As soon as I rose, I immediately turned my gaze.
Big Guy looked at me and approached.
"A new friend has...."
I stood up right away and examined my surroundings. Big Guy's words weren't important.
Because Big Guy and Beanpole didn't remember. No matter what I said, it would be useless.
"Looks like you're out of it. I was like that too."
"Now isn't the time for that...."
Leaving Big Guy and Beanpole behind, I immediately examined the room.
'There're four of them this time....'
Two on the left and two on the right. The number of doors had increased to four.
Big Guy and Beanpole didn't change, but it was certain that the room changed.
I had to run before it was too late.
"Hey! Where're you going!?"
I was sorry, but I had no intention of meeting my death alongside them. I intended to get out of the room before the intruders came.
BANG—
Thankfully, perhaps because it was before the iron bars came down, the door opened easily.
'It's dark.'
Unlike the room, there were no torches in the passage. It seemed no light at all came in.
"Hey...!"
Big Guy's voice.
The iron bars would come down soon.
Moving forward into an unknown passage would be better than quietly waiting for death.
Just like that, I pushed my body into the passage.
THUD— THUD—
As soon as the door closed, I heard the sound of the iron bars dropping. Waving my hands around, I felt along the wall.
I slowly moved forward.
The passage continued in a straight line before coming to a dead end. Feeling along the wall again as I moved, I realized I had to turn right.
The passage that appeared after rounding the corner wasn't long. At the dead end, I found a door.
'It's closed.'
I pushed the door, but it didn't budge at all. Had the intruder not passed through the first room yet?
Like that, I waited for the door to open. I didn't really know how much time had passed.
Since there wasn't even anyone to converse with in the darkness, I couldn't grasp any sense of time.
THUD— THUD—
I heard the sound of the iron bars opening.
When I pushed with all my strength, the door opened.
The layout was different, but it was no different from the room where I had first awakened. There were torches on the walls and a grave of bones in the corner.
'Are there no other skeletons....?'
As I walked through the room like that, I saw water pooled in the center. Since it was a part that differed from the first room, I slowly approached it.
'Hmm?'
Looking closely, it wasn't water. Come to think of it, there was no way water would be pooled there. Because it would be normal for water to seep into the floor.
I carefully touched the water. Mucus clung stickily to my index finger and thumb bones.
'This is....'
For a moment, I had an ominous feeling. A word surfaced in my blurry mind.
'A Slime?'
Why did I know that word?
More importantly, the problem was that this Slime wasn't alive.
'Did an intruder pass through here?'
The puddle of water was a Slime's corpse. Unfortunately, it seemed to have faced an intruder.
I wiped the mucus off on the floor and stood up. When I looked back, the iron bars had come down.
'Did they go into the second room....?'
While the intruders dealt with other Slimes or Skeleton Soldiers, I had time.
I examined the inside of the room. Excluding the place I had come through, there were two doors left.
'If the Slime's over here....'
What if, like Big Guy and Beanpole, the Slime had also attacked the intruders?
The door closer to the Slime's corpse would be where the intruders had entered.
'I might be able to get out.'
I didn't know why I had come to this place, or even where this place was. If so, was there any reason I had to stay here?
I had to find the exit. I walked toward the door visible beyond the Slime's corpse.
An entrance was also an exit.
'I can just go out through the entrance the intruders came from.'
I sat down next to the door.
My gaunt bones were visible in my field of vision.
Had I originally been a Skeleton Soldier?
'If so... why am I different from Big Guy and Beanpole...?'
I didn't act blindly like them. What was the reason for that?
Unanswered questions lingered in my head. Perhaps the answer lay outside?
I didn't know how much time had passed.
The iron bars showed no sign of opening.
'Just when on earth... is it going to open?'
It was taking a surprisingly long time. Had the intruders met an enemy that was difficult to deal with?
Just then, unexpected letters appeared before my eyes.
[All Challengers have died.]
[Survival EXP acquired.]
[Lv1 (20%)]
***
Rattle—
I rose to letters I was seeing for the first time.
