2026-09-09 13:00:39Arthur slowly and painfully lifted his head upward. The sound of bones scraping against each other was all he could hear for a few seconds.
“Ahh…” he muttered, pressing his hands against his head. “Why am I still moving?!” Arthur asked himself. “I’m dead, aren’t I? I felt my life slowly drain away without even being able to do anything about it. So why does it feel like I’m alive yet dead?” He could feel the absence of his own heartbeat, as there were no sounds of a steady drumming rhythm in his chest, no feeling of warm blood being pumped through his veins, and no air filling his lungs with breath. Just emptiness and silence. Still, somehow, he was awake and moving. Right before him, floating in the darkness two feet from his face, was a translucent and glowing pale-blue screen. «[System Status Window] * Name: Arthur * Title: Death Conqueror (Increases Abyssal mana control by 20%) * Species: Skeleton Soldier * Rank: F-Rank * Level: 0 * Stats: * Strength: 9 * Agility: 4 * Mana: 104 * Stamina: 3 * Defense: 5» Arthur stared blankly at the floating message screen, unable to believe that what he was seeing was real. “What are all these numbers? My stats?” he said, staring intensely at the glowing system interface. “Why are my stats so pitifully low, not even reaching double digits except for my mana stats, which are even low when compared to the average mana possessed by an F-rank monster or a G-rank human? Even a stray goblin could solo me at this point.” Trying to get rid of the strange delusion, Arthur raised his hand to touch his head. Instead of feeling warm skin and muscle tissue, what greeted him was the stark, yellow, cracked bone of his forearm. Arthur froze. He stared at his hand, lowering and lifting it again. “No! This can’t be.” Panic seized his nonexistent heart. Arthur started moving backward, tripping over his clumsy joints and half-running, half-dragging himself across the floor until he finally reached a small, stagnant puddle of water left behind by a cavern stalactite. Arthur leaned toward the surface and looked down. Looking back at him from the depths of the muddy water was a hollow skull. Empty eye sockets stared back into his soul, encircled by his broken and terrifyingly bare skeleton. “F*ck.” «[System Alert] * Congratulations to the user for reaching the hidden requirements of the Mythical-Rank Skill: [DEATH]. * Skill Description: Controlling the power of death itself. Gives the ability to control abyssal energy, transcend mortality, and evolve, taking the essence and traits of fallen opponents.» Arthur stared at the notification as memories came crashing back into his mind. The skill he had tagged as useless after obtaining it from slaying the 600th-floor boss, Blood Lich. At the time, it was utterly useless, lacking any active commands, stat boosts, and strange, nonsensical activation requirements. [The user must be dead.] Arthur shrugged it off, laughing at the system’s cruel joke back then. Who in their right mind would ever obtain a mythical skill that was usable only when the person died? The reality hit him, heavy and suffocating. “Fuck…” Arthur whispered, frustration making his jaw click. “What a ridiculous requirement. But anyway… Why in the world do I have to revive as a damned F-Rank Skeleton Soldier who is easy prey even for an E-Rank newbie adventurer?!” It was laughable how everything he had accomplished had just been thrown away as useless waste—he had carried the kingdom, soloed the Demon Lord, and been betrayed by his closest companions, only to be discarded like trash left at the very bottom of the ladder. Despair washed over him. Sitting in the darkness, surrounded by the ruins of his former life, Arthur felt utterly powerless. What was the point of his revenge if he couldn’t stand even against a mild gust of wind? Tap. Scrape. The noise reverberated across the cavern walls. Arthur jerked his head upward. From the shadow cast by a broken pillar, another Skeleton Soldier emerged. Level 1. Red pinpoints of hostile intent flashed inside its eye sockets as it stared directly at him and dragged a rusty, jagged sword across the stone ground. Without hesitation, it rushed forward, pointing the rusty sword straight at him. “Tch—!” Arthur barely managed to get out of the way, allowing the rusty blade to pass a hair’s breadth from his ribs. The enemy turned around and slashed downward. Arthur raised his hand and blocked the attack using his bony forearm. A shower of white sparks flew as the metal ground against the bone, sending a sharp shockwave through his joints. He was outmatched. His stats were garbage. He tried rushing forward like he usually did in his prime, but the clumsy and ill-jointed body he now possessed betrayed him. His rigid bone body lacked the agility to move as he wanted. The Skeleton Soldier stepped forward and kicked him in the chest with its boot. Arthur was sent sprawling backward, skidding across the dirt floor. Without giving him a chance to recover, it stood over him and swung the rusty sword at his skull. Using all the reflexes and sword-fighting knowledge of a seasoned warrior, Arthur rolled to the left. The blade got stuck in the ground, trapping the enemy’s weapon. Now! Arthur jumped forward, his eyes wandering through the room in search of something he could use as a weapon. He spotted a partially buried iron shortsword left behind by some long-dead adventurer. With a growl reverberating in his mind, he jammed the rusty blade upward, stabbing it directly into the enemy skeleton’s chest and destroying its core. His rival froze in place. Red lights in its eye sockets flashed wildly several times before dying out as it collapsed into a pile of lifeless bones. Arthur fell backward, dropping the shortsword and lying on his back, staring upward into the darkness of the cavern roof. «[System Notification] * 100 XP gained. * Level Up! * Current Level: 1» “Fuck… That was way too close,” Arthur panted, clutching his aching body. “I could easily have died again just after waking up…” Before he could catch his breath, another cold notification box appeared right before his eyes. «[System Alert] * Activating Mythical-Rank Skill: [DEATH]. * Absorbing residual Abyssal aura from the fallen opponent… * Evolution: 3%» Arthur’s eyes widened in shock as he stared at the flashing percentage number. “Evolution?”
