Stones into Cotton

Wang Hao's group of five ultimately yielded only two pieces of white novice equipment.

The experience was barely worth mentioning.

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One was a [Coarse Iron Shortsword], and the other was a pair of [Coarse Cloth Gauntlets].

To Lin Mu, the attributes of these two pieces of equipment were truly mediocre.

They were not even enough to make him consider using the [Description Tamperer] talent.

He glanced into the depths of the gloomy forest.

"Let's continue."

Su Xiaoxiao's little face was still somewhat pale.

Looking at Lin Mu's excessively calm profile, she nodded firmly.

The bloody scene from earlier had undoubtedly left lingering fear in her heart, making her stomach churn.

But the terrifying strength displayed by Lin Mu's skeletons

had also invisibly given her an inexplicable sense of courage and safety.

This contradictory feeling made her increasingly curious about and awed by the young man beside her.

The two set off again, one after the other.

Nine [Sturdy Skeletons] cleared the way ahead.

Before they had gone far, the grass ahead shook violently.

A Goblin with darker fur than a Goblin Scout suddenly leaped out.

It gripped a rusty scimitar tightly in its hand.

Its gaze was fiercer than that of the Goblin Scouts they had encountered earlier.

[Goblin Warrior] (LV.3, Elite Monster)

[HP: 200. Trait: Call for Help.]

Lin Mu's eyes narrowed.

An elite monster!

This was the first elite-level monster they had encountered since entering the Dungeon.

He immediately commanded three [Sturdy Skeletons] to step forward.

They swiftly tangled up the Goblin Warrior.

At the same time, he kept six skeletons behind to tightly protect himself and Su Xiaoxiao in the middle.

"Wula!"

The Goblin Warrior let out a strange, meaningless cry.

Its scimitar sliced through the air with a sharp whistle as it viciously cleaved toward one skeleton's skull.

Clang!

A dull metallic impact rang out.

-8 HP!

A fairly large damage number floated over the skeleton's head.

As expected of an elite monster.

Its attack power was clearly much higher than that of a Goblin Scout.

Even the skeleton's twenty points of defense could not completely withstand its edge.

The attacked skeleton slowed for half a beat.

But it immediately swung its Bone Blade backhandedly, slashing viciously at the Goblin Warrior's waist.

-5 HP!

The damage was not high.

But the Goblin Warrior staggered from the pain.

Using that momentum, it suddenly lunged forward.

It had actually used a crude Charge skill.

It slammed hard into another skeleton attempting to surround it.

The skeleton's frame shook from the impact, and a -14 HP damage number floated over its head.

The battle instantly became intense.

Seeing this,

Lin Mu did not panic. Instead, he became even calmer.

He methodically directed the three skeletons to take turns absorbing damage, coordinating seamlessly.

Su Xiaoxiao also clutched her staff nervously.

From time to time, she cast [Minor Heal] on the skeletons with lower health.

Very soon, under the coordinated siege of the three skeletons and Su Xiaoxiao's support,

the Goblin Warrior was steadily forced back, several bone-deep wounds appearing across its body.

Its health was also about to run out.

Just as the Goblin Warrior was about to fall,

it suddenly raised its head and let out a shrill scream.

The sound pierced through the trees and carried far into the distance.

"Wagagaga—!"

Its Call for Help trait had activated!

Lin Mu frowned slightly.

Sure enough, it was not long before

hurried footsteps and the Goblins' distinctive shrill cries came from different directions in the forest.

Rustling sounds drew closer from afar.

Three Goblin Warriors identical to the previous one

waved their scimitars as they charged out from different directions with howls.

Their target was clear: Lin Mu and Su Xiaoxiao.

Su Xiaoxiao had never seen such a scene before and was instantly frightened.

She instinctively moved a little closer to Lin Mu, her petite body trembling slightly.

Lin Mu's expression did not change.

He split off six skeletons

to meet the three newly appeared Goblin Warriors.

At the same time, a thought stirred, and his [Description Tamperer] talent activated silently.

He looked at one of the newly arrived Goblin Warriors.

[Goblin Warrior]: An elite warrior of the Goblin Tribe. High attack and defense, extremely brave. When facing mortal danger, it calls its companions to assist in battle.

Just as he had expected, a more detailed description surfaced.

Lin Mu thought quickly for less than a second before making his decision.

