Stone Demon and Goldtooth

"Pfft, pfft"—with the bone blade's swift descent, green blood splattered as two kobolds were disemboweled, collapsing to the ground unable to move. The remaining kobolds howled and charged in a frenzy! Li Shaolin quickly commanded the Clay Golem to assist. With the golem's steps, the earth churned beneath it, turning into something like a swamp. The kobolds, caught as if in quicksand, slowed to a crawl. The golem's fists smashed down in tandem with the Skeleton Warrior's bone blade, while Li Shaolin himself fired off Bone Fangs to aid from the side. In just a few minutes, those kobolds were slain, dead beyond dead.

"Awesome! Freaking insane!" Li Shaolin felt a surge of elation. His summoned creatures were so powerful they rivaled several high-level professionals. It seemed Guanyin and the Tathagata Buddha had truly blessed him. But for now, he needed to stay cautious and duck into that side cave. He called the golem and skeleton warriors over, hearing the clatter of bones as the two skeletons slowly approached.

Looking up, he saw a string of green text flash above one skeleton warrior: Skeleton Warrior (Level 7). That couldn't be right—even if it matched his level, it should only be level six. Li Shaolin was puzzled. But then again, it made sense that he could level up just sitting around. It seemed that side cave, like the one they'd attacked earlier, was a one-way passage. The two skeleton warriors had blocked the entrance and slowly wiped out dozens of kobolds in the cave. In the process, he'd leveled up, and naturally, they'd leveled with him. Each level restored their health to full, which was probably why they'd lasted this long.

Back in the side cave, he heard occasional kobold screeches echoing from the main hall. Examining the two skeletons closely, he saw their chest bones were mostly shattered, their bodies caked with green blood and dust, only the soulfire in their eye sockets unchanged. The bone axes they'd started with had been replaced by bone blades, likely due to leveling up. Li Shaolin felt a twinge of emotion. Though these skeletons were essentially dead things—mindless, emotionless, knowing only slaughter—they'd fought continuously in this cave for a whole day. If he hadn't been accidentally dragged into staying, they'd probably have ended up with their soulfire extinguished. By human standards, no friend or relative—except maybe parents—could match that.

He took out the Book of the Dead, absorbed the two skeletons into it, and slowly sat down on the ground. The dust in the cave had mostly settled, but the stench of kobold bodies mixed with roasted meat smell was unbearable. The golem seemed restless, pacing around nearby. Fortunately, the ground at its feet automatically softened, making no sound—otherwise, it would have drawn kobolds long ago.

Li Shaolin grew irritated but dared not go out. He said to the golem, "You bored or what? If you're bored, go gnaw on the kobold corpses and stop stinking up the place." He'd said it casually, but to his surprise, the golem actually walked toward the bodies. As it approached, the ground within a five-yard radius turned to sludge, sucking in all the kobold corpses in range. The mud writhed as if alive, and by the time the golem moved on, the bodies had vanished without a trace!

"What skill is that? Not in Diablo 2!" Curious, Li Shaolin ignored the disgust and stepped over to where the golem had passed. On the ground lay a few copper coins and several pouches of gold sand, but the kobold corpses were completely gone. "Guess it's for looting bodies. Buddha knew I hate the gross stuff, so he gave the golem a corpse-looting skill. Sigh, Buddha, you're too good to me." With no other explanation, he chalked it up to divine favor.

So the Clay Golem churned through the cave, leaving it spotless. Li Shaolin cheerfully followed, picking up gold coins, gold sand, and some copper ore. But soon a problem arose: he had nowhere to store it!

"You're messing with me, aren't you? Giving me a money-picking skill but no storage space!" Li Shaolin lamented. But wait—in Diablo 2 and World of Warcraft, every class had a bag. He must have missed it. Time to check. He sat cross-legged, searching every sensitive spot on his body and his sea of consciousness. But aside from the Book of the Dead, which he could summon at will, and the ability to check his mana and stamina, there was nothing else. No fluctuations anywhere. It seemed he really had no cross-dimensional carrying ability. Sighing, he gritted his teeth and stuffed the copper coins into his pockets, leaving the gold sand and ore for some lucky soul.

After resting for a few hours, his stomach began to growl loudly, signaling it was about time. In his inner vision, his stamina and mana were full, but he felt utterly drained. Anyone stuck in a pitch-black cave for hours would feel the same. "Better head out and find Jack and the others, or I'll starve to death and that'd be a joke." Muttering to himself, he took out the Book of the Dead and summoned the skeletons. After the rest, the two skeletons were as white as jade, with some of their broken bones regrown. This damn book was a treasure after all. He didn't put it away, holding it in his left hand while drawing his Infantry Sword with his right, and stepped out of the side cave.

