My Skeleton Soldier Is Strange - Chapter 3

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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 3
[You have summoned the Legendary Skeleton Soldier Dercan.]
As I activated the summoning spell, a blood-red mist materialized before me.
“…!”
I couldn’t hide my anticipation.
The summoning skill’s effect was extraordinary. The attention of everyone nearby converged on the mist all at once.
―Whoooosh!
Then, the blood-red mist that emerged from the ground spread outward in both directions before gradually dissipating.
‘Finally!’
I bit my lip as I watched the mist fade away.
Any moment now, the ‘Legendary’ Skeleton Soldier Dercan with such a grandiose name would reveal himself.
Shhhhhh….
Two-thirds of the blood-red mist scattered into the air―
And the Skeleton Soldier Dercan appeared.
‘Legendary!’
After all, I’d spent my only asset to summon him. Even if it was just the most basic skill, it would be strange not to have expectations.
But then.
―….
Something was wrong.
“…? What is this?”
Once the mist completely cleared, Dercan was revealed to be just an ordinary skeleton soldier.
It wasn’t a matter of being less grandiose than expected, or thinking, ‘Why isn’t that red gem I spent embedded in the skull, you fraud?’
He was simply, truly, just a common Skeleton Soldier 1.
Seeing this, I was so dumbfounded that I muttered without thinking.
“What is this?”
The other players nearby also threw out disappointed remarks.
“What. Just an ordinary necromancer.”
“But why is the skeleton soldier summoning skill so flashy?”
“Who knows, maybe necromancer isn’t their main job and they just have a class with fancy effects?”
Hearing the other players’ words, I flinched.
I wanted to refute them.
To tell them that I had acquired an advanced-tier necromancer class.
But.
‘Is this really a Legendary Skeleton Soldier?’
I couldn’t say that.
Because to my own eyes, Dercan looked far too pathetic.
“His size is similar to a regular skeleton soldier… and his equipment is identical?”
I approached Dercan.
His shabby skeletal frame looked quite ridiculous.
Moreover, his equipment consisted of nothing but a worn sword and shield.
No matter where I looked, it seemed far removed from the grandiose title of ‘Legendary.’
“Hmm.”
I furrowed my brow at the sight of Dercan.
[Dercan currently differs little from a standard skeletal soldier.]
[However, as the Overlord’s first Legendary subordinate, Dercan possesses unique abilities.]
[As you grow stronger, Dercan will evolve and gain new tiers of power.]
At that moment, a message explaining Dercan appeared before my eyes.
“The stronger I become… the stronger Dercan becomes?”
Ordinary undead do not grow after being summoned.
Only high-tier undead like Death Knights can grow, but even they do so at a sluggish pace.
Dercan, who evolves with each of my advancements, is truly an undead worthy of the Legendary designation―
Having thought that far, I locked eyes with Dercan, who was staring intently at me.
―Click… click.
Dercan merely produced incomprehensible sounds as its toothless jaw clattered together.
“Sigh.”
I exhaled a sigh without meaning to.
‘Is it really going to get stronger?’
No matter how grand the description, I couldn’t suppress the doubt that welled up at the sight of such an unimpressive Dercan.
‘Could this be a trash-tier character?’
I was beginning to suspect I hadn’t even taken the first step correctly.
Ding!
A clear bell chime reached my ears.
[A beginner’s guide has been activated.]
[Accept a Quest from NPC Shaan.]
A common beginner Quest appeared—the kind all users received after completing the tutorial.
* * *
NPC Shaan was a female merchant who ran a general store.
‘A Quest to find a missing sibling.’
It was the typical missing sibling Quest that appeared in other games as well.
‘I’ve already located it from the strategy guide. Let’s move immediately.’
Players receiving this Quest for the first time had apparently suffered through exhaustively searching the surrounding areas.
But I had no need for such trouble.
A beginner Quest strategy guide could be found with just a little internet searching.
Click!
“…So this is the Ophireus Dungeon.”
Upon arriving at the dungeon, I examined it with an obvious question in mind.
‘Why would a child even go inside a dungeon?’
No matter how I thought about it, this was no place an ordinary child would enter.
‘Well, that’s how all beginner Quests are anyway.’
