Chapter 27. Why I Devour My Kind with Drowsy Eyes (5)

The vine slightly blocking the path was torn off and fell to the ground. It could have been left alone, allowing them to pass easily. However, the man did not want to miss the chance to swing his mace when he could.

Whack! Whack!

He swung the mace recklessly at the few remaining vines. Then, the three adventurers encountered their first skeleton, a new gatekeeper.

Clatter.

"A skeleton!" Rena shouted, clinging to the man's back.

The skeleton was one of those originally inside the mechanism. Now, it had been thrown toward the dungeon entrance.

Clatter!

Sensing the intruders approaching, the skeleton rose from its spot. It approached slowly with only a rusty sword in hand and no shield.

The man had warmed up by chopping the vines. He looked at the skeleton and said, "Haha, stick close behind me."

He let out an exaggerated battle cry and charged forward.

"Hup!"

He aimed precisely at the skeleton and swung his mace.

The skeleton's movements were slow, and each step it took was lethargic, making it far too easy to target.

Whoosh!

The iron head of the mace swung with great force, producing a loud sound.

Thud!

It hit its mark. The frail arm bone holding the rusty sword flew off, breaking off once again after flying off dozens of times before. It was an immediate and unhesitating first strike. The man considered himself an honorable adventurer wielding the mace in the name of humanity without hesitation.

After losing its arm bone, the skeleton fell to the ground.

"

Uuugh...

Uuuh...

"

Clatter. Clatter.

It crawled, inching toward the lost arm bone. Whenever a Skeleton Soldier was struck down, unless the skull was destroyed, it would act this way. It would try to reattach what was lost, as all that remained for the skeleton were its fragile bones.

"

Uuuh...

."

The skeleton squirmed on the ground, trying hard to reach its missing arm bone and reattach it.

Crack!

The man stomped on the skeleton's spine, stopping it from moving any farther.

Clatter!

The skeleton placed one hand on the ground. It needed to move, but it couldn't make any progress in that state.

"

Uuugh...

Uuugh...

."

The skeleton groaned with the hollow sigh of the dead, but it only wriggled in place, unable to advance. The weight pinning it down felt different. The man pressed down on the skeleton with all his might—he used his great shield, mace, chain mail, and his body weight.

He turned to the two women and said, "Haha... See? Easy, right? You think you could do it too?"

His manner of addressing them had already degraded to "you girls." The silver-haired woman grimaced slightly but endured it since she needed the man's help. If she had intended to tackle the dungeon alone, she wouldn't have had to endure this.

The man turned to the silver-haired woman and said, "Ponza, try hitting it with the mace."

"Okay."

The silver-haired woman stepped forward.

"Hmm... It's still kind of gross."

Thud!

Still, Ponza swung the mace down, aiming at the skeleton's remaining arm bone. She hit the skeleton, wanting to strike the man standing on it instead.

This skeleton must have been a man, too?

Thud! Thud!

Her grip tightened as she swung the mace fiercely. The man laughed cheerfully at the sight.

"You're doing fine for someone who finds it gross. Haha!"

"Can I break its skull once? Is that okay?" she asked.

"If it dies completely, the next person won't be able to use it. Think about the next person. Of course, in case of danger, do whatever you have to. But I'm here to protect you, right? Just give it a gentle knock."

The man acted as if the skeleton was his to dispose of, granting permission to the woman.

Tap! Tap!

Ponza tapped the skeleton's skull with the mace. A slight crack began to form on the skeleton's skull. She put considerable force into it. She took out her frustration on the weak skeleton because of her anger at the man.

"Oh, it might die. Take out the healing potion."

Ponza was startled not by the idea of the skeleton dying but by the command to take out a potion.

"Healing potion?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Something that expensive!"

"Haha, if you make a good impression on me, I can buy you that much."

The man standing on the skeleton's neck stroked the silver-haired woman's hair and laughed playfully as if enjoying the feel of it. Ponza, while thinking it was disgusting, shrugged and endured it.

He must be incredibly wealthy if he was willing to use a potion so casually. However, the woman's shoulders trembled slightly from the touch, reacting to her aversion. Behind her, Rena, the woman in leather armor, smirked at the scene.

Disgusting? You're the one who followed him out of your own will. Anyway, using a potion like that? Wow, that guy... I knew he was rich, but now he's going to give it all to me.

Rena knew. She had followed him after thoroughly investigating. The man was a wealthy adventurer. His equipment and items were excessively good compared to his level. Her purpose in following him was clear.

She planned to cut his throat in the dungeon, steal all his gear and money, and escape. She was a trainee of the T&T Guild. T&T was a guild dealing with assassination, thievery, and information trade. Killing this man would provide enough money for the guild fee.

I'll become a full-fledged guild member, right?

Different dreams filled each mind. While everyone was lost in their own thoughts, a small amount of healing potion was applied to the fallen skeleton's head. The skeleton remained conscious. However, its limbs were completely crushed.

"You can play around like this, too," the man said as he detached and reattached the skeleton's limbs, playing with it for a while.

Then, as if he had lost interest, he kicked the skull away.

Bang! Clatter!

The round skull rolled far away and got stuck somewhere. The group moved further inside. After encountering two more skeletons and breaking them, they moved on.

