Lv1 Skeleton - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

My last memory from my past life was walking into a sewer hole after my middle school graduation ceremony .

There was a feeling of falling into a never ending darkness, but the reality of death never came .

Rattle!

When I finally gained consciousness, I saw a mountain of skulls before me . Panicked, I looked around but the reality didn’t seem to sink in . No, almost like I didn’t have any emotions . I checked my body, hands and legs, and saw only bones . I had become a skeleton soldier like right out of a fantasy novel .

'What's this?'

I reached out to touch the screen floating before my eyes .

Name: N/A

Gender: N/A

Status: Normal

Type: Skeleton/ Undead

Class: Soldier

Rank: H-

Level: 1/5

HP: 5/5

MP: 1/1

Damage: 1

Defense: 1

Agility: 2

Intelligence: 1

Unique Skills

[Resurrection Lv 1] [Night Vision Lv 1]

'I had wanted to come to such a world, but why did I have to be a level 1 Skeleton soldier? Why!?'

For me, who had dreamed of worlds found in light novels or fantasy games, this situation was terrible . Regardless, my new life as a nameless skeleton soldier began .

'Still, at least there is a level and ability system . If I work hard and practice my skills, shouldn't it be possible to improve?' It was at this time, while trying to motivate myself, that the skulls around me began to move .

Rattle! Rattle! 

Bones and skulls began rising randomly, attempting to find their rightful place and form a skeleton .

'What's this?'

I tried to say, but only managed to make the sound of jaws chomping down .

Clack! Clack!

Meanwhile, dozens of skeletons had been assembled and they began walking down the mountain of bones .

'What's going on, are we going for a walk?'

The appearance of the skeletons varied greatly: first the skulls were different, some were tall, others short . Then some had a missing arm, pieces of rotten flesh still attached, a dagger in one hand and one was even equipped with with a sword and shield .

From afar, I heard someone shout .

"Gilian, I told you we should have brought a priest over!"

"Don't you know how hard it is to find a priest these days?"

"Oh never mind, the skeletons are already here, please hold them off a while, I hope this magic will be effective against them . "

'Are they adventurers or just a group of bandits?'

The walls of the corridor in which the skeletons walked were of dark marble, giving an eerie feeling . The path had been largely unused and looked like an underground graveyard with a thick layer of dust and many spiderwebs . Along the way we had to avoid several pits where the old floors had crumbled .

"Block your ears!"

"Fire Elemental heed my call! Rafflema strike!"

A large fireball flew in the air and hit the leading skeletons, resulting in an explosion sending all of them flying . I was hit by several debris and bone shrapnels until finally the shockwave also blew me away into a pit .

'Oh no, it's just like the sewer hole I had died in my previous life!'

I fell into a dark pit, unable to see anything .

Clang!

Before losing consciousness a message appeared .

[You have learned Falling resistance Lv1]

'Am I going to die like this again? No wait, wasn't there a resurrection skill?'

My sight darkened, as if the power had gone off . When I finally opened my eyes again I was in a wreckage of skeleton soldiers, hundreds of broken bones all around me .

'Am I the only one who has resurrected?'

I had been conscious for a while now, but no other skeletons showed any sign of reviving .

I just stayed in the same spot with a blank look

'Should I do something, go and explore this world?'

I looked around and noticed that some equipment from the dead skeletons were still intact . Scavenging around I acquired a small dagger, shield and broken helmet . Energized from having worn some equipment, I suddenly felt like a player in a fantasy game .

'So where to next?'

I was in h high spirits, I thought of raising my level, wearing the best equipment and becoming a great warrior . But then it sunk in, a lowly level 1 skeleton soldier can never become a hero .

Walking for a long time in the dark I realized I was in a complex underground tunnel system with many branching caves . The only sign of life were the occasional rats, but they could spot me from far and would scare easily .

'I have to kill something to determine whether my level can actually go up . Still, could a level 1 skeleton soldier even catch a monster, maybe not?

After about an hour of wandering around I had a good grasp of my environment and the structure of nearby caves . There seemed to be no big, terrifying monsters just the occasional rats and liquid like slimes in the area . In RPG's, the slime is often a beginner monster with high physical damage resistance and since my only offense was the small dagger I scavenged previously, I decided to give up on hunting slimes for now . My only option was going after those rats but the problem was that they were too fast .

'If I catch them using a trap would my experience still go up?'

It seemed like creating traps and attracting the rats to it might be my only option . The cave had very little in the way of vegetation, but there was some moss in hard to reach places, previously I had witnessed them eating some on several occasions . I went around the cave gathering moss and carefully picked out a cave which was a dead end . After spreading the moss around inconspicuously, I sat down against the wall motionless, appearing like any other dead skeleton, waiting for my chance . One hour, two hours, on a few occasions the rats would come to the entrance attracted by the smell of the moss, but they were hesitant to enter knowing it was a dead end .

'Are the rats too cautious…?'

These rats were bigger than mice, but smaller than puppies . They wouldn't be hard to kill if they came within reach of my dagger, but therein lay the difficulty . Exercising patience, I remained motionless playing the part of the dead skeleton .

'Finally it's coming'

But there was a problem, four of them were approaching at the same time . Perhaps emboldened by their safety in numbers, they approached the moss cautiously . I stealthily readied my hand holding the dagger .

