Chapter 2

Chapter 2

CRUNCH.

With the sound of something hard being crushed, my vision spun around.

It didn't hurt. Stranger than that was the fact that I couldn't feel my body at all.

Up and down flipped over, and I watched the red sky and muddy ground spin like a top.

Then I crashed into the dirt.

'...What the hell?'

I was dizzy. I tried to close my eyes, but they wouldn't shut.

No, more precisely, I didn't have eyelids to close in the first place.

And the scene pouring into my empty eye sockets was hell itself.

A crimson plain. Ear-splitting clangs of metal and screams. Human soldiers and grotesque monsters were tangled together everywhere, slaughtering one another.

Normally, the stench of blood should have been overwhelming, but it seemed I didn't even possess a sense of smell.

As my rolling field of vision finally came to a stop, I thought blankly.

'What kind of fucked-up situation is this?'

Wasn't I working overtime at the office?

I'd received that precious beta invitation and had been staring holes into the loading bar for the <​Dungeon and Empire> expansion patch client.

[Loading <​The Demon Realm Strikes Back> data... 99%]

At that accursed final 1%, several days' worth of exhaustion had hit me all at once, and I'd passed out with my head on the desk. Then the moment I opened my eyes, the sole of a boot came flying at me.

Oh, right. I'd been kicked by that military boot.

THWACK!

My thoughts were cut off. Even now, someone's worn-out military boot had once again kicked my 'head' lying on the ground like a soccer ball.

'Ah, fuck.'

A scream should have burst out, but all that came from my mouth was the clacking sound of my jaw joints knocking together.

Roll, roll.

My vision lurched again as I rolled through the mud.

When it finally stopped, I saw a skeleton that looked similar to me.

Bluish ghostly light flickered inside its empty eye sockets. Like vitality itself, a faint but unmistakable aura of magical power surrounded its skull.

But my observation didn't last long.

CRACK!

Because its head shattered right before my eyes.

A metal mace that came flying from somewhere had smashed its skull into powder.

Then the bluish light scattered like smoke.

All that remained were shattered fragments.

Instinctive fear struck my mind. If I ended up like that, it was over.

From the extreme tension, my jaw joints began trembling without me realizing it.

Clatter, clatter!

'Why the hell is this acting up now?'

Even when I tried to stop it, this unfamiliar bony body kept clacking on its own. Had he heard the sound?

"Damn it! No matter how many of these bone bastards we smash, there's no end to them!"

A soldier wearing plate armor grumbled as he approached.

He raised the mace in his hand high.

The beads of sweat on his brow, the chipped blade at his side, even the bloodstains caked onto his armor were chillingly vivid.

The resolution was far too realistic for a dream.

Just as the mace was about to come crashing down on the crown of my head, a strange sense of déjà vu flashed through my mind.

'Wait.'

That armor with the crude wolf emblem.

It was the insignia of the 'Red Wolves,' a mercenary company that only appeared in the early tutorial area.

And the way he was holding that mace, along with that clumsy trajectory...

'That's [Heavy Strike], isn't it?'

In that instant, it felt as though the fog filling my mind had cleared away.

I was Han Seungwoo, thirty years old, a 3D modeler at a mass-production game company.

A notorious veteran of <​Dungeon and Empire>, so seasoned I'd gone beyond rotten and turned into crude oil.

And the scene I was in right now.

As expected, it was the world of <​Dungeon and Empire>, the game I'd spent years staring at until my eyes nearly fell out.

'Did a few all-nighters finally drive me insane?'

Before I could even distinguish whether this was reality or a dream, his attack pattern read itself in my mind like data.

'Watch the motion, then roll.'

BANG!

The mace smashed into the spot where I'd been, splashing muddy water everywhere.

In that split second, I instinctively rolled my bodiless head to the side and avoided the attack.

"Huh? This pile of bones dodged?"

'Pile of bones?'

The soldier's eyes widened.

Only after seeing my reflection in his pupils was I certain.

A white skull rolling around on the dirt.

That was me now.

As expected, I'd really become a monster with nothing but its head left.

I was on the verge of being crushed at any moment, yet my mind was calm. Was it because I was nothing but bones?

'Don't panic. The fact that I'm still alive even after losing my head means I still have HP left.'

While the soldier was flustered by his missed attack and fixing his stance, I looked around.

Following a bluish line of light extending through one side of my vision, I saw a headless skeleton body flailing around not far away.

'Move! Get over there and pick up the sword!'

With nothing more than that faint intention, I felt a strange magical connection.

Clatter, clatter.

My torso staggered upright, then picked up the worn longsword lying on the ground.

'Good.'

The soldier was staring in bewilderment at my head rolling around on the ground.

He looked like a beginner, so if I just waved the sword around threateningly, he'd probably panic and run away.

Receiving my signal, my body silently approached the soldier from behind.

But I'd never remotely controlled myself while my head and body were separated before, so the sensation was a complete mess.

I had no control over my strength or sense of distance.

CRASH!

My body lunged at the soldier's back like a broken puppet.

I'd only meant to stick the sword out to scare him, but because my torso staggered around on its own, the tip of the blade slipped straight into the loose gap in the armor around his neck.

STAB!

"Huh?"

Before I could even process what had happened, the horrifying sensation of flesh being pierced traveled up through my fingertips.

"Kuh, cough...!"

The soldier spat blood and collapsed to his knees.

Maybe it was because of my survival instinct, but even after killing someone, I felt strangely calm.

I had only a moment to notice the faint sense of dissonance within myself before a translucent blue window appeared in front of me.

[You have defeated an enemy!]

[You gain experience.]

[Your level has increased.]

[You have become Skeleton Soldier Lv.2.]

'A system window?'

The game system was actually working?

