Inside the forest, Evan desperately searched through everything he had, looking for anything he could use to escape or to distract the goblins surrounding him.
His eyes eventually landed on a few things he hadn't used since escaping the crater.
His entire status had been frozen and locked by the Trial's suppression.
Even his skeleton army was sealed, leaving him in an extremely difficult position.
After all, a Necromancer without his summons or corpses was practically just a weakened mage.
The fifteen skeletons he currently had access to weren't much help either.
But perhaps...
They could still be useful.
Evan checked their details and confirmed there were fifteen in total.
Each skeleton carried a different weapon, and judging by their worn clothes, they were most likely the remains of the adventurers who had been travelling with this body's original owner before the attack.
'I think the person whose body I'm using was also a Necromancer.'
Evan examined the skeletons carefully.
'But his skills must have been extremely crude. Otherwise, he wouldn't have ended up with such weak summons.'
His thoughts drifted toward his original army.
If his own undead were available right now, escaping this settlement would have been child's play.
He might even have been able to bulldoze straight through the entire settlement.
Unfortunately, that army was currently nothing more than a locked number on his status panel.
Still unwilling to give up, Evan opened the summon section and checked whether there was any way to unlock them using his Selection Points.
The result nearly broke his heart.
[Attribute: Summons (×4,958)]
[Requirement: 9 Selection points]
Evan immediately closed the option.
'Nine Selection Points...'
He couldn't afford to waste even one right now.
'If the system has set such an outrageous requirement, then it must have provided some other way to make use of individual summons.'
His eyes narrowed.
'System, what would it cost to unlock a single summon?'
He selected one of the summons within his storage.
The answer appeared almost instantly.
[Attribute: Summon (Death Phoenix, Tier 1 Pseudo Rank)]
[Requirement: 4 Selection points]
Evan's expression darkened.
'Four points for one... No way.'
He scrolled through the list again, searching for something useful.
Then his eyes stopped on one particular summon.
The fastest one he could think of.
'You.'
With his decision made, Evan selected the skeleton.
A lean figure appeared before him, almost identical in height to Evan himself.
A crude wooden bow rested in its hands, decorated with strange ornaments, while a half-filled quiver hung across its back.
'An archer or hunter, most likely.'
Evan quickly assessed the skeleton before pulling his cloak over its body.
Then he began preparing his plan.
[Necro Heal] [Bone Armour]
Dark energy surged through the skeleton.
The flames burning within its eye sockets suddenly became stronger, while its cracked and fragile bones gradually recovered.
Its entire frame became sturdier within seconds.
Then the effects of Bone Armour began taking shape.
Bones extended from its body, forming protective layers across its chest and limbs.
However, one skeleton alone wasn't enough.
Evan reached toward another skeleton.
He activated the same skills again.
This time, the bones of the second skeleton began breaking apart.
Under Evan's control, they were transferred toward the first skeleton, merging into its body and strengthening the armour around it.
The entire process took less than a minute.
When it was finished, the first skeleton looked completely different.
It was now sturdy enough to play the role Evan had prepared for it.
Evan's gaze settled on its chest.
A faint, devilish grin appeared on his face.
With a flick of his finger, the bones covering its chest shifted aside, exposing the ribcage beneath.
'Surely, I can't send a guest to the settlement without a gift.'
His smile widened.
'I should prepare something special... something the Shaman will remember for the rest of his life.'
Evan pushed his hand between the skeleton's ribs and began arranging something inside its chest.
A moment later, he pulled his hand back.
A small mass of bones could be seen nestled between the ribcage, held firmly in place like a strange core.
It looked more like an ornament than anything resembling a power source.
Evan carefully closed the ribcage and restored the Bone Armour over it.
His preparations were complete.
Only the execution remained.
He sent the skeleton down toward the forest floor while Evan moved toward another tree some distance away.
He waited patiently.
A few moments later, the skeleton began moving.
Evan watched silently from the tree as his summon was discovered.
Several goblins immediately rushed toward it.
The skeleton was surrounded, captured, and dragged down beneath a group of goblins almost ten times its number.
From their reactions, they clearly believed they had finally caught the intruder the Shaman had ordered them to find.
Evan's lips curled upward.
'Finally... the bait has taken the hook.'
The goblins proudly carried the skeleton away.
Evan waited for several minutes, carefully checking the surroundings to make sure no other patrol was nearby.
Once the area became quiet, he followed them from a distance.
Just as he expected, the goblins didn't stop.
They continued straight toward the settlement.
Soon, the sounds of cheering and excited shouting could be heard.
The goblins carrying the captured skeleton were clearly enjoying their supposed victory.
Evan, meanwhile, quietly climbed onto the settlement wall from another direction.
He kept himself hidden beneath the darkness while observing the group below.
The goblins carried his skeleton toward the main building at the center of the settlement.
Evan's eyes shifted toward the mountain pathway.
'Just a few more minutes...'
Around three groups of goblins were stationed along the route leading toward the Skypeak Mountain.
They patrolled the pathway as though guarding a treasure vault.
Evan still didn't understand why the tribe was so determined to protect the mountain.
But one thing was certain.
He couldn't simply sneak past them.
The goblins were too perceptive, and even the slightest unusual sound could draw their attention.
Nightstep could conceal his presence, but it couldn't magically make him pass through a heavily guarded route.
However...
That was exactly why his current plan existed.
'Once it begins, the entire settlement should turn its attention toward it.'
Evan calmly watched as the goblins finally entered the central building with his skeleton.
His eyes narrowed.
The real show was about to begin.
Inside the main building...
