Li Xiuman knew that things had reached a point where he could no longer keep it hidden.
To keep hiding it would be irresponsible to Ilu.
And even if he exposed his identity now, Ilu wouldn't pose any threat to him.
“Ilu, stop. Listen to me.”
“I'm not human.”
“To say something like that... do you really hate me that much?”
Ilu trembled slightly, making Li Xiuman's shoulders creak under her grip.
“No, I like you, Ilu!”
“Really?”
“Really!”
The grip on his shoulders loosened slightly, saving his shoulders from being crushed.
“It's just that I really am not human.”
Li Xiuman slowly pulled back his cloak.
A gruesome, terrifying skull was exposed, with two clumps of soul fire flickering inside his eye sockets.
No amount of explanation could compare to the raw impact of seeing the truth.
In an instant, Ilu understood why Li Xiuman had always hidden his appearance, and why he was so thin yet possessed such great strength.
“How can this be?”
“Do you remember the bone dragon, Pound, whom you met before?”
“He was the one who turned me into a skeleton. But for some reason, I retained my memories and consciousness from when I was human.”
“When you fought Pound back then, I took the opportunity to escape his control and hid in White Bear City.”
“That's why I was so startled when I saw you and Keith in the dungeon.”
Li Xiuman calmly recounted the story of how he became a skeleton.
He didn't quite dare to look at Ilu's expression.
Would her liking of him turn into disgust, or fear?
Sigh. His first love had ended before it even began.
Both of his arms were grabbed once more and pinned against the wall.
Immediately after, soft lips pressed against his bone and teeth.
“There will be a way to restore you.”
She pulled him into her arms, looking at Li Xiuman with a gentle gaze.
“I will definitely help you restore your body.”
Ah. At that moment, he felt like his heart had been struck hard.
“I've heard that there even exists magic to resurrect the dead.”
“Not to mention just restoring your flesh.”
Ilu gently comforted Li Xiuman.
...
In the afternoon, he saw Ilu off outside the city. By now, Ilu had put her armor back on.
“Keep this feather safe. Hang it on your window, and Shino will be able to find you.”
“I'll write to you regularly and have Shino deliver the letters.”
Ilu handed a white feather to Li Xiuman.
Shino was a white owl with excellent flying capabilities and mastery over low-tier Wind Magic.
“Yes, I'll keep it safe.”
Li Xiuman put the feather away.
After that, Ilu did not look back, showing no lingering hesitation. Carrying her sword, she mounted a red horse and put on her helmet.
“Don't make me wait alone for too long.”
With that, she rode off, kicking up plumes of dust.
Li Xiuman also withdrew his gaze, returned to his small cottage, and hung the feather on the window.
Then, he put on his leather armor, layered light armor over it, and slung his magic wand over his back.
Before heading to the dungeon, Li Xiuman made a trip to the Reby Merchant Association.
“You're going back for a second run so soon?”
“Resting for too long makes one lazy.”
“Does the merchant association have any materials they need gathered from the deeper levels?”
“There are some. Let me get the list for you to look over.”
Tedela pulled out a cargo list and handed it to Li Xiuman.
Li Xiuman glanced at it, folded it up, and tucked it into his waist pouch.
“Does the association have any news on the Lizardman King?”
“We do, actually. Do you plan to hunt the Lizardman King?”
“It's my rank-up quest from the Adventurer's Association.”
Obtaining a record of the Lizardman King's recent sightings from Tedela, Li Xiuman didn't linger any further and headed toward the Landmark Tower.
“Be safe.”
The cat-eared maid Ramantiel walked Li Xiuman all the way to the Landmark Tower.
“Yes, you too. Wait for me to come back.”
Li Xiuman rubbed Ramantiel's head and slipped into the dungeon.
The familiar pitch-black corridor extended downward, but this time it didn't feel as unfamiliar.
He kept his head down and dashed straight into the depths.
The monsters of the first major tier could not delay his footsteps for even a second.
The bone sword and wand in his hands blurred, and the low-tier monsters died almost on contact.
After his training with Ilu, his Swordsmanship was nothing like before. He was no longer his old self.
Soon, Li Xiuman saw the junction between the tenth and eleventh floors of the labyrinth.
He dashed straight in.
On the eleventh floor, Li Xiuman slowed down and began a purposeful search.
After all, the Lizardman King's primary roaming area was between the eleventh and twentieth floors.
He would treat it as a casual grinding session.
Because his experience was already nearly full, it didn't take long before a system window popped up before his eyes.
[Ding! Experience is full. Level has increased to Lv18.]
[Constitution +1, Spirit +1]
[Free Stat Point +1]
Then, a warm current surged from the socket of his right arm once more.
Like magma seeping down his arm and permeating his other bones, Li Xiuman couldn't help but shiver, the hand holding his wand creaking.
But compared to last time, it was slightly more bearable. At least he didn't feel like he was about to die.
As his Constitution stat increased, he would adapt to it sooner or later.
Li Xiuman gritted his teeth, and only when the pain subsided did he let out a long sigh of relief.
Even though he didn't actually have lungs to let out a sigh with.
Talk about a dark joke.
[Strength +1, Constitution +1]
There was even an unexpected surprise this time: not only his Strength, but his Constitution had also increased by 1 point.
He allocated the newly added Free Stat Point to Constitution. Now, his Constitution and Spirit were equal, both reaching a high of 28 points.
He felt that if he didn't increase his Constitution, the next time he met Ilu, he might not be able to handle her rough play for more than a few rounds.
Adding the attribute points gained from leveling up twice, it would be enough for him to reach the standard for evolution at Lv20.
He thoroughly searched the eleventh floor, but found no trace of the Lizardman King.
He rested for a night, then descended to the twelfth floor.
And so he descended all the way to the fourteenth floor, finding no sign of the Lizardman King along the way.
On the fourteenth floor, he sold all the materials he had collected to the Reby Merchant Association.
“Skeleton! I've heard about what happened on the surface!”
“That was so amazing! It's a pity I was down in the dungeon and couldn't witness you slaughtering those nobles!”
Rachel looked at Li Xiuman with stars in her eyes.
“Do you know what the adventurers in the dungeon are calling you?”
“The Bloodthirsty Skeleton, the Skeleton Grim Reaper!”
As Rachel spoke, her voluptuous body pressed even closer to him.
Li Xiuman stepped back slightly.
If he hadn't lacked the physical capability right now, he would have definitely taught this girl a thing or two.
“Would Mr. Skeleton like to stay the night this time? It's still free of charge!”
“Of course, I can also provide special services for Mr. Skeleton~”
Although he was curious what kind of special services she could provide for a skeleton—bone polishing and waxing?
“Next time, for sure.”
“You said that last time too...”
“Then, maybe not next time either.”
Li Xiuman did not want to put his bones into any acidic environments.
After all, he had yet to rid himself of the [bone decay] negative status, so he had to take good care of his bones.
“Well then, see you on my way back.”
Tossing the coin pouch in his hand, Li Xiuman waved and left the merchant association without looking back.
Only Rachel was left behind, pouting in mock anger.
He entered the fifteenth floor.
Monsters were clearly much scarcer here.
Based on the information provided by the merchant association, Li Xiuman searched the sighting locations of the Lizardman King one by one.
Finally, at one of the sighting spots, Li Xiuman found fresh signs of destruction and footprints.
Gripping his wand tightly, he remained alert of his surroundings.
He followed the footprints and scraping marks.
After walking some distance, he found a cracked pit. Peering down into it,
it seemed to lead to the sixteenth floor.
Li Xiuman waved his wand, and a magic circle rose.
“Tier 1 Magic, Wind Shield!”
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