The Child Holding a Knife in the Cave

Li Shaolin thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but when he looked again, the water rippled once more—and another figure slipped in!

Good grief, it looked like more than one person had gone in. Judging by their sneaky behavior, they weren't up to anything good. Could they be stealing ore?

He mulled it over just as Homor arrived. Li Shaolin asked, "By the way, do you stand watch here at night?"

"Yeah, we do. But most of the workers head home—lots of them are from the farms. Since the harvest's been bad, they come here to scrape by." Homor said.

"Alright, set me up with a room. I'll stay the night here. And no one enters my room without my say-so. Oh, and find me some bones."

"Heh, that's easy." Homor grinned wide, showing his teeth.

The rain grew heavier, showing no signs of letting up. By now, the workers had finished dinner and were packing up their rain gear to leave. With the downpour, the sky had already darkened.

A crack of thunder, and the rain came pouring down!

After a while, the world outside was pitch black.

Inside the wooden hut, black mist swirled, and three Skeleton Warriors materialized before Li Shaolin. All three now bore green names, each armed with a Bone Blade and Bone Shield. Two of them had grown larger, their frames stretching from the usual 1.7 meters to a full 2 meters, with barbs sprouting between the gaps in their white bones. Looked like those points in Skeleton Mastery were well spent.

He picked up a boar's bone and chanted a spell. The white bone dissolved into mist, enveloping the two larger skeletons. The mist churned, and a crackling sound like thunder split the air as arcs of electricity flashed. White bone armor began to spread from the heads of the two skeletons downward.

In an instant, the bone armor fully encased both Skeleton Warriors.

He stepped closer for a look. The armor was woven from white bone vines—from a distance, it looked just like chainmail. The bones glowed with a faint, eerie light, each strand as thick as a pinky finger, coiling around even the skeletons' heads.

"So these are Skeleton Generals?" He didn't know how strong they were yet, but they sure looked the part. If he got them a couple of hooded cloaks, they'd be presentable enough to take out in public.

The night was now fully dark. The faint mine lamps outside barely lit a three-meter radius. The night watchmen and guards had long since retreated to their rooms, chatting and shooting the breeze.

Not that it mattered. Around here, aside from commoners, the Defias Brotherhood, and Kobolds, no one else would bother coming. Commoners wouldn't dare steal ore—caught doing that, it was a death sentence. The Defias Brotherhood's base was far away, so they probably wouldn't show up. Even if they did, the few guards here couldn't stop them. And the Kobolds? They'd been wiped out in this area long ago.

He opened the umbrella Homor had given him, then casually flipped open the Book of the Dead. He absorbed the two Skeleton Generals and one Skeleton Warrior back into it. Instead of putting the book away, he kept it in hand—one hand holding the umbrella, the other the book—and stepped out into the rain.

The mine entrance loomed before him. Peering inside, all he saw was an abyss of darkness. A cold wind blasted out, stinging his face. The night watchmen spotted Li Shaolin but didn't dare approach him. Homor was probably already in bed with his wife, so no one stopped him.

He opened the Book of the Dead in his left hand. Black mist billowed out, and a Clay Golem materialized inside the mine. But the thing hated water, and the rain had left the outer parts of the tunnel damp. The golem hurried deeper inside without stopping.

He stepped into the mine.

With another summon, the three skeletons reappeared. The two Skeleton Generals took point, while the Skeleton Warrior brought up the rear. He shook the raindrops off his umbrella and stowed it in his storage space. Luckily, the storage space was divided into separate compartments, so nothing else got wet.

He flipped a page in the Book of the Dead and tapped a finger on the Bone Shield icon. With a clatter, three bone shields materialized around him.

He ordered his summons forward and slowly advanced.

Thankfully, oil lamps lined the walls inside, apparently kept burning year-round, saving him the trouble of bringing a torch. The light was dim, but it was enough.

Those two or more figures who'd gone in earlier were probably thieves of some sort. Were they from another family trying to grab a share? Or members of the Defias Brotherhood? Li Shaolin walked and wondered. No good. If I just barge in, they could hide anywhere and slip past me. Realizing this, he stopped in his tracks.

He looked at the golem ahead and suddenly had an idea.

Wasn't there a Golden Golem lurking in here somewhere? That thing could turn into mud and slither through the mine. He could get it to help. The problem was, he didn't know where it was hiding, and his mental link wasn't strong enough to find it quickly.

