The Hunter and the Hunted

The hunter and the hunted. Only the upper body—completely severed from its lower half—dragged itself slowly in the direction Yeonhee had fled. The tiny core inside its skull emitted a faint glow, as if desperately crying out for its master.

Gurgle… Hack!

By sheer coincidence, the short man who had launched the first attack was right ahead, wheezing on the edge of death.

Just a little more…

As I approached, the dying man’s eyes finally registered my presence. His pupils dilated, and the skeletal figure reflected in them sharpened into perfect clarity within my own sight.

The acid hit with a violent hiss. The man’s face melted beyond recognition as his body convulsed wildly, then went limp.

The shattered bone fragments began rushing back toward my torso the instant I leveled up. A single level wouldn’t have restored me this quickly, but two consecutive leaps made the recovery almost instantaneous. The newly acquired rune had also boosted my vitality by four points.

I quickly distributed the new points into strength, agility, and vitality. The moment my legs reattached to my torso, I sprinted in the direction my body was pulling me.

Where is she? Where!

After running like a madman for about five minutes, I finally caught sight of Yeonhee and her pursuer. They were still locked in a desperate chase, but both were clearly exhausted—their movements had slowed dramatically.

Yeonhee panted harshly behind a stream of curses, the man still stubbornly clinging to her trail. A dagger was buried in his thigh, yet he kept coming. He must have been tracking her by scent.

The sight sent white-hot fury roaring through me like a blast furnace.

"Clack clack clack—!"

I swung my club with every ounce of strength I possessed, smashing it into the man’s jaw the instant he turned.

The impact rang through my arm with satisfying force. Even with my dulled senses, the feedback was unmistakable. I immediately followed up by spraying acid straight into his face, then rained down blow after blow with the club.

Like hell I will.

I brought the club down one final time. If I still had saliva, I would have spat a thick glob right onto his ruined face.

"Haa… haa… Ilwol!"

Yeonhee had collapsed where she stood, calling my name, but she was so drained she couldn’t even lift her head.

Did the bastard I stabbed in the neck survive?

If he had died, she should have leveled up and recovered some stamina. Looking at her now, she was clearly running on empty.

After catching her breath for a long while, she stared at the man whose gear had scattered across the ground. Her eyes suddenly widened.

"Runes…"

Amazingly, two runes had dropped—one of them a lesser-grade. Since it was the same Vitality Rune that could be obtained from a goblin leader, its performance would be inferior to the lesser one I already possessed. I could simply hand it over to the Shield Guild.

Yeonhee swiftly collected the runes and turned to me.

"Ilwol, let’s go back to where we were. I think one of them is still alive."

I nodded. She had already adapted to this brutal world. To eliminate any future threats, we needed to make sure the last one was finished.

We retraced our steps and returned to the man I had stabbed in the neck. His breathing was so shallow it was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠barely audible unless you put your ear right next to him, but he was definitely still alive. The spark of life within him had grown faint enough that he would have died on his own soon.

Still, Yeonhee didn’t hesitate. She killed him cleanly, picked up the newly dropped rune, and quickly left the area.

How did every single piece of equipment disappear…

It was common for a dead hunter’s gear to vanish, but usually at least one item dropped. Today really was unlucky.

We hurried toward the entrance. Goblin packs passed dangerously close, but we ignored them.

On a day like this, the smart move is to get out fast.

We had obtained four runes in total. Any more greed would only bring trouble.

"Ilwol, you worked hard. I’ll summon you again soon."

I nodded. My body folded in on itself and was sucked into the dark space.

Whew. Things got messy at the end.

The moment I arrived in front of the massive gate, I collapsed flat on my back.

They’ll probably investigate…

After entering a dungeon, hunters received a mana imprint from the staff at the entrance office. The small mark on the wrist had a simple structure, but each imprint was linked to the person who had placed it. If the connection to the bearer was severed, they would know immediately. It could only distinguish between life and death, but it was still a useful tool for interrogating hunters who exited the dungeon.

Deaths inside dungeons no longer even made the local news, but the Hunter Management Agency still did its job. Considering Yeonhee would have to undergo questioning, it would probably be quite a while before I was resummoned to the studio apartment.

My growth seems faster than when I was human… How ridiculous.

It had only been five days since I was reborn as a skeleton soldier, yet I had already reached level eight. The thought made me want to laugh bitterly. What made it possible was, of course, the existence of attack skills. Bash and Acid Spray—especially the latter—had once again proven incredibly useful.

Raising skill levels was never easy, yet the fact that this one had already increased showed how often I had relied on it. The slight boost to volume and range would make it even more useful going forward.

I wish the quality of the acid itself had improved… but that might be asking too much.

It was only a slime’s skill, after all. Expecting more would be greedy. As long as it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could catch opponents off guard and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠restrict their movement, I was satisfied.

I invested the stats gained from killing the big one into strength, agility, and magic power. Now, what next?

……

It is dark, silent, and utterly still. A living person would hear their own breathing and heartbeat, but a skeleton produces no such sounds. Even so, I no longer tremble in this space. I no longer grind my teeth. I no longer sob.

Yeonhee… I want to see her soon…

Just looking at her brightens my heart. She makes me feel alive. She tricks me into believing my heart is beating again.

I want to keep making her smile.

What do I need to do for that? Her growth is already quite fast. If my own progress is included in her metrics, it becomes exceptionally rapid. Even without me, she had reached A-rank in two years.

Even if the path has twisted sharply, she has simply taken a different branch among the countless roads leading forward. Her potential remains unchanged.

Yet a question lingers. At this rate, can she escape Jo Giman’s schemes?

…She can’t.

Jo Giman is an anomaly living his seventh life. I don’t know what the previous six were like, but even assuming five years per loop, he is already an old monster well past sixty. The fact that he withdrew quietly after noticing something unusual about Yeonhee and me a few days ago simply means we are still within his expected range.

Along with growing stronger ourselves, we must weaken him.

Dungeons that constantly appear and disappear. If we can claim the artifacts and achievements hidden inside them before he does, we can at least hinder his growth. Fortunately, I never told him about the secret locations I discovered in my previous life.

Why would I have told him?

My senses were as sharp as my ability to read people. From the beginning, I had never liked Jo Giman, which was why I kept those secrets. The thought of being around him disgusted me so much that I seriously considered leaving the guild, but I stayed because they paid better than anywhere else.

A lot better.

Money really is the root of all evil, damn it.

Looking back, I should have followed my instincts, but that regret comes too late. Because I carried that unease with me, I acted out and ended up suffering at his hands before dying. I really was a fool. The memories of not even being allowed an easy death keep resurfacing, creating a mental illness that constantly darkens my mind. Yet the insignificant skeleton soldier’s great trait, Cold Reason, prevents my spirit from being completely devoured.

Anyway.

I need to raise my rank quickly so I can enter the Dungeon of Nargul.

One of the monsters that appears only in that dungeon possesses a skill I need.