Chương 9: The Skeleton Hill (I)

"Wait!" Before they reached the crest of a hill in the first meadow, the woman in full armor leading the way signaled for her three companions to stop. The four of them came to an abrupt halt, holding their breath. Along with the sound of the wind stirring the leaves of the scattered trees across the meadow, a strange clattering began to drift toward them.

"It's coming from the other side of the hill," whispered a short man gripping two knives.

"Kaliken, you're nothing but trouble. Stay where you are. Leave this to us." Soon, the source of the clattering began to come into view at the top of the hill. First came the hollow skull, then the rest of its skeletal body, protected by an ancient suit of rusted armor. In its right hand it carried a simple wooden spear tipped with rusted steel. On its left, a round shield in the same condition.

"It's just a skeleton..." said a burly man, lowering his war axe.

"But what's a skeleton doing here?" asked a lean man carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows.

"There are no graves or ruins in Eryndea. It's a newborn world, after all..."

"It doesn't matter what it's doing here," the burly man said, resting his heavy axe on one shoulder as he started toward it.

"In a moment, it won't be doing anything."

"Don't get careless, Ritten," the armored woman warned.

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"It's all yours. Shooting arrows at a skeleton would be a waste of time," the archer added. The burly man waved a hand without looking back, letting him know he understood.

"Ha, you're just afraid of missing with all those holes," the man with the daggers mocked.

"Say whatever you want," the archer replied. Once he was close enough, Ritten gripped his axe with both hands again.

"Hah!" Clank!

"What?!" The skeleton had somehow managed to withstand Ritten's charge with its shield.

"What is this thing, the remains of some hero? A veteran of a hundred wars?" the burly man complained. Clink! Clank! Two quick spear thrusts shot toward Ritten, but with surprising agility, he managed to knock both aside with his axe.

"Indeed..." the armored woman said.

"To withstand the charge of a demigod, this is no ordinary undead." Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Oh, really?" Swish! Crack! The short man had appeared behind the skeleton and, with a quick slash, severed its skull from the spine.

"Sounds like an excuse to me, haha-" Thud!

"Agh!" But before he could finish laughing, an arrow pierced his shoulder.

"Above us! On the hill!" the archer shouted. This time, a group of ten skeletons had appeared at the summit. Three carried bows, three swords, and the other four, like the first, bore spears and shields.

"Everyone, take positions!" the woman shouted.

"Beldin, can you still move?"

"The bastard ruined one of my arms, but I've still got the other!"

"Behind me," Ritten shouted.

"I'll put arrows through their skulls!" the slender man yelled, drawing his bow.

"Ritten, the ones up front are yours!"

"Beldin, I'm sorry, but you have to go after the archers. You're the fastest."

"Don't worry, my Lady Jidia, we all promised we'd make you a goddess, and we will," Beldin replied as he finished wrapping his shoulder.

"Besides, I still have to return the favor!"

The fight lasted several minutes. The skeletons were far harder to bring down than anyone in the small faction had expected.

"Is... everyone all right?" Jidia asked between breaths. Part of her gleaming armor was now cracked.

"These... skeletons... weren't... normal..." Beldin replied, wiping the sweat from his brow with the arm he could still move.

"Ugh, I think one of those things cracked a rib," Ritten complained, wrenching his axe free from a skeleton's skull.

"This can't be..."

"Endar, what is it?" Jidia asked. The archer pointed toward the base of the hill whose summit they had taken during the battle.

"We're surrounded." An army of skeletons was already lurching up the hill from all sides.

"There are at least a hundred..." Ritten murmured, stepping in front of Jidia.

"I didn't think we'd fail the challenge because of mere monsters," Beldin said, tightening his grip on his dagger.

"These aren't mere monsters," Jidia said.

"Someone is behind this army."

"My lady, please flee. We'll hold them back," Beldin continued.

"Flee where?" Jidia asked, drawing her sword.

"My place is with all of you. I'm sorry for dragging you into my foolish dream."

"What are you saying, my Lady Jidia? For our lord's daughter to set out on her own and seek her fortune in a new world is a dream worthy of respect," Ritten said, lifting his axe once more.

"The only thing I regret is not being able to protect you."

"He's right. There was nothing foolish about it," Endar added with a faint smile. Jidia smiled, but a small tear slipped from the corner of her eye. That was when a rain of arrows began to fall over them.

"Are they dead?" Vilkie asked.

"No, that would've left a bad taste in my mouth," Nerez replied.

"I have nothing against them, after all."

"I think that bad taste is coming from something else," Vilkie said, hiding a laugh behind her hand.

"But who would've imagined your skill would leap from proficiency E to C in one go?" Aren commented as he finished laying the unconscious bodies on the ground.

"In theory, it first rose to rank D, and then, after I used it again, it reached rank C..."

"Is that important?" Vilkie asked.

"I'd say so."

"I see," Aren said, catching on.

"You mean it might not be possible to rise more than one rank at a time?"

"It's a possibility I have to keep in mind, though I still have no way to prove it," Nerez explained.

"Maybe I just didn't have enough... something... to push it all the way to rank C."

"That 'something' is the important part," Vilkie pointed out.

"What did you do differently from us?"

"Rather than any one specific thing I did, I can think of two possibilities," Nerez replied.

"The amount of experience I've built up across my lives, or the sheer amount and density of spiritual energy the skill received all at once... Though we also can't rule out a combination of both."

"Nerez, could you tell us how much spiritual energy you have?" Aren asked thoughtfully.

"Just like that? Aren't you going to take me on a date first?"

"Haha, I'll wait until you're ready."

"I'll take you on a date if you want," Vilkie said with a teasing smirk.

"..."

"Say something!"

"Watch out!"

"Watch out? Don't be ridiculous!"

"So you're the necromancer! Victory will be ours! Die, you wretch! Die!" A hole opened in the air above their heads, and a man with a sword shot out of it, hurling himself straight at Nerez.