Interrupted Exploration

[Skeleton (summon) killed Wild Marsh Wolf (Level 1). You gained 3 experience points. Your summons shared 7 experience points.]

The system notification chimed in his mind. At the same moment, the last Wild Marsh Wolf let out a harrowing howl and collapsed heavily into the withered grass. Dark green blood soaked into the ground, and it fell completely silent.

Gu Su stood with his hands behind his back, surveying the battlefield strewn with debris.

Scattered wolf corpses, splashes of blood, and broken beast bones lay intertwined. Yet a satisfied smile flickered in his eyes, and the corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. His heart swelled with accomplishment. He was genuinely pleased with how rapidly he had grown over the past few days.

He still remembered how, just yesterday, he had been caught completely off guard when he crossed over into this perilous game world. All he had were a handful of ordinary skeletons.

Even when facing a group of weak Goblins, he had needed to rack his brains and plan every move carefully, proceeding with caution at every step for fear of a single mistake costing him or the Skeleton Squad.

But now, faced with more than twenty fierce, highly aggressive Wild Marsh Wolves, his elite skeletons and mage-type skeletons had worked together flawlessly. They had finished the battle cleanly and efficiently, without a single skeleton even suffering a serious injury. The improvement in their combat strength was plain to see.

"This is how fast a Necromancer grows."

Gu Su murmured with heartfelt satisfaction. His gaze slowly passed over the Skeleton Squad standing straight beside him, and his eyes filled with expectation.

Smiling, he raised a hand and waved lightly at the elite skeletons, signaling them to get moving. They were to gather the scattered Wild Marsh Wolf corpses, sort them carefully, and bind them with vines, ready to haul them back to the territory later and turn them into undead.

At the same time, he set off toward a small puddle nearby that gave off a faint, fishy stench, his steps light but cautious.

The Graveyard Demon's territory was still very rudimentary, and solving the water supply problem was its most pressing need. There still wasn't a reliable water source. Every drop he drank or used came from dew collected on the branches and leaves of the Weird Tree.

Gathering it was a lot of work, and there was very little to collect. The undead might not have much need for water.

But not needing much didn't mean they could do without it.

Now that he had come across this puddle, he might as well check whether its water was drinkable. If it was useful, that would be a good thing.

But as soon as he reached the edge, a foul stench of Wild Marsh Wolf rot mixed with the stink of mud hit him. He instinctively grimaced.

Gu Su's brow furrowed as well. His gaze swept quickly over the murky water and its black-green ripples. He sensed that something was amiss, as if something unusual were hidden beneath the surface.

"Come here. Take that thing out for me."

Gu Su raised a hand toward the nearest elite skeleton, his gaze fixed on the mud in the middle of the puddle.

A pale, pointed tip was just barely visible there, half-hidden beneath the muddy water. It was nearly impossible to spot without looking closely.

The elite skeleton immediately understood the order. Without a word, it walked straight into the murky puddle.

It bent down and thrust both hands into the sticky mud, then forcibly dug a thick, faintly glowing fang more than a meter long out of the bottom.

Wet black mud clung to the fang, whose edges were razor-sharp and menacing. It looked unusually thick and sharp, clearly not the tooth of an ordinary beast.

[Exotic Beast Bone (White): The bone of an exotic beast buried underground for many years (it can come from any beast, or from any part of a beast). To some master blacksmiths, this is a metal that can be used to craft items. To the undead, it can serve as lumber or stone for building cities.]

After examining the situation, Gu Su immediately understood.

This unremarkable puddle was probably more than just a watering hole for the Wild Marsh Wolves. It was also where they dumped their garbage.

After catching prey, they ate around the puddle. When they were done, they tossed the leftover bones and other scraps into the water. Over time, bones and mud had accumulated at the bottom, leaving the puddle in its current murky, rotten, foul-smelling state.

The unexpected discovery threw off Gu Su's carefully planned exploration schedule once again.

He had planned to take a quick look at the water. If it wasn't usable, he would leave right away and head to the fallen building wrapped in glowing vines to investigate. But now that he had stumbled upon this hidden resource of Exotic Beast Bone, he couldn't just pass it up.

Gu Su thought for only a moment before giving a firm order. "All skeletons, take three corpses each. We're heading back first."

After giving the order, Gu Su wasted no time and hurried back toward the Graveyard Demon.

From setting out for the puddle to finishing the battle with the Wild Marsh Wolves and preparing to return, less than an hour had passed.

When he got back to the territory, Gu Su immediately had the skeletons throw all the Wild Marsh Wolf corpses into a newly added empty grave pit in the Great Grave Pile.

As soon as the corpses hit the ground, a faint black mist slowly rose from the Great Grave Pile and rapidly covered the empty pit. His Raise Skeleton skill activated automatically, and black mist continued to pour into the grave pit.

[The Great Grave Pile automatically used your Raise Skeleton (Level 1) skill. You gained Skeletons (Level 0) ×21. Raise Skeleton proficiency +21.]

As the system notification appeared, twenty-one brand-new skeletons slowly crawled out of the mist-shrouded grave pit.

Each of the newly created skeletons was wrapped in ragged Wild Marsh Wolf fur. The fur's texture and color could just barely be made out, giving them a distinctive look and a wilder air.

As soon as the new skeletons appeared, Gu Su gave them an order.

"You'll follow this White Crow. It knows the way.

"You can use the plastic buckets and plastic crates inside the Graveyard Demon.

"First, bring me some water.

"Once you've brought the water back, dig up Exotic Beast Bone. Dig up as much as you can. I want all of it.

"After you've hauled the bones back, dig up some mud too."

Gu Su was truly putting these new skeletons to work as laborers.

The new skeletons immediately set off when they heard him.

But they really weren't as useful as the Skeleton Squad with a squad leader.

They always seemed a little slow-witted when it came to getting things done.

Gu Su sent them out, knowing that they would probably spend the entire day on the road.

They simply weren't very efficient.

Still, this was good enough.

At least he wouldn't have to make the elite skeletons haul all this stuff.