Chapter 57: Dye

Based on the Ghost Skeleton’s attack power of 20, with their new equipment, each attack would only deal 7 damage to Lyle and 5 to Lake.

And thanks to the gauntlets, in some situations, Lake would actually take even less than 5 damage… While it was impossible to block all damage, this was still a huge improvement compared to being unarmored.

With this layer of defense and now armed with weapons, the two could finally show off their skills to the fullest.

…

Once everything was ready, Su You led Lyle and Lake along the previous route to the vicinity of the mine.

Since they arrived early, the ghost skeletons all seemed to be resting, so at first glance, they didn’t see anything at all.

Lyle’s adventurer instincts made him frown slightly, as if he wanted to say something. But when he saw Su You’s calm expression, he swallowed his words.

“Lord Su, there aren’t any monsters here right now, are you planning to…” Lake’s sentence was cut short as Lyle quickly covered his mouth.

Muffled, Lake made a confused “mmmph” sound, only settling down when Lyle whispered in his ear to be quiet.

Seeing this, Su You signaled for them to relax a bit. “No need to be so tense. We’re not in the ghost skeletons’ territory yet. But once we cross over, we’ll need to be careful.”

Although it looked like nothing was there, that was because ghost skeletons had a special body type that allowed them to be “semi-invisible” in the absence of light.

And even though it was already sunrise, the sun still needed time to fully rise. Plus, this was a forest, and the tall trees blocked a lot of light, making it even harder to see anything.

After hearing Su You’s explanation, Lyle let go of Lake’s mouth. Finally freed, Lake took a deep breath. Even though he’d just heard this area was safe, he decided to play it “quiet” for now.

Otherwise, he couldn’t shake the feeling that, before any monster got him, Lyle would “kill” him first.

“We can’t see them.” Or rather, it was extremely hard to see them, which amounted to the same thing. Not being able to see the enemy would make fighting them much more difficult, since they could easily end up surrounded by ghost skeletons without even realizing it.

Su You had considered this problem, but she also had a solution. She pulled a wooden basin out of her backpack—the very same one Lyle had made for the white ermine’s bath.

Only this time, instead of the ermine, the basin was filled with a mysterious purple liquid.

“Is that… Purpleheart Flower dye?” If it was just the color, Lyle might not have recognized it. But Purpleheart Flowers gave off a unique scent—not unpleasant, but unforgettable once you’d smelled it.

So, by the smell, he identified the purple stuff in the basin.

“That’s right, it’s dye made from Purpleheart Flowers.” Su You confirmed his guess, then explained her plan.

Ghost skeletons weren’t actually that strong. As Lake had said, he could take on three by himself, and that wasn’t an exaggeration.

The real challenge with ghost skeletons was their special bodies.

Because they were hard to see, it was difficult to dodge their attacks or land hits on them—especially in poor lighting or if the light was too bright.

In dim light, you couldn’t see their transparent bodies. In overly bright light, you still couldn’t see them clearly—think of glass, but not quite the same.

Ideally, you’d be able to spot the glint of light reflecting off them, which would let you pinpoint their location.

But that was a tall order, and not something they could control. So Su You came up with another method.

“When you’re fighting, you can splash dye around the area.” Since it was plant-based dye—just plants and water—there was no risk of polluting the environment.

And if you managed to splash it onto a ghost skeleton, the dye would stick to it, making it “visible.”

Lake still didn’t quite understand why Su You had suddenly pulled out a basin of dye, or why she wanted them to splash it around… but that didn’t matter, as long as Lyle understood.

“Got it. We’ll talk it over.” While this method would make the ghost skeletons visible, it also had a drawback: it could provoke a whole bunch of them at once.

After all, if you’re splashing stuff on them and staining them, of course they’d chase you for miles.

Their main goal was to clear a path to the mine, which meant taking out any ghost skeletons blocking the way. The dye was just a tool to make that easier.

If they attracted too many at once and weren’t prepared to deal with them, it would backfire.

While the two discussed their strategy, Su You pulled out a map and surveyed the surroundings. By the time they finished, she’d already found a suitable route.

“We’re ready, Lord Su. Where should we start?” Ignoring the trees, the area was actually quite spacious. Clearing out every ghost skeleton near the mine was impossible.

But if they just needed to open up a path, that was manageable for the two of them.

“If you’re ready, let’s go. We’ll take this route.” Su You pointed to a more distant direction, where the trees were sparse and the ground was mostly free of weeds and underbrush.

With fewer obstacles, it would be harder for them to hide—but that cut both ways. The ghost skeletons would have nowhere to hide either.

And with less in the way, it would be easier for them to attack and defend—especially for Lyle, whose weapon was a spear. In cramped quarters, he wouldn’t be able to use it properly.

“Also, I’ll build a row of wooden fences here. You’ll both have permission to open the gates.” The fences were made from the last of the wood in Su You’s territory.

Both men had no objections to Su You’s plan. Since Lake’s weapon was a pair of gauntlets, he took the basin of dye from Su You.

The two of them led the way, while Su You stayed behind the safety of the fence, watching them advance. As a non-combatant, she knew better than to join the fray herself."

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