2. The Skeleton Soldier Has a Name
Rattle—
A bone rolled and fell.
[Death Count: 7]
'Has it only been seven times?'
I rose from the grave.
That day—though I didn't really know if calling it a day was right—after discovering the stairs, I had stood blankly in front of them until the intruders reached the stairs. And the intruders had smashed the defenseless me right to pieces.
"A new...."
Big Guy's words were always consistent. I rummaged through the grave, found a usable bone, and handed it to him.
"Use this."
"Huh?"
"We should try to live even a little bit longer."
Truthfully, I was saying that to myself. Because if I didn't put in even a little effort, my life would be worthless.
Big Guy took the bone with a bewildered voice.
"Thanks. I hadn't thought of using a bone as a weapon...."
"Don't mention it."
We would die anyway.
Once again, helplessness gripped me. Beanpole approached me.
Of course, I had prepared a weapon for him too.
"Here, take this."
"You don't need an explanation?"
"No."
I didn't need one. I was a Skeleton Soldier guarding this place. That was all.
There was no way to escape this place.
'A reason for existing, huh....'
I had thought I was different from them. However, couldn't they perhaps have gone through the same process as me?
They had struggled too, only to soon realize there was no way out.
So they persuaded themselves. Because life had to have a reason.
That they were born to guard this place, and that was why they kept repeating this process.
For me it had been seven times, but Big Guy and Beanpole might have met their deaths dozens, hundreds, or thousands of times. In that process, hadn't only the single-minded determination to guard this place remained?
'I'm not at that stage yet.'
I didn't feel the urge to guard this place blindly. However, wasn't that just a matter of time too?
THUD— THUD—
The iron bars came down.
An intruder had entered.
"Looks like an intruder's arrived."
Big Guy headed to the center of the room. Beanpole stood beside him.
As if possessed, I also stood across from Beanpole.
If we waited, the intruder would come, and we would fight. And die.
That was my fate.
'Hmm...?'
Something was hanging from Beanpole's waist when I casually looked over.
Since it was something I hadn't seen until now, it stood out right away.
"What is that?"
"Hmm?"
At my words, Beanpole looked down at his own waist.
"Don't you know what a key is?"
He asked me as if I were the strange one instead.
"A key...?"
"It's what the intruders are after. Those greedy bastards go crazy over keys."
Big Guy shook his head.
A key—it was an object I was seeing for the first time.
THUD— THUD—
The iron bars went up. Only then did I check the doors.
Because I thought I would die anyway, I hadn't paid attention.
'There's... only one door?'
Without realizing it, I gripped the bone tightly.
Only a single door. If so, there was no reason to die easily.
"Where're you going?"
Beanpole asked. I didn't answer.
There was nothing to expect from them.
I pressed my body close right next to the door.
Where else could there be better conditions for an ambush than this?
Big Guy and Beanpole didn't say anything more to me.
'Come on...!'
The iron bars went up and came down two more times.
BANG—
The door opened.
The open door stopped in front of me, hiding me.
"Oh, a key."
A youthful voice.
I subtly poked my head out and checked the intruder.
'That bastard's....'
It was the boy I had met the very first time.
With this, it was certain. It was clear that the intruders came to this place multiple times.
There were no other intruders. The boy seemed to go around alone.
Rattle— Rattle—
Moving their bone joints, Big Guy and Beanpole lunged forward.
The boy quickly dodged the bones.
"It's a little different since it's a key room...."
The boy muttered and raised his sword. When I first saw him, it had been a completely notched sword, but now it was different.
It was a sword with a sharply honed blade. The boy slashed his sword upward from below.
Big Guy's skull soared into the air.
'Oh no...!'
It wasn't the time to leisurely observe. I had to move before the remaining Beanpole was also taken down by the boy.
"Huh!?"
The boy wore a surprised expression as I approached from behind. Beanpole lunged at him from the front, and I lunged from behind.
It seemed the boy had decided to deal with Beanpole first.
CLACK—
The sword lodged into the bone Beanpole swung. The boy twisted his expression.
"Shoot...!"
The boy kicked Beanpole's shin with his foot.
CRUNCH—
As his shinbone twisted, Beanpole lost his balance. However, that opening was enough.
