My Skeleton Soldier Is Strange - Chapter 9

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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 9
[You have entered the Abandoned Eberon Sewers.]
[Would you like to view the background information for Eberon?]
“No.”
I answered with a firm voice.
[Background information has been skipped.]
[The Eberon Sewers are not a beginner hunting ground, so player killing is permitted.]
[Please be cautious of attacks from other users.]
Then three messages appeared on the screen.
“Player killing, huh…”
I frowned slightly at the notification.
PK-enabled zones and safe zones had entirely different atmospheres.
‘I should move as quickly as possible.’
Lingering too long would invite unnecessary trouble.
I began organizing the information I’d gathered while planning a direct route to Underground Level 8.
Ding!
[You are currently on Underground Level 1 of the Eberon Sewers.]
[The rats in the field grow stronger as you descend to lower levels.]
‘The Eberon Sewers consist of eight underground levels total. And each level has roughly fifty alleys.’
The Eberon Sewers resembled an ant colony in structure.
That’s why players who entered here hunted in levels where enemies were weaker than themselves.
‘There shouldn’t be any real problems.’
‘Enemies weaker than myself’ meant ‘every enemy in this dungeon’ to me.
Besides, the giant rat I needed to catch supposedly appeared on Level 8.
‘Whether I like it or not, I need to reach Underground Level 8.’
I decided to make a straight run to Underground Level 8.
Others would have called it reckless.
‘It might actually be safer than exploring from Level 1 anyway.’
Considering this was a PK zone, this was the more efficient and safer strategy for me.
Whoosh!
“Dercan. Let’s go.”
I finished my thoughts and gave the order to Dercan, who had been waiting.
“Follow carefully. Don’t get lost in the middle and wander off.”
With that, I began heading toward the depths of the sewers.
―Tap… tap… tap.
As always, alongside Dercan, whose jaw kept clicking persistently.
* * *
From Level 1 to Level 8, I witnessed quite a few parties along the way.
Some of them moved in perfect synchronization.
“If you’re upset, let’s settle this right now!”
“Yeah. You little bastard. Let’s see what you’ve got!”
Some parties had even begun turning on each other, trading blows amongst themselves.
‘Game or reality—people are all the same, aren’t they?’
I ignored such parties and pressed forward. I’d heard it took at least twenty minutes to reach Level 8 on foot without any combat encounters.
“Huff….”
I pushed my legs forward with determination.
And before long.
[You are currently in the Eberon Sewers, Underground Level 8.]
[Mutant Rats are stationed throughout this area.]
I’d arrived at Level 8, the lowest floor of the Eberon Sewers.
Thanks to taking a clever route that avoided the monsters’ active zones, the journey had taken less than fifteen minutes.
―Kieeeek!
As if welcoming me, a grotesquely-shaped monster called a Mutant Rat burst forth. It looked nothing like the small rats from Level 1.
‘So… I have to hunt these things to get a summoning contract?’
The Mutant Rat’s appearance was utterly repulsive—saliva dripping from its maw, its tail tattered and dangling as though it might tear clean off at any moment.
A child who saw it would have immediately burst into tears and fled.
“Mm.”
I found myself frowning without thinking.
High realism didn’t necessarily mean something good.
Being realistic in grotesque ways meant players were more likely to feel revulsion.
‘This is a variable in a different sense.’
But there was no better way to obtain the “Giant Rat Summoning Contract” that these creatures dropped.
‘Otherwise I’d have to wait for it to spawn… but I don’t have time to waste on that.’
There were two methods to catch a Giant Rat.
First, hunt Mutant Rats on Level 8 to obtain a summoning contract.
Second, wander the sewers day and night until it spawned naturally.
I naturally chose the first method.
It saved time and earned more experience points.
“Dercan. Move in front of me.”
―M… as… you wish.
“Don’t speak.”
Before beginning the hunt in earnest, I wanted to confirm one thing.
I needed to assess Dercan’s combat abilities so I could fight more efficiently alongside him.
“Kill the rat ahead of you.”
The moment my command ended, Dercan stepped forward in front of me.
Thwack!
He took a combat stance.
