Henchmen Are Meant to Be Exploited

The skeleton was like a sprout infused with life—first the finger bones of its right hand twitched, then the broken joints across its entire body seemed to piece and reassemble themselves, emitting a grating, teeth-aching creak.

The skull slowly lifted as well, and two clusters of ghostly green fire burst from the eye sockets.

It propped one hand on its head and braced the other against the wooden edge, trembling as it stood up. Ling Chu could read a hint of confusion in its expressionless skull face.

"Oh my god, how did Old Tichy end up sleeping in a wine barrel?" The skeleton reached down to knock on its own waist. "This old back of mine feels like it's been snapped in half..."

As if sensing something wrong with the feel, the skeleton yanked its hand back abruptly, stared down at its own fingers, and was horrified.

"How did my hands become..."

"You were already dead. I resurrected you."

Ling Chu sized it up with curiosity as she spoke.

Hearing her words, the flames in the skeleton's eye sockets flickered, as if sinking into memory. After a moment of silence, it murmured, "Yeah... Old Tichy was already dead..."

She wasn't afraid the skeleton might do anything to her—the Skill Bar made it very clear that after Bone Resurrection, it would become her most loyal servant.

"I remember now. That's right, you resurrected me, gave me a second life. My master, Old Tichy will serve you forever."

The skeleton turned to face Ling Chu, planted both feet together, and bent at the waist as if to give her a gentlemanly hat-tip. It patted its head, then belatedly realized there was nothing on top.

"Huh? Where's my Pirate Hat? And my Revolver? My eyepatch and ring—why are they gone too?"

"..."

Ling Chu cleared her throat awkwardly. "Well... your hat and gun were damaged. Once they're repaired, I can give them back."

The implication was clear: the eyepatch and ring were not being returned.

"So it's the captain who needs them. Tichy's only afraid those shabby things aren't worthy of your notice..."

Tichy scratched its head sheepishly. After all, those were things it had worn—they were a bit worn out. Offering them to its master felt embarrassing.

Besides, in its current state, it didn't need an eyepatch or a ring to look cool anymore...

Shabby?

Ling Chu hadn't expected those legendary-tier items to be considered junk in an NPC's eyes.

"But that ring..."

Tichy noticed the Ring of Bones on Ling Chu's right hand and hesitated, as if wanting to say something.

"What about the ring?" Ling Chu asked.

"That ring seems to have a curse on it. Ever since I put it on, I could never take it off again," Tichy said, rubbing its chin. "It didn't match my outfit at all. I even thought about cutting off my own Index Finger, just so I could get it off after I died. But don't worry, Captain—with your handsome looks, any ring looks good on you!"

Ling Chu was speechless.

Because a ring didn't match your outfit, you wanted to cut off your finger? This skeleton was a real piece of work.

"You can call me Captain."

Ling Chu felt a little uncomfortable being called "master" over and over—anyone overhearing might think she had some strange hobby.

"As you command, Captain."

Hearing that familiar title, Tichy immediately thought of the days when it sailed the seas with its crew. It asked Ling Chu eagerly, "Captain, then where's our ship?"

"Right under your feet."

Tichy looked down at the small sailboat that barely fit two people—any more would be cramped. It figured this must be an emergency backup boat the captain was using. Then it asked:

"And the rest of the crew?"

"Right now, it's just the two of us."

"..."

Tichy was silent for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Quality over quantity! I can do the work of eight men. Captain, Old Tichy's eye is never wrong—I believe you'll make waves on the sea!"

Ling Chu realized that besides being a bit unhinged, this skeleton was also a first-class bootlicker.

Without wasting words, she shoved something into its hand.

"Captain, this is..."

"A pickaxe."

"Less talking, more working." Ling Chu was brief.

Making an iron pickaxe required one iron ore, five wood, and one cloth. She'd used the two remaining iron ores to craft two pickaxes.

It had only been two hours since departing the island. Aside from the still-unfound Island Core, there were plenty of iron ores left to collect.

Ling Chu docked the sailboat again in the shallows, dropped anchor, and led her newly acquired Skeleton Henchman back onto the island.

Mining wasn't a technical job—it was all about brute strength.

Tichy swung its pickaxe with such force that the air whistled.

Sometimes, after digging up two iron ores, Ling Chu had to stop and catch her breath. But Tichy seemed tireless, swinging the Pickaxe Head without pause.

Before long, iron ores were scattered all over the ground, and Ling Chu swept them all into the Ring Space.

Sure enough, it really could do the work of eight.

Skeletons don't need to eat or rest—what could be better suited for manual labor than that?

The iron ore I thought might take two days to mine at this rate looks like it'll be done in a single day.

If only I had a few more skeletons...

Ling Chu thought to herself, but this stuff really wasn't easy to come by.

A sudden flash of inspiration struck her—she thought of Sanfuye, who had just died. Could player corpses be revived?

She was about to test it when she noticed Sanfuye's body was gone.

Ling Chu frowned. She clearly remembered Sanfuye had fallen right next to the treasure chest. Hadn't he died?

Impossible—her strike had been fatal, and the system had even given her the bounty reward.

That meant something had dragged his body away.

Fortunately, the entire island was sandy ground. Ling Chu quickly found the traces left behind—no footprints on the ground, but very obvious drag marks leading straight toward the back of the woods.

And she hadn't explored that other half of the island yet.

"Titch."

The skeleton frame, who had been swinging the pickaxe with gusto, heard the call and trotted over.

"Captain, what's up?"

"Follow me."

Ling Chu followed the drag marks, feeling her way forward, and soon arrived before a withered, crooked tree where the traces vanished.

Beneath the dead tree grew many weeds and shrubs. Ling Chu pushed aside the weeds and found a sand cave entrance hidden underneath.

The cave entrance was wide enough for two people, pitch-black and bottomless. Ling Chu didn't dare descend recklessly, so she said to Titch, "Go down first and scout the way."

"Got it."

Without a second word, Titch shouldered his iron pickaxe and jumped down.

He'd already died once—what was there to fear?

Besides, even if he died again, his all-powerful master could resurrect him.

A few seconds later, Ling Chu heard a soft thud of landing, and Titch's voice came from the muffled tunnel.

"Captain, it's safe—come on down!"

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