It wasn’t only the three surrounded class holders whose expressions had changed.
Even Nia, standing beside Kyle, needed a moment to process what she was seeing.
She instinctively looked around.
Between the trees, pair after pair of blue soul flames glowed in the darkness.
All forty Black-Iron Skeleton Warriors had returned from the outer perimeter.
Their pale, battered frames were spread across different directions, broken blades in hand, completely surrounding the small clearing.
And closer to the center stood four noticeably different skeletons.
The Bronze-Rank Skeleton Warriors.
Their blue-gray bones carried a faint metallic sheen, and the blades in their hands were far more complete than the weapons carried by their Black-Iron counterparts.
The one that had taken the Greater Fireball head-on still had large scorch marks across its chest.
Tiny cracks had even appeared along several bones.
But that was all.
It remained standing firmly in place.
The soul flames in its eye sockets showed no sign of fading.
Nia still couldn’t quite understand it.
She had seen Kyle’s summons that afternoon.
Back then, every skeleton around him had been one of those battered Black-Iron Skeleton Warriors—gray-white bones covered in tiny cracks, carrying weapons that looked like scrap metal picked up from somewhere.
How much time had passed since then?
And now Kyle already had four completely different skeleton warriors.
Even more ridiculous was their strength.
A Greater Fireball from a Level 21 mage had struck one directly, yet only left scorch marks and a few cracks.
Triple Shot had failed to properly pierce their bones.
Even the knight’s full-powered Charge had only forced one of them back by less than half a step.
Were these really undead that a Level 10 class holder could summon?
Nia couldn’t help looking at Kyle again.
Kyle didn’t notice her expression.
From the moment those three had openly declared their intention to kill him, there had been nothing left to discuss.
If they had only been after Nia’s skill scroll, Kyle might not have interfered at all.
But things were different now.
They had made it clear that they intended to kill him too.
In that case— they were enemies.
Kyle looked at the three people trapped inside the encirclement.
His voice remained completely calm.
“Kill them.” The command fell.
All forty Black-Iron Skeleton Warriors began advancing almost simultaneously.
Clack!
Clack!
Clack!
The dense rattling of bones filled the forest.
They didn’t rush forward in a mindless swarm.
Instead, they maintained the outer encirclement while steadily compressing the space available to the three trapped class holders.
The four Bronze-Rank Skeleton Warriors were the first to truly attack.
The mage immediately realized what was happening.
Their previous exchange had already shown him that those four blue-gray skeletons were the real threat.
“Stop them!” He retreated sharply while raising his staff.
The knight reacted first.
Without his shield, he could only grip his longsword with both hands and move in front of the mage, trying to intercept the skeleton warrior charging straight toward them.
But the first Bronze-Rank Skeleton Warrior was already there.
No technique.
No probing strike.
Its blade simply came straight down.
Whoosh—!
The edge tore through the air.
The knight gritted his teeth and raised his sword horizontally above his head.
CLANG!
Sword and blade collided head-on.
The knight’s arms sank violently.
Pain shot through the webbing between his thumb and forefinger, while the sheer force of the impact drove his boots into the dirt.
“This strength…” His expression changed.
Before he could finish, the Bronze-Rank Skeleton Warrior pulled its blade back and swept it sideways.
The knight didn’t dare block again.
He retreated quickly.
The instant he was forced aside, the second Bronze-Rank Skeleton Warrior rushed past him.
Straight toward the mage.
The mage’s pupils contracted.
“Energy Barrier!” Mana erupted.
A translucent magical barrier expanded around him, completely enclosing his body.
Almost the instant the barrier formed, the skeleton warrior reached him.
Its blade came down.
BANG!
The weapon struck the barrier with tremendous force.
The previously stable magical screen bent inward.
Visible ripples spread outward from the point of impact.
The mage’s face paled.
The strike hadn’t shattered the barrier.
But the amount of mana required to maintain it was far greater than he’d expected.
“Impossible…” He didn’t have time to remain shocked.
The third Bronze-Rank Skeleton Warrior had already arrived from the side.
Another strike.
BANG!
The second blow slammed into the side of the barrier.
The entire shield shook violently.
A thin crack appeared across its surface.
The mage’s breathing immediately quickened.
