My Skeleton Soldier Is Strange - Chapter 42

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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 42
“…Did you really want to be that handsome…?”
Ye-jin had been about to scold me, but instead she looked at me with a gaze full of pity—as if to say, ‘Well, if that’s how you are, then so be it.’
I felt a lump in my throat and answered.
“I didn’t ask for this appearance, though?”
When I stood up and protested like that, Jimin spoke with perfect composure.
‘An ugly, unremarkable face…? If that’s what you wanted, why get surgery at all?’
Her expression was genuinely baffled. This was precisely why a counterfeit cosmetic surgeon shouldn’t exist.
And on top of that.
“Have you ever thought about cosplaying?”
“Pardon?”
“With makeup and contacts, I think you could recreate your current appearance.”
“I have no such interests.”
I deflected carefully, but her comment about being able to recreate my current face with just makeup and contacts….
Meant that I was handsome and resembled my original face.
At this rate, the reason for getting surgery seemed less like ‘hiding my face’ and more like ‘fulfilling an inner desire to be handsome.’
Besides, if I’d already seen the surgery results, couldn’t I just get another procedure if needed?
“…Well, the face is definitely different now, so if you want to change it again later, they said they’d do it for free.”
“…Was getting surgery really the right choice for me?”
Even though I’d introduced her to the place, I seemed to have some doubts. Then again, seeing results like this, it would be strange not to doubt.
“Don’t just leave it vague like I did. Try making specific requests. They should still have some skill… probably.”
Even as I spoke, I didn’t sound particularly confident. Ye-jin hesitated for a moment, but since there didn’t seem to be any other options, she soon went in for surgery.
And then.
“….”
“….”
“…S-shall we go?”
Ye-jin’s surgery was completed with results that changed her impression by touching only a few key areas of her face while maintaining her beauty.
It was spring.
* * *
“I looked into the medicinal herb that Valerot wants. It’s a rare herb called Glenellan.”
With our faces changed, Ye-jin and I decided not to bring up that topic again.
Ye-jin felt sorry, and I kept feeling hatred bubbling up.
“That’s correct.”
“It’s located in Glenellan Valley, which players in the 60-level range use as a travel route. It’s a medicinal herb that’s produced in extremely small quantities each year, so it’s hard to find on the market.”
“What are its effects?”
“It supposedly resolves mana tangles in the body… I think it’s probably a medicine made for NPCs. Players don’t experience mana tangle phenomena, after all.”
“A medicine created for quests, then.”
I nodded at Ye-jin’s explanation.
“If it’s the 60-level range… going there right now would have a high probability of death.”
I wasn’t sure about the exact entry level for the Shadow Region, but considering it was a first-class advancement quest, the difficulty of the Shadow Region probably wasn’t much higher than Glenellan Valley.
“Let’s do the class advancement first. After the first advancement, it should be worth attempting.”
Fortunately, Valerot hadn’t imposed a time limit on the Quest. In that case, I would head to the Shadow Region now to gauge the atmosphere, then move toward the center to check if I could enter the Shadow Fortress.
If it was possible, I would acquire Count Heltema’s legacy. That was my top priority.
* * *
I began preparations to move to the Shadow Fortress with Ye-jin. This area wasn’t a place you could simply enter just because you wanted to.
“Are there any special conditions needed to enter?”
“Anyone can go. But if we go now, we’ll die.”
“I see.”
The entrance was open, but escaping from this place was considerably difficult. I knew this through the knowledge I’d gained from the Library.
“Let’s repeat what we did in the Beast Forest. But this time, it would be better to work in a higher-level zone. Since Dalikssor has left the Beast Forest, it shouldn’t be too dangerous.”
The important thing was level.
No matter how much physical prowess you had, a child couldn’t defeat a wrestling champion.
In Evern Online, level was essentially weight class, so I had to increase my own size.
“…What about trying to hunt demons instead? I heard a demon subjugation raid is opening soon.”
“You mean the one we resurrected.”
“Yes.”
Ye-jin suddenly suggested that we hunt Dalikssor.
‘Now that I think about it, there was a hidden Quest there too.’
I’d seen a message about discovering a hidden passage in the Beast Forest through the Overlord’s authority. I simply hadn’t gone because it seemed dangerous at the time.
“…Could we defeat him with our current level being almost the same?”
Even though my staff had been strengthened, my overall combat power hadn’t been fundamentally enhanced that much.
