I feel my legs rooting underground.

At my frozen, shocked state, I find myself admiring this sword-dance by the brown-haired knight. His parries don’t seem to take that much energy out of him as if blocking the swings of a child. Even if he’s swinging that sword, somehow he can still find the right positioning to land his sweeping kicks, which sends skulls flying and crushing ribcages as if they are a sponge.

On the other hand, there’s the black-haired girl, swinging her sword wildly and yelling as she battles. She crushes the skeletons with the hilt of her sword, then landing powerful forward stomps, toppling her opponents.

“Just a bit more!” She bellows, her voice somehow greater than the clangs of swords and grunts of men.

What can I possibly do now?

If they catch me, what am I going to say? A prisoner breaking out should be some sort of heinous crime here—and if they find out that I’m lying… I guess that’s no big deal, since I’m going to die either by humans or skeletons, but I’d at least prefer to be struck down in battle rather than to be executed in foreign lands.

Is there no way to escape this situation?

Think, Sung Jae, think!

Only eight skeletons remain. A few of them are disarmed, but the others are wielding menacing-looking swords. The guards are outnumbered, but they aren’t outmatched in terms of fighting abilities. This battle shouldn’t take too long.

I reckon I only have about a minute or so to get going. Within this one minute, I must think of a way to escape and slip through this battle. There must be some sort of way for me to do that! If only there’s a way for me to mix in… and hide right under their noses…

There isn’t any kind of hidden space back there, right? The rooms were bare and the corridors are all one-way. So hiding is out. I must face them headfirst.

I can’t fight them. I haven’t got the balls for that and I am as well-equipped as a newborn baby. I’d die in an instant if I go head-to-head.

What if I leverage on the fact that I hold ‘precious information’? Maybe they’ll listen to me? Let’s simulate this: I go up to them, surrender myself, then… I’d still have to figure out a way to escape! What’s the point of trying to escape then, when I could’ve just waited for death in the cell?

Let’s throw that out of the window.

“Argh!”

One of the guards falls back, stumbling onto the ground.

“Stay back!”

The skeletons are reviving! The piles of bones are coming together as if someone pressed the rewind button on their deaths; in a few seconds, there are more skeletons, formed from bones and ash. There must be more than twenty skeletons now! It’s going to get dangerous.

That’s better for me! If they’re preoccupied with the battle, then they wouldn’t have enough eyes to check their surroundings. They would focus on their opponents and try to survive instead of trying to catch me, right?

But I can think that way. Both the top brass in this squad of guards are pretty perceptive. It might be possible that they can focus on multiple things at once. I’d rather not underestimate their fighting abilities.

So, they must focus on the battle for me to slip through.

What if they focus on something else? Is there anything else for them to concentrate on so they won’t pay attention to me? Can the battle get more heated? Perhaps, they’ll get injured during the fight and start to pay more attention to the skeletons?

Focus on something else… Focus…

Wait!

I quickly turn, forcing myself out of the shocked state and creeping back to the square room. I turn to the right, facing the tall, metal cabinet. I notice two drawers at the bottom and quickly tug at them, pulling them out to reveal stacks of yellowish paper, similar to the ones lying on the shelves and the floor.

Near the left wall, I spot a brazier, the flames burning strong.

Hmm…

I peek from the doorway again, realising that the battle is still way too far from me.

I quickly set up the papers, placing them to form a large circle. At the corners, I stack the papers in a messy manner, making sure that they are ‘connected’ to the circle with more paper.

I need still more!

I discover a few unlit torches, the oil-paper still soaked in oil. Are they still flammable? Oil shouldn’t have some kind of expiry date, right? I don’t know. Let’s test it out.

I bring the torch to the brazier, lighting up the oil paper and burning the top of the torch.

“Alright!”

With the torch in hand, I rush out of the room.

Can I do this? Am I able to do—heck, if I’m able to muster enough courage to go against a fucking skeleton, I can fucking do anything! I can fly! I can finally get laid!

I take a deep breath, feeling the air within my lungs.

“Oi! Come and fucking get it, motherfuckers!”

One of the skeletons instantly reacts—which shocks me a little, since I still doubt that they can hear when they don’t have any organs, though it shouldn’t be surprising since these bastards even exist in the first place. The other skeletons turn around as well, some of them giving silent war cries.

