The upper body, completely detached from the lower half, was slowly moving in the direction where Yeon-hee had fled.
The small core in my head was faintly glowing, as if it was desperately calling out to find its master.
Grurrr-erk!
At that moment, the short man who had first attacked in that direction was gasping for breath, on the verge of passing out.
‘Just a little more…’
As I gradually approached, the dying man’s eyes widened as if he recognized me. Soon, the skeleton’s shape reflected in his eyes became clear in my sight.
[Acid Spray]
Puff-whaaa-!
“Grrrrgh…”
The guy whose face was smashed beyond recognition by the acidic fluid trembled like crazy for a moment before stopping completely.
– You have defeated a powerful enemy!
– Experience points have greatly increased!
– You have obtained a Rune of Vitality (Normal).
– Your level has increased. Choose three stats to boost.
– Your level has increased. Choose three stats to boost.
Ssss-
As soon as I leveled up, the shattered bone fragments began to rapidly gather towards my upper body.
With just one level-up, it shouldn’t recover this fast, but since I leveled up twice in quick succession, the speed was extremely fast. The newly acquired rune effect also added 4 to my health.
[Skeleton Soldier Il-wol – Lv.8]
Strength: 29(+6) Agility: 28(+6) Health: 30
Intelligence: 24 Magic Power: 20 Resistance: 1
Sense: 16 Recovery: 2
I quickly distributed the stats gained from leveling up into Strength, Agility, and Health. As soon as my legs reattached to my upper body, I dashed in the direction I felt compelled to go.
‘Where are you! Where!’
I ran like crazy for about five minutes.
Finally, I was able to spot Yeon-hee and the man.
The two were still engaged in a chase, but they seemed tired as their movements had visibly slowed down.
– Damn… I’ll kill you… I’ll tear you apart…
– Hah… Hah…
I could see the man relentlessly chasing after Yeon-hee, who was cursing under her breath and struggling to catch her breath. He had a dagger sticking out of his thigh, yet he was still keeping up.
It was probably because he could accurately track her by scent. Seeing that, a surge of fury rose up within me like a furnace.
“Clap, Clap, Clap-!”
– Huh? What the hell is that?
– Ah!…
I swung my club with all my might, smashing the man’s jaw as he turned around.
[Slam]
Wham-!
Cough-!
The satisfying impact was definitely felt. Even with my dulled senses, the sensation was clear.
Swish-!
“Aaah! Hot! Aah!”
I immediately doused his face with acidic fluid and then wildly clubbed him.
– Gahh… S-save me…
‘Dammit.’
Ptooey-!
Grrk…
If I could have spat, I would have unloaded a thick loogie right on his face.
– The level of [Acid Spray] has increased.
“Phew… Il-wol!”
She collapsed to the ground and called for me, too exhausted to lift her head.
‘The guy who stabbed her in the neck with a dagger is still alive, huh?’
If he had been killed, Yeon-hee would have leveled up and regained her health, but from her current state, it looked like she was nearly out of energy.
After catching her breath for a while, she stared blankly at the man who was scattered with his gear and her eyes widened.
– You have defeated a powerful enemy!
– Experience points have greatly increased!
– You have obtained a Rune of Vitality (Normal).
– You have obtained a Rune of Vitality (Low).
– Your level has increased. Choose three stats to boost.
“Runes…”
Amazingly, she dropped two runes, one of which was a low-level rune. Since it was a Rune of Vitality that she could have obtained from the Goblin Boss, I could just give it to the Guild as it wouldn’t compare to the low-level rune I already had.
Yeon-hee quickly gathered the runes and looked at me.
“Il-wol, let’s go back there. I think he’s still alive.”
Nod-
She was a pro who had adapted to this floor. To eliminate the rest, we definitely had to deal with the last one.
We retraced our steps and arrived at the spot where I had stabbed the guy in the neck with the dagger.
Shh- shh-
He was breathing so shallowly that I could only hear it if I leaned in closely, but he was definitely still alive. His faint life force was flickering like it could fade at any moment.
Woosh-!
But without hesitation, she killed him and swiftly collected the fallen runes before we left.
‘How did all his equipment disappear…?’
While the chance of a dead person’s equipment evaporating is high, there should have been at least one item dropped, but today was just a day with bad luck.
We quickly moved towards the entrance. A group of goblins passed by us closely, but we ignored them.
‘On a day like this, it’s best to get out quickly.’
We had obtained as many as four runes. If we got greedy now, it would only backfire.
