Chapter 49: Chapter 49

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Chapter 49: The One Who Opens the Path (4)

[Ugh...!]

The researcher clutched his head in frustration.

[This is absurd...!]

Sensing that something was off, he even sent down a prototype monster.

He personally updated its functions, too.

And yet, how could this be the result?

[How the hell did he do it? Skeleton soldiers aren’t capable of independent thought... How could he elicit this level of loyalty in just a three-hour mission?]

He went over it again and again, thoughts piling on calculations.

No answer came to him.

It was incomprehensible.

It shouldn't be possible.

[For now... I have to.]

It was agonizing.

Frustrating.

Painful.

What pained him more than losing to a mere participant was his inability to understand how that participant's strategy worked.

So he gave the order.

[Bring all the skeletons back and collect the logs.]

Every log.

He intended to examine every single record.

[I'm going to go through it all. Every word Eunho said, every way he fought, what abilities he used to charm my creations—everything.]

Whether the skeletons understood his frustration or not, the screen continued to flash blue and red alerts, obliviously.

【ERROR!】

【Skeleton Soldier (Lv.1) refuses to comply with orders.】

[?!]

It was a historic moment.

For the first time ever, an ERROR message had appeared on the genius researcher’s screen.

[An error? Is it broken? Is this thing broken?]

How could his creations, his own handiwork, dare disobey him?

It was as if the heavens had turned into the seas and the seas into the heavens.

[Forcefully retrieve them! Now!]

But—

【Command cannot be executed!】

【Forced retrieval is prohibited during mission progress.】

【Time remaining until mission completion: 5 minutes 11 seconds... 10 seconds... 9 seconds...】

[Argh!!!]

Crash!

A flask shattered.

Clatter!

Bottles and chemicals spilled across the floor.

[Refusing to obey... this is impossible. This never happened during the test environment. Did something go wrong when I sent them to Sector 13?]

And as shards of broken glass and unidentifiable liquids piled up on the floor—

【WARNING!】

【Unauthorized deployment of prototype detected!】

【Enforcing mandatory retrieval in accordance with regulations.】

The system delivered yet another notification.

Someone had discovered his unauthorized deployment of the golem.

[Damn it! I’m busy enough already! Just take it yourselves!]

He waved his hand dismissively, holding his head in exasperation.

But—

【WARNING!】

【Return the ‘core’ immediately!】

[The golem’s dead, isn’t it? Just retrieve it and bring it back!]

【Command cannot be executed!】

【No ‘core’ to retrieve.】

[What kind of nonsense is this?!]

Now, they were telling him the ‘core’ embedded in the golem was missing.

[Then deduct it from my points or something!]

【Marked as lost.】

【Compensation deducted from points automatically.】

He failed to realize—

【Insufficient point balance.】

That thanks to Eunho saving a staggering 1,400 skeleton soldiers,

he didn’t have enough points to exchange for their return when the mission ended.

And—

【Would you like to substitute the mission reward with a suitable item?】

[Do whatever you want!]

He didn’t even consider that the items in his possession were things that should never, under any circumstances, fall into the hands of a mere participant.

—Flash!

Crunch!

* * *

At first, I thought it was just a rock lying nearby.

But the moment I carelessly stepped on the hard surface—

[Absorbing 'Diamond of the Forsaken Highlands'.]

The stone beneath my heel cracked with a sharp snap and then began to melt.

It flowed like molten lava.

Like liquefied metal.

Slowly, yet violently, the thick liquid seeped into the bones of my foot.

‘This is...’

A familiar sensation.

A familiar liquid.

And—

[Petrification (Lv.10) evolves to Petrification (Lv.12).]]

A familiar skill.

[Target ‘Eunho,’ additional manifestation range of Petrification (Lv.12) is…]

I didn’t need to hear the system’s words.

I could feel it in my evolving body.

[Right foot.]

My right foot had turned to crystal.

The once bare bones of my foot were now wrapped in a dazzling, gem-like sheen.

For the first time, I understood.

The Petrification skill had been protecting me in this form all along.

But—

‘Why was this here?’

There was no way the ‘Diamond of the Forsaken Highlands’ had simply been lying on a road in this district.

‘So it must have come from the golem’s body.’

As I scanned the surroundings, hoping to find some trace,

—Ding!

—Ding!

—Ding!

The chat notifications clamored noisily, demanding attention.

Ah, right.

He’d muted them during the battle because they were so obnoxious.

But if they carried news like this—

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【‘Prince of the Investigation Bureau’ is in awe of Target ‘Eunho’s’ overwhelming combat prowess!】

【1,000 Welfare Points donated!】

【‘The Raven of the Administration Bureau’ praises Target ‘Eunho’ for his heroic spirit!】

【1,000 Welfare Points donated!】

【‘Night Owl of the Audit Bureau’ says they’ve never seen a participant like this before and is utterly speechless!】

【500 Welfare Points donated!】

[After deducting the administrator fee (50%), 1,250 points have been deposited.]

