Chapter 4: Clack, Clack

Mu Huiyue handed the little skeleton two vitality fruits and activated a skill scroll.

After consuming the agility fruit, there seemed to be no noticeable change, but when it devoured the vitality fruit, the skeleton’s bones glistened with a healthy sheen, as if newly forged. The Shadow Meld skill also activated without issue, and in the blink of an eye, the little skeleton melded seamlessly into Mu Huiyue’s shadow.

Mu Huiyue opened her eyes and summoned the little skeleton from her beast space.

The little creature adapted swiftly to the Shadow Meld skill. Upon appearing, it slipped seamlessly into the surrounding shadows. The necromancer’s castle was already rich in dark energy, and with the phosphorescent glows casting shadows all around the room, the little skeleton moved with ease, gliding along the walls’ shadows until it reached the ceiling. Finally, it returned to Mu Huiyue’s shadow, peeking out with half a skull and tilting its head curiously at her.

Mu Huiyue nodded approvingly. While Shadow Meld might not seem like a formidable attack skill in direct confrontations, it significantly enhanced the little skeleton’s power in a shadowy domain like the necromancer’s castle. It allowed for rapid and stealthy movement, giving it an escape route if it encountered a high-ranking undead creature.

She pondered how it managed to bring back those two ethereal blue petals. The little skeleton’s actions must have drawn the attention of the realm’s master—likely an even more terrifying supernatural being than the decayed-eyed monsters. Before being discovered, Mu Huiyue knew she needed to find a way out of the necromancer’s castle.

During the manifestation period, the realm would seal off external entrances, but its internal structure mostly remained unchanged. Mu Huiyue carefully recalled her initial experience of being sucked into the realm. She remembered entering a room on the left side of the second floor, only to be chased by a horde of decaying corpses, fleeing in panic into another room and falling through a rotting ceiling.

Suddenly, an idea struck her.

Beast tamers could recall their contracted beasts to their beast space at any time, and this range was typically related to the size of the beast space. A newly awakened apprentice beast tamer could only recall beasts within about ten meters. However, her beast space was vast. Did that mean she could call the little skeleton back from a much greater distance?

If only she had a telepathic skill to communicate with it, she could maintain constant contact. But even a one-way recall was worth trying in this situation.

With the Shadow Meld skill, she could have the little skeleton verify multiple pieces of information at once.

“Little Skeleton, take this petal and head to the room at the far left of the second floor,” Mu Huiyue instructed, crouching down to hand it the last ethereal blue petal. She then activated her phone, which had lost signal. “I’ll recall you to the beast space in one minute—after counting to sixty in my head.”

“Before that, you need to make it to that room as fast as you can. Be aware of the distribution of supernatural creatures around you and whether they are attracted to the petal in your hand.” She continued, “Prioritize your safety. It’s best to maintain Shadow Meld the entire way. Can you do that, little skeleton?”

“Clack, clack!” The little skeleton nodded seriously, clenched its tiny bony fist, and then vanished into the shadows with the petal.

Mu Huiyue glanced at the time on her phone and closed her eyes.

Her phone and clothes couldn’t be recalled to the beast space, nor could the little skeleton bring them into the shadows, but the ethereal blue petal could. Mu Huiyue guessed this was due to the influence of the realm’s power. After all, both the beast space and the Shadow Meld skill were forms of utilizing the realm’s energy. As a resource from the realm, the ethereal blue petal was likely appealing to the supernatural beings born from the realm as well.

She sensed the little skeleton moving away from her, growing more distant. Her initial assumption was correct; her summoning range was indeed much greater than that of similarly ranked beast tamers. Perhaps this was also due to her contract position, though that would have to wait for further confirmation.

Before long, a minute had passed. Mu Huiyue promptly recalled the little skeleton and summoned it from her beast space.

The intricate black-patterned summoning array shimmered briefly, and the little skeleton popped out from Mu Huiyue’s shadow, excitedly clacking its jaws.

