My Skeleton Soldier Is Strange - Chapter 30

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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 30
As the studio lights flickered on, Ye-jin’s figure came into view. She was cosplaying as the popular elf archer character from Evern Online.
Dressed in a silver long wig, Ye-jin looked as though she had stepped straight out of a fantasy world. With her slender, elongated eyes, crimson lips, and pointed ears, she had transformed perfectly into an elf archer.
A brown leather armor hugging her slender waist, a cloak bearing the texture of ages past, and an intricately crafted bow with a quiver—Ye-jin’s appearance boasted an overwhelming synchronicity, as if a game character had materialized into reality.
But that wasn’t all. Beyond her costume, Ye-jin’s very gaze and movements had become those of an elf.
When surrounded by nature, she wore a gentle, warm smile.
When facing the camera—that is, humanity—her eyes grew cold and expressionless.
The photographer, captivated by her presence and the intensity of her gaze, continued pressing the shutter relentlessly.
Had Jae-beom witnessed this, he would have found it unbelievable. Jae-beom was the type to dismiss romance as “experience loss” and want nothing to do with it.
Yet even he couldn’t fail to recognize beauty when he saw it. The difference between “Petit Ye-jin” from days ago and “Ye-jin” now was precisely that stark.
Moreover, Petit Ye-jin’s face—often mistaken for being customized into a beauty—was actually Ye-jin’s real face customized to be slightly less beautiful!
However.
‘What’s this? Why hasn’t he contacted me? Oh, is it because of the game avatar? But I used my real appearance almost exactly…’
Even inside Ye-jin’s head, thoughts were far from beautiful or noble.
Jae-beom wasn’t exactly normal either, but that didn’t make Ye-jin normal.
The process running through Ye-jin’s mind right now was as follows:
1. Whatever happened, Osyrius Castle had now become a gateway to the Demon Realm.
2. And Jae-beom is there too.
3. So he should call me.
What connection existed between points 2 and 3 was anyone’s guess. But since these were Ye-jin’s thoughts, no one could point out whether the logic held or not.
‘Should I reach out first? Or does he have something urgent to do?’
Normally, hidden rewards don’t appear multiple times. Otherwise, the game economy would collapse.
However, exploiting a system loophole, Ye-jin had discovered that during this patch alone, bringing another player would trigger the hidden reward—a gem chest—again. So she had farmed with Jae-beom.
Thanks to that, she had managed to meet Jae-beom, but now she was planning to leave Osyrius Castle…
‘If it’s the Demon Realm, I’d want to rush there the moment this shoot ends… If he’s planning to explore the Demon Realm together, shouldn’t he call me? He didn’t seem to know anyone there either.’
In an instant, Ye-jin had relegated Jae-beom from friend to mere acquaintance, and she continued grinding her teeth inwardly.
She had never in her life experienced a man with a reason to call her actually failing to do so!
‘Sigh…’
Until the shoot ended, Ye-jin maintained her professionalism and didn’t let her emotions show. In other words, until the shoot ended, not a single message came from Jae-beom.
The moment Ye-jin arrived home, she logged into Evern Online. The synchronization feature linked to her smartphone might have malfunctioned.
However, when she checked, the message window was filled only with messages from people other than Jae-beom.
Ye-jin swiftly blocked a dozen male players with a flick of her fingers, then headed toward Osyrius Castle—or rather, Dairun Fortress—with a dejected expression.
As she was heading toward the fortress.
―Ding!
[A message has arrived from Stagnant Water.]
Finally, Jae-beom’s message came through.
* * *
The fortress plaza, still crowded with people.
Among them, Jae-beom had claimed a spot in a relatively deserted area. It was a secluded corner with only a walking path and no shops.
“…Why did you call me to a place like this?”
And so Ye-jin appeared in a place where no one seemed likely to come.
“Important conversations should be conducted discreetly, after all.”
Jae-beom emerged from the darkness and answered her in a flat voice.
