Chapter 24: Quick-witted in an Emergency 1
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
While Lisa and Lan were discussing the price, Ange was heading to the Luminous Moss field. It had been a while since he last visited the field, and he wasn’t sure what to expect.
The Luminous Moss field was not far from the Undead Temple as the crow flies, maybe just beyond a cliff face. But to get there, Ange had to navigate a series of winding caves, making it inconvenient for casual visits.
The reason for his return was that the crops were due for their second growth stage, which required fertilizing and watering. If the crops were not growing well, they might need re-planting with mushroom seeds.
The Little Zombie followed behind Ange, and a tall and strong Skull of the Minotaur crouched as it trailed after the Little Zombie, much like a housemaid. There was a small pit dug into where its cheek should be, this might be the reason for the creature’s obedience.
Ange and his crew returned to the Luminous Moss field which hadn’t changed much. Feilin had marked this area as off-limits, restricting anyone from entering.
As he approached the field, Ange remembered something. He glanced at the corner of the field where there used to be a skeleton but it was gone now.
Originally, a Necromancer had chosen a slender skeleton to bring, but Feilin killed it instantly by casting her spell Soul-devouring Abyss, leaving only the skeleton behind. Now, even that was gone.
Either someone moved it, or it had gained consciousness and run away on its own.
Well, it hadn’t run far; it had hidden in a hole it had dug inside the field. As soon as Ange stepped into the dirt, it reached out and grabbed Ange’s foot, trying to drag him into the muddy soil.
However, instead of pulling Ange under, it managed to pull itself out instead.
The slender skeleton sprang furiously from the dirt and lunged at Ange’s face.
Ange instinctively pushed his hands forward and sent the slender skeleton flying into the crop field, knocking down a good length of crops.
“Agh!” Ange cried out in despair. As a Farming Skeleton, he loathed witnessing any damage to his precious crops.
His cry, however, caused a misunderstanding with the Little Zombie. Thinking Ange was in danger, the Zombie darted out and brutally collided with the slender skeleton just as it was getting up, sending it flying once more.
The slender skeleton was quite durable. Even though the Little Zombie was able to strip the leg off the Skull of the Minotaur with one collision, it failed to shatter the slender skeleton. Instead, the skeleton flew further into the field, Imocking down even more healthy crops.
Panic-stricken, Ange ran to the field. As he lifted a foot to step forward, his concern for damaging the crops overran him, making him hesitate mid-stride.
Previously, the farm was arranged in a way that he could step between the rows without damaging any plants. But now, with the field full of Luminous Moss, there was no safe place to step.
In his panic, he had an idea. He used his Pollination spell to cover his feet, lifting himself off the ground, and floated towards the squabbling creatures. The Pollination spell was fundamentally a wind vortex exceptionally handy for carrying pollen.
Once he was over the Little Zombie and the slender skeleton, he reached down, picked them up as if they were chicks, and tossed them out of the field.
The Little Zombie landed with a thud on the rocks just outside the field. Being a Zombie, it was tough and resilient, thus took no real damage.
On the other hand, the slender skeleton exhibited exceptional skills like no other newly born skeleton. Whether it was the punch it threw at Ange earlier or now, it somehow managed to turn in mid-air, landed lightly on its feet, bend its knees to absorb the throw, and roll forward, completely offsetting Ange’s throw.
It hastily got back up unharmed and quickly started to flee.
Planning to escape? Ange became furious. Did it think it could just destroy his crops and run away?
His eyes sparked a brilliant blue, shooting a Soul Impact towards the slender skeleton.
Soul Impact was one of the most fundamental skills of the Undead, akin to the Minotaur’s use of its head to ram things. This skill was an accurate measure of an Undead’s Soul Strength.
Ange had already condensed a Soul Heart and was considered at the Golden Skeleton level, with only his bones yet to turn metallic. His soul was vastly stronger compared to the freshly conscious slender skeleton. The disparity between their souls was like that between an abyss and a puddle.
Without even using his full force, Ange was able to daze the slender skeleton, causing it to tumble and stumble for quite a while. When it finally got up, it found itself tied up with a rope, tethered to the Skull of the Minotaur.
Ange studied the restrained slender skeleton, noting its fierce desire to fight. Despite being tied up and facing a much stronger soul in Ange, it struggled violently to attack its captor and didn’t show a hint of cowardice or surrender. It was much more aggressive than the Little Zombie.
Ange examined its skeletal structure and established that its flexibility was due to its joints which had a far greater range of motion than any human skeleton. This skeleton was humanoid but definitely not human.
“What is this skeleton?” Ange asked.
Who was he asking? Of course, it was aimed at Negris, but Negris remained silent, not responding at all.
Had he not heard? Ange tilted his head, recalling that when asking Negris a question, he needed to invoke his god name. However, Negris had been with him constantly which made him somewhat complacent.
“Negris,” Ange invoked the God of Knowledge.
Knowing he couldn’t avoid the question anymore, Negris appeared begrudgingly, “No idea. Who would know what a skeleton was in its lifetime? Additionally, a skeleton may not always be complete. If it lacks components, it becomes even harder to identify. Maybe this skeleton had four arms before?”
Negris knew plenty of humanoid creatures, but who would study the differences in a pile of bones? If Ange hadn’t mentioned it, he would have thought this was a human skeleton as well.
Four arms? Ange paused for a moment, turned over the slender skeleton for a closer examination and found an abnormal shoulder bone structure that truly seemed to accommodate two additional arms.
After pondering a moment, Ange removed his own arm bones to compare with the slender skeleton’s. It didn’t work; his bones couldn’t fit into the sockets.
What kind of bones could possibly fit into this shoulder socket?
This question lingered in Ange’s mind until he finished work at the Luminous
Moss field and returned to the temple. After rifling through the pile of bones Feilin had gifted him, he finally found two bones that fit into the strange sockets.
These bones didn’t resemble arm bones. If anything, they resembled…
“They look like wings. Covered with feathers, they would indeed form a pair of wings. Could this skeleton possibly be from a Birdman Angel?” Negris asked hesitantly..