Intermission: A Child Skeleton's Dream!

(Tob POV)

Tob's mom: "Take care now!"

Tob: "I will. Goodbye!"

Today, I will get my first request at the adventurer's guild.

Just yesterday, I registered at the adventurer's guild. It was hard, but a kind wizard helped me out.

I decided to be an adventurer to be strong enough to evolve and qualify as a soldier.

Mom always told me that we should be grateful to Lord Idmon for granting us another chance at life.

Our village was burned hundreds of years ago, and they found our remains in well-preserved graves. A lot of things were different from our time when we were alive, but we slowly got the hang of it.

Usually, everyone should fight for Lord Idmon, but being a good ruler, he gave us a chance to do what we want in life. For me, it's really about thanking Lord Idmon by being a soldier.

The door of the adventurer's guild opens.

A lot of skeletons and dwarves turned their heads towards me but lost interest quickly and went back to their discussions.

I approached the request board. Mom told me to take the most straightforward request, if possible.

Hmm. Let's see. How about taking out a goblin camp?

It's written as the easiest, but no one has taken it yet. The others seem to be aiming for the best quests. I took it.

I present the paper to the counter to take ownership of the quest.

Skeleton Clerk: "Will you be taking this quest by yourself?"

Tob: "Yes, please!"

The skeleton mage at the counter nodded and also gave me my free equipment as a new adventurer.

Skeleton Clerk: "You're good to go. Just remember, you could always add more to your party."

Tob: "Got it!"

That would be great if someone joined me. I'm nervous since this is my first time fighting goblins. I usually just hit the tree in the back of our house with wooden sticks and my bone fists.

I tried to look for party members in the guild, but no one seems to be interested. It was a low-reward quest to begin with, and it will be smaller if we split it.

Walking around the city of Undeth is hard. The place is crowded with skeletons and dwarven traders. Some wood people (sappings) are walking around too. I head for the gates to start my quest.

As I was walking, I saw a wood kid (a young sapling). I think they're called saplings. He's just standing around the gate. He has a shield and a wooden club.

Tob: "Hey, what are you doing?"

Beko: "Oh, hello there. I'm searching for the adventurer's guild."

Tob: "Is that so? You should join me on my first quest! Then I'll help you get registered too once we get back."

Beko: "Okay."

I think he will have an easier time too if they know he helped me finish a quest.

We were walking out of the gate when somebody called us.

Skeleton Mage: "Wait!!!!!"

A hooded skeleton mage approached us. The mage was small, and its voice was that of a girl. It's tough to determine boys and girls these days.

Skeleton Mage: "You're an adventurer, right!? That equipment!"

Tob: "Umm. Yes?"

Skeleton Mage: "Let me join you on your quest! I got out here before getting a request out of excitement. I was going back to get one, but I saw you. What luck!"

Tob: "Let's go then. It's nice to have you with us."

Skeleton Mage: "Hehe, thanks! I can fire a three times a day! We can take on anyone! By the way, what are your names?"

Tob: "I'm Tob, and this is... uh?"

Beko: "Beko."

Claire: "It's nice to meet you guys. Beko and Tob. My name is Claire."

Beko: "Yep, yep."

Tob: "It's nice to meet you too."

We head for the quest spot afterward.

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What's this!? The request told us it was a camp with four goblins. This camp has 7!

We can't take them on!

Claire: "Let's get 'em! Get em!"

Claire was really excited. She wants to attack them the moment we get here. Can we take them on? I only got a sword and a wooden shield from the guild, but my real choice of weapon is knuckles.

Sadly, I can't afford them right now.

Beko was also ready to fight. He has his shield up and a wooden club prepared to swing.

Tob: "Okay. First, try to shoot those three guys close to each other with a , then we go in."

Claire: "Yes!"

She put her hand forward then.

Bgushhh!!!

Three of the goblins go out in flames.

Tob: "Go, go, go!"

Beko: "Yah!!!"

Beko and I rush at the confused goblins. I looked at Claire, and she was preparing another spell.

Tob: "Just don't hit us too!"

Claire: "You can count on me!"

The goblins didn't know where we would come from, so we were able to pound one to death.

