“You said you have four different skills, right? What do they do?” Pell asked.

  “I don't know. Is there a way I can check?” Enya replied, giving her signature head tilt.

  “You should be able to just look at the term you want and focus on it. A new screen should pop up with more information.”

  Following his instructions, Enya focused on the Mana Detection skill. The screen shifted, displaying the skill's description. She read it aloud.

  Skill: Mana Detection [D-] [Passive]

  You can detect mana more easily.

  Pell paused, waiting for her to continue, but when Enya just stared back at him with little more to say, he furrowed his brows—or tried, at least.

  “What?” Pell asked, incredulous.

  “What?” Enya echoed.

  Pell narrowed his sockets as he stared at her. “That’s it?”

  “Y-yeah?” she replied, unsure if that was the right answer.

  Pell fell silent for a moment, his skull subtly shaking. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly to calm his disbelief. “What about the other one?” he finally asked.

  Enya glanced back at the screen, then navigated the window back to her stats before focusing on her next skill.

  Skill: Mana Control [E+] [Passive]

  You can control mana more easily.

  A few seconds of silence passed. “You… are joking, right?” Pell asked.

  Enya shook her head, earnest in her confusion. This was what had shown up on the screen. She was still learning how to read and speak, so there was a chance she had misread something, but she was pretty sure this time she had it right.

  “Okay… I guess those descriptions do make sense. Though, the skill name already gives it away…” He paused, mulling it over. “What about the third one?”

  Shifting her focus, Enya repeated the process and read out the next skill.

  Skill: Perception [D] [Passive]

  You can perceive things more easily.

  Pell stared at her, dumbfounded by the painfully simple description. His skills weren’t this absurdly basic. What the hell were these descriptions? Sure, those skills sounded like they could be useful, but come on—Perception means you can perceive things more easily? Why even bother describing them?

  Enya noticed Pell’s surprise. It seemed simple enough to her, so she didn’t understand what the issue was. Why was it a problem that it was straightforward and easy to understand? Though, she did think the concept of perception was still a bit difficult to grasp.

  Pell shook his head, resigned. “Alright… what about the last one? Surely Sage—something wouldn’t have such a short description…”

  Skill: Sage’s Insight [B] [Passive]

  You can Sage things more insightly.

  “Alright, what the fu—”

  Before Pell could finish his curse, Enya burst into a fit of laughter. Her laugh shattered the tense silence in the small room. She clutched her stomach, doubling over with uncontrollable giggles. A small tear formed in the corner of her eye as she tried to catch her breath.

  “Wha—” Pell started, but was interrupted.

  “Sor-sorry…” she managed between laughs, “I—I’m… that was just a joke. I don’t know what any of these mean, but… I thought it would be funny if I just made up the last one.”

  Enya’s laughter continued, even as she tried to forcibly calm herself down.

  Pell stared at the girl, his sockets wide with surprise. She actually had the nerve to mess with him. Barely able to speak or read, yet here she was, lying about her skill just to get under his metaphorical skin.

  Truth be told, Pell respected the joke. Humor was something he appreciated, and the girl had definitely caught him off guard. He’d expected her to be cooperative and straightforward. Never once had she refused anything he asked. But now, she’d played him, exploiting his perception of her and completely blindsiding him. He shook his head with a faint scoff, a small smile forming on his skull. She’d really gotten him.

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  However, the amusement didn’t last. The little weasel kept laughing, her giggles dragging on relentlessly. Pell’s face twisted back into annoyance as her laughter slowly began to die down.

  “You done yet?” he grumbled.

  “Yes… sorry.” Enya replied, wiping a tear from her eye.

  “I assume that isn’t what the skill actually says?”

  Enya straightened up, still feeling the aftereffects of her laughter. “No, that’s not what it says.”

  She glanced to the side and, trying her best to avoid mispronunciations, read out the proper description of the skill.

  Skill: Sage’s Insight [B] [Passive]

  You have an enhanced understanding of all things related to magic, mana, and the arcane. Your baseline talent for the understanding of concepts, theory, and memorization of related subjects is increased by 40%.

  Pell’s soul flames flickered, dimming for a moment as he processed the information. A passive skill that boosted one’s understanding and retention of magic? Although Pell knew little about magic, he knew enough to recognize that a skill like this wasn’t something you saw every day.

  It seemed like the little brat was going to be some kind of adept mage—or maybe a scholar. Perhaps that was why she’d regained the ability to speak and read so quickly, only a few days after meeting him. Or maybe she’d recovered fragments of her memory.