“When it attacks first, block with your shield and counterattack. If you understand, click your jaw twice.”
―Click click….
“Good.”
Kang San nodded, confirming that Dercan understood his commands.
Then he stepped back, maintaining distance from Dercan while quietly observing the situation.
―Kee-ek… kee-eek.
The mutated rat slowly approached Dercan.
Once they’d closed some distance between them.
―Kee-eek!
It leaped toward Dercan and lunged at him.
The movement was surprisingly swift, like a rabbit’s.
―….
Dercan watched the mutated rat intently.
―Whoosh!
The moment the creature swung its razor-sharp claws.
―Screech!
‘He blocked it!’
Using the shield in his hand, Dercan deflected the mutated rat’s claws.
“Dercan, counterattack!”
Kang San clenched his fist and shouted in that instant.
Dercan twisted his waist.
Simultaneously, he swung his sword toward the mutated rat’s head, but.
―Kee-eek!
The mutated rat’s tail strike was one step faster.
―Crack! Crunch!
Its tail slammed hard into Dercan’s pelvis.
Dercan’s bones crumbled helplessly, and his skull clattered to the ground.
“….”
Kang San swallowed hard, watching the scene with regret.
Just a bit more.
If Dercan had been just a little faster.
‘I could have caught it.’
Even if they’d both fallen, Dercan’s regeneration would have given him the victory anyway.
‘At this growth rate… he’s developing faster than I expected.’
In some ways, this was similar to the situation when Dercan fought that wolf before.
But this time, Dercan’s opponent wasn’t some pathetic goblin or wolf.
This was Underground Level 8, the deepest part of the Eberon Sewers.
That meant the mutated rat Dercan faced was a monster that had to be at least level 10 or higher.
‘At least he won’t die to beginners.’
Kang San concluded that Dercan’s combat ability was around level 7.
―Kee-ek… kee-eek!
While Kang San was assessing Dercan’s abilities, the mutated rat that had defeated Dercan turned its gaze toward him.
―Kee-eek!
I repeated the same attack I’d used against Dercan.
“Hmph.”
Jae-beom let out a scoff.
Thwack!
He lowered his body and surged forward in a sliding dash.
The moment the mutant rat’s abdomen passed over his head—
―Crunch!
I struck the mutant rat’s ribs with the steel staff in my right hand.
The sensation of its entrails twisting transmitted through the staff.
Thud!
―Squeak… squeak….
The mutant rat that had been attacking me collapsed to the ground in a single blow, writhing.
[You have defeated the mutant rat.]
[You obtain experience points.]
It soon breathed its last.
‘As expected. Good gear really does feel different!’
I let out an exclamation at the weighty sensation.
Unlike an ordinary staff, Arhenna’s staff had the satisfying feel of truly *crushing* a monster’s body.
[Dercan acquires half of the experience points you obtained.]
[Dercan’s experience increases.]
[Dercan has absorbed the soul of the dead mutant rat.]
[You obtain additional experience points through the soul.]
“Hmm.”
It seemed the ratio of experience Dercan received or the additional experience granted didn’t change even as the monster’s level increased.
After confirming the message, I nodded and sighed while staring at the mutant rat’s corpse.
‘The drop rate for the Giant Rat Summoning Scroll is… about 1%, they said.’
The thought that I needed to catch 99 more of these grotesque rats made me sigh involuntarily.
‘If I’m lucky, I’ll get it sooner. If not, I’ll need to catch around 150 to obtain it.’
Of course, since it was all probability, I could theoretically get the scroll on the second kill.
Holding onto that hopeful thought, I gripped the staff tightly.
And.
“Surely my luck isn’t that terrible?”
I secretly hoped for an easy win.
* * *
“…Is this a bug?”
About an hour had passed.
I had no choice but to acknowledge one fact.
[You have defeated 250 mutant rats.]
[You have defeated a sufficient number of mutant rats.]
[You have obtained the Giant Rat Summoning Scroll from the mutant rats.]
At the very least, my luck right now was absolutely terrible.
‘This is hitting the ceiling.’
I knew that if I didn’t obtain a summoning token while processing 250 mutant rats during the investigation, I would definitely get one as a guaranteed reward.
