Skeleton Warrior One

Rhode checked the sword he was currently holding. Its stats were Damage 4, Durability 5/10. This sword was slightly better than the one that had broken before, but it would have to do for now.

Rhode continued his journey, facing a single Skeleton Soldier next. Rhode's skill now completely outmatched the Skeleton Soldier, which fought purely on instinct. Without a Necromancer controlling it, the Skeleton Soldier's combat skills were truly pathetic. Rhode killed it without taking any damage through pure swordsmanship, earning another 10 Experience Points.

Afterward, Rhode encountered two Ghouls in a relatively spacious corridor. Rhode didn't choose to fight them both in the open. Instead, he lured them back into the narrow passage they had just come from, forcing him to face only one Ghoul at a time. Using his swordsmanship skills, he wore them down one by one, gaining 30 Experience Points.

Rhode discovered that after learning Basic Swordsmanship, he could easily find openings to attack in combat. The opponent's attacks, which were previously difficult to deal with, now seemed full of flaws in his eyes. This was perhaps a hidden benefit of learning swordsmanship. In his past life, Rhode had been a pure output Mage. He wasn't very familiar with the hidden characteristics of combat special skills.

Even though he was a pure Mage, Rhode's combat skills and awareness were still top-notch. After all, Mages were very restricted in the early stages. Rhode had to compensate for his lack of special skills with his combat awareness in the early game to save Skill Points for his invincible late-game Mage build.

Under the current circumstances, even if Rhode wanted to save Skill Points for later use, he couldn't. To deal with unknown situations, he could only invest his Skill Points into the most suitable skills at the moment.

Rhode advanced slowly, the path ahead becoming wider. Continuing forward, he arrived at a location resembling a grand hall.

At this moment, Rhode's pupils constricted, and his expression turned solemn. Ahead stood a Skeleton Warrior clad in Iron Armor, wielding a sword and shield. Around it, closer to Rhode, were two Skeleton Soldiers. Further behind, in the passage, were another two Skeleton Soldiers. Each group was about five meters apart. Rhode could easily deal with these four Skeleton Soldiers, but the Skeleton Warrior made him feel extremely troubled.

The Skeleton Warrior was considered a relatively strong Tier 1 Undead Creature. Compared to a Skeleton Soldier, the Skeleton Warrior's Strength and Speed stats were further enhanced, and its combat skills had improved. However, its Health remained unchanged.

Skeleton Soldiers could transform into Skeleton Warriors by absorbing Death Energy. When living beings die, a portion of their Death Energy dissipates. In other words, ordinary Skeleton Soldiers could become Skeleton Warriors after killing enough creatures.

Powerful Necromancers could also directly grant Death Energy to Skeleton Soldiers, transforming them into Skeleton Warriors. Powerful Practitioners from their past lives, due to residual energy within their bodies, could also be directly transformed into Skeleton Warriors upon death.

Rhode found the Skeleton Warrior troublesome not because of its combat skills, but because its base stats were too high for his current level.

The Skeleton Warrior's Strength and Speed stats far surpassed Rhode's current stats. It was worth noting that Rhode's current base stats were even inferior to those of a regular Skeleton Soldier; he could only defeat enemies through his combat skills. The huge disparity in Strength and Speed made it difficult for Rhode to cope with the Skeleton Warrior's attacks. He would essentially be heavily injured if hit even once.

Rhode decided to use Experience Points to upgrade his character stats to their limit before figuring out a way.

"Consumed 30 Experience Points, remaining Experience Points: 15. Class Level increased to Tier 1 Militiaman Lv4..."

"Gained 1 Free Attribute Point, gained 1 Skill Point..."

"Consumed 10 Experience Points, upgraded [Burst Lv1] to [Burst Lv2], remaining Experience Points: 5."

"[Burst Lv2]: The next attack will consume half of current Stamina, dealing 40% increased damage. Experience Points required for upgrade: 30."

"Consumed 5 Experience Points, upgraded [Heavy Slash Lv1] to [Heavy Slash Lv2], remaining Experience Points: 0."

"[Heavy Slash Lv2]: Consumes 10 Stamina. The next attack will deal 125% of base attack power. Damage increased to 170% when hitting weak points. Experience Points required for upgrade: 15."

Rhode allocated his Free Attribute Point to Speed, slightly narrowing the attribute gap between himself and the Skeleton Warrior. He also used his Skill Point to learn Intermediate Swordsmanship.

(Intermediate Swordsmanship: Years of sword training have given you new insights into sword usage. All moves seem to have merged into your instincts, allowing you to maximize the damage of conventional swords. Your mastery speed of any swordsmanship increases, and all conventional sword damage is increased by 20%.)

Rhode's current panel stats were:

[Name: Rhode

Hero Specialty: Unawakened

Class: Tier 1 Militiaman Lv4 (0/40)

Attributes: Strength 8, Speed 7, Constitution 9, Knowledge 2, Spirit 2

Health: 37/45

Mana: 0/0

Stamina: 75/90

Experience Points: 0

Skills: Burst Lv2, Heavy Slash Lv2

Special Skills: Intermediate Swordsmanship, Basic Resistance

Spells: None]

Looking at his stats, Rhode frowned slightly.

"It's still going to be tough. If the Skeleton Warrior lands a critical hit on me, I'll be down. I can't one-shot it like I did the Skeleton Soldiers. The Skeleton Warrior's running speed means I can't outrun it and get past it through the passage."

"There are five Undead Creatures in total. Do I have to rely on terrain and brute force... No..."

Suddenly, Rhode thought of something. Although it might be a bit risky, it could be the only way to defeat the Skeleton Warrior.

Rhode waited in place until his Stamina recovered to 80. Then, using the blind spots of the Skeleton Soldiers' vision, he slowly approached within five meters of them without being discovered, and then charged directly at them.

During the charge, the loud footsteps Rhode made attracted the attention of these Undead Creatures. Before the two Skeleton Soldiers in front could react, Rhode was already beside them. Simultaneously with the charge, he unleashed two Heavy Slashes, each precisely hitting the Skeleton Soldiers' cervical vertebrae.

Two silver lights flashed, followed by two severed heads falling, the cuts on their broken necks smooth and neat. The Soul Fire in the skulls' eyes slowly extinguished. Rhode didn't look back and charged towards the Skeleton Warrior.

Seeing the enemy charging at him, the Skeleton Warrior's residual combat instincts told it to raise its shield with one hand and prepare its sword with the other.

The Soul Fire flickering in the Skeleton Warrior's eye sockets stared at Rhode, waiting for his attack to deliver a memorable counterattack.

Rhode had already charged in front of the Skeleton Warrior. To its surprise, the attack it was waiting for didn't come. Rhode dodged and rushed past the Skeleton Warrior. Rhode's target from the beginning was not the Skeleton Warrior, but the Skeleton Soldiers behind it!

Guided by its residual combat instincts, the Skeleton Warrior swung its sword backward. With the boost from its superior stats, the sword struck Rhode's leather armor on the back, making a tearing sound.

Fortunately, Rhode's charge speed was fast enough, or perhaps the charge caught the Skeleton Warrior off guard, preventing it from immediately discerning Rhode's true intention. Although the strike landed on Rhode's back, it wasn't a direct hit.

Rhode was wounded, but not critically.