One more hit— and the barrier wouldn’t hold.
“Flame Repulsion!” He slammed his staff into the ground.
BOOM—!
Crimson flames erupted outward from his position.
A scorching wave swept across the ground, instantly igniting nearby leaves.
The two Bronze-Rank Skeleton Warriors that had closed in were forced backward by the blast.
One dragged its feet several meters across the ground.
The other crashed directly into a tree.
The trunk shook violently.
Leaves rained down.
For the first time since the attack began, the mage gained a moment to breathe.
But before he could gather his mana again— a dark figure leaped over the flames.
The fourth Bronze-Rank Skeleton Warrior.
It hadn’t entered the strongest frontal area of Flame Repulsion at all.
Instead, it had rushed sideways onto a raised rock.
Its legs bent.
Then pushed off.
The entire skeleton launched into the air.
The mage had only just looked up when the blue-gray figure appeared above him.
“No—” The blade fell.
CRACK!
The already weakened Energy Barrier shattered instantly.
Countless motes of magical light exploded outward.
The mage hurriedly raised his staff to block.
CLANG!
The blade smashed into the staff.
The overwhelming force drove his arm downward and ripped the weapon from his grip.
The staff flew away.
The mage stumbled back two steps.
The Bronze-Rank Skeleton Warrior landed.
Its blade never stopped.
Another horizontal slash.
A flash of steel.
The mage’s body suddenly froze.
Then he slowly collapsed.
From the moment Kyle gave the order to attack to the moment the mage fell— barely more than ten seconds had passed.
“Mage!” The archer’s expression changed drastically.
He had been looking for an opportunity to shoot Kyle.
But the instant the mage fell, he finally realized there was no point staying here any longer.
He had to escape.
The archer jumped from the branch without hesitation.
Even while falling, he drew his bow.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Two arrows flew in rapid succession.
They weren’t aimed at the skeleton warriors.
Instead, they struck the ground between two Black-Iron Skeleton Warriors on the outer perimeter.
The moment they landed— BOOM!
Dirt, leaves, and shattered stones exploded outward.
The two Black-Iron Skeleton Warriors were knocked aside, opening a temporary gap in the otherwise tight encirclement.
The archer’s eyes lit up.
Now!
The moment his feet touched the ground, pale green light appeared beneath them.
His speed surged.
He sprinted toward the opening.
Ten meters.
Five.
He was almost through— when a blue-gray figure suddenly slammed into his path from the side.
The archer’s face changed.
He couldn’t stop in time.
All he could do was twist his body and raise his metal bow across his chest.
The Bronze-Rank Skeleton Warrior’s blade came down.
CLANG!
The metal bow bent violently.
Pain shot through the archer’s wrists.
The impact threw him sideways.
Bang!
His back slammed into a tree trunk.
The air was knocked from his lungs.
Before he could regain his footing, the sound of bones was already closing in around him.
Three Black-Iron Skeleton Warriors approached from the front.
Two circled around from the left.
And on his right stood the Bronze-Rank Skeleton Warrior that had stopped his escape.
The gap was gone.
Cold sweat finally appeared on the archer’s forehead.
He snapped his head around.
The mage was already dead.
The knight was still trapped by another Bronze-Rank Skeleton Warrior and had no way to help him.
“Wait!” Panic finally entered the archer’s voice.
“We don’t want the scroll anymore!” “We can—” Kyle didn’t respond.
When they had decided to kill him, they hadn’t intended to give him a chance to negotiate either.
There was no reason to offer them one now.
The Bronze-Rank Skeleton Warrior charged again.
The archer hurriedly raised his bow.
But this time, there was nowhere left to dodge.
The first strike fell.
His bow was knocked aside.
The second followed immediately.
The archer barely twisted away.
The blade scraped across his shoulder armor and tore through the leather covering.
He staggered backward.
But Black-Iron Skeleton Warriors were already behind him.
A broken blade swept in from the side.
The archer was forced to turn again.
That single hesitation was enough.
The Bronze-Rank Skeleton Warrior caught up.
Its blade fell.
The archer’s movements stopped.
A moment later, the second body collapsed onto the forest floor.
Three enemies.
Only the knight remained.
He had watched both of his companions die one after another.
Almost all the color had drained from his face.