“I traveled through the shadows and quickly reached the room at the far end of the second floor. There’s a strange fluctuation there, creating a distorted spatial wave—probably the exit of the realm,” it communicated eagerly.

“But the room is surrounded by decaying corpses, and I encountered some wandering wraiths (the earlier decayed-eyed monsters). As soon as I pulled out the petal from the shadows, they chased after me. Thankfully, I returned to the beast space just as they were about to catch me!”

“Good job, little skeleton!” Mu Huiyue smiled, patting its skull. All her suspicions were confirmed; the little skeleton was even cleverer and more capable than she had anticipated.

“Clack, clack, clack!” The little skeleton’s jaw rattled rapidly, producing a series of clacking sounds.

“If that’s the case, I can use the petal to draw the decaying corpses and wraiths away, allowing the beast tamer to sneak into the exit room, right? As long as you recall me to the beast space afterward… I’ll do my best to hold out until then!”

“Little skeleton…” Mu Huiyue was genuinely surprised. Most supernatural beings’ intelligence and emotions were tied to their race and level of maturity. The young skeleton, still in its infancy, should have been mostly instinctive, yet it proposed such a clear and actionable plan after scouting the area.

Her little skeleton was truly extraordinary!

Mu Huiyue nodded, “Let’s do as you suggested, but make sure to prioritize your safety. Don’t overextend yourself, understand?”

“Clack!” The little skeleton raised its tiny bony fist in agreement, bumping it gently against its beast tamer’s fist before melting into the shadows once more.

After sensing the little skeleton moving away, Mu Huiyue stood up and flexed her ankle.

The fracture had mostly healed, and basic movement was no longer an issue. She needed to reach the end room on the second floor before the little skeleton could no longer hold on.

Taking a deep breath to prepare herself mentally, the young girl stepped out of the room.

The corridor was thick with the sickly-sweet stench of decay. Mu Huiyue frowned slightly and hurried toward her destination.

After awakening as a beast tamer, her physical attributes had improved dramatically. With the dark attribute of the little skeleton resonating with her dark affinity talents, Mu Huiyue found her sensitivity to the realm’s dark power heightened.

For example, right now, not only could Mu Huiyue sense the position of the little skeleton, but she also detected several dark-type creatures drifting in a nearby room.

Undead creatures typically carry dark attributes, and within the haunted castle, there were also purely dark-type supernatural beings—mysterious and dangerous in their own right.

While she pondered, Mu Huiyue reached the staircase leading to the second floor. Two towering guardian statues, over three meters tall, stood at the entrance. Shaped like large canine beasts with massive wings and claws, the statues appeared weathered, with dust collecting in every crevice.

Mu Huiyue felt a chill run down her spine as her gaze fell on them, and she moved cautiously, holding her breath, circling behind the statues.

These were Stone Gargoyles, a high-tier elite dark-type race. Normally, they remained in statue form, completely immobile. But once activated, they would rage and attack anything in their vicinity.

Although they weren’t the most powerful supernatural creatures, the gargoyles posed a significant threat to Mu Huiyue—especially since she didn’t have her contracted beast with her. Furthermore, their ability to fly made them even more dangerous. If she accidentally triggered them, escape would be impossible.

Fortunately, the gargoyles could only detect movement within their direct line of sight. Mu Huiyue moved slowly, carefully, her footsteps light as she silently thanked the memories of her predecessor, an honor student, who had even remembered something as obscure as the gargoyles.

Just as she was about to slip out of their range, a series of clattering sounds came from ahead, freezing her in place.

A group of four or five skeletons, each roughly the size of an adult, stumbled in a disjointed march. They wore tattered, mismatched armor, and the clattering noise was from their armor clashing as they moved.

These were Elite Dark-type Undead, known as “Bony Soldiers.”

Mu Huiyue found their name in her memories. Yes, these were evolved versions of her little skeleton.

