[The ‘Goddess of the Doomed’ watches you with concern.]
How much time had passed since then?
A day? A week? A month?
I couldn't tell.
I'd simply been lying around like any other ordinary skeleton.
Still, as I lay here taking it easy, I'd managed to make a friend who was in a similar predicament.
His name was Papi, a fellow skeleton sprawled out alongside me in this gray chamber.
Papi was too shy to say anything, but….
He was always looking in my direction, so he must consider me a friend, too.
Right, Papi?
—….
What a shy fellow.
Papi was a skeleton who'd died alone long ago and been forgotten by everyone.
Poor guy, but he was still better off than me.
At least Papi had memories of the distant past. I didn't even have those.
I wonder if there's anyone who remembers ‘me’.
No, does that even matter when I can't remember ‘myself’ in the first place?
Even if someone remembered ‘me’, there was no way to confirm it, and they probably wouldn't recognize me anyway.
After all, I'd become a skeleton like this.
Haha!
There was nothing left in the world that could prove ‘my’ existence.
My face had become a bare skull, and instead of fingerprints, I had nothing but skeletal bones.
Since I couldn't even remember myself, I was beginning to doubt whether the person called ‘me’ had ever actually existed.
—Clatter!
Just then, Papi's head moved slightly.
What a good fellow. Is he trying to comfort me?
“Clack, clack, clatter.”
‘Thanks, buddy.’
[The ‘Goddess of the Doomed’ sighs and scolds you, telling you to please pull yourself together.]
What's that Damn Goddess talking about?
Don't even think about bringing up that fraudulent contract you claim I signed. For all I know, you could've tampered with that memory yourself. How am I supposed to believe you?
A skeleton with no one left to remember him, and a skeleton with nothing left to remember.
A skeleton who could no longer live, and a skeleton who had no reason to live.
That's what I am now.
[The ‘Goddess of the Doomed’ shakes her head helplessly.]
Yeah, that's right. You can't do anything, can you?
What could a Damn Goddess who can't even resurrect one person properly possibly do?
“Clatter, clack, clack?”
‘What, are you going to force my body to move? Or maybe torture me?’
Just keep quiet, Damn Goddess. You don't even have the power to do that.
[The ‘Goddess of the Doomed’ reluctantly says that there is a way to recover your memories.]
“Clack, clack, clack!”
‘Then you should've told me sooner if there was a way!’
The moment I heard that, I immediately sat upright.
“Clatter.”
‘So, what's the method?’
[The ‘Goddess of the Doomed’ says that although the body may change, the soul remains unchanged. You can recover your memories by tracing the marks engraved upon your soul.]
Marks engraved upon the soul?
[The ‘Goddess of the Doomed’ explains that they are like scars formed upon the soul as encounters, experiences, and memories accumulate throughout one's life.]
So how am I supposed to recover my memories from those marks?
[The ‘Goddess of the Doomed’ says that it will be possible if you become her Apostle and retrieve her Sacred Relic.]
What the hell? So, in the end, you're just telling me to become your puppet and let you use me however you please….
How should I put it? It felt like opening an enormous Christmas present, only to find another box inside.
Talk about a letdown.
[The ‘Goddess of the Doomed’ says that this is your only way to recover your memories anyway.]
Well, fine.
At least there's a way to get my memories back.
Rather than doing nothing like this, it'd be better to recover my memories, even if it means letting the Damn Goddess use me as her puppet.
“Clatter?”
‘Right, Papi?’
[The ‘Goddess of the Doomed’ lets out a sigh.]
I cheerfully ignored the Damn Goddess's sigh and got to my feet.
It wasn't exactly the kind of wood I liked, but now that I had a model and a carving knife in my hand, it was time to start carving.
Well, before I could do that, I'd have to learn more about this body of mine, which consisted of nothing but bones.
Know thyself.
There's a reason such famous words exist.
“Clatter.”
‘Status Window.’
[Name]: None
[Class]: Skeleton Archer
[Stats]
-Stamina: 10
-Agility: 12
-Mana: 5
-Strength: 8
-Faith: 1
[Skills]
[Archery] - Lv.1
[Bone Manipulation] - Lv.1
[Bone Replacement] - Lv.1
The Status Window was just as it had been when I first examined it.
