Chapter 18 – Ancient Civilization Ruins

Mu Yuan clicked to check Deadbone’s panel.

After a night of cultivation, the Undead Emperor had also leveled up, now at Tier Zero Level 4.

“Regular troop types typically require a full day to advance from Level 3 to Level 4, yet Deadbone only reached LV3 yesterday at noon.”

“It originally had a relatively fast leveling speed, but now it’s even faster.”

“Indeed, after evolving to Rare One-Star, Deadbone’s leveling speed has significantly improved again.”

Only the speed increased—the amount of Soul Sand consumed couldn’t be reduced in the slightest.

Nevertheless, this is something many players… no, many whale players dream of.

Now, facing the Great Goblin, Deadbone could easily shoot it dead from two hundred meters away.

Mu Yuan looked at the Goblin Camp on the map, pondered for a while, and shook his head.

“Not advisable.”

“With Deadbone leading some Skeleton Soldiers and Little Skeletons now, it indeed has the capability to capture this camp.”

“But why not wait a bit longer, evolve more Skeleton Soldiers, and then crush the Goblin Camp with absolute superiority?”

Of course, the Goblin Camp being too close to the territory is a troublesome threat, and it should be eliminated as soon as possible if capable.

Mu Yuan hasn’t forgotten the grudge from last night when the goblins raided his weak territory.

The goblins have already invited their own doom.

…

For Deadbone to continue evolving, it requires a full 25 units of Evolution Points.

In the short term, Deadbone won’t be able to obtain a new form, so Mu Yuan shifted his focus to evolving more Skeleton Soldiers.

Little Skeleton ranks in the lower-middle tier among One-Star troops, relatively weak, whereas Skeleton Soldier is among the top in the Three-Star category.

They fear no death and are quite versatile.

Mu Yuan’s own skeletons even possess the Cleave skill, capable of defeating same-star troops one or two, even two or three levels higher in one-on-one combat.

“Today is the third day since entering the game. Under Deadbone’s guidance, Bone Two has finally grasped some insight into Cleave… It might master this skill within the day.”

“Thus, the territory gains another minor general.”

Mu Yuan silently recited Evolution Points.

Early in the morning, Evolution Points had already accumulated to over two units, so he skillfully evolved two more Skeleton Soldiers, naming them ‘Bone Four’ and ‘Bone Five’ as per convention.

The Skeleton Soldier squad is gradually growing.

But the bad news is that Mu Yuan’s ‘bug exploit’ plan failed.

He tried taking away the Little Skeleton’s rusty machete, and during evolution, the machete indeed wasn’t optimized, but the cost was a higher consumption of Evolution Points.

Gains and losses.

It can be exploited when necessary, but exploiting it continuously would be more loss than gain.

…

On this new day, Mu Yuan continued leading the team on expeditions.

He left Bone Two and Bone Four to guard the city, taking Deadbone and the other two, along with a few Little Skeletons, into the wilderness, continuing to wreak havoc alongside Deadbone.

However, he avoided the Goblin Camp to the north, heading south instead to explore the pitch-black southern and eastern areas, accumulating strength for the assault on the Goblin Camp.

In the dense giant forest, Mu Yuan cautiously and slowly advanced, flanked by two Skeleton Soldiers on his left and right.

Further out, several Little Skeletons served to boost morale and act as bait.

Crack~!

A Little Skeleton stepped on the ground, snapping a dry branch with a crisp sound.The commotion immediately caught the attention of nearby beasts. The bushes rustled, and within moments, several gray wolves lunged out from the shrubs, only to be surrounded by a greater number of Little Skeletons and Skeleton Soldiers whose appearances were far more terrifying than theirs.

Gray wolves: “Σ(дlll)”

They departed peacefully.

Sweeping up the dropped Soul Sand like a whirlwind, Mu Yuan swiftly relocated—a routine he was growing increasingly adept at.

He alternated between glancing at the map and monitoring character perspectives, constantly switching between various interfaces.

Suddenly,

Deadbone, who was scouting ahead, raised his right hand in a clenched fist.

“Trouble? Possibly a powerful enemy?”

Mu Yuan wasn’t sure what was happening, but he trusted Deadbone’s judgment. He immediately ordered the other skeletons to enter a silent state.

He himself crept forward slowly.

There was no other way—the other skeletons lacked self-awareness and moved with heavy, careless steps, utterly incapable of treading lightly over dry branches and decaying leaves.

Deadbone could.

Mu Yuan… could too.