Tob: "Three left!"

They encircled us. You could hear the goblins snarling and spouting some gibberish.

One of the goblins attacked me, so I blocked it with my shield. Beko was in a much harder situation.

Two of the goblins attacked him at the same time. He was able to block one of the attacks, but the other one was

Tob: "Beko!"

Cluk!

The goblin's sword was stuck into Beko's wooden body.

Beko: "Take this!"

Beko smashed the confused goblin with his club.

Claire: "Duck!"

I quickly dropped to the ground when I heard Claire. A small, arrow-like flame struck the goblin in front of me.

Goblin: "Gehhh!!!!"

Beko smashed the other goblin quickly after that.

Tob: "Wooh! We did it!"

Claire: "Let's get our loot!"

Beko: "Yeah!"

We got some gold coins from the goblin camp and the bones too. They always sell for a reasonable price in Un Deth.

I was expecting to get good armor, but the goblins equipment was junk too. Some of them didn't even wear protective gear.

Tob: "Time to go home, guys."

Beko: "Okay."

Claire: "Yes, yes."

We walked on the road home. They said before that this place didn't have these well-paved roads. Lord Idmon ordered his soldiers to make them so that travel in the southern region would become more manageable. The dwarfs helped out too.

A patrol approached us. The patrol was a skeleton knight riding on a skeleton horse.

Skeleton Patrol: "Hello there. Have you seen a weird creature who looks like a man and a wolf combined?"

Tob: "Umm. No, sir."

Skeleton Patrol: "Okay, be careful, you guys. We haven't had a report of him attacking anyone, but he might be a dangerous creature."

Tob: "Got it, sir. Thanks for the information."

I bowed down to express my gratitude. It's something my mom taught me.

Skeleton Patrol: "Carry on."

He went on his way, riding his skeleton horse.

We arrived at the guild after a few minutes. The quest wasn't that far anyway.

Tob: "We've completed our quest! Here's our evidence."

I show him our loot and the goblin ears.

Skeleton Clerk: "Good, good, the reward for this quest is ten gold. I will add the bonus of metal chest armor. You did good, kid."

Tob: "Thank you so much!"

I split the gold for both of them. The armor is enough for me.

Tob: "So... Thank you for your help, guys. I hope we meet again."

Claire: "What are you saying!? We're a party already! Let's get another quest right away!"

Tob: "What!?"

Beko: "Right!"

I didn't expect it, but they became my party members. It was a relief since the quest was harder than I imagined. Taking on seven goblins on my own would be suicide.

Tob: "Okay! But let's go home for today since Mom is looking for me, I think."

Claire: "Hmmm. Okay."

Tob: "Let's meet up tomorrow here. Early in the morning, so that we could get lots of requests!"

Claire: "Yes, that is the plan!"

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I got home after a few minutes.

Mom grew mushrooms and other plants outside the house. The goods would sell well to dwarven traders.

We don't have anything we need to buy, but Mom said she would save it so that she could buy me decent equipment.

Our house isn't that bad, either. It's good for both of us. I never met Dad before. He was gone even when I was still human, so meeting him would be impossible.

Tob: "I'm home!"

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Mom: "Welcome back, Tob."

She hugged me and went back to reading her book. She would read books when she wasn't doing anything and also sleep at night. Even though we don't sleep, we just lie down to rest our minds. Our body doesn't need rest, but you can still get tired mentally.

Tob: "You know what, Mom! I....."

I told her most of what happened today and the party members that I got.

Mom: "That's great news, Tob! Now I won't be worried that much anymore."

Tob: "Ehh. You don't trust me?"

Mom: "No, Tob. It's just that I want you to be completely safe. I don't want to lose you for the second time."

Tob: "Yes, Mom. I understand, sorry!"

Mom: "It's okay."

She kissed me on the forehead. Or maybe you could call that bumping her face to me.

Mom: "Sleep for today, Tob. You want to be in the best condition tomorrow, right?"

Tob: "Yep! Good night, Mom!"

I went to bed. It's nothing but a wooden bed, but it still feels very comfortable when I lie down. I can't close my eyes, but when it's dark, I pretend that they're closed.

