Elena's breathing was uneven.
Not from panic—but from pain she was forcing herself to ignore.
The skeleton moved first.
"Follow," a line of blue system text appeared briefly between them.
She nodded without arguing.
That alone told him a lot.
He led her away from the open corridor and deeper into a side passage most adventurers ignored. The air there was thicker, heavy with stagnant mana and rot. Monsters avoided it instinctively.
Humans hated it.
Perfect.
Elena stumbled.
He caught her.
Bone fingers wrapped around her waist, steadying her before she could fall. She stiffened instinctively, then relaxed when she realized he wasn't hurting her.
"…You're surprisingly gentle," she muttered.
Another message appeared.
Efficiency. Not kindness.
She huffed quietly. "Figures."
They reached a collapsed chamber—half-caved ceiling, piles of rubble, and a narrow crevice barely large enough for a human to crawl through.
The skeleton stopped.
"This is safe?" she whispered.
Safer than anywhere else.
He knelt and examined the crevice.
In Eternal Dominion, this was a dead zone. No spawns. No patrols. Mana density too unstable for most monsters to manifest.
He helped her sit against the wall.
She hissed as she lowered herself.
"…How bad is it?" she asked, voice tight.
He examined the wound again.
Still bleeding, but slower now.
You won't die.
But you won't fight either.
She closed her eyes briefly.
"…So I really am useless right now."
The words carried no self-pity.
Just fact.
He didn't contradict her.
Instead, he opened his status window and focused.
[OPTION AVAILABLE]
Convert XP into Emergency Support?
Cost: 10 XP
Effect:
Stabilize partner
Reduce bleeding
Temporary pain suppression
He had 21 XP remaining.
Spending it now would slow his growth.
But letting her die would erase his only connection to the surface.
Investment.
He confirmed.
Blue light flowed from his chest, thin threads weaving into Elena's wound.
She gasped sharply.
Warmth spread through her body—real warmth, not illusion.
Her breathing steadied.
[EMERGENCY SUPPORT COMPLETE]
She stared at her shoulder in disbelief.
"…That felt like a high-grade potion."
System function.
Her eyes flicked up to his skull.
"…You really weren't lying."
She leaned back, exhausted.
"…If my guild knew a skeleton could do this, they'd lose their minds."
He didn't respond.
Instead, he listened.
Footsteps echoed faintly from the main corridor.
Multiple.
Human.
Elena heard them too.
Her hand clenched instinctively.
"…That's them."
Her party.
Four adventurers.
They were laughing.
One voice carried clearly.
"…Told you she wouldn't last five minutes."
Another chuckled. "Hey, bait did its job. We're alive, aren't we?"
Something inside the skeleton tightened.
Not rage.
Focus.
Elena's jaw clenched so hard her teeth ground.
"…Don't," she whispered. "Don't go out there."
He hadn't planned to.
Not yet.
They're coming back this way.
She froze.
"…Why?"
To check for loot.
Adventurers always did.
Silence fell between them.
Her eyes met his.
"…If they see you—"
They won't.
He moved.
Quietly.
He positioned himself just beyond the crevice, standing where shadows pooled thickest. The blue glow of his eyes dimmed until it was barely visible.
Footsteps grew closer.
Four figures appeared.
Leather armor. Iron weapons. Bloodstains—not theirs.
A standard beginner party.
They stopped near the collapsed chamber.
One of them frowned.
"…Something feels off."
Another snorted. "You're paranoid."
The leader glanced around, eyes sharp.
"…Elena's sword isn't here."
A pause.
"…Think she crawled away?"
They laughed.
"…If she did, she deserves a medal."
They turned—
And passed him.
None of them noticed the skeleton standing less than two meters away.
His presence blended with the dungeon.
A system message flickered.
[PASSIVE EFFECT ACTIVE]
Undead Presence Suppression (Minor)
Cause: Monster Status + Low Mana Signature
Elena watched from the shadows, eyes wide.
They left.
Their laughter faded.
She exhaled shakily.
"…They didn't even look."
Her voice trembled.
"…I really didn't matter."
The skeleton returned.
Knelt in front of her.
She looked up.
"…You could've killed them."
Yes.
"…Why didn't you?"
He paused.
Then answered honestly.
Not yet.
Her lips pressed into a thin line.
"…Then what now?"
He stood.
Opened a new system interface.
[PARTNERSHIP STATUS]
Partner: Elena
State: Injured – Stable
Visibility Risk: High
Recommendation:
Conceal partner
Avoid human contact
Accumulate power
You stay hidden.
I hunt.
Her brows knit.
"…Alone?"
Faster that way.
She hesitated.
"…And when I can move again?"
He looked at her.
Really looked.
Not as prey.
Not as XP.
As an ally.
You help me navigate the surface.
I keep you alive.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"…You're serious."
Very.
She laughed softly—this time without pain.
"…A skeleton monster and a discarded adventurer."
"…We're really scraping the bottom, huh?"
He tilted his head.
The bottom is where growth starts.
She stared at him.
Then nodded.
"…Alright."
She extended her hand again.
"…Partner."
He took it.
The system chimed.
[CROSS-RACE PARTNERSHIP CONFIRMED]
Effect:
Shared information access
Reduced hostility under specific conditions
Increased anomaly detection
In the distance, the dungeon stirred.
Something deeper had noticed.
Not a monster.
Not yet.
A watcher.
The skeleton turned his gaze toward the darkness.
Grow faster.
For her.
For himself.
For what came next.
Because if humans discovered what he was becoming—
They wouldn't leave him behind.
They would hunt him.