Skeleton

The dark shadows of a cavern in the ruined monastery.

Someone was quietly watching Kang Minjun and his party.

"Heh. New arrivals?"

The silhouette curled its lips into a grin, as though it had found prey for the first time in a long while. Soon, the black shadow slipped out of sight.

***

Once the undead started appearing, they continued blocking our path.

Ssshhk—

Normally, skeletons were troublesome opponents that immediately regenerated severed parts even when struck by a sword.

However, the skeletons fell like leaves before an autumn wind when struck by attacks dealing an additional 10% holy damage.

「Give me your body!」

I cut down the two skeletons charging straight at me and deflected the sword flying in from the side.

Then, sliding my blade up the crossed sword, I cut straight through the skeleton's neck.

「Graaah….」

The skeletons I had cut down collapsed onto the floor all at once and stopped moving. Looking around, I saw fourteen piles of remains rolling about.

[Achievement unlocked!]

[Skeleton Smasher (Common): Deals 30% additional damage when fighting skeletons.]

This made our plans for the future a little easier.

The mobs' stats weren't very high yet, but once we entered higher-level trials, hunting would become so damn difficult that four or five players would have to take on a single mob.

Especially since many dungeon-based trials included undead, working on the [Achievement] and then the [Title] early on would pay off in the various trials to come.

'Well, for now, our weapons are so good that they die in one hit either way.'

Getting holy-attribute weapons from the shelter had truly been a godsend.

KABOOOOM!

'Looks like they're done too.'

After sheathing my sword, I saw Shin Seoyeon dusting off her hands and huffing through her nose.

'An ordinary mage would be short on firepower and have to throw two fireballs or keep breathing fire for about ten seconds.'

As expected of an S-rank mage—the Witch of Crimson Flame.

Even though this was already our fifth battle, she wasn't lacking in either firepower or mana.

'As expected of a Transcendent ability. With this, we might be able to increase our hunting speed a little more.'

"Ah, shit! Why do these things keep swarming us without a break? Black Dick, is it because you reset them?"

"No way."

This was different from the tutorial. Even after being reset, it took at least thirty minutes for them to respawn.

It was more likely because we were constantly moving instead of staying in one place.

'Still, this is strange. I heard there were a lot of undead wandering around here, but not this many. We're running into far too many of them.'

It felt as though every monster on this floor was converging on us.

"This is seriously unbearable."

Shin Seoyeon frowned as she looked at the countless skeleton remains strewn across the floor. The bones smeared with sticky, dark-red blood were unpleasant to look at and didn't feel very nice to touch either.

"So you're not going to reset them?"

"Of course I am! Do you know how much money we're talking about?!"

Right. Even if things were unfolding differently from what I'd expected, who cared as long as we could make a fortune?

Shin Seoyeon and the Saintess quickly swept across the floor, resetting everything as they went. The skeleton remains disappeared, leaving only items lying there.

'A spear and two maces this time?'

The items began piling up in my inventory. Since identical items could be stacked, the ten-slot inventory had more room than I'd expected.

"But this is really strange. Why are you the only one who was given two abilities?"

Shin Seoyeon and the Saintess showed their curiosity as they watched the equipment disappear into thin air.

Apparently, they mistook the inventory I'd received as a resident privilege for my [Unique Ability].

'[Bond] makes it look like I have two. Technically, I do have two.'

[Resident Privilege: All-Seeing Eye, Inventory, Second-Round Perks, Shelter Benefits, Drop Rate Benefits]

[Unique Ability: Luck, Bond]

'That aside, the drop rate is definitely higher than it was in the first run.'

The speed at which we hunted played a part, but we couldn't ignore the effects of [Luck] and the [10x Drop Rate Benefit] we'd received upon entering this place.

Perhaps because of that, items were pouring out in ridiculous quantities.

"Ooh, another one."

Shin Seoyeon grinned as she picked up a gem. Even amid the hardship, the Witch of Crimson Flame's fatigue and complaints vanished whenever gems appeared.

Of course, that smile didn't last long.

「Pray! But God will not hear your voice!」

「Give me that body!」

"Ah, shit! When are they going to stop swarming us?!"

Seeing the roughly fifty skeletons approaching from behind, I gripped my weapon and charged straight at them without hesitation.

***

'What the hell are those things?'

Meanwhile, the human hunter Oh Haeun was aghast as she watched Kang Minjun and his party.

「Ghk.」

「Grrrk….」

'Are they going to beat them all down again?'