Unexpectedly, I think I slept. For the first time since hundreds of years ago. When I wake up,

Tob: "Ahhh!!!"

Mom: "Tob?"

Mom went inside my room.

What surprised me was:

Tob: "I got taller! Before, I was only kid-sized, but now I feel like a real young adult."

Mom: "Oh, Tob. You evolved! Check it at the guild later to see what your current class is."

Lord Idmon's assistants told us about these evolutions since some of us will become adventurers. So that's why my mom's aware of it.

Tob: "Yes, Mom!"

After my daily routine of punching the tree at the back of the house,

I went to the guild early in the morning. The punch seemed to damage the tree now. Before, I could barely scratch it, but recently, parts of the bark flew up as I punched it.

I'm getting stronger!

Tob: "Hey!"

Claire: "Oh, finally!"

I met Claire waiting outside the guild.

Tob: "Let's go! Uh. Where's Beko?"

Claire: "He's right here!"

She pointed to an adult woodman.

Tob: "Huh?"

Beko: "It's me, Tob! It's Beko!"

A familiar voice came from the adult woodman. I looked behind him to check if Beko was there.

Beko: "Oi!"

Tob: "Ah!"

It came from the wood guy.

Tob: "What happened?"

Beko: "I got an evolution! Hehehe..."

What!? He increased a lot! Before, we were just the same size! I guess saplings evolve at a much quicker pace than us.

That might be because they will grow into huge trees.

Beko: "You look like you evolved too, Tob."

Tob: "Ah, yeah..."

I was kind of disappointed.

Beko: "Don't worry, Tob. Hahaha, we saplings are naturally tall anyways, and when we reach a certain point, we become huge elder trees."

Tob: "Oh!!!"

That's a relief!

Claire: "Let's go and get a request already!"

Tob: "Oops! Okay!"

Claire has already gone inside. She's always in a hurry.

Tob: "Woah!"

Claire: "Look at this!"

Something was happening inside.

Tob: "What is it?"

I asked Claire.

Claire: "It seemed like there was a huge request for clearing a Behemoth cave. The rewards are enormous! There's a chance to get a high position in the army!"

Tob: "Oh."

I wish we could get that.

Adventurers would look at the request, then make their comments, and a few groups accepted the mission.

Claire: "Let's get our request, then."

I was disheartened and pondered how incredible it would be to vanquish a behemoth.

Tob: "Oh, sorry."

Claire: "What? Are you sad because we can't join them?"

The quest was a big one and was in cooperation with the real army. We won't fit in there.

Claire: "Don't worry. We'll get stronger by taking the other requests! A lot of them will take the big one, so let's sweep all the other requests."

Tob: "That's right."

I shouldn't be depressed as a leader. Let's do this!

Claire: "Hmm. How about this one?"

Claire picked one for us.

Beko: "Cave... clearing?"

Claire: "It's a small cave filled with goblins! They say it's around 50!"

Beko: "5-50!?"

Claire: "We can take them on! I also had an evolution yesterday! I'm a real skeleton mage now! Before, it was just Skeleton Child."

Tob: "Oh! That's great!"

Let me check mine too. I walked towards the Crystal of Analysis.

"What did I become?"

Name: Tob

Class: Skeleton Child Soldier

Str: 1st tier

Agi: 2nd tier

End: 1st Tier

Int: 1st tier

Wis: 1st tier

Titles:

Hard Worker, Child Warrior, Iron Fist

Hard Worker: Gets more experience by working hard at every task.

Child Warrior: A young warrior who gains skill and experience faster than others

Iron Fist: Deals more damage with fists or fist-type weapons—increases as the title level increases.

Tob: "Oh! It's become a soldier for me!"

Claire: "Nice!"

Now that we got that out of the way, Mom gave me some money earlier.

Tob: "Let's go to the market for a bit. I'll buy a new weapon."

Claire: "Yep, yep."

Beko: "Okay."

I was wearing the metal armor the mage clerk gave me yesterday. I'm going to try buying metal counterparts for my other gear too. A fist weapon would be excellent, too.

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When we arrived at the market,

Tob: "Ahhh!"

I could barely see anything.

Tob: "Help!!!"

