With two sharp slashes, green blood sprayed as the Bone Blades came down. Two Kobolds had been gutted and lay twitching on the ground, while several others howled and rushed forward! Li Shaolin hurriedly directed the Clay Golem to help. With each step it took, the earth rolled and churned, turning almost into a swamp. The Kobolds seemed trapped in mud and sand, their movements immediately slowing. The golem's fists smashed down in coordination with the Skeleton Warriors' Bone Blades, while Li Shaolin naturally fired Bone Fangs from the side to assist. In just a few minutes, those Kobolds had all been cut down, dead beyond doubt.
"Awesome! Totally insane!" Li Shaolin felt a surge of wild joy. His summoned creatures were actually this strong, nearly comparable to several high-level adventurers. It looked like Guanyin and the Buddha had truly answered his prayers. Still, he needed to be careful for now. Better hide in that side cave first. He called the golem and Skeleton Warriors over. Amid the clattering of bones, the two skeletons slowly walked toward him.
Looking up, Li Shaolin saw a string of green text flash above one Skeleton Warrior's head: Skeleton Warrior (Level 7). That wasn't right. Even if it was the same level as him, shouldn't it only be Level 6? Li Shaolin was baffled. But it made sense that he could level up while sitting around. It seemed that side cave, like the one they had attacked earlier, was made up of a one-way passage. The two Skeleton Warriors had blocked the entrance and gradually wiped out dozens of Kobolds inside. Since he had leveled up midway through, they had naturally leveled up as well. And every time they leveled, their health probably returned to its best state. That was likely why the two Skeleton Warriors had lasted until now.
Back in the side cave, Kobold shrieks occasionally drifted in from the main hall outside. Looking closely at the two skeletons, he saw that most of the bones in their chests had broken, and their bodies were covered in green blood and dust. Only the soul flames in their eye sockets remained unchanged. Even the Bone Axes they had carried at the beginning had become Bone Blades, probably due to leveling up. Li Shaolin could not help feeling touched. Although these two skeletons were basically dead things without thoughts or emotions, knowing only slaughter, they had fought continuously in this cave for an entire day. If he had not accidentally been dragged back and delayed here, their final fate would likely have been to see their soul flames extinguished. If they had been human, aside from his parents, perhaps no friend or relative could have done this much for him.
He took out the Book of the Dead and stored the two skeletons inside, then slowly sat down on the ground. The smoke and dust in the cave had mostly dispersed, but the stench from the Kobolds, mixed with the smell of roasted meat, wafted into his nose and made him feel awful. The Clay Golem seemed incapable of staying still, pacing around nearby. Fortunately, the soil around its feet softened automatically, making no sound. Otherwise, it would probably have attracted the Kobolds long ago.
Li Shaolin grew irritated watching it, but he did not dare go outside. He said to the golem, "You bored or something? If you're bored, go chew on the Kobold corpses so they don't stink up the place." He had only said it casually, but the golem actually walked toward the bodies. Once it approached them, all the dirt within a five-yard radius around it turned to sludge. The Kobold corpses in that area were immediately sucked into it. The mud squirmed continuously as though alive, and when the golem passed by, the bodies had vanished without a trace!
"What kind of skill is this? Diablo II didn't have it." Curious, Li Shaolin ignored his disgust and walked over to where the golem had passed. Several copper coins and bags of gold dust lay quietly on the ground, but the Kobold corpses were completely gone. "It's probably for digging up corpses. The Buddha knew I couldn't stand disgusting things, so he gave the golem a corpse-looting skill. Ah, Buddha, you really are too good to me." Unable to find any other explanation, he could only credit the Buddha.
Thus, amid the Clay Golem's rolling movements, the entire cave soon became spotless. Li Shaolin happily followed behind, picking up gold coins, gold dust, and some copper ore. But trouble arrived in the blink of an eye: he had nowhere to put them!
"Are you messing with me, old man? You gave me a skill to pick up money, but nowhere to store it!" Li Shaolin cried miserably. But that wasn't right. In Diablo II and World of Warcraft, every adventurer had an inventory. He probably just had not discovered his yet, so he needed to look around. Li Shaolin sat cross-legged on the ground and kept searching through every sensitive spot on his body and his sea of consciousness. But apart from the Book of the Dead, which he could take out and put away at will, and the ability to check his own mana and stamina, there was nothing else in his mind. He could not sense any fluctuations anywhere on his body either. It seemed he truly did not have the ability to carry things across space. With a sigh, he gritted his teeth and stuffed the copper coins on the ground into his pockets. As for the gold dust and ores, he would leave them for whoever was lucky enough to find them.
After resting for several hours, Li Shaolin's stomach began growling. Only then did he feel that enough time had passed. In his internal view, both his stamina and mana were full, but he himself felt utterly listless. Anyone would feel like this after squatting in a pitch-black cave for hours. "I should head out first and look for Jack and the others. It'd be hilarious if I starved to death later." Muttering to himself, he took out the Book of the Dead and summoned the skeletons. After this rest, the two skeletons had become as white as jade, and many of their broken bones had regrown. This damned book really was a treasure. He did not put them away again. Holding the Book of the Dead in his left hand and drawing the Infantry Sword with his right, he walked out of the side cave.