He no longer thought about fighting back.
Only one thought remained.
Escape.
“Absolute Defense!” The knight roared.
Brilliant white light erupted from his body.
It condensed tightly across the surface of his armor, forming an almost solid layer of protection.
A blade came down from the front.
CLANG!
The knight’s body shook violently.
But this time, he wasn’t forced backward.
A second strike immediately followed.
The white light trembled again.
Still intact.
Kyle watched from a short distance away and quickly recognized the skill.
[Absolute Defense] One of the most important survival skills available to knight-type classes.
Once activated, it greatly increased the user’s defensive ability for a short period of time.
The academy’s textbooks even recorded an example of a Level 20 knight using the skill to withstand a single attack from a Level 40 mage.
Only one attack.
But that alone said enough about its defensive power.
More importantly, [Absolute Defense] wasn’t an ordinary skill that a class instructor could simply teach.
At lower levels, the only way to acquire it was through a skill book or skill scroll.
This knight had clearly been lucky.
Right now, though, he probably didn’t feel lucky at all.
The mage was dead.
The archer was dead.
He was alone.
The knight didn’t dare waste another second.
While Absolute Defense was still active, he turned and charged toward the outer perimeter.
Two Black-Iron Skeleton Warriors blocking the way swung their blades simultaneously.
Clang!
Clang!
The battered weapons struck the white barrier.
Only two ripples appeared.
The knight didn’t even slow down.
He drove his shoulder forward.
Bang!
The first Black-Iron Skeleton Warrior was knocked aside.
The second staggered away as well.
Black-Iron Rank was still only Black-Iron Rank.
Against a knight around Level 20 with Absolute Defense active, one or two of them weren’t enough to stop him.
Hope appeared in the knight’s eyes.
He could make it!
He accelerated again.
But after only a few steps, heavy footsteps came from the trees ahead.
A Bronze-Rank Skeleton Warrior moved sideways into the opening.
The knight gritted his teeth.
He didn’t stop.
Break through!
Light gathered around his legs.
His speed suddenly increased.
Lowering his shoulder, he relied on Absolute Defense and crashed directly into the skeleton warrior.
BANG—!
This time, the result was completely different.
The Bronze-Rank Skeleton Warrior slid half a step backward.
The knight, however, felt as though he had run straight into a stone wall.
His chest jolted.
His charge stopped completely.
And the moment he stopped— the other three Bronze-Rank Skeleton Warriors closed in.
The knight’s face went white.
Kyle watched the defensive light covering his body.
Ordinary attacks could shake it.
But breaking through it quickly would be difficult.
In that case— “Use your skill.” The command was given.
The soul flames inside all four Bronze-Rank Skeleton Warriors’ eye sockets suddenly surged.
Dark red light appeared across their blades.
[Savage Strike]!
The first skeleton warrior gripped its blade with both hands and lowered its body.
Then it swung.
BOOM!
The dark red blade slammed into [Absolute Defense].
The knight’s entire body sank.
The ground beneath his feet cracked instantly.
The white light surrounding his armor flickered violently, its brightness visibly weakening.
The knight’s pupils contracted.
“These things have skills?!” No one answered.
The second skeleton warrior attacked from the side.
BANG!
The white barrier shook again.
The knight staggered sideways.
The third strike came from behind.
BOOM!
The defensive light rapidly dimmed.
Panic finally took over the knight’s face.
He wanted to run.
Skeleton warriors surrounded him.
He wanted to fight back.
But the strength of the four Bronze-Rank Skeleton Warriors was far beyond what he could handle head-on.
All he could do was cover his head with both arms and curl his body inside Absolute Defense, desperately trying to endure the assault.
Kyle didn’t order the skeleton warriors to stop.
The fourth strike.
The fifth.
The sixth…
Dark red flashes continued to fall.
With every impact, the white light around the knight grew dimmer.
Absolute Defense was powerful.
But it wasn’t invincible.
Under attacks far beyond what it would normally be expected to withstand, the amount of time the skill could remain active rapidly decreased.
A little over ten seconds later— Crack!
A thin fracture appeared across the white layer of light.
The knight’s face turned deathly pale.
“No—” The next blade was already falling.
BANG!
The white light shattered completely.
The defense vanished.
