“I didn’t expect Eileen’s magical talent to be this incredible...”

I glanced at Eileen, sleeping soundly in bed. Her adorable, charming sleeping face made me want to poke her.

After returning to the inn, she took a bath and flopped straight into bed. She fell asleep without even having dinner.

That kid’s completely worn out…

I sat beside the bed, gently stroked her hair, then poked her little cheek.

“Mmm...”

The girl let out a soft, sleepy moan and shifted slightly.

She was sleeping deeply. It didn’t look like she’d wake up before tomorrow.

That was perfect. It’d make my nighttime outing easier.

“Let’s see… This is the newly discovered route...”

Following the old map through the Myriad Bones Wasteland, we’d spent a long time exploring and opened up two new routes.

Actually, I’d had a question ever since I accepted this quest. The Myriad Bones Wasteland looked like an ancient crypt, so why had nobody even finished exploring the first floor?

But it didn’t take long for me to figure it out.

For starters, the farther into the Myriad Bones Wasteland you went, the more skeleton soldiers there were. And skeletons were a lot like zombies: unless you broke their spines or smashed their skulls, they wouldn’t stop attacking.

I’d already tested this before. Those skeleton soldiers treated Eileen as an enemy without exception, and they’d fight her to the death. More importantly, there weren’t any real treasures inside. The danger of exploring was enormous, and the rewards didn’t come close to making up for the risks. Newbies couldn’t go in, but powerful adventurers weren’t interested. So the exploration quest had been left untouched until now.

“But that’s only because they can’t get past the sea of undead… I don’t have that problem.”

I’m a skeleton soldier myself.

“Good night, Eileen.”

I quietly said good night to the sleeping girl, then closed the door behind me.

At night, Saileda was quiet and peaceful. Only scattered pinpricks of light and the chirping of insects adorned the city as it sank into darkness.

There was a curfew, but sneaking past the sentries and leaving the city was easy for me.

【Turn left in one hundred meters】

As the mechanical voice sounded, a clear arrow appeared in the distance in my field of vision. I planted my foot hard and crossed a hundred

meters in a matter of seconds, moving fast enough to leave any sprinter on Earth dumbfounded.

Inside the Monster Forest, I switched to triple output, glanced up at the blue and red moons, and ran toward the Myriad Bones Wasteland.

I didn’t need to sleep, so I always had things to do on nights like this.

After all, the long night had only just begun.

“Come to think of it...”

Something occurred to me. Feeling the wind rush past my ears, I discussed it with Paper-chan.

“Are you sure you detected the stairs leading to the second underground floor before we left?”

【Confirmed】

“I see...”

Before we left the crypt, Paper-chan had told me the sonar results were in. Combined with the scans from the previous three days, it had now mapped out the entire first underground floor, including its layout and passages.

It had also found the stairs leading farther down.

Normally, the farther down you went, the stronger the enemies—and the better the loot in the treasure chests. The grimoires we’d found were just junk, but they seemed to contain necromancy.

The magic best suited to me.

“We’re here. Is this the place?”

In the blink of an eye, I’d reached the end of the first underground floor. In my purple-lit field of vision, a pitch-black spiral passage appeared before me.

【That’s right. The sonar scan shows that this is the passage to the second underground floor】

“Then let’s go.”

I glanced at the clueless skeleton soldiers milling around and headed down.

The second underground floor… wasn’t much different from the first.

The ceiling was much higher, about seven meters above my head, but the passages weren’t much wider.

But what really surprised me was…

“Rattle, rattle.”

A skeleton soldier carrying a crudely made longbow walked past me. A quiver holding only a few arrows hung from its pelvis, and a tattered, sand-colored cloak fluttered behind it.

“They’re… using longbows?”

That was incredible. A competent archer needed at least two years of practice, and most people couldn’t even manage to shoot an arrow.

And these mindless skeleton soldiers were using bows and arrows as weapons!?

“What in the world is going on here...?”

【Don’t waste time on questions you can’t answer, Ojer】

Paper-chan spoke inside my head in a cold, mechanical voice.

【Our goal this time is to find the treasure chest containing grimoires. We have limited time】

“Yeah, I know.”

Fair enough. There was no point thinking about questions like that. I’d be better off getting on with the scavenging.

Still…

Ascertain!

【Unknown Skeleton Archer】

【Race: Undead】

【Class: Skeleton Archer】

【Level: 16 (A powerhouse who hangs back and watches, a melee noob ARCHER)】

【Combat Power: Unlock the [Combat Power Assessment] system to view】

【Current Status: Taking Careful Aim】

【Note: Even a brainless skeleton soldier can use a bow and arrow as a weapon. The human brain really is a failed product of evolution】

A level 16 undead archer, huh…

I picked up a pebble by the roadside, weighed it in my hand, then hurled it at an undead archer’s skull.

“Rattle, rattle.” It turned its head.

Whoosh!

Before the hiss of the arrow cutting through the air could even reach my ears, its silver-gray tip was already right in front of me. A suffocating rush of air came with it as it aimed straight for my eye!

“Holy crap!”

DONG!!

I was sprawled on the ground, staring in shock at the crossbow bolt embedded in the wall just a few inches above my head. Its tip had sunk deep into the stone, and the white-feathered shaft trembled rapidly from the force of the impact, buzzing in the air.

