“He was trying to shoot that demon.”
“I believe him. After all, I'm the most gullible soul here.”
“Leader Shucodo, even if no one else believes you, I do!” Li Xiuman said firmly.
Shucodo would bet his life that he had never felt this aggrieved or infuriated in his entire existence.
If a demon from hell climbed up to the human realm, it would probably look exactly like this.
“Oh well, this is about enough.”
“I might as well finish off the rest.”
“From now on, I will no longer accept surrenders.”
Li Xiuman finally stepped out from the shadows, transforming into a swift dark silhouette as he lunged toward the Swordsman.
“Sword Qi Slash!”
The Swordsman hastily unleashed two streaks of sword qi, which crossed over each other as they slashed toward Li Xiuman.
Li Xiuman easily deflected the attack with the round shield on his left arm, then raised his wand and thrust it into the ground.
“Quagmire!”
The ground instantly collapsed.
The Swordsman stumbled slightly but managed to leap away from the Quagmire's range just in time.
“May the noble elements bloom with dazzling luster; may the fire spirits dance.”
“Tier 1 Spell: Fire Prison!”
Flames surged up from the ground.
The muddy ground was instantly dried by the heat, and the twisting flames surged toward Li Xiuman, threatening to engulf him.
Taking advantage of their years of synergy, the Swordsman seized the moment to execute a sweeping horizontal slash at Li Xiuman.
Li Xiuman deflected the slash with his left arm, but his body was inevitably forced toward the side of the flames.
Pivoting his wand in time, he conjured a stream of water that wrapped around his body like bandages, shielding him from the sudden blast of heat.
The Swordsman followed up with his long-honed sword techniques, unleashing strike after consecutive strike upon Li Xiuman.
Suddenly, Li Xiuman's chest exposed a glaring opening.
The Swordsman naturally didn't miss the opportunity, thrusting his sword straight through Li Xiuman's heart.
Yet, the blade met nothing but empty air.
Though the sword had run through the chest, there was no sensation of hitting anything solid.
Seizing the opening, Li Xiuman wrapped both hands around the Swordsman's neck and slashed his throat.
[Ding! Killed Swordsman LV17, EXP +450]
He then grabbed onto the Swordsman's collapsing body and fell to the ground with him.
“Did they take each other out?”
Watching from a distance, Shucodo found it hard to believe.
Was that really it?
No, something was off.
He raised his wand and aimed it at the two bodies.
“Tier 1 Spell: Fireball!”
A fireball shot forward.
Realizing he could no longer play dead, Li Xiuman pushed the Swordsman's corpse aside and stood back up.
Failing to pull off the ambush left Li Xiuman feeling rather annoyed.
He pulled the sword out of his own chest and flung it fiercely at Shucodo.
Shucodo, who had been on high alert, hastily dodged and stared at Li Xiuman's chest.
“You're still fine after having your heart pierced... You really are a demon.”
“I'm not a demon, I'm a skeleton. I told you that the moment we met.”
Li Xiuman's body turned into a blur as he dashed toward Shucodo.
Shucodo still hadn't given up hope. He dashed wildly toward the Priest, screaming, “Run!”
But as he passed by the Priest, he shoved him backward with all his might.
Li Xiuman didn't hesitate. Seizing the momentum, he thrust his sword forward, piercing the Priest's heart.
[Ding! Killed Priest LV16, EXP +350]
Right after, a fireball shot out from his blind spot, using the Priest's body as cover.
It threatened to incinerate both him and the Priest's corpse together.
He hastily retreated, dodging the sudden fireball.
The fireball blasted the Priest's corpse into a mist of blood, instantly obscuring his vision.
By the time he broke through the bloody mist, Shucodo was nowhere to be seen.
“Hmph, you think you can run?”
Li Xiuman quickly gave chase.
“Die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die...”
Shucodo ran while endlessly cursing Li Xiuman.
He repeated the word “die” over and over in a low murmur. His eyes were bloodshot, his face was pale, his hair was disheveled, and he looked entirely like a madman.
His mind had completely collapsed.
His entire squad had been wiped out, with two of them practically killed by his own hands.
The fact that he still had the will to flee and hadn't completely lost his mind showed his incredibly resilient mental fortitude.
Deep down, however, he was already scheming how to torture Li Xiuman to death from the inside out using the most sadistic methods once he made it outside.
First, he would defile that bitch Tedela and slaughter her, followed by everyone in the Reby Merchant Association.
Anyone who had even the slightest connection to that skeleton would die.
