Chapter 1: Inheriting Death

Clang!

A desolate land, an enclosed space of dusk, the area covered by rotting grass and ground filled with murky potholes. Situated at the centre of this grim place was a massive shack spanning at least the size of a three-storey building.

The sounds of two entities clashing resounded from within, and from time to time, the shockwaves caused tatters of the shack to fall off, embers into the night.

Clang!

One side of the shack collapsed as an object resembling a blade—sporting a pearl-like texture—slashed through, revealing a fervent battle inside.

Clang!

“Urgh!” A youth swerved his body, watching the pearl-textured blade slam before him, hacking into the ground, the force of which caused a ten-metre-long crack.

The youth leaned back, evading a circular sweep of the blade as mana gushed out of his body, resulting in his form appearing five metres away.

He panted in exhaustion, staring at the entity which was constantly attacking him with the intent of slashing him into pieces.

Spanning a height of four metres, a figure solely made of bones emanated the suffocating sensation of death. Its bluish soul flames danced within the sockets of its skull, trailing towards the youth’s location.

It was the infamous creature, the terror of the night, and one of the strongest beings to walk the world…

Death Knight!

Currently, the Death Knight neither had its mount nor was it protected by armour. Its two hands were missing as scores of wounds were evident throughout its body, through which mana seemed to be leaking out nonstop.

The Death Knight’s right leg held the shaft of a bone blade it wielded, aiming at the youth, who continued to dodge in a hurry.

“Drill!” At the youth’s shout, the mana billowing out of his body spiked, almost doubling in response as the energy transformed into a drill that swirled before slamming into the Death Knight, barely managing to create a tiny crack in its skull.

In response, the Death Knight lunged forward with a frontal kick, throwing the blade in its leg at him.

The youth flashed five metres away, dodging the blade as he rushed towards the opponent, taking the chance—as it didn’t have a blade to hack him with for now—to close in.

The Death Knight kicked forth, almost shattering his head in response. Dodging by a hair’s margin, the youth felt his life flash before his face as he tackled the opponent, causing it to tumble, “Die!”

Using his legs, he pressed upon the opponent’s hip joints, preventing it from moving its legs. His hands then grabbed hold of one of its ribs that had cracked the most, applying pressure on it until it shattered.

After raising the rib bone like a knife, the youth plunged it into the skull, furthering the crack at the impact point as he kept repeating the word, “Die! Die! Die…”

“Please…” His eyes were red, staring at the skull face as he continued the pummeling, cracking it little by little. In the end, he couldn’t control himself as tears streamed out of his eyes, imagining the face of his uncle outlining the skull before him.

The one that had taken care of him since childhood now lay under him, getting pummelled nonstop. There wasn’t any other option but to do so, a cruel fate.

The youth shed tears while his hands never stopped, watching the bone—forming the forehead of the skull—collapse into the soul fire within, disintegrating into mana.

The youth then positioned the palm of his hand into the hole, biting his lips when he noticed the Death Knight had long since stopped struggling. The erratic soul flame from before seemed to have calmed down completely, now resembling a candle, staring at him as they seemed to be smiling gently.

“Drill!” At his mutter, a vortex of energy swirled out of his palm and slammed into the insides of the Death Knight’s skull, cracking it completely. Five seconds later, another vortex slammed at the same place.

By the fourth attack, the skull cracked as the body of the Death Knight began disintegrating completely. Seeing this, the youth slammed his fists into the ground, wailing uncontrollably. He had no other choice but to kill his family.

All the dissipated mana rapidly condensed before him, forming a chest that opened to reveal a Shard, a flat piece of crystal resembling the Death Knight’s skull.

“Death Knight Shard…it’s here,” The youth muttered, extending his trembling hand as he picked up the Shard that was cold to the touch, containing boundless power within, of death, of destruction, enough to annihilate everything in his path.

The youth wiped his tears and absorbed the Death Knight Shard into his body, inhaling softly as he watched the world around him begin to form cracks before shattering into pieces, vanishing part by part.

The vast world had vanished, now revealing a dark, enclosed room within which he was kneeling on the floor. The sound of glass shattering resounded as the last of the fragments vanished.

He looked around, taking in the familiar sights of his room, where he had spent the past decade living. Now, it had an air of lonely sadness mixed amid the natural withering of the place.

Bang!

The door to the room burst open as a pair of siblings—a boy and a girl—rushed in, staring at the youth’s expression before they lost control of their bearings, collapsing to the floor weakly.

“Did my father…?” The girl among the siblings stared at the youth, asking while trying her best to suppress her grief. But despite her best efforts, her eyes reddened. Before long, tears gushed out like a torrent.

