Dyle saw a creature that was not human, nor even a familiar monster. It was unnaturally tall, with a disgustingly thin body and long limbs. Its skin was as pale as a corpse. It wore a dark black cloak that seemed to swallow the light, covering every part of its body. The true horror was in its eyes: pitch black with a glowing crimson spark.
Dyle tried to move, but his body was completely paralyzed. The temperature in the room dropped suddenly until he could see his own breath rising like mist. The creature stepped forward slowly and leaned its cold face right in front of Dyle's. Dyle turned his head away, trying to avoid that demonic gaze, and shouted with a trembling voice:
"Who are you? What do you want? Are you the master of this palace?"
The creature did not speak. Instead, it reached out a long, thin hand and placed it on Dyle's face, as if checking if he was truly alive. Suddenly, a faint smile appeared on the creature's face before it vanished into thin air like ash blown by the wind. Dyle collapsed to the floor, gasping for air, his forehead soaked in sweat. "Who... was that?"
The system screen flashed an alarming red:
[Alert: You have encountered a Death Knight - Rank: S]
[Ability: Shadow and Blood Manipulation]
The screen vanished, leaving him confused and angry. He yelled: "Damn it! You didn't explain anything! Do you want me to believe a high-rank being came just to say hello and disappear? Is the world mocking me now?!"
He threw himself onto the bed, trying to forget the nightmare, but the blue screen popped up again:
Name: Dyle (18 years old)
Ability: Shadow Manipulator... Gate of the Dead.
Rank / Forgotten Memory / Followers: [Locked]
Stats: Strength (20), Agility (30), Stamina (100), Intelligence (70), Luck (18.5).
Dyle mocked bitterly: "Haha... my Luck should have been zero! And what do you mean by 'Followers' and 'Forgotten Memory'? Forget it, System! Get lost, I want to sleep!"
He closed his eyes, ignoring the notifications, but the system didn't stop:
[Gate of the Dead Opened - Followers: 100]
[Warning! Gate Ruler training initiated... Activating Hell Instructor Mode]
Morning Shocks and the Countdown
Dyle woke up the next day to two electric shocks that almost paralyzed him!
He screamed in pain: "What idiot wakes someone up like this?!"
Finding no one in the room, he thought to himself: "I guess the system has a high-level management for torture." His thoughts were cut off by the training list:
30 laps around the palace.
30 push-ups.
100 sword swings / 20 weightlifting sets.
70 minutes of reading books to develop the mind.
[Penalties for non-compliance]:
Being thrown into an S-Rank dungeon.
Loss of one sense for a week.
Death.
[Countdown begins: 00:59:59]
Dyle shouted in shock: "Wait! Are you joking?!"
The system didn't answer; the timer just kept ticking down. He jumped up and rushed to the knights' training ground. He began to run. The first laps were easy, but by the 20th, his body began to collapse. As soon as he slowed down, the system shocked him with electricity!
He finished the run and wanted to collapse, but the system pushed him immediately to the next task. An hour passed, and Dyle looked like a living corpse. His chest rose and fell wildly, only to see a frustrating notification:
[Strength increased by 0.2]
"Only that?! You are the biggest tyrant in the world!" Dyle yelled. The reply came instantly: [Enter B-Rank Dungeon].
Dyle protested: "Impossible! I just finished hellish training!"
But the system knew no mercy; it threw him into a dark dungeon and gave him a sword and incense.
Battle in the Cursed Forest
The forest was thick and haunting. Suddenly, a massive wild boar with black skin and four glowing red eyes charged at the exhausted Dyle. He dodged quickly, and the beast crashed into the trees behind him. Dyle gathered his strength, and when the boar attacked again, he jumped onto its back and stabbed one of its eyes with his sword!
The boar screamed in pain. With a swift, diagonal move, Dyle cut the boar's neck before its body even hit the ground. Suddenly, other boars gathered to eat their fallen comrade! Disgusted, Dyle jumped into the trees: "Can you really eat your own kind so easily?"
Dyle killed the remaining five boars and moved deeper into the forest to face the nightmare: The Dungeon Boss. A giant black boar with four horns and six eyes! The boss let out a deafening roar and, with incredible speed for its size, lunged at Dyle.
Dyle barely dodged and used the incense to mask his scent and confuse the beast's vision. He tried to stab all four eyes at once, but the beast caught him and delivered a powerful kick that crushed Dyle's ribs!
Dyle fell, spitting blood, the pain tearing through his body. He tried to get up, but his limbs wouldn't respond. Black spots began to cover his vision as he lost touch with reality. As he drifted into unconsciousness, the giant boar aimed its sharp horns at Dyle's head to finish him for good!