Dragons were powerful. Their hides were incredibly tough, and beyond the strength afforded by their enormous bodies, they wielded countless spells. They could even fly. Even high-level awakeners would scarcely dare hunt one without assembling a raid party.

Yet Cedric was relentlessly driving that powerful dragon back.

'Not a bad strategy.'

Knights were earthbound. At higher levels, they gained a few ways to stay airborne, but never for very long. Apart from brute-forcing it with a barrage of thrown spears, they had few ways to bring down a flying dragon.

The bone dragon was making up for that lack of mobility. It clung tenaciously to the dragon's body. It might have been made of bones, but its weight was nothing to scoff at.

While the bone dragon hampered its movements...

SHUNK!

Cedric's spear tore through the dragon's hide.

'And he can fight, too.'

It was a nerve-racking display of aerial acrobatics. One wrong step meant falling to his death. Yet Cedric stabbed all over the dragon's body as though walking a tightrope. Perhaps being undead was what made him so utterly fearless.

Was it trying to shake Cedric off? The dragon desperately climbed higher. While the two undead and the dragon fought their bloody battle, the monsters watching from behind the orcs began to move.

Kodos boasted some of the strongest charges of any monsters in their tier. They hurled themselves at the fortress gate.

BWOOO!

BOOM!

BOOM!

In the distance, the gate shook violently.

The liches and other mage classes chanted spells, but after exhausting their mana pouring magic onto the orcs, their firepower was weaker than expected.

The giants weren't idle, either. Their massive weapons slammed into the gate already battered by the kodos. Wyverns swooped down to snatch up spellcasting undead, while death witches chanted spells that pinned the dullahans and death knights in place.

'They're going to break through.'

He had somehow managed against the orcs, but these high-tier monsters were another story. The gap in raw stats was simply too great. There was nothing he could do.

Moreover, perhaps because Commander-in-Chief Cedric had flown off, the undead were no longer moving in unison. They seemed more flustered than before. Even a united effort to buy time might not have been enough. At this rate, they had no chance.

'We need to retreat for now.'

The gate was on its last legs. Once it fell, monsters would flood through in droves. Staying atop the walls would clearly mean a pointless death, caught between orcs pouring in from above and below.

But he couldn't pull out just his own unit. What could he accomplish by fleeing with a single lich and a single death knight? Besides, if he ran to save his own skin, the incoming orcs would likely overrun the entire wall in no time.

"Hey! Hans!"

"Yes, Commander."

"Don't you have a crystal ball or something? Something to contact the other commanders!"

"I do."

"Get it out, quick!"

He grabbed the crystal ball Hans produced. It glowed when he fed a little mana into it.

"This is Commander Sixteen! All commanders, leave a portion of your skeletons behind, withdraw from the walls, and assemble in the inner fortress! These orders came to me directly from the Commander-in-Chief!"

"...!"

Hans's eyes swiveled.

'But Lord Cedric clearly flew off without saying a word?'

Still, he couldn't tactlessly undermine the human here. For one thing, the man was now his direct superior, even if only temporarily. Besides, Hans also thought that if they were going to retreat, it had to be now.

Murmurs came through the crystal ball. Soon, one voice spoke for the others.

"... This is Commander One. Is that true? I received no separate instructions from Lord Cedric."

"It's true. He mentioned it when he saved me from the dragon's attack earlier!"

Yes, their Commander-in-Chief had saved him personally.

Whether Cedric had actually saved him because he considered him special, or simply because letting a dragon crash into the walls would be a problem, was anyone's guess. Either way, in situations like these, nothing beat acting as though you had connections to the higher-ups.

"... This is Commander Fifteen. Lord Cedric did protect him when the dragon approached. There's a good chance he's telling the truth."

A commander had abruptly been parachuted into their ranks, and Cedric had even protected him personally. His relationship with the Commander-in-Chief seemed far from ordinary. What's more, the alleged orders were reasonable. Weren't the walls on the verge of falling? They would have ordered a retreat themselves in the Commander-in-Chief's position.

