Skeleton Master Chapter 025
Moo-hyeok turned off the light after discovering the entrance.
Darkness loomed around.
He stepped into a place where an even deeper blackness existed.
Whoosh.
His body descended rapidly.
Upon landing, a message appeared.
[You have discovered a level 30 normal dungeon.]
[Experience points (50%) and item drop rates (20%) are increased inside the dungeon.]
Although he had already recovered all his MP while searching for this place and could summon skeletons immediately, he didn't.
He needed to conserve as much as possible.
Because MP is precious.
And he switched the video recording to on, just in case.
Even if not right now, when the dungeon is revealed later, releasing this video for a fee would bring in quite a nice side income.
He slowly moved forward.
It was wider than the unique dungeon.
Despite the potential danger if multiple monsters appeared, he was unperturbed.
He had no choice. After all, Moo-hyeok had nine summons.
That would be more than enough to block the path.
Although he didn't know what would appear.
He knew the dungeon's location, but not what monsters would show up.
Most users keep quiet about such details.
They only spread stories like, "I cleared this dungeon."
"I got this item." That's about all that circulates.
Still, his steps were full of energy.
Had he finally passed the entrance of the dungeon?
He could see the shape of something in the distance.
It looked quite big...
As the distance closed, its form became clearer.
An orc?
As he got closer, he saw it was holding a greatsword.
It wasn't the level 27 lizardman.
A lizardman knight...!
It was a level 30 monster.
It certainly has some difficulty.
Right from the start, at that.
"Summon."
He summoned skeletons.
A total of nine appeared.
First, he ordered the skeleton warriors to charge.
Kiririk!
He commanded the skeleton archers to attack.
Bone arrows split the sky.
Paang!
Brushing over the skull of the charging skeleton warrior, it rushed towards the lizardman knight's chest.
But it wasn't a great warrior to fall for such an obvious attack.
As it swung the greatsword in its hand, the three incoming bone arrows were deflected.
Its level is lower than the steel ant.
But its intelligence was high.
Moreover, being a humanoid monster made it quite tricky.
Skeleton warriors 1, 2, 3 defend.
Skeleton warriors 4, 5, 6 behind skeleton warriors 1, 2, 3.
Skeleton warriors 4, 5, 6 attack from their positions.
Skeleton archers 1, 2, 3 rapid fire.
With the order, Moo-hyeok also transformed his staff into a bow and nocked an arrow.
His accuracy was still on the low side, but with consistent use, he was gradually getting the hang of it.
Now, out of ten shots, at least five would hit the monster's body.
It was possible because the target wasn't as small as a bullseye.
Paang!
The arrow flew and struck the creature's chest.
[You deal 120 damage.]
With the continuous fire from the bone bows and the attacks from the skeleton warriors, even a lizardman knight would be confused.
What the...?
Although it's the same level as Moo-hyeok, his stats are higher.
His attack power is also superior.
A single arrow takes away 120 HP.
The skeletons' damage isn't low either.
The sword's average attack power is 28.
The strength stat is at least 10 or higher.
So the total damage sum is around 60.
Even considering the lizardman knight's defense, it was taking about 30 damage.
With 9 such skeletons, the total adds up to at least 270.
This drains HP more than twice as fast as Moo-hyeok attacking alone.
Kurook, kuroorook...!
As a result, the Lizardman Knight's entire body was instantly covered in silver.
It was bleeding endlessly.
Only then did he realize.
Ah, I'm level 30 now.
Plus, unlike before, I have nine summons.
And I even have archers now.
A smirk escaped his lips.
He didn't expect it to feel this easy.
His thoughts ended there.
Moo-hyeok kicked off the ground.
After transforming the bow into a staff, he pressed the skull attached to its head.
Click.
A blade emerged from the tip of the staff.
He thrust the staff at the Lizardman Knight at close range.
Shunk.
The blade deeply pierced the creature's abdomen.
[A critical hit occurs.]
[You deal 238 damage.]
It was clearly the finishing blow.
Kuung.
He used the Corpse Disassembly skill on the fallen Lizardman Knight.
