Ghost Knight King's Dungeon Project

Chapter 2 [Talia and Samael]

Two tiny figures in armor sat side by side beneath the dark dome of the enormous temple, staring blankly at a small, pale flame.

“Okay, I… I completely understand. In other words, I died suddenly while playing games in the middle of the night, and then I was summoned to another world by this magic circle and possessed this armor.” Xia Mo’an sat next to Talia, poking the pale fireball in front of him with the armor’s fingers, the empty armor clicking loudly.

“In principle, that should be it.” Talia poked at the flames with her armored, claw-like fingertips. “I suspect this ruin was used by the gods during their wars in the Age of Gods to mass-produce undead ghost knights. The magic circle should randomly summon spirits to possess the mass-produced cursed armor. Such warriors have no physical form, cannot be harmed by physical attacks, and are immortal. Only powerful holy magic can dispel the attached spirits, leaving them without a place to belong and lost in the void.”

She pointed to the armor surrounding the temple.

"These armors are prefabricated Ghost Warrior containers."

“Okay—so who are you?” Xia Mo’an asked.

“Me? I…I am the Black Armor Demon King! The monarch of the northern mountains, the demon knight lord of the Frostbite Plains, the king of the Rondoran dungeon! Barton Ronoway!” Talia said proudly, “…the daughter of Talia Ronoway.”

"Oh! I get it!" Xia Mo'an suddenly realized, "A D&D version of a rich kid!"

“But my parents have passed away,” Talia whispered.

"Oh! I get it!" Xia Mo'an suddenly realized, "The Lord of the Rings version of Batman!"

"What is Batman?" Talia asked. "Is he a vampire who can turn into a bat?"

"...It's okay, don't worry about it...Sorry, I have a sharp tongue, don't take it seriously." The living armor scratched its helmet.

“My father’s dungeon, Rondoran, was destroyed by other demon lords and the Adventurers’ Alliance. All its wealth and resources were taken. I have nothing left.” Talia fiddled with the illuminating fireball. “I pretended to be human, wandering the world searching for ancient ruins, hoping to activate a useful temple with the ether crystals, and perhaps find some relics or wealth to rebuild Rondoran’s dungeons, but—”

"Oh, you're doing a gacha game, right? I'm good at that," Xia Mo'an said. "Did you get what you wanted?"

Talia looked at the living armor.

The helmet of the living armor turned around, its empty opening facing Talia.

"Oh...uh, I see." Xia Mo'an came to his senses. "I got the wrong card. I was the one who got it wrong."

Talia sighed and remained silent.

"Can you try again? I'll help you. I'm always lucky; I can open five drinks in a row with one 'buy one get one free' bottle cap," Xia Mo'an said. "Anyway, I'm already dead. At worst, I'll sacrifice my lifespan to give you a good one."

“Uh… no more. This ether crystal is exhausted, and I don’t have any more crystals.” Talia looked at the now-dull crystal in her hand.

"Maybe I'll just... sigh, whatever." She tucked the crystal from the necklace back into her breastplate, hugged her knees, buried the lower half of her face behind her arm armor, and stared blankly with only her eyes showing. "No, why are you so depressed?" Xia Mo'an patted Talia's shoulder. "Aren't you supposed to be rebuilding your old man's dungeon?"

“There’s no hope. Father’s career is over, and he’ll never come back.” She turned her face to the other side.

“Let’s build a new one! If we can’t be rich kids, we can be rich ourselves!” Xia Mo’an also joined the other side, shamelessly extending his empty bronze helmet. “Don’t look like you’re unlucky to have drawn my helmet. I’m a living armor! I’m pretty powerful too!”

He gripped his gauntlets, lifted his arm armor, and tried to carve out biceps marks on the metal. But the metal wouldn't cooperate, and he wasn't exactly a skilled sheet metal worker adept at making muscle armor.

“I know the ancient ghost knights were incredibly powerful—if there were hundreds or even thousands of cursed armors possessed by the undead, they might have been able to form an immortal ghost knight order, unstoppable except by a large number of holy priests.” Talia sullenly reached out and tugged at his helmet, turning Xia Moan’s helmet 180 degrees so that the back of his head was facing forward. “But you only have one cursed armor. It’s not enough.”

"Take your time, don't rush. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Xia Mo'an fiddled with the head of his helmet, then turned the opening back to the front. "I'm not just any ordinary cursed armor, I'm a ghost from another world!"

“Hmm…it is indeed a bit different.” Talia reached out and pulled off Xia Moan’s helmet, examining the bluish-green patina in her hand. “In my memory, cursed armor has no self-awareness, so why are you…so talkative? Do you still have memories of living in another world?”

“Exactly!” Xia Mo’an, his headless armored body, proudly put his hands on his hips. “I’m a college student, and I dream of becoming an engineer in the future… uh, if I don’t die from playing games. By the way, can you give me back my head? Don’t look at my head up close, I’ll get shy.”

“I… I don’t see how you can help me rebuild the dungeon.” Talia fastened her helmet back onto Xia Moan’s armor shoulders, carefully straightening it. “You’re just a living armor possessed by an undead.”

“I like playing simulation, survival, and resource management games. That should be about right?” Xia Mo’an said. “I often play Factorio, Oxygen Not Included, Siege, Dwarf Fortress, and Dungeon Keeper. I’m a veteran player.”

"Hmm... I don't understand. But it sounds... pretty impressive. Working on stars, dealing with oxygen and all that, besieging cities? Was he a general? Ruled a dwarven fortress? And guarded a dungeon?" Talia hesitated. "Alright then, maybe... we should give it a try?"

"That's more like it! Don't be so down!" Xia Mo'an snapped his fingers.

“Then… Shamor?” Talia stared at the living armor.

“It’s Xia Mo’an,” the living armored figure corrected.

“Sha…Samael?” Talia said the name awkwardly. “Your name is so hard to pronounce.”

“Alright, alright, Samael it is—I’ve always wanted an English name… even my college English conversation teacher pronounces my name so awkwardly.” The living armored figure stroked the chin of his helmet. “Then just call me Samael! As the start of my new life, of course I need a new name!”

“Alright, Samael.” Talia held out her hand.

"Talia! Classmate!" Samael excitedly stretched out her hand. "Let's be partners on this group project! Our goal: to build a dungeon!"

The black iron gauntlets clashed with the bronze gauntlets, producing a heavy, metallic clang. Future historians will call this moment the Covenant of Iron and Bronze, a dark pact between two demon lords. On this day, the desperate demon princess of Rondoran summoned the Highlord, a necromancer from another world.

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(End of this chapter)