The knight instinctively raised his longsword.
CLANG!
The first blade knocked his sword aside.
A second came down from the side.
The knight’s body suddenly stiffened.
The other two Bronze-Rank Skeleton Warriors were already closing in.
The fight didn’t last much longer.
The final knight collapsed.
Silence returned to the forest.
Only a few patches of dead leaves that had caught fire continued to crackle quietly nearby.
Kyle stood where he was and stared at the three bodies for a long moment.
This was the first time he had truly killed another person.
Monsters and people were different.
It would be a lie to say he felt nothing at all.
But he didn’t regret it either.
They had openly intended to kill him.
If Kyle had been the one to lose tonight, they wouldn’t have shown mercy simply because he was only Level 10.
Lia had once told him something.
Either don’t do it at all.
But once you’ve made the decision, don’t hesitate when it matters most.
Kyle had always remembered those words.
And he remembered them now.
“They’re…
all dead?” Nia finally came back to herself.
She stared at the three bodies, then turned toward Kyle.
The way she looked at him was completely different now.
From the moment the real fighting began to the moment it ended, not even a full minute had passed.
Three class holders around or above Level 20 were dead.
And Kyle hadn’t personally picked up a weapon even once.
He had simply stood there.
Given orders.
And the fight was over.
Kyle nodded.
“They’re dead.” Nia stared at him.
“…” Obviously, she could see that.
She simply still couldn’t quite accept what had happened.
A Level 10 Necromancer.
Four Bronze-Rank Skeleton Warriors.
Forty Black-Iron Skeleton Warriors.
And somehow, he’d really killed three class holders around Level 20.
What kind of Level 10 was this?
While Nia was still staring blankly, several Black-Iron Skeleton Warriors had already begun checking the battlefield under Kyle’s orders.
Before long, equipment and materials scattered around the clearing were brought back one after another.
Four pieces of equipment giving off a faint blue-white glow stood out immediately.
[Bronze-Rank Grayrock Staff] [Spirit +25] [Mage Skill Power +5.5%] [Required Level: 18] — [Bronze-Rank Grayrock Warbow] [Agility +20] [Archery Skill Power +5%] [Required Level: 18] — [Bronze-Rank Grayrock Longsword] [Strength +15] [Constitution +15] [Offensive Skill Power +5.5%] [Required Level: 18] — [Bronze-Rank Grayrock Heavy Shield] [Constitution +20] [Defensive Skill Effect +5%] [Required Level: 18] The four pieces of equipment were laid out neatly in front of them.
Nia recognized them immediately.
“Those are all drops from the Grayrock Orc Camp dungeon.” Kyle looked at her.
“Grayrock Orc Camp?” “Yeah.” Nia nodded.
“It’s a Level 20 dungeon near Seabreeze City in Silverstream Province.
Those three ran it pretty often, so most of their equipment came from there.” Kyle gave a small nod.
Silverstream Province covered a vast area.
He had rarely left Westport before, so there was nothing strange about him not knowing the dungeons surrounding other cities.
He couldn’t use any of the four Bronze-Rank pieces yet.
That was fine.
He could sell them.
Kyle put all four into his storage space without hesitation.
Nia had no objection.
Aside from the equipment, there were Graymane Wolf pelts, Low-Grade Beast Bones, Moonbud Herbs, and several other ordinary materials.
There weren’t many of them, but Kyle took those too.
Every little bit could be sold.
He was short on gold.
There was no reason to waste anything.
Once most of the loot had been stored away, only one scroll remained on the ground.
Kyle picked it up and immediately used Detection.
[Basic Skill Scroll] [Effect: Grants one random class skill below Level 20 upon use.] [Note: May grant a skill already learned.] Kyle’s eyes shifted slightly.
A Basic Skill Scroll.
He had been wondering where he could get a skill scroll.
And now one had simply fallen into his hands.
According to prices at the Aetherlan Imperial Exchange, this was worth roughly one hundred thousand gold.
One hundred thousand.
Kyle held the scroll without moving for a moment.
Selling it didn’t sound bad.
Nia watched him from the side.
It didn’t take long for her to guess what he was thinking.
“You’ve never used a Basic Skill Scroll before?” “No.” “Then use it.” Nia made it sound obvious.
