Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The hands of the mercenaries who had followed behind all moved toward their weapon hilts at once, and the atmosphere instantly turned hostile.

'Ah, damn it.'

My mind raced.

The words the silver-haired Necromancer I'd met in the mine earlier had said while tossing me the sword flashed through my mind.

"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."

'So the idiot she took it from was this guy...'

Cold, wary gazes poured toward me. Despite having saved the rookie mercenary, I was now on the verge of being branded a vicious robber who had shaken him down.

Rena Kassel would undoubtedly grind me to dust before my disguise even wore off.

But since I'd already decided to bluff, couldn't I just be even more brazen about it?

Feigning a relaxed attitude, I tapped the hilt of the bastard sword and spoke.

"Ah, this sword?"

"..."

"I ran into a Necromancer deeper inside the mine."

"A Necromancer?!"

Rena's brows immediately furrowed.

"She was rather troublesome, so I subdued her lightly and recovered this as spoils. Looks like it belonged to one of your men."

It wasn't a lie.

I had subdued the golem, and the Necromancer had handed me the sword before disappearing. The process had merely been omitted a little (a lot), but in the end, I was the one who recovered the sword.

I unfastened the bastard sword from my waist and casually tossed it to Toby.

Toby fumbled as he caught the sword, then stared at me with an expression mixing shock and admiration.

"Y-You subdued a Necromancer?!"

In his eyes, I already seemed to be some legendary archmage or hidden swordmaster.

Even Rena's gaze wavered slightly. The Necromancer class itself demanded extremely troublesome capabilities for ordinary mercenaries to deal with.

"Benefactor, just how strong are you?! This is repayment for saving me. Please, just keep my sword and use it!"

This idiot really couldn't read the room. Look at your platoon leader's face.

THWACK!

"Ow!"

Rena punched Toby on the crown of his head.

"Don't make me laugh. A mercenary let his weapon get stolen? I'll deduct the entire cost of that sword from your pay this month, so keep that in mind!"

As Toby backed away with tears in his eyes, Rena turned toward me again. Her wariness had eased somewhat, but her gaze was still sharp.

"There was a misunderstanding. I apologize for nearly drawing my sword."

"It's fine. I'll make good use of this sword, just as this guy wishes."

"Good. In any case, it is true that you saved my subordinate, so allow me to offer my thanks in the name of the Red Wolves. If you don't mind, could you tell me your name?"

'My name.'

I was momentarily flustered. I couldn't give her my real name, Han Seungwoo,

'...And using that nickname would be a little awkward.'

Especially when I still didn't know enough about the situation.

As I wondered whether there was some plausible alias I could use, the name I'd seen in the hidden room inside the cave flashed through my mind.

'Even a veteran like me had only seen that name in the setting guide, so it should be fine.'

"I am called Arcanus. Just a traveler wandering wherever my feet take me."

"Arcanus..."

Rena murmured the name as though rolling it around in her mouth, then tilted her head slightly.

"You seem rather skilled for a wandering traveler."

There was a subtle probing quality in her gaze. I merely shrugged.

I'd earned enough goodwill, so now was about the right time to wrap things up and ask to accompany them to a human settlement.

"Arcanus, one more question. If you've wandered around, you must have seen all sorts of things."

Rena took a step closer and stared directly into my eyes.

"Have you seen a strange skeleton around here?"

'...Huh?'

"...A strange skeleton?"

"I'm not talking about some ordinary pile of bones. It was a low-rank skeleton whose head had been cut off, yet it didn't die. The disgusting freak picked up its own head with its hands and put it back on."

...Yeah, that sounds like me, doesn't it?

Another streak of cold sweat seemed to run down my spine. I almost resented the fact that I had sweat glands now.

Barely suppressing the twitching of my facial muscles, I gave an awkward laugh.

"Haha... I don't know. I've never heard of such a bizarre monster. A pile of bones picking up its own head? Is some strange ghost story going around?"

"Is that so? That's unfortunate."

Rena bit down hard on her lower lip.

"That pile of bones killed one of my men just yesterday. It cunningly and viciously stabbed through a gap in the armor at the back of his neck. I intend to find it with my own hands and crush every bone in its body, from its skull to its toes, until nothing but bone powder remains."

"..."

Her voice dripped with murderous intent.

Yes. The pile of bones who stabbed that subordinate to death was me, but it was entirely in self-defense.

...Naturally, I couldn't say that out loud.

[Duration: 2 hours 15 minutes]

I couldn't let her find fault with me and waste even more time here.

I needed to change the subject. If I wanted to naturally blend into human society and gather information anyway, winning their favor was the most reliable method.

'Rena was the kind of character who always repaid a debt.'

I needed something decisive.

I naturally slipped a hand into my leather pouch. It was loot I'd taken from the Goblin Chief in the forest earlier.

"I haven't seen that monster... but this item seems to have some connection to you."

I pulled out the worn metal badge embossed with a wolf's head and held it out to Rena.

The instant Rena's gaze landed on the metal badge, her rigid expression crumbled as though it had been a lie.

"I picked it up after wiping out a group of goblins. The symbol looked the same as the one on your equipment."

"This is..."

She accepted the mercenary badge with trembling hands. When she brushed her fingers over the faint inscription carved into the back, her previously sharp eyes began to tremble.

"This belonged to Marco."

The mercenaries around us also began murmuring in surprise.

"Someone you knew?"

Rena bit down hard on her lip.

"A comrade who died in this forest two years ago. We never even found his body, so there wasn't a single belonging of his left behind..."

