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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 1
The grave of heroes, Decaine, where those who saved the continent from the demons now rest.
Centuries passed, and the glory of the heroes faded. Their traces gradually disappeared.
Eventually, the demons invaded once more, and the kingdom fell.
The only one who still honored the heroes—the gravekeeper—met his end.
When I opened my eyes, I had returned.
Back to the time before the kingdom's fall.
Back to the moment I became the gravekeeper.
[The job “Gravekeeper” has been selected.]
[You have obtained “Grave Eyes”.]
[You have obtained “Necromancy”.]
I began to see the spirits of the grave.
[Would you like to perform necromancy?]
And I could now borrow their power.
“Is this Decaine?”
“So you’re the gravekeeper?”
“I’m a descendant of this hero.”
The prince of the kingdom, high-ranking nobles, the saint of the continent, the king of mercenaries, and descendants of heroes…
One after another, powerful figures from across the continent began seeking out Decaine.
“You all forgot it for so long… So why are you showing up now?”
Even today, the gravekeeper of the fallen kingdom fights desperately to protect it once more.
Chapter 1
The kingdom had fallen.
Buildings engulfed in flames, people collapsing, smoke billowing into the sky, and dark miasma filling the air.
All I could do was comfort the souls of the dead.
Step, step…
Someone approached, their body utterly wrecked, trailing blood with every step.
Their golden hair was so matted with blood and dust, it was unrecognizable.
“Ren… gghrk...!”
He coughed up blood violently.
“Sir Morgan...!”
I rushed to support him as he collapsed.
Up close, his condition was even worse than I feared.
“The demon… the demon is coming…”
“What happened to the others?”
His desperate eyes pleaded with me.
At least you must survive, they seemed to say.
“The demon is pursuing us. Run… Now!”
I turned my eyes over his shoulder at his words.
An open expanse spread before me, with the bluish sky of the east just beginning to lighten.
In the cold blue hue of dawn, the silhouette of the kingdom loomed in black, with buildings stained red here and there.
A painful memory flashed through my mind.
He had fled from there to here.
Lowering my gaze further, I saw a forest cloaked in darkness.
“Has the kingdom truly fallen? What about aid from other nations…?”
I asked, as I propped Sir Morgan against a gravestone—but stopped mid-sentence.
Something felt wrong—right in front of me.
I stood up.
A demon had appeared, silently, without warning.
I drew my sword from my waist.
“So this is where you chose to run?”
The demon didn’t even bother to look at me, as if I weren’t worth the attention.
Sir Morgan could no longer speak.
He tried to stop the blood rising in his throat with his hand.
“Sir!”
“He’ll die soon enough on his own.”
The demon seemed amused by the sight, chuckling to itself.
Then it finally looked at me.
“…And what are you supposed to be?”
Its pitch-black eyes fixed on me.
I tried to seem calm, but my hand trembled.
I clenched my teeth and thrust my sword.
Shunk—!
“Guh…!”
But my blade sliced through empty air.
The demon’s claw pierced my abdomen instead.
Slash!
Blood sprayed like a fountain, and my skin, skewered by its claw, tore as intestines and blood poured out.
The pain was overwhelming, my consciousness fading.
So this is how I die…
“So many.”
The demon muttered suddenly, then looked around.
It was referring to the countless gravestones—probably over a thousand—that stood around us.
“Did you bury them all?”
“…Most of them.”
The demon let out a slight murmur of admiration, curling its lips into a sneer.
“One who comforts the dead, huh…”
Lost in thought, the demon chuckled again.
“Can someone who can’t even protect their own life really mourn the deaths of others?”
It was a fair point.
Maybe it was foolish to grieve for others when I couldn’t even protect myself.
If I hadn’t clung so stubbornly to my sword back then, would things have been different?
A useless thought.
What would it change, now?
“Gravekeeper, do you wish to live?”
“If so, then beg…”
The demon’s mocking laughter slowly faded.
My vision darkened.
Is this truly the end of my life…?
Who will tend my grave, I wonder…
[Last surviving subject of the kingdom confirmed.]
[Ren Arzen, confirmed.]