He focused his will and sent the current golem ahead to search. This golem wasn't high-level—despite fighting for a while, it hadn't leveled up, staying on par with its master. But its mental link range had expanded a bit.

The mine was dark and eerie, but he was a skeleton-summoning professional by trade, and after days of getting used to it, he'd adapted.

Just then, a shadow flickered behind him!

He spun around. A child wearing a burlap mask and holding a small knife stood right behind him!

Two small black holes in the mask revealed the kid's eyes, but the dim light made it hard to see clearly. A chill wind swept through, making Li Shaolin's hair stand on end and his heart skip a beat.

Wasn't this the fishing kid he'd seen by the dock outside Skinner's house that day? What was he doing here? Could it be...?

Li Shaolin tensed. White light flashed as two Bone Fangs coalesced around his fingers, spinning and dancing!

"Who are you? What are you doing in the mine?" he barked. His three summons formed a circle around him, shielding him.

The kid said nothing. Without a sound, he glided forward! The cold wind howled!

Li Shaolin shouted and fired the Bone Fangs! But something was off—his magic couldn't lock onto the target. That had never happened before!

Thud, thud. The Bone Fangs embedded themselves in the mine wall. Without a lock, they'd gone wide, missing by who knows how far.

He was about to order the skeletons to attack when the kid's small knife flicked through the air. Blood splattered! A figure appeared beside him!

The unlucky bastard clutched his slit throat, letting out a couple of gurgles before collapsing backward—instantly killed! And from his gear, he was clearly a member of the Defias Brotherhood.

Li Shaolin was stunned, not just by the kill, but because the kid was wearing a Red Silk Mask!

He remembered his conversation with Homor that afternoon. The Defias Brotherhood's rank was determined by the material of their masks. A silk mask meant a high-ranking member. So far, he'd seen two of them. One was on the Receiver, Morgan, whom he'd killed at Blackwell's Pumpkin Patch—along with a schedule and a ring, he'd found a silk mask. The other was right here. Was VanCleef, the boss of the Deadmines, setting his sights on the Fargodeep Mine? Or had killing the Receiver tipped him off?

His mind raced, tangled in confusion. The kid licked the knife with a tongue that slipped out from under the torn burlap mask, then started walking toward him again!

"Is this thing human or ghost? How is it so strong? That thief looked decently leveled—he'd been hiding in the mine for a while without me noticing, and he got one-shot. Damn it, do I fight or run?" Li Shaolin hesitated.

In the blink of an eye, the kid was right in front of him! A faint, sneering laugh echoed as the small knife swung down!

Before the blade could land, one of the Skeleton Generals rattled its bones and swung its Bone Blade!

The kid seemed wary of the white bone sword. He twisted his body and dodged, but before he could react, the other Skeleton General joined in, its Bone Blade slashing.

Dirt and mud flew from the mine walls!

Li Shaolin felt a bit more at ease. Looked like the Skeleton Generals could hold their own. If not, he'd have no choice but to run. But even though the Generals were fierce, the kid moved like a ghost, weaving and dodging, keeping them at bay.

Then the kid let out a cold laugh, like a wailing specter in the dead of night. The sound echoed through the mine, drilling into his ears!

A wave of weakness struck Li Shaolin's mind like a heavy blow. The Skeleton General's soul-fire flickered as well, causing it to hesitate for a moment. Seizing that pause, the child was already upon him!

The dagger was falling, and there was no time to dodge!

"Humph! Ha!" The soil beside Li Shaolin suddenly coalesced, a pressure radiating outward as a fist the size of a washbasin shot forth, meeting the attack head-on!

It was the Golden Golem that had appeared.

With one punch, it drove back the uncanny child. With another punch into the air, flesh and blood splattered as a Defias Bandit who had been lurking for some time was shattered into pieces!

The Golden Golem clenched its fist again, took a heavy step forward, and threw another punch!

The child seemed deeply afraid of the Golden Golem. Letting out a cackling laugh, its figure flickered and floated, dodging the golem's strike, and in the blink of an eye, it had fled the mine.

Only the faint sound of rain dripping outside could be heard, and nothing else. For a moment, the mine fell into a terrifying silence.

Li Shaolin's legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground. Though he hadn't directly taken part in that fight, he felt it all the more keenly. One misstep, and old Li would have been done for here today.

"That was close!"