It was a sight she couldn't believe even while looking at it. This was already the third time. She had lured mobs over three times, and they had beaten them all down every time.

The vengeful spirits that had slaughtered countless humans who had drifted into this place were being stomped by the newly arrived 'crazy explosive mage' and 'skinny swordsman.'

'Am I going crazy? Have I gone so long without sunlight and food that I'm seeing things?'

Grrrgl, her stomach growled. The last prey she'd seen had been two days ago, and the food she'd been eking out in tiny portions was finally running low.

She had barely been able to drink any water, and her mouth was growing parched.

That was why she thought she was hallucinating, but….

"Die! Die-die-die!"

KWA-KWAAAANG!

No matter how many times she closed and opened her eyes, it was clearly reality. Oh Haeun stared blankly at the scene, dumbfounded.

…Should I give up?

'No. Let's try one more time. That's the only way I can make money.'

She was one of the rare people who had realized the importance of farming items early on.

So she had stubbornly gathered gems(?) here, and by now, they weighed nearly 200 grams.

Converted into Earth's currency, they were worth over a hundred million won.

'Originally, I planned to finish hunting around today, steal from those perverts camped out at the dungeon entrance, and move on to the next shelter.'

But things had gone wrong. Some newcomers had appeared, killed those men, and taken every gem they had. Now they were beating down mobs and sweeping up an incredible amount of gems.

'Gulp. If I rob them of their gems, food, and especially that equipment, I'll be able to get through the Selection Process without any trouble!'

With that thought, Oh Haeun once again wandered through the cavern of the ruined monastery, gathering undead.

"Hey, you things! Over here, over here!"

「I need blood…! More!」

She ran all over the dungeon with skeletons strung along behind her.

Since fifty skeletons hadn't been enough to kill them, she lured over more than a hundred this time and approached Kang Minjun's party. Once she drew near, she immediately used her [Unique Ability].

[You have used <Stealth>.]

It was a perfect camouflage technique that erased every trace of her in an instant.

The Mythic-grade skill completely erased not only her appearance, but even her footsteps and scent.

'Heh, they won't survive this time!'

***

"Wow, how many of them are there this time?"

There were a lot of them. The cavern, just under twenty meters wide, was packed with skeletons.

"Let's run."

"What?"

"Let's run and wear them down."

I pulled the Saintess along by the hand and ran as I spoke. Shin Seoyeon quickly understood and followed right behind us, hurling fireballs at the enemies.

KWA-KWA-KWAAANG!

A blast of heat swept in from behind along with the explosion. Shin Seoyeon caught up right beside us and shouted.

"Can't we just fight them? Earlier, I saw you mowing them down alone even when you were surrounded."

"I have no problem handling them alone."

"Then?"

Instead of answering, I looked at the Saintess and Shin Seoyeon. Tsk, Shin Seoyeon clicked her tongue as though she understood what I meant.

"Besides, this is the way forward anyway. There's no reason to waste time fighting enemies that appeared behind us."

"You should have said that sooner. Now I can't loot the ones I just killed."

"Anyway, look after Ms. Hana for a moment."

"What?"

I placed the Saintess's hand in Shin Seoyeon's and surged ahead. Five skeletons were ambling toward us from the front.

「Light… why… ghk.」

I sprang at them in a single burst and slaughtered them with my sword. Then I quickly looted the corpses while the others passed and caught up from behind.

"What are you? How are you so fast and efficient?"

Because I'd been doing this for ten years.

"A-amazing, Mr. Minjun."

I gave our cute Saintess a bright smile before surging forward again. Perhaps because we were moving so quickly, we began encountering the undead scouting ahead more frequently.

'At least these things can't react to sound.'

If they could react to sound, the noise of our pursuit would have drawn them rushing in from every corner of the labyrinth.

Since this was only the first trial, players had at least been given room to run and hide.

I repeatedly dealt with and looted the enemies appearing ahead, steadily pressing farther forward.

"Hey, Black Dick! Can't you slow down a little?"

"No. Can't you hear the rattling behind us? If we stop for even a moment, we'll be surrounded. We need to break through before that happens."

For now, there were only paths, but once we went farther inside, rooms would appear too.

There would be plenty of places to hide from that point onward, as well as places where Shin Seoyeon or I could hold out alone.

That meant we would be able to catch our breath and fight with more room to spare, even if enemies kept swarming us nonstop like they were now.

"Huff. Haaah. But I'm out of breath. We've been running for over thirty minutes already. I can't run anymore. My backpack is too heavy, and I can't feel my legs."