“Sure, there’s a chance you’ll get a skill you already know, but you could also get something new.” Then she suddenly stopped.
“Wait.” Nia narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“You’re not thinking about selling it, are you?” Kyle said nothing.
Nia immediately understood.
“You really want to sell it?” She looked genuinely confused.
“It’s only a Basic Skill Scroll.
It’s not like it’s anything especially valuable.” “It’s not even that much money.” Kyle silently looked at her.
One hundred thousand gold.
Not that much money?
Apparently, Nia’s family circumstances were even better than he’d assumed.
Still, after thinking about it carefully, Kyle abandoned the idea of selling the scroll.
He needed skill scrolls anyway.
Now that he already had one, selling it only to buy another later made no sense.
“How do I use it?” Nia blinked.
Then the corner of her mouth quietly curled upward.
“Easy.” With a completely serious expression, she said, “Hold it and shout—USE!” Kyle looked down at the scroll.
“Use.” Nothing happened.
The scroll remained perfectly still in his hand.
Nia fought back a smile and shook her head solemnly.
“Nope.” “Too quiet.” She even demonstrated.
“Uuuuuse!” Kyle looked up at her.
Nia stared back expectantly.
She was clearly waiting for him to actually shout it.
Kyle remained silent for two seconds.
He didn’t.
He might never have used a skill scroll before.
That didn’t mean he was stupid.
Since it was a magical scroll, the real activation method probably involved Spirit.
Kyle tried channeling his Spirit into it.
Hum—!
The magical patterns across the scroll immediately lit up.
Brilliant light surrounded Kyle.
The anticipation on Nia’s face instantly collapsed.
“Ah…” “You figured it out.” She had wanted to tease him.
She hadn’t even succeeded once.
The scroll soon dissolved into countless motes of light and merged into Kyle’s body.
A new notification appeared.
[Skill acquired: Corpse Explosion.] [Corpse Explosion — Level 1: Detonates one corpse, dealing damage equal to 10% of the corpse’s maximum health to targets within a 1-meter radius.] A new skill.
And it wasn’t a duplicate.
Kyle immediately opened the description.
At first glance, [Corpse Explosion] didn’t seem particularly powerful.
A one-meter radius was tiny.
Ten percent damage wasn’t especially impressive either.
And the damage wasn’t calculated using Kyle’s own Spirit.
It depended on the health the corpse had possessed while alive.
But Kyle quickly realized what made the skill truly dangerous.
It was an area attack.
He currently had forty-four skeleton warriors.
Against a few dozen monsters, simply letting his summons kill them one by one wouldn’t be a problem.
But what if he encountered hundreds someday?
Or even more?
Killing them individually would still take time.
[Corpse Explosion] was different.
He only needed the first corpse.
Detonate it.
If the explosion killed nearby monsters, those monsters would become new corpses.
A second.
A third.
A fourth…
Detonate them again.
As long as the monsters were packed closely enough and there were enough bodies, the explosions could spread one after another.
And more importantly— Kyle had [Total Amplification].
He immediately checked the skill after amplification.
Level 2 [Total Amplification].
Skill effects increased twenty-fivefold.
The original one-meter blast radius— twenty-five meters.
The original damage equal to ten percent of the corpse’s health— two hundred and fifty percent.
The updated information appeared.
[Corpse Explosion] [Actual Explosion Radius: 25 meters] [Actual Damage: 250% of the corpse’s maximum health] Kyle stared at the numbers.
His expression finally changed.
Twenty-five meters.
Two hundred and fifty percent.
This was no longer the ordinary low-level skill it had appeared to be moments ago.
In an area packed with monsters, once the first corpse appeared, everything that followed could become a chain of explosions.
And Kyle was already planning to visit one particular place tomorrow.
Blackstone Mine.
His eyes shifted slightly at the thought.
The goblins he’d encountered today with those strange black marks on their bones might be connected to the goblin tribes near Blackstone Mine.
If he really did need to enter the mine tomorrow— the skill he’d just obtained might be exactly what he needed.
The glow from the skill scroll gradually faded.
Nia immediately leaned closer.
“Well?” “Did you get a new skill?” “I did.” Nia smiled.
“Then you’re pretty lucky.” She studied Kyle for a moment before asking another question.
