Corpse Demon Slayer

The firelight crept weakly over the tall, gaunt shadow.

The instant he looked up, a chill shot from the soles of Li Wei's feet straight to his scalp, making it explode with numbness.

Before Li Wei could recover, the grotesquely twisted mummy suddenly let out a shriek and lunged at him.

The piercing scream at such close range nearly froze his blood. Li Wei used almost every ounce of courage he had to break free of that paralysis, rolling to the side. With a crash, he looked back to see the Crafting Table behind him smashed to pieces by that eerie thing.

What incredible strength!

By the faint firelight, Li Wei finally saw the uninvited guest clearly.

Tattered clothes, a tall, thin body like a shadow, dim light glowing in its eyes, and ancient jewelry clinking all over its body.

Considering where he was, a word immediately popped into Li Wei's mind:

Barrow-wight!!

Holy crap!

I deliberately avoided the ancient barrows and the Old Forest. How did I still run into one of these things?!

Don't come any closer!!

Gulp.

His throat moved with difficulty, and Li Wei could clearly feel his breathing falling into disarray.

"Heh heh heh heh..."

The towering shadow let out an unpleasant laugh, like a broken bellows forcing out air.

It smelled a sweet scent...

Fear.

That web-like fear pressed heavily onto Li Wei, pinning him to the ground and leaving him unable to move.

The Barrow-wight was delighted.

Realizing that he seemed to have become a plaything for the Barrow-wight before him, Li Wei instinctively tightened his grip on the Stone Sword, feeling a surge of humiliation.

Could a dignified MC Player take this kind of insult?

No matter what, I have to take this thing down today!

Swish—

A Burial Sword covered in Tetanus Enchantment slowly slid free. The Barrow-wight raised its withered arm high, clearly about to bring it down—

"Ughhh—!!"

The figure on the ground roared, gripped his sword tightly, scrambled to his feet, and swung forward!

Clang!

A crisp impact rang out.

Li Wei's wrist went numb, and it felt as though his sword had struck iron.

If he had really been holding an ordinary Stone Sword, the blade probably would have shattered from that hit.

The attack was effective.

-3

A notification drifted through Li Wei's field of vision.

Apparently never expecting resistance, the Barrow-wight staggered from the unexpected blow. It looked at Li Wei, then stared incredulously at the wound on its own body.

A mere Stone Sword had actually pierced through its sorcerous protection and rusty armor, injuring it.

What kind of stone was this sword made from?

"Hiss—!"

A sharp cry rang out, and Li Wei knew he had enraged this Wraith.

He straightened up and stared intently at the Barrow-wight.

The next moment, a line of text appeared above its head.

57/60

Health Bar.

Damn it, this thing had a full sixty health!

Three times his own!

And it even came with armor!

Since he had never seen any other humans, Li Wei could only use himself and the Hobbits he had encountered during this time as references.

He had 20 health, while ordinary adult Hobbits ranged from 15 to 18, with few exceeding that number.

It was hard to imagine how the Kingdom of Arnor had dealt with these Barrow-wights back then.

+1

A green number suddenly floated up beside the Barrow-wight.

58/60

"?!"

No, how are you—

Before he could think further, smack!

With a thunderous impact, the Ancient Longsword collided with the Stone Sword, and Li Wei's arm went numb.

What immense strength!

And it recovered health so quickly too!

"Ha!"

Li Wei suddenly exerted force, barely knocking the longsword aside.

My system-crafted Stone Sword isn't weak either!

Swish—

Another slash left another small gash on the Barrow-wight's body.

-

4.

54/60

Good. Its health was high, but as long as he could keep cutting...

Whoosh—

Wind howled beside his ear. Before he could react, the Barrow-wight's other hand came whistling over and slapped Li Wei in the kidney, sending his entire body flying. For an instant, Li Wei lost consciousness and everything went black. When he opened his eyes again, he was already lying on the ground.

-7

13/20

His waist hurt like hell.

14/20

The Grave Goods Rings covering the Barrow-wight's hand had successfully served as brass knuckles. When that long, thin hand slapped him, the feeling of metal had been unmistakable.

16/20

17.5/20

Yet in only two seconds, the wound rapidly healed as his Hunger Bar dropped. Seeing another attack coming, Li Wei hurriedly scrambled up and hastily blocked the next swinging strike.

20/20

By the time he got back on his feet, his health had already fully recovered. Even his nearly broken waist no longer hurt, as if the severe injury just now had been an illusion.

The price was that over half of his stored second row of Hunger Bar had been consumed.

Li Wei took a deep breath.

