Bone Chicken

Now this was what you'd expect from an EX-rank class.

Every single skill was absurdly overpowered.

Starting with the first one:

That much, I could accept.

It was the kind of ability any necromancer would naturally have.

But what came next was completely ridiculous.

Every last one of them had completely broken specs.

And on top of all that:

An utterly broken trait that granted immunity to every form of mental attack.

At this point, I figured I could live with the side effect of becoming a woman. At least a little.

…Ah. Or maybe not?

No matter how you spun it, losing a comrade I'd spent over twenty years with overnight wasn't something you just shrugged off.

Anyway.

The skills were so broken that the thought only flickered through my mind for a second. I forgot all about the anxiety I'd been carrying and couldn't hide how excited I was.

Even when the orphanage director bought me a toy for my tenth birthday, it hadn't felt this good.

Is there a skill I can actually use right now?

After a quick skim, the only skill I could use immediately was Raise. Everything else was essentially a passive that required undead to already exist, so unfortunately there was no way to try them out.

That's a little disappointing.

Still, having even one usable skill was something. I could take comfort in that, at least.

The problem was that Raise itself, according to the description, required a dead being to work with. I knew it was hopeless, but I still found myself scanning the room on the off chance there was some way to use it.

Hm?

Something caught my eye.

The chicken I'd eaten four nights ago, right before bed. I'd been too out of it to clean up, and the leftovers were still sitting in a corner of the room.

…Would it work?

I knew it was a stupid idea. Using a skill on leftover chicken bones, of all things. No one with a normal thought process would even consider it.

But my head was already completely occupied with the desire to use a skill. As if possessed, I walked over to the table, approached the chicken bones, and carefully reached out my hand.

"Gulp."

My nerves were wound tight. Recalling what I'd heard from Hunters in the past, I recited the activation phrase that rose in my mind.

"Rise."

My soft voice rang out as if filling the entire room. At the same time, a cold energy began spreading from deep in my heart, riding my blood through my body. The chill coiled once around my entire frame before gathering at my fingertips.

This must have been the mana the Hunters always talked about.

I thought they said it felt a little warm.

I must have remembered wrong. I focused on the mana pooled at my fingertips. It flowed naturally into the chicken bones and began seeping slowly into them. Along with it came a sensation as if a thin thread now connected the bones to my fingertips.

Crrrk.

The mana-soaked chicken bones began to tremble faintly. At the same time, the scraps of meat still clinging to them fell away, and the scattered bones started moving on their own, one by one. They slid toward each other, interlocking piece by piece, assembling into a shape.

I watched, blinking.

It's actually working?

Honestly, I'd been half-skeptical until I saw the results. Even so, I never expected the skill to work on chicken bones. But as if mocking that doubt, the bones assembled themselves without the slightest hesitation.

And then—

Clack. Clack-clack.

The scattered bones formed the complete shape of a single chicken. Looking at the finished product, I let out a quiet gasp of admiration.

"…Whoa."

It looked exactly like what you'd get if you fully deboned a whole chicken and laid the skeleton out flat on its back. The finished Bone Chicken lay neatly on the table with both legs and wings fully spread.

"…Is that it?"

No more bones were moving, so the assembly seemed finished. I was about to lean in for a closer look when—

Brrrrrr—

The chicken bones suddenly started shaking on their own.

"Hyeek—!!"

I jerked backward like I'd been electrocuted.

Holy crap, that scared me…!! What the hell…!!

My heart was hammering from the sudden scare. Clutching my chest for no good reason, I watched as the trembling chicken bones abruptly sprang upright—!

"It stood up?!"

It rose on bare bone legs with an almost majestic air. The risen chicken bones clacked its wing bones against its ribcage, producing a cheerful rattle.

Clack-clack-clack—!!

"Hik!"

Startled by the sudden movement, I threw both arms up in a defensive stance and kept my face shielded while eyeing the thing warily.

…It's not going to charge me, right?

But no matter how long I waited, it showed no further movement. Feeling awkward, I slowly lowered my arms.

…Am I an idiot? I raised this thing with my own skill. There's no way it'd attack me.

I felt my face flush a little. First time using a skill — I'd overreacted without realizing it. Watching chicken bones move around like that had been pretty shocking in its own right.

"Ahem."

I cleared my throat lightly and looked at the Bone Chicken, still standing there with that same proud posture. Being a chicken, it had no head — and yet somehow it felt like it was looking right at me. A faint chill ran down my spine.

…It's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a little creepy, honestly.

A headless bone chicken just standing there staring at me. If I hadn't been the one who raised it, I might have already run for the door.

I don't know how long I spent locked in a staring contest with the headless thing.

…Ugh.

Just as my eyes were starting to sting—

Ding—!

A clear chime rang out, and a small window appeared before my eyes.

"Huh?"

What was this? Were my eyes so sore that I was seeing things?

I blinked a few times against the sting and stared at the window floating in front of me. Then, as if entranced, I pressed Yes.

A blue window bloomed open with a soft flash.

Is this its status window?

…It was probably the effect of one of my skills — Penetrating Bone Eye.

…What are Bone Structure and Bone Potential supposed to mean?

Those two entries stood out the most. No matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn't even begin to guess what they meant.

Then, as if it had been waiting for that exact question, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠small text appeared beneath both entries.

Ah, so that's how it works.

I read through the explanations and nodded in understanding. In game terms, Bone Structure was basically base stats, and Bone Potential was like the maximum level it could reach. One measured the performance of the bones themselves; the other measured how far it could grow from here. The higher each grade, the more drastically its value changed.

So does this thing have these grades because of its species?

Were the grades different for each individual, or fixed by species? Without anything to compare it to, there was no way to know.

While I was mulling that over, a sudden growl rumbled from my stomach.

…Ah.

Only then did I realize I hadn't eaten a single thing in three days.

…I completely forgot.

Maybe the tension was finally letting go. All the hunger I'd been holding back seemed to crash over me at once.

…Is there anything to eat around here?

I glanced around the room, and my gaze naturally drifted to the Bone Chicken. Maybe it was the hunger talking, but the fear had vanished — and for some reason, it was starting to look delicious.

Chicken, huh.

I needed a comparison subject anyway. Raising another chicken bone from a different individual might show me what the differences were.

…It's not because I want to eat chicken. Definitely not. Yep. Yep.

Having thoroughly convinced myself, I immediately opened the delivery app ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and ordered chicken from my usual place.

For some reason, the Bone Chicken started trembling all over.

Clack. Clack-clack.

I did my best to ignore its thrashing.