And all of that had happened in 0.6 seconds.

“Holy shit… Th-this thing’s kind of strong...”

I looked at the skeleton. Green ghostly fire flickered inside its bare skull, its gaze cold and fixed on me.

Were they really… just skeletons?

Who on earth had taught them to shoot so skillfully…?

【Don’t just stand there! The next one’s coming!!】

“!!!”

Bone Shield!!

Whoosh!

The sound of air being torn apart rang out, followed by the clang of metal striking something hard.

“Ugh!”

I looked down. A long arrow was stuck in the Bone Shield, its tip buried in the bone and its white feathers trembling.

“Rattle, rattle.”

When the skeleton soldier in front of me saw I was still standing, it nocked another arrow and pulled the bowstring taut until it warped.

“You’re shooting again!!”

I sprang up and cut its head off with one slash!

The instant its head was severed, the headless body toppled to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. As I watched the green soul-fire go out, a wave of fear washed over me.

“Are… all the skeletons here archers like that…?”

【We can’t be sure yet. For now, you can wander around, but don’t provoke them again】

“All right...”

I looked at the bow it had dropped. After a moment’s thought, I decided to take it with me. It might be worth a little money.

After that, I wandered around the second underground floor like a headless fly, sneaking up on a few isolated skeleton archers and earning some experience. I also got a general feel for how to fight these unusual skeleton soldiers.

“Paper-chan, is the sonar scan finished?”

【23.2% remaining. Follow the arrow】

As soon as it finished speaking, a little arrow appeared in my field of vision. I shrugged and followed it.

【16.7% remaining】

【9.3% remaining】

【Remaining…】

After walking for about twenty minutes, Paper-chan stopped counting down.

“What’s wrong?”

【There’s a hidden room thirty meters ahead, to the left. Go take a look】

I froze for a moment.

“Is it dangerous?”

【The sonar detected no objects with suspicious shapes. It’s presumed safe】

“Presumed… Never mind, I’ll go check it out.”

With that, I formed a Bone Shield on my left arm and turned my right hand into a Bone Blade. Carefully following the arrow, I found a hidden door that wasn’t very well concealed.

Then I kicked it open!

“FBI! OPEN THE DOOR!!”

【……】

Emmmmmm.

But the room was empty. There was only a small pedestal.

Three books sat on top of it.

“Paper-chan, is it dangerous?”

【Scanning…】

【Scan complete】

【According to the sonar feedback, there are no abnormalities in the room’s structure or the pedestal. It can be considered safe】

“Safe, huh...”

But the place was so bare. No matter how I looked at it, it didn’t seem safe…

“Forget it, I’m taking them! No point leaving them behind!”

“Hah!!”

I dashed forward with my left foot, snatched up all three books, and ran out of the room!

Thirty seconds passed…

Nothing changed. Not a sound.

“Could there really be no traps…?”

【If this system says there aren’t any, then there aren’t any. Don’t you trust me?】

“Nope,” I blurted out.

【……】

“But these three books… Yep, they’re all grimoires.”

They were probably all necromancy spells.

【I recommend studying them after you return. In this environment, there’s no guarantee these skeleton soldiers won’t react if you learn one of the skills】

“Good point. I’ll hold on to them for now.” As I spoke, I put the books in my backpack.

“It’s almost dawn, isn’t it? What time is it now?”

【By this world’s reckoning, it’s now 4:27 a.m. Sunrise is in 43 minutes】

“Mm. Let’s head back.”

I gathered my gear and pack, along with a longbow, and prepared to return to the surface and the inn.

“emmmmmmmm”

“Rattle, rattle!”

But a skeleton archer blocked my way at the stairs leading to the first underground floor.

“Heh, looks like I’ve got more experience coming my way! You came all this way just to get yourself killed! The thought counts!”

【Be careful, Ojer. Their arrows can’t pierce your armor, but a headshot will still do some damage】

“You’re overthinking it! Skeleton soldiers aren’t hard to deal with!”

As I spoke, I crouched down, holding the Bone Shield in front of me and keeping the Bone Blade at my side, poised like an arrow on a bowstring.

“With this kind of skeleton archer, you just have to get the rhythm right, move in an S-pattern, and close the distance fast.”

I suddenly sprang forward! My blade flashed, aimed straight for its throat!

With five times my usual strength behind it, the Bone Blade whooshed through the air. The white edge seemed like the coldest weapon in the world!

“And then!! You take it down!!!”

Whoosh!

Splat!!

“Huh…?”

The view from my left eye suddenly went dark, and then everything spun around.

What was going on…?

【Yeah, you got headshotted】

“Huh? Waaah!”

Two seconds later, I hit the ground and rolled several times.

That was when I realized I…

seemed to have been shot in the head…

【Ding-dong】

【Achievement unlocked: Talk smack, get smacked】

【Requirements: Loudly declare something decisive, then get immediately proven wrong by an outside factor such as a person/monster/skeleton/weather/luck/aliens, etc.】

“……”

After mocking me, Paper-chan rubbed salt in the wound by displaying a big red English word in my field of vision.

【Wasted!】