Looking at my stats, they were absolutely pathetic.
My stats averaged only about 7.
Even Agility, my highest stat, was a mere 12.
Considering that even ordinary people who hadn't Awakened had average stats of around 10, the situation was enough to make me sigh.
Yeah, I guess this is what you'd expect from a Skeleton Soldier, the undisputed weakest monster, if even an unawakened person like ‘me’ could defeat one….
That meant the only things I could rely on were my three skills.
With a trembling heart, I opened the skill descriptions.
[Archery] - Lv.1: Allows you to handle bows slightly better.
[Archery] was a skill possessed by most Awakened with archer-type classes.
Its level was still low, but it was an extremely important skill, considered the foundation, the basics, and even the ultimate essence of archer-type classes.
Moreover, [Swordsmanship], a similar skill possessed by swordsman-type classes, could evolve into various higher-level skills such as [Plum Blossom Sword Technique] or [Clear Wind Sword Technique].
That made [Archery] a skill with a promising future.
[Bone Replacement] - Lv.1: Allows you to adjust your stats by replacing your own bones with those of other beings.
-Replaceable Parts
Skull, pelvis, arm bones, leg bones, foot bones, hand bones.
The next skill, [Bone Replacement], seemed to be the Skeleton Soldier's version of [Growth], a skill that allowed other Awakened to increase their stats through training.
Judging from the description, I could roughly guess that the stronger the creature whose bones I used, the stronger I'd become.
If that was the case, it seemed to be a skill that allowed faster growth than [Growth], but with the drawback that I'd have to obtain the bones of powerful beings.
What if I somehow got lucky enough to find a dragon's bones…?
An image flashed through my mind.
There I was, with a dragon's skull for a head, burning everything to ashes with the breath I unleashed from it.
“Clatter! Clatter!”
Of course, dragons were incredibly powerful creatures, and their bones were extraordinarily valuable materials, so that was practically impossible.
Still, just imagining it made me happy.
[Bone Manipulation] - Lv.1: Allows you to manipulate bones slightly.
Honestly, I couldn't make much sense of the final skill, [Bone Manipulation].
In that case, the best thing to do was try it out.
First, I focused my consciousness on one of Papi's bones lying nearby and strongly willed myself to activate [Bone Manipulation].
—….
But nothing happened!
What the hell is this useless skill?
Thinking that perhaps it didn't work because the bone belonged to someone else, I tried turning the bones of my right arm into a blade.
—….
Once again, nothing happened.
For a moment, the thought of asking the Damn Goddess crossed my mind, but I immediately discarded it.
Knowing the Damn Goddess, she'd definitely mock me for being unable to use even a single skill properly.
I could already picture her clutching her stomach and laughing.
Anyway, since I couldn't think of any particularly clever solution, I decided to test another skill instead.
The only bones I could see nearby belonged to Papi, so I decided to leave testing [Bone Replacement] for later and chose [Archery] instead.
After all, using my friend's bones would feel rather unpleasant….
“Clack….”
‘Anyway, to use [Archery], I'll need a bow….’
I looked around just in case, but there wasn't anything resembling a bow or arrows in this gray chamber.
…What the hell? Doesn't that mean I can't test a single one of my skills after all?
“Clatter….”
Once again, I was reminded of just how worthless the Skeleton Archer class I'd been resurrected into really was.
I'd secretly hoped that I could at least summon one of the bows carried by the Skeleton Archers I'd seen in videos recorded by the Awakened….
CREAK!
Just then, along with the sound of something growing, I began to feel as though someone was tickling the bones of my left hand.
Startled by the sudden, strange sensation, I raised my left hand.
There, a bow made of pure-white bone was growing out of the bones of my left palm.
CRACK!
After a short while, the bow finished growing, bowstring and all, detached itself from my left hand, and rolled across the floor.
“Clatter….”
‘That startled me….’
I was slightly shocked by the completely unexpected sight, but I thought I understood what had happened.
When I thought of a bow, one grew from my left hand.
Then what about arrows, which naturally went together with a bow?
CREAK! POP!
No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than an arrow grew from my right hand and dropped off.
Is this [Bone Manipulation]?