―*Whoosh*….
As he spoke, he examined her outfit from top to bottom. Her equipment had become noticeably more ornate than before.
Seeing that gaze, Ye-jin felt a sense of satisfaction.
‘Ha, there’s no way he’s not interested. At least he’ll stay with me until we reach the same level, right?’
Had Jae-beom been able to read her true thoughts, he would have increased her “Newbie Perversion Index” by about 940 points.
“Your bow has changed.”
Beyond her clothing, the most significant change lay in her weapon. Three ruby gems were inscribed on Ye-jin’s bow—gems that hadn’t been there the last time they played together.
“The gems from that box last time turned out to be more abundant than expected. I also felt it was necessary to upgrade my equipment.”
“…So the ‘personal circumstances’ you mentioned before—could it have been about money? Did you want to earn money by obtaining another hidden reward?”
Ye-jin flinched for a moment, then lowered her head and answered in a voice barely above a whisper.
“…Yes.”
“If that’s the case, why did you need to keep it secret?”
“How am I supposed to tell a level 5 user that I’m grinding in beginner hunting grounds for money after hitting level 20!”
This was the moment when Jae-beom’s measured “Newbie Perversion Index” transcended all limits.
‘Over 9000…! That’s an insane number.’
Jae-beom barely managed to swallow his words and changed the subject.
“So you spent all the money you earned upgrading your equipment?”
“Yes? Ah, that’s right. You need good equipment to improve hunting efficiency.”
Jae-beom disliked investing so heavily in items that would become useless once levels increased, but….
‘I’m not one to talk.’
Time is a resource too. The Steel Staff he’d invested so much time into had become nearly worthless.
“…What are the options?”
Moreover, Jae-beom wasn’t yet ready to point out the direction of her gameplay to Ye-jin, so he changed the subject once more.
“Each gem applies continuous fire damage. The damage is 1% of the opponent’s maximum health per ruby.”
“That’s quite a good item.”
It was certainly an item worthy of pouring that much money into.
Jae-beom examined Ye-jin’s equipment, including the bow, and nodded.
“Let’s write up a contract.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m about to tell you something important… and they say the closer people are, the more necessary documentation becomes.”
“…Are we that close?”
Ye-jin internally scoffed with a snort, but Jae-beom was a man no less difficult than she was.
“Then should I write it as a contract between people who aren’t close?”
When he actually pulled out a different contract from his pocket, Ye-jin hesitated for a moment.
“…Whatever it is, please use the one for close relationships.”
Ye-jin had fallen for the most basic sales tactic of all—the “choice”—despite the ideal option being “don’t sign a contract at all.”
‘Just how difficult is the place he’s trying to go to?’
Of course, Sphinx at Osyrius Castle had been difficult too. But back then, I had proposed forming a party only because solo play was structurally impossible—my desire to go solo had been crystal clear.
For me to call her first and even invoke a contract… it was unprecedented.
‘Still, there has to be a level cap, right… huh?’
Even so, I assumed there would be limits due to level, and the moment I checked Ye-jin’s level—
“Huh?”
Ye-jin blinked her eyes involuntarily. The last level she remembered me having was definitely 5.
But now the level was… 20.
‘Ah, so she really does have interest. At least she’ll stay with me until we’re the same level, right?’
“….”
Last time, after defeating Sphinx and getting lucky, I had reached level 21. But now the 15-level gap had shrunk to just a 1-level difference….
‘At least she’ll stay with me until we’re the same level’—that person’s lifespan had only 1 level remaining.
“How is this… possible?”
No matter how much I thought about it, the growth rate didn’t make sense. On top of that, Evern Online had even experienced server paralysis in the meantime. It was a situation where playing the game all day long was impossible.
“Ah, it seems you’ve checked the level. Are you curious about how such rapid leveling was possible?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“Then let’s start by signing the contract.”
―*Whoosh.*
The timing of presenting the contract was truly malicious.