Lin Mu thought quickly and made his decision.

"Change 'high attack and defense' to 'no attack or defense'!"

In an instant,

the charging movement of the Goblin Warrior he had targeted seemed to become sluggish.

Although its panel attributes appeared unchanged,

when its scimitar struck the skeleton's hard bones again,

Clang!

-1 HP!

Forced damage!

Then the skeleton's retaliatory Bone Blade came down.

-15 HP!

Full damage!

The corner of Lin Mu's mouth curled upward.

It worked.

He repeated the process.

The other two newly charging Goblin Warriors received the same "special treatment."

The four elite monsters that had initially been rather troublesome

became lambs awaiting slaughter after their descriptions were altered.

The skeletons did not even need to use any complicated tactics.

They swarmed forward, relying on their absolute advantage in numbers and attributes.

After several rounds of attacks, they hacked every one of them to the ground.

They did not even get another chance to activate their Call for Help trait.

The four Goblin Warriors provided a considerable amount of experience.

Lin Mu's experience bar had long been full.

But he still could not level up. He could only keep accumulating experience and wait until leaving the Dungeon to level up all at once.

The two continued exploring deeper into the forest.

The farther they went, the dimmer the light beneath the trees became.

The surrounding vegetation also grew denser, and in some places, the skeletons had to hack their way through with Bone Blades.

The types of monsters they encountered also began to diversify, and the danger increased accordingly.

[Venomous Spiders] descended from the trees, spitting green venom.

[Goblin Assassins] lurked in the shadows, attempting sneak attacks.

There were also some thick-skinned [Bristle Rats], charging while squeaking.

The Skeleton Squad encountered several sizable ambushes as it advanced.

But with Lin Mu's [Description Tampering] assistance, every crisis was resolved without incident.

Sometimes, he changed a Venomous Spider's "venomous" into "non-venomous."

Other times, he changed a Goblin Assassin's "Stealth" into "Running."

Experience continued to accumulate.

But unfortunately, the equipment drop rate remained outrageously low.

When they arrived at a relatively open clearing in the forest,

three monsters entirely different from the previous Goblins blocked their path.

These Goblins were much smaller than the Scouts and Warriors.

But their arms were unusually thick, packed with explosive muscle.

Each held several fist-sized stones.

The moment they spotted Lin Mu and Su Xiaoxiao from afar, they shrieked and hurled the stones at them.

Lin Mu noticed

that the three Goblin Throwers were positioned quite far apart, seemingly deliberately guarding something in the center of the clearing.

The talent activated once again.

The detailed description clearly stated "Precision Stone Throw."

A playful thought suddenly rose in Lin Mu's heart.

"Change 'stones' to 'cotton'!"

The instant the modification succeeded,

the stones hurled with all their strength by the three Goblin Throwers

suddenly turned into soft white clumps of cotton in midair.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

The soft cotton struck the skeletons' hard bones.

It could not even trigger forced damage and merely stuck weakly to them.

From a distance,

it looked as though several white flowers had been placed on the skeletons.

The scene became extremely comical for a moment.

Su Xiaoxiao watched the battlefield as cotton flew everywhere.

The bloodiness and tension caused by Wang Hao and the others' deaths earlier dissipated considerably at that moment.

She could not help letting out a snicker.

Her crisp, pleasant laughter gently echoed through the silent forest.

The Goblin Throwers were clearly completely stunned as well.

They stared blankly at the "weapons" in their hands that had suddenly become light and fluffy.

Then they looked at the unharmed skeletons, which seemed almost cute with white cotton stuck to them.

For a moment, they actually forgot to continue attacking.

The nine [Sturdy Skeletons] would not be polite with them.

Taking advantage of their daze, the skeletons swarmed forward.

They easily broke up the Goblin Throwers' formation.

They surrounded them one by one, then hacked them to death in a frenzy.

After dealing with the three comical Goblin Throwers,

Lin Mu's gaze shifted to the place they had previously protected at all costs.

There.

An old wooden chest lay half-buried in the damp earth, with only a small portion exposed.

The chest was covered in moss and gave off a strong musty smell.

Lin Mu slowly stepped forward.

He activated his talent again to inspect the chest's detailed description.

[An ordinary wooden chest. It may contain some odds and ends collected by Goblins, but it has also been fitted with a crude Poison Gas Trap to guard against thieves.]