“Skeleton? Is that some kind of code name?”
The remaining Heavy Warrior and Archer exchanged a look.
“Brother, I think there is a misunderstanding between us.”
The Heavy Warrior said.
After all, adapting to the situation was crucial.
“Sorry, this has nothing to do with any misunderstanding.”
“Since I'm a skeleton and you're a human, I'm going to kill you.”
Li Xiuman rushed toward the Heavy Warrior, raising his staff to bash him.
“Shield Bash!”
The Heavy Warrior raised the thick shield in his left hand to meet the staff.
“Sharpness!”
His other hand swung his greatsword, slashing at Li Xiuman.
“Tier 1 Magic, Wind Shield!”
The magic circle on Li Xiuman's left arm changed. The earthy-yellow stone buckler disappeared, replaced by a circular vortex of wind.
The greatsword slammed into the wind vortex.
The Heavy Warrior felt an invisible force pull his blade, causing it to veer off its original trajectory.
“What kind of magic is this?!”
The Heavy Warrior hurriedly yanked his blade back and adjusted his balance.
At that moment, several more arrows shot toward Li Xiuman from behind.
Li Xiuman didn't care in the slightest.
If there was one thing a skeleton feared least, it was probably arrows.
He dodged the arrows aimed at his head, while the ones aimed at his chest bizarrely passed straight through him once again.
At such close range, the Heavy Warrior finally saw it clearly.
The body beneath those clothes had absolutely no flesh or blood—it was nothing but a stark white skeleton.
And the arrows had simply passed right through the gaps in his bones.
“You... really are a skeleton?!”
A wave of horror washed over the Heavy Warrior, and his movements faltered as a result.
Then, Li Xiuman repeatedly struck him with heavy blows.
“Didn't I say so earlier?”
Li Xiuman spoke as he continued to bash him.
“Speaking of which, that should be about enough.”
Li Xiuman spun his wrist, tracing a beautiful arc with his staff in the air.
Then, [Great Strength] activated. The staff let out a sharp howl as it was hurled like a javelin.
“Get out of the way!”
But the Heavy Warrior's warning came too late.
Wind magic enveloped the staff, violently pinning the Archer against the stone wall.
“At a time like this, you should worry about yourself.”
Li Xiuman whipped his leg out, sending his shin slamming toward the Heavy Warrior like a whip.
The Heavy Warrior raised his shield, but under the impact of Great Strength, his shield and body still shook violently.
Next, Li Xiuman plunged his hands into his own chest and pulled out a bone sword in each hand.
The two bone swords flashed with a pale light in the air, stabbing toward the Heavy Warrior's eyes.
“Don't look down on me! You monster!”
The Heavy Warrior roared, swinging his greatsword to bat Li Xiuman away.
The flames in Li Xiuman's eye sockets flared up as a pair of grotesque Bone Wings spread from his back.
The Bone Wings flapped, allowing Li Xiuman to hover momentarily in midair.
“Heavy Strike!”
The Heavy Warrior slashed upward with his greatsword.
Li Xiuman spun his body, outlining a magic circle on his calf.
“Tier 1 Magic, Wind Shield.”
A circular vortex opened on his calf, kicking out at the incoming greatsword.
The greatsword veered off course once again, pulling the Heavy Warrior's body forward into a stumble.
“Not good!”
The Heavy Warrior quickly let go of his greatsword, grasping his massive shield with both hands and bracing it in front of him.
“Immovable Fortress!”
A golden light enveloped the Heavy Warrior's body, anchoring him to the spot like a fortress.
Li Xiuman's wings flapped again, carrying his body high into the air.
The two bone swords merged, growing into one.
“Bone Hyperplasia!”
The merged bone sword grew rapidly, turning into a massive bone handle that required two hands to grip.
“Earth!”
Earth Magic wrapped around the tip of the bone shaft, transforming it into a massive boulder.
“Wind, Fire!”
Fire Magic enveloped the boulder while Wind Magic propelled it. Utilizing the gravitational force of his descent, he accelerated a second time.
He slammed the massive hammer down hard on the Heavy Warrior.
Boom!!
The shockwave blasted outward in all directions, letting out a deafening roar.
The Heavy Warrior's eardrums ruptured instantly, blood trickling from his ears.
His armor cracked inch by inch, and the rock beneath his feet, unable to withstand the pressure, fractured outward in a spiderweb pattern before collapsing.
It was only when his knees were fully buried in the stone that the massive hammer finally shattered.
“Cough, cough!”
