Ghost Knight King's Dungeon Project

Chapter 1 [Rondoran's Demon King and the Ghost of the Transmigrator]

Boom——

With a rustling of falling dust and the scraping of rusty hinges, the heavy stone door of the underground ruins was pushed open.

The pale glow of the flames illuminated the dust-covered hall, the murals and pillars on the walls of the circular hall, the ancient magic circle in the center of the hall, and the armor that guarded the hall.

The ancient bronze armors stood silent, their surfaces covered in bluish patina and chaotic patterns.

Click, click, click.

With the clanging of metal armor, the dark, armored boots stepped into the dark ancient hall.

The newcomer was a tall, thin figure covered in hideous black armor, wearing a crimson cloak like a king. He dragged a blood-stained long-handled hammer and spear in one hand and held a pale flame in the other. He wore a helmet with demon horns covering his face, like a fallen demon who had fallen from the sky.

The figure in black armor dragged a long-handled hammer and spear in one hand and held a pale fireball aloft in the other, stepping through the gate.

After looking around for a moment, the black-armored figure sighed, put down his hammer and spear, threw down the pale fireball that was illuminating the area, grabbed the hideous demon horn helmet on his head with both hands, tugged at it a couple of times, and then suddenly hissed softly as he pulled his steel-gray hair, which was stuck in the gap of the helmet, and finally took off the helmet.

Beneath the helmet peeked out a girl's face, delicate yet haggard, with steel-gray hair and eyes. Dark circles marked her pale face, and her deadpan gaze conveyed the exhaustion that long-term sleep deprivation and the intense trek comparable to a global expedition had taken for a half-demon.

This is the sixth underground ruin. Talia Ronoway, leaning on her heavy hammer and spear, her charred demon horn helmet tucked under her arm, stared blankly at the magic circle in the hall before her.

Three years have passed since my father and mother died.

It has been two years since my father's underground city business in Rondoran went bankrupt.

Demons are a cruel race where the strong prey on the weak. Talia's mother was human. As a half-demon, her power was simply insufficient to protect everything her father left behind.

Talia Ronoway plopped down on the ground, tossing her helmet and the pale flame she was holding as a light source aside.

She hugged her knees, curled up, wrapped herself in a scarlet cloak, and stared blankly at the flames on the floor in front of her.

Despite her tall, slender figure and armored physique comparable to a human berserker, sitting in the hall of this underground ruined temple, under the unlit, high dome, she and the pale flames before her appeared insignificant.

Talia sat on the ground, hugging her knees, and rocked back and forth gently, her armor clattering softly.

She reached out and grabbed the thin iron chain hanging around her neck, and along the chain, pulled out a faintly glowing pale blue crystal from her neck guard and breastplate.

The crystal lay quietly in the palm covered by the charred gauntlet. The fingertips of the claw-shaped nails gently moved the crystal, producing a soft metallic clinking sound.

This is a magical artifact left by my father.

A single… [ether crystal] can power certain specific temples.

In the ancient age of gods, powerful deities developed magnificent and advanced technologies. Although the gods later departed this world, some of their technological creations remain, known as "divine artifacts" or "relics of the gods." Some are enshrined in human temples, while others are fought over by demons.

Of course, most of them are still buried deep underground, in ancient divine relics deeply embedded in the strata, in those strange structures that are integrated with rock veins.

The [Ether Crystal] left by my father is a special artifact. It cannot be used alone, nor can it store or release magic. Its only use is as an energy source to activate certain underground ruins.

Based on the brightness reduction of the ether crystal after each use, it can be used up to thirteen times.

Of course, the gods have departed, and no one knows the principles and functions of these underground ruins.

Activating an unknown ruin is like a high-stakes gamble. You might gain nothing, the ruin might explode, a long-sealed treasure trove might be opened, a powerful artifact might be unleashed, or a vast amount of ancient wealth might be released.

His father gambled seven times with this ether crystal. Three times he lost nothing, twice he fled in panic from ruins on the verge of explosion or collapse, and the remaining two times he obtained ancient treasures and an undecipherable codebook. With this wealth, he built his own underground city of Rondoran and became a renowned demon king.

