My Skeleton Soldier Is Strange - Chapter 29

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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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Chapter 29
‘It flows together more naturally than I expected.’
I wondered what Herman had to do with the Shadow Fortress, but this place was one Mullen had introduced me to in the first place.
And since the Overlord advancement quest had emerged from absorbing the orb’s power alongside Mullen, it wasn’t particularly strange that a clue about the Shadow Fortress would come from Herman.
I parted ways with Aldrek and Herman after receiving some advice from them.
Originally, I had planned to spar with Dercan to assess my current abilities, but I had gained more than that from sparring with Herman, so there was no need to visit the Training Ground for a while.
And I stared intently at the credential badge.
According to Herman’s words, with just this badge, I could exchange with other knights, receive instruction, and use exclusive shops and restaurants.
And if there was a place I had to go among those options, it would naturally be….
‘Let me search for the Library.’
Of course, the Library. In the current situation, sparring with other NPCs or searching for different ones would likely be a waste of time.
In Evern Online, even if a quest progressed the same way, it could fail depending on the order or timing of progression.
‘It must be because NPCs act just like living people.’
In extreme cases, if the NPC who gave the quest died, that quest usually failed.
And this quest right now was nothing less than a first advancement quest.
There was absolutely no room for mistakes.
* * *
The Library was a massive structure that embodied the beauty of medieval architecture in its entirety. Grand stone walls and distinctive pointed arched windows evoked an antiquated atmosphere.
And naturally, the most abundant thing was….
‘How many books are there?’
Books.
How many books does a medieval library have? At most around thirty thousand. Usually it’s half that, or even less than ten thousand.
For reference, even a neighborhood comic shop has around ten thousand books. So I had dismissed it lightly, but….
‘…Seven floors?’
I completely abandoned my plan to search by sight alone. The books were rather thick, but it still looked like there were at least two hundred thousand volumes.
So the method to search here was….
“Librarian?”
I found a blonde Librarian who looked somewhat meticulous.
“Yes?”
There was only the Librarian. After all, in this medieval-themed Library, there was naturally no search desk, and no QR codes either.
I couldn’t expect the Librarian to have memorized all these books.
“Ah, you’re someone introduced by Deputy Commander Herman.”
The Librarian confirmed the credential badge and nodded readily.
“Is there a book you’re looking for?”
“Do you have any books related to the Shadow Fortress?”
“Ah, the Shadow Fortress?”
The Librarian pondered for a moment.
”
Shadow Fortress
you say?”
‘Ah, so this is what the city was like.’
I began crafting an atmosphere that matched the city’s concept once more.
“Ah, no, it’s fine. But could you perhaps tell me where I might find books about ancient cities?”
“Ah, if that’s what you’re looking for, it should be on the third floor.”
‘Third floor, where exactly.’
Even reduced to one-seventh, there were still nearly thirty thousand books, weren’t there?
How was I supposed to find anything in this?
“Thank you.”
But just as I was about to leave, sensing that pressing the Librarian further would only complicate matters—
“Ah, Stagnant Water.”
‘Has my username become public property in this city?’
“Yes?”
“If you’re looking for the Lost City, it should be 939.”
Lost
“If you’re looking for a city, it would be 939 days.”
“…Thank you.”
I hadn’t pressed further, so she’d let it slide, but the Librarian was no fool—she clearly hadn’t forgotten what I was searching for.
‘But what am I supposed to do with 939?’
It wasn’t until I reached the third floor that I understood what she meant.
Ancient History: 930
“Shadow Region Exploration”
“….”
‘It was the Dewey Decimal System.’
Though the library’s exterior was unmistakably medieval, each book’s spine brazenly displayed numbers according to the Dewey Decimal System used in modern libraries.
And they were even organized alphabetically!
It took me less than ten minutes on the third floor to locate the book.
[Quest completed successfully.]
[You have obtained a research manuscript on the Shadow Region.]
[Absorbing the knowledge from this text.]
The manuscript possessed a substantial, weighty presence. Its cover was a faded bronze-green hue that suited the Shadow Region’s gloomy image perfectly.
‘…This should be called an encyclopedia rather than a research manuscript, shouldn’t it?’
