Nathan's bony feet pounded against the forest floor, leaves crunching and twigs snapping beneath him. Behind him, a chorus of high-pitched snarls and cackles echoed through the trees.
"This is NOT how I imagined my second life!" he yelled, glancing back over his shoulder.
A dozen goblins, short and ugly with mottled green skin and jagged, chipped weapons, pursued him. Their beady eyes glinted with malicious glee as they shrieked and whooped.
"Who knew that the smell of bones would be such an aphrodisiac for angry goblins?!" Nathan groaned.
Earlier That Day...
After defeating the dire wolf, Nathan had celebrated by admiring his new skill: Bone Throw.
The AI in his head displayed the description:[Bone Throw - Active Skill: Detach a bone from your body and hurl it as a projectile. Low damage. Bone regenerates over time.]
"Sweet! Ranged attack!" Nathan had thought, not fully considering the implications.
A few hours later, wandering deeper into the forest, Nathan had stumbled upon a group of goblins fighting over a sack of poorly butchered meat.
In a stroke of bravery (or more accurately, foolishness), Nathan had decided to test his new skill.
He yanked his own forearm bone out with a sickening pop, wound up like a major league pitcher, and hurled it at the nearest goblin.
Thwack!
The bone hit the goblin's head with the force of a limp noodle. The creature froze, more confused than injured, and looked down at the bone lying pathetically at its feet.
Then it looked up.
Then it screamed.
The other goblins whipped their heads around, locking eyes with the skeletal idiot who had just tried to play fetch.
"Oh crap," Nathan muttered, realizing too late that his arm hadn't grown back yet.
"GET THE BONE MAN!" one goblin screeched, hefting a jagged axe.
And so, the chase began.
Back to the Present
"I seriously need better decision-making skills!" Nathan gasped, even though he had no lungs.
The goblins were gaining on him, the fastest of the bunch leaping forward and swinging a rusty club. Nathan ducked, the club whooshing over his skull.
"AI, any advice?"
[Suggestion: Do not use Bone Throw in situations requiring multiple attacks. Alternative: Hide or create a diversion.]
"Yeah, a bit late for that!"
Nathan stumbled into a small clearing and skidded to a halt. In front of him was a massive patch of Slime Fern, its gooey leaves shimmering in the light.
A wicked idea popped into his mind. He hurriedly snapped off a few fronds, smeared the sticky sap onto the ground, and crouched behind a boulder, barely managing to cram his bony frame behind it.
The goblins burst into the clearing, still yapping and growling. One of them slipped on the sap and faceplanted with a squelch. Another ran straight into him, creating a pile of goblin limbs tangled in sticky goo.
"Haha! That actually worked!" Nathan whispered, trying to keep his rattling teeth quiet.
One goblin, larger and meaner-looking than the rest, managed to avoid the trap and scanned the clearing. Its nostrils flared, and it growled.
Nathan held his breath—metaphorically—hoping his bony white frame blended in with the rock.
The big goblin picked up Nathan's discarded arm bone from earlier, sniffed it, and then chucked it into the bushes. It barked something to the others, and after a few confused glances, the goblins trudged off to investigate, leaving the sticky mess behind.
As the forest quieted, Nathan slowly unfurled from his hiding spot.
"I'm gonna need that bone back," he grumbled.
Later That Night
Nathan huddled in a hollowed-out log, reattaching his arm bone with a satisfying click.
"Mental note: Don't throw parts of myself as weapons when surrounded," he muttered.
[Skill Analysis: Bone Throw is inefficient as a primary attack. Recommend seeking alternative weaponry.]
"You don't say," Nathan replied sarcastically. He leaned back, his mind racing with thoughts about survival. If goblins were this much of a pain, what else lurked out there?
He flexed his reattached arm, thankful that his bones seemed to snap back into place once recovered. A soft, almost wistful sigh escaped him.
"Maybe next time, I'll pick the strength upgrade," he mused.
His head slumped back against the log wall. Despite the absurdity of the day, he felt a strange sense of purpose. Sure, he'd died ten times to a wolf and almost got dismantled by goblins, but he was still here, still moving.
A second chance at life wasn't just about surviving—it was about learning, adapting, and making fewer boneheaded mistakes.
"Tomorrow," he said, feeling oddly determined, "I'm gonna figure out how to actually fight. Preferably without falling apart."
Nathan lay sprawled inside the hollowed-out log, staring up at the canopy of interwoven branches. The moon cast silvery slivers of light through the leaves, and distant, eerie cries echoed in the night.
His bones ached—or, well, his mind told him they ached. He couldn't quite shake the feeling, even though he technically didn't have muscles or nerves anymore. He flexed his arm, the one he'd thrown like a glorified javelin earlier. It had reattached properly, but the soreness lingered.
"Alright, AI," he said, his voice echoing slightly inside the log. "I need a game plan. If I keep running around like a headless chicken, those goblins are going to turn me into a bony chew toy."
[Analyzing... Analysis Complete.]
[Recommendation: Avoid direct combat. Utilize traps and environmental advantages.]
"Yeah, figured that much. But what kind of traps?" Nathan asked, drumming his finger bones against his ribcage.
[Inventory: Bones - 206 (Regenerating over time). Current Regeneration Rate: 1 Bone every 10 minutes.]
