【Achievement Unlocked: Little Lord】

【Requirement: Control 10 or more units in combat or at work at the same time】

【Note: You can now decide the life and death of ten people. If they aren't human, work them to death.】

【Achievement Unlocked: Necromancer】

【Requirement: Control 5 or more undead creatures in combat】

【Note: One day, you'll tread upon a thousand corpses and ten thousand bones, and become an eternal, mighty being.】

“Hmm…”

5:24 p.m., eastern district of Saileda.

I looked at the achievements I'd earned in my field of vision, along with today's intel on the skeleton soldiers, and walked alone through the streets at dusk, thinking about what to do next.

People of all kinds of races passed by now and then, chattering noisily. A little kid accidentally bumped into me, then looked up at my height and started trembling with fear. After hurriedly apologizing, the child ran to a woman nearby, burst into tears, and screamed that they'd seen a Death Knight.

I didn't pay it the slightest bit of attention. I nodded apologetically to her, then suddenly remembered something.

[Oh, right, Paper-chan.]

【What is it?】

I glanced at the people around me, scratched my faceplate, and asked with a hint of excitement.

[I fought all day today. Did I level up a few times?]

The mechanical voice paused, then pulled up my current stats.

“I'm level 16…” I muttered, unable to hide my excitement.

“I didn't expect leveling up to be this fast. So, what does my level actually do? Can it increase my stats?”

【This isn't a game world... Gaining levels doesn't increase your stats. It's usually the other way around: your level rises after your stats improve. Say you work out for half a year and come back covered in muscle. Naturally, you'd go up a few levels.】

I nodded repeatedly.

【Your character level mainly unlocks a higher energy-point limit for this system, as well as access to system skills. Once you reach certain levels, the main system will unlock more skills for you to use.】

“Like what?”

Several lines of text in different colors appeared right in the center of my vision.

[Let's see... ranged weapon accuracy, danger detection, survival gear crafting, lockpicking...? Hm? Lockpicking?]

I froze.

What kind of skill was this?!

Was it telling me to become a thief?!

Holy crap!

Sure, I'm a skeleton! But I'm a skeleton with morals! With ambitions! A skeleton who has risen above lowly pursuits! There's no way I'd steal anything!

Even if my bones rusted! Even if someone took me apart into more than two hundred pieces! Even if I jumped off a cliff right here! I would never learn this skill!!

【Some caves and camps contain treasures collected by monsters, so the ability to open chests is essential.】

[Oh.]

Lockpicking. Learned.

【...】

【Energy points spent: 50】

【You have learned: Beginner Lockpicking】

Suddenly, I felt new knowledge filling my head, and an eagerness to try it out welled up inside me.

“Ahem. Hopefully, I won't ever need to use this skill…”

Before long, I reached the Adventurers' Guild and checked what suitable quests were still available, along with the latest free intel.

Information was always the top priority, no matter the circumstances. And for an outsider like me, who didn't know the place or anyone in it, getting valuable intel was incredibly difficult. I couldn't even find anyone who sold information. And even if I did meet someone, earning their trust would be a whole other problem.

On top of that, my funds were very limited. I couldn't afford to buy my way in.

So the Guild's bustling hall, full of people and all kinds of rumors, was my first choice.

“Hmm… Most of these quests take a long time. Guarding a merchant caravan and things like that…”

I didn't have that kind of time to waste. There was no way I could take on a quest like that.

“What else is there… ummmm, goblins…”

Just as I was debating whether to go chop up some green-skinned workhorses, a large hand landed on my shoulder.

“Huh?”

“Hey! What a coincidence, Ojer!”

His voice was loud and confident, with a hint of cheekiness.

It was someone I knew.

I let out a quiet sigh, then turned around with a teasing tone.

“Can't really call it a coincidence, Mr. Eggsy.” I showed him the white porcelain tag on my chest.

“I'm an adventurer now, too. I just came to the Guild to see if there were any quests that suited me.”

Eggsy, handsome in his blue armor, looked surprised. Then he broke into a hearty laugh, came over, and knocked on my breastplate. Metal clanged against metal. He laughed easily, as if he were joking around with a friend.

Astley, standing beside him, still had a stern look on his face. Not a trace of a smile showed on his scarred features.

But that cold demeanor, paired with the greatsword on his back, gave him a strangely compelling air. He looked very reliable.

“Oh! So you've become an adventurer, too! I knew it!! There's no way you were just a traveler! Hahahaha!!”

Eggsy did all the talking, so I took the opportunity to ask about a few things I wanted to know.

“By the way, did you find out anything about that group of Necromancers from before?”

Eggsy's expression turned serious at once. He lowered his voice, but every word came through clearly.

“They'd been pretending to be a small foreign merchant caravan and causing trouble everywhere under the pretense of looking for a place to stay. They came to Saileda this time and we caught them. You could say they got what they deserved.” Eggsy shook his head.

But that wasn't what I was worried about.

“Then what happened to their goods?”

I mean, this armor I'm wearing was stolen, too…

“Oh, the goods? No one came forward to claim them. They were an independent caravan with no merchant guild backing them, so the lot was confiscated.”

I paused. “They're allowed to do that?”

“Of course! No one's looking into it, and if you check their stuff, most of it turns out to be smuggled goods. It's not like they can bring any of it out into the open.”