It was an extraordinarily thick tome. Of course, judging by the message, I wouldn’t need to read it directly.
―Uuuuung….
‘Does that mean there’s that much information contained within?’
―Ding!
The moment I opened the research manuscript on the Shadow Region, something miraculous occurred.
The ancient characters inscribed on the pages began to glow one by one, then lifted from the paper and started dancing in the air.
Soon the entire book lost its form, transforming into countless particles of light. The emerald luminescent points swirled around me like a swarm of fireflies.
The fragments of light spun faster and faster, creating a whirlwind.
As the torrent of light accelerated further, it began pouring toward my forehead.
[You have consumed the research document on the Shadow Region.]
[You have acquired the knowledge recorded in that research document.]
And after experiencing all of this, Jae-beom found himself thinking.
‘In a Library, and we’re consuming books??’
This wasn’t just any library—it was in this city, and he couldn’t even fathom how they’d react. Surely another urban legend rumor would spring up.
‘I need to get out of here.’
Just as Jae-beom made his swift decision.
[You can view this knowledge as a video.]
[Would you like to review the content?]
“Huh?”
Upon reading the message, Jae-beom was momentarily startled.
He’d heard that videos never appeared during Quests in Evern Online.
And he reached his conclusion once more.
‘No way, I’m not falling for this.’
Even if I did, I’d watch it outside—there was no way I was standing here like an idiot watching a video in a space where the Librarian might suddenly cry out “Found you!”
Wasting time watching YouTube in a horror movie? If Jae-beom were a serial killer, that person would be priority number one on his hit list.
So Jae-beom quietly and carefully slipped out of the Library before playing the video.
[Beginning recording.]
Of course, I didn’t forget to record this for YouTube either.
[Playing the video left by Lesran.]
An NPC whose name I didn’t know appeared in my field of vision.
―This is the heart of the Shadow Region, approximately 100 kilometers from the Fortress.
And gloomy darkness enveloped his surroundings. Jae-beom could immediately sense it.
This was indeed the Shadow Region.
‘Don’t tell me I have to conduct my first class advancement Quest in this place?’
Jae-beom felt an ominous premonition as he immersed himself in the video.
* * *
The landscape of the Shadow Region where Lesran stood was utterly desolate.
The sky was shrouded in ashen clouds, and even the sun hid its face; the earth was blanketed in pitch-black, suffocating mist.
As if death itself lingered here, no trace of any living creature could be found anywhere.
From the direction the wind blew came the overwhelming stench of death.
‘I can even smell it?’
Jae-beom grimaced at the odor, but the footage continued indifferently, capturing the desolate landscape.
Skeletal trees that barely revealed their outlines looked like the grasping hands of death itself, and the ruins glimpsed through the hazy light spoke of how devastating the battles fought here had been.
“This is the heart of the Shadow Region….”
Lesran muttered in a melancholic voice. Despite the title of research, the atmosphere felt overwhelmingly like one of complete resignation.
Then, through the mist, the silhouette of a colossal fortress emerged.
[You have discovered information about the Shadow Fortress.]
‘Indeed, it lives up to its name.’
The jet-black stone—or rather, walls that seemed constructed from shadow itself—emanated an ominous and hostile atmosphere.
The Shadow Fortress’s oppressive atmosphere stemmed from far more than merely the materials of its construction.
Within the darkness, indistinct shadows drifted alongside low, rumbling growls that seemed to emanate from the very air itself.
“I’ve visited the Shadow Region multiple times, but this is my first time reaching its heart—my first time discovering this Fortress.”
“As you can see… that fortress radiates an extraordinary presence. No, its very existence feels wrong.”
Now that I observed him more closely, his murmuring voice seemed deliberately hushed, as if he were consciously suppressing every syllable.
“What could the Shadow Region possibly fear, to construct a fortress in this lifeless heart? Though I cannot venture deeper today.”
“But we can’t go any deeper today.”
That was when it happened.
―Found you!
A voice—not particularly loud, yet unmistakably clear—echoed from the Shadow Fortress.
“Eek!”
