Chapter 2 Part1 (1/2)

<chapter 2.=”” G.o.d's=”” secret=”” shop=”” -=”” 1=””>

”If I close my eyes... ooh, oooh.”

When he closed his (nonexistent) eyes, he could see it as an extremely intuitive image. It felt as though there was another eye centered on him that watched from above and scanned the entire area. And within that area, only the correct path s.h.i.+ned brightly.

'...Shall I go?'

There wasn't much more he could gain from staying here. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo made up his mind, opened his eyes, and started moving along the confirmed path. The clearing had stagnated from silence to dead quiet, and only the sound of his moving footsteps rang out. His footsteps had gotten a lot quieter, perhaps due to the Feather Bone Boots.

'Hoo.'

The pa.s.sageway was quite long. Various parts of the pa.s.sageway had collapsed thanks to the Treasure Eater's rampage. In order to reach those places, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had to at times jump high, and at other times jump far. He eventually came to, in a sense, the obvious realization: the Sprint skill could be used in tandem with his jump.

'If I become proficient in my Sprint skill, then time it, no, I may become a skeleton who can run in the sky... Ah.'

As he walked through the continuing pa.s.sageway, the atmosphere in the pa.s.sageway changed in no time. If it seemed as though he had been reluctantly trudging through the underground pa.s.sageway, filled with nothing but rocks and sand thus far, then this current area is the first place to have a clear path.

'This is the real Empire... I can see the walls.'

There was a clear distinction between the external pa.s.sageways and the genuine Underground Empire: the castle walls. According to the quest's explanation, he would have to face Skeleton Soldiers over there again. Honestly, he didn't think he'd lose to a few Skeleton Soldiers now, but he couldn't release his tension, so long as he couldn't ascertain how many of them there were.

[Halt...]

Lee s.h.i.+n Woo stopped, his bone joints rattling. There was a single, imposing platoon of skeletons atop the castle walls, aiming their bone arrows at him. Yet, their numbers were small. They soon disclosed that reason themselves.

[The monster... was it hunted...?]”Yeah, we got it! Though, everyone else died except for me...”

Now, he could start acting at the flick of a switch. A part of the soldiers that guarded the walls were probably sent to hunt the Treasure Eater!This all happened because Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had made a huge fuss. He lauded his foresight, which he hadn't even been aware of, and continued to speak.

”Paul, please open the castle gate for me. I have to return to guard duty too.”[Wait... just a minute...]

It seemed like this quest would go smoothly. However, had he jinxed it? One of the skeletons wielding a bone bow rattled its teeth as it spoke.

[I haven't seen that... spear before...]”The Treasure Hunter dropped it.”

Lee s.h.i.+n Woo, who was only focused on entering the Empire, roughly concocted a plausible story. But the soldier's response caused his (nonexistent) heart to pound.

[Then... report it to your superiors...]”Huh?”[I'll... report it.]

No wait, he didn't think their military discipline was this strict. Moreover, superiors? Doesn't that mean someone stronger than them will come? He felt pressed and requested.

”Hey, Paul. Wait a sec. I'll give the report myself, so open the gates first.”[The report... comes first...]

Report-then-action? d.a.m.n it! They hadn't even thought of complimenting and taking care of a comrade who had returned with great difficulty, and instead, would call their superiors when they heard the news that he had picked up a new item. You d.a.m.n egotistic and ambitious skeletons!

”I said I'd be the one to report it!” Since it came to this, there was no need to hide anymore. If that superior arrived, he'd definitely die at least once! He clicked his tongue and sprinted. The Skeleton Soldiers were startled and aimed their bone bows at him.

[Are you... revolting against the Empire?][Are you trying... to embezzle?][Is it corruption[1]...?]

”Sprint!”

He completely ignored what the skeletons were saying and jumped while using his Sprint and clung to the castle wall. Surprisingly, it was possible for him to jump close to 2m high. Even though he was only at the tutorial level, he thought that he had already transcended humanity, and belatedly realized that he was no longer physically human.

[Attack... Subduing.] [Subduing.]

The Skeleton Soldiers determined that he was their enemy and began to aim and shoot their arrows at him. Though he planned to get hit by a few of them, when the arrows closed in on him, his hand, holding the bone spear, moved by itself. 'Huh!?'It happened in a split second. Right after he grasped the trajectory of the arrows with the naked eye, he instinctively swung his bone spear and parried two arrows! The arrows he couldn't block hit his shoulder, but the damage was minor.

[You have learned the pa.s.sive skill, Beginner Weapon Defense Lv1.]

That wasn't all. When he thought he needed to stop the skeletons from drawing their bowstrings again, he naturally opened his mouth and shrieked.

”Kuhwaaaaaaahk!”

[You have learned the active skill, Beginner Shriek of the Dead Lv1.][By using the Shriek of the Dead, the enemies in the entire area have momentarily fallen into a frenzied state.]

He didn't know how he had learned Beginner Weapon Defense yet, but the source of the Shriek of the Dead was clear. It was the Treasure Eater! He had wanted to learn the Roar of Healing, but the results were contrary to his expectations.

[You b.a.s.t.a.r.ds... just when did you infiltrate...!][I'll... kill you...!]

He felt momentarily dizzy since he had used the Shriek of the Dead with his low mana, but its effects were astounding. The Skeleton Soldiers treated each other as enemies and started to attack each other!Lee s.h.i.+n Woo aimed for that opportunity, exerting himself, and crawling up the wall. He felt motion sickness due to his unreasonable use of mana, but he grit his teeth and endured.

[W-What about that guy?] ”I'm right behind you.”[Ugh!?]

By the time the Skeleton Soldiers escaped the status ailment, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was already atop the castle wall! There's no way arrows would be effective at close range. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo cold-bloodedly swung the Lv2 Lord Bone Spear and broke them in a single strike. It was a quick and clean finish.

[You have hunted a Skeleton Archer.][You have hunted a Skeleton Archer.]

For a brief moment, the castle walls regained its silence. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo grabbed and removed the arrow lodged in his shoulder and sighed. Though he had been slightly injured, he had stopped them from reporting to their sup...