My Skeleton Soldier Is Strange - Chapter 24

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

Chapter 24
“Still, I’ll enjoy the steak.”
“You…”
“I can’t just throw away a 200,000 won dish.”
Jae-beom was right—this course meal did cost 200,000 won. Though the accurate figure would require adding a 1 in front of that 20.
“Sigh. Fine. Let’s just eat.”
But knowing Jae-beom’s stubbornness, Ji-min gave up arguing further.
Soon a waiter entered and began setting up the meal.
“So, what are you up to these days? Looks like you’ve quit Warlord Online?”
“Just preparing for employment.”
Since I hadn’t made money from Evern Online yet, it wasn’t technically a lie.
“…You?”
Ji-min looked at me with suspicious eyes. For someone who used to earn tens of millions of won monthly, becoming a salaried worker was no easy choice.
“Like you said, my career is solid. I’ll find a use for it.”
“Hmm.”
Considering the current scale of the gaming industry, that wasn’t entirely wrong either.
Ji-min couldn’t shake her suspicion, but when Jae-beom said nothing more, she stopped pressing.
Instead, as the meal was nearly finishing.
“If you ever decide to start, let me know. Your older sister will help you out enthusiastically.”
―Swish.
She slid a business card across to me.
[Armandaul Guild Vanguard Commander Red Peach.]
It bore the name of the guild Ji-min belonged to and her gaming nickname.
“…”
I blinked at the sight of it.
‘Never heard of that guild before.’
“…Red Peach?”
At my murmur about the atrocious naming sense, Ji-min’s face flushed to match her nickname.
“It’s better than Newbie!”
“No… Newbie would be better.”
I said it with conviction. Ji-min seemed to agree, gritting her teeth before declaring.
“Anyway! It’s a small-to-mid-sized guild, but it’s pretty solid!”
If she said so, it must be true.
Ji-min had excellent looks, skills, family background, and wealth, giving her extensive connections, but she managed her relationships with people just as rigorously.
“Alright. I’ll message you if I need anything later.”
Just like Ye-jin, I couldn’t understand why so many people were eager to look after me.
Well, Ji-min probably had practical reasons too, knowing my abilities as she did.
I chuckled at Ji-min’s words and accepted the business card.
‘Armandaul Guild, huh… I’ll have to PK them when we meet later. Need to test how strong they really are.’
All while harboring a thought that would make Ji-min faint if she knew.
* * *
After finishing our meal, we exchanged a few casual remarks before the atmosphere naturally shifted toward departure.
“You’re really not going to do it?”
That’s when Ji-min asked again, almost in passing.
“Do what?”
“Evern Online.”
“No. I’m not.”
My answer remained unchanged.
I had no intention of revealing that I’d already thrown myself into Evern Online.
“Then let me rephrase the question.”
Ji-min pressed a finger against the table and slid it across as he spoke.
“You’re definitely not playing it, right?”
“What, Warlord Online? I quit that garbage game, didn’t I?”
I answered casually, but Ji-min’s expression still harbored suspicion.
“So you’re really preparing for employment?”
“Yes, Kim Jae-beom, age twenty-five. I’m preparing for employment!”
I threw one hand up and shouted, and Ji-min let out a snort of laughter before nodding.
“Want a ride then?”
“You drank, didn’t you?”
“I never said I’d be driving.”
….
The sudden cognitive dissonance struck me like a blow, and I stumbled for a moment.
“No, I just….”
Just as I was about to refuse, Ji-min glanced at his smartphone and muttered something.
“Huh? What’s this. The server’s back up?”
“I just had a wish to ride in a car driven by a professional driver.”
“?”
“Why? Actually, I drank quite a bit too.”
“Yeah… come on.”
Ji-min waved his hand dismissively as if he couldn’t be bothered to say more.
Though not quite as eager as me, he clearly wanted to log into Evern Online quickly.
―Click.
“We’re here, miss.”
…And that login happened far faster than expected.
‘A portable access device?!’
Without another word, Ji-min settled into his seat, placed the access device on his head, and reclined the seat back.
I watched the scene for a moment before shaking my head and picking up my smartphone instead.
[Evern Online Server Recovery Complete!]
[Shocking! The World Map Has Transformed!]
[Official Developer Statement: The Second Era Will Be Entirely Different From Before.]
“…Chapter 2?”
The update had only just gone live, so information seemed scarce, but fortunately the official website’s patch notes contained quite a wealth of details.
‘The Demon Realm Legion of Hell.’
A new setting had been added where the Demon Realm’s army in the sky invades the world through a crimson pillar that appeared in Osirius Square.
‘Osirius Square has been transformed into a dungeon… and the players who were in the plaza have been forcibly relocated to a new Fortress.’
Now that I thought about it, the second condition was ‘Discovery of Demon Realm Gate Fragment’.
I took a quick look at the community and found that users were thoroughly enraged.
[Anonymous Bear: Are they insane?]
[SoftTurtle: All the NPC affinity progress we’ve built up so far is gone. Aren’t they going to compensate us?]
How dare an online game company arbitrarily adjust players’ locations? And they even converted the beginner zone into a dungeon?
This was something that simply couldn’t be overlooked.
“Who patches a game like this? Just because the game is well-made, the AI is insane, the freedom is insane, and there’s no alternative, does that excuse everything?”
[SoftTurtle: It does seem like it might be over…?]
However, no matter how poor public opinion became, Evern Online was still Evern Online.
In a situation where there was no alternative game, a slight dip in public sentiment wasn’t a significant blow.
Moreover.
[Mouse: Wow, now that’s romance! The world is alive and moving, so isn’t that what makes it a game?]
[Vague Ranker: Real talk, the server going down is a first, but it’s not like the world changing based on player actions is unprecedented either, right?]
[ㅇㅇ: I am the operator, and I made a mistake about the two people above.]
