Bone and Flesh (3)

Before we left, I called one person from each unit in the villa and gave them a heads-up.

"We are setting out to bring down the one spreading skeletons through the streets. Should we fail to return within twenty-four hours… use every scrap of food in Room 303 as you see fit. I wish you luck."

"Th-that's… can't you just stay here? Going outside like this is a little…"

Seo Hyejin looked at us with worried eyes, scolding us gently.

No — looking closer… she was even clutching my collar, gazing up at me with a pitiful expression.

Ahem… so this is what it feels like to be a capable man… and it's not just anyone — a beauty giving me those eyes. Something's stirring, all right. Shame the situation's too grim to show it!

"…What's with that fox again?"

Hm? Someone was whispering behind me.

Th-that voice… Han… Sora?

Nah, I must've misheard. No ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠way Sora would say something like that…

"She just met him and she's already wagging her tail at Oppa. As if I wasn't anxious enough already…"

Why do I keep getting the feeling that really is Sora's voice?

W-well, it's quiet enough. I'll just ignore it. Right now I need to focus on Seo Hyejin in front of me.

"Even if we sit still, the skeletons will come for us eventually. They are already breaking into nearby houses and ransacking them. We barricaded the first floor, but against numbers like that it will not hold long. Better, then, to cut them off at the source before that happens."

"But…"

"Don't worry, Hyejin. We'll come back alive. I promise."

"Th-that's right, unnie! Just think of what Jeong Hoon…-ssi said as emergency safety instructions! We're definitely going to smash every last one of those damn skeleton skulls and come back!"

Unlike Han Sora, who kept grumbling to herself in the back, Kim Seyeon and Park Seeun backed me up.

Seo Hyejin's worried face eased a little. Watching a beauty's expression soften naturally tugged a smile onto my lips — though thanks to Lawful Good, my face stayed as blank as ever.

Even so, her hand on my collar didn't let go easily.

"Please… be careful. Come back safe. Jeong Hoon-ssi."

"I shall do my utmost."

I gave a short nod and turned away.

Seo Hyejin let out a soft, disappointed "Ah…" but I ignored it. The aura rolling off Han Sora as she came down with us was downright murderous. I had no idea what her problem had been this whole time. Did she eat something weird?

Second floor, Room 203.

Inside the room we were effectively using as our entrance, before climbing down from the veranda, I went over the operational details with the party.

"The plan is this. We draw in as many of the skeletons in sight as possible and wipe them all out. We level up and grow stronger from that. We thin their numbers and hold their attention until the ringleader summoning the skeletons appears — then we strike. Preferably from ambush."

It barely qualified as a plan, but nothing better came to mind. With my current abilities, nothing else looked likely to succeed.

"Um… Jeong Hoon-ssi? Is there a particular reason we have to gather them in large groups to deal with them? Couldn't we lure them a few at a time?"

Kim Seyeon asked, a little hesitant. This thirty-two-year-old married woman — easy to forget behind that captivating exterior — had been a middle school teacher in her previous life.

If anyone was going to ask the piercing question, it would be her. And right on cue, she did.

"As you know, the system this Administrator created does not award experience the moment a monster dies. The same goes for gold. Experience is only granted after combat ends — after every last monster has been killed. That is why we have no choice but to do it this way."

"Oh… was that… how it worked? Seeun and I used a slightly different method…"

Hm? A different method?

I tilted my head, and Park Seeun beside her looked mildly surprised as she spoke up.

"Jeong Hoon-ssi, you didn't know? After you kill one monster, if you don't run into or fight any other monsters for a set amount of time, the experience comes in!"

What? My eyes went wide on their own.

I whipped my head toward Han Sora. She was basically a walking encyclopedia of Brave Saga Online knowledge — and she just shook her head at me, mouthing that nothing like that had ever existed in the game.

Kim Seyeon spoke up again.

"More precisely… after you finish one monster, if you put a certain distance between yourself and any other monsters so that no combat occurs, the experience comes in after some time. Roughly forty to forty-five seconds. Gold comes after that, but I imagine it works the same way."

Good lord… so that was how the distribution system worked?

Ah, that suddenly reminds me of a hugely popular MMORPG. You'd kill just the one monster you wanted, run far enough away, wait for the aggro to drop after a set time, and then you were free to do whatever. What was that game called again… something like World of Lorthemian Online, I think.

"M-maybe we should play it a little safer? Lure small groups and pick them off bit by bit. That way we can conserve our stamina. O-of course you're strong enough that it doesn't matter for you, Jeong Hoon-ssi… but Seeun and I — and even Han Sora — aren't quite there yet."