I was so dumbfounded I almost burst out laughing, but before I could, another window appeared.

[First Level-Up Reward]

[You may select a Unique Skill.]

[① Bone Replacement(Lv.1)]

Transplant the target's bone to inherit the stats of that body part.

Some skills may be inherited.

[② Grasp of the Dead(Lv.1)]

Grab an enemy from a distance.

Range: 5m Duration: 3 seconds

[③ Bone Shield(Lv.1)]

Detach a portion of your own bones to create a shield.

Defense bonus duration: 10 seconds

There was nothing to think about.

'Number ①.'

Whenever choices like this appeared, you always picked the growth-type skill.

The other two would be useful for now, but they'd quickly become obsolete as my level increased.

I still didn't understand exactly how it worked, but [Bone Replacement] probably made me stronger the more bones I replaced.

In theory, there would be no ceiling.

All those years of doing nothing but gaming had finally paid off.

[You have acquired the Unique Skill 'Bone Replacement(Lv.1)'!]

When I confirmed it, I felt as though a new circuit had been engraved into the very foundation of my existence.

So this was what it felt like to learn a skill.

I picked up my rolling skull with my body's hand. Then I carefully fitted it back onto the empty neck bones.

Crack.

A thrilling sensation ran through me as my spine connected with a crisp sound. Having my viewpoint higher up made me feel a little more alive.

I opened both hands and examined them.

Gaunt finger bones, white joints without a trace of flesh, and the dry clattering sound that came whenever I moved them.

[Skeleton Soldier(Lv.2)]

[Traits]

- Precise Observation(EX): Structurally analyzes the target....

[Unique Skills]

- Bone Replacement(Lv.1): You can seize a target's bones and replace your own body parts with them.

[Status]

- Hairline Fracture(Left Tibia)

- Reduced Skull Durability

...

Even the system window was hammering home the fact that I was a skeleton.

'This is insane...'

Even when I tried to speak, all that came out was the bleak sound of my jaw joints clacking together.

This wasn't a dream. I had really entered this bony body.

'Just because I got the title Lord of White Bones didn't mean I wanted to literally become a pile of white bones...'

If they were going to possess me like this, couldn't they at least let me play as my max-level character?

My entire unique collection, gathered through blood, sweat, and tears, had been confiscated, leaving me as nothing but a naked level-one trash mob made of bones.

Isn't this a little too much?

You said this was a beta test.

Is it really okay to treat a beta tester this brutally?!

'I want to return this test. Let me log out!'

[Your current race does not possess the required authority.]

Damn it, even the system window knows how to piss me off.

Wait. Current race?

'It didn't say it was impossible.'

It wasn't that logging out itself was impossible. It meant that in my current skeletal state, I lacked the authority.

Conversely, that meant I only needed to obtain that authority.

'...So it's not as if there's absolutely no solution.'

Right. Let's calmly整理 this situation.

First of all, this was a game. And games always had rules.

Just as the knowledge I'd accumulated from studying this world for years was working right now, the system was clearly alive and functioning.

I could level up, and I could acquire skills.

Then there should also be a logout function—in other words, an exit.

There was no way living as a pile of bones was supposed to be my final destination. I had to find the answer within the rules of this world.

A way out of here—or at the very least, the reason I'd been shoved into this body in the first place.

And to figure that out, I needed information.

I needed to be able to ask questions, listen, and investigate using human language.

'But in this skeletal state, the moment I set foot in a human village, I'd become a target for extermination.'

The conclusion was simple.

First, survive. Second, find a way to assume human form. And after that, figure out how to escape this place.

Having the order laid out so clearly should have eased my mind a little, but my surroundings weren't nearly so accommodating.

"Aaaagh!"

"Save me!"

The lowest-grade monsters beyond were being slaughtered as the human soldiers pushed them back with an organized formation.

A skeleton soldier like me was worth less than a rock lying underfoot.

'And besides...'

I looked down at my gaunt rib cage.

I was far too weak.

My bone density looked low, and the joints were so loose they rattled.

The chance of surviving in this harsh Demon Realm with such a frail body was approaching zero.

BANG! BOOOOM!

In the distance, I saw my fellow skeletons being pulverized into dust beneath the human soldiers' merciless attacks.

'Surviving comes first, then.'

For now, my priority was avoiding being ground into bone meal by those rampaging humans and scattered around as fertilizer.

I picked up the soldier's helmet lying on the ground and put it on my head.

Clatter.

It was too big and blocked part of my vision, but it was still better than leaving my completely hairless skull exposed.

Soon, my gaze fell upon the human soldier whose neck I had stabbed.

'I hadn't meant to kill him.'

But thinking about it rationally, my own head had been moments away from getting smashed, so the outcome was probably for the best.

When he lost his balance and collapsed, his shoulder had been caught on an exposed tree root on the ground and torn open.

Visible between the ragged strips of flesh was a white, solid humerus.

Human bones were sturdier than I had expected. I could sense a density and strength that couldn't even be compared to my arm bones, which were like rotten tree branches.

'...'

At that moment, a strange sensation took control of my entire body.

A throbbing feeling from inside my empty rib cage.

I had no heart, yet a bizarre craving boiled up from the depths of my soul.

Like a predator that had starved for days finally spotting prey.

I wanted that bone. I wanted to replace my gaunt arm with that solid bone.

[The conditions for the Unique Skill 'Bone Replacement(Lv.1)' have been met!]

A blue system message appeared before my eyes.

[Bone Replacement(Lv.1)]

[Target: Human Humerus(Grade: Common)]

[Estimated increase in Strength upon transplantation]

[You desire stronger bones.]

As though entranced, I reached out my bony hand toward the blood-soaked corpse of the soldier.

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.