I was drowning in the stout bodies of the dwarven traders.

Dwarf: "Sorry, kid. Hehehe!"

He laughed it off and finally gave me space.

Woo! This "shopping" thing is hard. There was a long line in the equipment stalls, but I'm in the front now.

Merchant: "What can I get you?"

Tob: "Hmmm... I want metal gloves and metal greaves!"

Merchant: "Let's see. That's 20 gold."

He puts the equipment on top of the stall table.

Tob: "Oh, can you get it at a lower price?"

Merchant: "Hmm... how about 15?"

Tob: "I'll take it! Thank you!"

I quickly paid the money and took the equipment.

Merchant: "Hehehe. Kids these days."

He was saying something, but I didn't pay attention. What a steal! Hehehe.

Now, I still have ten golds left. Let's look for affordable knuckles or something. Some said that skeleton soldiers don't use fists, but I'm sure now! I'll be the first skeleton! Or something similar.

While we were walking, we saw a run-down shop in an alley. It had a weapon shop sign. They should have cheap weapons in there!

Tob: "Oiiiii!!! Hello!!! Is anyone there?"

Blacksmith: "Yes. What is it, young man?"

Tob: "I want a first weapon! A cheap one, please!"

Blacksmith: "Hmm... cheap knuckles..."

He took something from the shelves. It was the knuckles that fit me perfectly.

Tob: "Wow! I'll take this one!"

Blacksmith: "That'll be 50 gold."

Tob: "What!?"

WHATTTTT!!????

Tob: "But sir, I only have 10...."

He scratched his beard while he was thinking about something.

I looked around the shop and found that he was only making exotic weapons, like knuckles. This place must not have a lot of customers.

Blacksmith: "Oh... Let's do it this way, then. Since you're my very first customer in a long time, you can borrow that $40 from me. Pay it once you have the money."

Tob: "Thank you very much!"

Blacksmith: "I know you'll come back successful. That is an excellent weapon, you see."

Tob: "I'll make sure not to disappoint you, good sir!"

After thanking the good store owner by bowing a lot, I went out with the knuckles equipped.

Claire and Beko were outside.

Claire: "Oh! That's some nice knuckles!"

Tob: "You think? Hehehe..."

It really was. It felt very light, but I knew it was some sturdy material.

Tob: "Time to go!"

Claire: "Let's get 'em!"

Beko nods.

We set out on our journey towards the cave nearby, Un Deth.

Tob: "Okay, so our plan is..."

In our party, Beko will tank the goblins while Claire takes them out with magic. I will be the backup tank if they try to overwhelm Beko or try to attack Claire.

We arrived after an hour of walking. It was some distance away from the city, but it can still be considered close. You can reach it with a 15-minute non-stop run.

Five goblins were guarding the entrance.

Tob: "Claire."

Claire: "Of course."

!

This time her spell was cast faster, and the ball of fire was more massive.

Fwuushhhhh.

The turned some of them to cinders, but one was still alive.

Tob: "Be careful! It's a goblin warrior."

The goblin warrior rushed towards our position.

Tob: "Beko!"

Beko: "Okay!"

Beko suddenly moved. He was pretending to be a tree and struck down the approaching goblin warrior.

Tob: "Nice!"

Beko struck the goblin down in one hit. Beko doesn't use the wood club anymore. His wooden arms were strong enough to be weapons.

Tob: "After you, Beko."

Beko: "Don't mind if I do. Hehehe."

Beko walked into the cave. He still had the shield on his left arm. Even though he's very sturdy, he doesn't slack off.

Claire: "Ten goblins, incoming!"

Tob: "Got it!"

The first path into the cave was narrow, so Beko's vast body blocked their way.

Claire: "I'll use to stick to the wall!"

Tob: "Yes, right away!"

Beko was shrugging them off and pushing them back. After a few seconds, Claire's spell was ready.

!

Shoom! Shoom! Shoom!

Multiple flame arrows come out of a small magic circle in front of Claire's hand.

Goblin 1: "Guheee!!!"

Goblin 2: "Ahuuuu!!!!"

The flame arrows go through the goblin's body and hit those behind it. Beko stepped back just in time to avoid the arrows.