Kim Seyeon's argument was surprisingly persuasive.

Mmm. This is exactly why every party needs at least one brain.

Hm? Han Sora? She's the game-info specialist, not the tactical thinker. The second an unfamiliar system mechanic popped up, she froze solid — staring back and forth between me, Kim Seyeon, and Park Seeun with a look of pure "Huh? That was a thing?"

"Then we shall do it this way. Han Sora fires arrows to draw the skeletons in. Among the ones that aggro, I handle the strong ones; Sora finishes the trash with her bow. The main force holds position — Park Seeun, Kim Seyeon, and Han Sora. Kim Seyeon supports the entire party with healing and blessings. Park Seeun serves as the final defensive line of the main force and does not leave her post under any circumstances. How does that sound?"

"G-good!"

"I-I'll be the final defensive line… I'll do my best!"

Kim Seyeon and Park Seeun agreed with real spirit. Han Sora, short on confidence as expected, hesitated.

"Arbie… n-no, wait. Even if I am an Archer class… can I even hit the skeletons properly?"

Fair point. Even after leveling up, she hadn't really used a bow, had she? And the only one she had was a skeleton-crafted bow.

"You do not need to hit them. Drawing their attention is enough. And do not worry. Even if you feel uncertain, the system will handle the rest. Trust in it. Trust in the power granted to you — and in yourself."

"…I-I'll try. For Jeong Hoon oppa's sake, if nothing else."

Han Sora nodded, staking her resolve on my name.

Right — I needed to form the party.

I sent party invites to Kim Seyeon and Park Seeun. And inevitably, both of them could see my stats. The way their eyes went round was a sight to behold.

"Th-this is… Warrior and Mage and Rogue? The l-levels and ability scores are… completely different. So this is because of that skill… aha…"

"W-wow… unnie, I don't know much about this stuff, but… aren't these the kind of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stats you only get at high levels? Wait, look at all those spells! And what are all these Rogue skills?!"

I'd given them a heads-up that my system was irregular, but neither of them could hide their shock at the numbers laid bare.

I watched the spectacle with a faint sense of satisfaction, then carefully opened my mouth.

"Let us go."

At those words, all three nodded almost in unison.

We climbed down from the second-floor veranda. I went first, then Park Seeun, then Kim Seyeon, and finally Han Sora.

"Hup— oof, oops… sorry!"

"Do not worry."

Han Sora botched her landing and stumbled, but I caught her in time.

Fortunately, the skeletons still looked some distance from the villa.

"We will lure them only after putting some distance from this place. No — let us circle wide around the villa. At the very least, so that they find the survivors here a little later."

The others nodded silently. Their faces didn't look good — a touch pale. Stepping out onto the street must have wound the tension through their bodies all over again.

They didn't need to worry. Especially not Han Sora.

Why? Because it was obvious.

Standing in front of them was me — an immovable powerhouse.

Whish! Thunk!

Clatter-clatter!

"F-four of them… I've got aggro on four!"

"Keep your voice down and form up."

Han Sora loosed an arrow and successfully pulled several nearby skeletons.

The three of them pressed tight against the wall of a dead-end alley and formed up as planned. I stood in front of them, back to the wall, waiting for the skeletons to round the corner into view.

Clack, clack!

Rattle-rattle, clack-clack!

The sound of bones grinding together, of feet racing over ground, drew closer. Slowly, I raised the baseball bat in my hands — the last remaining heirloom from Room 203.

And the moment they came into sight—

Whoosh! Crack! Crack! Crack!

I obliterated the three that entered my field of vision on the spot.

It was over in an instant. Shattered skeletons rained down onto the pavement. And the last one?

It never rounded the corner. It backed away instead. No — it stopped. Because behind it stood a knight on horseback.

A Skeleton Knight. The second I locked on, I began casting.

"O arrow laden with flame… fly to my enemy and burn its body to ash!"

I ignored the Skeleton Warrior and poured the spell into the knight. The flame-wreathed arrow streaked out and punched cleanly into the horse.

Crash!

The Skeleton Knight's skeletal steed died on the spot and toppled over. A lesson I'd learned the hard way from fighting one before: if you want the general, shoot the horse first. Skeletal mounts were far simpler than real horses, which made the strategy viable.

Of course, the Skeleton Knight dismounted from the fallen horse without a scratch. Then it leveled its long spear. Being undead must have helped — not even a major gouge showed.

Whish!

An arrow flew past my back. Han Sora's shot. No — arrows.

"…!"

Multi-Shot.

