Skeleton? Is that even a name?

  The remaining heavy armor guy and the archer glanced at each other.

  "Hey, man, I think there's been a misunderstanding," the heavy armor guy said. After all, knowing when to switch sides was crucial.

  "Sorry, but this has nothing to do with any misunderstanding," Eric replied.

  "Because I'm a skeleton and you're human, I'm gonna take you down," he said, charging at the heavy armor guy and raising his staff to smash down.

  "Shield Bash!" The heavy armor guy raised his thick shield with his left hand to meet the staff.

  "Sharpness!" He swung his huge sword with his other hand, slashing at Eric.

  "First-tier magic, Wind Shield!" The magic circle on Eric's left arm changed, and the tan rock shield disappeared, replaced by a circular wind vortex.

  The heavy sword struck the wind vortex. The heavy armor guy only felt an invisible force pulling his blade off its original path.

  "What kind of magic is this?!" he shouted, quickly pulling back his sword and adjusting his stance.

  At that moment, a few arrows shot at Eric from behind. He didn't even flinch. If there was one thing a skeleton didn't have to worry about, it was arrows.

  He dodged the arrow aimed at his head, and the one aimed at his chest passed right through him again. At such close range, the heavy armor guy finally saw clearly. Underneath the clothes, there was no flesh and blood—just a stark white skeleton. And the arrow had gone right through the gaps in the bones.

  "You... you really are a skeleton!!" The heavy armor guy felt a chill run down his spine, and his movements became disordered.

  Then, Eric landed several solid blows on him.

  "Haven't I already told you?" Eric said, smacking him.

  "Come to think of it, it's about time," he added, spinning his wrist and making his staff trace a beautiful arc in the air.

  Then, with [Giant Strength] activated, the staff whistled through the air and was hurled like a javelin.

  "Get out of the way!" the heavy armor guy shouted, but it was too late.

  The wind magic wrapped around the staff, slamming the archer into the stone wall.

  "You should be more concerned about yourself right now," Eric said, lifting his leg and whipping his lower leg at the heavy armor guy like a bullwhip.

  The heavy armor guy raised his shield, but under the sheer force, the shield still shook his entire body.

  Then, Eric plunged both hands into his chest, pulling out two bone swords. The twin bone blades traced a white light in the air, stabbing towards the heavy armor guy's eyes.

  "Don't underestimate me, monster!" the heavy armor guy shouted, swinging his heavy sword at Eric.

  The flames in Eric's eye sockets flared up, and a pair of menacing bone wings spread out from his back.

  The bone wings flapped, holding Eric in the air for a moment.

  "Power Strike!" The heavy armor guy swung his heavy sword upward.

  Eric twisted his body, and a magic circle opened on his lower leg.

  "First-tier magic, Wind Shield."

  A circular vortex opened on his lower leg, kicking towards the incoming heavy sword. The sword was deflected again, pulling the heavy armor guy's body forward.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  "Not good!" The heavy armor guy quickly let go of his heavy sword, holding his shield with both hands in front of him.

  "Fortress!" A golden light enveloped the heavy armor guy's body, making him stand there like a fortress.

  Eric's wings flapped again, lifting him high into the air.

  The two bone swords merged and grew together.

  "Bone Overgrowth!"

  The combined bone sword grew wildly, turning into a huge bone handle that needed both hands to grip.

  "Earth!"

  Earth magic wrapped around the top of the bone handle, turning it into a giant rock ball.

  "Wind and Fire!"

  Fire magic enveloped the rock, and wind magic pushed it, using the force of gravity to accelerate it a second time.

  The hammer smashed down on the heavy armor guy with a fierce blow.

  "Boom!!"

  The air currents rushed in all directions, producing an ear-splitting roar.

  The heavy armor guy's eardrums were instantly shredded, and blood flowed from his ears.

  His armor cracked inch by inch, and the rock beneath his feet couldn't withstand the weight, cracking and collapsing in a radial pattern from under his feet.

  It wasn't until his knees were fully submerged in the rock that the giant hammer shattered.

  "Cough, cough!"

  The heavy armor guy didn't have time to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth.