'Wait, I don't have muscles so how can I move?'

Just as the rats were nearing, my mind was filled with unnecessary thoughts . Still approaching carefully, the lead rat came before me and began to sniff me, maybe I smelled

of moss or perhaps they were just ensuring their safety . I planned to catch as many as possible so I stayed motionless like a dead skeleton .

Squeak! Squeak!

The rats talked among themselves, confirming it was safe, the other three also rushed towards the moss .

Rattle!

The moment I had been waiting for finally arrived . I stabbed the closest rat with my dagger and threw the shield in my left hand to pin down the other three . Although I had been quick, the rats' reaction speed was beyond my expectation . I had caught one but the other three had nimbly sidestepped my shield .

[+11 experience points]

[Acquired knowledge of Tomb Rodents]

The two messages appeared instantly before my eyes and I could see the status of the remaining three rats in the corner .

Status: Normal

Type: Tomb Rodent

Rank: H-

Level: 2/5

HP: 7/7

MP: 1/1

Attack: 1

Defense: 1

Agility: 5

Intelligence: 1

Unique Skills

N/A

'What! Are those rats really a higher level than I am?'

I hadn't leveled up by killing just the one and wasn't sure how many I needed, but for now the problem at hand was how to catch the last three in front of me . The rats watched my movements carefully, smelling around looking for a way out . While I stood in this choke point they couldn't escape, but if I advanced to attack them they could run along the sides . However, I had discovered my greatest ability as a skeleton soldier, unlimited stamina . I had been walking around for hours and realized that I didn't feel thirsty, hungry or tired . So, in situations like the current Mexican standoff, I had an absolute advantage over any living creature .

Several hours later, the tomb rats' physical strength was waning . Perhaps it was because they were originally hungry, and along with the ongoing tense situation, their body's energy was quickly drained . I, on the other hand, was always in optimal condition . I didn't need to move, didn't tire and didn't even need to use the bathroom .

A few hours more and the tomb rats' stamina had finally hit rock bottom . They bared their teeth, poised for their final outburst of strength . It seemed they had decided to try for a last hurrah rather than dying of exhaustion . But, over the last few hours I had been moving my body ever so slightly to one side, purposely creating this opportunity for them . I worried that in a life and death situation they would rush at me in panic, but if they saw an opening I could better control the situation .

'Finally the moment I had been waiting for . '

Squeak! Squeak!

The biggest of the three lurched forward and the other two followed closely behind . I was delighted to see that they took the bait and all aimed for the small gap I had created .

'Got you!'

I simply stabbed forward in an underhand movement, the dagger skimming above the floor almost as if I were brooming . The rats were running too quickly in single file and all three skewered themselves on my dagger .

A message appeared before my eyes .

[+11 experience points]

[+22 experience points]

[+44 experience points]

[Level increased 1 4]

[Acquired ｟Title: Rat Trapper｠]

'Huh…? The experience? Is it different because I killed three at the same time?'

The first time I hunted a rat I only gained 11 experience points, but when I killed three I gained 77, that's more than twice as much as what I expected!

'Is it because catching them at the same time gives more experience? Check status!'

Name

Gender: N/A

Status: Normal

Type: Skeleton/ Undead

Class: Soldier

Rank: H

Level: 4/5

HP: 15/15

MP: 1/1

Attack: 3

Defense: 1

Agility: 2

Intelligence: 1

Unique Skills

[Resurrection Lv 1] [Night Vision Lv 1] [Falling resistance Lv1]

Titles

[Rat Trapper]

I wanted to continue to catch more rats to gain experience, but it seemed none would approach because they could smell the stench of blood . I cleaned my dagger on a dead rat's fur and took the moss with me, searching for another dead end cave to repeat the process .

This time I waited for a much longer period of time, but still no rats approached . When even the moss I had carried over was beginning to dry, a huge creature, unlike any previous tomb rats, appeared .

'What! It looks like a big boar, but… what did it eat to get so big?'

The big creature was actually a tomb rat, but it was rank G . It was a named monster shining in gold 'Tyrant of the Tombs' . Could it be like the unique monsters found in RPG's? Still, compared to the current me, a level 8 monster was far too strong .

Name Tyrant of the Tombs

Status: Normal

Type: Tomb Rodent

Rank: G

Level: 8/15

HP: 44/44

MP: 10/10

Attack: 20

Defense: 5

Agiliy: 10

Intelligence: 1

Unique Skills

[Dash] [Gluttony] [Berserk]

Every instinct was telling me that if we were to fight, I'd certainly get one shotted . I leaned back against the wall and tried to stay still while it was eating . However, after it finished eating the moss it turned to me with interest . It approached and started sniffing and tussling my body every which way . It even became interested in the dagger in my hand and tried to take it away .

'No way, I can't lose this dagger'

Without a dagger it would be very difficult to hunt . Just as I began to apply some power in my arms to resist, the Tyrant rat noticed and immediately tore off my entire arm .

Rawwrrr!

A roar never before made by a rat was heard in the narrow cave . He spat out my arm holding the dagger to the side and took a step back, preparing to dash towards me .

'Shit! I should have just given up on the dagger!'