Mr. Bones crashed into a towering tree, the impact sending cracks rippling through the trunk. Nuts, acorns, and strange spiky green fruits tumbled from above, rattling against his battered frame. His condition was deteriorating fast. His skeletal form had cracks running through it, bone fragments scattered across the ground from the brutal exchange. A deep dent marred his sternum, puncturing through several centimeters of his bone armor.

Despite everything, the bone sword Jakk had stolen was somehow back in Mr. Bones' hand. But even that weapon was suffering—it had dulled, worn down from countless blows against his own steel-like body. It was now more akin to a club than a blade.

With a slow, deliberate movement, Mr. Bones shook off the shock of the attack and took his stance once again, refusing to fall.

On the other side of the road, Jakk was in no better shape. His breaths came in ragged bursts, chest heaving under his torn black tunic and wraps, which were shredded from repeated clashes. His fists, his weapon of choice after losing the bone sword, were now bloodied and swollen, bruised from striking iron-hard bone.

"You... fucking..." Jakk spat through gasps, his voice too weak to form complete thoughts. He’d expected the skeleton to crumble easily after his initial ambush, but this opponent was far from ordinary. The creature was durable—unnaturally so—and worse, it knew how to fight, how to counter. Every strike he landed was met with a block or retaliation that had taken him completely off guard.

The realization was sinking in. This fight was nothing like Jakk had anticipated.

“I’ve... fought skeletons before,” Jakk panted, his eyes locked on Mr. Bones, “but none of them moved like you. Even with a monster core, it doesn’t explain how the hell you know how to fight.” He readied his stance, fists raised and glowing faintly red as mana surged into his hands, making them look as if the blood had rushed to his knuckles.

The air was thick with tension, broken only by the sharp tapping of a distant woodpecker. The silence shattered a moment later, and the two combatants charged each other without hesitation. Mr. Bones swung his blade down in a wide arc, aiming to split Jakk’s skull in half.

Before the sword could even fully descend, Jakk shot his fist upward, meeting the blade mid-swing. With a powerful twist, he deflected it to the side, redirecting the force harmlessly into the air. Mr. Bones, caught off guard by the sudden shift in momentum, stumbled for just a moment—just long enough for Jakk to follow up with a mana-charged punch straight center-mass.

The blow landed with a sickening crunch, sending Mr. Bones flying, his skeletal form tumbling across the dirt road. Jakk’s fighting style was brutal and calculative. He thrived on intercepting attacks directly, stopping the power at its source. It didn’t matter if his opponent had the sharpest blade or the strongest strike—if there was no momentum behind it, then it was useless.

Mr. Bones rolled three times before planting his feet firmly into the ground, digging deep grooves into the earth as he skidded to a stop. With a fluid motion, he brought his sword back in front of him, already recovering. But the damage was clear—another deep crack had formed across his chest, spreading like a spiderweb through his ribcage. He knew that if he took a few more hits like that, he’d be shattered completely.

But still, he stood. Ready for more. This was how the undead fought—tirelessly, and unrelenting.

Jakk was the first to move, charging forward with a vicious determination burning in his eyes. His voice roared over the dirt road. "Let’s finish this, you damn mutt! I’ll melt you down and forge another sword from your bones!" His body twisted, prepping for a powerful right hook aimed squarely at Mr. Bones.

As Jakk closed the distance, Mr. Bones raised his sword, angling it to block the punch. The blow connected with a violent shock, sending tremors through the blade and into Mr. Bones' skeletal form. Mana pulsed through the impact, but Mr. Bones held firm—but only for a moment.

Jakk laughed harshly, stepping back just slightly. "You’re done for now, you inferior creature."

Suddenly, everything felt wrong. The sword grew impossibly heavy, and before Mr. Bones could even react, it fell from his grasp, clattering uselessly to the ground. His arms followed, dropping limply to his sides with a heavy thud. Then, as if some invisible force was pulling him down, his legs gave out. He collapsed, crashing onto his knees in front of the bandit, now immobilized.

"Shellshock. Nice skill, huh?" Jakk sneered, towering over the kneeling skeleton, a sadistic grin stretching across his face. Mr. Bones had been completely incapacitated, his body betraying him as the bandit’s strange skill sapped his strength, locking him in place.

Without wasting any more time, Jakk placed his hand on Mr. Bones’ skull, the mana in his palm flaring up violently. The dark energy crept over the skeleton’s head, tendrils of it wrapping around his cranium. With a sickening grin, Jakk squeezed. The pressure mounted, and small cracks began to form in the surface of Mr. Bones' skull. Thin lines of fractures spread downward like spiderwebs as the bandit’s grip tightened, the mana pulsing in rhythmic beats, threatening to shatter him completely.

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"Give... me your core!" Jakk snarled, pouring the last of his mana into his grip. His fingers tightened around Mr. Bones’ skull, but this wasn’t just brute force—it was something much worse. His skill wasn't merely about strength; it was designed to force mana into the object of his focus, violently rupturing it from the inside out. And now, all of that energy was coursing into Mr. Bones’ fragile cranium.