  Passive skills were usually tied to specific classes or a person’s ability to adapt to something. If the little girl had multiple mana-related abilities and a magic-learning skill, then she was going to be, well, what the skill was called—a Sage.

  “You… Enya Em… pyria? You said that your class was… unassigned, right?” Pell asked, his eyes narrowing as he focused on her response.

  She glanced back at the screen to double-check before nodding. “Yeah, it says unassigned.”

  Pell’s mind spun as he processed the information. If she was a mage, then surely she could...

  “That’s... great! No, but maybe not... maybe... just maybe... but how long... the core would... how many levels would it... then maybe it would be possible...” Pell muttered, his voice trailing off as his thoughts raced.

  Enya tilted her head, confused by Pell’s mumbling. Over the past week, she had come to understand that Pell wasn’t a normal person. He mumbled to himself—a lot. Aside from being a skeleton, there were other things that set him apart. Compared to the stories she’d read about adventurers, nobles, kings, and even merchants, Pell was... odd. He was always grouchy and brash. Whenever she read a book, Pell was always dully unenthusiastic.

  She realized Pell didn’t care about the progress she made—at least not directly. He cared more about the end result, not the steps it took to get there. But despite his gruff exterior, Enya felt safe and comfortable around him. He was the only person who would talk to her, after all.

  Pell sometimes yelled at her, but he never took it further than that. In fact, it was often quite funny to see him get upset. She patted her sides, still aching from laughing so hard.

  “Er, Pell?” Enya tried again, attempting to break him from his trance, but it was no use. Pell kept muttering, his focus unwavering as he stared at the floor. Enya’s face turned impassive as she waited for him to finish.

  One thing she’d noticed was that Pell often became distracted, focusing on something that he didn’t say aloud. Then, just as quickly, he’d brighten up and go straight back to muttering and contemplating—just like he was doing now.

  She also noticed how Pell would occasionally glance at her while she read, muttering things she couldn’t quite catch. This had happened several times over the past few days, but she paid it little mind. Pell had been nothing but helpful, guiding her and teaching her what she needed to know. Maybe it was just a quirky aspect of his personality. After all, the protagonists in her storybooks all had unique traits and habits. Perhaps Pell’s odd behavior was simply his way of thinking, or maybe she was the odd one for noticing it.

  “Considering this dungeon is... the likelihood of it... just a book or two and...” Pell muttered, his voice trailing off. He glanced up and down the sides of the room, flicking his gaze left and right as he thought.

  Then, as if struck by a sudden realization, Pell’s face snapped upward. But just as quickly, his expression turned grim. His glowing eyes narrowed, a mix of determination and trepidation flickering across his skeletal features. He had come up with a plan—a very dumb plan.

  Enya and Pell moved through the winding halls of the dungeon, Pell leading the way and Enya trailing behind like a tiny duckling. They had to be cautious, sticking close to one another. As an undead, Pell was spared the hostile attention that the monsters held for intruders. Unfortunately, this also meant that the same could not be said for Enya.

  Although Pell never confirmed it, he was sure that Enya was a human. She resembled nothing monstrous nor held features of the other races. Possibly, she could pass for an elf with particularly short ears, or perhaps a dhampir or a rare sylphid variant. Whatever she was, though, it didn’t matter. Anything that wasn’t part of the dungeon was considered an enemy.

  They strolled along the dungeon’s stone walls, moving at a steady pace with a slight crouch, ready to break into a sprint at any moment. Pell was tall, and though technically see-through, he wore a white cloak, which made it difficult for Enya to see what was ahead of her as she followed closely behind.

  Shadows danced on the walls as they walked through the dark corridors. Pell stole a quick glance behind him, checking to see if Enya was still there. She was right on his heels, so close that he risked her stepping on his heel bone—his calcaneus.

  Pell had resolved to follow through with his plan, one he’d explained to Enya before they set out. Their destination was a room used as a study. A safe room, with a couple of books and a desk, clearly intended for the use of a sentient creature—likely the dungeon master or a researcher, given the nature of its contents.

  The room was imbued with a special magic that kept the monsters at bay. Pell wasn’t sure how it worked or where the spell circuits were engraved, but it had never failed to protect the space—except from him. He’d tried bringing Mr. Bones into the room long ago, but the barrier had actively prevented him from entering. He wasn’t sure why he could pass through while other monsters couldn’t, but it hadn’t mattered much.

  If Pell’s plan was going to succeed, he needed to get her into a safer, more suitable environment. One designed for studying and silence. The barrier around the room was just an extra bonus, a cherry on top to seal the deal.

  Pell’s thoughts turned jittery as he considered the future. Would this be the moment he finally escaped this cursed dungeon and regained his freedom?