When they had entered the cave earlier, it had already been nighttime. After wasting several hours here, dawn was probably about to break outside, Li Shaolin thought.
Dim yellow torchlight flickered through the cave, leaving the entire hall shrouded in darkness. Echoes drifted over from time to time. Li Shaolin shuddered and hurriedly called the Skeleton Warriors to the front, with the Clay Golem bringing up the rear. Naturally, he stayed in the middle. Everything was pitch-black now, and he had no idea which direction led back. The mine tunnels stretched in all directions, with several large passageways branching out. Whatever. They probably all led outside, Li Shaolin thought. He randomly chose one and entered it.
After walking several dozen meters, visibility grew lower and lower. He could only see half a meter around himself, while everything else was completely black. It was nighttime, and no daylight from above could shine through the tunnel. With only a few scattered torches, he naturally could not see anything. Just as he was feeling frustrated, he heard two wet slashes. The Skeleton Warriors in front had attacked! A Kobold howled twice, the sound circling through the cave and producing several echoes before falling silent. It seemed the Skeleton Warriors had dealt with it.
Thud. Li Shaolin had accidentally tripped over a Kobold corpse and fallen hard. Two Kobolds with shattered skulls lay sprawled on the ground. "Fuck!" he cursed. A strong fishy stench clung to his body, making him nauseous. He quickly directed the Skeleton Warriors onward, not even bothering to have the Clay Golem clean up the corpses.
A faint light appeared ahead, and Li Shaolin was overjoyed. Could this be the exit? He hurried forward a few steps, only to hear a howl as a Fireball came hurtling straight at him!
One Skeleton Warrior swung its blade sideways. Bang! Sparks flew as three Kobolds holding crude wooden staffs, along with one Kobold half a head taller than the others, appeared before him. A line of red text appeared above their heads: Kobold Diviners! Above the taller Kobold were two enormous words: Goldtooth!
"Could this be Goldtooth, the legendary boss of Fargodeep Mine? Why doesn't he have any underlings?" Before he could hesitate, three Fireballs came flying at him with three loud booms! "Brothers, get them!" Li Shaolin had no other choice. With a shout, the two Skeleton Warriors rushed forward to hold off the three Kobold Diviners. But Goldtooth leaped into the air, jumping more than three meters high as he pounced toward Li Shaolin!
Two Bone Fangs shot through the air at Goldtooth. With two ringing clangs, Goldtooth somehow produced a short sword and knocked both Fangs aside. Before Goldtooth could land, a massive fist came smashing toward him. The Clay Golem had struck. Goldtooth actually knew some combat techniques. He twisted aside to evade the golem, then raised his short sword and slashed across its chest, tearing open a huge, horrifying wound. Yet after the golem had purified or absorbed those Kobold corpses on the ground, a faint green liquid had begun filling its body, seemingly formed from the Kobolds' blood. After Goldtooth's slash, the wound slowly began healing, an extremely bizarre sight. But Li Shaolin could not be bothered with it. He circled around Goldtooth and repeatedly fired Bone Fangs at one Diviner, hoping to take these enemies out first. After all, he had seen the power of Moni's Fireball. If one hit him, half his body might be roasted.
The three Diviners began chanting. One Skeleton Warrior took two Fireballs in succession, instantly blackening its bones. Yet it took several more steps forward and brought down its Bone Blade. Before one Diviner could cast another Fireball, the blade had sunk into its forehead. Blood sprayed as the Diviner slowly fell. Then two Fireballs struck that Skeleton Warrior at the same time. Finally, the Level 7 Skeleton Warrior swayed before crashing down, turning into a pile of broken bones. The other Skeleton Warrior swung down heavily with its blade. One Diviner failed to evade in time and had half its shoulder sliced off, while the arm still clutching its wooden staff flew away at an angle.
Seeing that Skeleton Warrior fall, Li Shaolin felt a wave of dizziness sweep through his sea of consciousness. That Skeleton Warrior had silently accompanied him through the loneliest time of his new life and given him hope of surviving in this foreign world. Now it had simply vanished. But as long as there was battle, this day was inevitable. Though Li Shaolin felt somewhat sad, he endured the waves of dizziness in his head and fired two Bone Fangs! With two wet slashes, they pierced the chest of the Diviner in the middle of casting, immediately interrupting its spell. The other Skeleton Warrior stepped forward and finished it with one strike.
Over there, Goldtooth and the Clay Golem were still fighting fiercely. Though Goldtooth was nimble, the golem's slowing effect made him barely evade each time, while the golem's body was splattered with mud and covered in wounds of all sizes. Li Shaolin directed the remaining Skeleton Warrior over to help. Gritting his teeth, he fired another four Bone Fangs in succession, killing the Diviner with the severed arm. Only then did he raise a hand to his forehead and crouch down.
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