The Skeleton Soldier Failed to Defend the Dungeon-Chapter 30. Why I Devour My Kind with Drowsy Eyes (8)

The wind was blowing. Outside, there was no one. It was dark and quiet.

"Did I choose the wrong time?"

It seemed I had picked the wrong time to come out. No one would choose to enter a catacomb in the middle of the night. I walked for a while, running my hand along the blade of the sword.

Then I found something interesting. It was an overturned cart with piles of paper bundles tangled in its wheels. Books were scattered messily on the ground. Maybe some bandits had attacked a bookseller, but there were no corpses.

"Books, huh?"

I could read. I didn’t remember when I had learned.

Was it five years after I awoke? Ten years? Was it after I met Lady Succubus?

She had taught me the proper way to read and speak. But even before that, I had known a bit, perhaps due to memories from my past life. I picked up one of the books that had fallen to the ground. I opened one and tried to read it. There was no moonlight, so it was hard to make out the text.

"I should take these inside."

I grabbed a few books randomly and headed deep into the dungeon again.

Rumble!

I moved the mechanism, closed the stone wall again, and started reading.

"Ugh..."

The woman hanging in the spider web groaned. I glanced at her briefly and returned my focus to the book. This place was well-lit with torches, making it good for reading.

The first book I grabbed was About the Unofficial Military Forces of the World – Volume 1. I found a well-lit spot, took off my armor, and lay on my side to read. I could sense the desperate look on the woman hanging in the web. I planned to leave her hanging for a while longer anyway, and finding these books came at the perfect time.

If not for these books, I would have been stuck endlessly practicing a skill that wouldn’t even help me level up. With a sense of enjoyment, I opened the first book. But then...

"What a ridiculous book."

It was a rather absurd book. Oddly enough, it was filled with a lot of strange poetry. I flipped through the pages impatiently.

#27

On a happy day

A joyful day

Drunk on women and wine

Fell asleep in a stolen bed

Drank deeply from the cup

There was a sound

I sensed someone there

Familiar, so familiar

I muttered,

"Curious, who could it be?"

The most uptodat𝓮 n𝒐vels are published on freёnovelkiss.com.

Moved to the wall

Through the wall

I confirmed a presence

Saw a scene, and felt at ease

A piece, a simple piece

Neatly arranged my corpse.

---

#41

There was a rustling sound

I, a war hero,

Was stabbing the enemy’s wife, rejecting

The fate of a slave

I lamented war, but

I enjoyed the slaughter, the violence

Enforced strict discipline, but

Secretly hoarded spoils

One day, there was a rustling

A sound

Behind me

Under the bed

From a pile of stolen

Spoils in the tent

What sound is this?

No point in searching

For it’s a tiny piece

It’s everywhere

The sound soon comes from within me.

Rustle

Rustle

The blade leaves my chest

As it should

Returned to broken pieces

I felt at peace.

"What the hell?"

The book contained over a hundred crude poems, and at the end, there was a short explanation.

These poems, sung in hundreds of different versions, are thought to have been created and spread by the assassin group Red Flake to increase their value... Many rulers would call upon minstrels to request these songs, hoping to buy even a fraction of favor from Red Flake, who they believed might be watching them, hoping they would not accept a contract against them.

"What is this book even about?"

I couldn’t tell what part of this was supposed to be about "the unofficial military forces of the world." There was no real information in it. Just as I closed the book, a message popped up.

Ding!

[Wisdom has increased by 1!]

"What?"

Clatter!

I jumped up in surprise and checked my status.

"It really went up!"

[Skeleton Soldier Lv. 9 (65)

Health: 30

Strength: 39

Agility: 39

Wisdom: 10]

My Wisdom had indeed increased by one, reaching a total of ten. I was extremely bewildered by this turn of events. I had never heard of someone gaining Wisdom by reading a book. If that were possible, readers would have taken over this world long ago.

Besides, the book I just read barely had any content. I paced around anxiously, then ran outside to gather more books. I picked up all the other books scattered on the ground and brought them inside.

"Can reading actually increase Wisdom?"

With tense anticipation, I opened the next book, Kill the Imperial Currency System.

I quickly skimmed through it.

... And, naturally, we have widgets. Those widgets in your pocket. The same widgets in my pocket. The ones you can use to pay for Orishian wheat beer at the tavern with the busty hostess and chew on some moist bread.

... Seiron and roti, and widgets—there is, as you can see, a significant disparity in value between them. Seiron and roti go together, but widgets are somehow isolated. Different institutions produce them, and their values are entirely different. Where does this disparity arise?

