Entangle the Tiger in the Tiger’s Den

A menacing-looking Barbarian appeared before my eyes. With just a little thought, it was obvious that this guy was the Apostle sent by ‘Thrag’.

A wave of fear began to engulf my whole body. There was no way I, who couldn’t use any skills, could possibly defeat that Barbarian.

So I racked my brain as hard as I could.

How could I survive?

Why was I even here?

‘This is the dungeon where the Barbarian coming-of-age ceremony takes place.’

The fact that I was here meant that I, too, was a Barbarian undergoing the ‘coming-of-age ceremony’.

Even though my ‘class’ was Necromancer, I had come here as a Barbarian.

In other words, on the surface, that Apostle and I were companions here to undertake the coming-of-age ceremony.

“Brother!”

Though I was an industrial spy, I decided to pretend to be a companion for now.

* 〈Thrag despises you.〉

Like I care.

* * *

“Hmm.”

The Barbarian, reacting to the word ‘brother’, let out a sigh and looked around.

The red glow shining through his bone helmet and the blood-dripping axe were unnerving, but I had to keep a straight face.

“Strange. My senses told me there’s an enemy here.”

As expected, this guy was indeed the Apostle sent by ‘Thrag’.

“Yes, there is. I suffered against them too.”

I opened my mouth to answer, but the words that came out were extremely brief.

『Authority』

Short Tongue

√ Your speech becomes curt and brief.

And I quickly realized it was one of the faith traits of ‘Thrag’.

Actually, that was a relief. All Barbarians talked this way anyway.

“Where is the enemy?”

At the Barbarian’s question, I pointed to the cliff above where I had fallen.

“Up there.”

“Hmmm…!”

The Barbarian looked in the direction I was pointing, let out a sigh, and then started to tremble.

At the same time, he ground his teeth.

Grrrrk.

What is wrong with this guy?

“How dare someone who defies Thrag’s will… attack my comrade!”

The Barbarian expressed his rage toward ‘Thrag’s enemy’ who was supposedly atop the cliff.

“I’ll kill them! I’ll tear them limb from limb and celebrate in their blood!”

Yikes, that’s intense.

The Barbarian strode toward me.

“Rise, Dmihtan Elvar! Let’s defeat our arch-enemy together!”

Does he know that the ‘arch-enemy’ he’s talking about is actually me?

“Calm yourself.”

“Understood!”

When I told him to calm down, the guy who had been leaping about with his axe instantly quieted.

He’s obedient like a golden child.

“Thrag’s nemesis! Killing is fine, but we have other duties first.”

“… The Barbarian’s coming-of-age ceremony!”

“That’s right.”

He nodded. Despite his massive, fierce appearance, he too was a Barbarian in the middle of his ‘coming-of-age ceremony’.

“We can only become Thrag’s warriors once we complete the ritual.”

“Correct.”

“Even Thrag would want us to become honorable warriors before slaying our enemy!”

“Ooooh… you speak the truth!”

Boom, boom!

The guy started stomping his feet. He was so big and strong, I could feel the vibration through the ground.

“Smart Dmihtan! Your body is smaller than ours, but you are wise!”

“Thank you.”

“I, Barkal, thank you! Yes! Now, we must prioritize the ritual!”

Impressed by my words, the golden child, Barkal, reached behind his back.

As I was about to ask what he was doing, Barkal tossed me a rabbit.

“First, heal your wounds! It’s small, but it will help restore your blood and flesh!”

I looked at the rabbit that had fallen to the ground. It squirmed, so it must still be alive.

Now that I thought about it, barbarians preferred to eat raw meat. They believed absorbing the blood and flesh as is would make it their own.

Aren’t they worried about parasites? I wondered, but Barbarians probably think parasites are just another part of ‘blood and flesh’.

“Kraa! For blood and glory!”

With that salute, Barkal headed back into the forest to continue his ‘coming-of-age ceremony’.

‘Whew.’

After he disappeared, I let out a sigh of relief. I’d managed to save my life from ‘Thrag’s’ Apostle, but it wasn’t over yet.

* 〈Thrag wishes for your death.〉

After all, the root of the problem was still with me.

The god of Blood and Revelry.

Abandoning this god, who forces melee combat in any situation, was impossible right now.

If you’re going to drop me into 《Dungeon God》, at least show a little consideration.

Suppressing my complaints about the perks, I touched my back pocket.

My butt had been feeling weird since I fell earlier, and by the shape, it was a dagger.

‘You keep wishing for my death—do you think I’m going to die again?’

In a way, Thrag is better.

The 5-ton truck that killed me was unstoppable, but at least with this crazy god, I can try talking to him.

I drew the dagger and pointed it at the rabbit.

There is a system in 《Dungeon God》 that lets you offer sacrifices to the gods.

Sacrifices can take many forms, but for gods like ‘Thrag’, who are tied to battle, just taking a ‘life’ counts as an offering.

Stab!

With the dagger, I ended the faint rabbit’s life.

* 〈Thrag accepts your offering.〉

‘Of course he does.’

The real reason Thrag despised me was that I possessed ‘ranged combat abilities.’

“Thrag! I wish to speak with you!”

Bro, let’s talk. Especially at times like this, words are the best solution.

“I want to become your warrior!”

* 〈Thrag is curious about your words.〉

Yeah bro, hear me out.