Normally, an evolved Bony Soldier would only become a higher-tier elite. However, some skeletons that mastered the Reconstitution skill could evolve further, gaining the Corpse ability, and become a low-level battle general type—Bony Soldiers of a different order.

The group of Bony Soldiers marched forward, but just as they neared the gargoyles, the lead soldier abruptly stopped. The others, caught off guard, crashed into each other, breaking apart with a series of crashes.

Two gargoyle eyes blinked once but showed no sign of activation. They seemed unfazed, as if such chaos was nothing new.

Mu Huiyue: “…They don’t seem very smart.”

But she was confident that once her little skeleton evolved, it would be the sharpest, most agile Bony Soldier!

Seizing the moment while the shattered bones were busy reassembling, Mu Huiyue hurried up the stairs to the second floor.

She checked her phone—nearly five minutes had passed since the little skeleton had left.

So far, she hadn’t encountered any elite-tier or higher supernatural beings. The previous zombies and vengeful spirits had been led away by the little skeleton with the flower petals. Even with its Shadow Cloak skill, the little skeleton wouldn’t be able to last much longer. If any dark-type creatures had shadow-manipulating abilities, it would be in serious danger.

Mu Huiyue quickened her pace, heading toward the room at the end of the corridor. The stench here was even more pungent, and she grimaced, suppressing the urge to gag and continuing forward.

Suddenly, Mu Huiyue stiffened, almost instinctively falling backward.

A slimy, rotten, flesh-colored tongue shot past her like a bullet, moving so fast that if she’d been even a second slower, it would have pierced her cleanly with its barbed tips.

Her sharpened dark-enhanced senses had given her just the right warning. With her heart pounding, she stumbled back two steps and looked up to see the source of the tongue attack.

It was a humanoid monster, clinging to the ceiling. Its limbs were thick and unnaturally strong, its body skinless, oozing with pus and blood. Its head was nothing but a grotesque lump of flesh with a gaping slit for a throat, fringed with sharp teeth. A red, snake-like tongue slithered in and out of the crack.

A mid-tier battle general-level undead, known as a “Licker”!

Now she understood the source of the foul stench—it was the Licker. It probably had a stealthy mobility skill, which had allowed it to remain hidden until the moment it attacked.

Was it not drawn by the flower petals?

No time for further thoughts—Mu Huiyue quickly dodged the next lashing tongue, but she was a second too slow, and a sharp spike grazed her arm.

The burning, itching pain quickly spread, and within moments, her entire arm was nearly numb. She knew that if she didn’t get away, the Licker would soon target her as food.

But the exit was just ahead! If she could reach that room, there was still a chance of survival!

With gritted teeth, Mu Huiyue called upon her contracted beast within the Beast Space.

“Little Skeleton!”

A complex summoning array appeared above her, and the small skeleton leapt out. Dark mist coiled around its hands, forming into a long white bone staff.

Clack! Clack! (Don’t stop! Run toward the exit!)

The little skeleton raised the bone high and, with a powerful swing, struck the Licker’s grotesque head.

The strike was weak, but it was enough to activate an E-tier dark-type skill, Bone Strike, which caused a brief moment of dizziness in the Licker.

Ignoring the pain, Mu Huiyue sprinted toward the room at the end of the corridor, her hand reaching for the distorted space.

At the moment of entry, she pulled the little skeleton back into the Beast Space.

A strong feeling of weightlessness hit her, as if the air was being pressed out of her body. The night wind cut at her skin, and her head felt as though it were being crushed under a heavy weight.

In the blink of an eye, she was no longer in the stench-filled haunted castle but plummeting freely through the air.

Something roared after her, and as her vision blurred, Mu Huiyue felt herself fall into a bed of soft feathers.

“We’ve located the missing high school student, coordinates A2. I repeat, coordinates A2…”

Voices spoke behind her, accompanied by the heavy sound of large wings beating the air. Mu Huiyue could no longer hold on, and as the worried cries of those behind her reached her ears, her vision blurred, and she finally lost consciousness.