“If we tried to defeat him alone, we’d have no chance… but during a raid, couldn’t we at least get something?”
Even if tens or hundreds of people challenged a boss like Dalikssor, there would be plenty to gain. Boss raids weren’t popular for nothing.
I thought for a moment before speaking.
“Is he still in the Beast Forest right now?”
“I heard he isn’t.”
“Then let’s search for that passage first. Clearing one hidden Quest should give us something.”
“A hidden Quest?”
The reason I’d engraved enchantments on the steel staff in the first place was to enter the passage in the Beast Forest.
“Ah, I didn’t mention it. When Dalikssor appeared, a hidden Quest popped up.”
I shared the hidden Quest’s details with Ye-jin.
“The plan is coming together. First, we’ll investigate the passage, and if the reward is related to defeating Dalikssor, we’ll hunt him. Once everything is resolved, we’ll head to the Shadow Region.”
―Thump!
Having solidified the plan, I stood up from my seat.
“Let’s go back to the Beast Forest once more.”
And I moved forward with Ye-jin to proceed with the first hidden Quest.
* * *
I moved with Ye-jin to where the demon Dalikssor had been. The traces of the creature that had broken out of its nest still remained.
The nest where Dalikssor was born reeked of death and decay.
The eggshell he’d broken through lay scattered across the ground with an eerie appearance.
The pitch-black shell was covered entirely with patterns that resembled crimson blood vessels.
The edges of the shell were jagged and sharp, torn and splintered as if clawed apart.
Dark blood pooled abundantly around the egg.
“That… looks like traces of Cell being born in Dragon X.”
“Isn’t that a manga from fifty years ago?”
“…”
Jae-beom forcibly ignored Ye-jin’s remark and continued surveying the surroundings.
The blood clung to the earth with a viscous, sticky texture.
Swarms of flies buzzed around the pools of blood.
The grass and trees surrounding the nest lay withered and collapsed.
All vegetation had wilted from the aura of death that Dalikssor had unleashed upon awakening.
The leaves had turned crimson, and the branches were twisted and snapped.
Demonic blood clung thickly to the lifeless branches in countless places.
A foul stench emanated from the blood-soaked leaves.
A crimson mist spread across the dying grass.
Clear claw marks traced the demon’s crawling path across the ground.
Long gouges as if raked by talons.
Broken branches and crushed stones scattered everywhere.
At the center of the nest stood an altar of grotesque form.
From the altar, shrouded in crimson radiance, demonic power emanated.
The dark aura swirling around it threatened all living things.
This was a cursed space where a demon had been born—a birthplace of demons where death, terror, and decay intermingled. Dalikssor’s brutal traces covered the entire nest.
“How could a place like this have remained untouched?”
As Ye-jin said, this was a location difficult to overlook.
“I wonder if it’s a place only visible to Quest holders?”
―Whoooosh…
A crimson light burst forth from my body, slicing through the air as it began circling the nest.
It writhed like a living creature, searching for something.
As the red radiance swept across the earth, the withered grass leaves regained their vitality and rose again.
Soon the crimson light halted at one spot.
Directly beneath Dalikssor’s nest.
The beam of light pierced through the earth, plunging downward and extending into the depths below.
―Boom!
The nest trembled violently, shaking intensely.
The ground began to crack, drawn by the crimson light.
Rock and soil shattered and crumbled, creating a massive chasm.
From within, an ancient iron door revealed itself.
It was the entrance to the Secret Passage.
Rusted chains and locks held the iron door firmly sealed.
Shhhhk!
The moment the crimson light touched the iron door, something extraordinary happened. The rusted metal began to corrode, dissolving like snow melting in spring.
Blackened fragments of metal clattered to the ground in a cascade.
—Screeeech!
The iron door twisted violently before collapsing inward with a thunderous crash.
The heavy metallic sound echoed as the door crumpled to the ground, so mangled that its original form was unrecognizable.
The crimson light was an energy potent enough to melt through iron itself.
The red aura flowing from my body faded away, revealing in its place a dark, elongated tunnel leading to the Secret Passage.
“It looks like we should head down there.”
Ye-jin murmured in a low voice, her gaze fixed on me. We stood side by side before the entrance to the Secret Passage.
“Let’s go.”
I nodded in acknowledgment.
Then I took a slow step forward into the tunnel’s depths.
Damp air struck my face.
From the pitch-black darkness of the tunnel ahead, something seemed to be waiting for us.

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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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