episode_0017

Skeleton.

A skull reanimated by wicked magic cast upon the remains in the graveyard. Once famous, now a mundane monster.

Isn’t it always like that? When you think of an orc, you picture a warrior, and when you think of a goblin, you imagine a rogue. Similarly, when you think of undead, isn’t it always a skeleton?

It had become so common that one could almost call it the face of the undead.

Hence, despite mocking the walking skeleton with two legs, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease. I mean, there’s a walking lizard by my side; what’s so intimidating about a walking skeleton?

“Skeleton…! A wicked creature defying the principles of life and death…!”

On the other hand, Bolton’s reaction to the skeleton was nothing short of a madman’s fit.

“Ugghh…! Disrespectful, utterly disrespectful! How can this be so disrespectful-!”

Bolton half-turned his eyes and babbled loudly. I thought he was having some kind of seizure.

The veins that suddenly popped up on his forehead, under his chin, and on his neck transformed his face into a more grotesque monster than the skull. Which one is the real monster here?

“Elia-nel, your mace, please!”

Bolton shouted and tried to rush towards them.

What mace? This is the man who found it difficult to wield a mace and instead pioneered the path of a spear-wielding priest.

“Please save that. We’re only at the beginning of this floor, and we’re facing a mere four of them.”

“Grrr…!”

Hold your horses, sir.

I reached out my left arm to block Bolton and prevent him from leaping recklessly. The miracle attack of the Goddess’ faith, “Punishing Arrow,” could take down the skeleton in a single blow, but Bolton could only use it four times.

So, should we waste it here?

Let the warriors endure a bit while the mages and priests conserve their spells, and unleash them when the opponents that cannot be handled by the warriors alone appear. This was the basic strategy for dungeons.

Therefore-

“Kikel, please take care of the two on the right.”

“Got it! Leave it to me!”

Like a Chihuahua facing a chew toy, Kikel dashed forward. With the hilt of my longsword resting on my shoulder, I charged toward the skeletons on the left.

Swish…!

Perhaps due to the lack of flesh, they came charging at a faster speed than expected, swiftly thrusting their rusty spears at me.

The sight of the rust-covered blade made me think that if I were to get pricked by it, I’d probably end up with tetanus. “Haah!” Without breaking my stride, I swung my sword diagonally, cleaving through the grandeur of a skeleton and then rammed into its right shoulder, shattering it. A clash resounded as its collapsed spine, shattered like a dropped LEGO, scattered in all directions like snowflakes. Following that, when I struck down the falling skull with my left hand, a fist-shaped hole burst open on its face with a thud. Pathetic durability. Well, it may have been revived by magic, but in the end, it’s just human bones. Can it withstand an iron fist, let alone a steel one?

“Ugh…!” These things can still speak. Whether it was anger at the sight of their comrade reduced to just the lower body or pure instinct, another one agilely approached and aimed its spear at my lower abdomen, an area not covered by armor. Whether it was intelligence or instinct, it was a splendid choice. Not engaging might have been the best option, though.

Kaaang! A thrust upward at an angle. The spear clashed against my sword and rebounded, embedding its tip into the dungeon ceiling, along with the arms that couldn’t withstand the impact. “Ugh…?” The skeleton, now unable to perform a double piece, let out a dumbfounded groan, lifting its head upwards as if gazing endlessly at the back of a lover who had just bid farewell. Its gaze was so poignant that it involuntarily provoked a sense of dissatisfaction within me.

With its limbs gone, it could probably acquire about six lovers. Perhaps.

◆◆

The battle ended in an instant. Despite their menacing appearance, skeletons were weakened monsters, to the point where a couple of goblins could engage them in a soul match. While it was somewhat bothersome that they kept resurrecting until their bone-embedded magic ran out, it was meaningless when there were two or more. Mixing their bones effectively prevented their magic from colliding and regenerating, causing them to crumble.

Until this fact was revealed, it had been considered a more dangerous monster than goblins, but after the revelation, it was treated just like a pushover, much like goblins.

However, if there was one slightly tricky issue compared to goblins…

“A skeleton… Could it be a deep abyss priest in hiding?”

The existence of skeletons meant that the sorcerer who created them could also be hiding somewhere nearby.

“Deep Abyss!! Priest!!!”

Bolton shouted, his eyes wide open. There was no one as crazy as him, with even madness gleaming through his dilated pupils.

Deep Abyss priests.

Unlike ordinary mages who simply hone magic as knowledge and skill, these heretical mages believe that magic itself is a divine intervention.

If they reach the abyss of knowledge, could they then receive the ‘blessing of magic’? Under such a pretext, they are fanatics who delve into all sorts of unethical magic, conducting experiments. From the perspective of the goddess’s followers, they were a group that should be eradicated without hesitation.

Skeletons were precisely one of the lowest-level summonings of these deep abyss priests.

“They are quite bothersome…”

Deep abyss priests are zealots who selectively practice bizarre magic such as necromancy, curses, and monster summoning. They were extremely troublesome opponents.

When a fireball comes flying, you can’t just dodge it, and there’s no way to deal with a curse that takes effect before you’re caught.

If there’s a priest among the party members, it’s a bit better… but even then, it’s only to some extent.

Unfortunately, Bolton had no miraculous purification abilities he could employ. It was because the depth of his accumulated virtue was still too shallow, so to speak?

In gaming terms, it meant he couldn’t use it due to being underleveled.

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

Amy nodded.

“The magical flow is too clumsy for it to be an undead created by a mage. It’s a naturally occurring entity.”

“Do humans normally turn into skeletons when they die?”

Kirkel asked, rubbing his vertically split pupils. He was asking if it’s normal for humans to become skeletons when they die.