The Archer's first-tier skill, unlocked at level 10.

The Skeleton Warrior took one of the sudden arrows square in the head. Its skull popped clean off and the body crumpled straight to the ground.

The Skeleton Knight tried to block the incoming arrows, but two at once left it slightly flustered.

It swept its spear and deflected one — but couldn't stop the other from thunking into its skull. Above the staggering Skeleton Knight's head, text appeared.

I could see it up close.

Whoosh! CRACK!

I swung the baseball bat with everything I had straight into the Skeleton Knight's head.

Crunch! The sound of the bat shattering rang out. And the Skeleton Knight's skull cracked a little too.

As I stiffened slightly from the ruined weapon, the Skeleton Knight swung a gauntleted fist. I neither dodged nor blocked.

I had a reason not to.

Normally a level 35 Skeleton Knight's attack would have hurt quite a bit, but thanks to the Cleric's holy magic it was barely a scratch. This was exactly why buffer characters were precious.

I flashed a grin and drove a kick into it.

Thud!

I slammed its armored torso straight into the ground.

Boom! The spear clattered across the pavement with a metallic ring. Pinning the body down, I locked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠onto the still-chattering skull and drove my fist into it.

Crunch!

Ow, damn it! That hurt worse than getting hit earlier! My knuckles throbbed — but the effect was spectacular.

But I didn't stop there.

We had only pulled a fraction of a considerable skeleton horde. The rest would clearly be following at a leisurely pace. As proof, several skeletons could already be seen entering the alley from farther down.

I quickly retreated to the dead-end alley where Han Sora, Park Seeun, and Kim Seyeon were hiding. Han Sora had already opened the front gate of one of the houses lining the alley and was peeking just her head out, watching me. I ducked inside.

The gate shut.

"We wait here."

The experience still hadn't come in. Sure enough, the aggro from the other skeleton packs hadn't dropped yet.

We moved farther from the gate, slipped quickly into the house — sorry, whoever you are — and waited carefully.

"…31… 32… 33… 34… 35… 36…"

Park Seeun counted the seconds — she must have had a wristwatch. Forty to forty-five seconds, she'd said. If no other monsters attacked us in that window, the experience would settle and come through, right?

"41… ah!"

It came through. Total experience: 310. Gold: 56.

Thanks to the rounding the notification windows had promised, we got a slight bonus on both experience and gold. If we kept pulling monsters in moderation and hunting safely like this…

"We proceed exactly like this."

"Yes, sounds good!"

"I'll give it everything I've got!"

"A-as long as I've got enough arrows…"

Each with a different reaction, the three answered with spirit.

I pressed a finger to my lips and carefully stepped back outside. Cracking the gate open a little, I peered out.

No one. Thinking they hadn't come this far, I poked my head around the corner of the dead-end alley.

Skeletons were heading back beyond the alley with their backs to us. Even with their comrades dead, they couldn't find us, so they seemed to be searching elsewhere.

Five Skeleton Warriors and two Knights. Tougher than last time — two knights. But…!

"O shadow… project my form!"

Having a skill that could split aggro at times like this was a genuine blessing.

The Phantom Clone had no physical force, but it could draw the enemy's eye through deception and a bit of independent movement. Which meant…

Thud-thud-thud…!

"…!"

"…!!"

Clatter-clatter, clatter-clatter!

Just like that, it was possible to sprint down the alley in an instant and peel off some of the skeletons' aggro. Of course, I couldn't pull all of them. The warriors took the lead while the knights moved slowly, like a main force.

The warriors tore after my clone in a frenzy, and the two knights followed at a leisurely pace behind them.

That was what I'd been waiting for.

"O arrows, punish my enemies!"

Three magic arrows streaked toward one of the Skeleton Knights. Only an instant before they struck its back did the knight notice.

Thwack-thwack-thwack! But they weren't aimed at the knight. The magic arrows hammered precisely into three of the skeletal steed's legs. Before you shoot the general, you shoot what?

Crash! One knight toppled, and the other wheeled its mount toward us. Next—!

Whiiish!

Han Sora's turn again. Unlike before, a Multi-Shot aimed at the skeletal horse!

Crash — and with a noisy clatter the second knight hit the ground too. I pulled a spear from the feathered bag on my back — loot taken from the Skeleton Knight earlier.

Thud, thud!

I gave the Skeleton Knights sprawled noisily on the ground no chance to get back up.

"T-two-knight cut! Ah crap—"

Han Sora let out a cheer, then hurriedly clamped a hand over her own mouth. Yeah. That was pretty careless, Sora…