“I will fight only in honest, fair combat! I will face my enemies, look them in the eye, and fight them head-on!”

Silence. Is that still not enough for you?

“As my first proof, I’ll complete the coming-of-age ceremony using only this dagger!”

Whatever, just throw in another one! I raised the dagger as I spoke.

I had no idea what I was supposed to do with this tiny dagger, but I said whatever I could.

* 〈Thrag laughs loudly.〉

* 〈Thrag accepts your proposal.〉

He accepted?

At that moment, a faint light began to envelop the dagger in my hand.

Crude Dagger

Grade: Common

【Cursed: Cannot be unequipped】 1

As I read the text, the dagger in my right hand suddenly stuck itself firmly to my palm.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get it off. Insane.

* 〈Thrag looks forward to your show.〉

With that final message, Thrag’s presence gradually faded.

I looked at my right hand. I tried to relax my grip to drop the dagger, but it just dangled there.

Even mages would marvel at this. They’d want to know how I’d fixed the dagger to my palm.

‘But this curse lasts only until the coming-of-age ceremony ends.’

So once I pass the ritual, I’ll say goodbye to my dagger magic.

‘But what were the requirements to pass the Barbarian coming-of-age ceremony, again?’

In this world, even among Barbarians, there are countless tribes.

Luckily, only one tribe holds ‘Thrag’ as their native faith.

‘The Red Wolf.’

Then, what was the coming-of-age rite for the Red Wolf tribe?

‘Slay the dungeon’s master and bring back its heart.’

It may look like a forest, but this place is one of the many dungeons in the world.

And every dungeon has a ‘master’. If you kill the master, the dungeon starts to collapse.

‘That’s a problem.’

Of course, the dungeon’s master is powerful—more than a single Barbarian… No, wait, I’m a Necromancer.

Anyway, there’s no way someone who just set foot into the world could take them down.

‘Let’s check what weapons I have.’

First, the cursed dagger firmly stuck to my hand.

Not sure how helpful it’ll be. If I were a ‘Barbarian’, it could be a useful tool for forging my future, but as a ‘Necromancer’, it’s not much.

My other possible means of combat would be ‘skeleton summoning.’

‘I said I’d focus on melee combat, but I never said I’d skip out on summoning, right?’

Whatever, I’ll try it. Knock and it shall open.

* 【You use Summon Skeleton.】

√ No medium available.

Medium? Oh right. Necromancer spells needed a medium, didn’t they.

This class really is a headache. To summon something like a skeleton, you need an appropriate medium.

Fortunately, it’s not hard to obtain. All I need is blood and bones as a medium. And I had the rabbit’s corpse right in front of me.

* 【You use Summon Skeleton.】

Crack.

With the sound of twisting bones, a skeleton rose before me.

Looks like this is allowed.

‘Damn it.’

If nothing had happened, I could have put this skeleton to good use.

‘Wait.’

An idea hit me.

What ‘Thrag’ wanted was for his follower to win with pure ‘melee combat’.

He hated ‘magic’ or ‘summoning,’ but since my negotiation worked earlier, maybe as long as I’m doing melee combat myself, using magic is fine.

‘What if I fought alongside the skeleton?’

But, on second thought, that might not be a good plan.

If it had as much intelligence as a dolphin, the dungeon boss would surely aim for the person shouting, “Please kill me!”—in other words, me.

‘In that case…’

I stared at the skeleton. It seemed sturdy, standing atop the rabbit’s spilled blood and bones.

Probably solid-boned.

‘How about wearing it?’

Bone armor.

That wouldn’t be so weird in a world like this.

I immediately looked over the summoned skeleton to see if I could wear it. There was no opening to cram my body into.

‘Unless the skeleton is summoned over my body, there’s no way to wear it.’

So, I decided to change my approach. Instead of wearing a pre-summoned skeleton, what if I summoned it directly onto my body?

The method was simple. When I summoned the skeleton earlier, it appeared above the ‘medium’—blood and bones.

So, as long as I have ‘blood and bones’ on my skin, that should work.

What’s the best way to do that? After a moment’s thought, I figured I could crush the bone into powder, mix it with blood, and draw a tattoo-like pattern on my skin.

‘Is there anything like a mortar around here?’

I looked around, but there wasn’t. The only possible container was…

“Head.”

I called out to the skeleton; it handed me its own head.

I put the bones into the skull and mixed them with blood, grinding them together.

Finally, I had a bright red liquid. I began spreading it all over my body.

* 〈You have acquired the ‘Tattoo Drawing’ trait.〉

Tattoo Drawing [1]

My right hand was already useless, so the tattoos looked pretty pathetic.

Even so, a tattoo is a tattoo. Now I’d need a sticker every time I went to the bathhouse.

‘Alright.’

Looking at the finished tattoo, I took a deep breath.

This had to work, if I was going to survive. The thought made me tense, but it wasn’t enough to make me hesitate.

* 【You use Summon Skeleton.】

Crack.

The previously summoned skeleton vanished. At the same time, white bones began to appear and take shape over my skin.

Armor-like form. My prediction that the skeleton would be summoned over the ‘medium’ was spot on.

Nice.

Cheering inside, I looked back at the place where the first skeleton had been summoned.

My son, unable to realize his potential and only used as a mortar. Next time, may you meet a better father.

————-= Clacky’s Corner ————-=

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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