"Seoyeon, I'm doing most of the hunting and collecting the items. Why are you the one wheezing?"

"…Damn it, I'm still tired! If I'd known this would happen, I would've put points into Vitality."

Come to think of it, Seoyeon had boldly dumped all her points into Intelligence, insisting that a mage should max Intelligence.

Perhaps because of that, she was drenched in sweat from head to toe and barely managing to keep up.

Her face was pale, and she was gasping as though she were about to collapse. She was truly paying for her sins.

<Status Window>

Name : Shin Seoyeon

Level : 1

Strength : 13 (+5)

Agility : 15 (+4)

Vitality : 20 (+4)

Intelligence : 44 (+3)

"Huff. Haaah. Haaah."

By now, even her arms and legs were trembling.

"S-Seoyeon, are you all right? Do you want me to support you?"

"Forget it. Do I look so weak that I need a woman to support me?"

"Are you really all right? You look exhausted."

By contrast, the Saintess was perfectly at ease.

<Status Window>

Name : Song Hana

Level : 1

Strength : 15

Agility : 18

Vitality : 26

Intelligence : 31

The Saintess's Vitality was 26.

That was six higher than Shin Seoyeon's, even with [Bond] factored in.

'Vitality raises stamina and physical defense. At least when it comes to survival, it's the most basic stat.'

Even if that difference of six didn't look very large, it created an enormous gap on a battlefield where fierce combat raged and lives hung in the balance.

'Especially for a mage who doesn't use her body.'

People unaccustomed to using their bodies tensed every muscle when they were nervous. They wasted stamina by doing the same thing while fighting.

By contrast, people who knew how to use their bodies applied force only where it was needed.

「You won't escape this place either!」

'When sprinting, focus on both legs.'

Whoosh!

'When cutting down an opponent, put strength into your legs, waist, right shoulder, and arm.'

「Ghk.」

For someone who had lived peacefully on Earth, eating delicious food, taking pictures, and chatting for fun without using their body like this, even running would be difficult and awkward.

"Huff. Haaah."

Shin Seoyeon came running as though she were about to die, flailing her arms and legs.

'That's why I told her to put points into Vitality. That girl never listens.'

I took my eyes off Shin Seoyeon and looked with satisfaction at the Saintess supporting her beside me. Our well-behaved Saintess's expression had returned to normal.

'She seems to have calmed down somewhat.'

That was the effect of frantically running around after the horrible sight of the skeletons, with no chance to catch her breath during the intense chase.

In fact, I'd deliberately aimed for that.

'People have a tendency to fall into strange thoughts when they sit still.'

When something is stressing you out, moving your body is the best remedy.

Running is especially good. Even psychologists and psychiatrists actively recommend it.

'Though that wasn't the only reason I had us running around.'

"Huff, huff."

"Hey, Shin Seoyeon, can't you come a little faster? Why are you so damn slow?"

"I-I'm coming."

Shin Seoyeon staggered along, using her staff to brace herself against the floor. Beside her, the flustered Saintess suddenly clasped her hands as though she'd just remembered something.

"Wait a moment, Seoyeon."

Then she healed her. Huh? Having received healing for the first time, Shin Seoyeon stared blankly.

"…Huh? Why am I not out of breath? My legs aren't heavy, and my mana is full?"

"Seoyeon, are you feeling better now?"

Shin Seoyeon turned toward the Saintess, her eyes growing wider and wider.

"Are you still tired? Should I use it one more time?"

The look in Shin Seoyeon's eyes changed completely as she gazed at our Saintess.

"Sis!"

Oh no, I'd forgotten to rein in our Saintess. I should have waited a little longer before using it. I wanted to watch Shin Seoyeon suffer a bit more.

Shin Seoyeon threw her arms around the Saintess.

"Sis! You know I really like you, right?!"

"Huh? W-what? I-I know."

Shin Seoyeon's eyes turned into crescent moons.

She had the expression of someone who had found an easy mark.

'I don't have to worry about Shin Seoyeon harming the Saintess anymore.'

An ability that instantly restored both mana and fatigue. To Shin Seoyeon, the Saintess must have looked like an infinite battery.

"Hey, Black Dick! Let's go again! You lead!"

With her energy fully restored after grabbing onto a golden lifeline, Shin Seoyeon shouted at me confidently, telling me to hurry up and set off.

I nodded when I saw the fervor in her eyes.

"Let's rest now."

"You fucking bastard!"