I couldn’t help but laugh at the dark comedy of this scenario. At least, I wanted to laugh, but skeletons in general were incapable of producing such a sound. The only sounds a skeleton could make were rattling sounds, and that was about it. Without much of a choice, I decided to emulate the sound that the opposing skeleton had made when it first set eyes on me. A miserable series of clacks was the result of my attempt at laughter.
As if enraged by my bony laughter, the enemy skeleton jammed its detached bone back into its socket, then stood up and began rushing toward me once more. It seemed like it was serious about attacking me this time.
I couldn’t see this as a good thing—it most definitely wasn’t. Although skeletons were weak monsters, it had enough speed and power to kill a grown man—minus the typical adventurer, of course. With that being said, even the weakest Iron-class adventurer would take severe damage from such a blow.
While I was lost in thought, the skeleton’s charge hit me straight on, and we both fell onto the ground. I nervously looked for a way to counterattack, convinced that if I simply sat and did nothing, the other skeleton would surely kill me. But apparently, that was not necessary.
The reason for that was simple: the other skeleton simply did not attempt to attack. This was perhaps due to a combination of factors, including the fact that the momentum it was moving at, and the specific angle I was holding my sword, had caused my weapon to become firmly embedded in its skull. A truly serendipitous occurrence.
However, that much wasn’t quite enough—the enemy was an undead monster after all. If anything, the enemy skeleton seemed more irritated by the fact that its field of vision was now blocked by a sword sticking out of one of its eye sockets, as opposed to being bothered by the fact that the sword in question was a sharp, metallic instrument in its skull. It was also far from being dead.
Judging by everything I had seen thus far, it was fair to assume that skeletons did not possess much in the way of intellect or logic, even though they had a somewhat humanoid form. The skeleton that had attacked me was a good example, as it was thoroughly confused by the current developments, and apparently could not decide what to do.
Capitalizing on this chance, I quickly grabbed the handle of my blade, placing what force I could onto the weapon. I had thought to simply push the blade through, given that it had been so conveniently impaled into the enemy’s skull. I was, however, reminded of the unfortunate fact that I was an almost-powerless skeleton. After all, bone was a material used to make armor, and it was considerably hard. The enemy’s skull probably wouldn’t shatter with what little strength I had. Even if I tried to put my body into the attack, it would not work, as I did not have much of a body to begin with.
I found myself at a complete loss.
I had to somehow channel more power into the blade’s hilt, no matter the cost. If this went on, I would probably be stuck mud-wrestling this skeleton forever. It was greatly undesirable for my first battle to drag on for hundreds of years.
Drawing my mind back from its hopeless daydream, it occurred to me that I should at least attempt to use one of the abilities I had acquired in life. For all intents and purposes, I was not a normal skeleton, and I should be exploiting that fact to the fullest.
I had become too caught up in the matter that I was currently a skeleton and had forgotten that I had defeated many skeletons in my previous life. In fact, I used to be able to defeat skeletons with nothing but brute force. I even had mana, spirit, and divinity at my disposal.
Although normal skeletons were not aware of it, their movements were powered by magic, as well. As a result, skeletons possessed a higher measure of speed and power than the average person, hence its classification as a monster. Since I was no longer human myself, it occurred to me that I should be using my newfound capabilities as a monster as much as possible too.
Amongst the three abilities available to me, spirit was the one that was the most suitable for an application of brute force—and as such, the most suitable for my current situation.
Having finally arranged my thoughts, I began to focus, surrounding my body with spirit energy. Amidst considerations that I had last used this ability when I was more than just a pile of bones, I had no idea if it would actually work. But I had to test it out somehow. If it didn’t work, then I would have to rely on simple force. If it did, on the other hand...
I was known in life for pushing forward even if things seemed grim. It didn’t make sense to simply give up now.
As I continued to focus, it would seem like my gamble was paying off. With all of my strength, I thrust the sword’s hilt, slowly pushing the weapon through the skeleton’s eye socket and eventually breaking through its skull. But the force of the attack did not seem to stop there—a series of unpleasant crackling sounds spread through the enemy skeleton’s body, and all at once, all the bones in its body broke into a thousand small pieces.
Like a puppet with its strings cut, what used to be the enemy skeleton collapsed into a shower of bony fragments, scattering across the ground of the dungeon. Up until a few moments ago, those bones had been connected, and had formed the body of a skeleton. But with its head crushed and form compromised, the skeleton seemed to have lost its undead traits, returning once more into a lifeless pile of bones.
I won. Somehow.
Although it was a clumsy and thoroughly shameful display of a first battle, all that mattered was my victory.
While I was not as agile or strong as I was in life, I had managed to use the abilities available to me for a strained victory. Perhaps I didn’t do as badly as I thought.
With that notion in my head, I leaned back, my mind somehow filled with an ambivalent sense of relief.