The Skeleton Soldier Failed to Defend the Dungeon

The single widget fell uselessly to the ground.

Overhead, the crow peered at the coin again, scrutinizing it closely. ”It really holds no power at all. There’s not a trace of mana or a whisper of invocation. Nothing.”

”So I was only being toyed with?” I asked, annoyed.

”Perhaps.”

”Should I drag that goblin back here?”

I know he’s innocent, but still...

”Didn’t you say you hated torture? Weren’t you the one who wanted to get along with that squishy thing?”

”We could erase his memory again. Force out a fourth story...”

”Kekeke...”

Isaac’s laughter fell into a dry, bitter rasp.

That sound reminded me of something I had let slip from my mind. ”Ah... sorry.”

Isaac hadn’t suggested tearing into the hobgoblin’s mind for nothing. He had already used his power to erase the memories, making this life’s meeting with me feel like the first so that I could pry out the hidden tale. However, that method could not be used again.

”I’d do it if I could, but I’ve already hit my limit. If I collapse once more, I might not wake up at all.”

”...”

”Still, you getting bolder isn’t a bad thing. I’m the sort who always says no when I mean no, or can’t when I can’t. So if we’re to get along, speak plainly about what you want.”

Embarrassed, I changed the subject. ”I don’t understand. Why would someone lay such intricate and powerful conditioning on a mere goblin?”

”Good question. But tell me, was the conditioning really placed only on that one goblin?” He continued in a low, thoughtful tone, ”What matters most is this: it was crafted for you alone. And I think I know who set it...”

Ping!

Before I could even ask who, Isaac plucked the coin from the dirt and flicked it sharply at me. I caught it out of reflex.

”The one behind this knows you’re a regressor. So, think about it. How would you use this coin to open the void? It’s a gift that’s been prepared for you. Can’t you feel it?”

I held the coin tightly, staring at the empty air before me. However, nothing revealed itself. Nothing stirred.

What am I supposed to do? Toss the coin into nothingness?

I tried to open my senses wide, to feel the air not as emptiness, but as something vast and deep.

Swish.

I stretched my hand forward, the coin pinched between my fingers. Only empty air lay ahead, and yet a memory flickered...

I recalled the transparent window that had appeared when the Ashen Knight had attacked me. Unlike the status window, no message appeared, but when I reached out, my hand had slipped right inside. Not only my hand, but whatever I placed inside had appeared, shrunken to a tenth of its size, yet still intact.

It felt weightless, but it had volume, like a space separate from the outside world. I called that sensation to mind. Then I pushed the coin into the air once more.

Ding!

Like a wave washing away all doubt, a translucent blue system window shimmered into view. Even the hated chime sounded strangely refreshing this time.

[Inventory experience fulfilled.]

[Prerequisite hidden quest cleared.]

[Quest: Inventory has been unlocked!]

That much was good. The next lines appeared, one after another, glowing in the air.

[Quest triggered!]

[Perceive the subspace one million times.]

[0 / 1,000,000]

[Reward: Inventory Lv. 0]

”...”

Sure, I had made progress, but this was absurd.

When I explained it to Isaac, he showed no hint of disappointment, only glee. ”It really worked? Excellent! Then keep at it until it’s complete!”

”Shouldn’t we head to the Merchants’ Guild first?”

”What are you talking about? This is far more important. A million times will pass quickly. I’ll guide you. You object?”

”No... I’ll try.”

The number fell short of the swordsmanship quests I had endured, but the reward would surely be worth it. I clutched the tiny coin and practiced by pushing it into the void again and again. As with sword training, every motion had to be precise.

A small counter appeared in the corner of my vision.

[1 / 1,000,000]

Isaac perched on a nearby branch, watching me.

At ten thousand repetitions, messages appeared.

[Skill: Meditation Lv. 2 has been activated.]

[Skill: Focus Lv. 2 has been activated.]

I invoked both skills to sharpen my movements. At twenty thousand, my concentration wavered, and each movement blurred.

Isaac’s voice filled the gap, stitching my focus back together. ”When the corpse shrank inside the void, that meant the front and back of the space had been joined. Focus on feeling those two faces.”

Swish.

Then I reached fifty thousand. The simple coin was not heavy in the least, and yet the endless repetition dulled my senses. I felt dizzy.

Isaac explained, ”If there’s no weight, it’s because the concept of weight has been cut away from the threads.”

While shoving the coin into nothingness, I asked, ”What does that mean?”

”The threads are just the world made simple enough to grasp. Pull silver and push gold, and the result will always follow.”

Swish.

Every few thousand repetitions, Isaac gave me another piece of advice. ”It’s only about interpreting what’s already woven.”

”Couldn’t you just explain everything at once?”

”Better to chew slowly. If I tell you too much, you’ll only lose focus.”

A day passed.