[Designated as a hero of the future.]
[Returning to the past.]
In my fading vision, incomprehensible words shimmered before darkness swallowed my sight.
* * *
“Ugh...”
A stiff body, heavy eyelids, a throbbing headache.
My blurred eyes scanned my surroundings.
“Uh...”
Stars glimmered in the darkness, and familiar gravestones came into view.
The earthy scent I knew so well and the crisp, clean air pierced my nose.
These sensations were all too familiar.
“What?”
I hastily sat up, darting my gaze around and moving my head frantically.
Tombstones and graves filled the area.
The inscriptions etched into them were ones I knew all too well.
“No way...”
I grabbed the tombstone nearest my head and stared intently at the letters engraved there.
— Havenberg Arzen —
— The deaths of the innocent are lamented. It is regretful that the end could not be reached perfectly. I hope someone will correct my mistakes. —
It was the gravestone of my ancestor, Havenberg Arzen.
“What is this...?”
Staring blankly, I dropped to my knees, and tears began to roll down my cheeks.
Had I really returned to the past?
“Decaine...”
The cemetery of the seventeen heroes who saved the continent—Decaine.
It was the place I had managed as a gravekeeper.
“Is this... a dream?”
Unable to make sense of it, I rubbed my face and body with both hands.
But nothing changed.
“Come to think of it...”
Those strange words I saw before I died.
The text that suddenly floated in midair—I thought it was a hallucination brought on by death.
But then, what was this?
The last survivor of the kingdom, Ren Arzen, hero of the future, returns...
“They definitely said that...”
So I hadn’t imagined it?
I’d never heard of turning back time or returning to the past.
Or maybe I was just unaware of it?
[Calculating the user’s achievements.]
[Assessing the user’s traits.]
‘Calculating achievements? Traits?’
While struggling to piece together my tangled thoughts, I noticed a shadow move in the corner of my vision.
‘What’s that?’
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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A black silhouette shimmered under the moonlight beyond the cemetery trees, shifting around.
‘Wait... when exactly have I returned to?’
Lying in the cemetery like this.
And someone sneaking around.
Several events came to mind, but the most immediate was the time someone stole my ancestor’s remains.
That was it.
‘Yes, the grave robber. That bastard came.’
The incident where someone suddenly showed up at night and looted Decaine before fleeing.
The problem was, the grave robber wasn’t just any grave robber...
If it was that guy, this was going to be the worst-case scenario.
Otherwise, it might not be such a big deal.
‘It’d be nice if it were the latter.’
But my gut was screaming it was the former.
‘That time, I nearly died getting beaten by the grave robber.’
In my previous life, I had only woken up near the end of the robbery.
Because of that, I was already getting beaten when my friend arrived, which saved me from death.
“Where’d he go—?”
“Well, well. A rat hiding in the dark.”
When I turned my head, I realized the grave robber was already right in front of me.
I swallowed a scream at the sight of his face up close.
He was easily over two meters tall, with a massive build.
Even I, considered fairly tall, felt small in comparison.
“So you’re the idiot still guarding this worthless place?”
Grinding my teeth, I glared at him.
Then, I felt something cold against my skin.
Drip. Drop.
Rain had begun to fall.
“What a fool. If you’d just stayed hidden, you might have lived.”
The grave robber smirked as he looked up at the falling rain.
‘What should I do?’
I racked my brain, but no answer came.
Through the falling raindrops, the grave robber’s chilling face came into view again.
Grinning, he grabbed me by the collar and lifted me off the ground.
“Ugh!”
“You could’ve been doing something useful instead of guarding a grave. Then maybe your death wouldn’t be so meaningless.”
“Who are you to lecture me, you filthy grave robber?!”
Chomp!
I bit down on the hand holding my collar with all my strength.
“Argh! You little—!”
Screaming in pain, the grave robber hurled me away.
Thud!
Pain exploded through me as I hit the ground.
“Guh...”
My back slammed against a tombstone.
It felt like my spine had snapped.
‘What now?’
There was no way out.
The difference in power between us was painfully clear.
“What a hassle. Let’s end this quickly.”
