The Prince Who Absorbs Abilities With a ‘Click’

Chapter 7: Skeleton evolution that doesn’t exist in the world

Jade is dead.

I couldn’t help but stand there dumbfounded after hearing Lynette’s words for a while.

The problem is why Jade died.

‘Wasn’t Jade supposed to be in Kverndel?’

He was supposed to be subjugating a dungeon under the orders of Crown Prince Raiel. If he’s dead, the reason must be one.

‘Did he die during the dungeon subjugation?’

Even so, it didn’t make sense.

Jade was a prince. Even if the dungeon was dangerous, there should have been soldiers guarding him and knights protecting him closely, but he still died?

I needed to meet Crown Prince Raiel immediately.

I needed to hear the details of what happened.

“Let’s go to my older brother.”

I quickly headed toward where the Crown Prince was.

When I arrived, the place was already busy.

Several people were going back and forth, talking to Crown Prince Raiel.

Even though it was the seventh prince, the death of a member of the royal family was a big deal. It was natural that the royal family was in chaos.

After a while, Crown Prince Raiel noticed me and spoke.

“Kain, what’s going on?”

“What happened to Jade…no, what happened to my brother Jade?”

“I’m busy right now, so we’ll talk about it later-”

The Emperor had grown old.

As a result, most of the royal duties were managed by the Crown Prince. So, he was bound to be busy.

However, this was important to me as well.

If Jade really died in Kverndel, it wasn’t unrelated to me. I would become the lord of Kverndel next year, and I had the right to know what happened.

I firmly insisted, so Raiel sighed and shook his head.

“Ha, I can’t help it. Come here.”

The Crown Prince took a moment to explain the entire incident to me.

To sum it up, Jade did indeed meet his end in a dungeon.

The problem is…

“So, are you saying there was a Lich in the dungeon?”

Apparently, the dungeon’s master was a Lich.

It wasn’t directly confirmed, but according to soldiers who escaped from the dungeon, a monster that looked like a Skeleton used magic to kill Derrick, the knight guarding Jade, and then killed the prince himself.

“Yeah, it was unlucky that a Lich appeared in that dungeon. But don’t worry too much. By the time you go there, the situation will be resolved.”

Crown Prince Raiel nodded with a bitter expression.

Although I didn’t know if that bitter expression was because he truly felt sorry for Jade’s death.

The Raiel I knew was someone who was eager to push his siblings out of the palace.

‘But a Lich appeared…’

If the soldiers’ testimony was true and it used magic, it was highly likely that it was a Lich.

Liches were B-rank monsters, a high-tier rank.

In addition to naturally occurring Liches, wizards who transformed themselves into Undead were also called Liches.

‘If it’s the latter, it’s going to be a headache.’

Those who became Liches artificially were often known to be cruel and malicious.

The reason for that was simple.

Think about it.

They liked magic so much that they chose to become Undead and spend their lives studying? That’s the same as saying they want to stay in graduate school forever because it’s so much fun.

‘I hope it’s resolved before I go.’

Until it is, the people living in Kverndel city will likely be trembling in fear.

‘Wait a minute.’

Kverndel city, dungeon, Lich…

As I thought of those three words, an uncomfortable feeling arose in me.

‘Huh? This is completely…’

After a brief moment of thought, I lowered my voice.

“Brother, I think…”

If something feels off, I should say it. That’s the only way I can feel at ease.

“I think we’ll need to recalculate.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

A Lich dungeon appeared near Kverndel city?

Even if we subjugate that dungeon, isn’t there a chance it will appear again?

‘No.’

In my mind, Kverndel city has always been a place with harsh, cold conditions.

But with this event, it has now been branded as a dangerous place where Liches appear.

And I was planning to just settle it with 100,000 gold?

“I’ll need to get more money for the hazard pay.”

I had to say it.

Kain Chronos left the room.

Crown Prince Raiel rested his chin on his hand, reflecting on his youngest brother’s actions from earlier.

“He wants more money, huh?”

He was dumbfounded.

His immediate older brother had just died, and instead of showing sorrow or fear, Kain was asking for hazard pay.

“He really is something.”

When he thought about it, Kain had been like that since childhood.

He was quiet and lacked talent, so there was a lot of talk behind his back.

There were those who spoke ill of him but Kain was always unfazed.

No, more than unfazed, he seemed to ignore what others thought of him.

‘Usually, people like that are one of two types.’

Either they’ve realized their own incompetence and have become accustomed to public evaluation, or…

‘They’re deliberately hiding their power.’

Looking at Kain’s actions earlier, it seemed like it was the latter.