The only skills I currently possessed were [Archery], [Bone Replacement], and [Bone Manipulation].
Of those, [Archery] was the only one directly related to bows.
But I'd never heard of bows or arrows growing out of the hands of other Hunters who possessed [Archery].
That left only one possible answer: [Bone Manipulation].
But considering I couldn't transform my arm, does that mean [Bone Manipulation] can't create anything other than bows and arrows?
“Clack!”
‘Sword!’
….
“Clack!”
‘Arrow!’
CREAK! POP!
Just as I'd suspected, when I tried to create a sword using the same sensation I'd felt when the bow grew, nothing happened.
But when I tried to create an arrow, one immediately grew from my hand.
So, just because I'm a Skeleton Archer, I can't make anything else, only arrows…?
Only then did I begin to understand why the Skeleton Archers in those videos kept shooting their bows even in close combat.
Sigh…. Still, being able to create bows and arrows like this, even with such limitations, was better than nothing.
At least I wouldn't be in trouble if my bow broke or I ran out of arrows during a fight.
Besides, this was only a possibility, but if I raised the level of [Bone Manipulation], I might eventually be able to manipulate bones into other shapes.
Now that I'd unintentionally finished testing [Bone Manipulation], it was time to return to testing [Archery].
“Clack….”
‘But to do that, I'll need a target….’
—….
There was something nearby that looked just right.
When I lowered my head slightly, Papi's eyes seemed to be welling up with tears, as though he were begging me not to do it.
Of course, Papi's eyeballs had rotted away long ago, so that was merely how it felt to me.
“Clatter, clack!”
‘Don't worry, Papi. There's no way I'd use a precious friend like you as a target, is there?’
At those words, Papi's head tilted slightly forward, as though in relief.
Of course, there was no way it had actually tilted, so it must've been my imagination.
Haha, what a cute fellow.
“Clack!”
‘Well, I will use you as a stand to hold the target, though.’
—…!
Hey, Papi, don't struggle so much. You're making it hard to get you into position.
***
After a brief struggle, I'd managed to put together a fairly convincing target.
A stone roughly the size and shape of an apple rested on top of Papi's head.
Was it Robin Hood?
I'd tried arranging it to resemble the scene from the fairy tale.
At last, the time for the test had arrived.
“Clatter….”
I let out a long breath and picked up the bow and arrow I'd created earlier.
The bow settled perfectly into my left hand, fitting snugly as though it knew exactly where it belonged.
As if I were already accustomed to the movement, I naturally moved the arrow that had grown from my right hand, pushed it forward from behind the bow, and nocked it onto the string.
Then I hooked my right thumb about 1 cm below the arrow and closed my fist around it.
I had no memory of ever performing these movements, yet they felt so natural that it was almost unsettling.
Was this the influence of [Archery], or was it because of the memories engraved upon my soul that the Damn Goddess had mentioned?
I pressed the arrow into place with the side of my index finger and drew the bowstring.
I didn't understand the principle behind it, but strength flowed into my arms, which consisted of nothing but bones, and the bow slowly drew back.
All I'd done was draw a bow, yet something about it felt strange.
Finally, after drawing the bow to its limit, I opened my right hand and released the taut bowstring, which seemed to be begging to be set free.
TWANG—!
It hit.
I felt certain of that the instant I released the string.
The pure-white arrow I'd fired undulated like rippling water, its waves eventually swelling into a surging tide.
CRASH—!
With a thunderous roar, the white wave kicked up a cloud of dust before disappearing.
…?
What just happened?
The moment I'd gripped the bow and drawn the string, I'd felt as though I'd become someone other than myself.
It was as though my body, my soul, had moved of its own accord.
While I stood there in a daze after that bizarre experience, the dust eventually settled.
Through the clearing dust, I saw the gleaming, pure-white arrow.
It had shattered the stone resting on Papi's head, smashed the statue beyond it into countless pieces, and embedded itself there.
[The ‘Goddess of the Doomed’ is astonished by what you've done.]
That was clearly not the kind of destructive power an ordinary Skeleton Archer could display, much less one whose Strength stat was only 8.
“Clack….”
‘Haha….’
Could I actually be overpowered?