> [Heal] [White Skill: Sacred Class]
When this skill is used, the user is cloaked in a sacred layer of golden light that heals all physical injuries.
I stared at the skill glowing brightly before me, my eyes devoid of enthusiasm. It was the [Heal] skill—its purpose obvious just from the name: healing.
Simply put, I had now become something like a walking hospital.
A chuckle escaped my lips at the thought, before I started pondering a way to test the skill's effectiveness. There was only one option: inflict a few minor wounds on myself.
Slowly, I walked toward some shattered glass scattered on the ground—the remains of one of the destroyed houses' windows. I picked up a fairly large, sharp shard and gently swung it against one of my fingers… but nothing happened. No cut, not even the slightest scratch.
I figured the reason was my recently increased physical strength—maybe my new body could no longer be harmed by such shallow force. So, I decided to strike with more strength this time.
Cut!
The shard finally managed to pierce my skin. Blood began seeping slowly from the tip of my finger, like an old man sneaking out of his house with weary steps.
Then suddenly, it happened…
The injured area began to glow with a faint golden light. The glow swirled gently around the wound, twisting into a soft spiral of sacred energy. As moments passed, the light condensed, then dove straight into the wound as if embracing it, melting into it.
From my angle, I saw a golden flash wrap around my finger, then vanish instantly. What followed was breathtaking: the wound started closing slowly, as though time itself had reversed to restore my finger to its original state.
The sensation of healing was strange… almost like a colony of ants crawling across my finger. The odd feeling sent shivers down my spine, but I brushed it off as nothing more than an annoying itch.
...
After finishing this gentle test, I turned immediately to the next skill—the one radiating a dark, sinister glow. It looked like a miniature black hole, nothing visible inside except pure darkness, as if staring into the abyss itself.
And as written beside its name and classification, it was a [Black Skill: Death Class]—a label alone enough to cloak it in mystery and dread.
> [Summon Skeleton]
When activated, this skill summons a skeleton from the underworld.
Current Skeleton Level: 1
I reread the description over and over again, my excitement steadily growing. The idea of fighting beside a companion I could trust—without fear of betrayal or a knife in the back—was thrilling.
I raised my hand forward and shouted aloud:
[Summon Skeleton]!
Rumble! Rattle!
The ground around me shook violently, as though some great event was about to be born here. I glanced around, trying to understand what was happening… but nothing obvious appeared.
I planted my feet firmly, waiting for the result with sharp focus, scanning every direction cautiously, ready for any surprise.
Then I noticed a tiny crack forming beneath me. It hadn't been there before, but I was certain it was the cause of the constant tremors.
Panic flickered inside me for a moment. Was this what novels described as a dungeon break? Where monsters swarm out of the earth like locusts, destroying everything? But… wasn't such a thing supposed to happen through the surrounding gates, not from beneath the ground?
I swallowed hard, sweat dripping down my forehead. A strange mixture seeped into me—tension, fear, and unease all blending into one unsettling feeling.
Grinding my teeth, I forced down the discomfort. My expression shifted from unease to determination as I braced myself for what was coming. I stepped back from the crack, watching it like a hunter waiting for prey to surface.
And then—it moved again.
Rattle! Crack!
The earth trembled once more, accompanied by a strange breaking sound. It was eerily similar to the noise I'd heard before… the one that preceded the appearance of that colossal eye in the sky. This time, though, the sound was unmistakably from this very crack.
Boom! It widened!
Boom! It widened again!
Muffled explosions reverberated all around. I turned quickly in every direction, but saw nothing tangible as the source. The sound was there, yet its physical cause was hidden.
My eyes snapped back to the fissure, now spreading at alarming speed.
From a hairline crack barely a centimeter wide, it had grown into a gaping hole five meters long and over two meters across. It was no longer a simple crack… it had become a rift.
Cautiously, I approached its edge and peered down.
What I saw was nightmarish.
Not the empty void I had expected—but an entirely different world: a broken land veined with rivers of molten lava, thick black smoke rising from fissures as if the earth itself was breathing rage. Bones lay scattered everywhere, with massive skeletons half-buried in the soil, as if this place had once borne witness to some forgotten war thousands of years ago.
Suddenly, the ground shook again—but this time, the tremor was centered directly on the rift.
I exhaled sharply, trying to steady my racing heartbeat, stepping back one pace. But before I could retreat further, a column of darkness shot upward from its depths, like something being forcibly dragged from the underworld to the surface.
Then I saw it…
A pale skeletal hand emerged first, gripping the edge of the rift with crushing force. It was followed by a long arm riddled with black cracks, and then, slowly, the entire skeleton pulled itself out—moving as though time itself held no sway over it.
It stood taller than an average human, shrouded in a faint black haze like smoke rising from glowing embers. Its eyes—or what was left of them—were empty sockets, yet inside flickered a dim red light, pulsing faintly as though breathing… like it carried fragments of a soul. In its hand rested a cracked bone sword, worn and scarred, whispering tales of countless battles endured.
The skeleton stood before me in silence, unmoving. It neither made a sound nor showed hostility. It simply fixed its skull in my direction, waiting.
I stepped toward it, speaking hesitantly:
"Can… you hear me?"
No response.
But then, a translucent window materialized before me, as if the "third eye" had answered in its stead:
> [Skeleton – Normal]
Obedience: 100%
Skills: [Bone Punch] – [Bone Slash]
Summon Duration: Unlimited (permanent follower until death or dismissal)
I studied the window that labeled it a "Normal Skeleton." Perhaps… my earlier hunch was correct. This skeleton could evolve into stronger versions as my level increased—or maybe I'd unlock entirely new types of summons later. Who knew what fate had in store… we would have to wait and see.
I shifted my focus to its listed skills and tapped on them, revealing their descriptions:
> [Bone Punch]
The skeleton advances and strikes with its ancient arm, dealing 150% damage.
> [Bone Slash]
The skeleton swings its worn bone sword, dealing 200% damage and reducing enemy defense by 20%.
Reading through the descriptions, nothing stood out as particularly special—just numbers boosting attack or lowering defense. But for a start, it was enough.
I stood there, rereading the details, imagining strategies for their use… forgetting entirely that I'd only just acquired this skill moments ago.
A laugh escaped me at the thought—here I was, receiving skills out of thin air, already planning tactics like some seasoned general.
And just as I was lost in my daydreams…
The moment I had been eagerly awaiting finally arrived.