“Hm…”

Raiel’s eyes glinted coldly.

Perhaps Kain was more like him than he had initially thought.

If that was the case, then he shouldn’t be left alone.

He might be quiet now because of the age difference, but sooner or later, Kain would strike from behind.

What should I do about that?

Raiel tapped the desk with his fingers as he pondered.

Just then, the head of the royal knights came to report.

“Your Highness, the knights’ preparation for the subjugation is complete.”

The head of the royal knights reported.

Naturally, the royal knights were tasked with investigating the death of Jade.

But this investigation wasn’t just any investigation—it was a dungeon subjugation.

Jade had already died in the dungeon, and they still hadn’t recovered his body.

To honor his younger brother, it seemed like calling upon the knights to subjugate the dungeon was the right course of action.

“…”

However, Raiel hesitated.

He was always someone who made decisions based on his own interests.

Was it really the right thing to subjugate the dungeon now?

Raiel’s gaze shifted toward the door.

‘Kain…’

He had thought of him as a small, insignificant pup, but now he was a tiger.

There was no need to let such a person live.

But, to personally step in just to control the youngest? That wouldn’t be fitting for the Crown Prince.

“Head of the royal knights, listen closely.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

After thinking it through, Raiel extended his hand and gave an order to the knight commander.

“Effective immediately, the royal knights’ subjugation forces are disbanded. This decision is made with the empire’s prestige in mind.”

Raiel didn’t want the Kverndel dungeon to be subjugated.

But he couldn’t outright oppose it, so he invoked the prestige of the empire.

Sending royal knights to subjugate a dungeon in a remote town?

It would make the empire look weak to other countries.

Thus, the Crown Prince’s decision seemed reasonable.

“Therefore, the knights will return to their primary duties. The dungeon subjugation will remain the responsibility of the adventurers.”

He meant that the dungeon could be handled by adventurers, and there was no need to call upon royal knights.

Of course, he had no intention of hiring adventurers for the subjugation.

He planned to delay things under the excuse that no adventurers could be found.

At least until next year when Kain would become the lord.

By then, the dungeon’s master might explode and attack Kverndel along with Kain, but that didn’t matter.

That was exactly what Raiel had intended.

‘Younger brother Kain, the world is a harsh place.’

If Kain had acted a little more quietly, none of this would have happened.

That was the true nature of Crown Prince Raiel.

I received an additional hazard pay of 100,000 gold from my brother.

With my pockets now comfortably full, I happily made my way back to my room.

Step by step-

My steps felt light today.

A total of 180,000 gold had entered my hands.

With this much, I could afford to make some in-game purchases for a while.

“Let’s go back again!”

After hearing about Jade’s death, I had briefly stopped, but now I reopened ‘Dungeon Master.’

Unlike before, the dungeon’s interior had been neatly altered.

The corpses that had been scattered everywhere were all gone.

‘I guess they’ve all been eaten already.’

It seems that the goblins and orcs handled it.

Well, that was probably for the best.

There were no alarms, so it seemed nothing had happened while I was away.

“By the way, the shady merchant is supposed to come soon, right?”

As the dungeon’s notoriety grew, it was said that the shady merchant would be visiting.

Since the dungeon was relatively clean, I just had to prepare to welcome the guest.

“Well then, should I top up my money?”

The shady merchant was supposed to sell items needed for the dungeon. And those items could be bought with gold, so spending money was inevitable.

‘How much should I charge?’

After thinking for a moment, I decided to just charge 10,000 gold.

I didn’t know what items the shady merchant would sell, and I thought 10,000 gold would be more than enough.

As I placed the gold on the smartphone, it disappeared in an instant.

[10,000 gold has been charged.]

10,000 gold is by no means a small amount. But somehow, spending money in the game made it feel less real.

I had plenty of money for now, but if I kept spending money in the future, it would become a burden.

‘Is there a way to get gold besides from my brother?’

I needed a way to earn gold in the game, not just from my brother.

Since I didn’t have much experience with the game yet, I wasn’t sure.

‘Well, if I keep playing, it should work out somehow.’

For now, I decided to focus on the game.

“Oh, come to think of it, I had a Monster Evolution Scroll, right?”

I remembered the “Monster Evolution Scroll” I got after successfully defending the dungeon.

“The shady merchant is supposed to visit because of the dungeon’s notoriety.”

Notoriety was essentially the dungeon’s reputation.

This game didn’t seem as simple as just raising survivors.

When looking at the notoriety, the shady merchant was supposed to visit, but if the owner was an F-rank monster, they’d probably look down on it.

“That won’t do.”

The game I play has to be perfect.

Just like the dungeon and the survivors I raise.

