun while shivering at the thought.
It didn't take long before that thought came true; from behind the trees in the distance, they started hearing sounds similar to what they just heard from outside the dungeon.
To put it simply, the scene they just witnessed is at least ten times more horrifying than what they saw earlier: tens of monsters swarming them—goblins, orcs, zombies, undead, and all types you could think of.
"PREPARE FOR BATTLE!" Daewon shouted, and everyone took position, but this time it looks like they couldn't get away without some losses.
The fight went on similarly to last time, except this time there were many more monsters, and they were more "organized." It seemed they were also talking in a weird tongue when they weren't fighting; that's what Jin noticed, at least, and nobody else has seen that happening, but there was no time for him to process it.
They kept going for almost half an hour; a total of two hundred monsters were killed before the fight was over. Daewon got a minor injury, and the others got a few scratches. It seemed like the battle was over.
"Oi, are you alright? "I've seen you take three arrows and walk unscratched," Captain Daewon said to Jin.
"Better than being a pig like you, Captain," Jin fired back, and everyone else laughed at the comment.
"Is it over? We cleared them all right? We should be able to get out," said Shaun while looking at his surroundings.
It was basically a red flag what Shaun just said; it didn't take long for them to all hear a loud screeching sound from nearby. It meant they were not finished yet.
As they went further deep into the dungeon, they finally stopped at a big red gate with weird symbols all over it, as if it was trying to tell them something. They had no idea what language it was, but luckily Takumi was a bit familiar with what the symbols meant, as he'd seen similar stuff in a book he read about ancient symbols.
"Overlord's Tomb—" said Takumi while touching the symbols slowly, trying to decipher them.
"What does that mean?" Daewon, who had no idea what any of this meant, shrugged while asking,
"It's saying something about some sort of test of faith." Takumi answered; he wasn't entirely sure either since he couldn't fully understand the symbols. They had nothing to do but to open the gate.
After going into the red gate, they start looking at the surroundings. It was a big area that looked like an arena of some sort with statues all over on the corners that had an ugly and scary face.
"A-a-argh, they look terrifying; it's almost as if they're watching us," Shaun said while trembling.
Before anyone could respond, the ground trembled. Cracks spread across the floor, and from the center of the arena rose a massive figure clad in broken armor, chains rattling around its limbs. Its skull-like face turned toward them, and a voice echoed directly in their minds:
[Overlord's First Trial: Test Of Faith begins.]
[Clear Condition: ????]
The pressure was overwhelming. Shaun collapsed to his knees, muttering prayers. Daewon barked orders, trying to rally everyone.
"Formation! Don't falter! We will make it bleed!"
But it didn't. Their blades clashed against the creature, only to rebound like striking steel. The monster's counterattacks were brutal. One swing of its chained weapon sent two squad members flying.
And worst of all, it was also using poison attacks, which made it the most dangerous; the slashes and shockwaves alone could be somewhat handled, but the poison on top of that was too much to handle.
Jin fought with everything he had, but his instincts screamed that this wasn't a normal monster. It wasn't just attacking; it was testing them.
Halfway through, Daewon and the others realized the truth. "We can't beat its poison attacks, and our potion won't be enough anymore to handle its poison either."
That's when a thought came to Jin's mind, a suicidal but brave one, but who could tell the difference between bravery and stupidity?
"Captain… let me handle this one. You take the others and regroup outside. I'll keep it busy."
Daewon's eyes widened. "That's suicide!"
Jin smirked. "Yeah, but if I don't, it's all of us. I'll buy you time. Don't waste it."
The squad hesitated, but Daewon knew Jin wasn't bluffing. He gave the reluctant order, and one by one, the others withdrew.
Now alone, Jin faced the overlord's monstrous figure. Every strike rattled his bones. Every hit tore into his flesh. He pushed back again and again, fueled not by victory but by sheer power of will.
But no matter how hard he fought, the inevitable came. The chains wrapped around him, dragging him down. The monster's blade pierced his chest.
For the first time, Jin felt the cold embrace of death. His vision blurred, and his breathing stopped.
Darkness.
Silence.
[You have succeeded in the Overlord's First Trial.]
[The System acknowledges you as a worthy candidate]
[Granting First Layer Of Immortality]
[HP has reached 0—activating first layer]
[Resurrecting into the Tomb of Trials]
A flicker of light appeared.
Jin gasped awake, lying on a cold stone. His body was completely healed, and the arena was gone; he was inside a completely new cave lit by dark blue crystals.
"I... should be dead…" he trembled while touching the spot on his chest where he was struck.
From deeper in the cave, a voice whispered:
[Overlord's Second Trial: Undying Thousand Years begins.]
[During this trial, the player cannot die and will resurrect again when HP reaches 0.]
[Death does not exist, but you will still feel all the pain.]
[Clear Condition: Survive for 1000 Years]
Jin's eyes widened as realization sank in.
"…I can't die?"
And from the dark tunnel ahead, something began to move.