My Skeleton Soldier Is Strange - Chapter 51

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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 51
Then I attempted to strike its neck with my staff.
―Whoooosh!
Arulan, positioned on the opposite side, conjured a veil of black mist.
―Whoosh!
The shadowy energy engulfed me. My vision dissolved into absolute darkness.
“Good.”
Just a day ago, we’d hurled ourselves at each other with murderous intent—literally killing one another. I’d wondered if we could truly cooperate, but we were clearly supporting each other far better than expected.
“But your defense is wide open!”
If my vision was obscured, so was Dercan’s. Rather than finishing him off, I charged straight toward Arulan.
―Boom! Boom! Boom!
I deliberately thundered forward with heavy footfalls, my impact reverberating through the ground. I could have moved faster, but this deliberate, forceful stride meant something specific.
‘I’m building up the power of a single strike.’
Could he recognize my intent and defend properly? I felt anticipation rising within me.
A clumsy dodge would only invite me to unleash all my accumulated force and pursue him. Similarly, a sloppy defense would shatter his protective magic entirely.
―Whoosh!
‘He chose to attack first!’
Whether he’d grasped my intention or had simply planned this all along, either way—he passed the test.
Swirling darkness coalesced at his fingertips, dark mana erupting outward.
“Graahhh!”
“Kyaaahhh!”
As he flicked his fingers, ghouls materialized around him.
Seeing this, I smiled. For a Necromancer-class job, the shortage of summons was a problem Arulan could help mitigate to some degree.
‘But that choice right now is a bit lacking.’
The preemptive strike was solid, but the magical choice felt underwhelming. Summoning-type magic like that…
[Your movements are slowed by the ghoul’s frigid aura.]
“Your crowd control is insufficient!”
Whether they breathed cold or anything else, they were still Arulan’s summons—his own magic. I was confident in withstanding them, but summoning ghouls with persistent effects at close range was too slow.
Moreover.
‘These are mist-attribute ghouls, aren’t they?’
He’d summoned them for their secondary chilling effect, but if they were mist-attribute, his already-lacking crowd control would weaken further.
I moved without hesitation, gripping my steel staff firmly with both hands.
‘Here I go!’
I began spinning the staff rapidly.
Sweeping my arms in wide arcs, I wielded it like a propeller.
The whirling staff pulled the surrounding air toward itself.
―Whoosh! Whoosh!
As the rotation accelerated, powerful winds began to rise.
‘So this is how…’
―Whoooosh!
The mist that composed the ghouls began to scatter and dissipate in the wind.
―Whoosh!
“They vanish at the slightest breeze!”
Creatures of pure mist were utterly defenseless against the gale.
As the fog dispersed, the ghouls’ forms grew increasingly translucent.
“Shrieeeek!”
The ghouls wailed as they were swept up in the wind.
The dark shadows that had writhed moments before vanished one by one into the tempest.
Soon the ghouls became dust, scattering across the surroundings.
―A deep, resonant hum echoed…
“Go!”
In truth, given my insufficient control, I could have broken through faster. But the reason I deliberately conjured a gale with my staff was the same as my initial forceful advance.
For one devastating blow!
With all the mist gone, I hurled my staff at Arulan, whose expression betrayed clear bewilderment.
“Catch this!”
Rotational force, the preparation time to gather power, and—
‘Humans are creatures built for throwing.’
No matter how hard a human swings a bat, it never matches the force of a strong throw. Humanity evolved precisely for this.
Given that, if Arulan took this blow directly, he might be utterly obliterated.
‘…Or so I thought.’
Even as I hurled this devastating strike, I secretly hoped Arulan would block it…
―Boom!
Arulan’s protective magic flared briefly, then he was sent flying into the air.
―Crash!
The steel staff was embedded directly in Arulan’s chest.
With a heavy sound, his body slammed into the ground.
The impact left his form unrecognizable, utterly destroyed.
Shattered bones and armor fragments scattered in all directions.
Arulan was completely obliterated.
[Arulan’s summon has been dismissed.]
[Resummoning will take one hour.]
“Hah…”
I exhaled deeply, staring at the spot where Arulan had stood. He could be resummoned in an hour.
That left only Dercan as my remaining opponent.
―Clatter… clatter.
‘Huh?’
Now that I looked, Dercan was in a throwing stance.
‘Did I… misjudge Dercan?’
Arulan seemed to have summoned the ghouls while hoping for Dercan’s cooperation. Dercan had tried to respond, but…
‘My attack was simply too overwhelming.’
The moment Kim Jae-beom launched his attack, Dercan assessed it as unstoppable and swiftly shifted his strategy.
“Should have ambushed instead.”
―Tap-tap… Tap-tap-tap!
When Kim Jae-beom couldn’t hide his disappointment.
―Whoooooosh.
“…? What is that?”
A blood-red aura bloomed across Dercan’s entire form.
That aura was like….
‘The Overlord’s power? Could it be that among the combat skills Dercan could learn… the Overlord’s power was one of them?’
And if that hypothesis was correct.
―Roooaaaar!
Now I understood why Arulan had waited for Dercan, and why Dercan—who’d taken barely any damage—had waited this long.
“Seems I wasn’t familiar with using this power for the first time.”
And having grasped this, Kim Jae-beom.
―Whoooosh!
Charged at Dercan like lightning.
