Michael felt a chill at the thought and couldn’t help but glance nervously at his surroundings.
However, just like before, it was silent.
The only noises came from him and his undead companions.
“Something still doesn’t make sense,” Michael muttered.
“Looking at the dorm I came from, it’s clear this ruin had plenty of residents in the past. So how could they leave such a valuable tower untouched? Unless…”
His voice trailed off, and a sinking feeling gripped him.
“Unless they never left.”
Michael’s heart thudded heavily in his chest.
Am I just scaring myself? Michael tried to push the thought away, but suddenly, a sound broke the silence.
At first, it was faint, almost imperceptible. But it grew louder.
“Food… I smell food.”
The voice was unnerving, belonging to no specific gender or age, and distorted as though multiple people were speaking in unison.
Each word was out of sync, creating a disjointed and eerie resonance.
The unsettling impression of the voice sent shivers down Michael’s spine, but before he could react, a sharp, excruciating pain tore through his head.
“Ahhhh!”
He screamed, clutching his head as the pain overwhelmed him.
His undead immediately froze, their alert postures revealing their readiness to defend him.
But Michael realized something.
They couldn’t hear anything.
The voice continued, its words clawing at his sanity.
“C-come… c-come.”
With each repetition, the pain in Michael’s head worsened.
It felt like jagged knives slicing through his mind.
His vision blurred, and his knees buckled as he fought to remain conscious.
If I pass out, something bad will happen. Very bad.
His instincts screamed that giving in wasn’t an option.
As if to confirm his fears, a familiar system panel flashed before his eyes, its usual blue glow replaced by an ominous, blood-red hue.
Despite the pain, Michael managed to make out the messages.
[Chosen One is in Danger! Chosen One is in Danger!]
[Danger detected to be capable of causing real death! Danger detected to be capable of causing real death!]
[Choosen mental fortitude isn’t strong enough to resist influence!]
[It is advised to commit suicide by your own hands! It is advised to commit suicide by your own hands!]
For the first time since his awakening, the system’s panels showed something beyond their usual.
An unmistakable warning of true death.
Explore new worlds at empire
Death.
The word echoed in his mind, cold and final.
Through his connection with his undead, Michael sensed their unease.
Their confusion was evident.
They gathered around him protectively.
But no, this wasn’t what they should be doing.
Protecting him wasn’t enough.
He needed to escape.
He needed to get out of here.
Michael gritted his teeth, summoning every ounce of strength he had left.
With his mind teetering on the edge of oblivion, Michael forced his lips to move.
And with a trembling voice, he managed to utter a single word.
“Kill…”
He wanted to say more—Kill me, to free himself from the excruciating torment—but the last word refused to come out as his strength failed.
His vision dimmed, and the pain threatened to pull him under completely.
But fate seemed to intervene.
The moment his voice faltered, Michael’s blurry gaze caught movement from above—a jet-black tentacle snaked its way down rapidly from the third floor, its inky presence exuding malice.
It moved with an otherworldly swiftness, and its target was clear.
Him.
But it had chosen the wrong moment.
“Kill…”
Michael’s voice dropped as the tentacle lunged closer.
To his undead, the word was absolute, a command etched into their very cores.
And with no further clarification, there was only one logical targe.
The tentacle.
It had to be what their master meant.
“Kill…”
The command echoed in their souls, resonating with a shaky, otherworldly vibration.
It carried something not of theirs.
Pain.
Not their own pain, but their master’s.
Madness gripped them, not their own but his.
And most disturbingly, the oppressive shadow of death filled them—one that was entirely foreign.
It was a feeling that none of them could comprehend fully, but it overwhelmed their growing intelligence and rationality.
They went berserk.
Suddenly, a loud howl pierced the air, one so deep and soul-shaking it seemed to reverberate through the very essence of a person.
The entire tower trembled violently, the ground cracking beneath their feet.
Thick, twisted vines erupted from the second floor, lashing out like serpents toward the black tentacle.
The two forces collided with a tremendous force, entangling in a fierce, unrelenting struggle.
The tentacle was powerful, but it was only one.
Lucky, on the other hand, had numerous.
Thick vines spiraled around the tentacle, pulling with immense strength.
A horrifying scream echoed from the second floor.
A sound filled with raw pain, twisting in the air like a dying animal.
“Kill… I’ll kill you!”
The voice—no, the voices—sounded as deranged as ever, their tone split and discordant.
Clearly, the tentacle felt the full force of the vines, its form writhing in agony.
And it was this pain that triggered a sudden shift.
[Chosen is no longer under influence!]
[Chosen is temporarily safe!]
[Chosen is no longer under influence!]
[Chosen is temporarily safe!]
Michael’s mind cleared.
The blinding pain that had consumed his mind faded away, leaving only a dull, throbbing headache.
His thoughts were no longer clouded, but he knew this reprieve was fleeting.
He didn’t need the system panel to tell him.
The danger wasn’t over.
Michael took a quick glance……
“Fuck!”
He witnessed something that chilled him to his core.
Without hesitation, he barked a command to the orc shaman beside him.
“Stop that damn huge fireball above your head! We need to get out of here. Now!”
With the order given, he swiftly leaped onto the back of the orc shaman, who had already started to cancel the fireball she’d intended to hurl at the tentacle.
She was confused, but she obeyed her master’s command.
Strength surged through her legs as she bolted toward the stairs leading to the first floor, disappearing in an instant.
A second later, they were outside the tower.
Michael’s heart raced as he screamed.
“What are you stopping for?!”
Turning quickly, he issued a command to the other undead—all of them, except Lucky and Prince.
“Drop whatever you’re holding and follow me!”
Pointing to a direction in the dense forest beyond the ruins, Michael urged the orc shaman forward.
The pair, along with the other undead, took off in a blur, racing into the safety of the woods.
The moment they fled, thick vines erupted from the ground, surrounding the black tower in a frenzy.
Michael didn’t dare look back.
But he couldn’t forget what he had seen when he’d used his skill on the tentacle after regaining his senses.
[Corrupted ??? ??? ???]
[Rank: Extraordinary★★★]
??? ?? ??? ??