Chapter 2 – My Skeleton Family Has a Bright Future

Late at night, inside an old, small house.

Mu Yuan sat before his computer, staring at the game scene that looked strikingly similar yet less vivid than reality, unable to snap out of his daze for a long time.

Was this just a game?

Indeed, what appeared before him was an ordinary game scene, but whether it was the clues he had uncovered earlier or the immersive illusion he had just experienced, both made Mu Yuan realize that he had stumbled upon something extraordinary.

The good news: he had obtained the key to the supernatural world;

The bad news: his life might be in grave danger.

“Don’t panic. Panicking won’t help.”

“Since this world possesses supernatural powers, the real world might not be entirely safe either. Now that I have the chance to touch the supernatural, it should be seen as a good thing… Look on the bright side. Perhaps in the future, I can personally step into that vast world, become a Great Lord, reside in a magnificent palace, and live a life of luxury.”

Mu Yuan forced himself to stay calm.

After ending his fantasy, he looked back at the game. The entire village was in ruins, as if it had been abandoned for a long time.

Scattered, sturdy trees grew around the area, and farther away, what seemed to be a forest was shrouded in a hazy, gray mist, making it difficult to see clearly.

When Mu Yuan dragged the map further into the distance, all he saw was pitch-black darkness.

An unknown, dangerous darkness.

At the center of the dilapidated village, starlight suddenly descended like scattered sparks. These lights resembled meteors or brushstrokes, sketching, intertwining, and converging until they gradually formed and materialized into an altar.

An altar about two and a half meters in diameter, engraved with mysterious patterns.

Above the altar, the remaining starlight gathered to form a human figure. Although it was a top-down perspective and a game character, Mu Yuan could tell at a glance that this handsome fellow was him.

He was the anchor point in the game world, in the Eternal Continent. If this point perished, so would he.

At that moment, fiery, glowing text began to appear one after another on the game screen.

“Randomizing in progress…”

“Hint: You have obtained a batch of initial troops—Little Skeleton ×10.”

——

“Little Skeleton (Unnamed)”

“Grade: Common ★”

“Level: Zero-Order First-Level”

“Skills: None”

“Talents: None”

“Introduction: A common type of undead. Though weak, they are cost-effective and excel at evil swarm tactics.”

As the hint faded, the mysterious patterns on the altar began to glow, and the space rippled slightly. One after another, skeletal figures with frail, hollow frames and rusted machetes in hand emerged from the altar.

They crowded together in a dark mass, pushing Mu Yuan’s game character off the altar.

The appearance of the Little Skeletons was about what Mu Yuan had expected.

Their bones were grayish-black, their frames thin, and their postures slightly hunched as they walked. Aside from a worn-out weapon, they had no equipment, only tattered clothing that barely covered their bodies.

Truly the legendary cannon-fodder troop, the Little Skeleton.

Mu Yuan’s lips twitched. Setting aside their eerie appearance, he felt he could take on two of these Little Skeletons at once!

“Starting with a dilapidated village and a handful of crippled-level troops, no wonder they say this game is extremely difficult, with the constant risk of dying… Anyone would find it easy to die under these circumstances!”

“Seemingly, the initial troops other players randomly get aren’t much better either—some get militiamen, some get goblins, and some even get slimes. Compared to them, the Little Skeletons aren’t so bad.”Apart from flaws like sluggish movement, terrible equipment, low intelligence, and abysmal offense and defense, Little Skeleton actually had quite a few merits—such as this and that.

For now, Mu Yuan couldn’t tell any differences among these ten Little Skeletons.

He looked outside the village, toward the area shrouded in thick gray mist, and didn’t dare send his skeletons out just yet.

He only had ten starting troops and couldn’t afford to lose even one.

But if he didn’t take risks and venture out, given the game’s environment, he’d be doomed sooner or later.

“This game offers no guidance or hints, but since it’s a game… or rather, a world with supernatural powers, there must be ways to improve.”

“Little Skeleton’s grade is Common One-Star, the same as Goblins and Slimes. Following game tropes, grades might not be upgradable, but troop ranks shouldn’t be too hard to raise, right?”

“I need to figure out how to level up the skeletons or find ways to recruit more. Either would effectively boost the territory’s defense.”

The problem was, Mu Yuan knew nothing about any of this.

But it didn’t matter. On the hidden forum where he’d just gathered a lot of information, he might find the answers he was looking for.

After giving the Little Skeletons the command to “Hold position and clean up the village,” Mu Yuan switched to the hidden forum and began browsing more carefully.

It was now clear that there were quite a few “players” in this forum. They shared their experiences and insights, and even help-seeking posts contained many useful details.

This was essentially the game’s strategy guide.

Of course, there were also plenty of freshly fabricated stories.

“Now that I’m in the game and have real examples to reference, I can easily tell which posts are solid content and which are pure fabrication.””

One post claimed the author had randomly obtained a Dragon troop, effortlessly slaughtering monsters and leveling up like crazy. But the way they described entering the game was clearly wrong—obviously fake at a glance.

The vast majority of players ended up with Common One-Star trash troops, with only a very few managing to get Common Two-Star troops like Lancers, Archers, or Half-Orcs.

Moreover, compared to powerful troops, the initial number of soldiers was smaller. One player who rolled a Lancer mentioned starting with only six soldiers, while players starting with Little Skeletons or Goblins had ten troops each.

Even so, after seeing some screenshots and video clips, Mu Yuan couldn’t help but feel envious.

Lancers were fierce. Clad in light armor, a single thrust of their spears could half-kill a wild wolf—far beyond what Goblins or Little Skeletons could achieve.

Even with fewer numbers, their overall strength was significantly superior.

He was so jealous.

