Skeleton Warrior (Please Favorite and Follow)

Skeleton Warrior (Please Favorite and Follow~)

Rustle~

The tall trees swayed as white mist drifted through the air. The depths of the forest were shrouded in eerie mystery.

Only when he was within his own territory, where he could overlook everything through the God's-eye view, did he feel even a little safe.

As the third-person view gradually rose and transformed into an aerial view, Mu Yuan's game character stepped into the territory.

In front of the computer, he rubbed his somewhat sore and swollen wrist.

Night had fallen. Baijiang City was brightly lit, and the roar of a motorcycle passing outside the window rang out.

The Eternal World's daylight gradually receded from the horizon. The curtain of night descended, darkness enveloped the land, and the mist surging beneath the night sky resembled countless enormous mouths devouring people, eager to swallow anything that entered.

All sorts of monsters also began to stir. Their cries rose and fell, weaving together into a terrifying symphony.

"Deathbone has gotten quite a bit stronger, but going out still requires the utmost caution, and the efficiency is too low."

Today, his exploration party had grown slightly larger: two Skeleton Soldiers, three Little Skeletons, and one Falcon.

They had also conducted two explorations.

The reason there had been two trips, with a return midway to rest, was that his game character could not hold out. He had eaten a Crimson Blood Fruit yesterday, which had slightly improved his physical constitution, but the terrible roads in the wilderness were still too difficult to traverse. Mu Yuan had to concentrate completely while controlling his game character; otherwise, if he accidentally tripped over something, he would go splat and fall flat on his face.

It was all the road's fault!

Of course, the low exploration efficiency was also related to how cautious he was. The moment he sensed that something was even slightly off, Mu Yuan would immediately make a strategic retreat. As a result, his exploration was rather slow.

Still, compared with yesterday, he had mapped out several more pitch-black regions today.

Mu Yuan opened the map.

The areas outside the territory were still shrouded in white mist. Naturally, he could not see any units there, but the pitch-black areas he had already explored had faded away, revealing their terrain and environment clearly on the map.

"On the north side, continuing north from yesterday's Fruit Tree Forest, there's a small Goblin Camp."

"Though it's said to be small, it's still a camp-level settlement. Even from a distance, there appear to be at least dozens of Goblins. It's not something I can afford to provoke right now."

Before discovering the Goblin Camp, Mu Yuan's team had also taken down some lone Goblins.

These Common Goblins were just as weak as Little Skeletons. The Skeleton Soldiers hacked through them with crisp, cracking sounds.

When they discovered the Goblin Camp, Bone Two, that fool, charged straight in on the spot.

"Clack clack clack~"

Charge! Crush every last one of them!

That was what Mu Yuan guessed it meant. It was probably wrong. He felt Bone Two was not nearly that intelligent. He suspected that the guy had no thoughts at all and would only recklessly charge forward again and again.

He should never have given this idiot the character "Two" in his name.

Uh, still, most Common Troop Types, and even low-level Rare Troop Types, were like this.

They had been left with little more than their combat instincts, so he could not expect too much of them.

Deathbone had raised his expectations too high.

"So, Deathbone, from now on, I'll leave all the new Skeletons to you. Train them well and put on a good show."

Mu Yuan patted Deathbone on the shoulder.

Deathbone was extremely happy to have been "entrusted with an important task." Even his soul fire leaped with considerably more vigor as he thumped his armor, expressing that he would definitely live up to the heavy responsibility.

Having become a hands-off manager without even drawing a grand vision, Mu Yuan smiled and nodded.

He had heard that Troop Types who awakened self-awareness possessed greater talent and stronger learning ability, making it easier for them to break through, but they also had certain shortcomings.

They were simply too intelligent.

Intelligent Troop Types would sometimes look down on weak and incompetent lords. They might also ignore orders they disliked, demand to be paid daily, or dislike working and constantly think about slacking off and lying flat.

It could be summed up like this: Troop Types with self-awareness had higher potential, but they also had more demands.

"Is that so? I don't seem to feel it."

Mu Yuan stroked his chin.

As long as Deathbone was willing, this could not be called exploiting an employee.

No, how could he describe it as "exploitation"? This was training. Precisely because Deathbone had awakened self-awareness, he needed more opportunities to train and bring out his potential.

And Mu Yuan was merely providing him with a few small training opportunities.

Mu Yuan did not dare attack the Goblin Camp, so he could only send out the Falcon, which was mainly there to make up the numbers, to conduct an investigation. Unfortunately, he did not speak bird, nor did he have a Troop Type that understood bird language and had awakened self-awareness to translate. He could not quite understand what the Falcon meant.

He only managed to determine roughly that there were at least dozens of Goblins in the camp, including at least three different Goblin Troop Types.

Goblins, Great Goblins, and Goblin Spearmen.

Goblin Spearmen were two-star Troop Types. Their killing power might not be particularly strong, but they possessed ranged capabilities.

While investigating the Goblin Camp, the Falcon had nearly been shot down by a Spearman. By now, feathers were scattered all over the ground.

