The zombie's corpse twitched one last time before going still.
I stood over it, my blade dripping black ichor, my body thrumming with exhilaration. My armor still vibrated with the echo of each clash, the reverberation of fists and steel rattling through me.
I laughed again. A deep, booming laugh that wasn't quite human anymore.
"HAHAHAHAHA! Oh, hell yes!"
This… this was what I lived for. The rush, the impact, the taste of victory. My whole being screamed for more. If the dungeon had ears, it would've heard me begging: Send me another one. No—send me ten.
But the dungeon didn't respond with more monsters. Instead, it answered with silence.
I wiped the shadow blade against my cloak, leaving a dark stain that only made me look more sinister. My glowing eyes scanned the corridor, eager, hungry.
And then—my ears twitched.
A sound. Weak. Ragged. Not the heavy shuffle of a zombie, not the skitter of ghouls. Something… different.
Wounded.
Curiosity piqued, I followed the noise deeper into the dungeon. My boots echoed against the stone, the air thick with that damp, metallic tang of blood.
I rounded a corner—and stopped.
There, slumped against the wall, was a creature I'd never seen in Eternia Chronicles Online.
It looked like a wolf, but larger—closer to a horse in size. Its fur was dark, but along its sides pulsed faint streaks of glowing orange, like molten cracks under its skin. Its eyes, half-lidded, glowed faintly red-orange, like burning embers. One of its legs was twisted unnaturally, blood pooling beneath it.
The beast raised its head weakly and growled, a low, rumbling sound that rattled the stone. Even in its condition, it still had pride.
I felt my grin widen.
"Well, well… what do we have here?"
The system chimed.
[Special Encounter: Subordinate Candidate Detected.]
[Condition: Monster is near death. Bond or kill.]
"…Bond?" I tilted my head.
A new window appeared:
[Subordinate System: Certain monsters may submit to you, becoming allies. Subordinates can grow, evolve, and share power with their master. Max slots: 1/??]
I blinked inside the helm. Then I laughed again.
"You've got to be kidding me. I can tame monsters?!"
The wolf bared its fangs at me, its glowing eyes narrowing. I raised my hands slowly, approaching with deliberate steps.
"Easy, boy. I'm not here to finish you off. Not unless you force me to."
It snarled, trying to push itself upright, but its leg gave out and it collapsed again. My armor clanked as I knelt beside it.
Up close, I could see how badly it was injured. Gashes along its flank, bones cracked, blood leaking steadily. This thing wasn't going to last much longer without help.
"Bond or kill, huh?" I whispered. "If I kill you, maybe I get EP. But if I bond you…"
My glowing eyes locked with its ember gaze.
"…I get my first soldier."
The wolf growled again, but this time weaker. Its fire dimmed as it panted heavily.
A prompt appeared:
[Offer Subordination?]
[Yes / No]
I smirked. "Yes."
Dark chains of shadow burst from my gauntlet, coiling around the wolf's body. It snarled and thrashed weakly, but the chains didn't harm it—they sank into its skin, vanishing like smoke. The beast froze, its eyes glowing brighter for a moment.
[Bond Established.]
[Subordinate Acquired: Ashen Fang Wolf (Juvenile).]
[Link Established: Shared Recovery Active.]
The wolf's breathing steadied. Its wounds glowed faintly before beginning to knit closed, not fully healed but no longer bleeding out. Its ember eyes locked onto me again, but the hatred had faded. In its place was something else.
Submission.
I chuckled. "Good boy."
Before I could revel in my new companion, I heard them.
Voices.
"…Did you hear that roar earlier? Sounded like something big."
"Quiet. Keep formation."
Footsteps. The clatter of metal. The faint hum of magic gathering at fingertips.
Adventurers.
And not far away.
I cursed under my breath and pulled the wolf closer into the shadows. Its eyes glowed faintly, but a quick glare from me seemed enough to keep it silent.
A moment later, the adventurer party I'd heard earlier came into view. Five of them—exactly as I'd thought.