Tob: "Good job!"

Claire: "Hehehe... Thanks..."

She looked weak and was stumbling.

Tob: "Claire?"

Claire: "I'm fine! Just a little tired."

Oh. Claire must've pushed it to take out ten goblins.

Tob: "Don't cast spells in the next battle. We'll take them out ourselves; don't you worry and recover your energy."

Claire: "Okay... Thanks again..."

I kept close to Claire as Beko led the way. Someone might try to ambush Claire from behind, so I need to be alert.

Goblin Ambusher: "Hiya!"

I like this guy!

A goblin came out of a hole in the wall of a cave and went straight to Claire.

Claire: "Huh!?"

As she was about to be hit, I moved quickly and punched the goblin aside. Or that's what I was trying to do.

The goblin died. Its body was cut in half, and blood covered my fist as it went through its body.

Goblin's body was frail in the first place. The momentum from my quick dash and punch did the job.

Claire: "Sorry for being a burden."

Tob: "You're not! It's just us taking the spotlight for a while. Hehehe."

Claire: "Hahaha! Thanks."

Tob: "No problem."

Beko: "Hey, how about moving on already?"

Beko was bored already.

Tob: "Okay, okay. Forward!"

After a few minutes of walking on the narrow path, we found a huge room. It had a treasure chest and wild animal meat everywhere. Goblins around 30 were present in the room.

Tob: "Here we go."

Once they noticed our presence, all of them got their weapons and prepared for battle.

Tob: "Beko, do what you do best!"

Beko: "Yearghhh!"

Beko rushed into a group of 20 goblins. He can take them all; I believe in him.

Tob: "Claire, prepare your spell! I'll guard you!"

Claire: "Okay! Thank you for giving me time to rest. I think I can cast without problems now."

A magic circle appears in front of her again. She was focusing on her magic now.

Five goblins went to our position at the same time.

Tob: "Come at me!"

I blocked two of them who attacked at some point. I still had my shield on my left arm, but my right arm was free, so I countered, taking out one of the goblins.

This time, three of them attacked me at the same time. I can't block the goblins' attack, so this time I tried dodging. I wait for the club to get close and step to the side. I deflected one of the attacks that came after that. I did that again and again.

Block, dodge, and counter; I took out the five goblins.

Goblin Warrior: "Gahhhh!!!"

A Goblin Warrior! It was violently charging at me now. It had a massive spiked club. Even though the spikes won't hurt me, the club itself will.

Tob: "Woah!"

I dodged at the last moment! It was scary!

Tob: "Hmmm..."

I remembered practicing a stance I learned from a book. It was a fighting manual, if I remember it correctly.

My feet suddenly move on their own, and my hands get in position. I did exactly what's illustrated in the manual.

Tob: "Gnatup Fighting Style."

Punch, punch, punch. I let out three punches in quick succession. I was targeting the goblin's middle body.

Goblin Warrior: "Guh! Guh!"

It was effective, but he was still able to counter-attack.

Believe! This style specializes in counterattacks!

It was swinging its spiked club down on me, and I countered with a straight punch.

My knuckles and the spiked club clashed. The winner was me. My fists broke through the spiked club and planted themselves into the goblin warrior's face.

Claire: "Get down!"

Claire shouted.

I quickly dropped to the floor. Beko threw and pushed his enemies away from him.

!

The spell got most of them, turning them into ash. Beko and I finished off the rest.

Tob: "Nice job, very nice!"

Claire: "Hehe. We did it!"

Beko: "That we did."

Claire was sitting on the floor now. She looks exhausted.

Tob: "Just stay there, and we'll collect the loot, okay?"

Claire: "Yeah..."

Hmm. Gold coins. Woah. It's around 100 gold! The goblins had a considerable amount of loot! Hehehe!

While Beko was getting the bones of the goblins, I noticed a small crack in the wall.

Tob: "What is this?"

I tried to put my hand on the wall, and it collapsed! I saw some picks near this wall, so the goblins must've been expanding their cave, and this wall was part of it.

Tob: "Hmmm. What's this?"

On the other side of the wall was a small chest. I opened it. Of course, the treasure must be waiting inside!