Then, the first skeleton to notice advances, raising its sword high up and charging towards…me?

Wait! That’s not how it’s supposed to work!

“Help!” I say, changing my stance. “The skeletons are coming to get me!”

The captain doesn’t seem to notice… I need to do something, and fast!

“Help!” I yell at the top of my lungs, straining my throat.

“It’s him! It’s the spy!”

I wave my torch at him. The captain gestures at his guards, who immediately make a dash for me. Their war cries distract the skeletons on their way towards me. Instantly, the battle begins, the skeletons seemingly able to parry their strikes. Naturally, the guards, who are already exhausted, start to falter.

One of the guards charges for the skeleton before him. At that moment, he produces superhuman strength, somehow managing to push the skeleton back. The skeleton doesn’t give up, exerting more strength—not that I can see it, but it looks like it—and suppressing the guard.

“Fuck!”

I duck instinctively, realising that I just dodged a sword’s sweeping strike. I try and inch away but I’m frozen in fear. I look up, wondering why the skull seems to be more malicious-looking than the one I crushed back there. I gulp, feeling my heart rate increase once more.

Someone! Come! Captain!

As if my thoughts got transferred to his mind with telepathy, the captain comes swinging. In one quick slice, the captain severs the spine of the skeleton. The skeleton’s torso falls onto the floor, but it isn’t giving up. It flips over and starts crawling frantically for him, grabbing his leg with both of its hands.

“Fuck off!” The captain grunted, trying to shake off the skeleton.

“Captain, I can’t handle them!”

Melissa’s cry of help distracts the captain, and the skeleton instantly takes the chance to latch onto his leg, hugging it tightly like a koala. The captain turns his attention back to the disgusting creature, using the hilt of his sword to bash against its skull. He then tries to pull the skeleton away, grabbing the neck and pulling away.

Yet, the skeleton is still holding on tightly. It then opens it mouth, coming down onto the thigh, biting into it.

“Argh!”

His eyes reflect his rage. He starts to curse and yell. His breathing becomes irregular. Yet, even with all of his frantic shaking, the skeleton seems to stick like a lizard on a wall.

“Captain! There’s too many! We need to fall—argh!”

“Melissa!”

The captain turns around. Melissa falls, a sword lodged into the side of her stomach, somehow piercing through the chainmail. The captain bellows, letting out a cry of pure anger. He punches at the skull repeatedly, grunting and screaming as he does so. The skeleton shudders with each blow.

Crack.

The skull finally breaks. The captain punches through the skull into the head. Instantly, the skeleton lets go, falling onto the floor. The bones forming the torso are also out of shape, forming a pile of lifeless bones instead.

“Melissa!” The captain rushes back but the skeletons are already on their way to him.

The girl in question, however, is lying on the floor in a pool of crimson.

Serves you right, bitch.

“Fall back! Fall back!” The captain yells out his commands.

Yet, none of the guards alive are listening, each one of them deep in a heated battle against two or more skeletons. In a bid to survive, they resort to desperate measures, giving up their sword and choosing to tackle them down as if in a street fight. The skeletons are putting up good fights as well. Clearly, these bastards were swordsmen before they died!

Or maybe there’s a spell that allows skeletons to be proficient swordsmen?

No matter! The skeletons are coming and they are almost here!

“You!” The captain says, pointing his sword at me. “Stay alive! We’re falling back!”

By falling back, they refer to retreating to the room. At that moment, I realise that there are two options for them: they can either go back the way they came from or head for the holding area and use the portal there—which I cannot find.

For me, however, there is only one option.

I dart around the room, relying on my instincts. I duck. I jump. I dodge. I even fall, rolling onto the floor, trying to avoid the stabs and thrusts.

“Fuck off!” The captain yells in frustration.

More skeletons are coming to fight against him now; the captain finds himself parrying strikes from many swords, each one of them coming hard and fast. Do these skeletons have endless stamina? Don’t they need to rest? Do the undead even need to rest?

The torch in my hand is still burning, the flames strong and in a dance.

I remove my feet from the paper I’m stepping on and bend down, quickly lighting up the corners with the torch. I repeat, as fast as I can, trying to avoid the skeletons.

Soon enough, I smell it.