"... Very well. We will comply."

'Perfect!'

This would let them hold out at least a little longer.

Leaving a suicide squad behind, the undead withdrew from the walls. Less than three minutes later, the gate came crashing down. The orcs surged in like a tidal wave and looked around.

RATTLE.

CLACK.

There were only insignificant undead everywhere. The powerful foes they had secretly hoped for were nowhere to be seen.

ROAAR!

The skulls of the skeletons guarding the entrance shattered.

GRRR.

The orcs turned their gazes toward the small inner fortress in the distance.

* * *

He surveyed the undead who had climbed onto the inner fortress walls. Ten liches and nine death knights. About a hundred mid-tier undead, plus a thousand skeletons. Their numbers had dwindled pitifully compared with the force he had seen at the start.

Worse still, the enemy's real forces hadn't even moved yet: the orc royal guards led by the orc hero, and the many high-tier monsters still left.

The inner fortress was much smaller than the outer one. Its walls were smaller, and its gate far less sturdy.

'If it's only orcs attacking like before, maybe we could last thirty minutes...'

If the high-tier monsters joined in, they would have ten minutes at best. And it looked like that was exactly what would happen.

'These bastards were waiting for our mana to run out.'

Sending in the high-tier monsters at the start would have cost them heavily, since the defenders would have had plenty of mana.

But now? Only twenty or so kodos and giants had died breaching the outer fortress. Their losses were practically negligible.

They were completely surrounded. If there was one small piece of good news...

"Prepare for battle! Stick to the plan!"

...it was that he had used Cedric's prestige to convince the death knight commanders to hand over overall command.

BWOOO!

The kodos charged.

"Grease! Cast Grease!"

The liches and skeleton mages gathered their mana.

[Lich 'Edmond' activates Grease (D)!]

[Lich 'Hans' activates Grease (D)!]

.

.

It was a basic spell that made the ground slippery. The kodos and giants were plastered with defensive spells. Their high magic resistance also made direct attack spells largely ineffective.

But a spell like Grease...

One slipped.

BWAAAH!

A kodo went down spectacularly. The kodos and giants following it began falling one after another, crashing into a sprawling heap.

SCREEECH!

"Stop the wyverns! Protect the liches at all costs!"

He drew his sword and intercepted a descending wyvern.

CLANG!

'Gah!'

The tremendous force didn't just push him back; it sent him flying. His wrist throbbed, perhaps sprained. He hurriedly took out a potion and poured it over his hand. Ladders hooked onto the walls, and orcs swarmed up.

Messages appeared amid the ongoing melee.

[Skeleton 1 kills an orc warrior! Combat experience greatly...]

[Skeleton 223 kills an orc fighter...]

Previously, the skeletons had only sent orcs falling to their deaths. Now they were occasionally killing them outright. Perhaps thanks to Death Lord, they were growing in real time as they gained experience.

The problem was that it wasn't enough to turn the tide. Little by little, they were pushed back.

The inner gate fell. The walls filled with orcs. A death knight snapped helplessly in a giant's grip. The orcs' encirclement slowly tightened.

The situation was hopeless.

Then it happened. The dragon plummeted from the sky, crushing a group of giants and kodos beneath it. It panted raggedly, its body covered in wounds.

A moment later, in front of the undead...

THUD.

The bone dragon planted itself like a towering mountain.

'You're here! My love!'

Cedric!

At that instant, time stopped.

[You have endured on the battlefield for the required duration!]

[You have met the basic escape requirements!]

[You may escape the battlefield!]

[Would you like to escape now?]

[If you refuse, escape will be disabled again.]

All he could see were the messages. His initial guess had been partly correct. The scenario allowed him to escape after surviving for a certain amount of time. Of course, even that had been hellishly difficult, but it wasn't impossible to clear.

'But something about those messages bothers me.'