The distance between the fortress and Lesran exceeded a kilometer by any reasonable estimate. A shout shouldn’t have carried even a fraction of that distance.
And yet.
―Found you?
―You came all on your own!
The voices continued pouring from the fortress without pause.
“Eeeeeek!”
Lesran lowered his head further, releasing a thin, strangled whimper before collapsing to the ground and beginning to crawl.
―Idiot! Idiot!
Though Lesran, prone on the earth, could not see, I could.
Within the mist surrounding the Shadow Fortress, something vast began to move.
―Coward! Coward!
―If you’re so afraid,
you shouldn’t have come looking!
What followed was content I had no desire to witness.
“I’m sorry!”
―He says he’s sorry! He says he’s sorry!
―We know! We know!
Only the sound of demons—their forms barely discernible—tearing into Lesran, his anguished screams dissolving into sobs, remained.
* * *
“….”
After watching the entire video, I reflected.
‘If this is all I get, I should’ve asked for the book back.’
While the information wasn’t entirely absent, this felt less like a research tome and more like a slasher film.
For such a thick volume to have downloaded so spectacularly into my mind, the actual information content was disappointingly sparse.
“And since it’s a posthumous work, I can’t even find supplementary material elsewhere.”
After reviewing the Quest details, I still managed to organize the information I’d gleaned.
1. The fact that this was Lesran’s first time reaching the Shadow Region’s depths suggests that even getting there is no trivial feat.
2. The monsters in the Shadow Fortress are nightmares incarnate.
3. Moreover, it’s a horror-themed zone. Even with decent stats, one could easily find themselves unable to proceed.
‘This is going to be impossible to do alone.’
Jae-beom enjoyed solo play, but he wasn’t the type to become obsessed with it.
He had no intention of becoming so fixated on solo play that he’d end up regretting it and developing a hatred for the very thing he once loved.
After some deliberation, Jae-beom made his way to the Plaza, the heart of Evern Online’s settlement.
‘Damn, there are a lot of people here.’
The Plaza was teeming with players, brimming with energy and vitality.
The users could be divided into roughly three categories.
“Everyone here? Do a final check on your gear and items! One mistake and we’re all dead!”
Intermediate and advanced players who had come after hearing news of the Demon Realm incursion.
They were here to gather information about the new Demon Realm region, hunt new monsters, and acquire new items.
As a new region, there was much to be gained, but since even the monsters’ levels weren’t properly documented, the risks were equally substantial.
“Where is this place?”
“This isn’t Osyrius…”
And then there were the novice players who were slow to receive news. Not being hardcore players, they seemed to struggle accepting that ‘Beginner’s Town’ had become ‘humanity’s forward base and fortress for entering the Demon Realm’.
And…
“Premium quality intermediate potions on sale! Last chance!”
“Buying all new items at premium prices! No quantity limits!”
Merchants capitalizing on the opportunity.
As Jae-beom observed them, he briefly opened his Quest window again.
[Title: Overlord First Advancement]
[Content: Travel to Shadow Fortress and obtain Count Heltema’s Legacy.]
[Final Objective: Dark Lord’s Sword.]
[Reward: Overlord Awakening Progress.]
[Secondary Objective: Head toward Shadow Fortress.]
‘The first objective disappeared and a secondary objective appeared.’
To clear this Quest, what Jae-beom needed to find among these three types of users was…
Someone who could join his party, whose reasons he wouldn’t question, who possessed real skill, and who could keep their mouth shut.
Once he’d set those criteria, even Jae-beom himself realized finding someone here would be impossible.
Then he’d have to choose from his acquaintances—in Evern Online, he had Ye-jin and a few variations of her name.
However, there was one problem: unlike when she went to Sphinx’s dungeon before, Ye-jin’s level was somewhat insufficient for this task.
‘One week. I’ll level up as much as possible within that time and then depart.’
Without knowing it, Ye-jin was about to be kidnapped into a hellish week-long Demon Realm hunting course.
And then…
[Me: Ye-jin, would you like to help me with something fun? There’s something I don’t know much about since I’m still a newbie.]
‘Let me cast the bait first.’
A newbie enthusiast like her would surely be unable to resist taking the hook.

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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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