My Skeleton Soldier Is Strange - Chapter 130

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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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130
Inferno
Kim Jae-beom had barely escaped the clutches of death and arrived safely at Fortress Dairn. The moment he passed through the towering gates and stepped inside, he exhaled a deep sigh of relief. His shoulders, rigid with tension, slowly began to relax.
“Phew…”
As Kim Jae-beom surveyed his surroundings, an expansive plaza came into view. Thousands of players gathered in that vibrant, bustling space. From knights clad in heavy armor to mages sweeping through in ornate robes, individuals of every conceivable class and character stood in small groups, chattering away and exchanging information. The excited voices of players savoring the virtual world echoed from all directions.
‘Thank goodness I made it out alive.’
Kim Jae-beom felt relief wash over him at having narrowly escaped death. Though it was a virtual world, death meant catastrophic losses. He would have risked losing countless possessions.
Yet because it was a virtual reality, he wouldn’t lose his actual life. Even if struck by a fatal blow, he would simply awaken in the real world.
―Thump.
Kim Jae-beom collapsed onto a long bench at the edge of the plaza. As his joints creaked softly, the tension gradually melted away. My weary body and mind found brief respite. Listening blankly to the chatter of players around me, I felt oddly disconnected from reality.
That harrowing battle. Those extreme moments where I’d snatched life from the jaws of death by mere inches. My heart still felt like it was pounding. I struggled to shake off the lingering echoes of combat that clung to my entire being, breathing slowly and deliberately. It felt strange—this precarious tightrope walk between the virtual and the real.
―Tap!
A woman approached Kim Jae-beom as he sat lost in thought. She walked with a light, cheerful step, her bright smile radiant. It was Ye-jin. An archer player who had once enjoyed party play with him.
Her slender frame was encased in silver armor. With her long golden hair flowing, Ye-jin stood before Kim Jae-beom. She gazed at him with eyes full of mirth before speaking.
“Why are you sighing so much?”
Startled from his reverie by her playful question, Kim Jae-beom suddenly snapped back to attention.
“Oh.”
With a small exclamation, he lifted his head to meet Ye-jin’s gaze. When their eyes met, warmth bloomed within him.
“It’s been a while.”
He greeted her with a bright smile and warm words. Then, as if recalling what had just happened, he continued in a voice tinged with a sigh.
“I nearly died just moments ago.”
Ye-jin’s eyes widened at his words. She stared at Kim Jae-beom intently, as if finding it hard to believe, and murmured.
“You’re not the type to die easily… I can’t believe you’d say something like that.”
Since she knew his abilities well, she found it difficult to accept that he had faced a mortal threat.
―Whoosh.
That was when it happened.
“I just acquired this new one.”
She held out her bow to Kim Jae-beom.
A massive bow, far larger than her own body. Ten crimson jewels gleamed with fiery light, embedded into the bow. With its intricate engravings, it was truly a work of art.
“It looks expensive.”
Kim Jae-beom murmured in admiration. It was clearly a high-end weapon.
“I invested roughly thirty million won into it.”
Ye-jin answered with a proud grin, her expression brimming with satisfaction. She had poured a considerable sum into the game.
“Indeed, it’s quite pricey.”
Kim Jae-beom nodded in agreement. Seeing his reaction, Ye-jin spoke to him in a playful tone.
“With a weapon like this, couldn’t you defeat that monster you nearly died to?”
Her confidence in the weapon’s power was evident. But Kim Jae-beom’s answer was unexpected.
“No. It’s a creature that couldn’t even be scratched by my staff. That’s why I need far greater firepower.”
That moment when I’d escaped death by the narrowest margin remained vivid. Having felt the creature’s overwhelming strength, I had no desire to challenge it recklessly.
I fell into deep contemplation before suddenly opening my mouth to speak.
“I need to create more undead.”
At this unexpected remark, Ye-jin asked with a puzzled expression.
“Where?”
Kim Jae-beom slowly lifted his head and gazed at her before answering.
“I’ve heard there’s a tower where monsters spawn infinitely. I need to conduct my work there.”
“Ah. The Tower of Infinity…”
A sigh escaped Ye-jin’s lips. That place, where monsters were generated endlessly, was renowned as an ideal location for leveling.
“You’re going there already?”
Ye-jin asked with concern evident in her voice. To her, Kim Jae-beom’s plan seemed premature.
