A few minutes earlier—
Maru stared down at the pile of bones scattered across the ground and, without hesitation, stomped on them.
Sein Survival Rule No. 3: If you see a pile of bones, hit it first.
After all—no adventurer wants a skeleton sneaking up to stab them in the butt.
Only after she'd crushed every fragment to dust did she finally relax.
"Strange… Has this dungeon gone soft? Why aren't the skeletons reviving?"
"Senior, stop being so paranoid and come over here! There's good loot everywhere!" her partner called cheerfully.
"Alright, alright, I'm coming."
Maru still felt uneasy. But after a quick scan of the surroundings—no monsters, no traps—it looked safe enough.
Could the Dungeon really make an area that's completely harmless?
With countless thoughts running through her head, she bent down and picked up a glowing wisp from in front of a tombstone.
[Soul of a Nameless Soldier]
Her doubts vanished instantly, replaced by a grin. Jackpot. That was valuable—perfect for leveling up.
Excited now, she grabbed another glimmering wisp. This one contained a green herb.
[Budding Green Blossom]
[A green herb that blooms like a large flower. Temporarily increases stamina recovery speed.]
[A plant that grows by clear waters. The Farron Undead Legion often practiced sword swings on it, making it famous.]
"Farron Undead Legion again, huh…"
Maru examined the tombstone, hoping for a clue from its worn engravings. Nothing remained—only faint, weathered scratches.
"Could this be a grave of one of the Farron Legion? Maybe a comrade left this herb here to honor them…"
For a moment, she imagined a touching story of brotherhood and remembrance.
If Wade could've heard her, he'd probably have given her a thumbs-up and said, "Congratulations, you're a fledgling lore reader now."
Most of the offerings at these graves were either souls or Green Blossoms. Souls—what the dead left behind; herbs—a token of respect. Together, they gave this graveyard a quiet, sacred atmosphere.
Rusted weapons were embedded around the tombs, as if waiting for their owners to return. Each scarred blade whispered of its own forgotten legend.
Maru suddenly regretted stomping on those bones earlier. It felt… disrespectful now.
"There's a weapon here! Want it?" the other adventurer called, hefting a massive greatsword that required both hands to lift.
In short—way too heavy.
"You keep it," Maru waved him off. She preferred lighter, curved blades.
Just thinking about curved swords made her sigh.
When she finally cleared the Dungeon, her "reward" had been two hideous flaying scimitars. Sure, they were effective—fast, vicious, and caused bleeding—but they were ugly. She'd have preferred a Glory of Kariya any day.
Still, she hadn't actually tested them in battle yet.
"Hopefully, these scimitars surprise me…" she murmured.
Then she froze—something was gripping her ankle.
She looked down. A skeletal hand had burst from the dirt and clamped onto her leg.
Worse—it wasn't just holding. It was… rubbing. Slowly. Greasily. Ticklishly.
"WAAAAAAHHHH!"
Her scream echoed through the entire Firelink Shrine.
"There are monsters coming out of the ground!"
Her partner, clutching his greatsword, shrieked and bolted toward the exit. Behind him, skeletons clawed their way from the soil, seizing the weapons by the tombs and shuffling after them.
Damn it, meow! Those weapons weren't tributes—they were supplies! And I was just getting sentimental!
Maru kicked the hand away, spun, and yanked the adventurer down just in time to dodge a slashing strike from behind. She drew her scimitar and countered, cutting clean through the skeleton.
BANG!
The bones exploded apart—but the impact numbed her arm.
These skeletons were tougher than any she'd fought before.
Of course—they weren't the native ones from this world. They were the Dark Souls version.
[Skeleton Warrior]
[Overall Combat Strength: E+]
More skeletons emerged, one after another. Acting on instinct, Maru grabbed the adventurer's arm and ran—but quickly realized their path back was gone.
This graveyard was an isolated zone beneath the Firelink Shrine. From above, the buildings completely hid it. The cliff walls were smooth and impossible to climb, and the only entrance—the passage behind the treasure chests—was now blocked by a towering Skeleton Warrior swinging a warhammer like a tornado.
They could fight—but in this cramped space, even Maru's odds were slim.
