2025-10-18 00:48:48The skeletal horse neighed, rising onto its hind legs, its front hooves pointed at Devon. The rider stayed mounted, and when the horse's front legs landed back on the earth, the rider, also the living Skeleton, jumped forward.
He landed smoothly on the ground, walking toward Devon with a palpable, threatening aura. The body wore no clothes, showing off its full skeletal form, but the creature did wear a cape without a hood.
Its hand held a large, long sword, still in its sheath. As it walked across the flat ground, the empty sockets of its eyes fixed on Devon.
Seeing this Skeleton, whose capabilities he knew had to be superior to the scout he had killed in the mini mart, Devon didn't dare act rashly. He remained standing in the middle of the clearing, waiting for the creature to approach.
After about ten meters, the Skeleton stopped. It didn't speak, because it couldn't, but it drew its sword with a deliberately slow, drawn-out motion.
Devon heard Raline gasp, but he didn't look toward his sister. He knew only one thing now. 'If I die, this monster will kill Raline.'
That thought spurred him to aim the short sword, which had been drawn the whole time, at the Skeleton. He felt a surge of relief that the other Skeletons hadn't followed the mounted one down, following their leader.
"You must be one of their commanders, huh?" he called out.
The Skeleton tilted its head slightly, then nodded.
"How the hell did you even find us?"
The Skeleton just stared at him, completely silent.
He tried again. "You knew 'cause I killed that scout, didn't you?"
The Skeleton seemed to narrow, if that was even possible, appearing furious. It nodded sharply and charged.
"Shit, I knew it," Devon muttered.
His fear was confirmed. If he killed one of these Skeletons, the consequence was a whole company, maybe an entire army, would chase him because they could sense the status of every subordinate Skeleton.
But he couldn't dwell on that. The black-caped Skeleton was already on him, making a forty-five-degree cutting motion from above, intending to slice through Devon's body.
He instantly threw his body forward, shifting slightly to the side of the Skeleton, then rolling twice behind it. Then, using his speed and strength, which were no longer merely human, he thrust his short sword into the Skeleton's back.
But he forgot his opponent was a Skeleton, lacking flesh, skin, or internal organs. His sword only tore through the Skeleton's cape, slamming into its ribcage from behind.
The Skeleton shrieked, deliberately throwing its body forward, then spun around, its sword hand swinging in a half-circle, trying to slash Devon.
Fortunately, he had spent years brawling with street thugs and market bullies, sometimes even sparring with Newark cops and soldiers who liked to test their street fighting skills. He easily dropped to the side, his short sword already pulled back.
He knelt on one knee, looking up, watching the Skeleton, which was now standing, facing him, clearly eager to defeat the human.
'Damn it! How the hell do you kill this thing?'
Devon thought hard in that brief moment, trying to recall anything he had read about Skeletons and the undead. Then he remembered concluding that undead in this form couldn't be killed the normal way.
There was only one way to make sure they didn't get back up. To make them truly dead.
He lunged forward, taking the initiative to attack first, aiming his short sword at its head. The Skeleton also rushed forward with a thrusting motion.
But instead of actually stabbing the Skeleton's head, Devon shifted to the side, using his leg as a pivot. He drove his short sword in an arc from high to low, targeting the Skeleton's sword-wielding arm.
He accurately sliced through the Skeleton's elbow joint, and the hand holding the sword detached from its body. The monster shrieked, a sound mixing rage and pain, though Devon doubted the latter; the undead shouldn't feel pain. Or at least, that's what fantasy fiction said.
Running a few steps, Devon immediately went for the Skeleton's sword. But because it's grip was so tight, he couldn't pull the hand off the hilt.
Without thinking, he repeatedly struck the bone fingers with his short sword.
The cloaked Skeleton, still shrieking, now charged at Devon, extending its intact arm toward him as he struggled to sever the fingers.Raline, seeing Devon take his eyes off his enemy, yelled in panic.
"Devvvv!!! He's coming!!!"
Finally, he severed the bone fingers, tossed the short sword aside, and gripped the long sword with both hands. Even though Raline was screaming a warning, he already knew the Skeleton's aura was closing in.
He waited until it was almost on him, while judging the weight of the new sword.
Once he felt he understood how much power to exert, and the Skeleton's aura was practically touching him, he swung the sword in a diagonal upward motion.
The blade sliced right through the Skeleton's neck bone, sending its skull flying several meters away.The hand, though headless, still lunged to grab Devon's throat, but he batted it away with his arm while standing up. Its body collapsed onto the ground in front of him.
Raline, seeing her brother fight for the first time, even though she knew he was a street brawler, was speechless. Then she stood up and, like any teen her age, began clapping with an expression of pure awe.
"That was totally INSANE!"
Hearing his sister clap and cheer, Devon could only stare at her blankly. "... You're seriously clapping right now?"
Raline grinned. "Hell yeah I am! That was badass!"
Devon wanted to complain but before he could even open his mouth, a golden panel suddenly blinked into existence in front of his face. Black glowing letters floated across it, announcing his achievement for killing the Skeleton.
[Target Eliminated: Skeleton Commander]
[Experience Gained: +375 EX] [Mortuary Essence Absorbed: +293 ME] [Corruption Increased: +1.25%] [System Calibration: Stable][Level Up]
[+1 Level - All base attribute increased slightly.]