“They say it’s a contract that’s valid not just in the game but in reality as well. It’s my first time using one too… isn’t it fascinating?”
The contract stated a penalty of instant death if broken, but there were even harsher penalties than that.
Remarkably, Evern Online had a system where the company’s legal team would intervene if a formal contract was breached.
Accordingly, formal contracts were expensive. For me, who had barely left the beginner stage, it was quite a pricey item.
‘What on earth could the contents be…?’
Ye-jin picked up the contract with an uneasy expression.
“The contract itself is simple. I won’t disclose any information about me to anyone.”
“And… there’s also a mandatory party clause?”
“If something goes out, something must come back—that’s only natural. I don’t like sharing interesting things while taking losses myself.”
“…Isn’t this clause entirely one-sided against me?”
“That’s precisely because the information you’ll gain is so sweet.”
The contract was filled with nothing but binding clauses.
‘Signing a contract like this is normally absurd, but….’
Seeing my confident demeanor, and recalling the experience from the last dungeon, Ye-jin didn’t seem like someone who would spout nonsense.
“Fine. I’ll sign.”
It was the most typical case of a scam victim.
‘How much of a newbie do you have to be to sign off on such suspicious terms.’
―*Scratch scratch.*
My expression, which had been prepared to negotiate multiple times before signing, turned cold. It was a gaze as if looking at filth.
As Ye-jin finished signing the contract, the paper emitted a blue light and vanished.
[The contract has been established.]
Now, both legally and systematically, Ye-jin could not speak of my information to any third party.
“Well then, would you mind sharing this interesting information with me?”
“Take a look at this.”
―A low hum echoed through the space.
I played the recorded video I had prepared.
And then I
[Recording has started.]
began recording Ye-jin’s reaction as she watched it.
Since we had already decided to form a party together, I couldn’t avoid filming content forever. I planned to ask her permission to publish the footage once we grew closer.
And Ye-jin
“The Shadow Region…? Is that a newly updated area?”
“And the heart of it?”
“What is that… Kyaaaaaaah!”
She was truly an excellent performer.
She watched the footage with genuine fascination at first, then let out a scream when the demons burst onto the screen.
And once all the footage ended.
[This is a one-time video message.]
[The video will be deleted.]
“Oh!”
Following the settings I had configured, as the video deleted, she even let out a disappointed groan.
“Security must be thorough, after all.”
“Hmm… Show it to me one more time.”
“I’m afraid not. This is valuable information of mine.”
“But we even signed a contract!”
“Yes.”
I answered Ye-jin’s protest with unwavering resolve.
It was a clean boundary drawn without a shred of hesitation.
“Instead, let me share this with you.”
And I revealed my true purpose.
Ding!
[Stagnant Water has shared the Overlord Quest with you.]
Ye-jin carefully read through the Quest window I had shared, then delivered another masterful reaction.
“Shadow Fortress? Overlord…?”
She suddenly lifted her head and glanced toward the seat behind me. There was nothing there, but it was obvious at a glance that she was searching for Dercan.
“So you weren’t a Necromancer after all.”
I decided not to point out the word “after all.” If someone had eyes, they would have realized I was no ordinary Necromancer.
“What exactly are you?”
“As you can see, an Overlord.”
“I mean, what were you doing before? You’re not even an ordinary player, so there’s no reason you’d start the game this late.”
Her innocent yet piercing words struck like a knife through my chest.
‘Why does everyone around me treat me like an abnormality just because I didn’t start the game early?’
“…Hmm.”
I touched my chin, feigning composure.
“I’ll let you know once the first class advancement completes successfully.”
Ye-jin observed me laying down conditions until the very end, found it absurd, and released a brief sigh.
“Fine. I’ll do whatever it takes to help you clear the Quest.”
She declared with a clean smile.
“Besides, the contract obligates me to anyway.”
[Recording has ended.]
I was certain of it.
This person would endlessly provide me with YouTube content material.

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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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