Strengthened Bones
Mu-hyuk first headed to the delivery service and sent a letter to Sung Min-woo.
I need about three days for a quest. What's your current experience? How long do you think it'll take to hit level 50?
While waiting for a reply, he decided to evolve Bone Sword 2.
"Skeleton Warrior Summon."
All the skeletons were summoned.
He reverse-summoned all but the reinforced skeletons, one by one.
Two remained.
Mu-hyuk looked at Bone Sword 2 and pulled the Dark Knight's skull from his inventory. He then placed his hand on Bone Sword 2's skull.
Enhanced Bone Assembly.
Thud. The skull came loose.
He slotted the Dark Knight's skull into the empty spot.
'Bone Sword 2's 'Skull' has been replaced.
Evolution begins.
It was almost exactly like when Bone Sword 1 had evolved into a reinforced skeleton.
The gaunt bones thickened, wrapping around its entire body. It looked sturdy, as if clad in bone armor.
Change to 'Reinforced Skeleton' complete.
It is of the 'Darkness' attribute.
'Dark Knight' traits applied: Strength (+5), Agility (+5).
HP (+170), MP (+170).
Attack Power (+15).
Defense (+10).
Magic Defense (+20).
Attack Speed (+2%).
Movement Speed (+2%).
Reaction Speed (+1.5%).
All Stats (+2).
It was a bit different from the Lizardman Knight.
The traits were Strength and Agility, with Attack Power increasing more than Defense.
Magic Defense was a whopping 20.
Attack and Movement Speed grew slightly less than Bone Sword 1's, but Reaction Speed was 0.5% higher.
A smile crept across his face.
Over two meters tall, with solid bone armor-like plating.
How could he not be thrilled to have two massively grown reinforced skeletons before him?
Time to name them.
He'd skipped it with just one, but two called for names.
Hmm, simple is best.
It didn't take long to decide.
Reinforced Bone it was.
And so, Reinforced Bone 1 and 2 were born.
He opened the summon window.
The skeletons' statuses appeared.
His focus was, naturally, on Reinforced Bone 1 and 2.
(Reinforced Skeleton 1)
Level:45
HP:1,910
MP:825
Strength: 28 | Agility: 26 | Vitality: 42
Knowledge: 11 | Wisdom: 12
[Detailed Info]
Physical Attack: 84+57
Defense: 57+8
Magic Defense: 16
Attack Speed: 128+5%
Movement Speed: 114+5%
Reaction Speed: 102.6+1%
(Reinforced Skeleton 2)
Level:45
HP:1,665
MP:825
Strength: 31 | Agility: 28 | Vitality: 35
Knowledge: 11 | Wisdom: 12
[Detailed Info]
Physical Attack: 98+57
Defense: 45+8
Magic Defense: 21
Attack Speed: 131-2%
Movement Speed: 115.5+2%
Reaction Speed: 102.8+1.5%
Reinforced Bone 1 had higher Vitality and Defense, while Reinforced Bone 2 edged out in Attack Power.
That said, Reinforced Bone 2's Vitality wasn't low by any means.
Both skeletons now boasted incredible stats.
All that grinding was finally paying off. He couldn't be happier.
They were growing, bit by bit.
Someday, they'd all be reinforced skeletons.
He imagined that day.
And if they equipped items on top of that...
That's when it hit him.
Ah, the Dark Knight set!
Mu-hyuk pulled out the Dark Knight set items he'd stashed in the corner of his inventory.
Full-body armor.
Helmet.
Boots.
The skeletons' frames had become almost human-like after evolving, enabling item equipping. He immediately fitted the three pieces onto Reinforced Bone 2.
Its pristine white bones were now shrouded in black gear, exuding an eerie aura.
Oho...
How had the stats changed?
(Reinforced Skeleton 2)
Level:45
HP:1,665
MP:825
Strength: 34 | Agility: 31 | Vitality: 44
Knowledge: 11 | Wisdom: 12
[Detailed Info]
Physical Attack: 107+57
Defense: 54+40
Magic Defense: 21
Attack Speed: 134+2%
Movement Speed: 117+2%
Reaction Speed: 103.1+1.5%
(Dark Knight Set Effect: All stats +5% in darkness)
Now it was clearly stronger than Reinforced Bone 1.
It even held its own against Mu-hyuk.
And with the set effect to boot...
Satisfaction welled up from head to toe.
*
A reply came from Sung Min-woo.
Yeah, hunting right now. EXP at 15%. Probably takes about four days...
As expected.
Plenty of time.
Three days was more than enough to clear the second training hall quest.
It'd be great with Sung Min-woo, but he hadn't cleared the first training hall quest yet, so he couldn't even accept the second one.
Got it. See you after I clear the quest.
He handed the letter to the delivery clerk.
"Thanks for your help."
"Sure thing! Come again!"
Regretfully, he headed to the warp gate.
"Welcome!"
"To the Vier Kingdom, please."
"One gold!"
He closed his eyes and opened them—he was already in the Vier Kingdom.
He spoke to the attendant right away.
"To Bomba Village."
He handed over one gold.
The warp gate attendant chanted the spell.
Whoooosh.
A touch of dizziness later, Mu-hyuk opened his eyes in the center of Bomba Village.
It wasn't very developed, and the surrounding monsters were too high-level for most users, so there weren't many players around.
A modest village with all the basics, and in a quiet corner stood a small training hall.
Step, step.
Mu-hyuk entered.
The dozing instructor snapped his head up at the sound.
"Uh, um...?"