By that calculation, he effectively had sixty health too.

If he counted the food reserves in his inventory, he had even more.

Then what was there to fear? Come on, let's trade blows!

Honestly, their swordsmanship was about equally terrible. Li Wei knew no real techniques at all, while the Barrow-wight's twisted limbs limited its swordsmanship enough that it was hardly impressive either. This battle was basically a contest of brute force.

Bang!

After fiercely knocking aside the ancient sword, Li Wei swung with all his strength again. -3, -3, and the occasional -4 or -5 continuously floated from the Barrow-wight's body. Under the relentless Knockback and real damage, the Barrow-wight was actually forced two steps back.

However, that burst of unexpected ferocity only went so far. Having seen its share of storms, the Barrow-wight quickly reacted.

Wasn't it just a Stone Sword that could break its defense and carried some special power? It had seen similar things when fighting the Dúnedain.

Swish—

Soon, the recovered Barrow-wight swung its sword down. Panicked, Li Wei only had time to twist aside and avoid the vital point, but he was still cut open by a large gash.

-6

Only six damage. It would be full again in no time!

Just as he thought that, his heart suddenly clenched in violent pain.

-1

Li Wei abruptly looked at his Status Bar.

The red hearts representing his Health Bar had suddenly cracked, their color gradually darkening.

-1

Wither?

No, this was...

Curse: 2s

Barrow-wights, also called evil spirits, were servants of darkness. Their very existence represented a certain kind of evil.

In that instant, Li Wei was caught between advancing and retreating, instinctively feeling the urge to back down.

Facing a monster with no armor when every one of its attributes crushed his, and it even had a damage-over-time buff, was truly difficult.

How had he dealt with stat monsters like this in games before?

Positioning, terrain abuse, using skill and traits to defeat raw numbers.

Traits...

Thud.

Another sword strike came at him. Li Wei performed a donkey roll across the ground, narrowly dodging it as he scooped up a handful of dirt.

Eat dirt, you old bastard!

—When it came to movement, Li Wei's positioning had been decent when he was controlling a keyboard in a game. But this was reality. It was his first time experiencing combat, and honestly, suppressing the fear in his heart enough to fight back had already taken everything he had.

Then he could only rely on... traits!

Li Wei rose to his feet. After stumbling and rolling around on the ground for several seconds, his health had already filled again.

The stored row of Hunger Bar had also been completely depleted.

"Ugly thing, look at me!"

The taunt immediately took effect. The light in the Barrow-wight's eyes brightened, and it lunged at him in fury.

It had already rushed within a meter, its sword even cutting into Li Wei's body.

The next moment.

Enduring the pain, Li Wei suddenly raised his hand.

Smack.

A block of Rough Stone exactly one meter long, wide, and high suddenly appeared out of thin air between them. The Barrow-wight crashed into it and staggered.

Naturally, Li Wei would not miss this chance. He repeatedly raised his sword and slashed. Caught off guard, the Barrow-wight lost its footing and fell to the ground.

-3 -3...

27/60

"Roar—!"

Perhaps sensing its strength constantly draining away and realizing it might truly fade into the void, the Barrow-wight suddenly erupted, desperately trying to scramble over the stone.

But Li Wei merely stepped back, took out another stone with his other hand, and placed it down, once again sealing off the Barrow-wight's movement.

The Barrow-wight was enraged. It was only a stone; ordinarily, it could even pass directly through one by using some of its power. Yet the stone this human had conjured from thin air was extraordinarily unusual, and its power could not penetrate it at all.

Thud!

A figure descended from above, an axe splitting into the Barrow-wight's forehead.

That Leaping Cleave actually took off ten health in one blow.

After succeeding with that strike, Li Wei immediately switched back to his Stone Sword and slashed rapidly.

-4 -4...

By then, the Barrow-wight had finally recovered and drew its ancient sword.

Swish—

The sword pierced Li Wei's chest.

Yet Li Wei ignored it completely, grabbing the ancient sword and trapping it within his chest.

Then he greedily kept attacking with everything he had.

Bang!

"AAAAH—!!!"

When the final sword came down.

A piercing shriek spread across the wilderness. A cloud of black energy rose from the Barrow-wight's body, then exploded and dissipated in midair.

The mummy instantly lost all power and collapsed to the ground, the light gone from its eyes.

Achievement obtained: "Monster Hunter"

"Requirement met: Kill a hostile creature."

Special achievement obtained: "Corpse Demon Slayer"

"Requirement met: Kill one Barrow-wight."

Title system unlocked

Title unlocked: Corpse Demon Slayer