The Bone That Crumbled

It was a relief, even as I scattered into pieces. At least Yeonhee didn’t have to see me like this. Right now she was completely focused on directing her summons, drawing her bowstring taut without pause. She kept cycling through orbs to recover her mana and immediately poured it into her abilities. Helen’s duo was also unleashing their full potential. Another ten minutes passed like that.

The summoned creatures that had first established the defensive line had now completely reclaimed the original terrain and were clearly pushing the orcs back. The orc warriors, unable to adapt to bodies that refused to move properly, stumbled and tangled over one another, collapsing in heaps. Many of them were vomiting dark, blackened blood.

Just how long had they been poisoned since the first moment of exposure? They really were foolish creatures. And for that, I was incredibly grateful. We had firmly seized the momentum. There were still a great many orcs left, but we were surging upward without hesitation while they plummeted helplessly downward.

These guys aren’t the end of it… Please, I hope those other bastards don’t come this way…

The six hundred or so other orc warriors that hadn’t chased after us still lingered uneasily in the back of my mind, but my fading vision was growing unbearably cruel.

Yeonhee…

- Huk-Huk- Huh?

- Haa- They’re… gone? They’re gone?

- W-we killed them all…

“We won… We actually won!! We did it!! Uwaahahahaha!! Hey! Jin-gyeong! We’re alive!”

“Unnie, this isn’t a dream, right? Heheuk- Aaaaaah!!”

“We’re seriously insane! We actually held them off! Is this some divine message telling us to keep hunting?”

Helen’s duo clung to each other, crying and laughing in disbelief, making a complete ruckus. Meanwhile, Lee Yeonhee, No Hayun, and Bae Jua lay sprawled on the ground around the orb, gasping for breath.

At that moment, as if refusing to let them rest, a message floated into their minds.

- Kyaaaaaaaaah—!!! Jackpot!!!

- Kyahahahahahak!! What the hell is this for real!!

At the sound of Helen’s duo cheering wildly, No Hayun and Bae Jua initially frowned, but soon their lips curled upward and they began giggling together.

“I don’t know either. If they’re coming, let them come.”

Even if hundreds of orcs appeared right now after hearing that cheer, they could just fight and win again, couldn’t they? It was an absurd level of confidence, but they had earned the right to feel that way. After all, they had taken down nearly forty percent of the forces that had crossed over through the gate.

A faint smile even formed on Lee Yeonhee’s lips. The first thought that came to her was how much she wanted to tell Ilwol about this achievement.

“Ilwol…”

With a small grunt, Yeonhee stood up. She felt guilty for not paying attention to Ilwol amid the chaotic melee. That monstrous orc had slammed him into the cliff—he must have suffered serious injuries and was probably lying there, waiting for her to come. Even though she barely had the strength to lift a finger, she staggered to her feet and headed toward the wall where Ilwol had been sent flying.

“Ilwol— Hehehe, we were really amazing, right? We even got a really good achievement! Did you get it too, Ilwol? Ilwoool—”

Yeonhee reached the area where she assumed Ilwol would be. There, lying on the ground and looking up at her, the right half of Ilwol’s skull formed a slight, gentle smile.

“Are you badly hurt? Can you not move at all? …Ilwol?”

But she quickly sensed something was wrong. She began running frantically. When she arrived, only half of a skull remained—Ilwol’s bones lay scattered pitifully on the ground. Even worse, every bone in his body had cracked beyond repair and was crumbling away like sand, scattering across the floor.

“Uh… huh? N-no way… I-I didn’t see any message—”

No. During battle, she had unconsciously erased every single distracting message. Even the one that said Ilwol had collapsed… It had been that kind of situation. It had to be.

Yeonhee stared blankly at the clearly displayed message, then collapsed weakly to the ground.

“......”

Behind her, No Hayun stood watching Ilwol’s remains. Her face was also heavily contorted with shock.

“Clack clack clack!!”