"

Ahhh!

" Rena screamed.

Three human corpses lay near a water puddle. The corpses had been cleanly decapitated.

"

Hmm

."

Seeing the bodies, the man's posture stiffened a bit as if he felt some sense of caution. Rena, who was planning to stab him in the back, was not pleased.

Damn, I made him tense. Whoever left these corpses should have cleaned them up.

The man, serious, spoke to the silver-haired woman, "Hmm, I'll guard the rear. How about you take the lead, Ponza?"

"Me? Isn't it better for a man to lead...?"

"No, you're here for adventure, right? You should gain some experience."

Seeing the three toppled corpses made the man feel slightly uneasy. Ponza's neatly groomed eyebrows furrowed completely. But she had no choice but to take the lead.

Clatter.

Clatter.

As they moved further inside, four skeletons with rusty swords appeared.

"Take this!"

Whoosh! Crack!

Ponza's mace struck the skeleton soldiers' skulls. Her movements were quite impressive, but it was more that the skeletons were too slow. Their rusty swords only swung clumsily in the air without forming proper curves or lines.

"You're doing great!" the man shouted, jumping into the fight after assessing that there was no danger.

He blocked the slowly approaching rusty sword with his great shield.

Bang!

And he swung his mace, separating the skeleton's spine from its skull. The skull flew far away.

Clatter!

"Phew," they all sighed and moved forward.

I got nervous for nothing,

the man thought, feeling embarrassed.

It was, after all, an F-rank dungeon. The five skeleton soldiers were dealt with quickly. The excitement from the fight released adrenaline into his veins. He took the lead again.

There should be a mechanism around here...,

he thought as he searched for the mechanism.

Swish!

A rusty sword came flying.

Clang!

The man hurriedly raised his shield. The rusty sword hit the shield and fell to the ground. There was a small skeleton standing there. The man didn't remember, but the two had met at the dungeon entrance years ago. The skeleton that had thrown the rusty sword had been guarding the entrance of this dungeon for a long time. Now, it was guarding in front of the stone wall for someone who had leveled it up.

Clatter!

The skeleton, which had been a gatekeeper for a long time, charged with a blue light deep in its eyes. One hand held a shield, and the other a sword that wasn't rusty but rather well-maintained.

"

Urrgh!

"

Making the sound of the dead, it approached.

"Was that there the whole time?" Ponza asked in surprise.

"Looks like it," the man replied, staring at the skeleton.

It seemed clear that the sword was thrown when they approached the mechanism.

"Why did this thing hide quietly and then throw a sword? I almost got hit!"

The man advanced towards the skeleton, raising his mace and swinging it threateningly.

Swish!

"Wow, it dodged it?"

The man was a bit taken aback, but the skeleton's movement wasn't particularly fast. It dodged just enough by throwing its body aside and didn't seem to think about counterattacking. The man laughed.

"No matter how much it tries, it's still just a skeleton."

He confidently swung his mace.

"Just give up your experience points quietly, skeleton."

Bang!

The mace struck the skeleton's shield violently. The skeleton's arm shook.

Crack!

They heard bones cracking, but the skeleton struggled and did not let go of the shield. The man swung his mace again, and the skeleton swung its sword in return, despite its current state.

Clang!

The skeleton staggered back two steps and knelt on the ground. Seizing the opportunity, Ponza swung her mace to join the attack as it tried to stand up again, believing it was best to strike when victory appeared assured..

"Take this!"

Thud!

Cornered and defenseless, the skeleton could not withstand the combined attack. The man swung his mace again.

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Crack!

The shield and bones shattered, and the skeleton fell to the ground.

Clatter!

The skeleton tried to get back up.

"

Hmm,

why is it so persistent?"

But each time it did, the man swung his mace. He crushed it thoroughly, treating its persistent attempts to stand as a challenge to him, stomping it down until it was reduced to fragments.

"Arrogant for a skeleton," he said and looked around.

Surely, no one thinks that was funny?

That was exactly what they thought. His manner of saying something unfunny and demanding laughter was absurd to Rena and Ponza. However, they laughed along, trying to please him.

No matter how small a group, the one at the top loses their sense of humor when there was a hierarchy and power dynamics.

Tap, tap.

Satisfied with the womens’ laughter, the man walked back toward the mechanism.

If I do this...

He manipulated the mechanism, utilizing the information he had bought with money.

Rumble!

The stone wall began to move.

***

"

Kuoooh!

"

Four skeletons stood near the door. Two wielded large axes, one had a decent long sword, and the last had a massive flail with spikes at the end.

The skeletons wielded their weapons with purpose and did not stand idly by. They roared, as if steeling themselves for a confrontation, ready to face the humans.

"Skeleton Soldiers!" Rena shouted dramatically.

"They've been Skeleton Soldiers all along," Ponza retorted, gripping her mace tightly.

"

Hmph!

"

The man let out a battle cry and advanced, thinking of nothing else but getting both women into bed. The information about the mechanism was accurate. The man was an adventurer, but he ironically hated the idea of adventure itself. He knew the skeletons inside the mechanism were much weaker than him.

"I'm coming!"

He laughed and swung his mace downward with all his might.