“Wait! Fi—ack!”

One of the skeletons pushes him back with its sword. He stumbles a few steps back. He then pulls himself forward, narrowly missing the swing of another skeleton.

The flames begin to spread and I quickly head for the doorway.

“Get out! We need to leave!”

The papers burn.

The fire starts to grow bigger.

Soon enough, I feel the heat from the tall and large flames.

With that, I leave the room, not turning back to look at the captain deep in a heated fight within a circle of flames. If the flames are dealt with soon enough, it should bring the room an inferno for a short while.

That’s good.

I stop in my tracks, staring at Melissa lying on the floor, her life oozing out from the sides of her stomach. The wound is deep and with each second, the pool of crimson seems to grow bigger and bigger.

I sigh.

“Too bad, you fucked up,” I mutter. “I must go.”

Go, Sung Jae! Go!

I quickly dart around her body, ignoring her groans.

I reach another corridor similarly to the ones I’ve seen. Piles of bones line up against the wall—most likely there was a battle here as well. Damn! They’ve fought so long? Doesn’t that mean that they’re pretty much exhausted?

Great!

One of the swords that the skeletons were using lies near the pile. I pick it up, feeling the cold of the hilt against my palm. It is heavy, yet at the same time, it’s not bulky. The hilt is made of the same material as the blade, which means that if intense heat is applied to metal, this sword is most likely useless. I wouldn’t be able to hold it!

Nonetheless, I still have to have something with me. This sword should be useful.

Right now, I have to run. I have to run as far as my legs and lungs can take me. I have to find the exit as fast as I can.

Luckily, I notice that there is a linear path from the exit. The corridor is long but it is connected by large, round rooms, each with burial urns littered all over the floor. I notice a large cabinet full of yellow papers as well. I quickly sweep them down onto the floor, then grabbing one of them, lighting them on fire at the brazier. It starts to burn at the corners and I lay it to rest on the stacks of papers.

It catches fire too, burning a great orange-yellow tint.

Ping!

Time to move again!

I turn, rushing out of the room. In haste, I almost stumble and fall. I quickly regain balance and sprint once more down the corridor, crossing a few rooms on the side of the corridors. Some of them are disconnected, connected only by a broken bridge.

Is that the exit?

Oh, fuck!

I didn’t think of it! What is the entrance to this place? This place must be connected to the barracks, right? Won’t that mean that I have to fight my way out—or work my brains again?

Shit!

Holy shit.

I’m not going to live for long, aren’t I? A woman who summoned me, are you watching me right now?

I bet those bastards in the palace are living the high life now. Great! I hope they fall from high places to their deaths and suffer from some kind of debilitating disease! Pieces of shit. I’m going to have my revenge!

Ping!

Fuck! It’s a skeleton!

I look at my sword, gripping it tightly. It’s the first time I held a real sword other than the katana that my father bought. I’m going to be using this to defend myself.

The skeleton turns to look at me.

“Yaargh!” I yell, charging for the skeleton with my sword.

The skeleton parries, sending a vibration right down to the bones of my toes. I pull the sword back and take a step back. Without looking at the skeleton, I charge again, pushing the skeleton. It stumbles back, crashing into the wall behind it.

I twist my elbow, tipping the hilt at the skeleton. I bring it down, bashing at the skull. This should work. This must work. I bash. I bash. I bash again. I feel the vibrations, the shuddering, the transfer of kinetic energy. The skeleton twitches, trying to wriggle free as I place my weight on it.

Crack.

The first line appears on the skull.

I raise my sword higher, this time bringing it down faster and harder.

Crack.

Crack.

“Fuck you!” I yell. “Die! Just die! Why aren’t you dying!?”

Ping.

“Die!”

Ping.

Crack.

Back to how it is.

A skeleton should stay a skeleton! It doesn’t have any fucking business walking around…

Ping!

“Fuck! What’s going on! Why are there so many pings! It’s not like I can actually see them anyways, why are you pinging me!”

The Game Menu hovers near me, this time showing me a totally different screen.

Name: Lee Sung Jae

Class: None

Title: Hero of Elgia

Action Required!

New title available, would you like to discard current title and replace with: Outlander instead?

*Titles replaced are unrecoverable. Skills gained will be forfeited and converted to experience points and skill points.

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