“I see…”

Looks like I get to keep this armor after all…

“But it seems they all died. That girl with you… Uh, what was her name again?”

“Ailrinni. Why?”

Eggsy let out a long sigh, sounding a little downcast.

“That makes it hard to find out where she was kidnapped from. Those people are all dead, and she's just a little girl. I doubt she can explain much. I wonder if her parents are still around…”

“No, she… doesn't have any parents anymore. She doesn't have any relatives she can rely on, either.”

“She's all alone now.”

I tilted my head slightly and told him the truth. Eggsy froze for half a second, then sighed softly.

“Poor girl. Make sure you take good care of her.”

“Of course.”

After getting the information I wanted, we chatted for a little while, then left the Guild.

Eggsy invited me to join his party while we were there, but I politely turned him down.

I had no plans to team up with anyone right now. It was simply too risky.

【Are you sure you don't want to join their party? Didn't you want to get as much information as possible?】

I thought it over and let out a helpless sigh.

[That's true, but even I'm not stupid enough to risk exposing my identity by teaming up with someone I've known for only three days. And I've got Eileen with me, too. Who knows if this is a trap?]

I left the main road and turned into a narrow alley. The bustle of a busy shopping district came from up ahead.

I wanted to pick up some tasty food for Eileen while I was out.

[But I keep getting one piece of information after another. The intel is piling up.]

[I have to admit, there are strict limits to what Eileen and I can do on our own, and how much information we can gather.]

[So I think… it won't be long before some degree of cooperation becomes necessary.]

I took the snack the vendor handed me, paid him a silver coin, and waved away his change.

[No… I should say it's inevitable.]

[I'm not a beta tester who knows everything. I'm not some overpowered main character who can take on a crowd by myself. And I don't have a nuclear-powered smartphone with internet access so I can just look things up on Baidu.]

[For now, all I can do is build up my strength one careful step at a time, gather information, cooperate with others when necessary, and look for people I can trust to build relationships with.]

Paper-chan fell silent for a while.

【This system approves of your thinking.】

【Creating new quest log... Adjusting thought patterns...】

【Removing redundant data... Updating thought model...】

【Adjustment complete.】

【From now on, this system will recommend more reliable options with lower risks.】

【However, this may delay the completion of your main quest.】

[Become a god… huh…]

【That's right.】

I smiled wryly, turned off the main road, and headed down a quiet side street.

[Doesn't matter. It's better to bide my time than to fall apart halfway through.]

【Is that so?】

[Oh, absolutely… Like right now, for example. Two guys who don't know the first thing about stealth have been following me for seven minutes.]

【.......】

I turned my head slightly and glanced back out of the corner of my eye.

Shadows shifted beneath the surrounding buildings.

One… no, two of them…?

I gave a wry smile, but tension and fear immediately crept into my heart.

[We're being followed.]

The mechanical voice paused, then displayed a 3D image in my field of vision, from a third-person perspective.

[Seven o'clock, 33 meters away. Black trench coat. Male.]

【Marked.】

[The other one's three meters behind him, wearing a gray cloak. Looks young, about my age.]

I took half a second to think it over.

We hadn't gone out of our way to provoke anyone. Were they after revenge? No, that didn't make sense. I hadn't killed anyone or stepped on anyone's toes.

Then… were they survivors from that merchant caravan? Were they trying to steal my armor back?

Or maybe their real target…

was Eileen?

【Marked. What are you going to do?】

Tsk. I couldn't act rashly. If they meant no harm and I attacked them first, things would inevitably get worse.

[What else can I do?] I said with a smile.

[Invite them to join the race, of course!]

As I spoke, I suddenly sped up and sprinted around a corner at five times my usual output.

“Hey! He's running! Get him!”

“Did he notice us?!”

The two figures quickly ran after me, only to find a dead end.

“Damn it! Where'd he go?!”

“Should we go back and report first? At least we know he has—”

Before he could finish, I burst out of the junk pile where I'd been hiding! I launched myself forward almost parallel to the ground, grabbed one man's head, and slammed it into the wall!

“Gah!”

He let out a muffled groan and passed out.

“Ugh!!”

The other man hurriedly put on a mask and hood to conceal his identity. He held a short blade that gleamed coldly, crouching as if ready to fight me head-on.

But I didn't have time to mess around.

“Who sent you? What do you want?” I pressed my short sword against the unconscious man's neck.

“You! That's despicable!! Come fight me yourself if you've got the guts!!”

“Oh? Despicable?”

I looked down at him, my voice cold and cruel. The icy blade glinted as it dug into the man's neck, and a thin line of blood began to appear.

“You've been following me this whole time, ever since I came through the city gates, and you call me despicable? Then what does that make you?”

“You! You knew all along?!”

His voice suddenly turned panicked, as if he’d never expected me to figure it out.

I was being underestimated…

That annoyed me a little.

“Answer the question. Your companion’s life or death is in your hands now.”

“You have five seconds.”

I increased the pressure with my right hand, and my words grew just as bone-chillingly cold.

“5”

“4”

“3”

“2”

Yet he was still hesitating. His body began to tremble, and his gaze flicked unconsciously toward a dark corner.

I saw it clearly. The smile at the corner of my mouth grew colder, my even tone cutting off abruptly and giving way to a pronouncement like a judge’s verdict.

“1”

“What a shame.”