Chapter 65: [Arc 2] Extra Chapter 1: The Skeleton Adventurer

I run, and run, and run. But the goddamn beast still doesn't give up the chase.

How many days has it been since I incurred that dreadful monster's wrath? The wound it inflicted on the first day hasn't shown any sign of healing, despite all the recovery potions I've applied to it.

My legs can't tell it anymore. Just as I thought that the monster leaped towards me. And that was the last sight I saw alive.

---

Is what I thought, but I'm alive?!

=====================================================================

WORLD ANNOUNCEMENT: 

Dungeon, [The Water-Knot of Glavras],

has been eliminated.

=====================================================================

What is going on? Did the last attack knock me unconscious? The beast hasn't found me yet, or did it think I died from that, and left me without checking, or eat me? My good luck still lives, I guess. And me too.

HAHAHAHA! Nothing can stop this Jack Loupe, master Adventurer, and Ranger!

But why am I in this gloomy cave? Did the last attack of the monster throw me in here? I ran for quite the while, several days actually, when escaping from that monster I encountered by that huge lake in the forest.

Ah, damn. To think that such a monster would come on a simple delivery quest. Who wanted such a thing anyway? Not that I care anymore! 'Your own life is the greatest treasure', I completely understand what you meant by that now, Barm. 

Wasn't it a World Announcement that I heard just before? Probably telling that a Dungeon some no-brain Dungeon Master build without protection from a state, got crushed. 

Talk about wasted opportunities. Any good materials that can be farmed will be emptied without leaving enough behind for the Dungeon to rise back up. Some idiots even think that destroying the Dungeon Core or killing the Dungeon Master will be rewarded even more. And even if they don't get anything, they just chalk it up as not destroying enough Dungeons and move on to the next.

Blinded by greed. Those words have never been told. It describes guys like those former-mercenaries better than anything. As the Adventurer Guild was a branch of the now-closed Mercenary Guild, those guys think that adventuring is a weaklings job, and takes up the occupation despite not following a single rule of the Guild. 

Adventuring isn't all about killing everything in sight you know! The only times that is needed, is when there's an Extermination Quest! Hunting Quests ain't about slaughtering the target into a formless piece of meat! Exploration Quests ain't about destroying the ruins you're researching! And they think they're the coolest guys on Terra Sol? HA! 

Those former mercenaries don't give single care if there's a Dungeon right in front of them. They will do anything with it if the Dungeon ain't protected by the law, after all, so many newborn Dungeons gets crushed the same month they've been built. Heck, sometimes they may even charge at it before checking if it's law-protected or not.

And if things go awry for them, they instantly start to commit crimes such as robbery, murder, even forcing people into slavery! And to certain extents so that they won't get a criminal title as well, they're the parasites of mankind society for real!

And to make things worse, they're mistakes drag other, serious Adventurers, into their mess as well. How many lives have been lost because of those idiots? And since the Guild's ranking system only counts the number of completed Quests, and not how well the Quests are completed, or the personality of the Adventurers, guys like those manage to get up to rank D before they get stopped because of the trials for becoming C-rank or higher.

If those Grandmasters could just re-organize the system, or not. Those lazy nobles who want the prestige of being a high-ranking Adventurer wouldn't allow it. If only the Guild could get some solid back-up, and not just the OK signal for being able to set up shop by the royalties in each city...

Well, not my place to diss the Guild brass. I'm not doing anything to solve the problem either. And there's the exit. Complaining about those guys takes time, and it makes me depressed as fuck. Time to change gear, and get some sunlight!

Ah, what a lovely wasteland! Nothing makes you more energized than the first light-rays after who knows how long you have been inside a dark cave. 'Wasteland'? HEY, WHERE DID THE FOREST GO TO?! AND WHY DO I LOOK LIKE THOSE SKELETONS!!?

---

The second day since I woke up. As a skeleton.

No. Freaking. Way, this is happening to me. I've heard about the rumors of those who were cursed to death will return alive again if the curse gets turned off, but not like this! Isn't those curse they talk about, the kind where the soul of the cursed gets thrown into the depths of the Underworld!? How could that monster be able to use such a curse!? 

Despite all the complaints I can muster up, the fact that I've gone from being a regular human to a skeleton is the truth. Skeletons are either humanoid-looking, with the only difference between the main class they have from the moment of their birth. Or un-birth? Then there are the animal skeletons, who like their name suggest, are the skeletons of different animals. The stronger the living being they take after, the stronger the skeleton.

Me, on the other hand, is what's called a Remnant Skeleton. A creature whose soul survives the undeadification, and retains their past life's memories and personality, essentially having been reborn anew. My case is a little different from the norm, but I don't think I'm wrong here.

One of the Remnant Skeleton's traits is that they can do anything they could do before death. Eating, sleeping, even things like sweating and getting drunk is possible. Having sex is unfortunately impossible. DAMMIT ALL TO HELL!!

The other trait is somewhat contradicting the first one, but all the skills and classes one had during their first life gets reset, some of them even lost. In my case, I bet to say that only my main class, Ranger, is to some degree safe, alongside all my search-related skills. None battle-orientated skills remain though.

The third trait is the blue flames that shine in the eye sockets of the Remnant Skeleton. Normal wild skeletons either have no flames. For those who're tamed, and have a certain degree of intellect, they will have a flame in the color that represents their soul. This could even be the same blue flame as Remnant Skeletons, but that would be just a coincidence. 

