Chapter 19: What Just Happened?

"Dong... dong... dong..."

A low, deep bell tolled as Fang Zheng opened his eyes and looked towards the sky in front of him.

"Where is this..."

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but quickly realized with surprise that his voice had become hoarse and gloomy. Not only that, he felt that his body seemed strange as well. It wasn't his familiar physique, but more like a foreign shell.

What's going on?

Fang Zheng shook his head and slowly stood up. It was only then that he discovered he was in a cemetery. At this moment, he was wearing heavy armor, with a longsword and a shield by his side. From a surface perspective, it looked as if "Fang Zheng" had been buried as a knight in a coffin.

So that's it. Only the spirit has entered this world? No wonder I can leave at any time...

After moving his body a bit, Fang Zheng finally understood the concept of the Free World. It seemed that in this place, he wasn't using his own body, but a body that already existed in this world. He was more like a spirit possessing someone. To Fang Zheng, this was like another "rebirth." However, compared to rebirth in the Main World, the rebirth in this world didn't seem to offer him any benefits. The original owner of this body didn't seem to have any inherited memories, nor was there any item to prove his identity. The only useful things were the shield and longsword by his side.

Is this another game world? Could it be Dark World again?

Looking up at the dark, cloudy sky similar to that of the Dark World, Fang Zheng frowned involuntarily. But fortunately, though this body did not provide him with memories of the previous life of its owner, it did offer him some combat skills. Fang Zheng then discovered, quite frustratingly... these were indeed just combat skills!

Forget about the cool sword skills of the Main World; there were not even any skills from the Dark World. The memories of this body contained only simple combat techniques like thrusting, slashing, rolling, and blocking, all of which were things Fang Zheng had learned from Shi Dong. If there was any difference, it was an extra technique called "Bounce Back," a skill that involved deflecting an enemy's attack at the moment of impact and then seizing the opening for a critical strike.

No flashy skills, no unique moves—just mundane combat techniques.

This isn't the Dark World. Where exactly is this?

Curious, Fang Zheng looked around and then walked out of the coffin, following the path ahead.

"Uuuu..."

At that moment, a skeletal figure slowly crawled up from the ground, blocking Fang Zheng's path.

An enemy? A zombie? Or a living dead?

Looking at the creature before him, Fang Zheng's expression turned serious. He tightly gripped his sword with his right hand and, before the creature could stand up, slashed down with his sword.

To Fang Zheng's surprise, the creature in this world didn't seem as tough as those in the Dark World. With a single stroke, he had felled the opponent to the ground. Whatever it was, at least it seemed as weak as it looked.

Doesn't seem too dangerous. How can a world like this train combat skills?

"Whoosh!!"

While Fang Zheng was still puzzled, he suddenly heard the sound of wind by his ear and instinctively rolled forward without hesitation. A burning arrow narrowly missed him. When Fang Zheng looked up, he saw another skeletal figure not far ahead, reloading a crossbow.

What the hell! These guys can use weapons?

Seeing this, Fang Zheng was slightly startled. He had thought these creatures were just like zombies, attacking only out of instinct, but they could actually use weapons?

That's unacceptable!

Thinking about it, Fang Zheng swiftly rushed forward, slashing down with his sword once again. He sent the figure back to its grave.

What a strange place...

Looking at the corpse on the ground, Fang Zheng frowned. The sky was dark and gloomy, and even the cold wind felt chilling to the bone. Everything around him was shrouded in darkness, like ashes after a fire, giving off an unsettling vibe.

In any case, let's investigate this world's situation first.

After that, Fang Zheng followed the mountain path out of the cemetery, killing a few more "living dead" along the way. Then he came to a bonfire. Looking at the bonfire, Fang Zheng felt as if he recalled something. He reached out towards the flames, and soon, he felt a mysterious power silently disappear from within him. The next moment, the bonfire flared up.

"..."

Watching the amber flames, Fang Zheng let out a sigh of relief. The creatures in this world didn't seem very formidable, but looking at the ruins around him and the endless clouds in the distance, Fang Zheng had a bad feeling. It seemed this world was not as simple as it appeared.

Keep moving forward.

After sitting by the bonfire for a few minutes, Fang Zheng decided to continue exploring the world. So far, he hadn't encountered another living soul, which made him uneasy. Could this be a wasteland-like world, where everyone but himself was dead? It couldn't be as awful as "I Am Legend."

Moreover, Fang Zheng did not feel threatened by these slow-moving creatures. The living dead in the Dark World, though slow, had terrifying strength and defense. But the creatures here had no defense and were slow to move. Several times, Fang Zheng had reached them before they could even climb up, moving lethargically like ordinary people.

How could a world like this help me train combat skills?

After a circuit along the mountain path and killing a monster guarding a gate, Fang Zheng arrived at a plaza. It was empty except for a gigantic knight dressed in armor, two or three meters tall, who crouched in the center of the plaza. Beside the knight lay a battle axe, and a black spiral sword pierced through his chest... From any angle, it looked like he was dead.

But Fang Zheng didn't choose to approach him. From experience, he knew that such an eerie place with such an object undoubtedly had a problem. It could either be a trap or a boss, and caution was the best course. So he decided to circumvent the knight and continue exploring. His efforts paid off when he discovered a building behind the knight. Unfortunately, the front door seemed sealed by something, and no matter how hard he pushed, he couldn't open the wooden door.

Do I really have to deal with that knight?

Feeling helpless, Fang Zheng returned to the knight, approaching him cautiously. To his surprise, the knight didn't jump up unexpectedly, nor did monsters ambush him. The knight remained silently crouched, faithfully playing the role of a dedicated dead man.

Am I supposed to pull out the sword from his chest?

Hesitating for a moment, Fang Zheng decided to pull out the sword. Although his intuition told him it might trigger a "boss battle," the earlier fights showed him that those creatures posed no real threat and didn't help train his sword skills. But this was at least a boss, so there shouldn't be any disappointment.

Thinking this, Fang Zheng reached out decisively, grabbing the spiral sword lodged in the knight's chest, and pulled it out.

"Gurgle..."

As Fang Zheng extracted the spiral sword, he saw the dark, gooey substance in the knight's wound begin to wriggle, like a sentient life form, and then flow back into the knight's body. This sudden scene shocked Fang Zheng, and the knight stood up, grabbed the battle axe beside him, and swung it fiercely toward Fang Zheng!

Damn! What's with the sudden attack? I'm your savior here!

Shocked at this unexpected assault, Fang Zheng quickly rolled on the ground, dodging the knight's axe. But before he could get up, the giant knight rushed at him, crashing into him, sending Fang Zheng flying. The knight then raised the axe again, bringing it down ferociously on Fang Zheng.

This is bad!

Seeing the gleaming axe, Fang Zheng was stunned. He hurriedly raised his shield, blocking the axe just in time.

"Clang!!"

The massive force struck, almost buckling Fang Zheng's knees. But the knight wasn't done; after the first strike was blocked, he immediately swung the axe again. This time, Fang Zheng couldn't hold on and was knocked to the ground. The knight then leaped high, axe and all, and came crashing down.

"Thud!!"

The next moment, Fang Zheng felt the blade pierce his body. His vision went black, and everything around him plunged into darkness.

Fang Zheng then felt as if he were floating like a balloon, being pulled upwards and then slowly descending. When he opened his eyes again, he saw only the burning bonfire and the broken longsword stuck in the flames.

"..."

Dazed and confused, Fang Zheng stared at the bonfire, his mind in chaos, not knowing what to do.

What just happened?

Where am I?

How did I die?!