Before the Heavy Warrior could wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, Li Xiuman thrust a slender bone spear toward his throat, giving him absolutely no time to catch his breath.
“Quagmire!”
His feet, trapped in the stone, were swallowed and sucked in by the mud, preventing him from leveraging any force to dodge.
Pfft! The sound of flesh being pierced echoed as warm blood continuously poured from his throat, staining his armor red.
[Ding! Killed Heavy Warrior Lv. 16. Experience +400]
Yanking the bone spear free, Li Xiuman shook off the blood and looked toward the final Archer.
The Archer who had been pinned to the wall was gone, leaving behind only the bloody staff.
“So dishonest.”
Li Xiuman walked over, pulled the staff out, and followed the trail of blood on the ground.
Before long, he caught up to the swaying Archer, who was suffering from massive blood loss.
“Don't kill me! I was forced into this! They made me do it!”
“Right, right! I have a lot of money outside! I'll give it all to you! Everything!”
“So please, don't kill me!”
The Archer watched Li Xiuman approach. Stepping backward, he babbled incoherently, his eyes filled with despair.
Li Xiuman gripped his bone spear and thrust it through the Archer's throat, pinning him to the ground.
[Ding! Killed Archer Lv. 14. Experience +300]
“So much whining. Just die quietly already. How annoying.”
[Ding! Experience bar filled. Level increased to Lv. 16]
[Constitution +1, Spirit +1]
[Free Stat Point +1]
Allocating his Free Stat Point to Spirit, Li Xiuman squatted down and began to loot the corpse.
Before long, Li Xiuman pulled out a coin pouch.
As for everything else, they were too bulky and not worth taking.
Returning to where he started, he looted the rest of the bodies, obtaining a decent amount of gold coins.
Sure enough, murder and plunder made money incredibly fast.
Li Xiuman put the coin pouches into a larger bag and secured it to his spine.
Strapping it to his spine gave him peace of mind.
Underage skeletons, please do not imitate.
Next, he used magic to sink the corpses into the ground before continuing deeper.
He crossed the thirteenth floor and entered the fourteenth floor.
According to the map, the fourteenth floor had relatively few monsters, and there were hot springs.
It was a good place to rest and recuperate.
There was even a temporary town established by humans to serve as a logistics hub for adventurers, providing trading, lodging, transportation, and supply services.
Li Xiuman stepped into the town and, following the map, quickly found a shop.
“Reby Merchant Association Dungeon Temporary Shop.”
Indeed, this was the place.
Tedela's Reby Merchant Association had naturally established purchasing and supply outposts within the dungeon.
Li Xiuman walked into the shop.
“How may I help you, customer?”
The woman behind the counter smiled and asked.
“Do you purchase materials?”
Li Xiuman poured out the magic stones he had gathered along the way.
“So many magic stones!”
Seeing the pile of magic stones on the counter, the shopkeeper's eyes lit up.
“Looking at your attire, customer, could you be Mr. Skeleton sent from the headquarters?!”
After carefully studying Li Xiuman's outfit and the unique, fully metal staff strapped to his back, she quickly spoke up.
“Mr. Skeleton?”
“Yes, the gentleman who calls himself a skeleton! Word has it that you're a one-man party conquering the dungeon on your own.”
“You really don't have any teammates! So the rumors about a one-man party were true!”
“And you managed to gather so many magic stones all by yourself... Could it be that you're a Tier 2 classholder, Mr. Skeleton?!”
The girl behind the counter leaned nearly half her body over, staring intensely at Li Xiuman.
“...”
“Ah, I'm sorry. I got a bit too excited.”
Realizing her breach of etiquette, she pulled back with a slight blush.
“I am Rachel Hugh Fante.”
“I'm the shopkeeper here. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Skeleton. Thank you for your willingness to help the Reby Merchant Association.”
“It's just a fair trade. Please exchange these magic stones for me.”
“Ah, quite right. Forgive my delay.”
Rachel sorted, weighed, and appraised the magic stones.
“Are you satisfied with this price?”
“It's fine.”
“Please take your gold coins then. If you require lodging, please head up to the second floor.”
“Rachel can offer you free food and lodging, Mr. Skeleton.”
Rachel leaned over the counter once again.
“No, thank you. Time is of the essence. Now that I've sold these materials, I must continue my descent.”
Li Xiuman declined her offer and strapped his waist bag back on.
“That's a pity. But if you ever need it in the future, you're always welcome here, Mr. Skeleton. Board and lodging will still be on the house.”
Rachel sighed regretfully.
“Next time, for sure.”
Rate on N.U.
