Dungeon Predator (WN)
Dungeon Predator (WN) - Chapter 19: Taksen Castle

Kang Oh had come to the Taksen Castle to learn the whereabouts of the Loxia family's demon sword from the ghosts.

'There should be a ghost from the Loxia family here.'

After all, Loxia was one of the Altein Empire's 4 great knight families.

When the people revolted and attacked the palace, the Loxia family held the line and protected the Emperor until the very end.

Though that's also why they fell.

In any case, famous knight families created several knights.

In other words, since Ghost Knights gathered here at Taksen Castle, some of them had to have come from the Loxia family.

The problem was that how would he find those Ghosts Knights, as well as how to interact with them.

Thus, Kang Oh pretended to be an heir to the Loxia line, and to that end, wore an overcoat with its symbol, a leopard biting a sword.

'They should recognize me. They wouldn't ignore someone familiar in a place so far from home.'

And that's how the last heir of the Loxia family had appeared.

"I am Dimitrino Lassa!"

"I'm the last member of the Loxia family, Kang Oh!"

Kang Oh, who pretended to be Loxia's last heir, decided to keep up his act for a while.

* * *

The Taksen Castle was divided into two areas: the inner castle and the outer walls.

"Not here."

Kang Oh searched every nook and cranny of the outer walls while simultaneously engaging the Ghost Knights, but he couldn't find what he was looking for.

And now, he was standing before the entrance leading into the inner castle.

"Should I go in or not?"

There was only one reason he was hesitating.

It was due to the Taksen Castle's boss monster.

Roaming Galmoss!

It shouldn't appear in a hunting ground filled with level 60 - 80 monsters.

It was at least level 350; it might even go as high as level 400.

Moreover, it was a boss that roamed around as it pleased.

Even Kang Oh couldn't beat it; he'd die within 3 seconds of encountering it.

Kang Oh hesitated because the penalties of dying were far greater for him than any other player.

"But I still need to go in."

Kang Oh sighed.

He was hesitating over his demon sword but also needed to enter because of another demon sword.

Kang Oh really wanted a new demon sword!

If he used both Ubist and the new demon sword, then he'd become even stronger!

Trample, trample.

Ultimately, Kang Oh went down the stairs in order to find clues to the demon sword.

Ggiik.

The door, which hadn't been opened in a while, creaked, and Kang Oh was met with darkness.

[Entering the Taksen Castle Depths.]

The Taksen Castle Depths were ruins.

It was only natural; the castle had long been abandoned, ghosts had begun to gather here, and it had been a long time since human contact.

The pillars and the floor were cracked, and piles of rocks and debris were scattered everywhere.

A thick and worn-out curtain covered the window, so the interior was dark.

This place was, from a single glance, a place where ghosts would congregate. And in reality, it was indeed a place where ghosts resided.

The Taksen Castle Depths possessed a central passageway and four areas.

These four areas included the horseback competition stadium, the church, the central conference hall, and the armory.

It was known that the boss monster, the Roaming Galmoss would continuously wander throughout these four areas.

'Let's figure out where the Galmoss is first.'

Kang Oh crouched and began to creep forward. Whether he was looking for clues or hunting, locating the boss was his top priority.

Sasak, sasak.

Yes, he was crawling, but he wasn't moving at a slow pace. Kang Oh quickly passed the debris like a cockroach.

There were Ghost Knights that flew above him, but Kang Oh made sure he evaded their gaze.

Kang Oh hid behind a pile of rocks.

That's because the Galmoss was exiting the church.

"It really does look strong."

The Roaming Galmoss.

It was completely encased in armor and two ethereal purple fires swayed within the visor of its helmet.

It was also 3 meters tall.

The boss carried a greatsword around, and based on its green color, it was a ghost-type monster. It was a monster estimated to be higher than level 350.

This ultimately meant that if he didn't want to die, he had to find a way to avoid it.

'Let's see here...'

Kang Oh watched the Roaming Galmoss in order to figure out its route.

The Galmoss, having exited the church, headed for the armory next.

'So it goes to the armory after the church.'

Kang Oh quietly followed behind the Galmoss.

* * *

Kang Oh continued to stalk the Galmoss. Because of this, he gained a rough idea as to what the Galmoss's path was.

The Galmoss stayed in one area for about 30 minutes and then switched to another area.

It started at the church, then went to the armory, the central conference hall, the horseback competition stadium, and then back to the church.

When it reached the central passageway, it just moved on to another area.

"Shall we begin?"

Kang Oh stood up, having confirmed that the Galmoss had entered the central conference hall.

He was currently at the central passageway.

"Who are you!?"

A nearby floating Ghost Knight pointed their sword at him and charged.

"I'm Kang Oh, the last heir to the Loxia family!"

"I'm Proxia Gaffelt.."

He didn't even finish before Kang Oh bisected him top down.

[You have defeated the Ghost Knight, Proxia Gaffelt.]

Kang Oh immediately hid behind the debris and stared at the entrance to the central conference hall, which the Galmoss had just entered.

'As I thought.'

Kang Oh's eyes shined.

The Galmoss had shown up as soon as he'd killed the ghost in the central passageway.

He had expected this.

'If a fight drags on, it'll appear 100%.'

After that, Kang Oh made a few more tests. It was all to figure out the Galmoss's patterns.

