Chapter 10

Chapter 10

BOOOOOOOOM!

Gravity swallowed the Crown Stone Golem, and a tremendous crash echoed up from the distant bottom.

The entire pit shook, and the impact knocked my body away from the wall I had been standing on.

Clatter!

Hanging from the edge of the pit with one hand, I looked down.

Deep within the immeasurable darkness below, a faint light flickered precariously.

Then, with a soft snap, it went out.

[You have defeated Crown Stone Golem(Lv.24)!]

[You have gained a large amount of experience!]

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has increased.]

[You have become Hybrid Skeleton Soldier Lv.5.]

System messages poured down like a torrential rain.

'...I did it.'

I tightened my grip on the edge and somehow dragged myself back onto the cavern floor. Then I sprawled out flat on the spot.

Clatter.

My skeletal body struck the cold granite floor with a dry sound.

[Remaining activity time: 3 minutes]

'Cutting it close.'

If I didn't hurry, I'd collapse right here.

I got up and looked down into the pit.

I needed to retrieve the core from down there. It would have been nice if I had a rope to hold onto while descending, but I didn't.

'Guess I'll have to go down myself.'

I scanned the inner wall of the pit. I recalled how it had felt when I ran along it earlier.

The wall wasn't completely vertical. It was somewhat uneven, with places to put my feet, so I should be able to climb back up after descending.

'It's pretty deep, but I can do it.'

I jumped into the pit.

[Skill: Beast's Leap(Lv.3) activated!]

Descending in a zigzag along the wall was manageable. I slipped a few times after stepping on moss, but somehow kept making my way down and down.

When my feet reached the bottom, the first thing I saw was the wreckage of the Crown Stone Golem scattered everywhere.

And at the center.

[Guardian Golem's Mana Core]

[A semi-permanent power source containing condensed ancient mana.]

It was about the size of my fist. Its color was a deep, transparent navy blue, with faint light flickering inside like residual heat.

'I did it!'

Now I no longer had to live on borrowed time while worrying about the Necromancer!

With trembling hands, I brought the core to my chest.

My empty rib cage. The place where my heart should have been.

WHIRR!

The moment I pushed the core inside my ribs, my mana circuits latched onto it as though they had been waiting.

A skeleton was also a monster powered by mana, after all. It would gladly accept a new power source.

[You have secured an independent mana-generating organ.]

[You are now a free being.]

Freedom.

Before I could even savor that sweet word, a cheer suddenly echoed from somewhere above the pit.

"Amaaaazing!"

"...!"

I hurriedly raised my longsword and aimed it toward the source of the voice.

Who was it? A human? Had the Necromancer Malach followed me here?

A figure lightly jumped down and landed gracefully at the bottom of the pit.

She wore a black robe, but silver hair braided into a long plait spilled out from beneath it.

And more importantly.

"Wow. A pile of bones stealing a golem's core. You've got some nerve, don't you?"

A clear, melodious voice.

And a staff glowing purple in her hand.

'...A woman?'

No, not an ordinary woman.

The ornament hanging from the tip of that staff. A skull-shaped pendant.

That was the symbol of the Necromancer class.

She pulled back the hood of her robe.

Skin so pale it was almost white, and red eyes.

A playful smile hung on her lips.

"Hello, little skeleton. Where did your master go? Did you run away from home all by yourself?"

Things were taking a strange turn.

One trouble after another.

It felt like I'd escaped a tiger's den only to run into a fox.

I reflexively adjusted my grip on the longsword in my hand.

Though this shabby lump of scrap metal didn't look intimidating in the slightest.

'I can't see her system window.'

Even with [Precise Observation], her information was filled with question marks. Apparently, if the difference between us was too great, I couldn't see it.

She glanced over the massive granite remains of the Crown Stone Golem scattered across the ground.

"Oh? You really smashed it to pieces, didn't you?"

She lightly tapped the ground with the staff in her hand.

CRRRRRRACK-!

The enormous rock fragments that had been lying scattered across the floor began rising into the air with a bizarre grinding sound.

The shattered granite pieces rapidly clumped together, moving as though they were about to completely reconstruct the vicious five-meter Crown Stone Golem that I had fought to the death only minutes earlier.

'Are you fucking kidding me?!'

I recoiled in horror and jumped backward.

I'd only just transplanted the mana core and finally caught my breath, and now I was supposed to fight that physical-immune monster for round two?

On top of that, my longsword was already a battered piece of junk with its edge completely ruined.

With trembling hands, I raised the longsword and desperately took a defensive stance.

But then.

"Pfft."

The woman saw how terrified I was and began shaking her shoulders, unable to hold it in.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding~. Look at you being all cautious. You're cute."

Cute?

I was a grotesque Hybrid Skeleton with Black Hound legs, the arm of a Goblin Chief, and even a horned helmet on my head.

Apparently, the aesthetic standards of Necromancers really did exist on a completely different plane from normal people's.

She lightly snapped her fingers, and the golem fragments floating in the air came crashing back to the ground in a cloud of dust.

"Ahahahaha! Hahahaha!"

She clutched her stomach and burst into laughter so hard she seemed about to lose her breath.

"Did I scare you? You're just a pile of bones, but I can totally see you trembling! Ah, this is hilarious!"

I was so dumbfounded my jaw nearly fell off.

Wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, she spoke.

"Relax. I don't intend to hurt you. I was originally looking for something called the Tower of White Bones when I caught the musty scent of that old geezer Malach's mana and came to check it out... Looks like you're just one of the old man's lost skeletons. Still, if I found you, I guess he really is somewhere nearby."

The woman casually rested her staff on her shoulder and glanced at the shattered remains of the Crown Stone Golem.

"Still, I'm impressed. For a low-level skeleton, you actually thought of stealing a golem's core. That was a very clever hunt against such a huge lump of stone."

She laughed brightly, sounding genuinely amused.

I couldn't sense any hostility from her at all. Her eyes were closer to those of a child who had discovered an interesting new toy.

The woman rummaged inside her robe, then lightly tossed something toward me.

Whoosh—catch.

I extended my goblin arm and snatched it out of the air in one motion.

A satisfying weight filled my grip.

It was a proper sword, carefully housed inside a leather scabbard.

[Steel Bastard Sword(Grade: Common)]

[A standard-issue sword with excellent sharpness and durability.]

My eyes lit up.

It couldn't even be compared to my battered longsword with its ruined edge.

"I took it from an annoying human mercenary on the way here, but it's a bit heavy for me to carry around. You look like you'll put it to good use. Consider it payment for the entertaining show."

The woman winked.

"Well then, good luck, cute little skeleton. Your old master doesn't seem to be around here, so I'll be going."

FWOOSH-.

The moment she finished speaking, a violet magic circle spread beneath her feet, and her figure scattered into the air like a mirage.

Teleportation magic. And instant teleportation without even a chant.

'She must be a pretty experienced mage.'

Only heavy silence remained in the cave once more.

I stared blankly at the empty air for a moment, then fastened the bastard sword at my waist.

I was confused, but there was no reason to refuse a windfall that had rolled straight into my lap.

'What was that? Is she a good person... no, a good Necromancer?'

In any case, the threat was gone.

I let out a sigh of relief and lowered my gaze toward the [Guardian Golem's Mana Core] embedded in my chest, which I hadn't had the chance to properly examine earlier.

Using [Precise Observation], I looked inside my rib cage.

'Oh-ho.'

I'd thought it was simply a glowing rock, but the core connected to my mana circuits was operating through an astonishing structure.

It was a 'Dual Core' system in which two independent mana sources alternated between operation.

[Core 1: Mana Remaining 75% (Approximately 9 hours of activity possible)]

[Core 2: Mana Remaining 100% (Approximately 12 hours of activity possible)]

While one core consumed mana, the other rested and absorbed trace amounts of mana from the atmosphere to recharge itself.

Of course, it should also be possible to forcibly inject mana from an external source to increase the charging speed.

In other words, as long as I wasn't fighting intensely twenty-four hours a day, I would never run out of mana during ordinary activity.

[Warning window dismissed.]

The time-limit timer that had been flashing red at the corner of my vision and choking me vanished cleanly.

My field of vision felt much wider, and I could finally breathe easier.

'Alright, then I guess it's about time to head out.'

Just as I was about to stand up and savor the joy.

Thump.

Something pulsed inside my rib cage.

It was the core. The [Guardian Golem's Mana Core] implanted in my body was beating in a steady rhythm. At first, I thought it was simply the sensation of the power source operating.

Thump. Thump.

No. This was something else.

It had a direction.

I turned my head.

Behind the enormous rocky remains of the Crown Stone Golem. The core's pulsation grew stronger toward that direction, as though pulling me toward it.

'What's that?'

It seemed a fragment sent flying when the Stone Golem shattered had struck the rock wall and broken through a thin false wall layered over it.

Behind that false wall, I could see an unnaturally flat, artificial surface.

The wall was densely engraved with geometric patterns.

'Was there a place like this in the mine?'

I'd read strategy guides hundreds of times, but I'd never heard of an area like this inside the Nest of the Forgotten Golems.

Then was this a hidden area? It seemed like either an undiscovered zone no one had ever found or a space that only opened after certain conditions were fulfilled.

[Precise Observation(EX) activates.]

Looking closely at the structure of the patterns, I recognized the complex design.

'It's exactly the same as the ones engraved on the Crown Stone Golem's rocks.'

Thump.

The core's pulsation grew stronger. The sensation reverberating through my rib cage was now almost a vibration.

I slowly reached out and placed my hand against the wall.

At that moment.

All of the patterns reacted at once.

The recessed lines began to glow. The entire pattern connected like a single circuit, and the light concentrated on the deepest engraving at the center.

[Qualification verified.]

RUMBLEEEEE-!

The wall split apart, spewing thick layers of dust as it began opening with a heavy grinding sound.

The Skeleton Soldier Is Good at Replacing Bones

Author:

Metdoyo

Publisher:

Jakga Dabang

Publishing Registration:

No. 2025-000022

Address:

3rd Floor, 50-9 Myeongmul-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul

Telephone:

02-313-7388

Email:

info@jakgadabang.com

ISBN/UCI:

G720:N+A475-20261015075

Publication Date:

October 23, 2026

Copyright © Metdoyo.

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This e-book was published under a contract between the publisher and the author, and unauthorized reproduction, duplication, distribution, or sharing without the written consent of both parties is prohibited.