Chapter 2. Awakening from Life (2)
The skill list was mostly familiar.
It's pathetic every time I look at it.
Rolling Skull was added as a new skill because I had never rolled my skull independently from the rest of my skeleton in the past twenty years. However, I had accomplished it at the last moment out of guilt and anger. Recalling Lady Succubus' final moments made me wonder if everything wasn't simply a dream.
Boom! Crash!
Thunder rumbled once more. Then I heard an unexpected sound amid the thunder.
"Dead one!"
It was a woman's voice. At first, I thought it was a stranger's voice.
"Dead one! I'm the one who awakened you! Can you hear me?"
From inside the coffin, I looked up and saw a woman in a robe. She was standing near my grave. She wore a dark gray robe often worn by necromancers, which I recognized from my past run-ins with them. However, the robe looked rather awkward on her and didn't fit properly.
If she had to wear a robe, a red robe made from high-quality silk, the kind that slid between one's fingers, would fit her better. She was the type of woman who reminded people of such an image, even on a night like this.
"Dead one! Cough, cough."
The rain had soaked the ill-fitting dark gray robe, revealing the woman's curvy figure.
Clatter.
I quietly observed the woman. Her voice and face felt strangely familiar.
No, it's not just a feeling. I remember this moment.
My head started to ache. I retraced my memories, remembering the day an amateur necromancer had awakened me through a ritual twenty years ago. My grave was the same, and it also rained heavily that day.
That means this woman is…
The situation became clearer.
Gulp.
When the woman saw me move, she swallowed her saliva... Then she struggled to bring something out from behind her.
"Dead one! Climb up on this!"
It was a ladder. Even this ladder was the same as the one from my memory. Climbing out of the shallow grave would be easy even without a ladder, but it didn't hurt to have one.
Am I dreaming?
If this was a dream, then the last twenty years I had spent living as a Skeleton Soldier were also a dream since a nightmare was a type of dream. It had been a long, tedious, and tenacious nightmare, except for the last three years.
Clatter.
I grabbed the ladder and climbed out of the grave. Then I stood before the woman in the robe.
In the dark cemetery, there was just the rain, her, and me.
Whoosh...
I could feel the rain pelting me more strongly now than when I had been in the grave.
Flash!
I looked at the woman who was a head shorter than me. She took a step closer. Her hood fluttered, revealing a peek of her delicate features. However, there was also a sharpness to them, which matched her cynical expression. She still seemed somewhat clumsy and awkward, though.
The rain blurred my vision again. It was hard to see even an inch ahead. As an insanely intense storm raged, rain poured down like arrows.
Whoosh!
The rain beat down on my bones with loud echoing thuds, threatening to break them. The rainwater that hit my skull dripped down my jawbones. The wind-driven drops of rain soon dug into my neck and back cervical joints. It felt like a river was pouring over me.
Squelch.
Each time I stepped forward in the rain, my foot sank deep into the muddy ground.
Boom! Crash!
Occasionally, flashes of lightning split the sky. Without them, it was challenging to see even an inch ahead.
"D-dead one!" she shouted at me.
The woman clenched her fist as if making a decision, but I momentarily ignored her. I was still processing the situation and needed more time to adjust. The image of Lady Succubus dying in front of me was still vivid, including the sensation of my body breaking.
I slowly looked around.
Creak.
It became clear as I felt my neck turn.
This is not a dream.
Skeleton Soldiers did not dream.
If I am not dead either…
This was the day I had risen from the grave twenty years ago. Heavy rain was damaging the cemetery. Tombstones fell down, and graves were being revealed. Some were exposed so much that their coffins were floating across a newly created river of rain.
My grave narrowly avoided meeting the same fate. The tombstone had fallen forward, so I couldn't read it. However, I wasn't curious about my name or life. My grave was a humble one, located in a secluded hillside cemetery—most likely reflecting my unremarkable life.
As a Skeleton Soldier, I had learned many things. One of them was that even skeletons had ranks, and despite being as nonsensical as it seemed, the rank of Skeleton Priest was among them. In addition, people who were exceptional before death continued to stand out even after their deaths.
I had never leveled up to become a Skeleton Warrior or a Skeleton Knight. For twenty years, I remained as a low-stat Skeleton Soldier, making me believe that I had been just as unremarkable even before my death.
As I observed my shabby grave in the ordinary cemetery, I concluded that I hadn't died far from my home.
"Uh... dead one! Umm... would you look at this?"
While I was lost in other thoughts, the woman in the ill-fitting robe called out to me again. It felt awkward. A distant memory from when I couldn't even speak came to life. I recognized the woman.
That person from back then.
It was her, the woman who had pulled me from my grave twenty years ago—or now.