"Okay, so I can use my bones as ammo and traps... but I can only regenerate one every ten minutes?"
[Confirmed. Regeneration rate may increase with specific upgrades or skills.]
Nathan's jaw clattered in frustration. "I need more bones than that. But if I can only make one every ten minutes, then... wait a minute."
He sat up, his eye sockets glowing with sudden inspiration. "If I can make one every ten minutes, then I can set them up gradually. What if... what if I make them into traps? Like spikes?"
[Potential Strategy: Bone Spikes - Sharp bone fragments placed horizontally at key choke points. Activation Method: Tripwire.]
Nathan grinned. "Tripwires. Yeah, that could work. But what can I use for string?"
He climbed out of the log and began searching the area, his bony fingers sifting through leaves and branches. He found long, fibrous vines hanging from trees, tough but pliable. Perfect.
"Okay, so string is sorted. Now for the spikes..."
Nathan sat cross-legged and concentrated, holding out his left arm.
"Alright, bone regeneration, do your thing."
He grimaced as he pulled his forearm bone out again, twisting and yanking it free with a sickening pop. He winced, even though there was no actual pain, just the disturbing sensation of something being yanked out of place.
"Ugh. Never gonna get used to that."
He eyed the bone. It was long, sturdy, and slightly curved. Perfect for sharpening.
Using a nearby rock, he ground the end of the bone to a jagged point. Then he tested its edge against a tree trunk. It sank in smoothly, the sharp tip embedding into the wood with surprising ease.
"Alright. One down... two hundred and five more to go," he said, sighing.
Hours Later...
Nathan had set up four traps in a roughly circular perimeter around his hiding spot. Each trap consisted of a taut vine, stretched across a path and tied to a sharpened bone spike, rigged to swing horizontally when the vine was triggered.
He checked each one, making sure the spikes were positioned at goblin-head height. "This better work. If not, I'm gonna be the dumbest skeleton in the woods."
Finally, he dragged himself back to the log and slumped down. His arms were a bit wobbly from all the bone extraction, but it had been worth it.
[Skill Analysis: Improvised Trap-Making – Potential Skill Path Unlocked.]
"Huh. A skill path for trap-making?" Nathan's eyes glowed with renewed excitement. "Now we're getting somewhere."
Morning Came...
Nathan was crouched behind a cluster of bushes, his eye sockets fixed on the clearing where the goblins had been before. Sure enough, they came back, bickering and shoving each other as they scoured the ground.
"They're looking for me," Nathan muttered. "Perfect."
The big goblin, the one who had chucked Nathan's arm bone into the bushes the day before, was at the head of the group. It barked orders to the others, pointing angrily at the ground.
"Come on, just a little closer..."
A goblin stepped forward, its grubby foot landing directly on the vine.
Swoosh!
The bone spike swung out of the bushes like a pendulum, slamming into the goblin's face with a meaty thwack. The creature's head snapped back, and it crumpled to the ground, eyes rolling back.
The other goblins shrieked and scattered, some running headlong into the other tripwires.
Swoosh! Thwack!
Two more goblins fell, one pierced through the throat, the other knocked flat by a bone spike to the temple.
The big goblin howled in fury, stomping forward as it yanked a club from its belt.
"Oh, crap," Nathan muttered. "Big guy's still standing."
The big goblin charged, eyes wild, club raised high. Nathan turned to run, but his foot caught in a vine and he stumbled.
The goblin swung, and the club connected with Nathan's chest, shattering ribs and sending him sprawling. Nathan's skull bounced off a rock and rolled into a bush.
"Oh, come on!" he groaned, his disembodied head spinning.
[You have died. Respawn in 2 minutes and 30 seconds...]
Nathan's vision went dark.
2 Minutes and 30 Seconds Later...
Nathan snapped back to life, lying on the stone slab inside the crypt once more.
"Okay. Take two," he muttered, standing up and brushing himself off. He sprinted out of the crypt, spotting the big goblin still lingering near the traps, confused and wary.
Nathan grabbed a loose bone spike from the ground and hurled it as hard as he could. It struck the big goblin in the back of the head with a dull thunk.
The goblin grunted, staggered forward, and turned around, blood trickling down its neck. It saw Nathan. Its eyes narrowed.
"Uh... hi there," Nathan said, waving weakly.
The big goblin roared and charged, club swinging. Nathan sprinted back toward the cliff edge—the same one he'd used to trick the dire wolf.
"Come on, big guy! Let's dance!" Nathan shouted, standing at the cliff's edge.
The goblin lunged, club raised high.
Nathan jumped to the side at the last second. The goblin's momentum carried it over the edge, its eyes bulging as it plunged down into the ravine with a furious scream.
Nathan crawled to the edge, peering down. The goblin was lying motionless at the bottom, its body twisted at unnatural angles.
A notification pinged.
[Big Goblin Defeated – Level Up!][You may select one of the following rewards:]
+20 Agility
Skill: Bone Spike Trap – Deploy a spiked bone trap with increased damage.
Item: Goblin Club – Basic Weapon, Low Durability.
Nathan sat back, a wide, skeletal grin spreading across his face.
"Now that's more like it," he said, his jaw clacking with satisfaction.