Crypt

In Heroes of Might and Magic, there are many achievements that can be obtained by meeting certain requirements.

Only one achievement can be equipped at a time. After obtaining an achievement, even if it's not equipped, some attribute bonuses will be gained. Equipping it naturally provides even more rewards.

Since achievements can grant a series of attribute bonuses to a character, some special achievements can even directly provide players with Skill Points and special attributes. Achievements, in short, are the more the better.

To distinguish the rarity of achievements and also to encourage competition among players, the game developers introduced the concept of Speed Achievements. This means that for the same achievement, the earlier it is obtained, the stronger its effect will be.

Take Rhode's current achievement, [Warrior's Heart], for example. This is a Speed Achievement. The basic reward for this achievement might only be Strength +1, and equipping it grants Strength +1. However, with the Speed Achievement bonus, it becomes Strength +1 and Speed +1, Constitution +1 upon equipping. Compared to normal achievements, Speed Achievements offer a series of additional bonuses.

The joy Rhode felt wasn't solely because he obtained the [Warrior's Heart] achievement. More importantly, since he could obtain this Speed Achievement, it meant he could obtain other Speed Achievements as well.

In other words, the widely known achievements from his past life were not being competed for by anyone else in this life. As long as he steadily improved his strength, all achievements would be Speed Achievements.

Thanks to his previous gaming experience, Rhode deeply understood what obtaining a series of Speed Achievements meant. Massive attribute bonuses, various buffs... More importantly, because no one would compete with him for Speed Achievements, he only needed to steadily improve to obtain all of them.

This thought left Rhode restless for a long time. After a while, he realized he was still in the Crypt and the Necromancer could return at any moment. He suppressed his excitement and stood up.

Rhode equipped the [Warrior's Heart] achievement. His Strength immediately increased by two points, and his Speed and Constitution also increased by one point each. This was equivalent to the attribute bonuses gained from leveling up four times, significantly boosting Rhode's strength. A full 4 attribute points, which did not conflict with any other buffs, demonstrated the immense help achievements could provide to a character.

Rhode felt a new power surge within him. However, the Constitution attribute from the achievement did not restore Health or Stamina to his body. Rhode's Health remained around half.

He glanced at his status panel and decided to save his Experience Points to increase his Class Level.

Generally speaking, at lower tiers, increasing Class Level is more beneficial than combat skills. When the tier is not high, attributes and special skills have a more obvious effect than combat skills. Combat skills, unless they reach a certain stage, can only increase damage to a limited extent. However, special skills can allow one to defeat enemies that would otherwise be difficult to overcome.

Rhode approached the shattered bones of a Skeleton Warrior. From its corpse and the ground nearby, he found the equipment it had used: an Iron Sword, a one-handed Round Shield, and Iron Armor.

Looking at the sword in his hand, the originally rusty Iron Sword was now covered in cracks. It would likely break on its own after a few more swings. Rhode decisively discarded the sword and replaced it with the Skeleton Warrior's intact Iron Sword.

As for the chest armor and shield, Rhode did not equip them. Chest armor consumed a lot of Constitution, especially this type of Iron Armor made purely for hardness, which was particularly cumbersome. Unlike the Skeleton Warrior, with Rhode's current attributes, wearing it might make even charging difficult, let alone dodging flexibly in combat.

Rhode considered whether to equip the shield and made his decision. In his current battles, Rhode relied more on swordplay techniques rather than blocking and brute force with a shield. Furthermore, with the attributes he had gained from the achievement, dealing with ordinary Skeleton Soldiers and Ghouls was no longer a problem. Bringing a shield would only consume unnecessary Stamina.

[Skeleton Warrior's Iron Sword]

Equipment Requirements: None

Basic Attributes: Damage +7, Durability 9/15

Evaluation: One of the Skeleton Warrior's three-piece set, a weapon coveted by all Skeleton Soldiers.

After organizing the spoils of battle, Rhode continued to advance. After the hall came a narrow corridor. The path underfoot was not as flat as before but had a certain incline. Although he couldn't see the end, Rhode knew the exit was not far away.

After advancing for a while, three Ghouls appeared in the passage ahead. Unlike Skeleton Soldiers, the Ghouls spotted Rhode the moment he saw them and swarmed towards him.

Rhode was not afraid at all. The narrow passage did not restrict Rhode's movement; instead, it prevented the Ghouls from utilizing their numerical advantage, forcing them to charge at Rhode one by one.

Ghouls have low Speed but high Health. Rhode could have worn them down without taking damage, but now, with the added attributes from [Warrior's Heart], dealing with Ghouls was even easier.

Due to the narrow passage, Rhode did not choose conventional slashes but relied on thrusts, then retreated with his Speed. This way, he cleared out the three Ghouls in the passage.

After defeating the three Ghouls, Rhode gained 45 Experience Points. Since the Experience Points had reached the standard for leveling up, Rhode opened his status panel.

"Consume 50 Experience Points, 25 Experience Points remaining. Class Level increased to Tier 1 Militiaman Level 6..."

"Obtain 1 Free Attribute Point, obtain 1 Skill Point..."

Since his current attributes were sufficient for now, Rhode did not allocate the attribute points or skill points.

As he continued to advance, Rhode encountered no more Undead Creatures. The slope of the passage became steeper and steeper, and soon Rhode reached the end of the passage.

Realizing there were no other Undead Creatures in the passage, Rhode couldn't help but feel a bit regretful. With his current attributes, he could even defeat a Skeleton Warrior, but there were no other Undead Creatures here.

Rhode sighed. Low-tier Undead Creatures were too weak without the control of a Necromancer. It would be difficult to find such a good opportunity next time.

At the end of the passage, Rhode could reach the soil of the surface above with his hand. He poked a few times at the soil overhead with his sword, creating a rather large opening, and then climbed out.

He emerged onto the surface. Since he could only see by the dim light in the Crypt, Rhode needed some time to adjust to the outside light. The intense glare outside forced Rhode to squint, and it took some time to adapt.

Rhode looked around. It was a somewhat gloomy forest with unusually tall trees. Right next to the Crypt's exit stood a large tree, whose trunk would require four or five people to encircle. Sunlight could barely penetrate the leaves to reach the ground. The forest climate was humid, and Rhode could clearly feel the moisture in the air.

Rhode looked back at the Crypt passage he had climbed out of. The passage was located beneath several large trees. Nearby, the soil on the ground showed signs of being recently disturbed. This was likely done by the Necromancer's subordinates after the Necromancer left the Crypt. The surrounding grass was in disarray. Apart from these traces, from the outside, it was hard to tell that a Crypt was buried here.

"I wonder how long until the Necromancer Apprentice returns. It's taken me quite some time from waking up to getting out of the Crypt. Based on the condition of the corpses in the tomb I observed before coming out, he should return today to activate the Ghouls. I should leave quickly before he gets back..."

Just as Rhode was about to leave, he suddenly seemed to remember something. He abruptly turned his head to look at the large tree next to the Crypt, then looked back at the Crypt passage he had emerged from. The next moment, an idea surged in Rhode's mind