"This Goblin Camp is too close to the territory. Once we have the ability, we must deal with it first. Otherwise, they'll eventually come knocking on our door."

"Besides, without attacking the camp, it wouldn't be wise to take a detour and continue exploring north. If we encountered an accident and needed to make a strategic retreat, the Goblins could easily cut off our escape route."

For the second exploration, Mu Yuan chose the west side.

There were far fewer lone wild monsters such as Gray Wolves, Goblins, and Cave Dwellers on the west side, but there was another, rarely seen kind of monster: the two-star Poison Spider.

They were as large as millstones, terrifying in appearance, and capable of spitting venom.

The venom was not a skill, but it was poisonous.

Other players might be very unwilling to face these Poison Spiders. They were simply too toxic, and once a Troop Type was poisoned, recovery became troublesome—it consumed a great deal of Soul Sand and was not worth the cost.

Coincidentally, the Skeletons under Mu Yuan were not particularly afraid of poison.

Thus, Mu Yuan and Deathbone led the other Skeletons in rampaging through the Poisonous Spider Forest, killing at least twenty Poison Spiders.

But as they went deeper, the environment of the Poisonous Spider Forest gradually changed. The trees and leaves took on a black-purple sheen, and enormous spiderwebs could be seen in the distance, strung between branches dozens of meters above the ground.

What kind of size would the spider itself be?

Mu Yuan lost his nerve.

Deathbone also felt that a strategic retreat was not a bad option.

So they retreated.

Mu Yuan took out a sheet of A3 Paper and began writing and drawing on it. He first drew a circle to represent his territory, then marked an X to the north to indicate the Goblin Camp.

As for the west, they had currently explored only a corner at the very edge of the black-purple forest. He could not determine how large the forest was, or whether there were even more terrifying giant spiders deeper within.

He named it the Poisonous Spider Forest and noted that it was not suitable for deeper exploration.

After a full day, he had not found the Filth Root, but he had killed many lone wild monsters, swept through numerous areas, and gained quite a lot.

Mu Yuan tallied everything one by one.

"Soul Sand: 39.6 g. As for Remnant Souls, I didn't encounter any relatively high-level, high-star monsters, so only one dropped... Or is this actually the normal drop rate?"

"As for materials, I found three stalks of Common Grade Hemostatic Grass. They have a significant healing effect, but apparently they don't work on Skeletons."

"There are also four Detoxification Fruits, five stalks of Mind-Calming Grass, and three Replenishing Fruits."

These were all Common Grade materials, but their values differed greatly. The first three were all far inferior to Crimson Blood Fruit, while the last, Replenishing Fruit, was even somewhat more valuable than Crimson Blood Fruit.

"Replenishing Fruit (Common): A cultivation material that can slightly increase a Troop Type's energy."

Although the increase was slight, Replenishing Fruit was usually used by Professional Grade Troop Types. Mu Yuan estimated that it could provide Deathbone with a considerable boost to his endurance.

Crimson Blood Fruit was also a cultivation material, but its compatibility with Skeletons was not merely poor—it was completely nonexistent.

"As for Soul Sand, prioritize supplying Deathbone and the two Skeleton Soldiers. The other Little Skeletons will have to temporarily go without. Money really isn't enough."

"With Deathbone's talent and hard work, he should reach level four tomorrow—which can almost be considered the Apprentice Mid-Stage."

He had already taken another step toward the Apprentice Ninth Level Great Perfection Half-Step Professional Grade.

The future looked promising.

No, it already looked promising now.

No hard work or diligence would ever go to waste. Evolution Points would repay them with true radiance.

"It is time to reveal your power, Evolution Points."

At present, the territory had fifteen Skeletons. It could produce one unit of Evolution Points in approximately four hours, and leading Deathbone and the other Skeletons outside to explore, fight, and slaughter had also accelerated the process.

The number of Evolution Points had reached the required amount.

It was time to reveal his true power.

"Evolution Points: 5.23"

"Deathbone, step forward. Do not let this power go to waste. Continue to advance and work hard. I hope that one day, you will become a true... Skeleton Emperor."

Mu Yuan described an image to him: a Skeleton Emperor sitting alone atop an imperial coffin, his back to all living beings, fishing alone through the ages.

Skeleton Emperor?

Young Deathbone yearned for it beyond measure. He stepped forward a few paces, clenched his fist, and held it before his chest in an oath-taking gesture.

The armor on his body was already covered in scratches and caked with congealed, dried blood. The standard battle blade he carried had also developed a slightly rolled edge... These were proof of the achievements he had earned through countless battles over the past two days.

He was already a battle-hardened Skeleton.

The next moment, a warm, miraculous, magnificent, and intangible power descended. Deathbone once again transformed entirely into light. Amid the dazzling white radiance, the form of Deathbone's Skeleton Soldier began to change.

His armor became more ferocious and imposing, while his aura grew increasingly terrifying.

"Ding!"

"Notice: Your Troop Type 'Skeleton Soldier' has undergone a transformation under the influence of miraculous power. It has evolved into 'Skeleton Warrior.'"