Endless Evolution As A Skeleton In A Game-Like World

The real reason Arm was helping Olivia was because of one simple thing. The notification that had appeared in front of his face—

[Possible target for reaping detected. Player, do you wish to use Dark Harvest?]

Ark smirked.

[Yes]

[Harvest Failed!]

[Information: The chances of a successful extraction varies based on a number of factors, health being the most significant. At 100% health points, the chances of a successful extraction is 0.1% and at 0% health points, the chances of extraction is 95%]

Ark swiftly read through it and sighed. It was pretty consistent with the novels he had read in the past.

If he could just touch someone and steal their powers, then the talent would be something that even superseded Unholy.

[There are three chances to use Dark Harvest after a failed harvest, after which there would be a twelve hour cooldown on the target.]

’So three chances huh?’ He would get nothing more.

He took a breath.

[Initiating Harvest...]

[Harvest Failed!]

’One last chance...’ Ark mused. There was no way to boost his chances, so he did not bother waiting... well except he wanted to jab his crowbar into her gut.

’Hmmm... that is actually a realistic way to—Wait, what am I even thinking?’ He glanced at Olivia, but the moment their eyes met, she averted her gaze.

’Alright, let’s try this for the final time.’

[Initiating Harvest...]

[Harvest successful! You have successfully received C-Rank skill, Chain Lightning!]

If Ark could smirk, then his lips would be touching his ears. He felt like jumping and touching his toes, but he restrained himself.

He had gotten a C-rank skill that easily? He still couldn’t believe just how powerful his skill was. Purchasing a skill of this caliber would have cost him thousands of credits, and even then, there was no guarantee that he would be compatible with the skill stone.

But with Dark Harvest, all he needed was a touch.

While Ark was still enjoying the euphoria of having stolen a skill for the first time, they met up with the others. The sight of them dampened the mood.

As expected they were in a terrible state, well, at least some of them. Soo-jin looked perfectly fine, there were a few scratches and cuts, but the vast majority of blood on her belonged to someone else.

Isabella was pretty much the same. As a vampire, she had infinite resources to heal, and she had done just that.

But Charles and Nolan were a different matter. Charles had a huge chunk of flesh missing from his thigh. They were a number of cuts marring his body, and his shield was lying by the side, split open from top to bottom.

Nolan was using his spear to stand straight. His sweat-soaked hair clung to his face, and he stared at the floor, eyes wide.

It was the face of a man that had seen death.

The moment they arrived, Charles locked eyes with him and leaped forward with barely contained fury.

He aggressively grabbed Ark by the shoulder, his fist tightening around it. ”Where the hell were you?!” He snarled. ”While we were being swarmed on all sides, you ran and hid in those forests didn’t you?!”

Ark gave him a blank stare. Was this guy being serious?

Ark grabbed his hand and pulled it off his shoulder with ease, squeezing his fingers. Charles’ eyes widened as he watched Ark easily shove him back, causing him to trip and fall.

He was a knight which meant he had natural high strength stats. How then was he getting overpowered by a skeleton?!

Ark stared down at him coldly, Olivia’s arm still slung over his shoulder.

”Hide? If you had any eyes on you you would see that I am covered with blood. Think with that hollow head of yours for once, why would a mage be covered in so much blood?”

Mages fought at a distance, being covered in so much blood was clear proof that he had his own shit to deal with.

Nolan seemed to have realized this, but Charles was too deep in his own world to care.

Ark stepped a little closer and Charles shifted back. ”You saw the notification didn’t you?”

Since they were a party, everyone saw it, everyone knew that Olivia was about to die.

”And yet you stuck to Nolan like glue, while leaving Olivia to her fate.”

Ark felt Olivia stiffen by his side. To think the person she had made an enemy of would be the one to save her life...

”We were being attacked on all sid—”

”Bullshit.” Ark cut him off.

While Soo-jin and Isabella were isolated from each other, which made escaping difficult, Nolan and Charles were together, and they were far closer than the others.

They could have taken the risk of breaking through to reach her. But Ark said nothing else, he had said enough.

He walked past Charles who was still seething and went to where Soo-jin stood.

She and Isabella were discussing something when they arrived. But once he got closer, Isabella glanced at him from the corner of her eyes, her expression tightening.

Ark ignored her.

Soo-jin’s eyes roamed over him, taking in his appearance from head to toe.

”You look like shit.”

Ark chuckled. ”You should have seen the other guy.”

She smiled and summoned her fan, covering half her face with it. ”As bad as they may be, I don’t think they would be naked...”

Silence spread through the space.

...And then Olivia let out a shriek before jumping back, her face blushed pink. But she was still in a very bad shape, so all she managed to do was fall flat unceremoniously on her butt.

Ark sighed. ”Skeleton’s don’t get naked.”

It was true that he had lost his cloak in the fight, but it was not like skeletons had anything to show off.

Yet, Soo-jin seemed far too interested in his body. Her eyes had been moving ever since he arrived, and that fan was doing little to hide it.

”Uhum.” Isabella cleared her throat.

Only then did Soon-jin stop. She glanced at Charles and Nolan who were a few paces behind.

The two of them had summoned their health potions and were working on their injuries.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. ”Good work with your speech. Maybe I should make you our leader?”

”It was not a speech.” Ark responded plainly.

”The goblins were smarter than usual. They concentrated their attacks on the stronger members of the party. You were right, they could have helped Olivia if they wanted to.”

Then she shook her head. ”I guess that is the downside of picking brothers.”

Ark agreed. When push came to shove, family would prioritize themselves over all others.

”How many goblins were on them?”

Soo-jin shrugged. ”Five?”

”...”

”What?! They couldn’t handle five goblins? Isn’t Charles a knight?” Ark asked in disbelief.

By all ramifications, Charles should have performed better than him. He had a superior race, a class suited for the situation, and much better gear. Not only that, he had Nolan by his side, and yet they could only handle five?

Something flashed in Soo-Jin’s eyes and she pointed her fan at the brothers, not bothering to lower her voice. ”Give a child a sword, and he remains a child with a sword.”

Then she redirected her fan to Ark, and tapped his head. A hollow sound echoed and her smirk grew into a grin that revealed bloodstained fangs.

”But give a swordmaster a stick, and he can bring down an entire army.”

Her eyes lingered on his, her crimson orbs swallowing him whole. ”Now what do you think would happen if I gave that Swordmaster a blade?”

Ark stared at her for a moment longer, their faces barely inches apart.

It was not hard to find the meaning behind her words.

Right now, he was the Swordmaster, and his talents as well as his finances were the stick.

And Soo-Jin? She had the power to put a sword in his hands. Money, gear, skill stones, exclusive towers and dungeons? She had access to them all, the word was right within her fingers.

That was what she was offering him.

’She is a member of the Fable family, so it made sense that she would be scouting out potential talents for their guild.’

But Ark never thought it would start this early.

Still... The ability to see one’s potential from a mere gaze. Ark felt a chill run down his spine. It had to do with the Oracle class didn’t it?

His voice grew icy, and in contrast, the blue light in his eyes turned fiery. ”You might not like the result.”

The top families had long tried to suppress any meaningful opposition, and Ark was not the type to sit down and follow orders.

Global Rank two back on earth, and he had never been satisfied. It was that very obsession, the drive to reach the absolute peak that led to his death.

He had long set his eyes on the stars, he was exactly what the top families would hate, and if she indulged him... he would swallow them whole.

But this only caused something to sparkle in her eyes. Did she perhaps not care about the balance of things?

”I’ll see for myself~” she smiled.