Chapter 71
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Twilight Bone Palace #2
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Nimble shouted with animalistic instinct.
“What’s coming!”
What?
When I absentmindedly lifted my head, I thought I was about to pass out.
A monster woven from countless bones was glaring right at me.
To describe it, it was a giant made by interlacing bones.
It had four arms, each gripping spears and swords fashioned from bones.
【Who dares covet my treasure-.】
「Bone Lord Galak's Incarnation」
「Lv.18」
“Level 18─!?”
Whoosh-.
The roughly three-meter bone monster swung its sword at me.
“《Protective Aura》, 《Deflect》─!”
Felix cried out something as he charged forward.
Felix swung his sword, and the massive arm recoiled once.
Boom-!
“Ugh!”
The problem was that Felix himself was sent flying by the backlash.
Seeing him cough up blood, his insides were undoubtedly turned to mush.
“Ugh, you crazy skull bastard….”
“Chest!”
I took advantage of the opening to reach for the chest.
「Sealed Bone Coffer – Lock Difficulty 20」.
Thanks to the synergy of my skills Black Eye and Subtle Touch, the chest's lock difficulty was visible.
But a lock difficulty of 20?
I wasn't sure exactly, but it was definitely insanely high.
‘That means something incredible must be inside!’
The Star Key Lv.1 I'd received from Ashibar.
This time, it had to work properly!
Click-.
Fortunately, it unlocked on the first try again.
“Ooh! Got it!”
Creak-.
As I opened the chest, a blindingly radiant skull illuminated everything around it.
「Bone Lord Galak's Twilight Skull」
「A cranium containing dazzling light. Can be consumed to imbue a tool with the ‘Twilight’ state.」
「《Twilight》 - Drives away nearby night.」
Fucking awesome─!?
I had no idea what it did exactly, but it seemed insanely valuable.
My greed sensor was blaring like crazy.
“Fuck, we’re rich!”
The problem was that the bone giant had started charging straight at me, thump thump.
Its four arms clutching their weapons bore down on me, and in that instant, Nimble thrust out his hand and yelled urgently.
“《Thorn Vines》!”
Vines sprouted from the floor, coiling around the bone giant's body.
Crack, crunch-.
“It’s working─!?”
Nimble had saved me.
But only ‘temporarily.’
“Guh, I can’t hold it for long!”
Nimble cried out in pain.
Sure enough, the giant was brute-forcing its way free of the thorn vines wrapped around it.
If I stayed put, my skull might end up getting smashed.
But I couldn’t just ditch this badass skull either.
“Fuck, what do I do!”
“《Flame Orb》!”
Swish-.
That was when Hermit swung her staff.
Something like a small spark flew forth, only to go boom─ and erupt into flames.
Kawhoom, roar-.
The intense explosion set the vines ablaze.
Yes!
Of course grass burns in fire!
Nimble and Hermit’s combo technique landed perfectly!
The bone giant writhed in agony.
It was a truly exhilarating, satisfying moment.
“Die, you bone bastard!”
Hermit’s firepower was the best, as expected.
A walking human bomb.
Shing─. Hum-.
In that moment came the sound of steel being drawn from its sheath, like a wail.
I turned to see Felix—who I’d thought was down for the count with his guts pulped—aiming his sword.
“…Everyone, fall back.”
Thud thud-.
Felix even sprinted forward at full speed.
Leap-.
He vaulted into the air and drove his sword into the flame-engulfed bone giant’s skull.
Craaack-!
The skull, thick as a castle wall, shattered like an eggshell.
Crumble-.
The bone giant lost its form in an instant and began collapsing.
“We did it!”
I shouted in glee.
But Felix, upon landing, snapped at me instead.
“Hey! Don’t jinx it!”
Felix’s outburst turned out to be baseless.
Bone Lord Galak’s incarnation never rose again, reduced to mere white bones.
「Bone Lord Galak's Twilight Skull」
「A cranium containing dazzling light. Can be consumed to imbue a tool with the ‘Twilight’ state.」
「《Twilight》 - Drives away nearby night.」
I showed the skull from the chest to everyone.
I didn’t forget to highlight just how much effort I’d put in.
“It was a difficulty 20 lock, no less!”
Everyone was exhausted from battling the bone giant.
I was the only one who hadn’t joined the fight.
‘Can’t have rumors spreading that I just sat back and reaped the rewards.’
That was why I needed them to know how tough it had been for me to pick that lock.
My plan worked—Hermit was thrilled.
“This skull! It really seems like something special!”
Hermit turned the skull this way and that, examining it.
The skull’s eerie glow softly lit up the bone palace’s interior.
“Was this skull what was keeping the surrounding night at bay? It’s gotta be at least ‘Legendary’ grade!”
Legendary grade.
It reminded me of the game Night Diver.
Legendary grade items there were the real deal.
“Hermit, how much do you think it’s worth?”
“My guess? At least 100 million!”
At least 100 million─!?
Everyone’s eyes went wide.
In my case, I was so breathless I felt dizzy.
Ether value of 100 million.
And that was the minimum.
Meaning it could go even higher!
But we couldn’t let our guards down just yet.
Crumble-.
Whether it was the bone giant’s death or us dismantling the magic circle and taking the skull, the palace began to collapse.
Creep-.
Night’s darkness even started encroaching at our feet.
“Fall back for now!”
Felix shouted, sounding just like Hammer.
We hightailed it out of the goblin kingdom as he said.
Shhh-.