“Thanks, Il-wol. I’ll call you quickly.”
Nod-
Soon our bodies folded and we were pulled into a space consumed by darkness.
“Phew- things got tangled up at the last moment.”
As soon as we reached the massive door, I just crashed down onto the ground.
‘I’ll probably have to undergo an investigation…’
This is the magic seal granted by the staff at the entrance office after entering the dungeon. The small stamp printed on my wrist is very simple in structure, but each stamp is linked to the person who granted it. If the connection is severed with the person who received it, they’ll know instantly.
Of course, it can only confirm whether one is alive or dead, but it’s a handy tool for interrogating hunters exiting the dungeon.
Even though dungeon deaths can no longer make it to the local news, the Hunter Management Bureau does their job, so considering that Yeon-hee will be interrogated and then released, it’ll be quite a while until I am re-summoned to the studio.
Rune of Vitality (Normal)
– Health +4
Obtained by killing the short man, a normal-grade Rune of Vitality.
‘It feels like I’m growing faster than when I was a human… this isn’t funny.’
It had only been five days since I was born as a Skeleton Soldier, yet I was already at level 8, which was almost laughable. What made this possible was, without a doubt, the offensive skills.
[Slam] and [Acid Spray]
Especially Acid Spray, I realized once more how useful it was.
Acid Spray Lv.2
– Spray deadly acid in front of you.
– Spray amount +1
– Spray Range +1
Leveling up skills is typically not easy, but seeing it rise indicates how much I favored using this skill. As the level rose, the spray amount and range also slightly increased, making it even more useful from now on.
‘I hope the quality of the acid itself goes up… but is that just greedy?’
It’s just a skill from a slime, after all, so it does feel a bit like overreaching. Even just being able to catch the opponent off guard and restrict their movements would be satisfying.
[Skeleton Soldier Il-wol – Lv.9]
Strength: 32(+3) Agility: 34(+3) Health: 30
Intelligence: 24 Magic Power: 26(+3) Resistance: 1
Sense: 16 Recovery: 2
I invested the stats I gained from killing the bulk into Strength, Agility, and Magic Power
Now, what should I do…?
……
It’s dark, quiet, and still.
If I were a human, I would hear my own breathing and heartbeat, but as a skeleton, there’s no such echo. Yet, I no longer tremble in this space. I no longer grind my teeth. I no longer sob.
‘Yeon-hee… I want to see you soon…’
Just watching her makes my heart feel light. She makes me feel alive. She makes me feel as if my heart is beating.
‘I want to keep making her smile.’
But how do I do that?
Even now, her growth is fast. No, if I’m a contributing factor to her growth, then it’s quite rapid indeed.
She was someone who would have reached A-rank in two years even without me. Even if I twisted the direction greatly, she would still be on numerous paths forward, and her potential would remain intact.
Yet, I find myself questioning. With her current growth speed, can she break free from Jo Gi-man’s clutch?
‘…No, she can’t escape.’
Jo Gi-man is a being of the “Residual Trace” that has lived seven lives.
I may not know how his six previous lives were, but assuming he lived five years for each life, he has already surpassed the age of sixty.
The fact that he stepped back after discovering a singularity in Yeon-hee and me a few days ago says a lot. In other words, it was just a factor he could hypothesize.
‘As we grow stronger, we have to weaken him too.’
The dungeon, which constantly creates and disappears. If we first obtain the artifacts and achievements acquired there, we might slightly hinder his growth.
Fortunately, I had never mentioned the hidden places I found in my previous life to him.
‘Why would I inform him of that?’
With an intuition as good as my sense stat, I was never inclined to view Jo Gi-man favorably from the beginning, so that was a plausible measure.
I had even seriously considered quitting the guild because I found being with him disgusting, but the real reason I stayed was that they paid much more than anywhere else. A lot more.
‘Damn money being the enemy.’
In hindsight, I should have acted based on my instincts, but that’s just a regret I have now. Ultimately, I had to bear the discomfort and foolishly suffered before I died, making me quite the foolish figure as well.
Thanks to that, the memories of not being able to die comfortably surfaced unexpectedly, leading to a ceaselessly darkening of my mind, but this pathetic Skeleton Soldier’s magnificent trait [Calm] has been preventing my mental state from eroding.
Anyway.
‘I need to raise my rank quickly to enter Nargul’s dungeon.’
I need one of the monster skills that can only be acquired in that dungeon.
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