My Skeleton Soldier Is Strange - Chapter 122

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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122
Inferno
At Kim Jae-beom’s command, the army of the dead surged toward the ore. Skeletal soldiers emanating an eerie aura led the charge. With pickaxes gripped in their bony fingers, they struck the rock face relentlessly. Clang, clang—the heavy metallic sounds reverberated through the Cave.
Ore began to crumble in the grasp of bleached bone. Fragments scattered in all directions, metal shards ringing out. With a grotesque power only the undead could summon, they tore through solid rock with methodical precision.
Massive rat fangs gnawed at the ore. Stone caught between those tusks crumbled into dust and fell away. As if satiating some primal hunger from life, the creature burrowed into the rock face at a frenetic pace.
The ogre’s colossal fist shattered the ore. What had been stone became bone-like fragments, scattering in every direction. Its thirty-meter frame, heavy and imposing, was itself a terrifying mining engine. Ore dust enveloped the surroundings like a sandstorm.
It was an alien yet formidable spectacle. The undead moved in perfect unison, mining minerals as if excising the very heart of the earth. A bestial army that obeyed only its master’s command, indifferent to all else. It was labor born of death itself.
Meanwhile, the players around them stood frozen in shock. Their eyes, robbed of words, flickered between fear and astonishment. Sighs like groans escaped from various corners. None dared to interfere with the Undead Legion, forced instead to watch in breathless silence.
A single thought crossed their minds: Was this possible? An army of the dead mining ore—it defied all comprehension.
Players with pallid faces exchanged glances. Before this surreal spectacle, they felt themselves shrinking. In the presence of the absolute being commanding the undead, they could not help but recognize their own insignificance.
Kim Jae-beom observed the Undead Legion’s work intently, nodding with satisfaction evident in the smile playing at his lips.
“Good. Very good. Keep working hard.”
His voice was low, yet carried the weight of a command. At their master’s words, the undead soldiers’ pickaxes accelerated their pace.
Turning his gaze, Kim Jae-beom’s eyes fell upon Ye-jin. She stood watching the undead spectacle with a helpless expression, the yellow pickaxe in her hand trembling slightly. Unconsciously, she was comparing herself to the undead.
Kim Jae-beom approached her slowly. Standing shoulder to shoulder, he too gazed upon the Mine. After a moment of silence, he spoke.
“Don’t be too discouraged—it’s just a difference in class.”
His voice carried a playful tone, yet beneath it lay genuine comfort.
Ye-jin started, turning to look at him. A flush of embarrassment at having her thoughts read. But soon she nodded, offering a bitter smile. He had indeed seen through her heart.
Kim Jae-beom continued with a faint smile.
“Those creatures can’t shoot a bow, after all.”
It was a reminder that Ye-jin excelled with a bow. Simultaneously, it was meant to awaken her to the fact that she possessed something the undead did not.
Heh.
Ye-jin burst into laughter, playing along.
“That’s true.”
A smile bloomed across her face.
* * *
The procession began as mining concluded and the party departed the Mine. As the exit grew distant, the column of undead soldiers stretched ever longer. Upon their shoulders rested burlap sacks—pouches brimming with ore and gems. From the sagging bottoms of these heavy bundles, brown dust seeped forth. It was the fruit of labor, earned through sweat and toil.
The procession of sacks multiplied. Despite the weight of ore pressing upon their shoulders, the undead never faltered. They marched forward, eyes fixed ahead. Sunlight shattered across their expressionless faces. They were workers moving ceaselessly along the boundary between life and death.
The Exchange Shop’s massive sign greeted the Undead Legion. With the sound of skeletal legs striking the ground, the skull soldiers entered without hesitation. Thud—sacks dropped to the floor. The impact was so heavy the ground trembled. Dozens, hundreds of sacks were stacked in rapid succession.
The thunderous crash of ore piling echoed through the space. The Exchange Shop proprietor’s face drained of color as he witnessed it. He blinked in disbelief, staring at the impossible sight before him. The sheer volume of ore cascading down was dizzying, like a mirage.
The sound struck the Dwarf Merchant’s ears like thunder. Seeing the towering heaps of ore sacks, he shook his head, struggling to accept the reality. He calculated that a single human would need weeks of labor to extract this much. Yet these were not humans—they were the dead, and they had accomplished it in mere moments. Something that defied all logic had manifested in this world.