This battlefield was built from Cedric's regrets. Was simply surviving long enough to escape really how he would obtain the authority the Death Lord had spoken of?

'No way.'

He didn't even know what Cedric regretted, let alone had he resolved it. This couldn't possibly be the full clear condition.

'Leaving now would be like turning in an answer worth thirty points out of a hundred.'

That was probably why he had only met the basic escape requirements.

'Given his regrets, the undead probably lose this war.'

It stood to reason that something in the course of that defeat had left Cedric with regrets.

'We probably just haven't reached that point yet.'

He would have to keep going to find out what Cedric regretted.

Staying was undoubtedly dangerous. Which meant the rewards would be that much greater.

His conclusion?

'Yeah, absolutely not leaving.'

He would see more, even if it meant taking a risk. Surely this wasn't a stage designed to kill him with no way out. There was always a way to clear it.

Definitely.

[You refuse to escape!]

[Time resumes!]

Cedric looked toward him. Had the battle with the dragon been that fierce? Gouges marred his golden bones all over.

"Why are you still here? You should have been able to leave."

"I still don't know what you regret."

"... You're risking your life just to learn that?"

"Not 'just that.' It's worth that much."

"... The Lord should have told you. Being trapped for eternity is no joke."

"I'm not staying as a joke, either."

He cut down an approaching orc, drenching himself in rank green blood.

"I'm always serious. When it comes to clearing a stage."

"... Very well. I respect your choice."

With those words, Cedric and the bone dragon moved. Orcs and high-tier monsters were effortlessly swept away with a single attack.

ROOOAR!

THUMP! THUMP!

The orc hero beat its chest like a drum. Exhilaration began filling its eyes as it stared at Cedric.

Orcs were an extremely warlike race. Nothing made their blood boil hotter than facing a powerful opponent. The hero began advancing toward Cedric in earnest.

'Oh, fuck.'

The problem was that the orc royal guards surrounding it had started moving, too.

ROAAR!

Two orc royal guards engaged a single death knight. The blade that had sliced through ordinary orcs like vegetables suddenly lost its edge. The death knight was forced onto the defensive.

The problem was...

'... One's coming for me, too?'

An orc royal guard was charging toward him, snorting fiercely. They usually went after powerful opponents. It had probably been impressed by the sight of him cutting down lesser orcs like vegetables.

[An orc royal guard designates you as its 'prey'!]

[The orc royal guard's attack power against you increases by 20%!]

[You take a direct hit from the orc royal guard's war cry! All stats decrease by 10%!]

He had no chance of winning in his current state. Every death knight and lich nearby was frantically fighting.

'Then it's time I went all out, too.'

He decided to use the final secret weapon he had been saving.

[You consume a Strength Enhancement Potion (Top Grade)!]

[Strength increases by 50 for one hour!]

[You consume an Agility Enhancement Potion (Top Grade)!]

[Agility increases by 50 for one hour!]

[You consume a Stamina Enhancement Potion (Top Grade)!]

[Stamina increases by 50 for one hour!]

[You consume a Magic Power Enhancement Potion (Top Grade)!]

[Magic Power increases by 50 for one hour!]

[You consume a Health Potion (Top Grade)!]

[Your wounds heal rapidly!]

[You consume a Mana Potion (Top Grade)!]

[Your mana recovers rapidly!]

He gulped down top-grade potions like water, each easily worth hundreds of millions of won.

[Warning!]

[You have consumed too many potions in a short time! You develop potion addiction!]

[Potion effects will be greatly reduced from now on!]

[You have acquired the title 'Living Only for Today'!]

Potion addiction. It was a condition in which the body couldn't forget the healing or boosts provided by potions and suffered withdrawal symptoms. Those symptoms were rather severe.

'It's dangerous, but...'

It was much better than dropping dead now because he hadn't drunk them. Besides, this wasn't even his real body. It was a virtual body, so things would work out somehow once he returned.

"And if not, whatever!"

Right now, he had to survive.