Then I let out a small chuckle.
Quests like this weren’t exactly unique to this game either.
There was no point in nitpicking every little thing like this.
―Click… click… click.
Dercan clicked his jaw at me, as if trying to communicate something.
I turned my head back to examine Dercan more closely.
“Why do you keep clicking your jaw if you can’t even speak?”
―Click… click… click.
Dercan clicked his jaw again in response to my words.
I fell into contemplation watching him. At first, I’d assumed it was simply an instinctive action.
But somehow, it didn’t feel that way.
‘It looks like he wants to speak but can’t.’
My ‘intuition’ was telling me something.
That the skeleton soldier Dercan’s behavior wasn’t merely instinctive.
However, logically speaking, it made no sense. Even if he was legendary-grade, Dercan hadn’t undergone growth yet—there was no way he possessed that level of intelligence.
‘Don’t get your hopes up on false circuits. Just focus on leveling up.’
I cleanly abandoned my expectations and turned my steps toward the Ophireus Dungeon.
* * *
[You have entered the Ophireus Dungeon.]
[If you die, you will restart from the beginning. Please be careful.]
I let out a scoff seeing the two messages that appeared before my eyes.
“I’ve already cleared the hell mode tutorial, and you’re trying to scare me with this?”
Beginner quests proceed commonly regardless of which mode’s tutorial you clear. There was no way I’d die in a dungeon designed for beginners at this point.
[A tutorial video for the beginner dungeon exists.]
[Would you like to watch the video?]
I ignored the message and walked forward, only for two more messages to appear.
“Not watching.”
I waved my right hand and dismissed the messages once more.
“Hmm.”
Only then could I properly observe the Ophireus Dungeon’s interior. Since it was a beginner dungeon, there was only one path leading inward.
‘I heard the dungeon becomes maze-like later on.’
The Ophireus Dungeon wasn’t difficult in terms of pathfinding since it was a beginner dungeon. But things change as you progress to higher-level dungeons.
High-tier dungeons supposedly consume days, sometimes even weeks to complete.
Moreover, Evern Online doesn’t provide convenience features like minimaps for players. The dungeon difficulty inevitably doubles.
‘And I can’t even see my health or mana either.’
The lack of consideration for players didn’t end there.
In Evern Online, if you die after leaving the beginner level,
there’s a penalty of a 24-hour login restriction.
‘Some people curse it for being too unfriendly, but if others die and rest, can’t I catch up in the meantime? You just don’t die through skill, right?’
My way of thinking was different. Hardcore was simply my lifestyle.
“Let me see what beginner mobs look like.”
I muttered excitedly to myself and moved forward with a light step.
Tap… tap… tap.
Dercan waddling along behind me was a bonus.
* * *
A few minutes had passed since entering the dungeon. I was beginning to feel bored.
Nothing was happening, there was nothing worth seeing, and Dercan just kept clicking his jaw together.
As I recalled the strategy guide and thought it was about time for monsters to appear.
―Kee-eek!
―Kee-eeng!
Two goblins—the beginner’s friend and foe—revealed themselves.
“…This is a bit insulting, honestly.”
I frowned at the goblins that appeared before me.
I had wondered if clearing Hell Mode would change even the first beginner quest, but they appeared exactly as I’d seen in the strategy guide.
There was no way I could feel any tension now.
‘Since it’s come to this, I might as well fight like a proper Necromancer.’
A Necromancer is a mass summoner of undead.
And that was no different in Evern Online.
Whoosh.
I glanced at Dercan.
―Tap… tap… tap.
Dercan was still only making sounds that couldn’t be considered language.
I spoke to Dercan in a low voice.
“…You can handle goblins, right? You’re legendary-grade?”
―Tap… tap… tap.
“Right. You can do it, yeah?”
Dercan moved his jaw once more in response to my words.
I pointed at the goblins toward Dercan.
“Attack.”
And I issued one of the basic Necromancer commands—an attack order.
―Tap… tap… tap!
Dercan moved forward at my command.
Though his gait was clumsy, I decided to simply watch.
‘At least he should fight better than the regular skeleton soldiers I summon.’
The skeleton soldiers summoned by a Necromancer could barely defeat goblins, or so I’d heard.
