The two of them settled into a hotel, with only one room.
At first, Keno had no choice and had to follow Ren's arrangements.
Now, it wasn't that she couldn't choose—it was that she didn't want to.
Ren, on the other hand, was too lazy to bother.
Being a zombie meant he was considered nonsense, not that his second brother didn't exist, but that his second brother couldn't really do anything.
So he didn't overthink it.
Keno still slept on the bed while Ren read.
In the past two years, he had learned a lot.
Centuries ago, a transmigrator had almost changed the world's balance and had even slaughtered the once-powerful dragons.
This time, the location was the peak of a mountain where no one lived.
It was said that dragons had once been worshipped here, but because of the Eight Greed Kings, all these worship sites had disappeared.
The enemy this time was likely the strongest in this world.
But Ren didn't care.
He was the first in the entire server to obtain the Sword God class.
He could easily defeat any player, and merging his powers with his clones made him even stronger.
The next morning, Keno took Ren around the town.
They observed the local culture and customs and admired the beautiful scenery.
Time passed just like that, another day gone.
The two stayed in town for another day.
On the third day, Ren decided it was time to leave.
"Ren, should we go to the next town? There might be news of the undead there too," Keno said first.
Ren didn't hide his investigation from her, and she wasn't stupid, so she understood quickly.
"No need. We already know where the enemy is. It's time to end this. And I can finally keep my promise to you," Ren said, smiling easily this time.
Keno didn't speak.
She sat quietly in the carriage, her emotions written clearly on her face.
Her red eyes looked pitiful and vulnerable.
They arrived at Seruk No.3, the closest city to Mount Keitenias.
The city was empty.
They went to what used to be a hotel, now covered in dust.
Inside, Keno finally revealed her true feelings, her voice trembling with tears.
"Ren, can we stop looking? Can we just not go anymore?"
"Why? The truth is right in front of us. Maybe—"
"But I don't want to lose you too, Ren. I've already lost Mom and Dad, and Natasha. I don't want to lose you as well. The enemy is a dragon, the strongest dragon in legend."
Keno knew Ren was strong, but she didn't believe he was invincible.
Her worry showed in her eyes.
Seeing the girl's tears, Ren crouched beside the bed.
He took a handkerchief from his space and gently wiped her tears.
"Don't worry. I won't lose. And that thing making you cry, Keno, I won't let it go," he said.
"It's you, Ren, who made me cry," Keno whispered, sniffling.
Over the past two years, they had traveled to many places.
When they couldn't find any clues, he would take her sightseeing, traveling, giving her little surprises.
She felt a bit guilty toward her family, but she truly didn't want anything to happen to Ren.
"…" Ren was momentarily silent, unsure how to respond, awkwardly scratching his head.
"If that's the case, then I'll go up and test it. If we can't win, we leave, okay?" Ren's tone was now more consultative; he really was starting to treat Keno as a companion.
He was undead, and his companions could only be long-lived beings like himself.
He didn't want to be the one to see a companion die—it would be far too painful.
"Really?" Keno looked at Ren.
"Have I ever lied to you?" Ren said softly.
This time, Keno believed him.
Her only request was simple: not to die.
That was her top priority, even if it meant never being able to save her parents.
Night fell.
"Ren, can we sleep together?" Keno whispered, timidly asking.
Ren got into bed, leaning against it to make the insecure girl feel safe.
He didn't carry the smell of zombies; instead, he smelled nice, which comforted Keno.
Her small hands hesitantly touched his legs.
Seeing he didn't resist, she hugged his leg and drifted peacefully to sleep.
Late at night, Ren got up.
If he went with Keno tomorrow, the mission could drag on endlessly.
It was better to act tonight, so he climbed the mountain to confront the dragon.
After making sure Keno was still asleep, Ren used an advanced scroll to mark the room as safe and then left with a teleportation scroll.
The town was empty in the early morning.
Just like when they first entered, there wasn't a single zombie.
This place was close to the Mount Keitenias, just as he had predicted.
He swiftly flew toward the mountains.
The higher he went, the fewer zombies appeared along the way.
The tracks on the ground suggested the zombies were all moving toward the same location.
"A dragon, huh? I've hunted quite a few, but this is the first in a new world," Ren muttered.
This mission would be particularly difficult.
In this game world, many spells had already been cast.
Even if the caster was killed, the effects wouldn't end—they had to be manually dispelled by the caster.
In the past, it was just about defeating the monster.
Now, it meant capturing it alive.
He couldn't rely on his world-class equipment, and many artifacts were forbidden unless absolutely necessary.
His Sword God class already had special attack features and after abilities fusion with other selves; using everything recklessly could end the fight too quickly.
It was a headache for Ren.
The first location he reached was a castle atop a hill.
It was completely empty as well.
Using a detection scroll, he confirmed there wasn't a single person inside.
After thoroughly exploring the castle, he finally reached its top.
Continuing toward the mountains, there were three gates, and one of them was broken.
Ren did not hesitate and flew straight to the broken gate.
This time he used detection magic, but it failed.
This meant that the presence in the mountains was at least level 70, since this detection magic could not sense targets above level 70.
Without much hesitation, Ren began flying toward the corresponding location.
This time his speed was slow.
According to the game's settings, dragons were considered final boss-level creatures, extremely high in level.
Being careless here could easily cost him his life.
He arrived at a large flat area.
In the middle of the mountains, such a huge flat space was extremely unnatural, as if something had carved it out.
This time he didn't use a detection scroll, but he could feel a powerful aura rapidly approaching him.
It was a dragon-shaped creature, covered in thick armor.
Looking closely, Ren realized the armor was made of zombies.
This also explained why the huge city at the foot of the mountains had no zombies, and why the gate leading here had been destroyed.
"Undead, are you the one who just tried to sense me?" the dragon spoke, its tone full of displeasure.
No dragon liked being spied upon.
"Hmm, so you're the culprit," Ren said calmly, drawing a steel-grade long sword.
There was no choice; this was already his weakest weapon.
"Culprit? Oh, you're a zombie… transformed by me?" the dragon quickly probed Ren's true identity.
"You are a conscious undead. These people becoming my armor is their honor."
"How arrogant," Ren said.
"Have you forgotten the Eight Greed Kings from hundreds of years ago?"
The dragon responded with a violent attack.
A beam shot from its mouth, aiming to annihilate Ren.
**********
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