Chapter 17 – Persistence and Effort

「‘Skeleton Soldier (Common ★★★)’ has evolved into ‘Skeleton Warrior (Rare ★)’」

「Prompt: Skeleton Warrior has learned the skill ‘Charge’.」

As the white light gradually faded, the newly reborn Deadbone – Skeleton Warrior edition – appeared before Mu Yuan.

It had grown slightly taller. The armor that was once covered with honorable scars had disappeared, replaced by a more refined and menacing silver-gray full-body plate armor, a broad-bladed greatsword, and three bone spears slung across its back that appeared to be throwing weapons.

As expected, any evolved unit would undergo a complete equipment upgrade.

This exquisitely crafted full plate armor already looked superior to the old version just from appearance, and the heavy, cold-gleaming broad-bladed greatsword provided substantial visual impact. With this greatsword in hand, Deadbone could likely cleave the ‘Wolf King’ in two with a single strike even without using skills.

Moreover, the standard equipment for Skeleton Warriors now included three bone spears. Did this mean Skeleton Warriors possessed some ranged attack capability?

However, compared to the completely updated weapons and armor, Mu Yuan noticed one detail – the shield was gone.

This generation of skeletons had eliminated shield equipment.

How could equipment be reduced?

Although that small round shield didn’t provide much defense, it was still a piece of equipment! Had the evolution point swindled him out of a piece of equipment? Could he tolerate this? He couldn’t bear this injustice!

Wait…

Mu Yuan stroked his chin, “Every evolution brings equipment renewal, which is why I wasn’t too worried about equipment wear before, but… my perspective was too limited. Since new equipment gets generated during evolution, why don’t I strip Deadbone of its equipment before evolving?”

Rounding it off, this would be equivalent to earning a free set of equipment.

That would be a huge profit.

Mu Yuan didn’t know if this bug exploitation would work, but it was at least worth trying.

Before him, Deadbone was deep in thought, heartbroken, bleeding internally.

Where’s the shield?

Where’s its big shield?

It turned around but couldn’t find its shield anywhere.

Without a shield, just this ‘flimsy’ armor alone couldn’t provide it with sufficient sense of security.

Deadbone felt somewhat uneasy.

Mu Yuan couldn’t admit he hadn’t anticipated this situation, so he could only make up some nonsense: “Strict defense is merely the inferior path of the Dao of Prudence. Striking the weak with overwhelming force, catching enemies off guard and grinding their bones to dust – that is the superior path of the Dao of Prudence.”

Deadbone’s soul flame ignited.

It had learned something new again.jpg.

Following tradition, Deadbone began familiarizing itself with its new body after evolution. It conducted various tests including hundred-meter sprints, hurdle jumps, long jumps, and obstacle courses.

You might ask why the territory had special tracks like hurdles and obstacle courses? Of course, it was the training ground Deadbone had put together during its spare time.

The territory currently had no shortage of discarded materials.

After evolution, Deadbone at the Skeleton Warrior level demonstrated impressive sprinting speed and significant improvement in agility. Even wearing this apparently heavy armor, it moved with swift, sure steps, easily clearing numerous obstacles. The greatsword felt incredibly nimble in its hands, capable of cleanly slicing through a large tree with a gentle sweep.

Deadbone displayed its mastery of various combat techniques.

It then drew the bone spears from its back, gripping them tightly. It stared at a thick tree in the distance, but ultimately decided against it, shifting its gaze to another large boulder.

You’ll do, suitable target.Deadbone unleashed a throw, and the bone spear struck the bullseye!

…

The bone spear tore through the air with a sharp whistle, slamming into a massive rock serving as a target in the distance before Mu Yuan could even react.

The boulder exploded violently as if struck by a cannonball.

Leaving behind the bone spear, half-buried in the ground.

This speed, this power—damn impressive.

Even the Wolf King would be instantly obliterated.

Deadbone’s posture when throwing the bone spear was incredibly cool, but his stance when pulling it out was a bit… well, still passable.

This long-range attack packed enough destructive power, but its drawback was that there were only three bone spears—meaning Deadbone had only three shots.

Not only that, when Deadbone pulled the bone spear out of the ground, it already showed significant wear and tear.

Mu Yuan’s lips twitched.

“It looks like this set of equipment won’t last until Deadbone’s next evolution. Tomorrow, I’ll head to the association to sell the remnant souls and see if I can order a batch of throwing spears.”

