Chapter 42: New Skeleton Skill

The battle was over. Yeti corpses littered the snow, their twisted bodies sprawled across the clearing like the aftermath of a massacre. Luke stood silently, staring at the broken corpse of the Berserker Yeti. But he didn’t linger.

His wounds—those that should have torn muscles and broken bones—were already gone. Restored the moment he leveled up.

One of the fallen yetis had collapsed directly over his kukris. He walked over, eyeing the body, then let out a low sigh.

“I’m an idiot,” he muttered.

Instead of trying to lift the beast, Luke opened his system interface and tapped the kukri icon. In an instant, the blades vanished from beneath the corpse and reappeared in his hands, gleaming with cold, spectral steel.

He stared at them, almost embarrassed.

I could’ve done this from the start…

He’d been so used to relying on the magnetic return function that he completely forgot about the basic inventory recall. Granted, it only worked if he was close enough to the item—but still. It would’ve worked.

And instead, he’d used a broken fang like some caveman with a shiv.

He chose not to dwell on it.

Behind him, Allison finally rose to his feet, leaning heavily on his katana. A shallow cut bled at his temple, and his stance was shaky.

“I screwed up again…” he said, voice bitter. “One hit to the head and I was out of the fight. If you hadn’t been there, we’d both be dead.”

He gripped the sword tighter, frustration burning in his eyes.

Luke looked at him, then at the trail of yeti blood that stained the snow. The kid had fought hard.

“You made it through,” Luke said quietly. “That matters. All you need now is experience. And that comes with time.”

He thought back to the dungeon—the Forgotten Temple. That nightmare had nearly killed him, but it had sharpened him too. Hardened him in ways that were impossible to explain.

“You still played your part,” Luke added. “You baited the yetis into our trap. If not for your double jump, we couldn’t have pulled that off. And the final blow? I drove the fang into the wound you created.”

Allison didn’t respond at first. But slowly, some of the tension in his shoulders faded.

“And Charlie,” Luke continued, glancing toward the trees. “That fang came from the punch she landed.”

Right on cue, the skeletal warrior came stumbling out of the forest.

Armless.

Her once-intimidating form now looked strange, awkward even, with both arms torn from their sockets. She approached them, glanced at the fallen yeti, and then looked at Luke. Her eye sockets dimmed slightly.

Luke gave her a small smile.

“Looks like you’re going to be on break for a while.”

Maybe she’d regenerate if he returned her to his soul. Or maybe not. If she’d been completely destroyed, it might’ve worked—but like this? He wasn’t sure. Either way, she wouldn’t be throwing any punches soon.

They didn’t linger in the clearing. If more yetis came—and they probably would—it wasn’t safe to stay. When they finally left the forest and crested the hill beyond the tree line, Luke saw it. A dark shape on the distant horizon.

The wall.

Massive. Imposing. It stretched across the landscape like a silent guardian.

“That’s it,” Allison said quietly. “We’ve got a few days’ walk ahead of us.”

Neither of them could see what lay beyond. But somewhere on the other side of that wall was a city. And somewhere inside that city… the portal that would take them out of this frozen nightmare.

Luke exhaled, his breath fogging in the cold air. “Looks like we’ll be walking for a while.”

Allison nodded silently, his gaze fixed on nothing in particular.

Luke could tell he was probably navigating his system menu. The boy had mentioned leveling up his class after the battle.

That gave Luke an idea.

He opened Princess Charlie’s status screen. She had also gained a race skill after leveling up.

This time, though, a choice appeared. Last time, when she reached Level 1, the system had simply assigned her a race skill without any options. But now…

Now I get to choose.

Race skills weren’t tied to combat classes—they were bound to the very structure of one’s body. Luke had two race skills himself: Identify and Demonic Perception. Not exactly offensive tools, but invaluable for awareness and strategy. Princess Charlie, so far, only had her own version of Demonic Perception.

They were support-type skills, useful but not offensive.

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Until now.

When the new list appeared, Luke felt his eyes widen.

The first option caught his attention immediately:

[Skeletal Leap (Uncommon)]: The legs reinforce with additional bone, becoming stronger and more elastic. Grants the ability to perform high, agile jumps, useful for avoiding danger or reaching difficult terrain.

Luke blinked, impressed.

Mobility. Escape. Height advantage. Charlie could turn into a frontline jumper or even dodge in emergencies.

Race skills can be this useful? Do humans get something like this too?

He moved to the second.

[Skeletal Claws (Uncommon)]: The phalanges elongate and shape into sharp bone blades, turning fingers into natural cutting weapons. Enhances melee lethality with rapid, slicing attacks.

“Okay…” he muttered. “That’s terrifying.”

He couldn’t help but glance at Charlie’s skeletal hands, imagining those fingers transforming into bladed claws.

So undead can do this? Or is it something only Charlie gets because she’s bound to me?

The more he used the system, the more questions piled up.

Next came the third skill.

[Bone Knuckles (Uncommon)]: The bones in the hands become denser and more durable, amplifying striking power and physical resilience in close-quarters combat.

Luke frowned.

It wasn’t bad—if anything, it would make her punches stronger. But with Iron Fist already in her arsenal, it felt redundant. Sure, stacking both might boost her damage, but it would also pigeonhole her into a specific combat style.