If Two-Star troops were this strong, how powerful would Three-Star troops be? Unfortunately, he hadn’t found any player who’d rolled a Three-Star troop. He didn’t know if it was because the lucky ones were keeping a low profile or if such players simply didn’t exist.

Compared to the smooth sailing of Lancer-start players, others were having a tough time, sharing nothing but tragic experiences.

One player who started with Two-Star Half-Orcs eagerly ventured out to explore, only to be ambushed by a group of Cave Dwellers, barely escaping with heavy losses.

It was truly miserable.

“Even with a slightly better starting troop, you only have a minor advantage—far from being able to act recklessly… The Eternal Continent’s waters run deep!”Mu Yuan’s expression was grave. Soon, he found a genuinely informative strategy post.

It was authentic and detailed, packed with substantial insights.

“The Eternal Continent is fraught with perils, and how to establish a foothold in the early stage is crucial to a player’s survival and future development. To this end, I offer the following advice:”

“Do not rush to explore the outside world. Instead, make full use of the resources within your own territory to create a combat environment that works to your advantage… We must understand that this is not merely a game. Therefore, as long as you can conceive it, there are many operations that can be realized.”

“After fully utilizing your resources, players can gradually probe the outside world. At this stage, it is not advisable to venture too far from your territory. If conditions permit, try to lure monsters back to the initial village and rely on previously set traps and fortifications to eliminate them, thereby minimizing your losses.”

“The Eternal Continent has certain ‘game mechanics.’ Defeating monsters has a chance to drop ‘Soul Sand,’ a universal resource that can be used for training, upgrading, and restoring your units. Additionally, there is a small chance for enemies to drop ‘Unit Shards.’ Players can consume this material along with a certain amount of Soul Sand to recruit additional units.”

“Blind exploration will put you in danger, but staying holed up in your starting location is merely a slow death. Thus, players need to take appropriate initiative, avoiding powerful monsters and hunting weaker enemies. Only in this way can you continuously strengthen yourself and withstand increasingly fierce enemy attacks.”

“.”

“As time passes, players will face progressively stronger enemies. Only by passing the novice trial can you overcome the early-stage difficulties.”

“I wish all players success in their endeavors. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below.”

“It really is packed with valuable insights!”

“Without this guide, figuring out this information would likely have cost me dearly. Thank you, OP. May you live a long and peaceful life.”

“Now, even though the situation is still far from ideal, by following this guide for defense and exploration, there might be a chance to fight for survival.”

If he could find a tipping function, he would definitely have tipped generously.

Oh, he had no money? Never mind then.

Mu Yuan genuinely admired the person who wrote the guide; he had benefited greatly from it.

He pondered, “First, I need to use the limited conditions in this dilapidated village to create some traps, like pit traps or spike traps. At the very least, I can make some hiding spots for ambushes.”

“I can search online for methods, but… will those silly little skeletons really understand my commands?”

Mu Yuan switched back to the game.

One thing commendable about the Little Skeletons was that they would spare no effort in carrying out the Lord’s orders.

This was far better than thieves, thugs, goblins, and the like.

Sure enough, as soon as he switched back to the game, he saw the Little Skeleton picking up and dismantling things… Wait, what did it dismantle?

Boom—

Dust filled the air as a shabby hut completely collapsed under the dismantling efforts of a certain skeleton.

The skeleton picked up a beam and clattered over to his character, looking as if it was seeking praise.

Mu Yuan: “…”

So this was the skeleton’s definition of tidying up? He really shouldn’t have expected any intelligence from the Little Skeletons—they didn’t even have brains, after all.But to be fair, being able to tear down the dilapidated wooden house shows that Little Skeleton possesses considerable strength. Mu Yuan’s earlier thought that he could take on two of them was truly reckless.

I underestimated you skeletons.

It even knows how to seek credit. In a way, this Little Skeleton’s intelligence isn’t that bad—comparable to a pet cat or dog.

“Never mind, these shabby wooden houses were already hazardous structures anyway. They’d have to be torn down and rebuilt sooner or later. Now that they’re demolished, we can gather some materials, which happen to be perfect for setting up traps.”

“As for the lack of shelter… skeletons don’t actually need houses to live in anyway. This demolition is quite reasonable.”

This time, Mu Yuan personally directed the micro-management, afraid that Little Skeleton might destroy some reusable scraps.

At the same time, he cast his gaze over the not-so-spacious Village Ruins, scanning inch by inch as he pondered what kind of traps to lay.

Setting traps is also an art.

He had to maximize the use of traps and environmental advantages to minimize future losses as much as possible.

Mu Yuan moved his mouse, observing and thinking. Suddenly, his mouse paused as his eyes lingered on the top of one Little Skeleton’s head, suspecting he was hallucinating.

A faint, tiny, almost unnoticeable “+0.01” emerged from this skeleton and faded away shortly after.

“What’s going on?”

He looked at the other skeletons and found this wasn’t an isolated case. At intervals, these skeletons would emit faint “+0.01” symbols above their heads, as if triggered by some mechanism.

But other players didn’t experience this kind of situation, right?

As he pondered, a line of special characters popped up in the middle of the screen.

「Skeleton Evolution Point: 0.13」

「An indescribably great power that can be applied to a specific troop type, enabling its evolution—Current Evolution Points can only be used for skeleton-type troops.」

Evolution?

Why is the Eternal Continent so perilous? It’s precisely because players possess too little power. If one could obtain a group of three-star or even stronger troops, their situation naturally wouldn’t be so dire.

And now, it seems his Little Skeletons can continuously evolve—even cannon fodder troops can aspire to have the bearing of an Emperor!

The future looks promising!

“Come to think of it, I’ve already Transmigrated and been chosen by this supernatural game. So, gaining a little extra special ability now isn’t too much to ask, right?”

——

(End of Chapter)