Dominated Castle

Dmitry was waiting for the horse to turn 180 degrees, stomping his left foot on the ground, spinning, and stopping in seconds beside the horse. He struck the horse's mouth, which bit the spear tip with all its might, digging its hooves into the ground to spin and throw Dmitry in front of the knight's attack. The knight was running towards them with two swords in his hands—one with a single purple blade and the other divided into two, black and white.

"Just wait a minute," Dmitry said, letting go of the spear handle, causing the horse to throw itself backward with its own strength, sending Dmitry's weapon flying diagonally away from them. The horse was encircled by yellow lightning, giving no time for it to react. Dmitry struck the horse's neck with his open hand, killing it with one blow. He then kicked the horse's ribs, sending it flying towards the knight, who simply cut the horse into three pieces and leaped, flying towards Dmitry, who had stopped moving and was smiling at the knight. At the moment of attack, the knight realized he was missing his left arm.

"Lost something, didn't you?" Dmitry said, jumping up and kicking the knight straight in the face, sending him crashing into a distant wall. Dmitry then noticed a spear embedded in the ceiling corner with an arm attached to it.

"You still have two blades, right? Come on," Dmitry said, destroying his fingers to release the spear from the ceiling, sending it flying towards him. He raised his arm, catching the spear handle, creating a wind wave, and, without giving the knight time to react, ran towards him with a smile that rarely appeared in his daily life.

"Don't get discouraged now, let's go," Dmitry said, taunting the knight.

The knight stood up angrily, running towards Dmitry, initiating a flurry of blows between the split-bladed sword and Dmitry's spear. The knight's sword gradually disintegrated with each strike. Dmitry spun the spear, hitting the knight's right arm, causing him to drop the sword, giving Dmitry the chance to strike and cross it at his clavicle.

"Goodbye, great knight," Dmitry said, breaking the armor protecting the knight's belly and striking it. He quickly spun the spear, delivering a second blow that pierced the knight's body. The knight disappeared into numerous blade fragments and an old rusty crown. The castle's colors changed from cold and dirty to warm hues, and the knight spoke his last words, as the supposedly empty room now only had a throne growing in front of a huge window.

"Prepare yourself, he is coming, destroy him before he completely... takes your place," said a sad voice coming directly from the throne.

"Did you need this dramatic pause? I almost forgot you're still a game with a linear story," Dmitry said, rummaging through the items the knight had left behind. As Dmitry scattered the blade fragments, he found a rusty crown. The moment he picked it up, the game system screen showing dead monsters/NPCs and experience points appeared, delayed after the knight's death, with a further description.

"So you really were an important NPC," Dmitry said, looking at the floating screens in front of him.

[Frank the Abandoned King = 20,000 experience = killed 1]

[Experience recovered to level 42 = 3,868]

[Frank Efrat = was one of the forgotten kings, born with the purpose of ruling, but unfortunately having the bad luck of being born in the wrong year, becoming just another boss in this vast world]

"Was that supposed to be sad? Well, thanks for the castle and the warning, come back as another boss and we'll face off again," Dmitry said, snapping his fingers as he left the room in search of his two servants. As he looked to the side, he turned the crown in his hand.

"And you... you got nothing?" Dmitry knelt by the horse, touching it and looking around, expecting a game window to appear, but nothing happened. Dmitry sighed in disappointment and left the room.

"I'll need another fight..." Dmitry said, placing the crown on his head. Smiling, his eyes turned red, and he could see where Trins and Luke were. Dmitry realized they were asleep on the ground.

"How is this possible?" Dmitry said, walking towards them. When Dmitry stepped onto the first floor, Luke woke up, his eyes focused on the crown on Dmitry's head, while Trins rubbed her eyes but touched her forehead instead of her eyelids.

Seeing Trins' behavior in front of Dmitry, Luke said, "It's been over a month since you gained a humanoid body and you're still not used to it? How is that possible?"

"Don't ask..." Trins said, turning her back on them. Dmitry looked at Luke, who was leaning against the wall.

"Luke, Luke, didn't I tell you? Not to ask about her body..." Dmitry said, sighing.

"But this was the first time... and I only asked because I was worried since her developing a new form was surprising even to me," Luke said, looking away, appearing saddened.

"Don't ask about it, idiot, there may be other feelings you don't understand," Trins said, her back still turned to them.

"Alright... I'm sorry," Luke said, approaching Trins, trying to pat her head to apologize, but he got slapped before he could.

'They are just NPCs, but how can they be so intelligent...' Dmitry thought, turning to them and looking towards the staircase leading to the second floor, which had been rebuilt.

"Let's go, let's make this castle our domain," The three walked towards the second floor, looking around. They saw all the places were empty; the pictures that had been everywhere left only marks on the walls. The only things remaining were several blade fragments scattered around the area and the horse's body, with the throne being the most attention-grabbing object in the room, full of details with a grayish color and small touches of dark green.

"Luke and Trins, from now on, the real game begins." Dmitry touched the crown and tossed it up, and it fell back down, fitting upside down on his head. It took a new form, now without any rust, showing a beautiful golden color with some detailed designs around it.

'Perfect world, right? Let's check it out then,' Dmitry thought, smiling as Luke and Trins kneeled in front of him, one hand on the ground, looking down.