The structure was made from roughly assembled wood and layers of leaves, with the only source of light coming from the large fire burning in the center of the hall.
The goblins entered quietly.
They moved toward the center before kneeling one after another, their heads lowered as they presented the captured intruder.
"My lord... we have gotten... the intruder as you've ordered..."
The goblin at the front spoke in his broken, guttural tongue.
From deeper within the hall, a silhouette slowly stepped forward.
The surrounding goblins immediately moved aside.
No one dared to obstruct his path.
The figure was another goblin, but unlike the scouts and warriors outside, his appearance carried a distinct sense of authority.
He stood taller than Evan, with a broader frame and darker green skin. Strange, deep-green markings covered portions of his body like ancient tattoos.
A wooden staff rested in his hand.
At its peak was a weathered skull, its empty sockets staring into the darkness.
The goblins lowered their heads even further as he approached.
"Hmm..."
The Shaman's gaze settled on the figure wrapped in the cloak.
"Looks like you finally caught the rat. I can see it's still alive."
A faint grin appeared on his face.
With the entire settlement surrounded by scouts and warriors, he had never considered the possibility that the intruder could escape.
He stepped closer and lowered his staff, using its tip to pull away the cloak covering the captured figure.
But the instant he saw what was beneath it...
The Shaman's expression changed.
His eyes widened.
He instinctively staggered backwards several steps.
The surrounding goblins froze.
They had never seen their Shaman react like this.
"My lord... is something wrong?"
The goblin at the front asked nervously.
The Shaman's expression twisted with fury.
"You fools..."
His voice trembled with anger.
"Can't you even tell the difference between a human and a... skeleton?"
The goblins stared at the figure on the ground.
Only then did they finally notice it.
There was no flesh.
No blood.
No human face.
Only a skeletal figure with empty eye sockets burning with faint flames.
Its teeth clattered together as it struggled against the goblins holding it down.
For several seconds, none of them knew what to say.
Then the Shaman's anger erupted.
"You can't even accomplish a single task properly!"
He stepped forward and swung his staff.
BANG!
The staff struck the skeleton's skull.
The bone shattered instantly.
The skeleton collapsed onto the ground, its body falling apart beneath the overwhelming strength of the Shaman.
The goblins trembled.
They could see the fury burning within their leader's eyes.
The Shaman slowly turned toward the goblin who had brought the skeleton.
With a casual flick of his staff, the goblin suddenly rose from the ground.
His body twisted violently.
"Arghhh!"
His hands clawed at his throat as if an invisible force had wrapped itself around his neck.
The surrounding goblins stood frozen.
None dared to interfere.
Within seconds, the struggling goblin went limp.
The Shaman released his spell.
The corpse dropped heavily onto the wooden floor.
"Take that away."
His voice was cold.
"And start searching again. We don't have time to waste. We can't delay the Lord's plans any longer."
He pointed toward the shattered skeleton.
"And get rid of that thing too."
One of the goblins immediately stepped forward and began gathering the broken bones.
But just as he was about to pick them up...
Clack.
The Shaman's eyes narrowed.
That sound wasn't the ordinary clattering of bones.
He raised his staff.
"Stop."
The goblin froze.
The Shaman stared at the remains for several seconds, his expression gradually becoming more suspicious.
"Open its chest."
The goblins exchanged confused glances.
"I think..."
His eyes narrowed.
"...our intruder sent us something."
The goblins immediately obeyed.
They tore apart the remaining bones around the skeleton's chest.
And beneath the shattered ribcage...
They found an object.
A fist-sized orb made entirely from pale bone.
It didn't resemble any ordinary part of the skeleton.
"What is that...?"
One goblin muttered.
"Pull it out."
The Shaman ordered.
The goblin hesitated before reaching toward the strange orb.
The moment his fingers touched it—
"ARGHHHHHHHH!"
A horrifying scream erupted through the hall.
The goblin threw himself backwards, clutching his hand.
Smoke rose from his palm.
The flesh had been burned away where he had touched the orb, with blood dripping from the damaged skin.
The surrounding goblins recoiled.
Even the Shaman's expression became serious.
The orb was still sizzling.
Tiny pieces of the goblin's burned flesh had melted onto its surface.
"What kind of object is this...?"
The Shaman's eyes narrowed.
He didn't touch it himself.
Instead, he raised his staff and used magic to pull the orb from the broken skeleton.
The orb floated into the air.
He carefully examined it from every angle.
Then his eyes sharpened.
"Interesting..."
The Shaman increased the pressure surrounding it.
A powerful force began crushing the orb from every direction.
Crack.
A thin fracture appeared across its surface.
The Shaman's expression grew colder.
Whatever was sealed inside...
It was resisting.
But instead of stopping, he increased the pressure.
More cracks spread across the bone sphere.
Meanwhile, far outside the settlement...
Evan suddenly stopped.
The moment the connection with his summon disappeared, he knew its head had been destroyed.
A faint smile appeared beneath his concealment.
'I knew it.'
His eyes glimmered.
'That Shaman wouldn't simply throw away something suspicious.'
He had deliberately placed the strange orb inside the skeleton.
It wasn't meant to hurt the goblins by itself.
It was bait.
He needed the Shaman to become curious enough to force it open.
And judging by the faint tremors he could sense through his connection before it disappeared...
The plan was working.
'Come on...'
Evan glanced toward the settlement.
'Force it open.'
A few seconds later—
"ARGHHHHHHHH!"
A terrible scream suddenly erupted from the direction of the settlement.
Then another.
And another.
The cries spread through the night, throwing the entire goblin settlement into chaos.
Evan's smile widened.
'There we go.'
The final act of his plan...
Had begun.