* * *

"Hahp!"

Kang Oh's sword was set in a straight line; it had pierced the Ghost Knight's heart!

[You have defeated the Ghost Knight, Andalosi Lei.]

[You have leveled up.]

By killing a level 80 named Ghost Knight, he gained a considerable amount of experience points.

"I'll be level 60 soon."

Kang Oh had fully adapted to the castle depths.

He realized that the Galmoss wouldn't move from one area to another, regardless of what was happening in that other area.

That meant that all he needed to do was hunt in one area until he ran out of time and then leave before he encountered the Galmoss.

The Galmoss was currently inside the armory, so it would be some time before it returned to the church, where Kang Oh was.

"Here comes Kang Oh, the last heir to the Loxia family! Get out of my way!"

Kang Oh swept through the Ghost Knights with unstoppable force. He cut through the Ghost Knights again and again.

"It's time."

Kang Oh kept the time even while fighting.

Now he needed to move to another area.

He left the church and entered the armory.

A Ghost Knight attacked him.

However, it suddenly halted its attack and looked closely at Kang Oh's overcoat.

"You, are you from the Loxia family?"

Kang Oh's eyes shined.

Finally!

"Yes. I am the last heir to Loxia, the great leopard family, Kang Oh."

"Oh, it's a pleasure. I'm one of the Grancia family's knights, who served the Loxia family, Angel Grancia."

The Ghost Knight descended to the floor.

"For starters... would you mind pointing that fearsome sword elsewhere?"

Angel pointed towards the demon sword.

As expected, the demon sword was like a mortal enemy to ghosts.

"Is it that terrifying?"

"This is the first time I've felt such terror since becoming a ghost."

Kang Oh momentarily thought about placing the demon sword at the ghost's neck and threatening him but decided against it.

Though he was the one who held the demon sword, these Ghost Knights charged at him first, likely because of their characteristics as knights.

It was obvious that any poor attempt to threaten him would fail.

Kang Oh tied the demon sword to his back.

"Shall we go somewhere quiet and talk?"

"Alright," Angel replied relaxingly.

As he thought, one welcomes someone from their hometown in an unfamiliar place.

Kang Oh lead the way and Angel floated behind him.

"I am..."

Rustle.

"Enpe..."

Swish.

In the midst of trying to locate a safe location, two Ghost Knights became food for the demon sword.

Kang Oh purposefully swung his sword more violently than before. So that Angel would become even more fearful of the demon sword!

"Mm."

Angel's expression stiffened. It was certainly effective.

"That place looks safe."

There was a small table in the corner.

The table had been neglected for so long that a cloud of dust had settled atop it; a lone, chipped cup sat on top of it as well.

"Please sit comfortably."

Kang Oh acted like it was his own house. Then again, the demon sword essentially made Kang Oh king before all the ghosts.

"Let me introduce myself again. I am the last heir to the Loxia family, Kang Oh."

Kang Oh felt absolutely no guilt from this lie.

'Since all of humanity is a distant relative.'

"I'm Angel Grancia."

Angel was a middle-aged Ghost Knight with a goatee.

"Hoo. It's a pleasure to meet you. After my family's fall from grace, there weren't many people that recognized me..." Kang Oh said sorrowfully.

Kang Oh made sure to trail off as well.

"What are you talking about!? The family fell!? So are you saying that the Loxia family fell?"

Angel's eyes widened.

"That's correct. You are looking at the last heir to the Loxia family."

While it was true that the Loxia family had fallen, Kang Oh was not the last heir to their line.

'Well, they're probably somewhere out there living a good life.'

If not, then whatever.

"Hoh. How?"

Angel groaned.

"It happened 50 years ago. During the people's revolution, which brought down the Altein Empire, the Loxia family defended the Emperor to the bitter end and was brought to ruin."

Kang Oh spoke of the details surrounding the Loxia family's fall, as well as the current situation of the Arth continent.

"Now it is the era of free cities."

Following the people's revolution, which toppled the Altein Empire (which ruled over the entire continent), the citizens of the Empire's cities became free cities and elected mayors to govern them.

It was no empire; it was a loose alliance of free cities. And that's how it had been for 50 years.

"To think that the eternal empire and eternal family are gone..."

Angel stroked his goatee and clicked his tongue.

"I coincidentally found out that I was an heir to the Loxia family, and I'm training to be a knight so that I can bring back the family no matter what."

That's the lie he came up with. Kang Oh's only objective was the demon sword.

"You must've had it hard."

He was just a ghost, yet he was looking at Kang Oh with pity.

"Hoo. But if I were to know where the family's secret storehouse is, then I'd..."

Kang Oh threw the bait.

"A secret storehouse? The Loxia family had something like that?" Angel asked.

'Is it a miss?'

Kang Oh furrowed his brow and said, "You didn't know? A secret storehouse apparently exists."

"This is the first time I've ever heard about it. It must've been created after I died."

"When did you die, Sir Angel?"

"I'm not sure. It's been so long."

"Have you ever heard about a mysterious and ominous sword?"

Kang Oh changed the subject.

He'd hold off on stealing everything from the storehouse for now.

"That may be Lord Grande Loxia's sword," Angel said as if it were obvious.

'Oh!'

Kang Oh’s face was filled with joy. He'd finally found a new clue for the whereabouts of the demon sword.