Time passed; Lixuman had no sense of how long he had been flying.His spirit was utterly drained, threatening to let him plummet from the air.Yet, to avoid recapture, he flapped his bone wings, pushing himself ever farther.Farther… just a little farther, and the chances of being pursued would diminish.
Finally, he could fly no longer.He had no choice but to descend, landing upon the earth.Still, he lacked a sense of security.
Memories of the skeleton lair haunted him—eyes opening to skeletons, closing to the same; the torment under Lucia's grasp lingered like a phantom.Even the thought alone sent shivers through him.But now he had no strength left to continue moving; he had to devise another plan.
It made sense: skeletons were meant to be buried in the earth.Without hesitation, Lixuman lay upon the ground and invoked earth magic, sinking himself beneath the soil.
"I am a corpse… I am a corpse…"He repeated the mantra over and over, self-hypnotizing.
In this trance, he drifted into a semblance of sleep, perfectly still, like a true corpse.Meanwhile, his broken bones gradually regenerated.As he had surmised, by reassembling and evolving his limbs, the skills embedded within them became fully his.Even if he lost the limb that held the skill, the ability remained usable.Henceforth, each evolution would allow him to replace skeletal limbs and integrate new skills.
Lixuman awoke to a clamor above the earth.Startled, he assumed the succubi under Pound's command had caught up, and froze in place.
I am a corpse… I am a corpse… I am a corpse…He repeated the mantra, maintaining his disguise.
Soon, he realized it was not the succubi.The voices were coarse, loud, unmistakable even through the soil.Even dying succubi had a seductive, gentle tone; this was different.He also heard a faint, quivering female voice:
"Don't come any closer!"
Tedra's words came with retreat, fear lacing her tone."Don't be afraid. We just want to be friends, have some fun," said a muscular, bare-chested man advancing toward her, ignoring her protests.
Two other healthy adult men followed him: one slightly plump in leather armor, the other shorter, clad in linen.
Tedra did not believe their words.She drew a dagger from her waist, but her small frame made it nearly powerless; the men only laughed and whistled.Desperation surged, and she pressed the dagger to her own neck.
"Step back! Unless you want to play with my corpse!"
The threat had the intended effect; the men halted, though they did not fully retreat."Miss, we just want to have some fun, no need to be so tense.""Step back!" she repeated, hands trembling despite the dagger.
"Alright, alright, we'll step back. Don't scratch that pretty neck," said the muscular man, pretending to be subdued.
Tedra exhaled in relief—but suddenly, the man lunged with astonishing agility, snatching the dagger from her wrist."Little lady, what's the use of playing with a dagger?"
She struggled to free her wrist, but his grip was like iron."Bastard!" she spat, kicking toward his groin."Hoho, quite feisty," he mocked, effortlessly evading her strike.
"Both of you, restrain her. I'll inspect her first," he ordered.The two remaining men seized her arms, pinning her in place.
"Creak… creak…"
From below, a strange sound emerged.The earth writhed, as if something sought to break free."What is that?"
The men were momentarily distracted.A skeletal hand burst through the soil.
"Why is there a skeleton here?"The muscular man drew a short sword."Forget it, I'll deal with it.""Hurry, boss! Such a rare specimen, we don't want to miss out!"
He advanced, short sword ready.A newly revived low-tier skeleton seemed no threat, yet in the next instant, a mud projectile shot up, striking the man's eyes.
Vision was instantly lost.Victory was all that mattered to the skeleton; morality was irrelevant.
"What the—!"He swung his sword, but felt his neck snap cold and shatter.
"Captain!"
The remaining two men reacted in horror, drawing swords, ignoring Tedra.The skeleton turned, hollow eye sockets locking onto the rushing men.
"Quagmire."
The ground instantly became sludge, swallowing the two men."Damn it!" they yelled in fury, but their anger held no sway.
The skeleton, a blur of white, grasped a rib-formed bone sword, slicing through their throats with ease.
For Lixuman, eliminating these lv10 or lower weaklings was effortless.The experience gain was meager, only a few dozen points.
He ignored the bodies, turning instead toward the woman crouched on the ground.Seeing Lixuman approach, she raised her dagger again—she had not expected mercy from a skeletal creature.
Yet, Tedra felt a spark of gratitude; had the skeleton not intervened, her fate might have been far worse.
Lixuman approached, and she trembled, raising the dagger.He caught it effortlessly with his bony hand.
"Rattle… rattle…""I… r-rattle… rattle…"
Communicating was difficult.Tedra, puzzled, raised her eyes at the strange sounds.
"You… you're talking?"
She immediately scolded herself mentally—skeletons couldn't speak.
"R-rattle… yes… rattle," he replied."Are you really… talking?"
She doubted her hearing. This skeleton was bizarre: capable of magic and intelligent in combat.
"If you are truly intelligent, then 'rattle' once," she commanded.
"…Rattle."
Tedra's eyes widened at the terrifying skeletal figure.
"I thought you were a mindless skeleton monster. Thank you for saving me, Mr. Skeleton," she said, releasing the dagger in gratitude, though it remained under his control.
"R-rattle… th-thank… rattle.""No need… r-rattle… thanks."
Lixuman spoke while adjusting the growth of bones in his throat.Using the principle of vibration through bone, he grew a thin bone plate, which could vibrate to produce sound.From the first attempt, he continually refined its size and thickness, until his speech became increasingly clear.
"R-rattle… Red Carp… and Green… r-rattle…"
He turned to the corpses, speaking a tongue-twister as he adjusted the bone plate in his throat.