The leader, a tall man in steel armor, walked at the front with his longsword drawn. His eyes were sharp, scanning every corner.
Behind him, the mage, robes shimmering faintly with enchantments. She looked uneasy, glancing at the walls like they were whispering to her.
The archer moved with practiced silence, bow half-drawn already, eyes sharp as a hawk's.
A burly man with an axe carried the rear guard, and the nervous young swordsman from before stuck close to him, white-knuckled on his hilt.
They walked cautiously, tension in every step.
"…This place feels wrong," the mage muttered.
"Shut it," the axe-wielder growled. "We've been in worse."
"No," she said firmly. "You don't understand. This dungeon… it's alive. It's watching us."
I grinned in the shadows. Smart girl.
The leader raised a hand. "Hold. Blood."
He pointed to the trail of black ichor smeared across the floor—remnants of my zombie fight.
The younger swordsman swallowed hard. "D-did a monster bleed this much?"
"Maybe." The leader crouched, touching the ichor with his gauntlet before rubbing it between his fingers. His brow furrowed. "No… this isn't normal monster blood. It's… heavier."
I shifted slightly, the faint clank of my armor echoing before I froze.
The archer's head snapped toward me instantly.
"Something's there." His bowstring tightened.
The others followed his gaze, eyes narrowing as they scanned the shadows where I stood.
The wolf growled low beside me, and I laid a gauntleted hand on its neck. "Easy," I whispered.
And then I stepped forward.
My armor gleamed faintly in the torchlight, my cloak rippling behind me. Glowing red eyes pierced the darkness as I revealed myself fully.
The adventurers froze.
"…A knight?" the young swordsman whispered.
"No," the leader said, voice grim. His grip tightened on his blade. "A Black Knight."
The mage gasped, color draining from her face. "That's impossible. Those are supposed to be… legends. Boss monsters sealed away centuries ago."
The archer aimed directly at my head. "Doesn't matter if it's a legend. It's standing right in front of us."
The air grew thick with tension.
I said nothing at first, simply watching them, savoring their fear. My Intimidation skill flared automatically, the dungeon itself seeming to darken around me. The younger swordsman stumbled back, trembling.
The wolf at my side let out a guttural growl, stepping protectively in front of me despite its weakened state.
That seemed to throw them off.
"…Wait," the mage muttered. "It's… protecting him?"
The leader's eyes narrowed. "That's not normal monster behavior."
I tilted my head, then finally spoke. My voice echoed through the helm, low and resonant.
"Adventurers… huh?"
They tensed instantly at the sound of speech.
"It can talk?!" the archer hissed.
The axe-wielder snarled. "Don't let it fool you. Monsters that talk are the worst kind."
I chuckled, a deep, hollow sound that reverberated off the walls. "Relax. If I wanted you dead, you'd already be on the ground."
Their fear spiked deliciously at that, though the leader didn't waver. He raised his blade. "Then what do you want?"
I smirked beneath the helm, my glowing eyes narrowing.
What did I want?
Good question.
Part of me wanted to test them. To see their blood splash against the dungeon walls. To feel their blades clash against my armor until one of us fell. The battle maniac inside me screamed for it.
But another part of me… was curious. These weren't NPCs. These were living, breathing humans. People who could tell me about the world beyond this dungeon.
I tilted my head, considering.
The wolf at my side growled again, and I stroked its head absently. The adventurers stared in disbelief.
"…It really has a subordinate," the mage whispered.
The leader tightened his jaw. "Stay sharp. This thing isn't just any monster. It's something else entirely."
He wasn't wrong.
I chuckled again, letting the sound roll through the dungeon halls like distant thunder.
"Relax, humans. I'm not your enemy… not yet."
Their expressions darkened at the implication.
And as silence stretched between us, I realized something.
This was the beginning.
My dungeon. My army. My kingdom.
And these adventurers? They were the first to witness the rise of the Black Knight.
And now he will test them.