―Clang!
The next instant, Dercan’s twin blades and Kim Jae-beom’s steel staff collided, sending sparks flying.
“Before you get used to it!”
―Swish! Swish!
Kim Jae-beom often used the Overlord’s power, but it only manifested during combat—he didn’t have some skill called “Overlord’s Aura” that he could activate at will.
So he couldn’t use the skill deliberately, and besides.
‘If I just leave that alone, it’s dangerous!’
Dercan might already have higher Strength and other stats than me, and if he used the Overlord’s power properly, I’d be in serious trouble.
I’d planned to do some light sparring and warm up before Ye-jin logged in, but I couldn’t afford to die and take a 24-hour penalty.
―Swish-swish-swish!
Thinking my Strength had already risen, I stopped attacking straightforwardly and began moving my staff freely.
The advantage of a staff over twin blades was that it had no grip, so I could grab it anywhere and thus move with greater freedom.
The steel staff thrust from above and below, left and right, slashing and striking upward.
―Bang! Bang! Bang!
Dercan couldn’t hide his bewilderment.
Even though Dercan was faster and stronger, he was only focused on defense, let alone counterattacking.
―…!
Dercan finally abandoned defense and attempted to counterattack.
That’s when.
―Crack!
My staff struck Dercan’s head with full force.
“Even with a skull for a face, your resolve shows! You have no expression, but your movements reveal everything!”
Dercan’s skull shattered like a watermelon.
Bone fragments scattered and hung suspended in the air. But at the same moment, a blood-red aura bloomed from those fragments.
“Slow down!”
And Kim Jae-beom didn’t leave even the scattered bone fragments alone.
The rapidly spinning staff struck down the shattered skull indiscriminately.
Dercan’s remains crumbled and shattered mercilessly.
“This ends it!”
Kim Jae-beom reduced even the last bone fragment to dust.
The masterless armor and weapons clattered to the ground.
Dercan was completely annihilated.
[Dercan’s summon has been released.]
[One hour until resummoning is possible.]
Kim Jae-beom leaned on his staff and caught his breath.
He had claimed victory alone against two Legendary-tier Skeleton Soldiers.
It was a precious victory earned after a grueling battle.
And then.
“Hmm, I logged in at dawn, so Ye-jin probably won’t be on for a while? There was no need to overkill like that….”
Now that I thought about it, there was no real need for that final confirmation kill.
However.
―Ding!
[Hidden Achievement: Mighty Overlord acquired.]
The system chimed in celebration at that moment.
“…It was necessary after all. Yeah, it had to be done.”
* * *
The moment Kim Jae-beom completely subdued the two Skeleton Soldiers, a welcome message appeared before his eyes.
[You have acquired the Hidden Achievement ‘Mighty Overlord’!]
As the message disappeared, red light began bursting from Kim Jae-beom’s body.
Intense radiance overwhelmed the surroundings, a testament to the Achievement’s acquisition.
“Ohhh….”
―Boom! Boom! Boom!
Kim Jae-beom’s body, engulfed in light, began to transform gradually.
Muscles swelled and his height surged upward.
His body, consumed by the red radiance, became noticeably massive.
Whoooosh!
Soon the light gradually faded away.
“Huh?”
―Ding!
[Due to the Hidden Achievement’s effect, Strength, Agility, and Stamina increase by +3 when fighting alongside all summoned Skeleton Soldiers.]
“Nice.”
Though the effect only applied when both Skeleton Soldiers were summoned, it was quite a useful ability.
“This is incredible?”
Compared to Kim Jae-beom’s other Achievements, it wasn’t the absolute best, but considering it was earned from a casual sparring match, it was more than generous.
“Let me see what I can do….”
I decided to wait for a moment to fully test my upgraded physical abilities….
This kind of waiting was good, and it was always enjoyable.
I hummed the lyrics from a song that had played at an idol competition I’d seen in the past while I waited.
“My waiting is long… and it’s always pleasant.”
I’d forgotten everything else from those lyrics, but this particular line fit so perfectly that I never tired of humming it over and over.
And as I hummed, I finally used the Training Ground as a ‘real’ Training Ground should be used, warming up my body lightly.
―Tap-tap-tap!
Dust trailed long behind me as I sprinted forward.
The torches hanging on the wall flickered at my rapid movements.
―Whoosh-whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, I crossed the vast Training Ground and reached the opposite side.
Then I pushed off the wall and launched myself in the opposite direction.
My sprint, sweeping like a tempest, was breathtakingly fast.
―Thud! Thud! Thud!
The thunderous sound of my footsteps echoed from all corners of the Training Ground.
The whirlwind created by my movements scraped across everything around me.
It was a sharp wind, as if an invisible blade were slicing through the air.
Finally, as I came to a stop, a deep smile played at my lips.
“My waiting is long∼”
Then.
―Clap-clap-clap!
“…?”
Ye-jin, who had logged in at some point, was applauding me.
“Wow, what happened? You even finished the song.”
“….”
I fell silent in embarrassment. If Ye-jin had moved, I would have noticed, but she’d simply stood still after logging in to watch my training, so I hadn’t detected her presence.
“But… that song wasn’t quite right.”
Even without hearing the rest, I understood what she meant: ‘You’re really bad at singing.’
For just a moment, I considered whether I should do real PVP instead of a sparring match today.

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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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