I should gladly accept it.

【A multitude of observers tremble at the birth of a new warrior!】

It seems those beyond the 'eyes' found this battle quite entertaining.

【A new observer has entered!】

【A new observer has entered!】

【A new observer has entered!】

……

Looks like they brought along quite a few friends or colleagues.

【The 'External Affairs Department's Rookie' greets you, saying they heard the rumors.】

【The 'Investigation Bureau's Brain' greets you, saying they're here to see just how exceptional you are.】

It’s getting noisier, and I’m not exactly thrilled about it.

But at least the fight is over, so I decided to quietly look around.

"Kyaaaah! Eunho!"

"Hyungniiiiim! You did it!!"

Jieun and Jaehyuk came rushing over, out of breath.

"How on earth did you cut through that chunk of metal with a sword?"

"Exactly, noona! You saw me smashing it with my mace—barely scratched it, didn’t I?"

"I did, I did! Same here. Wow, seriously... Eunho, you’re not human, are you?!"

"Hyung-nim is definitely not human! At least not right now!"

Well, yeah—I'm still a skeleton, after all.

That aside—

"I can... do it, too...!"

Those guys.

Startling me with an unprompted self-destruction.

Ambiguous whether they’re monsters or just part of the system.

Clatter!

I looked over the remains of the pile of bones.

Broken and shattered into pieces, unrecognizable as their original owners.

Half of me felt pity.

And the other half was relief—if not for their sacrifice, it might have been Jieun, Jaehyuk, or Yul who ended up shattered here.

A short while later, the announcement came:

['Mock Battle' mission completed.]

Signaling the end of the mission.

[Troop retrieval in 10 seconds.]

And the farewell to my soldiers as well.

"Commander...!"

"Commander...!"

[The skeletal soldiers lament parting with their commander, to whom they pledged loyalty.]

Clatter, clatter, clatter!

The white skeletons approached.

Though they had no expressions or emotions to read, I could feel it.

They were sad.

So—

[The skeletal soldiers await their commander’s farewell.]

It might not be much of a farewell speech, but—

‘I'm not needed anymore.’

Swish—!

I removed the helmet I was wearing.

A bone helmet, wearable only by skeletons.

Holding it up—

"Take it."

[PR/N: Damn.]

"……?"

I handed it to the skeleton soldier at the front.

An enchanted helmet radiating a faint violet aura.

"Take it and give it to whoever you choose as the next leader."

"Wha...?!"

"Whether it’s the strongest, the smartest, or the kindest. You guys decide."

"……!"

The glowing lights in its eye sockets trembled.

"But this is…"

"I don’t need it anymore. So take it, and act freely."

"Commander...!"

[The skeletal soldiers are overwhelmed with loyalty, not knowing what to do!]

“You can’t live and die doing only what the system tells you. Right?”

[The skeletal soldiers express their gratitude for having met such a commander!]

"Commander...!"

"Comman...der!"

"…mander!"

The skeleton soldiers began to open their jawbones one by one.

Their unified voices numbering in the thousands.

It was a sight that should have resonated through my ribcage.

[Target: ‘Lee Eunho.’ Retrieving troops.]

But it was short-lived.

Blink—!

Like flower petals in spring, the bones flickered and faded away.

And thus, they disappeared.

“...nder!”

Leaving behind the final syllable as if lingering in the air.

['Mock Battle' mission completed.]

It was over.

For them, for me, and for everyone else.

[Congratulations!]

[You have captured the 'Flag of Victory.']

[100 welfare points are awarded for each surviving soldier.]

"!!"

"100 points per soldier?"

[Surviving soldiers: 1,420.]

[Resistance stat increased (+1,420).]

That’s more than I expected.

Both the points awarded per soldier and the number of survivors.

[Beginning calculation.]

So, the welfare points I’ll receive total 142,000.

‘I upgraded the shop with just 10,000 points.’

Now, 140,000 points from a single mission.

All that running around paid off.

Because welfare points are absolutely necessary for the next mission.

With this—

‘I can wait comfortably now.’

That thought had just crossed my mind when—

[Warning!]

[Target: ‘Lee Eunho.’ Points cannot be calculated!]

[You have exceeded the maximum allowable points!]n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

An absurd notification rang out.

"Calculation impossible?"

But immediately after—

[Target: ‘Lee Eunho.’ 50,000 welfare points are awarded immediately.]

[Excess points will be converted into special rewards.]

The blasted system handed over 50,000 points, claiming it had nothing else in its pockets.

[Determining an appropriate reward.]

And it made some mysterious deal.

[Target: ‘Lee Eunho.’ Special reward has been granted.]

[Please check your mission rewards!]

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