So even if he hadn’t grown yet, Dercan being legendary-grade meant he could easily kill goblins.
―Kee-eek!
―Kee-eeng-eeng!
Then the two goblins shrieked at Dercan. They immediately drew their swords and rushed forward.
“Kill them!”
I spoke to Dercan with a voice full of anticipation.
―Tap… tap… tap!
Dercan reacted, his jaw clattering against the stone.
Then, raising his sword high to engage the two goblins, I was about to step forward when―
Whoosh.
“?”
Dercan caught his foot on a jagged stone jutting from the ground and tumbled forward―
Crash!
The ‘bones’ that composed Dercan’s body scattered in all directions.
“Kyieeeek!”
The goblin across from Dercan shrieked in terror.
“…Still, these bones are quite sturdy.”
One of Dercan’s bones had lodged firmly into the goblin’s thigh.
“Hah….”
At this point, rather than anger, the sheer absurdity of it all was making me laugh.
Even I hadn’t anticipated that I’d inflict damage on a goblin in such a ridiculous manner.
“Well. That’s neither here nor there.”
But I couldn’t simply stand here laughing.
To clear this dungeon, ultimately I had to take action.
Dercan’s combat ability was essentially nonexistent—that much had just been proven.
Tap!
I finished my muttering and set my legs in motion.
Simultaneously, I grasped the staff hanging at my waist with my right hand.
―Kyiek!
Then I rushed toward the goblins, who were even more bewildered than I was by this absurd turn of events.
―Kyieeeek!
―Kyik-kyik!
The two goblins finally came to their senses and attempted to assume a combat stance, but―
“The head! Aim for the head!”
Thwack! Crack!
My staff strikes were several moves faster.
―Kyi… kyiek.
―Ack….
Using the basic mage staff I’d been given, I struck both goblins squarely on their heads. They let out short cries before collapsing backward.
Thud!
[You have defeated two Goblin Warriors.]
[You have acquired experience points.]
Two messages appeared before my eyes.
‘Evern Online’s leveling is supposedly quite demanding.’
Unlike other games, Evern Online required substantial experience points for leveling from the very beginning. So when I concluded that a mere handful of goblins wouldn’t be enough to level up―
[Dercan has acquired half of the experience points you obtained.]
[Dercan’s experience increases.]
“…?”
Another message appeared before Jae-beom’s eyes.
“A summoned creature gains experience points?”
Jae-beom had never heard of a Necromancer’s summon—or any summoned creature from any class, for that matter—gaining experience points.
Staring blankly at the message, Jae-beom soon let out a sigh.
‘This thing really does everything.’
A creature that’s utterly useless in combat gains experience points too.
He was beginning to wonder if “Legendary” actually meant “Legendary Nuisance Skeleton Soldier.”
‘Please don’t tell me that “growth” means its capacity for causing trouble grows as well?’
The dead Count Heltema seemed to be murmuring wistfully, “I mean, logically speaking, these are my belongings—why would I do anything that benefits you?”
―Tap… tap… tap.
Just then, Dercan—who had been destroyed by the goblins—rose from the ground. His body had completely restored itself as if nothing had happened.
“….”
Jae-beom regarded Dercan with an odd expression.
Then, clicking his tongue, he was about to move forward when—
―Whoosh!
A blue light erupted from the corpses of the goblins.
And.
[Dercan has absorbed the souls of the dead goblins.]
[Additional experience has been obtained from the souls.]
‘…What?’
In that moment, Jae-beom’s eyes widened.
He’d never heard of a summoned creature gaining experience points.
But he’d also never heard of a summoned creature obtaining additional experience.
If that were the case…
‘Does that mean the experience penalty disappears too?’
No, it was even better than that.
Considering the magnitude of experience absorbed when the goblin died, the additional experience was roughly 70% of the normal experience gained.
And, considering that this experience wasn’t shared with Dercan…!
The shattered red gem seemed to be crying out, “I mean, logically speaking, I’m not Count Heltema—why would I have any resentment?”
“From now on, you’re my experience shuttle!”
Indeed, Dercan truly was a Legendary skeleton soldier.
…Though the fact that it wasn’t combat-oriented was beyond Jae-beom’s expectations.

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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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