The Skeleton Soldier Failed to Defend the Dungeon

Clang!

The skeleton in the middle blocked the flail with its iron mace.

Whoosh!

But the attack did not stop there. The man was displeased that the skeleton was still moving. He swung the flail upward from below.

Crack!

”Uuugh!”

The skeleton that was struck in the jaw took a step back. The rotation radius of the metal flail was short. The skeleton’s jaw did not shatter all at once, but cracks formed, making it dangle.

Whoosh!

The man did not stop. He swung the flail hard to the side.

Crash!

The flail got caught in the ribcage of the skeleton wielding the axe and broke it apart, knocking the skeleton back. The broken rib bones rolled across the ground.

The man chuckled leisurely. ”Already finished with two of them?”

”Hiya!”

”Take this!”

The two women beside him played their roles as well. Ponza charged in with a mace, attacking the fallen skeleton. Rena circled behind the skeleton with the cracked jaw and struck its legs.

A skeleton wielding a longsword attacked the man. However, the longsword was slow. It didn’t even produce a proper slicing sound. The man slightly raised his great shield.

Clang!

The sound of a steel shield meeting a longsword echoed, but in terms of weight and strength, the shield was superior.

Clatter!

The skeleton stepped back, just as it always did. The man didn’t miss the opportunity and quickly stepped forward.

Whoosh!

He swung the flail recklessly. That wild, violent attack shattered the skeleton’s pelvis. With its spine broken, the skeleton fell without even voicing a complaint.

The man stepped on the skeleton and snickered. ”Sorry, but even if you were human, you’d be no match for me.”

”Rooaaarrr!”

The remaining skeleton charged. The man stepped back, using centrifugal force to swing the flail with great strength.

Whizz!

A sharp whistling sound filled the air. The skeleton had no shield. It didn’t even take a proper defensive stance.

Crack!

The weapon caught by the flail flew far away.

Clang!

The weapon hit the stone floor, and its sound echoed in the dungeon.

”Haha, judgment time!” the man shouted, full of self-satisfaction.

The women shook their heads at the sound. The dead skeletons weren’t receiving divine judgment—they were receiving the judgment of a pathetic man.

***

”Damn, I don’t have much stamina left.”

[Recovering Stamina... 8.71%...]

I could hear the sounds of the adventurers rampaging right next to me while I lay still beside the stone coffin. It was inconvenient. Of all times, they had to invade while I was in a state of exhaustion. The skeletons were fighting bravely, but in reality, they posed little threat. More strictly speaking, they were completely useless.

I didn’t stand up. My stamina had not even recovered to ten percent yet. If it went over five percent, I could get out of the state of exhaustion and move.

What if I get up in that state?

I’d be in trouble soon if I couldn’t subdue them quickly. It would be safer to wait until it reached ten percent.

There were three enemies. I quietly estimated their levels. One seemed slightly weaker than the guard I had fought. The other two appeared even lower in level. Judging from their movements, dealing with them seemed quite simple. I could already visualize in my mind how to move and handle them.

Is this the effect of leveling up my skills?

There hadn’t been a significant increase in my abilities, but I had acquired swordsmanship.

Should I wait a bit longer?

I continued to lie still. I was going to fight alone anyway. It would be better to recover as much as possible before making a move.

The man’s voice rang out. ”Haha! This is divine judgment!”

However, there was no divine judgment in this world. No one decided the winner or announced the final verdict. This world was where demons and violence built their homes side by side, all eager to pluck each other’s eyes and tongues.

Where could judgment possibly be? If anything, we all judge ourselves.

[Recovering Stamina... 8.94%...]

”That was amazing!”

”You both did well too. Haha!”

I heard the sound of something being fiddled with. Taking advantage of their conversation, I quietly began to put on my armor. When practicing swordsmanship, I had taken off my armor. It was cumbersome to move with it on, and wearing armor drained my stamina faster.

Clink.

I put on my helmet first, then I fumbled for the sword with my fingers. I continued to monitor the status screen.

[Recovering Stamina... 9.05%...]

[Recovering Stamina... 10.1%...]

That should be enough.

I donned the armor and gripped the bastard sword tightly.

Clank. Clank.

The adventurers, who had been chattering noisily, started to speak in slightly cautious tones.

”Did you hear something?”

”Huh? What sound?”

”A metallic sound. Like clanking...”

They must have heard it. I had made the sound deliberately, after all.

”From where?”

”From the stone coffin area.”

”Could it be that something’s left?”

”Why don’t you check it out, Rena?”

”Hmm! No, I’ll go.”

Tap, tap.

The adventurers walked closer.

Clatter.

I grabbed my sword and stood up. The ones fighting in this hall earlier were like pigs with their heads overheated. Or like wolves with bloodshot eyes chasing sheep. But the battle had ended, and quite some time had passed. They had all calmed down after the initial excitement. In terms of timing, now was the right moment to strike.

”Hi-huh?”

The man who came close was startled and took a step back.

”Living... Armor? I heard there were no such things here!”

”Heard what?” the silver-haired woman asked.

”Ah, it’s... What the hell is that?” the man mumbled.

Thud.

He took a step back. The party of adventurers consisted of one man and two women.