I swung the bone with all my might.
CRACK—
The boy's head snapped to the side. The tip of the bone I swung broke off.
"Argh...!"
A low groan.
Beanpole grabbed hold of the boy's waist.
I swung the bone a second time.
CRACK— CRACK—
I didn't even aim properly. Driven by the single-minded determination that I had to kill the boy, I swung blindly.
The bone struck the boy's cheek, neck, ear, and several other places.
Teeth knocked out of the boy's mouth scattered across the floor, and his screams gradually grew faint. Even in the midst of that, the boy attacked Beanpole.
CRACK—
However, my hand didn't stop. Because the tip of the bone had broken off, a sharp point was exposed.
"Finish him!"
Beanpole shouted. I intended to do just that.
This time, instead of swinging the bone, I thrust it toward the boy's neck.
SQUELCH—
Along with a squishy sensation, half of the bone sank in. It pierced all the way through to the other side of the boy's neck.
"Gurk...."
With the sound of boiling blood, the boy collapsed forward. His body twitched and trembled before soon going limp.
[All Challengers have died.]
[Survival EXP acquired.]
[Lv1 (40%)]
Letters I was seeing after a long time. However, that wasn't the end.
[Challenger killed.]
[Combat EXP acquired.]
[Congratulations. Level increased.]
[Lv2 (20%)]
A soft light gathered around my body and then disappeared.
"We won!"
It was the first victory I had achieved. I shouted toward Beanpole.
However, Beanpole didn't answer.
His skull slowly fell to the floor.
CLINK—
With a metallic sound, the key that had been at his waist fell.
A puddle of blood formed beneath the boy's body. Blood was stained on my hands and feet as well.
'Why....'
The intruder had died. Then why wasn't I returning to the grave?
'What is it? What's different....'
My thoughts stopped. Unease slowly crept up from within my heart.
A question that the unease threw at me.
What if the life I thought would keep repeating wasn't actually a repeating life?
For a moment, I felt fear.
Even though I was a Skeleton Soldier, and I hadn't been scared even when intruders split my bones and skull apart.
"Big Guy! Beanpole!"
Dropping the bone to the floor, I approached Big Guy. They were the only ones I could converse with.
Yet what if they disappeared, and I was left here all alone forever?
However, with their skulls already fallen off, they gave no answer.
I approached Beanpole. I picked up the fallen key.
[Keys Held: 1]
Along with the letters, the key grew blurry and disappeared.
***
I didn't know how much time had passed.
I was still inside the room.
The corpses of the boy, Big Guy, and Beanpole remained as they were. Judging by how the blood had dried and caked, some time seemed to have passed.
'Suicide....'
Not Play Dead, I was contemplating real suicide.
Wouldn't I have to die in order to return to the grave again?
Yet even though the intruder had died, I hadn't gone back. Perhaps even if I died, I might not go back.
I was scared.
'Is my life ending like this?'
Perhaps the number of times I could come back to life in the grave was limited. That might be why those letters had appeared.
In the end, my contemplation ended without reaching an answer.
'I don't want to die yet.'
Even if I died when my time came, I wouldn't end my life with my own hands.
Just in case, I picked up the sword the boy had been using. At the very least, it would be a better item than a bone.
I stepped out the door. Passing through the passage, I headed to another room.
I saw the room the boy had cleared. Passing the Slime corpses, I entered the closest door.
'This place is....'
It was the room with the chest I had seen before. The only difference was that the chest was firmly closed.
I immediately approached the chest.
[Use a key?]
[Keys Held: 1]
Letters appeared above the chest.
'Use a key?'
No, it was different. It wasn't commanding me to use a key.
For the first time, the letters had asked a question.
The letters, which had only shown explanations until now, were asking for my intention.
'Just what's inside this chest?'
I hesitated for a moment, but I reached a conclusion.
Let's open it.
CLICK—
As soon as I made up my mind like that, the chest opened.
[Keys Held: 0]
I used the key. I checked inside the chest.
'What on earth is this....'
When I found the chest before, the bald man had left a weapon behind. Because of that, I had hastily assumed there would be a weapon.
However, the contents of the chest weren't a weapon.
