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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Knight Summoning
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Kee-ee-eek...
"This is totally self-imposed hard mode, isn't it?"
They formed ranks and aimed their weapons forward, moving like a well-trained army despite being demons.
Right, these guys were subordinates of the constellations, after all. They weren't opponents to underestimate just because they had low intelligence.
[Excellent. Continue to reveal your presence and fight honorably against enemies in the future to uphold honor.]
[Reward: All existing Knight's Code penalties removed.]
Ignoring the tactless reward message, I charged toward the Flesh Plunderers.
They were small demons only about 1.2 meters tall, so they weren't particularly tough opponents.
The ones in front spewed blood as my iron sword severed their necks precisely, and the blades thrown by the ones behind failed to pierce my golden armor.
'At this level, it's basically weeding. No, actually, it's easier since they're bunched up.'
Kee-ee-eek!
With such an overwhelming difference in combat power, and fighting in the largest space inside the house, it felt even easier than handling them one by one.
After about twenty minutes of combat in the living room, the surroundings were filled with the corpses of Flesh Plunderers, and soon enough, only I remained.
'Phew~ That should be it.'
Flick!
Once the battle ended, I shook the blood off my sword and carefully checked for any playing dead, finishing them off just in case.
Then I opened the minimap in the system window to check the interior.
I realized the only one left was the dungeon boss, 'Flesh Slicer.'
'Let's see. The boss is in the basement?'
Thanks to the armor, I didn't need any preparations for the dark, so I headed to the basement while watching for traps.
Peeking cautiously through the slightly opened door, I saw a massive demon with a bloated, toad-like body.
Grrrrr! Kuahaha!
Thwack! Thud! Thud!
No idea where it got the meat from, but the thing was happily chopping it on a cutting board and filleting the flesh.
Since it hadn't noticed me, I figured I could sneak up and slit its neck in one go.
I quietly drew my sword to rush in for a safe, efficient one-shot kill when that damn status window popped up again.
[Cease such cowardly acts at once. Honorably! And knightly!]
'…Why is this trait SSS-grade? Haa~'
Anyway, catching that guy would let me claim the rewards, so I decided to endure for now.
Letting out a sigh, I opened the door and strode straight in, calling out to the boss monster.
Even after I opened the door and entered, it was still focused on slicing the meat.
"You demon! Your end has come."
"Kurrrr… Fresh meat!"
"You're probably the one turning into meat!"
The moment it spotted me, it grabbed a huge butchering knife and charged, and I rushed straight at it head-on.
It swung the butchering knife with wild abandon.
But instead of clashing swords, I spun my body immediately and slipped into its blind spot.
I could tell at a glance that its bulky, stupid frame would be slow, so I decided to get out of its sight.
'Legs first!'
"Krack! Y-You worm!"
"You should've taken better care of your figure!"
After slicing the tendon in one leg, I could toy with the now-immobile enemy as I pleased.
Still, I didn't forget to stay vigilant in case it used magic or some other trick.
No reason to let my guard down against an E-grade dungeon boss.
"Krurruk! Kraaaah!"
"Phew~ Finally over."
The fight ended cleanly.
No underlings appeared, so the massive demon with its leg tendon cut dragged itself around like a pig in a slaughterhouse, taking one-sided cuts until it collapsed.
The moment it hit the ground, it turned to ash and vanished in an instant, leaving a single mana stone glowing in the pile of cinders.
"Alright, got it?"
[E-grade Dungeon - 'Flesh Plunderer's House' cleared. Press 'Claim Reward' to open the exit.]
[Claim Reward]
I picked up the mana stone and checked the status window in front of me.
Pressing 'Claim Reward,' with the Knight's Code penalties now gone, the same reward window as the first time appeared.
[Celebrating your defeat of wicked monsters threatening humanity, I shall bestow rewards.]
[Choose!]
[Skill Point +1 or Knight Summon or Equipment Selection]
'Let's see. Skill Point again this time?'
[Tutorial 2. Recruit companions.]
Recruit knights to fight alongside you. A group is stronger than solo, and you can learn knighthood by observing other knights.
Reward: Summon one extra knight per knight summoned.
"…Ah, what now?"
It seemed like because I was alone and not listening, this damn Knight's Code system was pushing me to summon nagging knights by my side.
And it even dangled bait with a buy-one-get-one-free deal—two dungeons' worth for the price of one. Hard to refuse.
"Well, if I keep soloing like today, I'll run into tough spots ahead, right?"