It felt like the fog was lifting, and the temple filled with headless statues appeared before me.
This was the resting place of the headless goblin, Ashibar.
“Ashibar!”
Kakakat-.
Ashibar approached, clutching his own severed head, accompanied by an eerie cackle.
He asked me,
【That’s the fate of a fallen idol.】
“Fallen idol?”
Ashibar gave a brief explanation.
Galak had once been a major idol power from before the era of the Three Evils.
He’d even been called an evil god.
“Eek! Idols turn into beasts if they run out of ether?”
It was news to me.
No wonder everyone was desperate to trade ether.
Idols got their ether from explorers—win-win.
Explorers scored amazing, powerful skills—win-win.
Anyway.
Rubbing my hands together, I told Ashibar,
“I was even thinking of catching you a female goblin. Too bad the goblin kingdom’s all gone—no rats left, let alone goblins.”
“…A headless goblin?”
【Let’s trade with the ether I’ve got!】
「Goblin Greed: Distinguishes the value of treasures and tools more precisely.」
「Goblin Rhetoric: Gains advantage in conversations with those of strong ‘evil’ disposition.」
These were the skills Ashibar offered me.
Goblin series, no less.
They both looked pretty solid.
Which was the problem.
“Hehehe, which one should I go for?”
【I recommend ‘Rhetoric’!】
Goblin Rhetoric.
I bought Goblin Rhetoric from Ashibar for 1 million ether.
I was already looking forward to how it’d benefit me.
Shhh-.
It felt like swimming through fog again.
Before I knew it, we were back in the strategy room.
Hermit let out a kyaaahoo-.
“This thing—my idol Angrat says it’s really Galak’s skull!”
Hermit held the skull aloft with both hands.
The dusk-like glow of the skull was utterly dazzling.
A skull that could imbue tools to temporarily repel night.
The effect was impressive in its own right.
No need for an Ether Torch.
“Put it up at auction and split the proceeds evenly—what do you think?”
Hermit glanced at me.
Felix looked my way too.
Of course, Nimble didn’t get it.
“Why’re you looking at Yor?”
“Thieves usually insist on hogging all the good loot for themselves.”
“Yeah? Thieves really are awful.”
Nimble stuck his tongue out at me after hearing Felix.
He was frowning—looked like his thief hate meter had ticked up.
‘What the hell do other thieves do to lump me in and make me look bad?’
Truth be told, I wanted to keep the skull too.
Who could resist a glowing skull!
But?
Right now, I needed ether more.
Somehow, no matter how much ether I farmed, it was never enough.
Half a day later.
Hermit put the skull up at auction and sold it for 130 million.
She distributed 30 million ether to each of the four of us.
“Newbie, your cut’s 40 million ether!”
“Why do I get more?”
“Thief subsidy.”
Thief subsidy!?
What a world.
Good thing I became a thieving ex-con.
Guess that’s why good folks get called idiots.
“40 million─!”
A massive windfall hit me all at once, and I was thrilled.
With this, I could level up to 13.
「Level up?」
「11 → 12」
「Ether Cost – 10,240,000」
「Level up?」
「12 → 13」
「Ether Cost – 20,480,000」
My level, stuck at 11 for days, shot right up.
With the breakthrough stone and necklace’s conditional effects, my stats were now on par with level 15.
“Kyaa! Feels fucking great!”
I hurried to the training ground to test my newfound strength.
Crunch-!
Now I could pierce the log dummy without even using skills.
My steps felt light as hell—no fatigue even when sprinting laps around the training ground.
D.S., the bounty hunter from the adjacent unit, clapped for me.
“Rookie, you’re starting to look the part.”
“Hehe, even I think so!”
“Then your form’s shaping up. Wanna pick up some easy side work?”
“Side work?”
“Two thieves joined our unit yesterday. But these punks are bad news—not your average yellow-bellies. Driving me nuts.”
Newbie thieves had joined.
And they weren’t average?
“Figured they might listen to a senior in the trade.”
In other words, he wanted me to lay down the law.
The key was the pay.
I snuck a glance, and D.S. pulled out a refinement stone—a strengthening material—from his pouch.
“Heard you go weak for these.”
“Ahem, well, it’s not just about the pay. Thieves have such a shitty rep, so I figured I should step up and help fix that─. Anyway, let’s do it!”
I followed D.S. to the adjacent unit’s barracks.
Two thieves.
“Hah? What’s this pale, scrawny twig?”
“Eww, he stinks of sweat. Total buzzkill.”
They were a full head shorter than me.
Shiny silver bobbed hair.
Skinny but with sharp, cat-like features—girls.
Identical looks meant they had to be twins.
“Don’t just stand in the doorway—move it!”
“You know who we are? You picking a fight?”
Chatter chatter-.
A noisy pair of twins.
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
‘Fuck, I’m weak to girls!’
I suddenly felt choked up, totally at a loss.
Then text floated before my eyes.
「Goblin Rhetoric can be used.」
「Presents effective options.」
「Cost – 100,000 Ether」
「1. [Threat] “Shut those mouths unless you want your crotches torn open.”」
「2. [Threat] “Obey quietly, or I’ll knock you flat.”」
「3. [Threat] “You milky bitches, hand over everything you’ve got!”」
Ooooh-.
Yes!
I affirmed it inwardly.
Fuck─!?
It cost ether!?
“─You milky bitches, hand over everything you’ve got!”
“Hah-!?”
“W-what did you just…!?”