Online, there was also quite strong support. Evern Online was such an extreme game that every NPC existed in only one instance.
An extreme game where if an NPC accidentally died or left town, quests could fail.
So some players, witnessing this extreme nature of Evern Online, claimed their immersion increased and shouted ‘I’m actually in favor.’
‘If you asked me which side I’m on… I’m actually in the support camp.’
And I was also in the support camp. Perhaps because of my experience playing the same game for years, I welcomed any kind of change.
“We’ve arrived.”
“Ah, thank you. Please tell him I’m grateful!”
While I was lost in thought, the car stopped in front of my house.
The driver briefly considered waking Ji-min, but seeing Ji-min deeply absorbed in the game, seemingly fast asleep, he shook his head and opened his mouth.
“…Please be careful going in.”
―Vrrrrm….
The moment I arrived home, I immediately activated the connection device.
In the time it took me to do this, Ji-min and the people of the world had likely progressed more than thirty minutes ahead.
[Would you like to continue playing Evern Online?]
Only the third time, or rather the second time since I hadn’t ‘continued’ playing the first time, yet the screen was already familiar.
But perhaps because of the day’s absence, the screen felt strangely unfamiliar.
“I’ll play.”
―Vrrrrm!
In that instant, my vision changed.
―Boom… Boom-boom-boom!
“What?”
Jae-beom had been in Osirius Castle just before logging in. And he was certain that Osirius Castle had transformed into a dungeon, and that the Demon Realm’s invasion had begun.
So naturally, he assumed his character would be inside the dungeon….
Surprisingly, his character was positioned at the very top of a crimson pillar.
“What is this….”
The sight that unfolded before his eyes was nothing short of horrifying. Everything around him was drenched in a deep, blood-red light.
―Boom… Boom-boom-boom!
His body swayed from the tremors that shook the earth, but Jae-beom stood firm.
As he surveyed his surroundings, a vivid crimson hue dominated everything. Even the clouds were stained scarlet, as if the world itself were covered in blood.
Far in the distance, Osirius Castle was visible. But its once-majestic form had vanished without a trace, leaving only tragic ruins in its wake. A colossal pillar of red light pierced through the castle, a monument to destruction.
―Shhhhh….
The crimson aura consumed everything around it, steadily expanding its domain. The air itself was thick with scorching heat, making even breathing a struggle.
The entire world seemed engulfed in a massive inferno, a landscape of annihilation unfolding before Jae-beom’s eyes. And there, in the very center of it all, he stood.
‘Why am I even here?’
Faced with this incomprehensible phenomenon, Jae-beom’s mouth gaped open like a goldfish.
―Ding!
Then a clear system alert chimed in Jae-beom’s mind.
[The Demon Realm ??? Entity is watching you.]
With the message came an intense gaze upon him. More terrifying than the fact that something was scrutinizing his entire body was the overwhelming power radiating from that gaze.
―Whoosh….
Then a crimson hand reached toward Jae-beom, but.
―Crackle!
Golden lightning surged from Jae-beom’s body, reducing the mysterious hand to dust.
[The Demon Realm ??? Entity looks forward to your next meeting.]
Then another system message appeared.
―Ding!
[This area is restricted to players.]
[You will be instantly transported to the newly designated beginner area.]
―Whoooosh….
Jae-beom’s body became translucent, then vanished without a trace from within the pillar.
―… The birth of a new Overlord, it seems.
An incomprehensible voice echoed through the space where Jae-beom had stood.
* * *
[You are being forcibly relocated from Osirius Square.]
[Fortress Dairn has been designated as your new respawn location.]
Two system messages appeared in succession within the darkness. The moment Jae-beom read them, the darkness dissipated.
―Whoooosh!
The pitch-black darkness vanished, and simultaneously, the landscape of Fortress Dairn came into view.
“Oh….”
An absolutely overwhelming sight unfolded before Jae-beom’s eyes. Beneath an orange sky blanketed with crimson clouds, a magnificent fortress constructed of jet-black stone rose majestically.
The streets were crowded with players. Along with the original beginners, high-level players had gathered from all over after hearing the news of the dungeon transformation.
I tensed at the grim news that the fortress had become a dungeon, but the reality was far more peaceful than I’d expected.
Fortress Dairn, the pitch-black stronghold, appeared to function as a safe zone within the dungeon itself.
As I gazed down at the landscape below, taking in the unfamiliar scenery, I let out a brief observation.
“So what do I do now…”
It felt good to be in a new place with a changed starting location, and everything seemed fine.
But what about the Quest I was in the middle of? I had set certain goals for growth, and they’d all become completely unmoored.
That moment.
―Ding!
[You have an incomplete Quest remaining.]
[Please proceed with the corresponding Quest.]
[Title: Linked Quest]
[Content: You must obtain the Eye of Insight that Sphinx possesses.]
[Objective: Obtain the Eye of Insight, an item necessary for analysis.]
[Reward: Mullen will analyze unidentified items for you free of charge.]
“Huh?”
Mullen’s linked Quest window appeared before me once again.
“What is this…”
Even if all the personnel from Osirius Castle had been transferred, that was limited to players—it was difficult to hope that NPCs hadn’t been swept up by that pillar of light.
Especially not Mullen, who had faced the pillar directly.
‘Is this a bug?’
―Ding!
[Guiding you to Mullen’s new Antique Shop location.]
―Whoosh…
And as if to tell me that all my speculation was meaningless, the system presented me with a navigation route to Mullen’s new shop.
“!”
I nodded after a moment of surprise.
In any case, having him alive was better than the alternative, wasn’t it?

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