He nurtured these hysterical, maniacal thoughts.
But the moment a voice echoed right next to his ear, his sanity completely shattered.
“Gotcha.”
...
“You really gathered them all by yourself?!”
“T-This... This is simply a miracle!”
Rachel stared at the small pile of Octagonal Fire Crystals before her, completely incoherent.
“Are the quality and quantity sufficient?”
“They are, they absolutely are!”
“Even among Octagonal Fire Crystals, each of these is of exceptionally high quality.”
“If the headquarters didn't need these so urgently, I'd really love to... thank you properly.”
As she spoke, Rachel leaned over the counter again, almost pressing herself against him.
Standing so close, Li Xiuman could even smell the intoxicating fragrance of her body.
Li Xiuman took a step back.
“In that case, time is of the essence. I must trouble you to deliver these fire crystals to your headquarters as soon as possible.”
Rachel packed the Octagonal Fire Crystals back up and handed them to Li Xiuman.
“Next time you dive, remember to come here. Our deal for free room and board still stands!”
“Next time, definitely.”
Li Xiuman took the fire crystals and, under Rachel's watchful gaze, left the shop and headed toward the thirteenth floor.
“Speaking of which, the guys from the Hyena Adventurer Party haven't returned yet.”
“I wonder if they ran into some trouble?”
Remembering the scent of blood she had just caught on Li Xiuman, a sudden thought crossed Rachel's mind.
But then she shook her head.
That was impossible. The Hyena Adventurer Party was an experienced eight-member team.
No matter how strong Mr. Skeleton was, there was no way he could fight eight of them alone.
Brushing the thought aside, she cupped her cheeks in her hands.
“Still, that skeleton is so cool... diving into the dungeon all by himself and returning with a full harvest.”
“He's practically like a hero.”
...
He continued his way up through the labyrinth.
The monsters grew weaker the higher he went, and having familiarized himself with the layout, Li Xiuman moved much faster.
He didn't go out of his way to hunt magical beasts, simply slaying them whenever they crossed his path, which still netted him a respectable amount of EXP along the way.
After two days, he finally reached the first floor.
Passing through the first floor, he finally beheld the long-lost sky and genuine sunlight.
He stood there in a daze for a brief moment until he heard someone calling out to him, snapping him back to reality.
“Mr. Skeleton! Mr. Skeleton!”
From a distance, he saw Tedela's cat-eared beastkin maid running toward him.
Half the gloom accumulated from his time in the labyrinth was instantly swept away; the charm of a cat-eared maid was truly formidable.
“What are you doing here?”
Seeing the maid panting before him, Li Xiuman couldn't help but ask.
After all, he hadn't given her a specific return date.
“Mistress sent me here to wait for you a few days ago. Mistress was very worried about you, and so was I... very worried.”
As she spoke, the cat tail behind her began to swish back and forth.
“I see. Thank you for coming to meet me...”
Li Xiuman said as he patted the maid on her head. He wanted to call her by name, but suddenly realized he didn't even know what this girl was called.
Her cat ears had been so prominent that he had paid attention to nothing else.
“By the way, what's your name?”
“How could I allow you to call me by my slave name, Mr. Skeleton? It would only soil your ears.”
“What kind of absurd custom is that? Just tell me.”
“Ra... l...”
“A bit lower.”
“Ramantiel Reby.”
“Ramantiel. Isn't that a lovely name? How could it possibly soil my ears?”
Li Xiuman patted Ramantiel's head again, using it as a cover-up for his true intention of rubbing her ears.
Passersby cast strange looks their way, making Ramantiel feel rather shy and timid, but Li Xiuman didn't care in the least.
“Come on, let's head back. We shouldn't keep Tedela waiting.”
Li Xiuman patted his travel pack.
“...Did you manage to gather them? The Octagonal Fire Crystals?!”
Ramantiel looked at Li Xiuman in utter disbelief.
“Of course.”
Li Xiuman tossed the bundle to Ramantiel.
She opened it, gasping in astonishment as her eyes sparkled with sheer excitement.
She then hugged it tightly to her chest, her cat ears twitching nervously and her tail standing straight up behind her, seemingly terrified that someone might spot it and steal it.
“Lord Skeleton, you are far too careless! How could you just toss something so precious to me!”
“Please, you should be the one holding onto it!”
“Don't be so tense. Those things are incredibly hard—knives can't even chip them. Feel free to drop them all you like.”
“And if anyone dares try to rob you, I'll beat them to a pulp.”
Rate on N.U.