It was the grave again. Why?
"A new friend has...."
Big Guy's voice.
It didn't even bother me anymore.
'Survival EXP?'
The letters had already disappeared. However, it wasn't an illusion.
Because they were letters with the exact same appearance as the ones that showed my Death Count.
When you didn't know something, you were supposed to ask.
"You're out of...."
Passing Big Guy, I moved straight toward Beanpole.
"What is a level?"
After throwing out the question, I was flustered.
Level? How did I know that Lv stood for level?
"Level? This friend's peculiar."
"Isn't level a word that indicates the intruders' caliber?"
Beanpole spoke without looking at me. I heard Big Guy's voice.
The intruders' caliber?
"Do only intruders... have levels?"
"Well, that's not it. Because everyone has a level."
"Ah, really?"
Big Guy asked in surprise. It seemed this Skeleton Soldier didn't really know anything properly.
"Then... Bean... No, what is your level?"
I swallowed my voice as I was about to call him Beanpole. Why didn't they have names?
"Our level's obvious."
Beanpole shrugged. The movement of his bone joints was vivid. He raised his index finger.
"It's 1."
"You're 1 too. Since you just got here."
Big Guy added. That made sense.
THUD— THUD—
'Shoot....'
It was the sound of the iron bars coming down. Because I had focused on the conversation, I had failed to get out of the room.
This time, there were two doors.
"Looks like an intruder's arrived."
Big Guy headed toward the center.
"Even though our level's 1, we guard this place. That's our reason for existing."
Beanpole rattled as he returned to his spot.
'Reason for existing...?'
For Big Guy and Beanpole, just guarding this room seemed to be enough. Did they know how many times they had died up until now?
'If so, why do I...?'
Wasn't I the same Skeleton Soldier? Why didn't I try to guard this room without any questions like Big Guy or Beanpole?
'And why do I keep coming back to this point in time...?'
It wasn't the exact same situation. Because the room kept changing.
At first, I thought death was the condition. Because every time I died, I came back to life here.
However, this time was different. I had escaped into another room and survived.
'Then why...?'
Why was I back in this place again? Did it mean I couldn't escape from here?
THUD— THUD—
The iron bars went up. At that sound, I snapped to my senses.
'I can't die like this...!'
The grave of bones was far away. Examining my surroundings, I found a weapon that looked better than a shinbone.
FWOOSH—
What I chose was none other than a torch that had been lighting up the room from the wall.
"What's that friend doing?"
"He's a peculiar friend in many ways, isn't he...?"
Big Guy and Beanpole muttered. Perhaps because it was quiet, I could hear everything.
It didn't end there. I looked back and forth at both sides.
'Where'll they come from...?'
From the boy to the knight and the mage, the intruders were also different every time.
Whichever intruder came in, I had to ambush them. I looked toward Big Guy and Beanpole.
I could have told them about the need for an ambush too.
'It's too late right now....'
However, let's try that next time. I stood next to the closer door.
To hide my presence as much as possible, I was careful even with moving my bone joints.
As I waited like that, the flickering torch stole my gaze.
'This is....'
As I looked at the torch like that, letters rose up like heat haze. Right next to the torch.
[Burning Torch - Right Hand]
[Fire Attribute / Blunt]
[A torch used to light dark places. Be careful, as mishandling it may cause burns.]
What was this?
I tried holding the torch with my left hand.
[Burning Torch - Left Hand]
The rest was the same, except Right Hand had changed to Left Hand. It seemed to change depending on the object's position.
BANG—
THUD— THUD—
At the sound of the door opening, I hurriedly turned my head.
'Damn it....'
It was a disaster. The odds had been fifty-fifty, yet I hadn't even succeeded at that.
The door I had been hiding next to remained firmly closed and blocked by iron bars.
Rattle— Rattle—
Big Guy and Beanpole—I heard the sound of them moving.
However, I couldn't run. I couldn't join them.
The last thing I saw was a sharp arrowhead flying right before my eyes.