The grave robber grabbed a large shovel lying beside him.
The sharp edge of the shovel gleamed as it reflected the moonlight.
'Damn it... Am I going to die again like this?'
The shovel was raised high, and just as I braced myself for what was to come—
Translucent messages suddenly filled my vision.
[Calculation complete.]
[Class selected: “Gravekeeper.”]
[You have obtained “Grave Eye.”]
[You have obtained “Necromancy.”]
[Comfort the souls of the dead and build your legacy as a “Gravekeeper.”]
[You are the “Hero of the Future.” Stop the demon invasion and prevent the fall of the kingdom.]
Mysterious phrases appeared before my eyes.
I couldn’t make any sense of the stream of messages.
[With the power of the Gravekeeper, a slumbering spirit is awakened.]
Fwoooosh—
The grave behind me suddenly began to glow.
Startled by the light, the grave robber hesitated, giving me just enough time to read the next message.
[“Havenberg Arzen” is awakening.]
[Main Quest – Defeat the Grave Robber.]
[Defeat the grave robber who seeks to desecrate the grave of Decaine.]
[Reward – Spiritual Energy.]
‘What the hell is all this…?’
Who or what is Havenberg Arzen, and what’s this main quest?
Where are all these messages coming from?
“What the hell are you doing?!”
The grave robber, scowling at the glowing grave, shouted in anger.
Then, just as he raised the shovel again—
– Step your right foot forward and roll your shoulder inward.
A deep, commanding voice came from behind me.
‘W-what the…?’
There was an unmistakable authority in that voice.
The moment I heard it, I instinctively felt I had to obey—and my body moved on its own.
I stepped forward and rolled my shoulder inward.
Whooosh—
The shovel sliced through the air behind me.
I had dodged the attack exactly as instructed.
– Now twist your upper body and hit his chin with your left fist.
With a newfound confidence, I swung my fist upward.
Thud!
“Urgh!”
A solid impact resonated through my knuckles.
The grave robber staggered back, dropping the shovel.
– It’s not over. You have to finish him before he regains his senses. Pick up the shovel.
I did as I was told and picked it up.
The grave robber, now recovering, glared at me with a furious expression.
“You rat bastard…! I’ll kill you!”
– You’ve got a weapon now. Focus. Whatever you use, become one with it.
Become one with it?
What’s that supposed to mean?
– Don’t overthink it. Just do what I say. Close your eyes and focus only on the object in your hands.
I closed my eyes.
For some reason, I trusted that voice.
– Stabilize your body. Tension is poison to someone unaccustomed to it. Now accept it—I will show you, descendant.
[Would you like to use “Necromancy”?]
I stared blankly at the message floating in the air and nodded.
[Necromancy – Havenberg Arzen]
A warm sensation enveloped my entire body.
My once-dark vision suddenly cleared.
The grave robber pulled a machete from his coat, and a faint blue aura shimmered above it.
– Remember. This is the “Swordsmanship of Havenberg.”
The machete came at me like an enraged bull.
My body moved on its own.
The shovel blocked the machete and snaked around the robber’s arm like a serpent.
The muscles in my right arm, holding the shovel, felt like they were tearing.
My whole body screamed in pain from the unfamiliar movement.
– Don’t lose focus. See it through. Stay sharp.
Clinging to those words, I forced myself to stay conscious.
The shovel moved in strange, precise angles.
As if it were a sword, it slashed multiple times at the grave robber’s arm, shredding it to pieces.
“AAAAAARGH!”
Clutching his bleeding, mangled arm, the grave robber stared at me with wide, trembling eyes.
“P-please... Spare me…”
Thud.
I dropped the shovel to the ground.
My body wouldn’t move anymore.
Pretending to be merciful, I spoke.
“Get lost.”
“Thank you! Thank you so much!”
The grave robber bowed repeatedly before scrambling away in a panic.
[Main Quest – Defeat the Grave Robber: Completed.]
[You have obtained “Spiritual Energy.”]
[Necromancy has ended.]
Thud.
Without even enough strength to look at the floating messages, I lost consciousness and collapsed on the spot.
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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