I exhaled deeply.
Then I slowly surveyed my surroundings.
250 rats.
It was a number that didn’t feel real when spoken aloud.
However, the corpses of mutant rats crushed by my steel staff were so overwhelmingly numerous that they seemed to fill nearly the entire sewers.
Since those bodies reached all the way to the ceiling, the expression “hitting the ceiling” fit perfectly, which only made me more frustrated.
Then.
Ding!
[Hidden Achievement condition met: Killed 250 mutant rats consecutively in solo play.]
[Achievement obtained: Rat Slayer.]
[With this Achievement’s effect, an additional 10% attack power is applied when facing rats.]
“Huh… what?”
At that moment, an Achievement completion message suddenly appeared before my eyes.
I blinked at the sight of it.
Unlike the Achievements I’d earned so far, this message had appeared completely out of the blue.
‘What a windfall!’
My lips curved upward so much they nearly touched my ears.
‘And the effect is pretty decent too?’
An additional 10% attack power against a specific race.
An effect of this caliber was among the better Achievements.
‘I take back what I said about bad luck!’
I immediately retracted my earlier thought.
To obtain both a giant rat summoning token and an Achievement, luck was absolutely essential.
But if I complained about having bad luck in a situation like this―
‘I’d waste whatever luck I had left.’
I was a thoroughly efficient online gamer.
In other words, I never dismissed superstitions lightly.
What I obtained wasn’t limited to just that.
‘I leveled up too.’
I had leveled up while killing the 250 mutant rats.
Since I, who was only level 3, had slaughtered mutant rats of level 10 and above, it was inevitable in a sense.
Now that things had turned out this way, repeatedly hunting mutant rats seemed like the right choice.
‘At this rate… I’m stronger than level 10 warriors?’
I marveled at my stats.
Even compared to warrior-class players, my stats were not lacking in the slightest.
‘And Dercan’s level is already 4.’
And as I leveled up, Dercan’s level rose by 1 as well―
“Dercan. Raise your shield.”
―…I understand…
Remarkable. Dercan had actually managed to use the word “understand.”
‘When will proper communication become possible?’
Of course, just because he could respond didn’t mean we’d achieved smooth communication.
But Jae-beom wasn’t disappointed.
‘A few more levels and he’ll reach a child’s level of comprehension.’
As his level increased, Dercan’s growth rate would only accelerate—that much was certain.
‘At level 1 he was at level 1 capacity, at level 2 he was at level 3, at level 3 he was at level 7… so now at level 15 he’d be at level… 1023?’
My hope circuits didn’t just burn—they triggered a nuclear fusion reaction. By that calculation, Dercan would possess the strength of a level 1,099,511,627,775 entity by around level 40.
‘So all I need to do now is kill the giant rat.’
A hidden Achievement and a level up.
All that remained was to summon the giant rat and beat it to death with my staff.
And just as I was about to summon the giant rat.
Thud… thud.
“Hey there. Friend?”
Kim Tae-wan, who had been tailing me, emerged from the alley to my right.
And then.
“Finally found you. You rat bastard.”
Kang San, who had been trying to catch me off guard, appeared from behind Kim Tae-wan.
Smirk.
I smiled at the two malicious figures before me.
Though they’d appeared suddenly, I wasn’t flustered.
Rather.
‘Yeah. There were plenty of guys like this in Warlord Online too.’
I found their appearance perfectly natural.
This was a PK-enabled zone, and they’d suffered the humiliation of being openly rejected by me.
They’d failed at their scam—and somehow that was an insult to them? The psychology of scammers was normally beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.
But.
‘Still, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about it either.’
I wasn’t exactly a paragon of virtue myself.
[Recording started.]
‘I’ll give you a PK experience you’ll never forget. And thanks. YouTube material.’
When enemies came at you, YouTube content appeared. YouTubers had even fabricated situations for educational content, so natural enemies like this were genuinely appreciated.
Of course, appreciation was one thing…
‘Most people say the second verse is where the brain-dead part starts.’
I decided to make sure they never came at me again.
By teaching them a lesson.
A very special one at that.

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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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