[Initiating Corpse Disassembly.]
[Progress 10 percent.....]
[Corpse Disassembly complete.]
[You obtained Lizardman Knight's Bone (x2) and Tough Tendon (x1).]
Lizardman's bone, huh.
A smile naturally formed on his face. He was quite pleased with the characteristics the bone possessed.
[Lizardman Knight's Bone]
Characteristics: Strength, Stamina
The smile quickly faded.
While it's true that the Lizardman Knight had become easier, this was just the beginning of the dungeon after all.
*
Next, two Lizardman Knights appeared.
He won without much difficulty.
Then three appeared.
He overcame this as well, but when four appeared, Moo-hyeok furrowed his brow.
Is it going to keep increasing by one?
Eventually, he had to step up in earnest.
He stood at the front with the skeleton warriors to face them.
Level 30 Moo-hyeok.
His stats were far superior to that. The Lizardman Knights were no match for him.
Especially with the help of the skeletons.
Even if there were four of them.
"Phew."
He won this time too.
He disassembled the corpses of the four Lizardman Knights.
[Initiating Corpse Disassembly.]
[Progress 5 percent. Progress 15 percent.....]
[Corpse Disassembly complete.]
[You obtained Lizardman Knight's Bone (x1) and Tough Tendon (x2).]
Up to five is manageable.
But what if more than that appear?
There was a high chance it would become quite challenging.
It's a normal dungeon, after all.
The likelihood of the difficulty being that high was low.
Since the difficulty is set based on the number of users entering, five should be the limit.
Any more than that would be excessive no matter how you look at it.
Let's go a bit further.
After moving forward for a few more minutes.
A shape can be seen in the distance.
One...?
Only then did a smile appear on Moo-hyeok's lips.
It was because he had figured out the pattern.
It would increase up to four, then return to one again.
This is a pattern frequently used in normal dungeons.
After repeating a few times, it should be cleared.
Skeleton Warriors, Skeleton Archers, auto-attack.
The skeletons rushed forward.
Kirik, kiririk!
Since just one Lizardman Knight was easily manageable with summons alone, he quietly watched the battle unfold.
This is the real taste of being a necromancer.
You only need to give orders with your thoughts.
And then watch.
What's the most interesting spectacle in the world? Isn't it watching a fire or a fight?
Being able to watch a vivid battle unfold right before his eyes and gaining experience points upon victory - it couldn't get any better than this.
Kiririk!
The battle didn't last long.
It was the skeletons' victory.
After checking the accumulated experience points, he unsummoned them.
After replenishing his MP, he moved forward again.
Two, three, and then four.
After that, it returned to the beginning with one appearing again.
Indeed, it was repeating.
*
Before he knew it, he had repeated this ten times.
His current experience was at 85 percent.
Just 15 percent more and his level would increase.
Hmm, it should end before that.
This was the fourth and final segment of the tenth repetition.
Four Lizardman Knights appeared, and Moo-hyeok faced them together with his skeletons.
As before, he was able to subdue them without much difficulty.
After unsummoning and taking a brief rest to fully replenish his MP, he moved forward.
In the distance.
The shape of a monster appears like a dot.
Is it starting with one again?
Thinking this, he narrowed the distance.
"Hm?"
It wasn't the shape of just one.
Five...!
Moreover, the one in the center was two heads taller than the other Lizardman Knights. Its build seemed about 1.5 times larger too.
The four Lizardman Knights he had faced until now, and those currently on either side of this one, looked like children in comparison.
He instinctively felt it.
This must be the final section.
Threat? Of course, he felt it.
There was tension in the air.
But that's what makes the game more fun.
"Phew..."
He nocked an arrow and waited.
Until they were within range.
Skeleton Archers, attack.
Moo-hyeok also released his bowstring.
Paang!
The arrows were blocked by their greatswords.
The Skeleton Archers fired in rapid succession.
Moo-hyeok, who had given the order, kicked off the ground.
Pabat.
He closed the distance with the Lizardman Knights at a terrifying speed.
He aimed for the gaps as they swung their greatswords to block the bone arrows.