It was a small ring. Unknown letters were engraved on its surface.
['Heart-to-Heart']
[Magic]
[Enables Telepathy when equipped]
[It is fine even if you are clumsy at expressing yourself. Convey your heart.]
The letters glowed with a bluish light. For now, I tried slipping it onto my finger.
It didn't suit my gaunt finger bones, but I wasn't in a position to care about my appearance.
'Telepathy, huh....'
For now, I decided to move to another spot.
When I entered the next room, four Slimes were slowly crawling around on the floor.
"I'm hungry...."
"Hungry...."
Just as I was about to pass the Slimes, someone muttered.
Startled, I turned my head.
"My stomach's hungry...."
"I want to eat...."
The voices were very strange. They didn't belong to a man or a woman.
'Could it be....'
I looked back and forth between the ring and the Slimes. When I took the ring off, the muttering disappeared.
'Is this how it works...?'
I put the ring back on. The muttering sounds could be heard again.
It was clear that it allowed me to converse with those I couldn't normally communicate with.
"Hey, can you hear my words?"
I tested whether my words were also being conveyed.
The Slimes crawled toward me.
"My stomach's hungry...."
"I want to eat...."
I couldn't really tell. Whether they had heard my words, or if they were just approaching the direction the sound had come from.
'Someone else....'
Suddenly, the intruders came to mind. With this ring, couldn't I perhaps talk with them?
Of course, they would have to not attack me first.
'Or else....'
I would have to be strong enough to overpower them.
[New Challengers have arrived.]
[Reset initiated.]
'What...?'
RUMBLE—
As soon as I read the letters that appeared before my eyes, the room began to shake.
[Upon Reset, only Magic Grade or higher items may be retained.]
[00:10]
The numbers began to decrease.
The shaking grew stronger and stronger.
'Reset?'
There wasn't much time. At the words Magic Grade, I looked at the ring.
[00:02]
Clack, clack—
My teeth clacked together.
'Will I go back to the grave with this ring?'
[00:00]
When the numbers reached 0, my vision darkened.
***
Rattle—
As soon as I heard the sound, a sense of relief washed over me.
'I'm back.'
I rose from the grave.
"A new friend has...."
I immediately approached Big Guy.
"Hmm?"
Big Guy looked at me in surprise. I examined his body all over.
His neck was properly attached.
"What a peculiar friend."
At Beanpole's voice, I turned my head. He was fine too.
My life still continued. The repetition hadn't ended.
'This is....'
My joy was brief; feeling something unfamiliar, I looked at my finger. The ring was on it.
I scanned Big Guy and Beanpole.
The key—this time, there was no key. The key wasn't a defining trait of theirs either.
"A name...."
I looked at the ring again. This ring had a name.
The sword I had left behind had no name.
"Hmm?"
"Skeleton Soldier isn't a name...."
I muttered.
Heart-to-Heart was special. There were countless rings, but this ring was called Heart-to-Heart. Although it was a small ring engraved with letters, it wasn't a strange ring either.
Just like this ring, Skeleton Soldier wasn't my name either.
"What is my name?"
"What're you talking about?"
Beanpole asked. They were different from me.
Big Guy, Beanpole, and countless other monsters wouldn't understand.
"I need a name."
"We're Skeleton Soldiers. Why do we need names?"
Big Guy asked.
They wouldn't understand. Because I was different from them.
A name was special. I was a special Skeleton Soldier, so I needed a name.
"Is there nothing unusual about me?"
"Something unusual?"
Big Guy stroked his jawbone. Beanpole also looked at me closely.
"What's this?"
Pacing around me, Big Guy pointed at me with his finger.
"Is something there?"
I couldn't check for myself. There was no object in this place that I could use to look at myself.
I could only check myself through the eyes of the other Skeleton Soldiers.
"Hundred...?"
"Hundred?"
"Yeah, the number hundred's engraved on your head, though?"
I felt around the spot he was pointing at. However, I couldn't feel anything other than a smooth skull.
I looked at Big Guy and Beanpole. There was nothing on their heads.
"Hundred... One Hundred...."
"Hmm?"
I turned my head.
"It is my name. One Hundred."
One Hundred.
I had gained a name.