Chapter 2: Skully’s Hidden Talent

The next morning, I woke up to find Skully sitting cross-legged on my desk, fiddling with a piece of chalk. It had drawn a crude but surprisingly accurate map of the academy grounds on the wooden surface.

"What are you doing?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

*"Planning our route to greatness!"* Skully declared, pointing at the map with its shorter arm. *"First, we'll sneak into the library and steal—er, borrow—some advanced summoning manuals. Then, we'll raid the alchemy lab for potion ingredients. And finally, we'll challenge the academy's top summoner to a duel!"*

I stared at it, dumbfounded. "You do realize you're a foot-tall skeleton with no muscles, right?"

Skully puffed out its chest (or where its chest would have been if it had one). *"Size doesn't matter, Master. It's all about strategy! And I've got plenty of that."*

Before I could argue, Skully hopped off the desk and marched toward the door, its tiny bones clattering with every step. Against my better judgment, I followed. Maybe, just maybe, this little skeleton had a plan.