They'd entered the cave at night, and after all this time, it was probably almost dawn outside, Li Shaolin thought.

The dim, flickering torchlight cast shadows through the cave, the main hall dark and silent except for occasional echoes. Li Shaolin shivered and quickly ordered the skeleton warriors forward, with the golem bringing up the rear, while he stayed in the middle. In the darkness, he couldn't tell which way they'd come from. The mine branched out in several large tunnels. Whatever, they probably all lead out, he figured. He picked one at random and headed in.

After walking a few dozen meters, visibility dropped sharply. He could only see half a meter around him; everything else was pitch black. Since it was still night, no daylight filtered through the tunnels, and with only a few scattered torches, he couldn't see a thing. Just as he was getting frustrated, he heard two "pfft" sounds—the skeleton warriors ahead had struck! Two kobold howls echoed through the cave, bouncing off the walls a few times before fading. They'd been taken care of.

"Thud"—Li Shaolin tripped over a kobold corpse and fell hard. Two kobolds with shattered skulls lay sprawled nearby. "Damn it!" he cursed, reeking of fishy stench. Disgusted, he quickly ordered the skeleton warriors forward, not even bothering to have the golem clean up the bodies.

A faint light appeared ahead. Li Shaolin's heart leaped: was that the exit? He hurried over, only to hear a "howl" as a Fireball came flying straight at him!

One skeleton warrior swung its blade horizontally. "Clang"—sparks flew. Three kobolds holding shoddy wooden staves and one that was half a head taller than the rest appeared before him. Red text floated above their heads: Kobold Diviner! And above the tall kobold were two huge characters: Goldtooth!

"Is this the legendary boss of Fargodeep Mine: Goldtooth? Where are his minions?" Before he could hesitate, "Boom, boom, boom"—three Fireballs came his way! "Charge, boys!" With no other choice, Li Shaolin shouted, and the two skeleton warriors rushed forward to engage the three Kobold Diviners. But Goldtooth leaped three meters into the air, diving straight at Li Shaolin!

"Swish, swish"—two Bone Fangs shot into the air toward Goldtooth. "Thwip, thwip"—Goldtooth somehow pulled out a short sword and deflected his fangs. "Whoosh"—before Goldtooth could land, a massive fist swung at it—the Clay Golem's attack. Goldtooth seemed to know some combat skills, sidestepping the golem and thrusting its short sword upward, slashing across the golem's chest. A huge wound split open, looking gruesome. Since the golem had purified or absorbed the kobold corpses, it was now filled with a faint green liquid, likely the kobolds' blood. After Goldtooth's strike, the wound slowly healed, eerily enough. But Li Shaolin ignored it, circling around Goldtooth to fire Bone Fangs at one of the diviners, aiming to take them out first. He'd seen Moni's Fireball power—one hit and half his body would be roasted.

The three diviners chanted, and one skeleton warrior took two Fireballs in a row, its bones charred black. But it pressed forward, bringing its bone blade down. Before a diviner could launch another Fireball, the blade cleaved into its forehead. Blood sprayed as the diviner slowly fell. "Boom, boom"—two Fireballs hit the skeleton warrior simultaneously. Finally, the level 7 skeleton warrior swayed and collapsed into a pile of bones. The other skeleton warrior swung heavily, cutting off half the shoulder of a diviner who couldn't dodge in time, sending an arm still clutching a wooden staff flying.

As that skeleton warrior fell, Li Shaolin felt a dizzying shock in his spiritual sea, his head spinning! That skeleton warrior had silently accompanied him through the darkest moments of his new life, giving him hope for survival in this strange world. Now it was gone. But in battle, such losses were inevitable. Though a bit sad, Li Shaolin gritted his teeth, enduring the dizziness, and fired two Bone Fangs! "Pfft, pfft"—they struck the chest of a diviner mid-cast, interrupting its spell. The other skeleton warrior stepped in and finished it off.

Goldtooth and the Clay Golem were locked in a fierce fight. Goldtooth was agile but hampered by the golem's slowing effect, barely dodging each time. The golem was covered in wounds, mud flying everywhere. Li Shaolin ordered the remaining skeleton warrior to help, gritted his teeth, and fired four more Bone Fangs, killing the one-armed diviner. Then he held his forehead and crouched down.