Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: The Skeleton with Holy Power
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The water in the pot was boiling.
Maru's bony hand was boiling in it too.
And so was my heart.
"......"
I was at a loss for words at the absurd sight.
Maru's claim that it tasted better this way was downright shocking.
"No......"
I couldn't find the words.
What was I even supposed to say?
My thoughts grew complicated.
So the deep umami flavor in the ramen all this time had come from Maru's personal touch?
Did he wash his hand before putting it in?
More importantly, how long had he been doing this?
No, if it was broth made from simmering Maru's hand... let's not think about it.
There were things I was curious about and things I didn't want to know.
But the figure simmering its own hand to make broth wasn't it.
Maru's race was Skeleton Black Knight, after all.
True to the name, its bones were pitch black.
Ha.
For now, I decided to ask questions one by one.
"Maru."
I called out to Maru, whose hand was still boiling away.
At my question, Maru nodded.
"Where did you learn to do this? I mean, boiling bones."
Maru hadn't been able to make ramen perfectly from the start.
At first, even when I taught him, he'd put in too much water or too little, leaving it either bland or overly salty.
The taste had fluctuated wildly.
He'd even scorched the pot while making ramen, which said it all.
Through those trial and errors, Maru's ramen had gradually improved.
Now it produced an entirely different level of ramen that we enjoyed often...
And that flavor came from Maru's handiwork.
His literal handiwork.
The problem was where he'd learned to prepare it this way.
Maru's answer to my question was simple.
He said he'd seen it on my smartphone while I was sleeping.
He'd poked around and found related videos.
"Huh......"
Fine, let's say that's plausible.
But how did he even use the smartphone?
Obviously, as a skeleton made entirely of bones, Maru couldn't touch the screen no matter how much he tapped it.
My doubt was met with a simple answer from Maru.
He used the stylus that came with the phone.
At this point, it was starting to scare me.
A skeleton proficient with electronics?
'Just how far does Maru's growth go?'
Maru wasn't even a monster native to Earth.
He was a skeleton soldier summoned from the Eldorado Continent.
And yet, this Maru...
The same Maru who couldn't even make ramen properly at first...
Was now simmering his own broth for it.
Not content with that, he was freely using a smartphone.
A continent-born monster had perfectly adapted to Earth.
What was I supposed to do with this?
Even now, Maru was gazing at me while boiling his hand.
His gaze seemed somehow poignant.
"Mm......"
He was probably doing it out of good intentions.
I knew Maru's feelings well.
Still, I had to say something.
"Maru, from next time, just make it normally. No need to go through all that trouble."
I tried to phrase it as nicely as possible.
Trouble or not, it's fine, he said.
"......"
I'd underestimated Maru's loyalty.
Come to think of it, his most common phrases were things like this.
Noble one.
Great one.
Master.
I didn't know where he'd picked them up, but his loyalty was that intense.
'Ha, what do I even say to this?'
How could I explain it in a way that considered Maru's feelings while stopping him from making bone broth with his own hand?
I pondered for a moment.
And then the answer came.
Right, that was it.
Simple.
"Maru, actually, I don't really like bone broth like this. So no need to put in the extra effort."
This should get through to him.
And sure enough.
Maru responded as if he'd realized something. Got it.
Right on cue with Maru's reply, the smartphone alarm rang.
Ding-
Ding-
Ding-
The only alarm I'd set was for the game, so I tapped the screen immediately.
The alarms didn't end there.
"?"
What was going on here?
Just moments ago, Maru had been boiling water for ramen.
Why had the reinforcement system suddenly unlocked?
I couldn't keep up with the situation.
One thing I could guess, though.
"Enlightenment?"
The alarms said Maru had realized something.
After gaining enlightenment, the reinforcement system unlocked.
But the subjects were battles with the Death Knight and Arch Lich?
'Did he fight them?'
The only time Maru met them was during the monster wave.
Other than that, they hadn't crossed paths—
"Ah."
One memory surfaced.
Thinking about it, there had been something like a battle.
Maru just swung his sword while the Death Knight and Arch Lich dutifully played the role of collapsing.
'Does that even count as a battle?'
Neither the Death Knight nor the Arch Lich had a scratch on them; they were perfectly fine.