With that damn 'Knight's Code' forcing me to step up boldly, fighting alone would surely bring crises.
It grated on me to do as they said, but I decided to summon anyway.
[Selected 'Knight Summon.']
[Summons a knight to aid you.]
[Additional reward: Summons one more.]
'Will two of the same come out? Anyway, as long as they're not weirdos.'
I watched as two magic circles appeared before me, deciding to hold some expectations.
Hoping for ones without personality issues rather than overpowered ones, I gazed at the knights' forms gradually emerging above the magic circles.
[KMG (Knight Metal Golem)-002 'Akaron']
[Master device confirmed, master registration complete. Commencing protection now.]
The first one emerged with a deep, mechanical tone impossible for a human voice.
Peering through the gaps in its helmet where flesh should be visible, I saw wires and metal plates—it was a 'knight' that was neither human nor living being.
Seeing 'Knight Metal Golem' in the message window made me question once more what the 'Path of the Great Knight' even was.
'On the other hand, this one....'
[Holly Heaven Knight Order's Knight - 'Seom-myeol']
"I shall follow you under the guidance of light."
Next, on the opposite side, appeared a female knight in pure white armor that seemed to emit light.
Her silver hair and pristine white armor made her look like a lump of light, feeling sacred.
Yet she had an even stronger inorganic vibe, humanoid but not quite human.
"Um, so… since you responded to the summon, can I think of you as my summons or subordinates?"
[Affirmative. Master, please issue any commands.]
"And you?"
"As long as it's not the path of corruption and darkness, I shall follow without hesitation."
Let's see… The golem knight is an unconditional yes-man, and this white angel-like knight lady hates evil deeds.
However, I hadn't fully grasped them yet.
Before leaving the dungeon, I needed to clarify what this 'Knight Summon' meant and how to use these two allies.
"For now… so, how do you handle eating and sleeping?"
[No need for meals. However, in case of severe damage or malfunction, mana is required for auto-repair. Storage and standby locations are determined by the master.]
"I can fight with supplied mana, though meals can substitute to some extent. For standby or residence, like Sir Akaron here, I have none prepared since I follow the Captain."
In other words, I suddenly had two dependents.
Haa~ Weren't normal summons supposed to vanish when not needed and appear when called—something convenient like that?
A sigh escaped me naturally.
I thought about where to house these two right away, but my one-room wouldn't work.
Staring at the open portal door, I racked my brain, and the only solution I came up with was one.
"Academia it is."
The pure white knight Seom-myeol was one thing, but this 2-meter hunk of metal golem had no easy storage spot.
The idea I settled on was Academia. Claim them as my summons and stash them in Nature Spirit Guild's warehouse or wherever.
'Or tour another dungeon for skill rewards and check then?'
I vaguely recalled from skimming the skill list before—a skill for contracting a dragon or spirit to store and carry around.
Even though it was late, I thought I could clear one more dungeon to solve their housing, return, rest tomorrow, and work.
I planned to search for dungeons on my phone the moment I exited.
***
"Kuhuhu, there he is."
"Come on, time to get to work. Even if he cleared it solo, he must be injured...."
"Alright, then… Huh?"
"...."
The instant I exited the dungeon through the portal, three unfamiliar humans greeted us.
Armed as Awakeners, but their eyes and demeanor screamed anything but friendly—likely Scavengers or Demons.
"Who are you guys? Waiting for someone to emerge from a dungeon entrance doesn't sound like good intentions."
"W-Well… Haha, we were just passing by, misunderstanding… Eek! U-Um, could you calm down those folks behind you? Golden Knight, sir?"
['Come on, time to get to work. Even if he cleared it solo, he must be injured....' Voice playback complete. Confirmed clear hostility, Master.]
Did it have auto-recording too? Akaron replayed exactly what the flustered Scavenger had blabbered earlier, alerting me.
Nice feature. At that moment, Seom-myeol had already drawn her sword, radiating killing intent.
"Hiiiik! W-We're really sorry! I-It was!"
"You idiot! You should've tracked properly!"
"Damn! We found a guy traveling solo! This lunatic poked a sleeping lion!"
From their bickering, it was clear they were targeting me.
A lone stranger entering an E-grade dungeon solo would indeed tempt Scavengers.
'Ah, that nagging feeling I forgot something while thinking of other stuff—it was this. Well, it's handled now~'
I'd overlooked that proper E-grade dungeons require parties and that Scavengers often infiltrate normal parties.
Maybe from lazing safely at Academia, but anyway, since they aimed for my life, I had no intention of letting them go.