“Yes, I killed uncle,” The youth nodded, trembling in revulsion. A few seconds later, he rushed into the bathroom nearby to vomit, puking out all the bile. The first life he took was his uncle, the respectable man that had raised him since his childhood.

The girl offered him a glass of water to drink while patting his back gently, remaining silent during the whole ordeal as the youth continued to vomit every time he stared at his reflection in the mirror, disgusted by himself. Eventually, he settled down, exhausted.

“Thank you, Ryun, for freeing dad of his misery.” The girl wiped her tears and made eye contact with her brother. The sibling duo kneeled before the youth, “We greet the birth of the new generation Death Knight!”

“I won’t fail you,” The youth, addressed as Ryun, hugged the sibling duo, “Our family members that have been sealed as Dungeon Monsters...I’ll free them all.”

“Be careful,” The boy among the siblings said, gritting his teeth in regret, “If only I didn’t fail in getting into the Golden Lifespring Institute, you wouldn’t have to bear this burden alone.”

“I respect uncle as much as you do, Rida,” Ryun stated solemnly, “Please believe in me. I’ll create a future for us undead.”

“I’ll…leave our future in your hands,” Rida got up and walked away, his footsteps unsteady. The sounds of his sobbing resounded once he had entered the nearby room. Originally, it was his mission to inherit the power of the Death Knight from his father and embark on the journey to strive for the freedom of his people.

Unfortunately, he failed to get into the Golden Lifespring Institute, the place where the strongest undead—their Ruler—was kept sealed. Without their Ruler, they had no future. The past decade of slavery was evident enough as an example.

When it seemed that their last hope was extinguished, Ryun somehow managed to snag a seat at the Golden Lifespring Institute. With that, he inherited the power of the Death Knight that was originally meant for Rida.

This was why Rida was sad, lamenting at his uselessness that failed to carry his dad’s legacy.

“It’s already evening; you’re getting late for your train,” The girl stared at the time displayed on her watch, “Your classes at the institute start tomorrow, right?”

“Yes,” Ryun nodded.

“Be careful, Ryun,” The girl said, “With all the undead annihilated, our Order is no more. At the Golden Lifespring Institute, you’ll come face-to-face with Actuators from all the other Orders. Don’t give in to bullying and reveal your power prematurely, alright?”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Ryun got up and patted the girl, “I’ll be careful, Reka. I’ve endured bullying all this while. I can continue to endure it until the rest of our family is freed from confinement.”

He then grabbed a bag holding his belongings, took his ID card and exited the house, turning around to stare at an old, decrepit building where not many dared to live. That was where he lived for the past decade with his uncle, ever since the Order of Death had lost the war and were annihilated.

Their Ruler was defeated and sealed by the enemies. It wasn’t just their Ruler alone, but the majority of the upper echelon of the Order of Death was sealed—two of which were his parents.

His uncle was the sole survivor of the war. But he was physically and mentally crippled, a traumatised individual having zero chance of making a comeback. Hence, Ryun inherited his power in the end.

And now, in order to free every one of the Order of Death that had been sealed, Ryun had joined the Golden Lifespring Institute—one among the two topmost institutes in the world where geniuses from every Order attended.

‘Is it possible?’ He stared at the sky, sighing before steeling himself. ‘It IS possible. After all, I’m now the Death Knight.’

Ryun muttered under his breath, watching a transparent panel manifest before him, “Status.”

[Name: Ryun Ethda]

[Age: 17]

[Affiliation (Order): Death]

[Race Shard: Rank A—Death Knight (Level 1)]

[Common Shard: Flash (Level 51)]

[Common Shard: Swerve (Level 48)]

[Common Shard: Drill (Level 42)]

‘I’m indeed the Death Knight.’ He thought, trembling at the fact that he had killed his uncle in order to inherit this power. Gritting his teeth, he took deep breaths before calming down enough, hailing a taxi, “To the station, please.”

The taxi driver didn’t even bother to make eye contact with him, rubbing the swollen side of his cheek as traces of bruise were evident across his body, a trait common among everyone living on this side of the world.

They were humans but affiliated with the Order of Death. And after losing the war, they were enslaved by the victors, leading horrible lives.

Ryun took a seat in the taxi, staring out the window to take in the sights of the dilapidated street where he grew up, ‘I probably won’t be back for a few years…’

The taxi had just begun to move when Ryun noticed a car arrive at a screeching halt before his home. Stepping out of it was a man whose hair was shaped like a rooster with piercings all over his ears.

At the sight of the man, Ryun became tense, ‘Why the heck did this maniac come here?’

For a moment, he hoped the rooster-haired man would go to a different house. But the moment he entered their home, Ryun felt a strange sense of foreboding.

“Stop the car!”