The body of the Skull Staff struck the side of the leftmost Orc Swordsman.
With a dull thud, it staggered. Then, the Lizardman Knight in the center, two heads taller than the others, approached.
Moo-hyeok hastily retreated.
The arrows that flew over his head targeted the giant Lizardman Knight, but it ignored them and continued to chase Moo-hyeok.
Skeleton Warriors, charge.
The moment he gave the order, the giant Lizardman Knight swung its greatsword.
Moo-hyeok raised his Skull Staff to defend. There was almost no impact. After all, his pain sensitivity was set very low.
But he could clearly feel his body being lifted into the air.
[Your HP is reduced by 65.]
His health was also depleted.
That's how tremendous its destructive power was.
It's incredible.
Yet still unsatisfied, the giant Lizardman Knight approached once again.
At that moment, six Skeleton Warriors that had been ordered to charge collided with it.
"Phew."
Moo-hyeok, having landed, passed by the side of the giant Lizardman Knight.
It's strong.
So this must be the last one.
For now, he intended to deal with the other bothersome ones first.
They should be able to hold out.
Moo-hyeok glanced at the Skeleton Warriors before focusing his attention back on the ordinary Lizardman Knights.
A Lizardman Knight that had suddenly approached swung its greatsword.
After dodging by lowering his body, he thrust out his Skull Staff.
The protruding blade pierced the Lizardman Knight's chest.
As a critical hit landed and it flinched, a bone arrow flew and struck its eye.
[Critical hit!]
[Consecutive critical!]
[Deals additional damage (30).]
Additional damage from the consecutive critical appeared.
It was a value equal to his level.
A subtle thrill of excitement ran through him, as this hadn't happened many times before.
If another critical hit lands here, the additional damage would double.
However, landing three critical hits in a row was an extremely difficult feat.
Still, he tried.
He jumped and aimed for the creature's remaining eye.
Kwaaaargh!
Due to its frenzied state, he couldn't land a clean hit.
Moo-hyeok frowned and twisted his body. He thrust the body of his staff forward.
It was to block the greatsword of another Lizardman Knight that had suddenly approached.
Clang!
With a metallic sound, his body was pushed back.
He hit the wall.
It's fine.
With this, he no longer had to worry about what was behind him.
Moo-hyeok looked at the four Lizardman Knights that had closed the distance.
One with an arrow in its eye was particularly radiating a violent aura.
If he could just hit that one's eye...
Just one shot.
Moo-hyeok raised his staff while watching the wary creatures.
Transform.
The staff changed in an instant.
He nocked an arrow to the bowstring and fired.
Due to the close distance, the accuracy increased.
Because of the sudden attack, the wounded Lizardman Knight's reaction was slow.
The arrow pierced its uninjured eye.
Kwaaaargh!
With this, both of its eyes were injured.
It would be unable to see anything now.
Feeling excruciating pain, it had no choice but to swing its greatsword wildly while in a frenzy.
It slashed the side of a nearby Lizardman Knight.
Grrrr?
Surprised by this, the remaining three Lizardman Knights retreated for a moment.
Whoosh.
Moo-hyeok closed the distance between himself and the creatures.
Now's the chance.
Moo-hyeok's staff began to swing indiscriminately.
The staff's attack power combined with his high strength stat dealt significant damage, rapidly depleting the Lizardman Knights' HP.
He circled around the frenzied Lizardman Knight while maintaining a perfect distance from the others.
He anticipated their movements and preemptively blocked them.
This was possible due to the Lizardman Knights' relatively low agility.
[Deals 118 damage.]
[Deals 115 damage.]
[Deals 121 damage.]
One of them fell.
"Phew."
He turned his head to check on the giant Lizardman Knight. One Skeleton Warrior had been unsummoned.
The remaining five Skeleton Warriors were holding out, but they were clearly being overwhelmed.
It's going to be close.
Skeleton Archers, rapid-fire at the closest one.
He assigned one Skeleton Archer to the giant Lizardman Knight.
Still, he couldn't feel at ease.
He took out a slowing poison from his inventory.