The cracks were growing louder, sharper. They echoed through the empty road, the sound of impending destruction. Mr. Bones remained frozen, trapped in place, his limbs refusing to obey. His skull was seconds away from shattering completely, and he was powerless to stop it.

Just as Jakk leaned in to finish him, a sudden, blinding flash of light erupted in front of his eyes. He recoiled, squinting against the brightness. In that brief moment, the weight beneath his palm vanished entirely. His grip found nothing but empty air.

His body lurched forward, balance thrown off by the sudden disappearance of his opponent. He crashed to the ground, face-first into the dirt they had been battling upon, the thud of his fall muffled by the churned earth. Spitting dust from his mouth, he scrambled to his feet, eyes darting in every direction, searching frantically for the skeleton.

But there was nothing. No bones, no traces—nothing but the eerie silence of the empty road.

"Where are you?!" he growled, his fists clenching tighter, veins bulging in his forearms. His frustration boiled over, the scowl on his face twisting into a mask of rage. His body turned in a complete circle, but no matter where he looked, there was nothing in sight. "COWARDS! ALL OF YOU!" His voice rang out through the trees, but there was nothing left to hear his fury. The road was silent. Mr. Bones had vanished, and with him, Jakk's victory was also, but a fleeting dream.

image [https://i.imgur.com/ZiLMGqb.png]

“Yeah, it looks like I can do it,” Enya said. Beside her, Pell stood, and simply nodded his head. “Go ahead.”

Remove and store [Skeletal Noble Knight x 1]?

[Accept/Decline]

Without hesitation, Enya tapped 'Accept,' her palm resting on the dungeon core that Pell held. The screens blinked away as she navigated through the process.

Entity: [Skeletal Noble Knight x 1] has been summoned to the Dungeon Core.

A brief flash of light sparked from the core, and then another flare erupted beside her. The glow quickly faded, revealing Mr. Bones sitting there, battered and bruised—as far as a skeleton with layered armor could be.

"Hey, it worked—whoa," Enya started to cheer, but her excitement quickly dimmed as she noticed his condition. His skull was cracked, fractures spiderwebbing across it, and his body was littered with dents, missing chunks of bone that made him look like he’d been through a war.

"God damn, you look like you’re about to fall apart. Was that guy really that strong?" Pell muttered, crouching to inspect the damage. His hand brushed against a jagged edge of bone, and he winced slightly before giving Enya a sideways glance. "I’m surprised we were still able to activate the dungeon core's functions. Guess that’s the perk of a dungeon hidden in the layers, not one out in the outer realms."

Enya tilted her head, confused. “Unique?” she asked, glancing between Pell and the now-sitting Mr. Bones.

“Of course. I’ve mentioned before, most dungeons are out in the outer realm, and you need spatial coordinates to even get to them. Dungeons within the layers are extremely rare, but they have perks. You can actually access their full functions here," Pell explained, rubbing his jaw. "If you claimed land, you could potentially build an entire castle or fortress yourself—assuming you have the mana for it. Dungeons in the outer realms can’t do that. Mainly because you can’t just simply steal them and bring them back to the layers."

“Wow, you really know a lot, Pell,” Enya remarked, genuine curiosity lighting up her face as she considered the intricacies of the dungeon core before her.

“Bah, it’s common knowledge. You’re just too dumb. You need to read more,” he shot back, waving a dismissive hand.

Enya pouted at his remark. He was technically right, but she wanted to point out that the only books available to her were those adventure novels Pell was weirdly obsessed with. However, she kept that thought to herself, biting her tongue.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bones slowly began to rise. The binding energy that had restricted his motor functions finally dissipated, allowing him to creak and groan as he stood. The sound of his bones grinding together made him sound like a decrepit old man, and he looked around, confusion flickering through his eye sockets. The familiar forest loomed around them, but something about the area felt different—off in a way he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

Pell, still preoccupied with assessing his own injuries, caught sight of Mr. Bones’ bewildered expression. Well, what he presumed was confusion, at least. Though neither of them had muscles or skin on their faces, Pell’s soul flames flickered with a certain expressiveness, conveying a range of human emotions. It was odd but still oddly effective all the same, enough to communicate the general feeling of emotions without words.

“We’re still in the forest, but we’re roughly fifteen minutes away,” Pell said, patting down the sides of Kidirge. “We ran off into the woods, following off to the side of the road that leads to Talo. That bandit guy will probably have to return to his teammates—not to mention, he still has to loot those dead mercenaries. We should be safe to head to Talo without worrying about them for now.”

Enya noticed Kidirge’s body relaxed slightly, though she wondered if that was just her imagination. He wasn’t a direct summon of hers; rather, he had been summoned by the dungeon and was under her control. Without the bond created by her own mana, it was hard to gauge his exact emotions or intent.

“Well, alright. You’re pretty damaged, but you should still be sturdy enough to take down ten boars with your bare hands. Probably. Hell, you might not even need your hands. I doubt we’ll run into multiple bandits hiding along the road, so we should be good to go,” Pell continued. With that, the three of them began to move through the forest, Enya honing her senses every so often, to ensure they stayed parallel to the road.

In the distance, the anguished screams of the bandit leader, Jakk, could be heard echoing through the trees. However, the trio was too far away to catch even a hint of those cries.