“It’s rare, but… probably because of the magical energy emanating from the mage.”

No way that’s going to happen. If this world were one where every dead body automatically resurrected as a skeleton, there probably wouldn’t even be a burial culture here.

Every single corpse would have been ground into dust and thrown into a rushing river or something.

“This is turning out to be more trouble than it’s worth.”

Amy grumbled as she let out a sigh. When I asked her why, she gave a light cough and explained in detail.

The existence of naturally occurring undead was a clear indication that there was a sorcerer at the very depths of this dungeon, but this was by no means a fortunate event.

A sorcerer who could raise corpses as undead just from the aftermath of released magic.

That meant the spells contained within that sorcerer were of the necromancy school of magic.

If they were Abyssal Priests, they would have cheered and celebrated, but for a regular mage like Amy, it was nothing more than a bitter pill to swallow.

Necromancy was one of the forbidden heretical magics designated by the Goddess Sect.

Abyssal Priests might not know, but for a regular mage to use necromancy was akin to standing in the middle of Insa-dong and snorting cocaine naked.

Except they’d be apprehended by law enforcement within 5 minutes.

No, considering the zealotry of the religious factions in this world, it might not be an arrest but rather being burned alive right on the spot.

So, it was only natural to feel disappointed. The sorcerer we had painstakingly discovered was nothing more than a blown-up pufferfish ready for gutting and cooking.

“Should we just head back then?”

I asked if we should return just like this. After all, what was the point of searching for a sorcerer that Amy couldn’t even use?

But Amy shook her head.

“No, that’s not it. Even though I can’t use it myself, bringing it back will serve as proof that we’ve completed the investigation.”

Well, that makes sense.

“What are you saying! Such wicked sorcery should be burned the moment it’s found!”

Bolton shouted, thrusting his face forward.

His religious fervor was protruding like a tendon. It felt uncouth and repulsive.

“Well, then, how about we don’t pay you? Report to the Tower of Sorcery, and it’ll be burned immediately. Just bear with it if you don’t want to work without compensation.”

“Ah. Well, in that case, I suppose there’s no choice.”

Then Bolton immediately changed his attitude at the mention of not being able to pay. It was a quicker change in demeanor than the blink of an eye.

If I had brought him to Korea, wouldn’t he have become a great woodworker?

“I may not know, but the other two should receive payment for their work.”

I thought it was surprising that he was revealing the money issue a bit, but upon hearing it, it was surprisingly for a very legitimate reason.

He changed his attitude to consider me and Kikel.

…I feel a little sorry for making fun of the woodworker.

“As long as you confirm the burning, there’s no problem. So, may I witness it?”

So, it’s just about confirming it later. For someone who seemed unyielding on religious matters like a fanatic priest, he was surprisingly flexible.

“If you wish.”

Amy readily nodded.

◆◆

After finishing the story, we continued to explore this floor of the dungeon, crushing every visible skeleton.

It seemed like an endless cemetery, with skeletons constantly popping up.

Amy and Bolton, who had been merely watching the vanguard’s fight, also had to participate in the occasional battle.

“Invisíbĭlis Marcus!”

“These vile things!”

Amy pulverized the skeletons with her “Invisible Hammer” spell, while Bolton wielded his spear like a mace, smashing their skulls.

Judging by his form, it wasn’t his first time smashing someone’s skull.

While the two of them were dealing with several skeletons, Kikel and I leaped around, engaging the remaining ten or so in a chaotic dance.

“Kakakak! Finally, it’s a bit warm now!”

Kikel strapped his shield to his back, drew his axe with his left hand, and wildly swung his javelin and axe in all directions like a drug-fueled drum virtuoso.

The two handles in his hands shattered the skeletons into pieces, playing a lively death metal tune in this otherworldly style.

It was truly a cheerful rhythm.

I twisted my body as if dancing, dodging and thrusting away rusty spears.

Thud!

Seizing each opening of the enemy, I swiftly took them down one by one.

“Haaat!”

Approaching the window, he swiftly brushed away the impending dawn with his dark sword, then extended it straight through the skull before using the head as a mace to crush another skeleton.

*Thud!*

Following that, amidst the scattered remains, he picked up a rusty mace and swung it vertically towards the nearest foe, the sensation akin to breaking a bundle of dry twigs. From the crown to the pelvis, the shattered skull fragments flew as the entire skeleton crumbled.

The technique for wielding a longsword was somewhat awkward due to its different application, but against skeletons, the mace proved several times more effective than the sword.

In this manner, he progressed through this level. The increasing number of skeletons began to exhibit diverse compositions, eventually mixing shield bearers, armored foes, and even those wielding bows.

Were they buried warriors along with their prized possessions? They, still adorned in their former gear, leapt about ferociously, far surpassing those whose only possession was a mere rusted spear.

“Groooaaar!”

Among them, there were individuals wielding weapons that remained untarnished and razor-sharp, leaving one to wonder what materials had been used.

One could say that even among the undead, there existed a gap between the haves and have-nots. Those who had once possessed wealth in life displayed superiority even in death.

“That sword! It’s excellent!”

“It might fetch a good price if sold.”

Of course, now they were merely our prey.

What significance did a good weapon hold if its wielder was weak and faltering?

The skeletal warriors were quick in movement but lacked physical strength, and their endurance was even worse. Not only against Kikel, but even my punches would shatter them.

*Crack…!*

Perhaps due to the overwhelming number of enemies, there were occasions when Kikel allowed blind thrusts or slashes, but…

“It tickles!”

Even so, there weren’t any injuries worth mentioning. The fur cloak and quilted armor tore, but they didn’t pierce through the scales within.

Indeed, should one call him a lizardman? Excluding the weakness in cold environments, it was hard to find a race superior to him as a warrior.