He wiped drool from his mouth and sat up.
Looking at the approaching Mu-hyuk.
"A foreigner?"
"Yes."
"Ahem, what brings you here?"
Not exactly a warm welcome.
Well, that made sense.
Lots of users probably stopped by out of curiosity.
They'd all left cursing the instructor or ignoring him after pointless actions and meager quest rewards.
"I'd like to train."
"Train? Hmm, it won't be much help."
Mu-hyuk smiled.
"I completed the first trial at the Arsen Kingdom training hall."
The instructor's eyes changed.
"Arsen Kingdom?"
"Yes."
"Carben's trial, that stoic bastard's?"
Was the instructor's name Carben?
He couldn't recall.
"Don't know the name."
"Ah, right. Let me see your hand."
"Sure."
The instructor grabbed Mu-hyuk's hand and nodded.
"Hoo, I can definitely feel that guy's power."
That guy's power?
How did he sense it?
A title, maybe?
Questions arose, but it didn't matter much. He just needed the second training here.
"Good. You're accepted."
"Thank you."
"Introductions first. I'm Ian."
"Mu-hyuk."
"Alright. Attack that scarecrow with your skills. When I think you've hit the mark, I'll tell you to stop."
"Got it."
The quest appeared.
Second-Stage Training Hall Quest
📍 Objective: Attack the scarecrow with your skills to earn the instructor's approval.
🎁 Success: Magic circle activates.
🎁 Failure: Retry possible. No linked quests.
Accept quest? [Yes/No]
Mu-hyuk checked his condition.
Feeling good.
Satiety high.
Yes.
Ian led him as he selected it.
"Use every skill you have."
"Yes."
Ian stepped back.
Mu-hyuk summoned all his skeletons.
"Skeleton Warrior Summon."
Reinforced Bone 1 and 2, and the Bone Swords appeared.
"Skeleton Archer Summon."
Five archers.
And finally.
"Skeleton Mage Summon."
One mage.
Its hands were uniquely blue.
Water attribute.
The hand color determined the element.
Red for fire.
Blue like this for water.
Green for poison.
Sparks for lightning.
And so on.
He shook off stray thoughts and issued attack orders.
"Hoo..."
Mu-hyuk nocked an arrow and used Powerful Arrow Shot.
The bowstring, which he'd thought was fully drawn, stretched further, taut to the breaking point.
The moment he released.
Pang!
A sharper sound than usual, and the arrow flew.
-277 HP
Scarecrows had no defense.
All damage landed fully.
Nearly 300 without a critical—satisfying enough.
Again.
He fired arrows in focus, using Powerful Arrow Shot on cooldown.
Around the fifth rep, it nailed the head as aimed.
Hand tingling, message rising.
-554 HP
His first 500+ damage.
Oooh...!
Excitement surged.
Accuracy improving bit by bit.
Good!
Then he noticed the skeletons' chaotic movements.
Since he was training anyway, better efficiency wouldn't hurt. While shooting, he practiced commanding.
Accuracy tanked horribly, commands faltered.
Even hunting, he often drew without aiming or froze when commanding.
Shooting meant briefly dropping command entirely.
Needed fixing.
Deep focus blinded him to surroundings, even if in view.
Remote control was a perfect example.
Held in hand, but "finding" focus ignored it.
Clearly visible—hand and remote—but unregistered.
After fumbling, focus breaks, then realization and sigh.
Same here.
Aiming arrow focused on target.
But periphery caught skeleton movements.
Train to register that periphery.
Simple: repeat, repeat, repeat.
Until it worked.
That's what Mu-hyuk was doing.
Aiming at scarecrow.
Reinforced Bone 1, 2 forward defense.
Bone Sword 3, 4 right.
Bone Sword 5, 6 left.
Aimed, released.
Pang!
Arrow thunked into chest.
No waver, nocked again—gaze fixed on chest.
Periphery fuzzy, but effort registered some skeleton motion.
Commanded based on that, fired again.
Working?
Scarecrow static—no real test.
Still better than nothing; he persisted.
"Hmm."
Instructor Ian watched.
*
Focus deepened over time.
Something was brewing.
Then dizziness hit.
MP insufficient.
All skeletons reverse-summoned.
Ah, damn...
Sat immediately.
Satiety low too; pulled bread from inventory, chewed.
Watched MP rise, replayed the moment.
So close...
Regret fueled impatience.
MP half-full, he couldn't wait—stood.
"Summon."
Resummoned skeletons.
Reverse-summoned some Bone Swords to conserve MP.
"Hup..."
Focused, nocked.
Training resumed.
No MP drain meant nonstop.
Focus peaked; time blurred.
Sun set, darkness fell, moon rose—he didn't stop.
Step.
Ian finally moved.
"Stop."
Mu-hyuk had long passed.
That extreme immersion qualified one for training.
"Stop!"
Didn't hear?
Still attacking scarecrow.
Ian shook head.
"Impressive."
But lips curled up. Watched, then stomped.
Thud!
Strong vibration halted Mu-hyuk.
Focus broken.
"Um...?"
Turned to Ian.
He nodded.
'Second-Stage Training Hall Quest' cleared.
Stomped again.
Thud!
Ground shook.
Ah, cleared it.
Mu-hyuk waited.
For the magic circle.
Thud!
Ian stomped once more, and change came.
A geometric pattern emerged mid-training ground. Powerful mana burst from it, enveloping the area.
Affected by magic circle.
Skill growth rate dramatically increases.
A place for skill growth.
That was the second training hall's purpose.