Like a true warrior, she didn't shed tears, but her eyes had already reddened.

[Rena Kassel's favorability has greatly increased.]

[The Red Wolves Mercenary Company's friendliness has greatly increased.]

A blue system window appeared, confirming my success.

Part of me felt uneasy, though...

'Sorry, but there's a pretty good chance that old bastard Malach was the one who killed Marco...'

If the goblins had picked it up near there, it was almost certain.

After all, it was within his territory, and the only thing around there that posed a serious threat to mercenaries would have been waves of undead.

Before long, Rena's moist eyes turned toward me.

"At least with this, we can finally hold a funeral for him, even if it's late. Truly... thank you, Arcanus. This is very precious to us."

Rena clutched the mercenary badge tightly to her chest and bowed deeply.

The suspicion that had filled her eyes was completely gone, replaced by unmistakable goodwill.

"You seem quite strong. From what I've heard, it doesn't sound like you have a fixed destination. If you have nowhere else to go, how about coming with us to the city where we're stationed?"

"A city?"

"Rodein. It guards the southwestern border between the Empire and the Demon Realm. Won't you give us a chance to properly repay you for saving my subordinate's life and even recovering a fallen comrade's keepsake?"

Bingo.

I cheered inwardly, but outwardly merely nodded as though indifferent.

"I happened to need somewhere to rest, so I'll gladly accompany you."

______________

The remaining duration of the Polymorph Reagent was running dangerously low, so I used the second reagent, and a few minutes later.

We left the edge of the forest and arrived at a frontier city.

It resembled an outpost where the Red Wolves Mercenary Company was stationed, with tall wooden palisades and guard posts.

'It's been a while.'

Rodein, the beginner city in <​Dungeon and Empire> where players first arrived and busily ran around accepting quests.

But when I actually stepped inside the palisade, the scenery was quite different from the game I remembered.

It was a typical frontier town, but strangely devoid of vitality.

The residents passing by wore stiff expressions, and half the shops were closed.

A sign reading 'No Vacancies' hung in front of a large inn, but judging by the darkened windows, it seemed more like they'd stopped doing business entirely because there were no customers.

"The town is... quite quiet."

"Surprised by how bleak it feels?"

When I casually asked while looking around, Rena, walking ahead of me, answered with a bitter expression.

"Over the past few years, monster appearances in this region have increased abnormally. On top of that, they've become much more ferocious. Merchant caravans stopped coming long ago because it's too dangerous... and once the sun sets, the residents don't even dare go outside."

'That's strange.'

In my memory, this town had always been a peaceful hub, noisy and bustling with lively NPCs.

Had it changed because I'd entered the game, or was this part of a new storyline?

"For now, I've spoken to the innkeeper and arranged a room for you. The sun will be setting soon, so we'll properly entertain you tomorrow."

"Thank you for your consideration."

Rena led her subordinates toward the mercenary company's camp.

After briefly exchanging farewells with them, I headed toward an old tavern in a corner of the city where the lights were still on.

Creeeak—jingle.

The moment I opened the door and stepped inside, the rich scent of ale and roasting meat washed over me.

'Wow, that smell.'

Who knew having a sense of smell could be this blissful?

Suppressing my emotion, I took a seat at a secluded table in the corner.

Since I had a human body, I could sit properly in a chair like this and even place an order. Good thing I'd taken a few coins from the goblin's pouch.

I ordered a mug of beer and naturally listened in on the chatter of the mercenaries and hunters at the surrounding tables.

Places like this were treasure troves of information.

"Haah, if only the Hero hadn't gone missing, the frontier wouldn't have ended up like this."

"Tch. It's already been three years. He vanished without a trace right after defeating the Six Lords of the Demon Realm."

"There's a missing-person request for Lord Dogani at the Imperial Guild. Highest rank, too."

"So what? They haven't found so much as a single strand of hair."

"PFFFT!"

I spat out my precious beer.

'...Dogani?'

That's the nickname I used.

And three years? Had three years already passed inside the beta-test server?

"By the way, did you guys hear that rumor?"

A scar-covered mercenary at the next table lowered his voice to a whisper.

"They say a silver-haired swordsman has been going around wiping out monsters lately. Supposedly he slaughters everything he comes across, from small fry to bosses..."

"Could that be the Hero? The Hero had silver hair too."

When the man opposite him asked, the scarred mercenary shook his head.

"I don't think so. According to witnesses, that silver-haired swordsman's eyes were completely dead. They say he cut down demons without changing expression even while covered in blood... The Hero was always a quiet man, sure, but he wasn't some monster obsessed with slaughter itself."

"True... I thought the world would become peaceful after the Six Lords fell, but instead the monsters have gone even crazier. Maybe some aspiring Hero has appeared."

The atmosphere inside the tavern grew heavy.

But my mind was churning too violently for their gloomy lamentations to even register.

'A silver-haired swordsman. And dead eyes.'

My heart pounded wildly. (I was genuinely moved that it could actually pound because I had a human body.)

The appearance I'd customized for Dogani had silver hair and indifferent-looking eyes too.

'Though I don't think they were quite dead-looking.'

While I'd been possessing this crude pile of bones, could it be that...

'...My original character's body is wandering around on its own right now?'

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, South Korea

Telephone:

02-313-7388

Email:

info@jakgadabang.com

ISBN/UCI:

G720:N+A475-20261015075

Publication Date:

October 23, 2026

Copyright © Metdoyo.

This e-book is a copyrighted work protected under copyright law.

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