She had overheard his secret message to his master that night.He had witnessed her striking down other skeletons tonight.
This succubus…This skeleton…Both must die.
In that fleeting instant, their murderous intent reached perfect alignment.
"Shadow Thrust!"
Triss raised her hand, and a volley of razor-sharp black spikes erupted from the ground, shooting toward Lixuman.
His skeletal legs moved like flickering phantoms, weaving gracefully between the deadly strikes.
"Hmph—Shadow Bind!"
Triss sneered coldly. The hardened spikes softened midair, twisting into shadowy cords that coiled toward him like serpents.
"Ignite."
Lixuman swung his blade, and in an instant, flames engulfed the bone sword entirely.Since it was forged from his own rib, the flow of mana coursed through it without resistance, spreading seamlessly across its surface.
The blazing blade split the darkness, cleaving through the black cords in a cascade of sparks.
"Fire magic!? Impossible—you're just a low-tier skeleton!"
Triss's expression twisted with disbelief.No one could fathom the terror of a lurking predator before it bared its fangs.
Lixuman lunged, thrusting his sword toward her chest with lethal precision.Caught off guard, Triss barely managed to recover, snapping open her wings and soaring skyward.
"So what if you wield fire magic?" she hissed. "As long as I'm in the air, victory is mine."
She spread her wings wider, ready to unleash her true power and end this strange skeleton once and for all.
But Lixuman would never allow her that chance.
The bone sword in his grip writhed and reshaped itself into a long, slender spear.With his left arm gripping the shaft, he invoked [Mighty Strength].The blue fire within his eye sockets flared violently as he hurled the spear.
The blazing weapon traced a faint azure arc across the darkness—then pierced clean through both of Triss's batlike wings.She barely had time to gasp before plummeting to the ground.
"Bog Formation!"
Lixuman reacted swiftly, slamming his hands against the earth.Earth and water magic fused together, transforming the ground beneath her into a thick mire that swallowed her whole without a sound.
Only now did Triss truly sense mortal danger.In desperation, she opened her mouth to scream for help—but before a sound could escape, the sludge surged upward, filling her throat with choking mud.
"Mmmph—!"
No cry was heard.
Lixuman strode forward, seized her by the neck, and with the sharpened claws at his fingertips, drew a swift line across her throat.Warm blood splattered, and she thrashed weakly before falling still.
He felt nothing.No revulsion, no hesitation—only a cold, quiet certainty.When her body ceased to struggle and the last trace of warmth faded, he released his grip.
Gazing down at her now-lifeless form half-sunken in the mire, Lixuman found no horror, no pity within himself.Perhaps, he thought, the moment Pound had turned him into a skeleton, something irreversibly human had been stripped away.
Yet the somber thought faded quickly when his interface flickered before his eyes—
[Ding! You have slain a Low-tier Succubus. EXP +1400][Ding! Level Up — LV8][Ding! Level Up — LV9][Free Attribute Points +2]
After reducing her corpse to ash with fire magic, Lixuman restored the bog to its original state and meticulously cleaned the scene.Succubi, being intelligent creatures, would not vanish unnoticed like mere skeletons.
He retrieved his rib-spear, scorched away the blood, and refitted it neatly into his chest.One mustn't misplace bones—calcium was precious.
Satisfied, he left the scene, returning to his guise as a dull, harmless skeleton shambling aimlessly through the darkness.
He reflected quietly on his mistakes.Ever since mastering magic, he had grown overconfident—careless enough to be discovered.Before, he had always stalked carefully, waiting for targets to sleep before striking.Now, drunk on newfound power, he had forgotten caution.
That would have to change.Recklessness would one day be his undoing.
For the next several days, Lixuman stayed hidden, biding his time.Triss's disappearance, surprisingly, caused little stir.Perhaps to Pound and Lucia, a low-tier demon's absence was beneath notice.
Only after a week, when he confirmed no search or inquiry had begun, did he resume his silent hunts.
He would have preferred to wait longer, but time pressed on.If Triss's pact with her mysterious master still stood, then in mere days, the so-called "expedition" would descend upon Pound's domain.That was the moment he had long awaited.To miss it would be to lose everything.
For that fleeting chance, a little risk was worth it.But this time, his risks would be calculated—his actions, meticulous.
He hunted with patience, limiting himself to two or three skeletons a day.After three careful nights, he finally reached Level 10.
[Name] Lixuman Pound[Race] Low-tier Skeleton[Level] 10/10 (Maximum for Low-tier Skeleton)[Class] None[Strength] 10/10[Constitution] 13/10[Spirit] 10/10[Free Attribute Points] 0[Evolution Requirement] Strength, Constitution, and Spirit at full capacity[Evolution Paths] Earth Skeleton, Skeleton Swordsman, Ocean Skeleton...[Skills] Bone Morph I, Appraisal I, Mighty Strength I, Agility I, Silent Step I, Swordsmanship I, Elemental Resistance I, Fire Magic I, Water Magic I, Earth Magic I[Status] Enslaved, Bone Decay[EXP] 1120/1000 (Evolvable upon Class Selection)[Description] A low-tier skeleton who has mastered the rudiments of elemental magic and swordsmanship. Underestimate him, and you will pay the price. Estimated structural collapse in eight years.
He possessed no Level 2 skills—for those belonged to mid-tier skeletons and demons alone.Level 2 abilities were equivalent to first-tier spells, far beyond what any unclassed low-tier skeleton could grasp.
But Lixuman did not rush to evolve or choose a class.Who could say what visible changes evolution might bring?If he suddenly transformed, even the dullest overseer would notice.
Even if they allowed his advancement, it would only tighten his chains—increase his supervision, strengthen his enslavement.
And that, Lixuman thought darkly, would mean a lifetime of servitude…toiling under a bone dragon, forever bound.