CRACK—
Along with a dull sound, darkness came over me.
***
Rattle—
The grave.
I was used to it now.
[Death Count: 3]
I immediately stood up and looked for a door.
"A new... Wait, where're you...!"
I heard Big Guy's voice. I was sorry, but I didn't have any questions this time.
'I've got to survive first....'
The one who killed me last time seemed to have been an archer. It was clear that the intruders changed every time.
There were also cases where the intruder wasn't alone.
I couldn't leave it to luck. First, I had to run away and hide.
THUD—
While sprinting down the passage, I crashed into a wall.
It was fine. There was no pain. What pain could I possibly feel when I was nothing but bones?
Feeling along the wall to gauge the direction, I ran again.
BANG—
When I opened the door and went inside, two Slimes were crawling around on the floor.
"Can you understand what I'm...."
I spoke out, but there was no reaction. I swallowed my voice.
It seemed these Slimes didn't have intelligence.
'Where should I go...?'
The fact that the Slimes were still alive meant there was a possibility the intruders would enter this room.
I quickly examined the room.
Two pillars stood in the prison-style room. Excluding the door I had come through, there were doors on both sides centered around the pillars.
'Where should I go?'
My hesitation was brief.
BANG—
THUD— THUD— THUD—
Because the iron bars came down and eliminated any time to hesitate. Startled, I reflexively hid behind a pillar.
"Ah... It's Slimes...."
"Troublesome right from the first round... Tsk."
"Anyone have a blunt weapon?"
There were three voices reaching my ears. Two men and one woman.
'Goddammit....'
It seemed this place was the first room. Thankfully, judging by their conversation, they didn't seem to have noticed me.
"What about magic?"
"We'll be in trouble if we use up mana from the first room. You know the number of rooms increases based on headcount, right?"
"True... It's better to deal with them using weapons if possible."
What did they mean about the number of rooms increasing?
The intruders discussed how to kill the Slimes.
What should I do? Should I fight alongside the Slimes?
"Is an axe a blunt weapon?"
"Are you an idiot? Blunt means a weapon without a blade, like a rod."
"If it's not, just say it's not—why're you calling me an idiot?"
It was a sulky voice. Seeing how relaxed they were, they seemed confident they could easily deal with the Slimes.
Fighting alongside the Slimes was on hold for now.
"We're going to switch weapons once a chest appears anyway, so should I just deal with them using the axe? It's a basic item anyway, right?"
"No. I'll give you the staff I'm using, so deal with them using this. Even if I hit them, it'll be hard to finish them off, so it's better if you use it."
"We shouldn't have both chosen slash weapons. Next time, I'll have to bring a mace as my basic weapon."
"That's a story for next time, so just focus on right now."
Their discussion seemed to have ended.
'Basic weapon...? And what do they mean, next time?'
The intruders talked about things I couldn't understand. However, such questions flew away at the sound that reached my ears.
SQUELCH— SQUELCH—
I could tell what the sound was. It was the sound of the Slimes dispersing into mucus.
"Be careful so it doesn't splatter on you."
"If you look closely, there's a core! Focus your hits there!"
The intruders seemed familiar with Slimes.
The sounds gradually died down.
"Still, maybe because it's the first room, it's not hard."
"Nobody's hurt, right?"
"What kind of fucking embarrassment would it be to get hurt here?"
The intruders snickered and laughed. If the intruders went through the door I had come from like this, I might not get caught.
I turned my head toward the door I had come from. And I discovered something strange.
'Come to think of it....'
I hadn't heard the sound of the iron bars rising. The intruders soon noticed the situation as well.
"What, why isn't the door opening?"
"Are there any mobs left? You killed the Slimes properly, right?"
"I smashed the cores to pieces, though...."
Silence fell as the voices stopped.
I felt glad that I was nothing but bones. Otherwise, I would have made the sound of swallowing dry saliva just like the intruders right now.
"It's strange... Let's search the place thoroughly."
I froze right on the spot.
Shadows flickering in the torchlight gradually approached the pillar.