Prologue

Episode 1: Prologue

"Oh no, I'm going to die," I thought when I saw the huge monster in front of me, its bright red mouth open wide and charging towards me.

Marut is a small city on the edge of the Kingdom of Yaran, a frontier nation located at the edge of the continent. I, Rent Faina, a low-ranking copper-class adventurer, earned money by hunting down shabby monsters in the nearby low-ranking labyrinth, Suigetsu's Labyrinth. In a shallow layer, all the time, they hunted goblins, collected materials, and small magic stones.

That was my daily routine, and today as usual, I returned to town around evening, delivered materials to the adventurer's union, and received enough wages to live on for a few days. That was my intention.

And yet, that one suddenly appeared. At first, I never got lost in this labyrinth because I walk through it every day, but that day, for some reason, I discovered that there was a different passage than usual among the passages I usually walk.

This was bad luck. Yes, it was bad. Normally, such things should be ignored. An adventurer is someone who goes on an adventure, but this does not mean someone who rushes forward recklessly without any plan. However, in reality, there are many people who rush into things without thinking, and I was just as stupid as that example.

After all, it would be a major discovery if new passages and rooms were discovered in the Suigetsu Labyrinth, a labyrinth that was discovered and explored a long time ago. There may be some kind of high-level magic tools or magic weapons, but even if that's not the case, if you explore and map it to a certain extent, you'll be able to make some money. I stepped into that passage with such a common stupid idea.

As a result, after walking for a while, I came face-to-face with a huge monster in a plaza-like space. If I'm not mistaken, it was a dragon. A dragon, the highest rank of monsters, generally above platinum class, divine silver, or mithril. It is said to be a monster that even several high-class adventurers can't stand against.

Their appearance varies; some look like giant dragons, others look like elongated snakes, and some look like gigantic frogs. Apparently, anyone who encounters one would have to be very lucky to survive, and since it rarely appears in public, encountering it is rare. This is because there are only a handful of cases in history that have been confirmed. Its strength is comparable to that of the Demon King, of which there are said to be only four in the world, and its existence is said to be more like a god than a living creature.

In other words, even if a Perpetual Bronze-class adventurer like me were to fight against him, he would definitely be defeated without even using a little finger.

There's no way I wouldn't be surprised when something like that appears in front of me. Also, there was no way he would want to fight properly. So, I tried to move my legs, thinking that I should run away immediately, or that I would die.

However, I should say that my opponent was truly a monster. I noticed this when I was about to run away. I noticed it. "My legs don't move." No matter what part of my body I tried to move, it wouldn't move. What does the average person think? However, I remember this phenomenon. This is because I have learned that this is what happens when people with vastly different abilities confront each other.

Intimidated by powerful magical power, he loses all control over his body. That kind of thing only happens very rarely. This was exactly that. I couldn't withstand the dragon's pressure and was completely unable to move.

When I understood that, I thought from the bottom of my heart, please give me a break, but thinking like that won't get me anywhere. At that moment, all I could do was stare at the monster in front of me and beg it in my heart to please don't eat me.

However, the reality was not so easy. When the dragon saw me, it opened its mouth wide and continued towards me. "Ah, you feel like eating." Even though my life was in danger, I thought about such things carefreely. I thought, "This is terrible, I'm going to die," but either way, there's nothing I can do about this situation. For some reason, I can't move.

It's been ten years since I became an adventurer when I was fifteen. Some platinum class, divine silver, or mithril individuals are beyond the ranks and can only be counted. I have continued to be an adventurer, dreaming of rising to the top. Even though he earns his daily living through mediocre requests, he still hasn't stopped dreaming and continues to train every day after completing a request.

However, will it end like this? It's so simple. My heart was filled with both a feeling of extreme regret and a liberated feeling of wondering if this was the end.

And then, my body fit into the dragon's mouth.

After a while, strangely enough, I Awakened...

Yes, Awakened... Noda.

Even though I realized that I was eaten by a dragon and definitely died, I woke up.

And then I realized. "No no no. This can't be possible, can it?"

Immediately after I woke up, I checked the situation and thought this from the bottom of my heart.

What can't happen? It's about my body.

Look at your hands. Then, the meat that was supposed to be there is no longer there. No skin. The only thing there was a white, thin skeleton. That's it. And it wasn't just my hands, it was my whole body. Legs are bones with no flesh or skin. The same goes for the thighs and thighs. The upper arm is the same. Her face... I don't know her face, but at this rate, I'm sure she looks the same.

In other words, I, Rent Faina, a lower bronze-class adventurer, suddenly became a skeleton. This means that he had changed classes to a skeleton.

"That's impossible, right?"

Anyway, what should I do now? That was the first thing I should have thought about.

For now, there's no doubt that he was eaten by a dragon, but it's still a blessing that he's still alive. No, are you alive? Skeletons, speaking of which, are a type of immortal monster, but they are said to be already dead. It is a very weak monster that is said to be easiest to annihilate using the purification magic of a church bishop or priest.

What can be annihilated with purification magic is a skeleton. It is said that this is because they are evil monsters that go against God's providence, and God's providence is that "dead things should not exist in this world." The theory seems to be that since they remain in this world in defiance of providence, they can be annihilated by purification magic. I don't know if this is correct or not, as I am neither a priest nor a bishop, but within this logic, a skeleton is considered dead.

I'm dead. It means that you exist in this world in a dead state. This is very bad. This is because, as I said earlier, it seems to go against God's

providence for a person to exist in this world even though they are dead. If I go back to the city like this, no matter how much I talk and claim that I'm Rent Faina, I'll probably end up being purified for the time being. Then my existence will completely disappear. I absolutely hated that. Even though I'm in a broken state, I'm still alive. Even so, even if I am defined as dead, in my consciousness, I am alive.

Therefore, I can't go back to the city just to be killed. But what then? That was the problem. Will I continue to live here forever? However, this place is a labyrinth. Adventurers come to subjugate monsters, and no matter how remote the labyrinth is, there are some who are stronger than me. If I wander around, I will be exterminated normally.

What should I do? As I was pondering this, I came to think of something. I'm a monster now. Monsters have a mysterious property, and as they grow older and gain more experience, they gradually evolve into higher-ranking beings. I don't know for sure if I'm actually a monster, but I look like one. It's exactly the same.

So I guess I can do it too? Existence evolution. That's what I suddenly thought. I've read a fair amount of monster research books because of my job, but among them, when existence evolves, I once read a statement that says, of course, they are also immortal monsters, so-called undead monsters. It looks more like a human. It also has flesh on it, and I think if you hide it with a robe or mask, you can somehow pass it off as a human.

If I do that, I might be able to go to town and get a chance to explain various things to people I know. I know it's a pretty wild idea, but it was all I could do right now. So I thought, okay. For now, let's aim for the evolution of existence. In this labyrinth, let's become a corpse-eating demon.

The journey to navigate this new existence had just begun, and I was determined to face the challenges ahead with a newfound perspective on life.