Tob: "Oh!!! What!?"

Some dark energies were inside the chest and went inside my body.

Tob: "Guhhhaaaa!!!!"

Claire: "Tob!?"

Beko: "Tob, are you alright!?"

Tob: "I... I'm fine."

What was that? It was painful because the energy was kind of overflowing. I felt tremendous power trying to force itself into me.

Tob: "Let's go home for today."

I felt incredibly tired.

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(Mel POV)

Mel: "Okay, listen up! This operation is focused on clearing the Behemoths inside the cave and taking their skeletons back home."

I presented a map of the cave.

Mel: "Here's the report of our scouts. These are the positions."

I pointed at the spots where the behemoths are most likely to be spotted.

Mel: "Any chest or treasures are to be surrendered to us, or a grave punishment awaits you. Understand?"

Skeleton Soldier: "Yeah, sir,"

Adventurers are whispering among themselves.

Adventurer 1: "What do you think is their purpose?"

Adventurer 2: "They must be looking for something in the cave."

Adventurer 1: "The rewards are big enough; let's not get ourselves into trouble."

Different reactions came from the adventurers, but there's no other way to do this quickly. We decided to use adventurers on this one. We are looking for a specific weapon that could potentially power up our army by a considerable margin.

This mission is one of the requests put up by Head Wizard Bon before he left.

Mag approached me.

Mag: "Mel, we have to be the ones to find the ."

Mel: "Why?"

Mag: "Because this weapon will possess anyone who comes in contact with it. It's a weapon that fuses with the bearer's soul or life energy. That is not magnificent!"

Ignoring the last part, I think that he is right.

Mel: "I see. Don't worry; I doubt the adventurers will try to open any chests after my speech."

Mag: "Hmm. I hope that is the case. Or else, the Head Wizard will punish us in an incredible fashion."

An hour or two later. The cave with the Behemoth was cleared.

Mel: "It's not here."

There were a lot of chests that they surrendered to us, but none contained the item.

Mel: "Did anyone open any chests!?"

Skeleton Soldier: "N-no, sir!"

Everyone had a member of the army with them, so I doubt they're the ones who did it.

Mel: "Hmm... Okay, thank you for your hard work. You can get your rewards at the guild."

Adventurers: "Thank you very much!"

All of them left in a hurry.

Mel: "Mag, where could it be? Is the request mistaken?"

Mag: "No. I felt it too. It was there before. Someone must have taken it before we reached the chest."

Mel: "Argh! Where could it be!?"

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(Tob POV)

Ohh.

I was on Beko's back on the way out of the cave.

Claire: "Are you sure you're okay?"

Tob: "Yeah..."

Claire was even in better shape than me. I looked exhausted to them right now.

What is this? The energies in my body are threatening to explode. It hurts to think about it. I just have to take it easy and rely on my friends.

Claire: "Finally! We're out of the cave!"

The sun was extremely bright for me. I can barely see anything.

Beko: "What!?"

Beko suddenly put me down.

Beko: "We have enemies."

From what I could make out in my blurry vision, it was a big goblin in the middle of two normal goblins. What is that?

Beko: "It's a hobgoblin!"

Claire: "Beko. cover me!"

The goblins charged all at once. The hobgoblin pushed back Beko as he tried to catch them all with his enormous arms.

Beko: "Such strength!"

With Beko down, the hobgoblin went straight to Claire.

Claire: "Take this!"

!

A point-blank hit the hobgoblin in the face. The smoke covered the enemy.

Beko: "Did we get it?"

Beko asked as he crushed the two other goblins under his arms.

Claire: "Woah!!!"

The stone club of the hobgoblin was going down directly on Claire. The spell didn't even damage it that much!

Tob: "NOOOOO!!!"

Suddenly, purple flames surrounded my fists, and I gained a boost in strength, energy, and speed. My steps became extremely fast. My dash reached the hobgoblin in time, and I punched it in the face.

Something weird happened.

Its skin and flesh were falling off even before my fists reached it. The energy exuded from my fist was so powerful that it decayed the body of the hobgoblin.

Tob: "Oh, good thing..."

I blacked out.

Is this death? At least I saved my friends...