"Maru! Where are you!?" Terl's voice echoed from above.
"Jump down from the left side! There's a path behind the chests! Watch out for monsters!"
"Got it!"
Seconds later—thud!
"I can't fit!" Terl groaned.
"Damn it! Where's the old man? Can't he use magic to help me?!" Maru shouted, dodging strikes like a cat. Graceful, yes—but exhausting.
Her only real hope was for her teammates to use levitation magic and descend safely.
But by the time that happened, she'd be nothing but dust.
She scanned the area and spotted a narrow trail deeper in the graveyard.
"This way!"
Dragging her companion, she sprinted toward it. Near the cliff's edge, a small path wound down into darkness. They raced down—and found a pitch-black tunnel.
The path to the Mine Area. Wade hid it this deep!?
Skeletons gave chase. Maru kicked several off the cliff, but the rest wised up and blocked the tunnel entrance.
Now she had three options:
1. Jump off the cliff. Better that than getting torn apart.
2. Wait for the team to arrive.
3. Go deeper into the tunnel.
…Yeah, no contest. Option 2, obviously.
"I'll just move in a little—it's too close to the edge," the adventurer said nervously, stepping forward.
Click.
A sharp sound echoed. Both of them went pale.
It came from beneath his foot.
"S-Senior… I think I stepped on a trap."
"Don't move! Whatever you do, don't lift your foot! Pressure traps usually trigger when you release it!"
Maru stared tensely into the dark. What kind of trap? Rolling boulder? Hidden arrows? Monsters from above?
Beep… beep-beep… beep-beep-beep—!
A rapid, mechanical sound filled the air—cold and alien.
From below.
BOOM!!!
A massive explosion tore through the tunnel. The floor collapsed beneath them.
"Well, we're definitely dying now…"
As they plummeted, Maru shouted, "It's an Explosion Spell! Wait—no, it's—"
Actually… it was C4.
Way cheaper than an Explosion Spell.
.
..
...
I'm dead, right?
They'd fallen off a cliff. No way she survived that.
But wait—why was everything so loud? Her head hurt, but not like the post-revival migraine.
Maru blinked awake—and froze.
"Wait… why am I still inside the dungeon!?"
Before her burned a familiar bonfire. Terl and the others stood around her, whispering like they'd seen a ghost.
"Huh? How am I here? Did you guys save me?"
The group exchanged looks until Roger spoke. "No… you did die."
"Then why am I still here?"
Normally, dead adventurers were teleported back to the Revival House by their crystals. This made no sense.
Terl scratched his head, pointing to the bonfire. "When we came back, you just… appeared here. Out of thin air."
"Unknown mechanism," Drew muttered. "But why you—and not your partner?"
Maru blinked, realizing he was missing. "Right… why didn't he revive?"
Uneasy silence. They even used Identify Human on her, just to be sure.
While dazed, Maru accidentally touched the bonfire—her status panel flickered open.
She skimmed through the numbers… until one detail made her blood run cold.
[Current Soul Count: 0]
Zero? But she'd killed skeletons earlier—she should've had at least a few dozen.
Her partner, on the other hand, hadn't killed anything. His soul count was zero.
Wait… zero?
A chill ran down her spine as realization struck. She finally understood why she'd revived here.
(***)
In the Lord's Chamber
Wade sat before a glowing crystal orb, watching scenes unfold—adventurers popping back to life at bonfires, dazed and confused.
He scribbled notes.
"New Mechanic: Upon death, adventurers may revive at their last bonfire, depending on their remaining Soul and Mana. Souls are consumed first; if insufficient, Mana is used. Once Mana falls below the dungeon's 'danger threshold,' the adventurer dies permanently."
"Excellent," he mused. "This way, they won't have to wait for daily reset timers after each death. I can squeeze more Mana out of them per day."
He paused, thinking aloud.
"Though recovery will take longer… I'll need to raise the danger threshold slightly. Otherwise, if they need half a month to recover every time, progression will stall."
He smirked, gazing at the image of Maru's team stepping into Farron Keep.
"One bonfire per major zone. The next only appears after the boss is defeated. Let them walk every inch of those three hundred and sixty-five miles."