”...”

Deep in the forest, the sun rose and fell again and again. I repeated the motion without end.

Isaac added another fragment of guidance. ”Placing something in the void, stripping its weight, and compressing the bulk happens before the weaving is finished. To master it, you must perceive the world down to a single point. Reading is hard enough. Changing it... requires impossible precision.”

Three days passed. Isaac’s words didn’t feel difficult to understand anymore. At first, I thought I understood them. Then I realized that maybe there was no need to understand. In the end, it was only one perspective among countless millions.

[Assimilation Rate has decreased.]

[66.17% → 64.97%...]

Swish.

I felt as if a tiny aperture had opened in the air, waiting to hold whatever I placed inside. I traced its faint outline with my hand. The space felt smaller than what I had touched after my encounter with the Ashen Knight. I slipped the coin in, and the space bent, drawing it within.

[Quest cleared!]

[Training complete.]

[360,000 / 360,000]

[— 20% reduced due to unbroken concentration.

— 70% reduced through optimal guidance.]

”So... I’m done.”

The coin, now shrunken to a tenth of its size, floated within the void. Isaac slumped against a tree root, his eyes closing at last.

”How... did you manage to help me?” I asked.

If Isaac hadn’t steadied me whenever my concentration faltered, I would have needed far more time.

”It’s power that was basically in the grasp of your hands. It’d make no sense if you couldn’t wield it. Does it move? That’s what’s important.”

”Umm...”

Could I move it?

The first time I had faced the Ashen Knight, I hadn’t been able to shift the boundaries of that space at all. I had strained and failed, leaving the pocket unused. But now...

[Assimilation Rate below 65%.]

[Partial authority awakened.]

[Inventory Lv. ? activated...]

Shrrrk!

The pocket holding the coin stretched beneath my hand, lengthening with ease, as if the space itself wished to be pulled open.

[Skill experience gained.]

[Skill level up.]

[Inventory Lv. 0 → Lv. 1]

Swish.

I fixed the stretched pocket into place and slid the sword from my belt into it.

[Skill experience greatly increased.]

One blade, then another. The translucent coil of space slithered around me like a living serpent.

Swish. Swish. Swishhh...

The burdensome things I carried, everything I had stuffed into my cloak and arms, vanished neatly inside, one by one.

[Skill level up.]

[Skill level up.]

[Inventory Lv. 1 → Lv. 2]

[Inventory Lv. 2 → Lv. 3]

[Storage capacity expanded.]

[Transformation unlocked.]

I grasped the shimmering coil around me and spread it wide. The space was larger now, about half the size of the anomaly I had touched at the emperor’s assassination. When I reached back into it and drew my sword again, knowledge of how to wield the space flowed naturally into my mind.

[Inventory Lv. 3 → Lv. 4]

[You can now anchor a scabbard directly inside the inventory.]

[Drawing attacks are possible from any position.]

[Special bonus acquired: Sword Strokes Drawn in the Air.]

[Attack accuracy greatly increases when drawing directly from the inventory.]

[Attack speed greatly increases.]

Fwish!

A streak of light tore across the air as my blade flashed from the void itself.

”As I thought. I was right,” Isaac murmured in a satisfied tone.

Then he closed his eyes.

***

The sky after the rain looked almost like a dream. Ilien’s doctrine came to mind. While rot and ruin littered the earth, the heavens were always bathed in light and blessing.

”Caw!”

The crow I had filled with mana soared joyously through that bright sky. Though it was only a puppet of sorcery, its likeness to a true bird was uncanny. Its breast rose as it spread its wings, feathers rippling black against the sun.

”Caw, caw!”

He always made that sound when he was in high spirits, when everything went his way. Only recently had I realized it was one of Isaac’s habits. He had croaked like that while stripping the battlefield bare of gold and jewels after annihilating the imperial and allied armies. This was the first time I had heard it in this life. I wondered what pleased him so much now.

[Remaining time: 00:01...]

[Sprint is ready to use again.]

I surged forward, unwilling to fall behind. I burst across the open ground in long, clean strides, leaping dozens of meters at a time.

Swoosh!

The exhilaration of running free across the plains filled me again. Past Grassmere, the road stretched into wild, empty land. Watchtowers stood in the distance.

I had to go south, but not across the narrow Cabrolta Isthmus that bound the two continents. I had to go westward, toward Kirn Bay, where the Empire’s richest fisheries thrived. Smugglers there were bold enough to disguise their vessels as fishing boats. Those were the ones I sought.

”Caw, caw!”

”What is it?”

Whenever Isaac spoke into my mind rather than aloud, it meant he had something important to say.

”We’re here.”

From the ground, only thick forest stretched ahead. Yet, the brighter, salt-tinged sky told me Isaac was right. The wind from the harbor lifted the crow’s wings, carrying him higher.