Chapter 5: Death and Hope

With the increase in power and vitality, Victor felt invigorated, almost drunk with the sensation.

He wanted to experience this feeling once again.

That's why, with the Butcher Knife in hand, he continued exploring the village.

However, he wasn't actually overconfident—he remained fully aware of the lurking dangers around him.

The village was small, capable of holding a few hundred people with ease.

If his assumption was correct, there had to be at least hundreds more skeletons roaming inside the village.

And his assumption was soon proven right when he spotted groups of skeletons in the central region of Bone Village.

Quickly, he hid behind a Stone pillar to observe them. The skeletons stood in a stationary position in an open field. The sun remained hidden behind thick clouds, as if something unseen was protecting the skeletons from its burning rays.

Perhaps sunlight or fire was their weakness.

But Victor had access to neither of them.

That meant blindly attacking them in such large groups of ten to twelve would be extremely risky.

So, he decided to observe them more carefully. To discover their weakness.

"Caw! Caww!"

Suddenly, a crow passed through the sky, its piercing screeches echoing in the air.

Despite the clear screeches of crows echoing through the village, the skeletons remained completely still.

Victor made a bold guess.

Wanting to confirm his theory, he picked up a large rock and threw it toward a distant corner.

The moment the rock landed with a soft thud, the skeletons didn't move in the slightest.

Indeed, they had no sense of hearing.

Victor had just discovered another of their fatal weaknesses.

"But how should I isolate them?"

"Looks like I have to use myself as bait."

With that plan in mind, he deliberately exposed himself in the open, making sure the skeletons saw him.

As expected, their hollow eyes locked onto him immediately.

"Grrrr!"

Then, in hordes, the adult skeletons charged at Victor like an unstoppable tide.

Victor was already sprinting toward a safe location to hide and strike.

As the skeletons spread all around the village, he sprang into action.

"Clang! Clang!"

Darting out from his hiding place, he struck an adult skeleton from behind, shattering it to pieces with his knife.

[ EXP +10 ]

"19 more to go..." Victor muttered as he disappeared from their view, waiting for his next target.

Since the skeletons lacked hearing, it made his job much easier.

From there on, like a slippery shadow, he struck down one skeleton after another with fluid, precise movements.

[ EXP +10 ]

[ EXP +10 ]

[ EXP +10 ]

...

But on the 19th kill, things went wrong.

One of the skeletons managed to catch him off guard, just as he finished another.

Before he could react, its bony hands wrapped around his neck from behind, tightening like a vice.

The grip was terrifyingly strong.

Victor struggled as his breath hitched.

In a desperate attempt to pry the skeleton's hands off, he used both of his own—but in doing so, his knife slipped from his grasp, falling to the ground with a soft thud.

His vision blurred slightly as his oxygen supply dwindled.

Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw it—

The skeleton's razor-sharp teeth, gnashing together as it moved straight for his spine.

A cold shiver ran down his back.

If he didn't break free now, he was done for.

With adrenaline surging through his veins, Victor slid his leg inside the skeleton's stance, disrupting its balance.

Then, with all his strength, he pushed backward, throwing his weight onto the skeleton.

But its grip was still like iron, refusing to let go.

As a result, both of them crashed to the ground.

"Thud!"

Victor landed on top of the skeleton, the impact shattering a few of its ribs.

[ Damage Dealt: -7 | Remaining HP: 18 ]

Unfortunately, his body weight alone wasn't enough to deal serious damage.

But the impact had loosened the vice-like grip just enough.

Victor seized the opportunity and wrenched himself free, gasping for air.

He didn't waste a second.

Without hesitation, he grabbed his fallen Butcher Knife and struck down relentlessly, his strikes fueled by raw survival instinct.

Each swing was fierce, almost desperate—as if he were hacking away at death itself.

The skeleton writhed under the assault before finally crumbling into lifeless bones.

[ You have slain an Adult Skeleton ]

[ EXP +20 ]

[ You have leveled up! Level 2 → Level 3 ]

[ HP +10 ]

[ You have gained 5 attribute points to distribute freely. ]

Victor's chest heaved as he stood over the remains.

Even though he had already died once, the fear of death still haunted him.

That excruciating pain… that feeling of helplessness…

He never wanted to experience it again.

After leveling up, his fatigue and pain melted away, replaced by a soothing and invigorating sensation akin to reaching heaven.

However, he didn't have time to distribute his attribute points.

His ears twitched as he sensed more and more skeleton footsteps approaching from all directions.

He stood up and saw that he was slowly getting surrounded on all sides.

It seemed their small scuffle had attracted some uninvited guests.

"Fuck!"

Victor cursed under his breath as he realized there were at least a hundred skeletons around him.

And their numbers were increasing with each passing moment.

"Is this really a beginner zone? Why are there so many level 3 skeletons among them?"

Victor panicked upon seeing dozens of level-3 adult skeletons in the horde.

Confronting them was suicide.

And this time, he had no way to escape.

He was cornered, as if his fate had already been sealed.

Was he really going to die here?

He had wanted to experience this magical world. But what was this? Why was he so weak while his enemies were so strong?

It was completely unfair.

Now, what should he do? Die once again?

But he didn't want to die. There was no guarantee he would get reincarnated again.

He wanted to wield magical powers and grow stronger.

But it seemed fate was not on his side today.

Under the dark sky, in an undead village, surrounded by monsters, he was all alone.

But suddenly, a shocking notification flashed before his eyes.

[ Detected: Player Raizel has been given the choice to acquire a Forbidden Class. ]

[ Do you wish to accept it? Yes/No? ]