Chapter 5 · 9 min

Chapter 5

Situation resolved.

I set the club down on the ground and dusted myself off.

Then I slowly turned my head and looked at the Orc Skeleton crouching in the corner.

Clatter.

Its body flinched, as though frightened.

A guy built like a mountain, scared stiff like that.

I walked over and held out a hand. It flinched again, but I ignored that and grabbed the part of its hip joint that was sticking out.

'Alright, relax.'

Crack, pop!

With a crisp sound, the dislocated femur slipped back into place.

"...!"

The Orc Skeleton's blue flames flickered inside its eye sockets as it moved its leg experimentally.

The joint moved smoothly.

As though overwhelmed with emotion, it sprang to its feet. Then it bent ninety degrees at the waist in front of me and clacked its jaw.

Clatter! Clatter!

It reacted so enthusiastically that it was like a puppy wagging its tail.

Strangely enough, I could sense its emotions just from the sound of its jawbones knocking together. I waved a hand as if it were no big deal.

'Yeah, yeah. You're alive, so that's what matters.'

What mattered to me was the loot.

I lifted the 'Orc Forearm Bone' I'd taken from the goblin earlier and had been using as a weapon until just now.

Checking it with [Precise Observation], it was indeed a good item.

[Orc Warrior's Forearm Bone(Grade: Common)]

[Estimated increase in Strength upon transplantation]

'Whoa, I hit the jackpot.'

This was more than enough to replace my flimsy left arm. No, it would probably make it stronger than my right arm.

Orcs were humanoid, so the structure should match perfectly too.

I stroked the bone with satisfaction and raised my left arm in preparation for the transplant.

But then.

Clatter...

I felt someone staring at me. Beside me, the Orc Skeleton was gazing intently at the arm bone in my hand.

The blue flames inside its eye sockets flickered with a strangely pitiful light.

Clatter.

It fidgeted hesitantly with its bony fingers.

Its empty eye sockets shifted back and forth between the 'Orc Warrior's Forearm Bone' in my hand and my face.

Despite not even having eyeballs, the pitiful look somehow reminded me of Puss in Boots.

'What? Are you hurt somewhere else?'

Shake, shake.

'Then did you get lost or something? Want me to find your mom?'

Shake, shake.

This time, it shook its head even more vigorously. The blue glow in its eye sockets trembled as if tears were about to spill out at any moment.

Only then did I realize exactly what it was staring at.

'...Ah, damn it.'

I'd had a bad feeling.

Apparently, this guy needed the arm bone I'd claimed as loot.

'Is it important to you?'

Nodnodnod!

It nodded so hard I worried its neck bones might dislocate.

Pretending not to understand, I casually hid the bone behind my back.

At once, its shoulders visibly slumped. I could practically feel the disappointment, as if it were sighing deeply enough to make the ground cave in.

'Haa.'

A sigh escaped me naturally.

Honestly, it was a waste. This was the perfect part to reinforce my flimsy left arm.

But...

'If I take it after it looks at me like that, I'd feel like complete trash!'

Right, when I thought about it, those were the remains of its own kind from its perspective. They might mean more to it than they did to me.

In the end, I tossed it the bone I'd been hiding behind my back.

'Here. Take it.'

Catch.

It hurriedly caught the arm bone. Then it hugged it tightly to its chest as though it were a treasure.

Afterward, it kept bowing gratefully while circling around me.

It seemed relieved, but apparently still felt guilty.

'It's fine, you idiot. Don't worry about it. We're both miserable piles of bones anyway. What good is being the same kind if we can't help each other?'

I waved a hand dismissively.

I really was fine with it. It was true that losing the orc bone was regrettable, but it wasn't as if I had no alternative.

I turned my gaze toward the corpse of the Chief Goblin sprawled on the ground.

It wasn't as good as an orc, but compared to an ordinary goblin, this one had clearly eaten well and gotten some exercise.

'Guess I'll use this guy's arm instead.'

[Precise Observation(EX) activates.]

[Goblin Chief's Forearm Bone(Grade: Common)]

[Estimated increase in Dexterity upon transplantation]

What's Dexterity supposed to do?

Well, it didn't seem bad.

Without hesitation, I tore off the Chief Goblin's left arm.

Then I fitted the goblin's bone into the empty space where my left arm had been.

[Unique Skill: Bone Replacement(Lv.2) activated!]

SSSSS.

The bones fused together amid black smoke.

[Transplant successful!]

['Bone Replacement' has grown to Lv.3.]

[Strength slightly increased.]

[Proficiency in Skill: 'Sneaky Pickpocket(Lv.2)' has been inherited.]

Something weird came along with it!

Had that huge guy actually been getting pickpocketed?

It was a skill perfectly suited to a goblin chief.

I clenched and unclenched my fist.

It felt far heavier and more powerful than my old arm, which had been like a tree branch.

When I rotated the joint, it moved smoothly without any creaking.

My odds of survival had definitely gone up compared to before.

In this Demon Realm, strength was law.

The better the parts I obtained, the stronger I could become.

At least until I found a way to obtain a human body with blood and flesh, the more means I had to protect my life, the better.

Then I noticed a worn pouch hanging from the dead Chief Goblin's waist.

It looked somewhat heavy, making it too tempting to simply ignore.

'Anything useful in there?'