So, before the shady merchant arrives, I decided to evolve a monster.

The target was the dungeon’s owner, the “Skeleton.”

‘Do I just press it?’

Not knowing how the evolution works, I touched the skeleton.

Immediately, an arrow symbol appeared near its head.

[You can evolve this monster by using the Monster Evolution Scroll.]

[The evolution will take place according to the monster’s traits. Do you want to evolve?]

Of course, I have to.

I pressed the screen, and the skeleton’s body started to glow.

[Consuming Monster Evolution Scroll.]

After a brief moment, the light faded.

“…?”

The skeleton had changed.

But the change was a bit strange.

“No, why is it this color?!”

The pure white skeleton was gone, and in its place, a greenish military-colored skull appeared, one I had often seen in past lives.

“…”

It was horrifying just to look at.

“What kind of hybrid is this?”

As I examined the military-colored skeleton, alarms started to appear in succession.

[The Skeleton (F) is evolving into Skeleton Gunner (C).]

[The Skeleton Gunner’s understanding of firearms has greatly increased.]

[The Skeleton Gunner has acquired the skill ‘Precision Shot’!]

[The Skeleton Gunner has acquired the trait ‘Modern Weapon Affinity’!]

‘Skeleton Gunner?’

It was obviously a name I had never seen before. Did it become a Skeleton Gunner just because it was holding a gun?

[This Skeleton Gunner is a monster that doesn’t exist in the world. A new achievement has been discovered!]

[You have earned 500 points as a reward!]

[Current Points: 1,016 points.]

I even earned points for discovering a new monster.

“Wow.”

Apart from the horrifying military color, it wasn’t too bad.

‘A monster that fights with a gun instead of magic or a sword…’

This is actually good.

Additionally, its understanding of firearms had increased.

Since it has gained skills and traits, it should be able to handle firearms without me explaining.

Most importantly, there had been a change in its rank.

‘It went up by 3 ranks?’

The F-rank skeleton had become a C-rank Skeleton Gunner.

This was pretty good.

It was slightly disappointing compared to a B-rank Incubus, but since it was holding a pistol, there was no worry about firepower.

There was only one problem.

‘Bullets…’

Bullets aren’t infinite, are they?

No matter how powerful the gun is, if there are no bullets, it’s useless.

And of course, there was no way to obtain bullets within the game.

The handgun itself was a weapon gifted by Ha-yoon.

‘I’ll have to get the bullets from Ha-yoon.’

At this point, I realized what kind of abilities the games I play demand.

‘In the end, the games are interconnected…’

It was important that game items were linked with each other across different games.

“I shouldn’t just play one game, I need to play them all.”

Of course, it didn’t matter if I didn’t have bullets for dungeon management. I just wouldn’t shoot the gun.

But didn’t I just get 500 points for discovering a new achievement?

‘To earn points faster, I have to complete achievements.’

The points I earned from Dungeon Master alone amounted to 1,000 points.

Compared to the 116 points I earned from Survivor Raising, it was nearly 10 times more.

‘In the end, I need to focus on raising survivors too.’

Survivor Kang Ha-yoon was currently Awakened and had taken refuge in the shelter.

If she could rise in status within the shelter, she could offer me various weapons.

Also, whether the Skeleton Gunner gets bullets depends on Ha-yoon.

“Alright, I’ve decided.”

In the end, for the dungeon to succeed, Ha-yoon had to do well.

That way, both of them could earn points for me.

“Let’s work hard at the game.”

This wasn’t for fun; it was to find ways to earn points.

Only to improve my quality of life.

“Hehehe, finally found it!”

Flapping its wings, the Imp landed at the entrance of the dungeon, muttering excitedly.

With red skin and sharp horns, it stood barely 1 meter tall, but the bag on its back was twice the size of its body.

“Hehe, I wonder what kind of fate awaits me today?”

The Imp was a shady merchant who sold items around dungeons.

Feeling the energy of a new dungeon, it hurriedly flew over.

The Imp placed the enormous bag on the floor and sniffed the air.

“Hoo, the smell of blood is strong.”

The intense scent of blood from the dungeon pricked its nose.

“Hehe, looks like there was quite a battle.”

The strong scent indicated that it wasn’t a small fight. It had been a considerable scale.

And it seemed the dungeon had survived the battle.

“A powerful master must be managing this dungeon!”

The fact that the dungeon survived meant that its owner was strong.

I wonder who manages this dungeon.

I wanted to meet the owner quickly.

“This should be fun. Hehehe!”

A dungeon owner like this would surely want special items.

A mischievous smile spread across the Imp’s wrinkled face.