How should I handle them? They are still busy talking amongst themselves.

”Is it a Skeleton Soldier?”

”What kind of skeleton would wear something like that?”

I decided to speak to them first. I could ask them questions after subduing them. But there was a risk I might accidentally kill them during the process. If I swung carelessly, I might sever a neck. If I struck to incapacitate and an arm or leg tore off like a flower petal, there might be excessive bleeding.

Two women.

Human women were frail creatures, so I needed to be cautious. I had many questions, so I decided to start with one.

”You there.”

The silver-haired woman gasped in surprise.

”How did you disable the mechanism?”

The woman in leather armor butted in and uttered, ”Sir... a lord?”

These kinds of armor were usually worn by lords, so she thought I was one.

I nodded slightly. ”Yes. I was training in a quiet place.”

The man responded warily.

”Show your face first. Who talks with a helmet on?”

”I have a scar. It’s embarrassing.”

I refused, because if I took off the helmet, we would immediately start fighting.

But the man insisted, ”Then we won’t tell you anything either! Not to a suspicious person like you!”

”If I take off the helmet, will you answer me?”

The man’s voice was filled with agitation as he shouted, ”Yeah! Take off the helmet already!”

He had little insight. Perhaps it was too much to expect insight from an adventurer exploring an F-rank dungeon. I thought that a novice adventurer would have some fear, yet his voice lacked any hint of fear.

I muttered quietly, ”Shall I?”

”Yes! This isn’t a joke. You’re suspicious!”

The man’s expression twisted rather harshly. He held a flail and a great shield in his hands. Removing the helmet wasn’t difficult. This helmet was a mask. It was easy to remove the mask in front of the weak. I could impose myself completely. There was no need to watch for signs or hide anything, so I didn’t have to pretend or act kind.

”If I remove the helmet, will you answer properly?”

The man nodded and replied, ”Yes!”

[Recovering Stamina... 10.9%]

I looked at them, and observed how they gripped their weapons. The more I watched, the clearer it became.

I will win.

I would win overwhelmingly. They were already within my range. I could render them unable to resist instantly and leave them unable to grasp anything for the rest of their lives. Making them corpses would be even easier. Even if all three tried to flee with all their might, I felt confident I could catch them.

Tap.

I touched the helmet lightly. This mask was a clumsy favor I was offering them. There was a surprisingly genuine aspect to this courtesy. The man didn’t know this, and he insisted that I remove the mask. People often demanded the truth they could not bear to handle.

Clank.

I took off the helmet.

A sharp scream burst forth from the silver-haired woman. ”Aaaargh!”

She swung her mace wildly in the air and stumbled back. The man and the woman in leather armor gasped in shock.

”Ugh!”

”Eek!”

”Why are you surprised? It’s only natural for there to be skeletons in a charnel house.”

This was a charnel house. It was only expected for yesterday’s humans to walk around as skeletons. Weren’t these the ones who have come this far by smashing skeletons all along? Their surprise was exceedingly unnatural.

Clatter.

I tilted my exposed skull to the side.

***

Rena, the woman in leather armor, shouted, ”I-It wasn’t human!”

Their expectations had been wrong. The invading man and two women had expected a human under the helmet. What they imagined inside the helmet was the mysterious killer who had created the corpses in the corridor.

When fear was anticipated, it became routine, something easy to accept. But the unexpected creeping into the everyday would turn into fear. Even encountering a skeleton like me in a charnel house could spark a moment of panic if it caught someone off guard. Nevertheless, humans were adaptable creatures.

”He-hey! Maybe this is actually better!” The man quickly calmed down. He continued as he rushed forward, ”If it’s a skeleton, it’s easier to deal with!”

Whoosh!

The human man swung his flail a few times. The iron bits cut through empty air. There was still a fair distance between us. I quietly watched his monkey-like gestures.

He said to the women standing near him, ”Don’t be scared! The skeleton just happened to pick up some armor! This is an F-rank dungeon... We can handle a skeleton like that anytime!”

Should I call him quick to adapt?

He explained the situation in terms he could understand, and perhaps he genuinely believed his own words. The more limited his understanding, the more limited his expression.

This was an F-rank dungeon, and the skeleton before him—me—was something he could manage. That was the extent of his imagination.

The woman in leather armor interjected, ”But that armor doesn’t look ordinary.”

As if giving the women a lesson, the man said, ”It’s just decorative. Look, it doesn’t matter what a skeleton wears. We can easily knock it down. Let’s finish it off and take that armor for ourselves!”

Whoosh!

He advanced forward at a deliberate pace, his great shield providing ample protection for him. He swung his weapon wide.

Should I call it passionate?

His movements resembled a gorilla showing off its height to impress a female. There was something hot-blooded and primal in his movements that I could never possess. In a way, I almost envied the man’s passions and desires.

”I’ll blow its head off in one hit!”

For some reason, the man’s shouting was louder than the sound of the flail’s iron bits spinning.

Clang! Clang!

Like a gorilla beating its chest, he banged his large shield with the flail. The flail was on the shorter side. If the handle and the iron bits of the flail were longer and swung with both hands, it would pack a stronger punch. Instead, he held the great shield in one hand.