I accepted it because the only conclusion I could come up with was that I had gone back to the past. I had lived as a Skeleton Soldier for twenty years after all; anything was possible.
I set aside questioning how I had returned to the past for now and accepted the facts without understanding how I could hear, see, or even think.
As a mere Skeleton Soldier, the world was full of magic beyond my understanding. It would be easier for me to just assume this situation was due to one of those magics. It felt convenient and comfortable to give up on learning the truth, choosing to be ignorant instead.
However, one thought came into my mind.
Master—if I've returned to the past, does that mean I can meet her again?
I needed to find her, but I stopped my train of thought there. Even if I found her again, would I be able to protect her?
Clatter.
I observed my shabby white arm as I tried to move it in the pouring rain. Any ordinary human could easily break my arm. I doubted I could change anything even if I were to meet my master again.
I shook my head and focused on the woman standing before me.
"Um... dead one...?"
At a glance, she looked very nervous.
I stared at her and thought, What does she want?
She shouted enthusiastically, "Ahem... My name is Rubia! Nice to meet you, dead one! I will use you as the cornerstone of my revenge!"
It seemed like she had prepared what to say, but I had no idea what she was talking about, nor was I interested in her revenge. I couldn't even avenge myself. I wished she wouldn't use me as she pleased.
Rumble!
The sound of thunder followed her shout.
Ding!
That annoying sound rang in my head again.
[S-rank Scenario, Rubia Ray, has opened.]
What?
I had no idea what it meant by "Scenario." I waved my hand in the air, wanting to get rid of the unfamiliar words. However, they did not disappear. Instead, the words "Rubia Ray" shone brightly.
What is this?
A bell rang in my head as I touched the shining words with my hand.
Ding!
[Name: Rubia Ray
Necromancer Lv. 1
Health: 6
Strength: 5
Agility: 6
Wisdom: 12]
[Affection: 3
— Rubia has a slight attachment to the skeleton she awakened.]
[Basic Skills:
— Unlock by increasing Affection.]
[Perks:
— Unlock by increasing Affection.]
[Titles:
— Unlock by increasing Affection.]
Huh? Rubia?
The messages persisted, as if demanding my confirmation. The woman continued staring at me blankly.
Whoosh...
I stared at the woman in the rain.
Clatter.
I shrugged. Looking at her stats, she seemed very unimpressive.
Granted, I was no different when I first came into this world. Back then, compared to the average human male with level ten stats, I was not much better as a Lv. 1 Skeleton Soldier with single-digit stats.
The only high stat she has is Wisdom.
Wisdom, though associated with magic, offered low utility since she was probably not a mage. She lacked skills in many areas.
Only one question came to my mind.
How come I can see someone else's status window?
Even though I spent three years with the master, I never saw her status window. It was the same for other humans and monsters. Without special magic, I could only see my own level and stats.
The woman's wet lips quivered as she said, "U-uhm… I guess you can't understand words. But at least it worked. I have one ally now..."
Rubia was shedding tears, feeling proud of herself.
Is something wrong with her head?
I preferred not to bother women lost in their own thoughts, but it was even more uncomfortable to let unnecessary misunderstandings persist.
I hesitated momentarily before asking, "What do you mean by ally?"
I wasn't arguing. There was no reason to oppose her strongly, but it should be fine for me to ask about it.
Skeletons could speak, but learning how to vocalize usually took a while. I used the clicking sounds of my teeth to speak, which I didn't find difficult to do. My voice didn't differ much from before.
"Eeek!" Rubia shrieked, jumping in surprise.
Why is she so startled?
"Ah. Ah," I uttered as I took a step closer toward her.
"Eee, eek!"
I was confused. Every move I made seemed to shock her.
I took another step closer.
"A-aah!" Rubia screamed softly.
Thud.
She clutched her chest and fell backward, staining her robe with mud.
Not wanting to scare her any further, I stopped my advance.
I assured the woman, "Don't be so surprised."
"A-a talking… skeleton…?"
Is it that surprising I'm speaking?
Twenty years ago, this necromancer's ritual awakened me from this grave, transforming me into a Skeleton Soldier. At that time, I lacked the ability to manipulate my jaw to produce sound, rendering me speechless, though my mind remained fully active.
My memories of the past slowly flooded into my mind
It was thanks to her back then. Come to think of it, we shouldn't be here.
Rubia, the novice necromancer, would soon face a tragic end, and I was about to die too. My bones were about to be broken and thrown down a cliff to the frigid ice valley below, where I would remain for a year in the ice, slowly regenerating my bones.
There was nothing to gain down there. We needed to prepare ourselves.
The enemy will appear soon.
In retrospect, it wasn't just my master I had failed to protect. I hadn't protected anything.
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