Yet Maru had gained enlightenment from it?
What kind of enlightenment?
It was baffling.
"No way."
Was that why Maru had been spacing out so much lately?
His cross-legged posture or meditative pose really looked like he was seeking enlightenment.
"I really have no idea. Where'd he learn meditation from?"
From the smartphone, he said.
I'm genuinely afraid of you now, Maru.
And what did realizing my broth preference even mean?
He's realizing everything under the sun.
After waking up.
A lot had happened in a short time.
The dungeon reinforcement system had opened, and I'd used it to acquire traits and skills.
Not only that.
I'd learned the truth behind Maru's ramen.
I'd figured out why he'd been spacing out lately, and it felt like I'd uncovered how the monster reinforcement system worked.
All this in less than an hour.
"My head hurts......"
Too much information had flooded my brain in such a short span.
My mind needed time to filter it, but new info kept coming.
Still, I'd resolved things one by one.
For starters, no more "personal touch" in Maru's future ramen.
And since the reinforcement system had opened for Maru, I'd make use of it.
'In the end, Maru's strength is my strength.'
The dungeon and monsters on the screen were my power too, of course.
But Maru lived with me.
The closer he was, the more his strength benefited me directly.
More strength for Maru meant more strategies at my disposal.
The traits and skills I'd gained earlier were all mage-oriented.
Mages were notoriously weak in close combat.
But with Maru?
That weakness could be perfectly covered.
Reinforcing Maru was pure gain for me.
I immediately clicked on the dungeon reinforcement system.
Maru's name had been newly added to the reinforcement list, which previously only had me and Skoll.
I touched Maru's name first.
Maru's status window appeared.
"As expected of a skeleton."
Defense and Magic Power were too low.
Attack Power had at least gotten a one-step boost from the magic sword's effect.
I looked over the abilities I'd acquired and pondered.
"What would suit Maru best?"
For now, I'd start with something simple as an experiment.
One trait caught my eye.
- Flexible Movement (F+): Trait. Makes the body more flexible.
"Let's try this first."
I hit reinforce right away.
Moments later.
No change in appearance.
"Maru, move around a bit."
But one difference from the trait's effect stood out.
'Ah, the sound's quieter.'
As a skeleton, Maru inevitably made that characteristic rattling bone noise when moving.
But applying 'Flexible Movement' had subtly reduced the bone sounds.
If it were a higher-grade trait?
It might eliminate the sounds entirely.
"This is amazing."
The change from one trait was immediately visible.
'Might as well reinforce Skoll too while I'm at it.'
I'd have to reinforce them all eventually.
Skoll had unlocked the system first, so he deserved the reward.
I promptly assigned abilities to Skoll.
To Skoll, I granted Berserker along with Slight Recovery Regeneration.
- Berserker (A): Attack power increases the lower HP is. Danger of rampage rises sharply at critically low HP.
- Slight Recovery Regeneration (D): Slightly improves HP recovery and wound regeneration efficiency.
Skoll was an orc and a warrior.
These two traits seemed perfect.
"That should do for Skoll."
Next, back to reinforcing Maru.
I had something in mind for the next one.
Holy Power.
I'd absorbed holy power through an offering before.
The result was a Holy Power stat in my status window.
The question was whether it would work on Maru too.
"Undead are naturally weak to it, though......"
I worried it might go wrong, but the alarms suggested no issues.
"No restrictions, so it should be fine?"
If it weren't possible, it'd warn me I couldn't, right?
"Let's reinforce it."
I tapped reinforce, and the change began promptly.
"Oh."
Reinforcement succeeded.
Maru's status looked fine too.
And the status window had changed.
Holy Power had been added to the existing info.
Just one reinforcement made it F-grade, but it was a meaningful change.
'Wonder how high it'll go if I max it out.'
On a whim, I dumped all my Holy Power into Maru.
I added a whopping 12 more Holy Powers.
The F-grade Holy Power in the status changed to E.
At the same time.
"Huh?"
Maru's appearance shifted slightly.
Maru's race was Skeleton Black Knight.
True to the name, its form was black.
But as the Holy Power grade rose, the color lightened a bit.
"Your color's a little lighter now?"