“You actually have a nice voice.
Why don’t you like talking?” Kyle looked at her.
It wasn’t that he disliked talking.
He simply didn’t like saying things that didn’t need to be said.
At least around Lia, he had never been this quiet.
Kyle thought for a moment and, unusually, answered.
“Your voice sounds nice too.” Nia froze.
Then her smile widened.
“Thanks.” She immediately added, without the slightest hesitation, “I think so too.” Kyle stared at her.
“…” Nia didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with that answer.
She smiled brightly at him before apparently making a decision.
“Since you saved me earlier and complimented me—” “This is for you.” She took a delicate box from her storage space and pushed it directly into Kyle’s hands.
Kyle opened it.
Inside lay a magical scroll far more elaborate than the Basic Skill Scroll he’d just used.
He activated Detection.
[Intermediate Skill Scroll] [Effect: Randomly awakens one class skill between Levels 40 and 70.] [Note: May grant a skill already learned.] Kyle’s hand paused.
An Intermediate Skill Scroll.
Its price at the Aetherlan Imperial Exchange— ten million gold.
One hundred times the price of a Basic Skill Scroll.
And Kyle hadn’t forgotten that the three people lying dead nearby had chased Nia for several days because of this very scroll.
Now— she was giving it to him?
Kyle looked up.
“For me?” “Yeah.” Nia answered as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
“You saved me.” She genuinely didn’t seem bothered by the fact that the scroll was worth ten million gold.
Kyle didn’t put it away immediately.
“They chased you for days.” “Because of this?” “Yeah.” Nia nodded.
“So now I’m giving it to you.” Kyle fell silent.
That logic…
Something about it didn’t seem quite right.
She had spent days running from people because she refused to give up a scroll worth ten million gold.
Yet she’d known Kyle for less than one night and was handing it to him willingly.
Nia seemed to understand his confusion.
“They were trying to take it from me.” She pointed at the box in Kyle’s hands.
“I’m choosing to give this to you.” “That’s completely different.” Kyle looked at her for two seconds.
This time, he understood.
He didn’t try to return it again.
“Thanks.” “Much better.” Nia nodded with satisfaction.
A cold night breeze passed between the trees.
She suddenly pulled her shoulders in and rubbed her arms.
“Why did it suddenly get so cold…?” Kyle looked around.
All forty Black-Iron Skeleton Warriors and four Bronze-Rank Skeleton Warriors were still gathered nearby.
The cold aura naturally emitted by so many undead had noticeably lowered the temperature around the clearing.
With a thought from Kyle, the skeleton warriors scattered again.
The forty Black-Iron Skeleton Warriors returned to the outer perimeter.
The four Bronze-Rank Skeleton Warriors took up positions in different directions.
As they moved away from the campfire, the chill in the clearing gradually faded.
Nia didn’t notice the reason.
She simply sat back down beside the fire and held her hands toward the warmth.
“Actually, I got that Intermediate Skill Scroll near Seabreeze City.” Kyle sat down again as well.
“Grayrock Orc Camp?” “Right.” Nia nodded.
“There’s a Level 20 dungeon there.
After I went inside, I happened to find a Fortune Chest down one of the side paths.” Kyle knew about Fortune Chests.
They weren’t fixed dungeon rewards.
Instead, they had an extremely small chance of appearing randomly in different areas of a dungeon.
Simply encountering one required considerable luck.
As for what might be inside— that was completely random.
“Obviously, I opened it.” A hint of pride appeared on Nia’s face.
“And that’s where I got the Intermediate Skill Scroll.” “Unfortunately, those three happened to see it.” “They wanted me to hand the scroll over.” “Of course I refused.” She gave a small huff.
“It’s not like this thing is worth that much money, but I found it myself.” “Why should I give it to them?” Kyle lowered his eyes.
He looked at the Intermediate Skill Scroll in his hands.
Worth ten million gold.
Then he looked at Nia.
He remained silent for several seconds.
“Not worth that much…” A Basic Skill Scroll worth one hundred thousand gold.
She had called that not much money.
An Intermediate Skill Scroll worth ten million gold.
Apparently, that wasn’t worth much either.
Kyle suddenly realized something.
His and Nia’s understanding of the word money— might exist in completely different worlds.