As everyone held their breath, Kim Jae-beom strode toward the Exchange Shop proprietor. He studied the dwarf’s stone-like expression, then spoke slowly.
“How much is all of this worth?”
“I… I’ll need to calculate it.”
“Then please do.”
The Dwarf Merchant hesitated briefly before nodding. He hurried toward the back. Moments later, he returned before Kim Jae-beom, clutching pouches overflowing with gold coins in both hands.
Clang—the sound of gold pouches dropping to the floor. Thirty sacks piled high. Made of yellow cloth, each pouch pressed down with tremendous weight. Golden dust seeped from within.
Though the saying goes “many a mickle makes a muckle,” this was enough to move mountains. No matter how one looked at it, the sight was unbelievable. Mere days ago, such wealth seemed impossible even to dream of. Yet through the hands of the dead, that dream had become effortlessly real.
A smile played at Kim Jae-beom’s lips. His hand reached toward the pouches of its own accord. The moment his palm touched the gold, a weighty sensation spread through his fingers. Beneath the soft fabric like a carpet lay the tangible presence of cold metal.
Kim Jae-beom’s grip tightened around the solid pouches. They felt like the weight of ancient armor, or treasures excavated from deep within the earth. However one described it, they were the fruits of something precious. A symbol of vast wealth earned through the undead. The crystallization of valuable riches forged through sweat and effort.
The Dwarf Merchant set down his pouch and wiped away the beads of sweat from his brow. Wonder bloomed in his eyes. With the clink of armor, he stepped closer.
“You are truly remarkable, my friend.”
His voice dripped with admiration.
Then he grasped my hand firmly. The weighty warmth of his weathered palm. Meeting my gaze, he spoke with solemn gravity.
“Come back to this place again someday. I have a special favor to ask of you.”
With that, he withdrew a small object from his garments and handed it to me. A dazzling golden gleam. It was a seal crafted from gold, its intricate patterns shimmering with radiant light.
“Show this when you have need of it. You shall receive special treatment, I assure you.”
I accepted the weighty seal. The warm glow of metal in my palm. Like a promise made with the Dwarf Merchant, that small object seemed to contain infinite possibility.
* * *
I returned to the Mine with my undead forces.
But there was one addition.
―Thunk-thunk-thunk!
A colossal excavator rumbled into the Mine. Dozens of wheels churned against the earth, dragging its massive frame forward—a sight like a steel beast roaring to life. Countless gears locked together in chains, spinning with a rhythmic whine, while thick pipes belched clouds of steam.
With a sharp whistle, the excavator ground to a halt before the ore face. Steam hissed like the breath of some great creature, moistening the stone. A gigantic drill descended slowly toward the mineral deposit.
Enormous tusks began their relentless rotation. Blade-like teeth bit into the hard rock. Crack, crunch. The sound of shattering ore echoed through the Mine. Stone fragments scattered in all directions, and the cavern became shrouded in a cloud of dust.
Suddenly, a massive boulder collapsed inward. Before the excavator’s overwhelming power, the ore vein crumbled mercilessly. Dozens of tusks tore ruthlessly into the heart of the deposit.
The screech of metal and the roar of destruction filled the Mine. It was a thunderous, convulsive cry—as if lightning were striking and the earth itself trembled in rage.
Fragments of shattered ore and dust swirled in a maelstrom. Among the endless cascade of debris, glittering jewels caught the eye. Gleaming metallic minerals. They were sucked between the excavator’s teeth.
Meanwhile, the undead soldiers stood arrayed around the excavator. They worked in rhythm with the machine’s movements, organizing ore piles and clearing debris. Skeletal fingers moved with feverish activity. At times, they hoisted massive boulders to feed into the drill.
It was like watching servants feed an enormous beast. The excavator endlessly consumed ore. And the Undead Legion circled it with the breath of death. A grotesque harmony between cursed life and lifeless machine. The sight infused the Mine with a damp, pulsing vitality.
I climbed atop the excavator and surveyed the Mine below. The drill roared and spun. Minerals cascaded beneath it. The undead’s dazzling excavation speed. A satisfied smile played across my lips.
The Mine was now completely within my grasp. Immeasurable wealth—beyond any price—accumulated before my eyes.
‘Is this enough?’
As the question escaped my thoughts, my gaze fixed on something far beyond. The excavator and the Undead Legion. The instruments of destruction I commanded would never remain confined to this Mine. Hunger for wealth and power. The spark of ambition that would shake the world had only just begun to ignite.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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