Goblin-types had a habit of carrying around stolen goods, after all.

When I turned the pouch upside down and shook it out, a silver object dropped among chunks of mysterious dried meat and assorted coins.

A worn metal tag embossed with a wolf's head.

[Official Red Wolves Mercenary Company Mercenary Badge]

'Oh.'

It belonged to the same people I'd encountered earlier. These goblins had probably either picked it up somewhere or looted it from the corpse of a mercenary killed on the battlefield.

'This could come in pretty handy later.'

Right now, it was useless while I was just a pile of bones, but things would be different if I ever reached a human settlement. If I managed to obtain a human appearance or found some way to disguise myself, this mercenary badge would make an excellent pass.

I also took one of the leather belts the goblins had been wearing and fastened it around my waist. Then I picked up the femur I'd been using as a makeshift dagger and secured it properly.

It'd be nice if I could get another longsword.

I grabbed another leather belt and fastened the arm bone the Orc Skeleton was holding so dearly to its waist as well.

Clack, clack.

Once I'd finished getting ready and tried to move on, the Orc Skeleton followed right behind me.

It showed no intention of leaving and kept hovering around me like it was glued to my side.

'You want to follow me?'

Nod, nod.

'Fine, whatever. We're heading the same way anyway.'

Two were better than one. Especially if I had such a sturdy brute walking in front of me, it would also help spread out enemy aggro.

I gestured to the Orc Skeleton.

'Follow me. If you fall behind, I'm leaving you.'

We emerged from the bushes and joined the procession of routed soldiers moving along the forest path.

Walking among the limping wounded with two functional legs—mismatched though they were—and a sturdy bodyguard at my side definitely felt different.

The miscellaneous skeletons and zombies around us glanced our way and stepped aside. It even felt like fewer of them were looking down on me.

'Convenient.'

Whether in games or reality, gear and connections... no, party composition were important.

Feeling pleased, I moved the newly transplanted goblin arm around.

The joint was still a little stiff, but with some oil, it seemed like it would be perfectly usable.

'I need to level up the rest of my bones quickly too.'

I'd feel safer once I replaced all my pathetic, flimsy starter equipment.

I couldn't stay a trash mob forever.

I was glancing around for any useful corpses when it happened.

"Everyone, assemble."

A chilling voice pierced straight into my mind.

'...?!'

It wasn't a sound passing through my nonexistent eardrums, but a voice resonating directly inside my skull.

And it wasn't merely a sound. It was a coercive command that seemed to seize the very bottom of my soul and shake it.

'Ugh...!'

My head felt like it was splitting apart.

It was like someone had jammed an awl into my brain and started stirring it around.

My body froze regardless of my will.

Creeeak.

The skeletons scattered throughout the forest all stopped at once.

Like puppets hanging from invisible strings, they jerked their heads toward the direction the voice had come from and began stumbling that way.

I was no exception.

Every bone in my body responded on its own, regardless of my will.

'W-What the hell is this?!'

My legs tried to move on their own and join the formation.

An absolute force of obedience that couldn't be resisted.

The instincts engraved into this body warned me that it was the 'Absolute Domination' of a higher-ranking being that commanded lesser undead.

'So there really was a necromancer controlling these bodies!'

Damn it, I'd forgotten.

Skeletons weren't treated as independent monsters, but as summons animated by someone else's mana.

If I got dragged away, I was finished.

What else would someone gather routed soldiers for? They'd either send us back onto the battlefield as cannon fodder or burn us as fuel to replenish their depleted mana.

'No. I can't let myself get dragged away like this!'

With all my strength, I grabbed hold of a thick tree root jutting out of the ground.

Scrrrape.

My feet dragged across the ground, kicking up dust.

I gritted my nonexistent teeth so hard it felt like my jaw joints might break, but the voice beside my ears grew clearer and more persistent.

"Come... My servants... Answer my call..."

The mana contained within the voice grew stronger. My consciousness blurred, and my vision flickered.

A sweet temptation washed over me, whispering that it would be easier if I simply surrendered my body to the voice.

Just as my will was about to break, red sparks burst before my eyes.

Crackle! Crackle!

[Warning! An attempt at mental domination has been detected.]

[Trait: 'Player's Soul' activates.]

[The command is rejected.]

SHATTER!

I heard an auditory hallucination like chains snapping apart inside my mind. At the same time, my head cleared as if by magic, and strength returned to the legs that had been moving on their own.

'Huff...!'

Still gripping the tree root, I collapsed to the ground.

I looked around.

The other skeletons were still walking blankly deeper into the forest, into the darkness, with unfocused gazes. Even the Orc Skeleton beside me was moving along in a daze.

I alone remained in my right mind.

With trembling hands, I checked the system window floating in the air once again.

[Traits]

- Player's Soul: Your soul is an existence outside the specifications of this world. Without the System's authority, no one can break your will.

'Player's Soul.'

Only then did I properly notice the trait that had been sitting in the far corner of my status window like a decorative flourish.

At first, I'd assumed it was nothing more than flavor text explaining that I'd possessed this body.

But it turned out to have an actual effect.

And not just any effect, but an S-rank option: 'Immunity to Mental Domination'.

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

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, and unauthorized reproduction, duplication, distribution, or sharing without the written consent of both parties is prohibited.