Chương 20: 19. Bones and Rotting Flesh

When it came to disliking things, there wasn't much in common between me and Carl. The only thing that linked us was the weakness he and my former self shared. In this case, though, he was right. The fastest way to the atrium was also the most dangerous—an elevator. The architects of the ship had put in a lot of effort to ensure easy access from everywhere—especially the first-class suites—to the hub of entertainment in the middle of the ship.

A wide-open area including several decks acted as a city square, complete with shops, restaurants, entertainment areas and even an impressive garden. Similar to where I had started, it was impossible to defend. Even now groups of undead had clustered at several of the access points. Precisely for that purpose, I had stopped at the top deck connected to the atrium.

"They're not there," Carl whispered.

"Let's go."

"Oh, they're here," I whispered back.

"At least one of them."

"How can you tell?"

"The floor." Clumps of clothes and rotted flesh could be seen in the vast space. It was the first thing I looked for upon arriving. Judging by the lack of arrows, it had to be Marcus. The real question was: had he managed to survive, and if so, where was he hiding? No staircase connected my deck to the atrium floor. The only way down was through several internal elevators which were completely transparent. For tourists, this was a great idea. That way people could get an unobscured view of the whole area.

For someone aiming to get down unnoticed, glass was the worst possible choice. I counted four groups of roughly ten standing near the elevator doors. Killing off one or maybe two was possible, but a whole four seemed more than I was ready for. And that was only the ones within sight.

"Know how…" My words trailed off as I looked at Carl's "weapon." The only thing that could do against an undead was to annoy it further. Reaching into my inventory, I took out my goblin slayer and handed it to him.

"Know how to use that?" I amended my question.

"Sure," he replied with false confidence.

"I swing it about and cut off their heads." Someone had been getting correct semi-information. I didn't see Carl coming to the conclusion himself, though miracles were possible.

"Hands," I corrected.

"You cut off their hands at the wrist. The rest isn't important."

"Hands? But what if they bite?" His concern was partially right. At higher levels, undead had the ability to spread decay through their bite as well. Not these, though.

"Endure the pain. And take care of that." I glanced at the weapon.

"I'll want it back." I was just about to head towards one of the glass elevators when Carl grabbed me by the shoulder. I could feel the desperation through his very fingers.

"What about him?" My initial reaction was to pull his hand off. I was half inclined to toss him down there to serve as a distraction. It was pure chance that made me glance in the direction where he was pointing. The moment I did, my anger instantly evaporated. Skeleton Warrior Level: 5 Cards: Five of Rings, Eleven of Chalice Special: Decaying touch Weapon: Bone Mace Clearly, that was an elite. The level, along with the cards, made that clear.

The more concerning part was that he wasn't listed as a leader, which meant that he was only a mid-tier monster at best. The skeleton rose a full head above the other undead. Completely deprived of flesh, he was wearing a black business suit, making him look like a caricature of a mafia boss. The bone mace at his side was no laughing matter. The Five of Rings card made slicing his hands off difficult. I couldn't remember what the Eleven of Chalice was, though I suspected it was related to attacking.

"How will you deal with that?" Carl pressed on. Facing such a skeleton would be tough, but it was the swarm that concerned me. Four rounds at the arena had gotten me used to fighting superior numbers, though not to such a degree. In order to pull this off, two things had to happen. Luckily, I had the means to pull them off, or at least make an attempt.

"It's time for you to do me a favor," I whispered.

"When I give you a sign, I want you to make some noise."

"Noise?"

"Noise," I repeated.

"Start yelling, throwing things down, I don't care. The point is, I want them to notice you." The man's face turned two shades paler. As most cowards with a taste of authority, he feared pain, punishment, and putting his life on the line more than anything.

"I'm not asking you to fight them," I quickly added.

"Just get them off the floor." The new wave of sweat dripped down his forehead, telling me what he didn't dare say.

"Look," I sighed.

"Make some noise, then pick an elevator they haven't gotten to and come on down. I'll meet you there." Not giving him a chance for further questions or comments, I set off. All the time my eyes never left the skeletal warrior. Everything depended on his reaction speed. It had been a while since I'd fought a pure skeleton. Even with all the gym boost, I barely matched up to him. Of course, that was without taking cards into account.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Upon reaching the spot I wanted, I stopped and waved to Carl. Nothing followed. The coward looked back, gripping the weapon I had given him. Just do it. I frowned. Naturally, I never had the intention of relying solely on his cooperation. Letting another few seconds pass, I slammed my hand against the glass parapet right under the railing, then ducked out of view.

"What are you doing?!" Carl shouted, as I expected he would. At this point, he had no choice than follow the instructions I had given. Trembling, he leaned over, desperate to see which elevators the undead would go to. I remained where I was. Glass cabins gave me one major advantage—I could instantly see which lifts were moving. Four started their way down, followed by two more. Six groups—two more than I expected. I held my breath. Several of the elevators stopped, then started moving again. That was my cue.

Quickly standing up, I leaped over the railing. The skeleton warrior was still on the floor. As I thought; that was his area zone, preventing him from going anywhere.

"Five of Rings!" I said, hardening my bones. My feet slammed onto the floor. The card had strengthened the bones enough so as not to shatter, but the pain still shot up all the way to my eyes. I felt like I was drowning in a sea of agony. That didn't prevent me from dashing right at the skeleton with a double slash attack. The strike caught the monster by surprise, slashing through his expensive suit before he could put up a defense. Unfortunately, the hardness of his bones proved too much for my blades to handle.

