Act 5: Knight and Maiden

"Lady Malsa, my soldiers have opened the door, but the interior has already been set ablaze. My skeletons hesitate before the foul flames; I need a little time to acclimate them."

The Lich hunched its frame, bowing its head deeply, green flames flickering with cunning light in its eye sockets, yet it placed its withered arm over its chest to express absolute submission—

Madara had a strict hierarchy that made anyone who dared overstep fear from the depths of their soul, especially since the necromancers behind the Black Codex were born masters of manipulating and tormenting souls.

The Wizard Apprentice tapped his pale, slender fingers lightly against his deep black silk robe as he stood on the hill overlooking the village below—in the darkness, the Bell sound of Buchi rang long, and human society was sinking into deep terror.

But this nightmare had only just begun. Not far off, rows of Skeleton Soldiers were vanishing into the dark, and a reserve force lurked in the woods to one side. He ordered them to loose arrows, and soon they would release the next volley.

The next volley would use flaming arrows.

Blue flames, cold Soul Fire.

The raging fire in the darkness would throw all living creatures into panic. He wanted to stir up some chaos so the Skeleton Soldiers could launch their assault.

"How much time?" The future necromancer's voice was somewhat cold and sharp.

"This," the Lich lowered its head, estimating, "eight minutes. No, at most five."

"I don't have that time, but I can leave a squad with you. Eleven Skeleton Soldiers, is that enough, Kabuka?"

"Plenty, my master."

The future necromancer gave a cold smile: "Make sure no rats slip out the back door."

"Rest assured, master. I have already set up the rear as you instructed."

"Then I hope to hear good news when I return in triumph, Kabuka," the Wizard Apprentice pointed forward, casting a meaningful glance at his subordinate. "Now I'm going to accept this village's submission and savor humans tasting eternal death in their fear. But Martha above, I hope my decision to launch the attack early doesn't cause Sir Instaron any trouble—"

"As you wish, my master." The Lich bowed its head deeply.

Inside the house, thick smoke was billowing, and flames occasionally licked out from under the haze. The rising blaze not only blocked the undead's advance but also hindered human sight.

The climbing heat had already scorched their backs, the searing smoke stung their eyes, and their throats and noses ached with every breath, yet Su Fei's heart remained cold as ice.

What should he do?

"What's wrong?"

"Give me the hammer." The young man finally reached back. He listened intently; beyond the crackling of the fire, he faintly heard a unique sound echoing through the mountains—the bell.

The alarm bell of Buchi.

Martha above, I hope the Guard Detachment in the village is smart enough, Su Fei silently prayed. As for the Militia, he didn't count on them—they were just hot-blooded youths. He only hoped they could survive this night.

These people were the future seeds of Eluin.

He immediately felt he might be overthinking things. Maybe he wouldn't even make it past this very hurdle, right?

"Are there enemies outside?" The Merchant's Daughter blinked, handing him the hammer.

"Hard to say, but better safe than sorry." Su Fei tried to think positively, but the more he hoped, the worse the situation seemed. He had to prepare. He was a seasoned warrior, and seasoned warriors didn't rely on luck—they relied on caution.

"Brando."

"Hm?" He paused in opening the door.

"You seem a bit different today."

Busted?

Su Fei's heart tightened. But that couldn't be right—his personality was pretty similar to Brando's, and he had inherited the latter's memories. How could he be found out so quickly?

"What...?" he asked nervously.

"Hm, I can't quite put it into words, just a feeling." The future Merchant's Daughter thought for a moment and answered seriously: "You'll protect me, right, Brando?"

"Is there a problem with that?"

"No, thank you."

"You don't need to give me a 'good guy card,' Miss Romanee—"

"Huh?"

Su Fei smiled faintly without answering, but the tension in his heart dissipated considerably. He took a deep breath, tensed his body, gently slid the bolt open, and placed his hand on the cold door handle.

Time to open it.

What fate awaited him outside? A brand-new world? Or a sudden death? You wouldn't toy with me like this, would you, heavens?

But presuming to guess Lady Martha's intentions was a grave taboo.

"Miss Romanee, I'll count to three, and then you follow me out."

"Okay."

"Three..."

"Mmph."

"Ouch."

"Sorry, I was too nervous. I should have counted forward..."

"It's fine, Brando..." Romane couldn't help covering her face. Bumping into the young man's solid back just now had her blushing and her heart pounding.

She hadn't always been this shy.

But Su Fei had no mind to dwell on a young girl's thoughts. This awkward blunder left him somewhat embarrassed. He remembered he was supposed to be calm—yet here he was, flustered over a few measly bone frames.

He gritted his teeth and pushed the door open. Before the dust had even settled, a gleaming longsword thrust in.

Ambush, as expected.

Su Fei's heart had never been so still. It was as if thirty-one years of warrior experience from the game had merged with this life. The black rose emblem of Bromanto, blooming on the iron plate, stood stark in his eyes—Madara's sword traced a blinding straight line.

Stiff. Su Fei knew the enemy's weakness.

He also knew he couldn't match their strength head-on. He immediately pressed his hand against Romane's side and sidestepped—just barely a hair's breadth away. The cold blade only sliced through his clothes.

Then Su Fei swung his hammer forward. As the dust parted, it revealed a skeleton's ribcage. A crisp crack rang out as three ribs snapped backward in unison.

That bone frame staggered back under the force, and the young man seized the chance to charge out of the flames.

He swept his gaze across the battlefield. Four skeleton soldiers—he couldn't help but suck in a cold breath. If there had been just one or two bone frames, he might have had the mind to curse. But now, only a chill filled his heart.

It seemed the heavens knew his nature all too well.

Only one thought remained: They really thought highly of him. They must have treated him as a scout.