Equipping troops with stronger, more suitable weapons and gear was also a player’s responsibility.

Even if a new player was poor, they at least needed to prepare some backup weapons. Otherwise, if weapons broke at a critical moment during battle, human-type troops like Lancers or archers would be left fighting bare-handed—how awkward.

…

As expected, the rare-grade Deadbone learned a new skill upon evolution. Now he was a rare-tier troop with dual skills.

Charge—a skill that accumulated power over time to enhance the damage and destructive force of the next strike.

At first glance, it seemed ordinary, but in reality, it was extremely practical.

While Cleave could only be used for slashing attacks, Charge could be combined with bone spear throws. Guiding energy to continuously accumulate power in the thrown spear… Mu Yuan could hardly imagine the devastation such a strike would unleash.

Perhaps due to his familiarity with Cleave, Deadbone’s first use of Charge was remarkably adept.

He began to experiment, slowly charging while maintaining movement, allowing him to deliver a surprise critical hit to enemies.

“Not bad, truly worthy of being my General, Deadbone,” Mu Yuan nodded.

Deadbone then started researching how to combine Charge and Cleave simultaneously to unleash their strongest attack.

He quickly grasped the method and, with a few more practice sessions, would likely be able to use it in combat.

“Not bad, truly worthy of having the bearing of an Emperor, Deadbone,” Mu Yuan exclaimed in surprise.

Deadbone once again began exploring a new direction—this time, he didn’t apply Charge to offense but instead focused it on his legs.

With the aid of Charge, Deadbone shot up like a cannonball, soaring into the air.

“Not bad, truly worthy of having the bearing of an Emperor… my ass!”

Mu Yuan’s eyes widened.

Am I the one with cheats, or are you?

Oh, right—Deadbone’s cheats are my cheats. Never mind, then.

Keep at it, keep at it.

This is all thanks to Deadbone’s persistence and hard work.

…

That night, Mu Yuan bid farewell to the reluctant Deadbone, controlling his game character into a repaired wooden hut that barely kept the wind out, entering a rest (×) hibernation (√) state.

He then began his daily strengthening routine.

Consume Crimson Blood Fruit (1/1).

His skin turned crimson, his body burning as if on fire. Mu Yuan gritted his teeth and endured. Perhaps due to his previous experience, he didn’t find it as unbearable this time—there was even a hint of exhilaration amidst the pain?

After completing his daily routine, Mu Yuan washed up and went to bed, not even bothering to scroll through his phone—living a remarkably healthy life.After all, short videos and web novels were far too bland—nothing compared to the thrill of personally wielding supernatural power and growing stronger bit by bit.

“Good night, today’s me.”

…

The next day, Mu Yuan woke up at six o’clock, feeling more energetic than ever.

The Crimson Blood Fruit could only enhance one’s vitality and improve physique, but Mu Yuan felt his Mental Energy had also strengthened.

“It must be related to Deadbone and the others leveling up.”

“As a contractor, leveling up troops provides a slight feedback to the player—not much, but accumulating bit by bit amounts to a decent quantity… Progressing slowly through troop leveling feedback is one of the main ways players master supernatural power.”

Mu Yuan pondered.

Deadbone and the other skeletons had only leveled up once or twice, so it shouldn’t have been this noticeable. The root cause was Deadbone’s promotion to Rare-grade.

A Rare-grade Deadbone could probably single-handedly defeat ordinary three-star troops of levels seven, eight, or nine without issue.

Moreover, this was a Rare-grade troop he had personally nurtured.

It also had to do with how weak he currently was.

After washing up, Mu Yuan opened the game.

The territory was exceptionally peaceful at night—his Lord’s Mark hadn’t even sounded an alarm. The invading monsters turned into practice targets for Deadbone and the other skeletons the moment they stepped into the territory.

「Deadbone commanded ‘Bone Two’ and ‘Bone Three’ to kill: Goblin ×3, Goblin Spear Thrower ×3」

「Deadbone commanded Little Skeleton to kill: Goblin ×5」

Mu Yuan checked the situation.

Deadbone had excellently demonstrated the martial spirit of using strength to crush weakness and overwhelming numbers—he was pleased.

However, he noted the grudge: so many goblins had come to deceive and ambush his weak territory in the dead of night.

(End of Chapter)