But Kim Jae-beom spoke with unwavering resolve.
“My level is still insufficient, but to obtain what I desire, I have no choice.”
A determination to accept risk in pursuit of his objective. It was a display of Kim Jae-beom’s characteristic approach—seeking rapid and efficient growth.
“You’re still moving fast.”
Ye-jin murmured with a faint smile. Then, with a bright expression, she offered her encouragement.
“Go and return safely. I’ll be preparing on my end as well.”
She too intended to move forward in her efforts to catch up with Kim Jae-beom.
* * *
After exchanging farewells with Ye-jin, I slipped out of the Fortress. My destination now was the Tower of Infinity. Unfolding a teleportation scroll, I chanted the incantation, and in the blink of an eye, I was engulfed in azure light. As the brilliant flash faded, an entirely different landscape greeted me.
Before my eyes stood a magnificent and colossal tower. Admiration flowed unbidden at the sight of its towering majesty. That structure, composed of countless floors, emanated an air both mysterious and weighty.
As I turned my gaze around, I noticed other players who had come seeking the Tower of Infinity. Adventurers of various professions and appearances bustled about.
“Hello there! Do you need any gloves!”
“We have potions too!”
NPCs weaving through the crowds haggled over goods, buying and selling their wares.
A vast city had formed around the Tower of Infinity. That densely packed district, filled with countless buildings, was equipped with diverse facilities for the convenience of players. Shops selling weapons and armor, workshops crafting items, inns restoring vitality—it seemed one could obtain everything needed here.
At the city’s heart stood the Tower of Infinity, towering majestically. The enormous structure dominated the surrounding buildings. The summit of the tower, composed of countless floors, vanished into the clouds. It evoked a mysterious sensation, as though another world existed beyond.
Beholding all this scenery, I felt overwhelmed with emotion. The Tower of Infinity—once something that seemed to exist only in distant tales. And now I stood here in person. In this dreamlike reality, I found myself murmuring without awareness.
“I never thought I’d come to a place like this.”
I slowly advanced my steps toward the Tower of Infinity.
Upon reaching the grand entrance of the tower, I beheld a massive gate before me, opening into the interior. A stone gate covered in intricate patterns. The heavy door adorned with metallic fixtures inspired reverence itself.
I took a deep breath, then stepped boldly through the gate. In that instant, a blinding flash consumed my vision. When I opened my eyes again after losing consciousness in that intense light, I had already arrived at Tower of Infinity Floor 1.
Spread beneath my feet was a vast circular space. Reminiscent of an arena, it was enclosed on all sides by sturdy walls. From the walls, which emitted a soft blue glow, countless inscriptions and patterns were carved. Mana faintly permeated the air.
As I surveyed the expansive space, I drew a deep breath and murmured softly.
“Dercan. Arulan.”
As my voice echoed, black mist rose from both sides of the space. From within emerged two skeletal soldiers. Dercan, a skeletal warrior clad in jet-black armor. Arulan, a skeletal mage emanating an eerie presence. My loyal subordinates answered my summons.
“…”
In heavy silence, the skeletons knelt and prostrated themselves before their master.
Then it happened.
―Boom-boom-boom!
With a weighty rumble, the opposite door opened of its own accord. Dozens of pairs of eyes gleamed from the darkness. Guttural shrieks filled the space. And in the next moment, a horde of goblins poured forth.
Small and muscular frames, hideous faces with bloodshot eyes and protruding fangs. A pack of goblins, wielding rusted weapons and snarling as they surged forward. Reeking of foul odor and glaring with ravenous eyes, they resembled wild and savage beasts.
“Handle it.”
With a terse command, I gestured. As if they had been waiting for this moment, Arulan and Dercan stepped forward. The two skeletal soldiers swelled their forms, and darkness surged through the gaps in their armor. An eerie chill wrapped around the surroundings.
―!
A golden radiance bloomed as a magic circle unfurled from Arulan’s palm. Luminous runes inscribed themselves across the space, burning with brilliant intensity. Then Dercan positioned himself before the magic circle. Blue flames flickered in the eye sockets of the dual-wielding skeletal warrior.
―Whoosh!
With Arulan’s incantation, the magic circle burrowed into Dercan’s body. Pitch-black energy coiled around the skeletal warrior, enveloping him in overwhelming power.
The battle was beginning.

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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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