And that made sense. Su Fei figured his performance was no worse than an average human scout. After all, in a place like this, even a scout was just a common hunter by trade.

Still, standing out too much wasn't a good thing either...

He felt Romane gripping his hand tightly from behind. The girl's instinctive gesture betrayed her nervousness. He wanted to say something to comfort her, but for a moment, he couldn't find the words.

He looked up. The dark patch of woods lay just beyond the slope, but how was he supposed to cross that stretch of ground? He hadn't grown wings.

A mountain breeze blew, and his sweat-soaked forehead felt ice-cold.

The four skeleton soldiers had already closed in.

What now? Close his eyes and wait for death? Su Fei could only instinctively shield the merchant's daughter behind him. He couldn't help wishing he were still that level 130-plus warrior. Dealing with these bone frames would have been a single move...

But there was no "if" in this world.

Reality was truly hateful.

Wait—levels? The young man suddenly realized he had overlooked something. A shiver ran through his heart. That's right—the Wind Queen Ring! He had used the Wind Queen Ring earlier to take down a lich and two skeletons, plus the one bone frame Brando had killed before dying. Six XP!

In the game, a swordsman needed only five XP to go from level one to two. So why not a militia?

His only hope was that this world wasn't too different from the game. Six XP—almighty Lady Martha—if he could just get one new level, he'd have a chance to escape.

Su Fei knew he had no time to waste. The four bone frames were almost upon him. He might have only a single breath—four seconds. Life or death.

At the fastest speed he could imagine, he projected a sheet of pale green data onto his retina—

XP: 6 (Commoner Level 1: -, Militia Level 1, 0/3)

Thank heavens!

He knew what he needed. Even if investing XP in a class like the militia was a blatant waste, at this moment he couldn't afford to care.

Waste was still better than becoming a cold corpse, wasn't it?

"Militia, six XP. Quick, let me level up!" He chanted desperately in his mind. The four bone frames had already raised their swords. He felt the merchant's daughter clinging tightly to him from behind.

"Brando, they're coming!"

But the data changed in an instant.

XP: 0 (Commoner Level 1: -, Militia Level 2, 6/10)

A warm current flowed through Su Fei's limbs. He knew he'd now get a 0.1 energy level strength bonus and a 0.1 energy level constitution bonus from the militia class. But those didn't matter—

A swordsman going from level one to two got 0.2 energy level bonuses in strength and constitution, not to mention extra boosts in agility and perception. Compared to that, the militia was trash.

But none of that mattered.

What mattered was that Su Fei knew when a character rose from level one to two, they got one of only three chances in their life to choose a talent skill.

Yes, this was the first.

And the fairest.

Here, it would also be the one that brought him new life.

He waited anxiously. A second felt like ten thousand years. But finally, the emblem symbolizing personal talent lit up on his attribute panel—

"Talent skill: Dead Hard." A blazing fire seemed to ignite in Su Fei's eyes. Four swords came down on him. He only symbolically raised his mason's hammer, dodging his head, heart, and abdomen.

Thud, thud, thud.

At least three blades pierced the young man's body. He had only one feeling—it hurt like hell!

But Su Fei knew that with the Dead Hard ability, he wouldn't pass out from blood loss for at least five minutes, and he absolutely wouldn't die from any physical blows for half an hour.

Now he had only one chance: get Romane out of here, then find a Life Potion in the remaining time.

He didn't know if such a thing existed in this world. But he had to believe it did.

Because he had no choice.

"Brando!" Romane's voice twisted with fear.

"Hold on to me, Romane."

"I..."

"Hold on to me!" The young man had no time to explain, and for a moment, he couldn't suppress his rising anger. Covered in blood, Brando looked like a true hero in that instant, leaving the girl stunned and staring blankly.

"I understand. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Brando."

Su Fei took a deep breath. He didn't know how many times he'd done this, but he truly needed to calm down first. Though inhaling sent a tearing pain through his wounds, he understood that, for him right now, pain was just an illusion...

Three skeletons drew their swords and hesitated. Because in their eyes, this human was gradually losing the heat of life, while another kind of power spread from his body.

Soul power.

The Unyielding Talent delved inward to ignite the Soul Fire, not unlike the art of driving the undead.

So the undead believed, in that moment, that Su Fei was one of their own. But there was a misunderstanding here. Because Su Fei didn't think so. Gritting his teeth, he swung his hammer, sending all four Bone Frames flying.

This wasn't because the young man's strength had suddenly surged; it was purely because he had completely caught them off guard.

Su Fei grabbed Romane's hand and, seizing the opportunity, dashed forward.

"Miss Romanee," he said, struggling as he ran.

"Here, here."

"Listen carefully..." Su Fei gasped. The Dead Hard Ability couldn't push his stamina beyond its limits, and he could already feel the surroundings blurring.

All that remained was the whistling wind rushing past his ears.

"Hmm?"

"If I pass out, take me to Buchi. Make sure to avoid Madara... Go to the town's temple and find... a Health potion. Do you understand?"

"I, I understand. Brando... you won't die, right?"

"I don't know, cough... Let's see what Lady Martha has in store..."

Su Fei wasn't sure if the Merchant's Daughter truly understood, but he only had strength left for these words. As for the rest, like he said—he'd leave it to fate.

He couldn't help but look back. Through the blur, flames lit up the hillside. He sighed, closing his eyes wearily—was he still that shut-in obsessed with games?

Perhaps his past life had truly left him in this moment.

Unbelievable, really, that he could be so brave and decisive. Even if he died like this, he might feel at peace.

"Because I'm no longer a useless waste..."

(PS. Will today's results earn me a third chapter? Let's wait and see.

Looking forward to fewer pitfall-filled reviews in the comment section, and more insightful ones like those from Brother Holy Dragon Marshal.)