Revenant’s Throne: The Rise of the Undead King

12:03 AM – Seoul, South Korea

The air inside the safehouse was suffocating.

Not because of the dust, blood, or lingering stench of burnt flesh from outside. But because of the silence.

Everyone inside was afraid to speak.

Han Kyung-min sat against the cold concrete wall, his breathing finally slowing as his adrenaline crash set in. His fingers trembled slightly—whether from exhaustion or the knowledge that he had just dodged death by inches, he didn't know.

He had been lucky.

Too lucky.

The silver-haired girl leaned against a metal shelf across the room, her pistol resting on her thigh. She wasn't speaking, but her sharp gaze flickered between the survivors, watching, assessing.

Kyung-min wasn't sure if he trusted her, but… she had saved his life. That was enough for now.

He exhaled slowly before turning to look at the people who approached him from the crowd.

Seok-hoon. Min-jun.

His friends.

A flood of relief crashed over him. They were alive.

Before he could say anything, Seok-hoon stepped forward.

"Kyung-min…?" His voice was quiet—disbelieving. "You're still alive?"

Kyung-min blinked, taken aback by the tone. "I—Yeah. I—"

His words cut off as Seok-hoon suddenly grabbed him in a rough hug.

"Holy sh*t, I thought you were dead."

Kyung-min stiffened, caught off guard. Seok-hoon was many things—loud, overconfident, always the first to throw himself into danger—but this was the first time he had ever seen him shaken.

"…I thought I was too," Kyung-min admitted.

Seok-hoon pulled back, his hands still gripping Kyung-min's shoulders. His usually playful expression was gone, replaced by something heavier—something real.

"The whole city…" he trailed off. "It's all gone. This isn't like the manhwa's and novels we used to read together dungeon break. This is something else."

Kyung-min nodded. He already knew.

12:10 AM – Survivors & Their Awakening

There were fourteen people in the safehouse now, including Kyung-min and the silver-haired girl.

They had gathered in a rough circle around a dusty wooden table in the back of the abandoned underground parking lot they had taken shelter in. The space was cramped, lined with rusted metal shelves and abandoned tools—probably a storage area for maintenance workers before everything changed.

Min-jun adjusted his glasses, his expression unreadable. "We need to figure out what we know."

Seok-hoon nodded. "Agreed. We should start by checking if everyone—"

A new notification appeared in their vision.

[System Notice: Status Window Now Accessible.]

"You have survived the first hour of the Merging. You may now check your awakening status."

A heavy silence filled the room.

Then—

"…Status Window," someone whispered.

The words had barely left their lips before multiple glowing screens appeared in front of every survivor.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then a man—tall, broad-shouldered, with a military-style haircut—let out a low chuckle.

"Holy shit," he muttered. "I got a combat class."

Kyung-min turned to look at him. The man looked to be in his mid-thirties, wearing a security guard uniform, though it was torn and bloodstained. His name tag read Jung Tae-sik.

Seok-hoon glanced at him. "What did you get?"

Jung Tae-sik grinned. "Berserker."

A few murmurs spread through the group.

A younger girl, barely in her twenties, raised a shaky hand. "I—I think I got something good too." She hesitated, then read from her screen. "Windstalker."

A rogue-type class, most likely.

One by one, the survivors revealed their awakenings.

Jung Tae-sik – Berserker (C-Rank, Combat Type)

Son Ji-hye – Windstalker (C-Rank, Assassin Type)

Kim Joon-hyuk – Pyromancer (B-Rank, Mage Type)

Park Do-yoon – Warden (B-Rank, Tank Type)

Seok-hoon let out a low whistle. "Damn. Two B-Ranks already?"

Even in normal dungeon standards, B-Rank Hunters were rare. But right now, in the middle of this apocalypse? They were their best chance at survival.

Kyung-min swallowed hard.

Because he already knew what was coming.

"…What about you?"

Seok-hoon's voice pulled him back.

Kyung-min hesitated before exhaling. He had to show them.

He swiped his fingers through the air, pulling up his own status window.

[Han Kyung-min – Soul Archivist (E-Rank, Support-Type)]

A long silence followed.

Jung Tae-sik furrowed his brow. "What the hell is a Soul Archivist?"

Seok-hoon's jaw tightened. "…It's a non-combat class."

Kyung-min felt it before he heard it.

The change in the room. The subtle shift in body language.

The unspoken realization.

He was useless.

Even Min-jun, who usually kept his expressions neutral, looked troubled.

"…Maybe it has some hidden ability?" Ji-hye offered weakly.

Kim Joon-hyuk, the newly awakened Pyromancer, scoffed. "Doubt it. E-Rank support classes are sure gonna be a dead weight. I can feel it."

Kyung-min stayed silent.

He knew arguing wouldn't help.

Because right now? They were right.

12:45 AM – Reality Sinks In

They spent the next thirty minutes organizing supplies, taking inventory, and discussing what to do next.

No one outright said it, but Kyung-min could tell—they didn't expect him to contribute much.

Which was fine.

He would let them believe that.

Because Deaths Echo was his secret.

And until he knew how far his ability could go, he wasn't telling anyone.

1:10 AM – The First Test

The first monster found them forty minutes later.

A Shrike.

It was a humanoid predator—tall, gaunt, with elongated fingers ending in razor-sharp claws. Its eyes were pitch black, reflecting no light. Its mouth stretched far too wide, rows of serrated teeth lining its jaw.

It was fast.

It moved like a shadow.

Jung Tae-sik reacted first, roaring as he swung a steel pipe at the creature's head. The Shrike dodged effortlessly, its body twisting in unnatural angles.

But Tae-sik was no ordinary man anymore.

With a snarl, he activated [Berserker's Rage], his muscles swelling with raw power. His next strike connected, sending the creature crashing into a wall.

The Shrike screeched, disoriented but not dead.

Kim Joon-hyuk raised his hand. "Firebolt!"

A ball of fire shot from his palm, slamming into the Shrike's chest. The monster screamed as flames consumed it.

A second later—

[System Notice: A being has perished near you.]

[Hidden Skill Activated: Deaths Echo]

Extracting Usable Skill…

Acquired: Shrike's Reflexes (One-Time Use Only).

Kyung-min inhaled sharply.

This was it.

His ability wasn't just stealing skills.

It was stealing from monsters.

And if that was true…

A slow, quiet smile crept onto his face.

Maybe his class wasn't so useless after all.