  Eric, holding a slender bone spear, didn't give him a moment to catch his breath and stabbed at his throat.

  "Quagmire!"

  The feet buried in the rock were swallowed and sucked in by the mud, preventing him from exerting force to dodge.

  "Splash!"

  The sound of flesh being pierced, warm blood continuously flowing down the throat, staining the armor red.

  [Ding, Heavy Armor Guy Lv16 defeated, +400 experience]

  He pulled out the bone spear, shook off the blood, and looked at the last archer.

  The archer, who had been pinned to the wall, was nowhere to be seen, leaving only a bloodied staff on the ground.

  "Really not honest, are you?"

  Eric walked to the staff, pulled it out, and followed the bloodstains on the ground to catch up.

  Soon, he caught up with the archer, who was losing a lot of blood and was barely standing.

  "Don't kill me, I was forced, they made me do it!"

  "Yeah, yeah, I have a lot of money outside, it's all yours! I'll give it all to you!"

  "So please don't kill me!"

  The archer, seeing Eric catching up, kept backing away, speaking incoherently, his eyes filled with despair.

  Eric tightened his grip on the bone spear, pierced through the archer's throat, and pinned him to the ground.

  [Ding, Archer Lv14 defeated, +300 experience]

  "Blabbering on and on, just get it over with, it's so annoying," he muttered.

  [Experience bar full, level up to Lv16]

  [+1 to Constitution, +1 to Spirit]

  [+1 free attribute point]

  He added the free attribute point to Spirit, squatted down, and started looting the bodies.

  Soon, Eric found a money pouch.

  As for the other stuff, it was all too big and not worth taking.

  Back at the spot, he searched the other bodies again and got a decent amount of gold coins.

  Indeed, killing and arson make you rich quick.

  Eric put the money pouch in a bag and hid it on his spine.

  Tied to the spine, it's safe.

  Minors, do not imitate.

  Then, he used magic to sink the bodies into the ground and continued to move deeper.

  Through the thirteenth level, he entered the fourteenth.

  The fourteenth level, according to the map description, had few monsters and even had hot springs.

  It was a great place to take a break.

  There was also a temporary human town, providing logistical support for adventurers, offering services like trading, lodging, transportation, and supplies.

  Eric stepped into the town and, following the map, quickly found a shop.

  "Ribi Guild Underground Dungeon Temporary Shop."

  Yep, this was the place.

  Tadela's Ribi Guild naturally had a purchasing point and supply point in the underground dungeon.

  Eric walked into the shop.

  "Can I help you with anything, sir?" the woman behind the counter asked with a smile.

  "Do you buy materials?"

  Eric poured out the magic stones he had collected along the way.

  "So many magic stones!"

  Seeing the pile of magic stones on the counter, the shop girl's eyes lit up.

  "Judging by your attire, you must be the Skeleton Sir sent from headquarters!"

  She took a close look at Eric's outfit and the unique all-metal staff on his back, and quickly spoke up.

  "Skeleton Sir?"

  "The one who calls himself Skeleton. It's said that you're a one-man team, conquering the underground dungeon?"

  "Really no teammates, huh? So the one-man team is for real!"

  "And you can collect so many magic stones by yourself. Could it be that Skeleton Sir, you're a second-tier professional?"

  The girl behind the counter almost leaned half her body out of the counter, staring at Eric eagerly.

  "..."

  "Sorry, got a little carried away."

  Realizing her slip, she blushed and pulled her body back in.

  "I'm Rachel Hugh Vant."

  "The owner of this shop. I'm glad that Skeleton Sir is willing to help Ribi Guild."

  "Just a fair trade. Please go ahead and exchange these magic stones."

  "Ah, right, sorry for the delay."

  Rachel sorted the magic stones, weighed them, and quoted a price.

  "Is this price satisfactory to you?"

  "Fine."

  "Then please take the gold coins. If you need lodging, please go upstairs."

  "Rachel can offer free food and lodging for Skeleton Sir."

  Rachel's body was almost leaning out of the counter again.

  "No, thanks. I'm in a hurry. After dealing with these materials, I need to keep diving deeper."

  Eric declined.