... Forget the author’s lengthy discourse. The answer is hatred. The hatred of the imperial family and nobility toward commoners causes this disparity.

... Many nobles and wizards dislike even touching widgets. They don’t care to know their worth.

... The imperial family and nobility wish to dig a moat that commoners cannot cross in every field. They fill their bellies with honor, wealth, and power. They build high fences and dig deep moats. Without this, they feel anxious and can’t bear it...

I turned the last page. It was an interesting book. However, my Wisdom did not increase.

"Maybe..."

I recalled what happened during the swordsmanship training. I carefully read each word with full concentration. Still, my Wisdom didn’t increase.

"What’s going on?"

I paced around the cave and picked up another book to read.

The next one was The Street Where the Boy Disappeared, a short novel about a boy who walked through walls. The writing was clear, and the story was imaginative.

I turned the last page with satisfaction. Again, my Wisdom did not increase.

"Maybe I need to read several books?"

The first time my Wisdom increased might have been an exception. I picked up the fourth book, The Ugly Wizard.

Since I couldn’t figure out what caused my Wisdom to increase, I diligently read every word from the first page.

Wizards are an extremely pragmatic lot. They enjoy the conveniences of the class system. They let the resentment caused by oppression fall on the nobles and sneak away in the background. They pass on the villainy. Even commoners who despise nobles revere the Tower of Azure. They idolize Wizards and make them the protagonists of their songs. But unless you are born with it, you can never become a Wizard. If you are not born with an Arcane Heart, no amount of effort or training will matter. Both nobles and Wizards are merely the result of simple chance, a lucky spin of the roulette wheel.

... Wizards don’t even try. They enjoy maximum rights without any obligations. They produce nothing.

This time, the book was filled with mockery and disdain for wizards.

As I read, I thought, Won’t the author get assassinated by the wizards?

The contents of the book that provoked such concerns. I reviewed what I knew. The Wizards of Azure were powerful and wise, embodying mystery and miracles. With a wave of their hand, ice formed in the air. When they stomped, the ground cracked, and lava erupted. Their tower was a kind of sanctuary. The villagers near the tower considered serving a wizard to be the highest honor.

However, the book I read sharply mocked their intelligence and crudely attacked their morality.

"I was thinking of visiting them..."

I had considered asking the wizards about what was happening to me, but this book greatly diminished my desire to go to the Tower of Azure. I checked the author's name to see who was slandering the wizards.

It was Kevin Ashton.

"What kind of person is this?"

Of course, there was no information about the author. It might even be a pseudonym. With an uneasy feeling, I turned the last page.

At that moment, I heard the system alert.

Ding!

[Wisdom increased by 1!]

"What?"

I checked my status again. Sure enough, my Wisdom had gone up by one.

"What’s going on?"

This was the second time it happened. I was bewildered. I continued reading other books about the empire's history, geography, and more. However, my Wisdom did not increase again. I stopped after reading about twenty books.

Then, I grabbed my head and looked at the two books that had increased my Wisdom again—The Ugly Wizard and About the Unofficial Military Forces of the World – Volume 1.

The common point was immediately apparent. The author was the same.

"Kevin Ashton."

I had never heard of him.

"Hm."

Judging by the name, it was a man. If reading books written by this man increased Wisdom just like that, then this was as surprising as dying and coming back to life the next day. I checked the remaining books for the author’s name. There were no more books written by that man.

And, of course, my Wisdom did not increase from reading any more books.

"This is truly surprising."

I thought that if I ever went to a city, I should look for more books written by this person. I lay down for a long time, rolling around and reading books. I even practiced my swordsmanship as a test.

Ding!

[You can no longer increase your skill level through training.]

However, only the same message kept popping up occasionally. It seemed impossible. Two days passed like that.

"This is the last book."

The last book I grabbed was about mercenaries. It wasn’t written by Kevin Ashton, but it detailed the exploits of legendary mercenaries. The content wasn’t long. It explained in detail how mercenaries ranked themselves.

They ranged from the beginner level N to F, E, D, C, B, A, and finally, S rank. The classification criteria were briefly outlined.

"Hm..."

I took out the identification card in my pocket for the first time in a while.

[Benson Fletcher

Class: Melee

Issued: 1143.7.

Rank: D

Pylon Mercenary Guild]

It was the ID I obtained by killing the hammer wielder. It had been issued four years ago. The guy's rank was D.