I Regressed as a Skeleton
I regressed as a skeleton. A pitch-black space where not even a sliver of light could enter. I remained curled up tight, like a bug rolling along the roadside. I ground my teeth, enduring it all. How much time had passed? I had just begun doubting whether I had ever been alive at all when a faint sound from somewhere far in the distance began to stir me awake. The sound drew steadily closer until it rang out clearly, yet I still couldn't understand a word. It was a language I had truly never heard before. That clear, pure voice was issuing a command that felt somewhat bothersome to me, now that I had grown accustomed to this curled-up posture. But while my mind hesitated, my body was already creaking to life, beginning to straighten what had been tightly coiled. Clatter!
Huh? My body…? The form was vastly different from my original one—many things that should have been there were simply missing. Yet this body was producing rattling sounds as it walked forward. Since when had this been the case? Had it been like this from the very beginning? The shattered fragments of my memories were too broken to piece back together. I walked like that for some time until I stood before a massive door emitting a faint blue glow. Instinctively, I understood that stepping past it would lead me to the outside world. It was something that probably deserved careful thought, yet I placed my foot forward without the slightest hesitation. The imposing door opened with unnatural speed, and my body was instantly sucked inside.
* * *
It's blinding… That was my first impression. The second was deep confusion. After all, I had a vague sense of what condition my body was in. A skeleton finding light dazzling…?
While I tilted my head in bewilderment, the clear voice that had awakened me from the darkness spoke again from behind.
“Wow… U-um, hello?”
I turned around at once. As though it were the most natural thing in the world, my body began by offering her a deep bow. The strange experience of my body moving on its own, without any conscious thought, sparked my curiosity.
Who is this girl? She feels somehow familiar…
Her face was mostly hidden behind long bangs, but there was something familiar about the girl. Though I was certain I had never seen her before, she looked no older than twenty. Her short hair, just brushing her shoulders, was as deep a black as the space I had come from. Her large, round eyes sparkled like starlight even through those bangs. She wore faded black track pants with three white stripes and a white t-shirt with a frayed collar. From five full steps away, she clutched a pillow to her chest and looked me up and down.
I have no idea what’s happening here…
Yet organizing the chaos in my mind didn’t take long. Was this another change that came with becoming a skeleton? In the span of an instant, I considered what I needed to do first. The girl had greeted me. I had to respond.
I bowed earlier without thinking, but I should give a proper greeting.
Having decided, I spoke to the hesitant short-haired girl.
“Clack clack clack!”
……
A brief silence fell between us. She must have taken it as a positive sign, because she peeked out just her eyes above the pillow and slowly approached while saying,
“Wow… I didn’t think it would actually work… Well, of course it had to work since it’s my ability. Still… this is so amazing!”
As she drew nearer she lowered the pillow. Her cheeks were flushed bright red. In the narrow, box-like room, only a few steps brought her much closer. She began circling me slowly in a clockwise direction, words tumbling out in an excited rush.
“Since it was my first summon I expected something small, but you’re huge! You must be over 180 centimeters tall, right?”
“A skeleton soldier… How reliable. It feels like a soldier uncle is here to protect me. Hehe.”
“But can I just give commands normally? I don’t need to chant like during the summoning, do I? I have zero information, so I guess I’ll have to learn everything one step at a time.”
She suddenly stopped circling, stood directly in front of me, and stared with a serious expression. Now that the spinning girl had halted, I could finally see her eyes clearly. That was the moment I realized why she looked so familiar.
First summon… skeleton soldier… purple eyes…
With only those few keywords and her face before me, the conclusion came quickly.
Summoner Lee Yeonhee…
The genius who had reached A-rank in just two years. The unique class of summoner. The unfortunate hunter who had died a tragic death while desperately trying to stop a sudden dungeon break. Seeing her caused several of my shattered memories to click back into place.
Yes, that’s how the world remembered it… but it was all orchestrated by that bastard.
It still rose vividly in my mind—the twisted, repulsive face of the man who had laughed while driving a dagger into my eye. The one who had driven her into a trap and taken my life along with hers.
Jo Giman…
A tremor ran through me as rage surged, but I regained my composure with surprising speed. I’m much calmer than I was in my previous life. Is it because I have no brain?
While I was lost in thought, the girl who had died so pointlessly in front of me furrowed her brow, deeply pondering something.
She has no scar on her face, so I didn’t recognize her immediately, but it’s definitely Lee Yeonhee…
The information in my head wasn’t fully organized yet, but one thing was certain: I had returned to the past and become her very first summoned creature. We had once belonged to the same guild. She had been the savior of my life…
“Ah! How about Clacky? It’s easy to say!”
…So that’s what she was worrying about? She was just trying to come up with a name for me.
I had thought I knew everything about her, but her naming sense was apparently terrible. I shook my head firmly.
“Ehh?! D-did you just say you don’t like it?!”
Was that really so surprising…?
In any case, Clacky was a name even someone as insensitive as me would struggle to accept. It might be what I would be called for the rest of my existence, yet Clacky? Of all things…
“Ughhh… This is my first time naming anything, you know.”
She groaned, clearly stuck. It didn’t look like she would solve it anytime soon, so I decided to take the initiative.
“Clack clack—”
“Hmm?”
She tilted her head at the sound of clacking teeth, then followed the direction I turned my skull.
“The calendar?”
She cleverly caught my intention and walked over to it. Strangely, however, I couldn’t move a single step from where I stood.
My body… won’t move?
It felt as if magnets of opposite polarity were pinning my feet to the floor. My legs refused to lift.
She seemed to notice my struggle.
“Ah! Walk over here!”
The moment she issued the command, my feet finally left the ground. Clatter, clack, clack— The sound of bone soles striking the floor echoed through the cramped studio apartment. After only a few steps I stood beside her, staring at the calendar.
January 2020…
I gave a small nod and pointed at a spot with my finger bone.
“…Il?”
“Clack clack—”
Then I pointed at the next character.
“Wol?”
“Clack clack—”
“Ilwol… Is that the name you want?”
I nodded. It was a name thrown together after glancing at the calendar, but it still sounded infinitely better than Clacky. She kept her mouth hanging open for a long while, unable to close it.
“No one would ever believe a summon could have this much intelligence! Maybe summons share language ability with their summoner?!”
Of course that wasn’t the case, but since this was her first summon, every new discovery must have felt shocking. Well… she’ll figure it out once she summons a second one. No need to explain now.
“Ilwol… It sounds pretty and somehow wistful. To think a monster came up with a better name than I did.”
She pretended to be disappointed for a moment, then her eyes curved into gentle arcs as she looked at me.
“Ilwol. From now on, your name is Ilwol! Please take good care of me!”
When she cheerfully spoke my new name, a familiar message rose in my mind like a hologram.
Looking at the stats alone, it’s pathetic… Agility at 2? Is that even possible? At least my human intelligence and senses seem to have carried over. That’s a relief…