While controlling the game character with his computer, despite having only limited keys for movement, attack, jump, and crouch, he discovered that as his consciousness fluctuated, the game character would mirror corresponding actions.

For instance, flicking Little Skeleton’s forehead.

Or quietly parting the bushes, holding his breath, and inching forward bit by bit.

Before long, Mu Yuan reached Deadbone’s side and peered through the gaps in the leaves in the direction it pointed.

His eyes widened.

“This is…”

A tower dozens of meters high, steeped in the vicissitudes of history, was half-hidden within the dense forest in the distance.

A massive hole gaped at the top of the tower, and the outer stone walls were covered in moss and vines. Yet, despite this, Mu Yuan could still faintly discern the exquisite carvings on the tower’s exterior and the gems embedded within—dimmed but still remarkable.

“This is an ancient structure.”

“But why would such a building, brimming with traces of civilization, exist deep in the Wilderness?”

After being exposed to forums and the Player Association, Mu Yuan was no longer a complete novice.

The Eternal Continent did indeed have nations and civilizations, but these were concentrated in the heartlands. The spawning locations for newbie Lords like them lay beyond civilization—in desolate areas rarely touched by human footprints, teeming with monsters.

However, precisely because newbie Lords were situated in the wild, the surrounding regions remained undeveloped and were littered with Treasures.

In contrast, many veteran players stationed in the heart of human civilization could hardly gather much Soul Sand or Remnant Souls even after a month of grueling, non-stop grinding.

Newbie Lords faced perilous conditions and struggled to pass their trials.

Yet, from another perspective, if more and more newcomers could establish a foothold and build their territories, it meant human civilization was advancing further into the boundless wilds, gaining more strategic depth.

Finding such a historically rich tower in this remote, untamed region was rather astonishing.

Of course, the dilapidated village where players initially spawned couldn’t be considered a mark of civilization.

It was the ‘initial stronghold’ every new player possessed.

The primitive wooden structures built by goblins to the north didn’t qualify as civilization either.

“There’s a rumor that the Eternal Continent once hosted a brilliant ancient civilization, which later perished in a great catastrophe. After that, players were chosen by the world’s great will, descending upon the Eternal World to rebuild civilization.””Of course, this is merely a legend, and its authenticity remains debatable.”

The presence of civilized structures deep in the wilderness naturally sparked Mu Yuan’s curiosity to explore further.

Perhaps he could discover precious Treasures there.

Some veteran players had also concluded that the more peculiar and unusual a place appeared, the more likely it contained Advanced Treasures.

However, such locations often concealed great dangers as well.

Thus, Mu Yuan felt no impulse to approach recklessly.

He turned to Deadbone.

Deadbone clattered softly, whispering into his ear.

Soon, Mu Yuan spotted the target Deadbone was pointing at—monsters resembling statues, with ash-black bodies, ferocious expressions, and folded bat-like wings on their backs.

They appeared inanimate, but according to Deadbone’s judgment, they were alive and posed a significant threat.

Unless a dozen or more Skeleton Warriors simultaneously hurled Bone Spears, it advised against engaging them.

Caution.jpg!

Mu Yuan’s expression turned grave.

The distance was too great for him to gather information about the distant statue-like monsters, but having paid for resources like the ‘Common Monster Compendium’ and ‘Monster Illustrated Guide,’ he immediately recognized the creatures before him.

The legendary rare-rank monsters: Gargoyles!

And there were far more than just one.

“One, two, three… at least eight Gargoyles.”

“They are of rare Rank, and their level might even be at Professional Tier. Unbeatable, completely unbeatable.”

“How could such powerful monsters exist near a newbie territory? This doesn’t make sense!”

“Let’s scram!”

Following his instincts, Mu Yuan swiftly retreated.

He coveted the Ruined Tower protected by the Gargoyles but was well aware of their fearsome nature. Normally, such formidable monsters shouldn’t appear near a newbie territory.

After all, the Eternal World wasn’t a true game and was filled with all sorts of unexpected occurrences.

Sometimes, even seasoned players would perish inexplicably.

Players who encountered such misfortunes could only accept their bad luck.

The Gargoyles seemed to be in a deep slumber, but Mu Yuan had no intention of testing them and left decisively.

He marked this area with a red “×” on his map. He would settle this score another day.

“Compared to these terrifying Gargoyles, Goblins and Great Goblins are absolutely sheep-like monsters.”

“Indeed, the Eternal Continent’s waters run deep. Let’s stick to dealing with Goblin Camps we can handle.”

Deadbone nodded in deep agreement.

Thanks to ‘Not as Expected’ for the reward~

(End of Chapter)