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Chapter 88. Rule Implementation
They reached the main building and began organizing the supplies, with Williams took charge in delegating the tasks efficiently. The territory then buzzed with people that were organizing, preparing, or even making their space more defensible and functional.Devon went to the building's upper level, looking out over their territory and the plaza beyond, where hundreds of groups were doing the same thing like their group was.But how many would actually make it through the Second Round?"Penny for your thoughts?" Raline appeared beside him, watching over the buzzling plaza below them. "Just thinking about the odds," Devon admitted. "We lost almost half the participants in the First Round. The Second Round will be worse.""Then we should get better, stronger, smarter, and more prepared. That's all we can do," Raline said simply."You make it sound easy.""It's not easy, but simple, my big bro," she replied, leaning against the railing.Devon smile slightly. His sister had always been b
Chapter 87. Viktor of Mega Faction
Seichi hunched forward, resting both elbows on his knees. His fists pressed against his chin. “Yeah, exactly. Everyone cleared an entire floor when he walked in. No one dared mess with him. That aura was no joke.” Ignatia leaned back against the stone bench she was sitting on, arms crossed tightly over her chest. “He didn’t even say a word. Just stood there, and people backed off. That’s the kind of intimidation we’ll be facing.” Devon exhaled slowly, his eyes narrowing. “So the mega faction is already flexing. Which means Neutral Ground isn’t as safe as it looks. They can move without breaking the rules.” He turned back to Seichi and Ignatia. “Did he see you?” “Yeah. We weren’t exactly hiding. Maybe he noticed us, but he didn’t approach or anything. Just looked for a minute, then moved on.” “He was sizing us up,” Seichi said. “Frida was right, Devon. There’s no way he ignores other strong groups.” “Can you guess how strong he is?” Devon pressed, trying to gather as much i
Chapter 86. Being Watched
“Where do we meet again later?” Raline asked. “Let’s regroup at the fountain after four hours. That should be enough time for everyone,” Grendel decided after thinking for a moment. They split up, each heading toward their assigned destinations to buy the supplies they needed. Devon and Raline walked together toward the medical supply section. The place was quieter, cleaner, and more organized than the rest of the Market District. The sharp smell of antiseptic filled the air. “This place almost feels normal, like when we used to shop back home,” Raline murmured as she inspected surgical tools one by one. Devon chuckled softly. “Except now we’re shopping so we don’t die in a damn death tournament.” “You’re so pessimistic…” Raline muttered, glancing at him while he just shrugged indifferently. For an hour they picked out everything needed for Raline’s medical team to treat and heal the participants. The prices were reasonable, one full medical kit cost 500 SP. They bought
Chapter 85. Shopping
Valdris laughed again, his voice sounding more like a monster than a man, then turned to face his companions. “But I think this is necessary. Devon’s our main death magic user. Boosting his abilities helps the whole alliance.”“That’s true,” Grendel admitted, his thick brows furrowing as he thought hard. “But we also need outfits for everyone, don’t forget. Don’t burn a quarter of our budget on just one damn book.”“What if we use some of our personal points?” Ignatia chimed in. “Each champion has their own stash, so it won’t drain the main pool too much.”“That’s right,” Devon said, checking his total SP, suddenly remembering he had his own.[Personal Survival Points: 18,773]His fourth-place finish in the raid had given him a hefty amount. But spending it all on one book felt risky as hell.“I’ll contribute 10,000 from my personal pool,” Klaus said, stepping forward. “Think of it as an investment in our survival.”“Haha, I’ll throw in 5,000,” Grendel added, slapping Devon’s shoulder
Chapter 84. The Market District
The Market District was massive in scale and messy in every way. Hundreds of people crowded the narrow alleys between stalls, some haggling, some arguing, and others just browsing with sharp, suspicious eyes, always questioning the price or the quality of what was being sold.Through his Death Sight, Devon could see the place was packed beyond belief. Thousands of people, a dozen powerful champions, and the cold, hollow signatures of Guardians standing evenly spaced apart, watching everything with silent vigilance.“Don’t wander off,” Grendel muttered in a low voice. “Don’t get separated, and don’t buy anything without all of us agreeing first.”They moved as one group through the main thoroughfare. Stalls lined both sides, selling anything imaginable.Weapons hung from racks on display. Swords, spears, war axes, bows and arrows, and even strange weapons Devon had never seen before. Some glowed faintly with enchantments, while others looked plain but were clearly well-crafted.Floatin
Chapter 83. Going to Market District
The evening meeting was more crowded than the afternoon one. All the champions were present, along with Williams, Lee, and several other key people in front of their alliance.Grendel stood at the head of the table, looking more rested than he had earlier. “Alright, reports. Devon, Seichi, what did you two pick up?”Devon explained their talk with Frida, including the warnings about the mega faction and the Market District info.“Viktor,” Grendel repeated the name while rubbing his beardy jaw. “Yeah, I know that name. A Rank, Odin’s golden boy. Strong as hell, but his ego bigger than a mountain. If he’s building a mega faction, that’s trouble.”“Should we try talking to them?” Ignatia asked. “You know, try to make friendly ties or something?”“No,” Valdris interjected from his corner. “Groups like that don’t do friendship. They want followers, subordinates. If we approach, they’ll smell weakness.”“So we just ignore them?” Seichi asked.“For now,” Grendel decided. “We stay neutral. Do
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