And Talia... has already gambled five times.

Four attempts yielded no results, and once the ruins collapsed.

This was her last chance. She stared blankly at the dull, pale blue crystal in her palm.

It's like the fairy tale "The Little Match Girl," where she's the little girl staring blankly at the matchbox on a snowy winter night.

For two years, he wandered through desolate lands, searching for ancient ruins, braving thorns and brambles to delve deep underground, dreaming that he could live a good life by lighting a match in the ruins of a temple.

Talia gripped the crystal tightly and buried her face in her arms. But the metal armor didn't absorb water, so she couldn't wipe away her tears. Two drops of water slowly trickled down the cold, curved metal surface of the armor, leaving two streaks before finally falling to the ground with two loud, startling thuds.

Let's do it one last time. She sniffed; maybe the ruins would explode. But right now, she thought an explosion wouldn't be so bad.

In the underground ruins, beneath the high dome, Talia's small figure raises a pale blue crystal, like a girl on a winter street raising her last match.

The moment the blue light flickered from her palm, countless deep blue patterns gathered on the walls of the temple ruins, flowing like water, illuminating the hall as bright as day, as glorious as the age of gods tens of thousands of years ago!

The armor of the guards surrounding the temple suddenly clicked and twitched in the blue light!
Arcs of pale blue light danced and converged on the magic circle in the center of the hall. Intricate runes linked together, and finally, a semi-transparent, ethereal figure flashed within the magic circle—

Snapped.

The magic circle shattered abruptly.

The light faded, and the temple returned to silence.

The daytime brilliance vanished, and even the pale fireballs used for illumination went out.

Only deathly darkness remained in the temple ruins, broken only by a faint sob…

And, a confused young man's voice:

"Where am I? Why is it so dark?"

The sobbing ceased, and a pale, bright fireball reignited. Talia, clad in black armor, rose from the ground, carrying a heavy, long-handled mace, raising the fireball high with a hopeful expression.

"Who?" she asked softly.

The temple was empty; the illuminated space was devoid of anything. A crack had pierced through the circular magic circle on the ground, like a cruel vertical pupil.

"Uh... what's going on here?" the young voice asked, bewildered. "Wow, is this a comic convention? Cosplay? Your armor is so cool, the art style looks like something from Dark Souls..."

"What... classmate?" Talia hesitated. "What are anime conventions and cosplay... Dark Souls?"

This is a dark soul from another world! She felt a little nervous.

"You...you're not a college student? You look like one..." the young voice asked. "I'm a junior, what about you? Are you a senior or a junior?"

"What university? I... I'm a half-demon, I've never studied at the human Lunos Academy..." Talia was confused.

She had imagined countless scenarios, but none had ever been so perplexing.

“Where are you? Speak in the light!” she shouted, gripping the hammer and spear tightly.

"Oh, I'm here! Sorry, the environment changed so fast, I didn't realize it," the young voice said.

With a soft clicking sound, in the corner of the temple, the ancient, incomplete suit of armor closest to the magic circle walked step by step to the spot illuminated by the pale flames. It stood upright with one leg straight and the other leg stretched out diagonally forward, standing straight in the firelight with a very arrogant and flamboyant posture.

"Hello, hello, I'm Xia Mo'an, a college student." The tattered, ancient armor rubbed its hands together enthusiastically, like a giant fly fawning over someone. "Hey classmate, do you know what happened? I was staying up all night playing games, how did I end up at a comic convention?"

After his gauntlets clicked together, he looked down and suddenly exclaimed, "Wow! How come I'm wearing Dark Souls-style armor too? It looks so cool!"

"Wait a minute... Don't come any closer! Are you human or demon? Why are you hiding inside the armor of the ancient ruins?" Talia carefully extended her hammer and spear, prying open the helmet visor of the tattered armor.

There was nothing under the mask.

It is a ghost.

A ghost was summoned by the magic circle and possessed the incomplete ancient armor.

The cursed armor, possessed by the ghost, paused, poked the tip of the hammer and spear, then poked its own gauntlets, finally noticing that the armor was empty inside, with no body at all.

The next second, he screamed:
"Holy crap! Where am I?!"

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(End of this chapter)