Leaping back from the force of the attack, the skeleton raised his mace. Droplets of green liquid covered every part of the shiny bones. Keeping my momentum, I followed up with a second attack, going directly for his neck. My right blade struck its target, chipping a piece off the spine. The other, sadly, was blocked by the skeleton's mace. Damn! I leaped back. So much for quick kills. A faint smell of rotten eggs filled my nostrils.

Looking at my weapons, one had gotten a bit of the green liquid and it was eating the edge. Acid, I thought. At least now I knew what his card did.

"Greg!" Carl shouted from above. The hordes of undead had likely reached the midpoint to the top deck. Right now, that was the least of my problems. My plan had been to kill off the warrior by now and get ready for what was to come. A random pair of undead emerged from one of the nearby shops in an attempt to flank me. Keeping most of my attention on the monster in the suit, I leaped up to the new arrivals, greeting them with an arc attack. Both of their heads flew off their bodies, falling to the ground.

At least it was good to know that my approach worked on the small fry. However, there was no time to relax. The skeleton matched my speed, reaching me in an instant. The bone mace flew down with the intent to smash my face. Straining my body to its limit, I managed to pull back in the nick of time. The spiked white ball passed inches from my nose and chest, then slammed into the floor, cracking the smooth marble. Fast and strong, I thought. And covered in acid.

Already the green substance had eaten through all his clothes, leaving only bone behind. No gems were visible anywhere on him, although I did spot a bronze ring on one of his ribs. The acid didn't seem to harm it in any way, suggesting that I could potentially grab it once the fight was over. The skeleton swung again, this time moving the mace from down to up. Deciding against blocking it, I leaped away. Another swing followed.

The overall fighting style of the monster was very different from anything I'd faced so far. Normally, skeletons were notoriously difficult to predict. Guessing the path a butterfly would take was a lot simpler. They'd swing, then deliberately let their weapon hit a solid surface, so they could lift their entire body and attack with their legs and feet. During my past run, I had seen quite a few people get killed for trying to take on skeletons recklessly.

The one I was facing now did the first part of the attack as I remembered, but then deliberately chose not to follow through. Each attack followed a straight line between two points, making it feel as if he were connecting a series of invisible dots in the air.

"Shatter!" I performed a thrust attack, striking the skeleton's left eye socket. My blade went half an inch deep, then stopped. Not losing a moment, I let go of the hilt and grabbed the rib-ring with my hand. The pain was substantial, amplifying the sensation of my skin burning off. Yet, I refused to let go, tightening my grip even further. The rib cracked, then shattered under the pressure granted to me by the Two of Chains. The bone mace flew through the air again, only to be parried by my second weapon.

The force of the attack sent me into the air, causing me to land ten feet away. The Boots of Swiftness locked me in place, keeping me from sliding further. Gritting my teeth, I opened my hand. RING OF STRENGTH (Item - Common) Increases strength I put the ring on and used the Two of Chalice to heal my hand a bit. The moment I did, the skeleton came at me again. One of my aelf blades was still sticking from his skull. Twisting my body, I avoided the mace.

My injured hand shot out, grabbing the section of the spine below the skull and squeezed. I could feel the vertebra crack within my grip. A sharp kick prevented me from finishing the job, pushing back. Shit! I cast another heal. The effects were minimal. Even halved, the pain remained a factor. There was no chance I'd be able to grip anything with my right hand in the near future. Aware of the time pressure, I glanced at one of the glass elevators. Some had reached the top deck.

Soon they'd start making their way down, putting me in a highly unfavorable position. The skeleton's attacks intensified. Lacking his usual versatility, he had decided to eliminate me using strength and speed alone. My getting the ring had somewhat decreased the threat, but he remained someone not to be trifled with. A bony hand reached for me, its fingers rearing to pierce my flesh. I struck the wrist with my blade, deflecting it up. Following up, I then slammed the hilt of the blade into the monster's skull.

There was an audible crack, but little else. The weapon stubbornly refused to proceed further. My heart beat like a drum. Harlequin had gone overboard in his efforts to make things impossibly difficult. If it hadn't been for the boost at the gym arena, I would have died several times until now. The skeleton and I were pretty much on an equal footing. I had more cards and items, but he seemed to have better base statistics. Green acid oozed out of the surface of the mace. The skeleton was displaying some ingenuity.

From here on, I couldn't afford to let the weapon graze me. Even worse, it was going to be dangerous just standing in the vicinity. As if to confirm my fears, the monster swung its weapon, deliberately sending droplets of acid my way. There was no time to think. The experience I had gained through years of fighting told me to ignore the potential pain and plunge straight at my enemy, and so I did. I could feel the acid burning through my chest and stomach, as if I'd been hit by dozens of small daggers.

Still, that had proved to be a mistake on the skeleton's part. With the mace continuing its downward arc, he wouldn't be able to perform another attack in the next second, providing me with an opportunity.

"Surprise," I said, stepping on the head of the mace, putting my entire weight on it. The skeleton was abruptly pulled to the floor. At that point, I grabbed his upper vertebrae and squeezed once more. There were a series of cracks, after which I felt something break loose in my hand. Adrenaline and euphoria masked the pain, making me squeeze even harder. The skull wobbled, then fell off, bouncing along the floor like a hollow bowling ball. Instinctively, I let go and leaped back again.

It was common for skeletons to try and grab their killers during the final moments. Instead, all parts of the monster disappeared in a cloud of green smoke, leaving two cards and my second aelf blade behind. I took a deep breath. The trial was already off to a rough start.