And the fourth trait is, the reanimated Remnant Skeleton has the same weaknesses, and needs, as they had before they died. Meaning I need to eat and sleep as if I still was a human.

I managed to stave off the hunger by eating some of the lizards that I find here and there, but I seriously want to return to Velantas City as soon as possible. But walking through this region of death, without any fighting power, or secure ways of obtaining information? Yeah, no way that'll work. I'm at most a delivery boy than a fighter back when I was 'alive', so no way I'm gonna be any stronger than regular skeletons now.

I've been camping out in the cave I woke in, but the water I had on me before I died is starting to run out. And there are no water sources anywhere here at all! I need to make a plan to escape towards the city without being found out by any of those monsters. Especially those battle-hungry skeletons...

"...?" - Skeleton

And here they are. And three of them to boot. What a coinci-is not the thing to be talking about! Run!

---

HEEELLLP!!

Those guys have been chasing me for hours now! Since I've not been caught yet, it means I still have my [Sprint] skill. Not that it won't do me any good in escaping those warmongers behind me! From what I can see off their equipment, there is one Skeleton Swordsman, one Skeleton Lancer, and one Skeleton Scout in their party. And it's the last guy who's the worst pain in the neck!

All skeletons have the [Life Detection] skill, even me. But the Skeleton Scout is way worse, as it can record the lifeforce signal. With that, it can lock-on to me, wherever I go in the world, and chase me down with its comrades!

"Help!" - Jack

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Tch, time to lose all sense of pride, and just shout out! I'm scared of dying, so anyone, help me!

"Heeeellllpp!" - Jack

Oh, twelve Ultimate Gods, please help me! I'll even ask the worst goddess, Alvatria! Anyone is fine, just save me!

*rumble, rumble, rumble*

What's that sound? My own [Life Detection] is picking up a signal from above the cliff there, and it's coming this way. And it's fast as heck?! What's up there? A rock slide? Wait, a rock slide!?

I jumped out of the way, as did the Skeleton Lancer, and Scout. The Swordsman wasn't so quick on its feet and got crushed by the rock slide. 

What happened here? And where did the signal I picked up go? In the air?

*CRACK!*

Whoa-! Something fell on the Skeleton Scout! The signal? So that's a living being? Not that they're living after that crash landing. What the-? The signal is still there. They didn't die? 

The dust cloud started to drift away, and what remained was a woman dressed in black clothes, with a grey mantle on top of that. The mantle covers her face, but just from her body shape one can guess she's a beauty, while also kinda a tomboy, from her taste in clothes.

The strangest thing is that she has her right leg on the remains of the Scout. Did she come down on the rock slide, for then jump off, and dropped an ax-kick the Scout? Urgh, this girl's dangerous!

Memo to myself: Do not get distracted by her nice style, or awesome legs. I'll get killed the moment I let my guard down. And yes, I'm for the legs, got a problem?

The worst part about her is that she doesn't show any sign of having the power to one-shot the Scout. Skeletons are weak, as long as they're fought one at a time, but to instantly destroy one to bone dust, that's too crazy! That she's able to hide that makes her even more of a pain to deal with.

And why is she just standing there? The Swordsman is right beside you!

*BANG!*

Eh? What the-!? The girl just fired a Light Magic spell against the remaining Swordsman. While having her back against it? And with no chants!? And it took just one shot to crush it?! And why is even she surprised about that!!?

Ah, no good. This girl's no good for my peace of mind. And now she's aiming at me! Wait a sec!

"S-stop! I'm not a monster!!" - Jack

"?" - Girl in grey

O-okay, she stopped the spell. Phew, too close. Now I just need to explain my situation.

"I'm, I am an Adventurer from the Velantas City branch Adventurer Guild. My name is Jack Loupe." - Jack

"Phht." - Girl in grey

Did she, did she just laugh at me? 

"Ehm, I was on a mission by the Guild, to retrieve a treasure that had been stolen from the Quest giver. A piece of Soul-Sealing Amber." - Jack

"?!" - Girl in grey

"The hunt for the thieves took me to the deepest depths of the Velantas Forest, which should have been here if I'm if I am not wrong." - Jack

"Hmm." - Girl in grey

"I managed to snatch back the Amber, but in a small accident I dropped the Amber into the hidden lake in the forest, which should have been located to the west the last time I was in the forest." - Jack

"!!" - Girl in grey

"In my anger of losing the treasure, I smacked a small spider that was close by, only to incur the wrath of a gigantic black spider with a skull mark on its back, and with skull-like joints on the legs." - Jack

"..." - Girl in grey

"I tried to run away from the monster spider, but it managed to poison me, and hunted me down. My memory is somewhat foggy on the last part, but I must have been killed by it in the end. The weird part is that I woke up with this appearance of a Remnant Skeleton. I have the idea that the monster spider could have cursed me to death, only for the curse being lifted, and me returning to life in this appearance. Quite the farfetched idea, I know, but I do not have any other explanation about my current state. Anyway, could I ask you for help to, reach, the city?" - Jack

"So, you..." - Girl in grey

"Eh, what?" - Jack

Eh? Why did the girl come up so close? And she's shaking a little, what's this? 

"SO YOU'RE THE MAIN CAUSE THEN!" - Girl in grey

"Eh, GWYAAAHH!!" - Jack

*DANG!* *Crash* *Bang* *Bong*

Gwha! She just punched me outta nowhere, and sent me flying! W-why...? 

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