I sat there, glaring resentfully at an innocent door. It’s much better than the last time I died, but still— At least this time I managed to finish the fight before I went down. Should I call that progress?

No! That’s not good enough! I can’t keep dying like this!

Just like during the last dungeon break, I had once again become a straggler who left the battlefield mid-combat.

The best outcome is surviving until the very end and protecting Yeonhee!

Defeating the orc advanced warrior had raised my level by two whole stages, and I even obtained a superior-grade rune. I didn’t remember picking one up, and I had no idea how I ended up with it, but it was my first superior rune in this skeleton life.

Whoa, eight mana is pretty decent. I should probably swap this out with the inferior mana rune. Considering how hard I struggled, the reward feels a bit light, though…

There were many things I needed to organize in my head, but I couldn’t think straight because I was too worried about her safety.

Is Yeonhee okay? I hope those scattered bastards don’t come back…

11:48:17

Twelve whole hours until I could be resummoned. This is definitely a curse! This is so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠frustrating I could die…

While I clutched my smooth skull in agony, another message appeared.

Only after seeing that message could I finally breathe a sigh of relief. Receiving the achievement meant they had overcome the immediate crisis. Of course, that alone didn’t erase all my worries. There were still six hundred orcs out there.

They’re way ahead of us, so the chance of running into them should be low. I’ll just have to hope for the best.

I deliberately pushed down my anxiety and turned my attention back to the achievement.

So there was an achievement like this? All stats +20 against orcs? Just looking at the numbers, it’s on the same level as Irmana’s Blessing. Of course, it’s orc-specific.

Well, surviving against hundreds of enemies far stronger than us was certainly worthy of such a reward.

Oh… Finally…! Will my resummon time get cut in half again if I change jobs?

Right. If I wanted to get out of here quickly, I needed to choose a new class first. I wondered what options had changed.

Skeleton Bomber… Skeleton Flame Sorcerer… Skeleton Assassin… Skeleton… Magic Swordsman?

Wow… They’ve really gone all out.

This option took ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it even further—thirty thousand kills, three different methods, and even stricter conditions.

Hmm… The job quest is seriously ridiculous. Stealth kills with daggers, one-shot kills with a greatsword… Stealth is one thing, but killing a monster in a single blow isn’t easy. It’s not like I’m some sword master…

Just how strong could a monster be for me to one-shot it? If I assumed a stealth attack from behind that instantly severed the neck… Hobgoblin? No, maybe up to a Lizardman would be possible. Would I have to camp that dungeon? But somehow I get the feeling that monsters much weaker than me won’t count…

That was something I’d have to check after entering a dungeon. I’d confirm it later.

This choice doesn’t lock me into a single path. It’s like lightly dipping my toes into every possible road…

It held the possibility of walking every direction, or perhaps walking all paths at once, but growth would be slower.

Ten percent slower isn’t that big of a number, so if I look at it positively, my growth speed will match Yeonhee’s.

Of course, since it was a choice earned through fulfilling conditions, there were many interesting parts. Especially the part about definitively stealing a monster’s skill or trait once every five levels—that was incredibly attractive. Since there were many monsters you didn’t encounter often inside dungeons, it seemed like it would be extremely useful.

This is amazing, isn’t it?

It felt like I could hear my heart pounding somewhere. A choice that made my heart race.

Skill: Flame Slash. The name itself sounds pretty cool.

It seemed like it would be advantageous when using a sword, but I was curious what kind of ability it was. Maybe flames erupted when I swung the blade?

Show me the description for Flame Slash!!

·········

Status window!! System!!

·········

Damn it…

As expected, the system was mysteriously unfriendly. It looked like I’d only find out what kind of skill Flame ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Slash was after I actually changed jobs.

And the fact that completing the quest would remove the stealth restriction and grant one stat reset was also very satisfying. Rewards that other options only gave one of were attached here as conditional bonuses.