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Chapter 9: Demon Realm
The 10th floor Boss of the SSS-rank dungeon was an enormous cavern with a sharp spiky rooftop, covered in darkness.In the center of the underground bowl stood a creature—a Level 56 Abyssal Gorehound, three times larger than ordinary beasts and covered with the dark energy of the Abyss. Its eyes gleamed with a dark crimson color, and aggressively glowing bony spikes jutted all over its back. Unlike the previous floors he had gone through coming up, the floor was the end of what adventurers call the dungeons tutorial stage with floors considerably harder than this difficulty .SKREEE-ROAR!With a powerful thump of its massive paws, the Gorehound Alpha shook the cavern floor.Thud. Thud.Opening a dark portal where endless monsters flowed through it—half a dozen Level 37 Razor-Tooth Skitterers appeared directly from the void and rushed toward Arthur, blocking his way."Tch. Endless fodder," Arthur said, his bony voice tinged with disgust.He wasted no time. Combined with his heightened
Chapter 8: Evolution 3
The battle didn’t last long enough to be called a fight; it was an execution. Since the Tank had already been cut in two, Arthur’s only remaining opponent—the Mage—was attempting to coordinate an all-out flank attack. Moving with the precision of a synchronized warrior, she was casting spells and slashing with her Short blade. However, against Arthur’s freshly upgraded body of pure obsidian and ridiculous amount of stats, such an attempt was utterly meaningless. Arthur wasn’t even trying to dodge any attacks. He just kept moving through those clumsy attempts without breaking stride. Reaching the Mage in just a split second, he saw that she was preparing to chant something with her staff in hand. A flicker of dark steel flashed in front of her eyes. Slash. Two of her hands ended up on the stone ground, still holding tightly to the glowing staff, and a scream of sheer pain escaped her lips. Even before she managed to draw breath for another cry of fear, Arthur slashed again with hi
Chapter 7: Evolution 2
«[System Alert] * All conditions have been met. Beginning evolution.» Immediately, a torrent of dark energy emerged from Arthur’s body, twisting into a swirling maelstrom of demonic fire. The frightening burst of energy startled the other adventurers completely. The priestess screamed, pulling her hands away and staggering backward immediately while leaving the jagged dagger in place inside Arthur’s mana core. The rest of the party members, which included the tank, the mage, and the surviving swordsman, moved in closer due to the strange light. “What the hell happened?!” the priestess shrieked, her face going pale and her hands shaking continuously. “Isn’t he already dead or something? Didn’t his HP reach zero not long ago?! He should have just turned to a pile of bones like usual. What's with the show?” Before any of them could even think about what was going on, Arthur’s consciousness was transported out of his body. He opened his eyes and found himself in an infinite, pitch
Chapter 6: Evolution 1
The air within the cave went completely silent except for the drops of blood falling from the Alpha's sharp fangs. A massive Level 12 Shadow Wolf stood over the decapitated body of the party leader. Its eyes burned with a deadly crimson color, its teeth glaring at the remaining party members, who stared in terror. Before anyone could do anything, the wolf howled once more to call out to the remaining pack. Four Shadow Wolves ranging from Level 5 to 7 each lunged out from the darkness, baring their fangs at the group. The nearest one rushed forward, ignoring the heavy Tank in its way, lunging with its jaws wide open at the Priestess. Her brain stopped working from the terror. She froze in place, unable to cast even the most elementary barrier. Clang! A streak of bright light fell from the sky. With lightning-fast movement and a powerful strike from his heavy greatsword, Arthur intercepted the wolf's attack and lopped off its head. Before his brain could even process the command,
Chapter 5: Shadows and Echoes
The humid atmosphere of the underground tunnels of the SSS-rank dungeon buzzed with the malicious intent of an ongoing battle. Arthur turned on his heel, just barely managing to dodge the sharp claw of the ferocious beast. Another Shadow Wolf appeared, lunging straight for his head, its sharp jaws snapping shut with a vicious bite force far stronger than that of an African crocodile. Three more Shadow Wolves appeared around him, circling him slowly. Unlike unintelligent Skeleton Warriors, the Shadow Wolves were intelligent by nature, able to strategize in small numbers to take out their opponents. As a 1v4 fight against intelligent and quick-witted creatures was no joke, Arthur had to use all of his skill and reflexes to evade each attack. The wolf attacked from the side with speed. However, Arthur knew better than to hesitate. With increased agility and his Survival Instinct skill, which gave him a 10% boost to his stats, he quickly moved his feet and used the greatsword as a bar
Chapter 4: A Brutal Toll
The suffocating weight of the Level 5 Skeleton made the humid air inside the cavern even more suffocating. Arthur didn't even get the chance to catch his breath before the towering beast started charging toward him with frightening momentum. Its heavy, chipped greatsword cut through the darkness, sending a brutal gust of wind that almost knocked Arthur off his feet. Clang! Arthur attempted to parry with his shortsword, but the sheer force behind the blow nearly broke his wrist, sending him backward onto the stony ground. “Fucking hell!” Arthur hissed, his jaw snapping wildly as he managed to duck under the horizontal sweep, which cut the rock he had been beside to pieces. He dodged and attacked once again, utilizing his speed to exploit the blind spot of the monster. Following that, he shoved his shortsword deep into the body of the monster, driving it between its ribs. Scratch. There was a dull, grating sound echoing throughout the cavern as Arthur’s weapon barely sank into th
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