Chapter 9 – Taking the First Step Towards the Stars and the Sea

Player A: “…”

Player B: “…”

There’s a whale mixed in among us!

Players who have spent some time on the forums are quite familiar with things like unit systems and treasure tiers.

「Remnant Soul (Random)」

「Description: Using this item can randomly recruit a unit type, with a 90% chance of recruiting a common one-star unit, 9% chance for a common two-star, and 1% chance for a common three-star.」

This is the most common type of Unit Shard, also known as the gambler’s remnant soul.

Although the vast majority of players can only recruit crippled-tier units using these remnant souls, many still choose to go all-in on the gamble.

Alongside random remnant souls, there are naturally remnant souls that guarantee the recruitment of specific unit types.

Such as 「Remnant Soul (Little Skeleton)」, 「Remnant Soul (Little Sprite)」, 「Remnant Soul (Militia)」

Random remnant souls are more expensive than goblin or little skeleton type remnant souls, but far cheaper than two or three-star remnant souls like ‘Remnant Soul (Skeleton Soldier)’, ‘Remnant Soul (Archer)’, ‘Remnant Soul (Guard)’, ‘Remnant Soul (Centaur)’.

Three-star remnant souls are not only expensive but also extremely scarce.

Some veteran players complained:

“No wonder the price of three-star remnant souls has been constantly rising lately, even surpassing rare battle souls. Turns out you guys are driving up the prices!”

…

“The power of whales is truly terrifying.”

“As a poor person like me, I simply can’t compare. I can only rely on my own diligence and hard work.”

Mu Yuan sighed.

He also wanted to compete for a spot in the trial rankings.

Even children of veteran players covet the trial ranking rewards, let alone ordinary people like him. He needed to seize every opportunity he could get.

“However, those veteran player kids probably already have dozens of three-star units, while I only have Undead General, a single skeleton soldier. The gap is still quite large right now.”

He was still too weak, without enough power.

Although Deadbone is not the same as a normal three-star unit.

Mu Yuan switched back to the game.

「Prompt: Your Skeleton Soldier ‘Deadbone’ has leveled up to Tier Zero Level 2.」

While he was browsing the forums… ahem, while he was diligently gathering intelligence, Deadbone had also been extremely hardworking. Not only was it figuring out skill usage on its own, but it also continuously absorbed Soul Sand, finally reaching Level 2 at this moment.

At Level 2, Deadbone’s strength, speed, and energy reserves have all improved, though the combat power increase isn’t as significant as during evolution.

“Approximately 3g of Soul Sand was consumed.”

He had previously obtained a total of 8.8g of Soul Sand, with half used for Little Skeleton’s recovery and the remainder concentrated on Deadbone.

It lived up to expectations, leveling up quickly.

“They say the rate at which units absorb Soul Sand varies, and Deadbone… took about six hours, which is undoubtedly in the faster category.”

This is a unit’s hidden talent.

Mu Yuan wasn’t surprised. He couldn’t help but mention again: My son Deadbone has the bearing of an Emperor.

“From here on, the Soul Sand required for leveling up increases multiplicatively, and so does the time. So reaching Tier Zero Level 9 and then breaking through to Professional Tier with a unit isn’t easy.”

“After all, Professional Tier is almost the domain of veteran players.”

“However…”After browsing the forum for so long, he had encountered several confident players who aimed to rank on the novice trial leaderboard. These players seemed confident that they could advance to Professional Tier troops before the trial arrived—that is, within a month.

“In other words, if I want to receive the extra abundant rewards from the world, I need to cultivate at least Professional Tier troops. To be safer, I should cultivate three, four, six, seven, eight, or nine of them.”

“It’s time to set out into the vast world.”

Mu Yuan silently called up the Evolution Points, and a faint panel appeared before him.

「Skeleton Evolution Points: 1.03」

He had roughly estimated that ten Little Skeletons could produce 1 unit of Evolution Points in six hours, equivalent to evolving four three-star Skeleton Soldiers per day. This speed wasn’t slow.

However, this was the “maximum speed” when the Little Skeletons were working at full capacity.

Previously, many Little Skeletons had been injured, missing arms or legs, so the rate of accumulating Evolution Points naturally slowed down. It had only accumulated enough for evolution from noon until now.

Soon, Mu Yuan evolved one battle-scarred, highly accomplished Little Skeleton into a Skeleton Soldier.

He named it “Bone Two.During its evolution, Bone Two also learned the skill Cleave, proving that this wasn’t an isolated case but one of the effects brought about by the evolution power.

Even as ordinary three-star troops, having a skill made a world of difference compared to not having one.

However, Bone Two’s intelligence was far inferior to Deadbone’s; it was still a dull and foolish skeleton. Even though it had learned Cleave, it couldn’t use it right away.

Pathetic.

If you’re pathetic, you need to practice more.

Bone Two didn’t understand the commands Mu Yuan input, but that was fine. He had Deadbone relay them, and Bone Two slowly grasped them. With Deadbone’s guidance, this foolish skeleton would eventually be able to use the skill.

Mu Yuan didn’t keep Deadbone around to continue instructing.

Now that he had evolved a second Skeleton Soldier and the other Little Skeletons had mostly recovered, it was time to take the first step in his conquest of the starry seas.

He glanced outside; the sky over Baijiang City had completely darkened, and the real-world time had reached 8:00 PM.

A day on the Eternal Continent was also twenty-four hours, and the time zone of his game region was similar to that of the Xuan Nation. However, the days on the Eternal Continent were longer, and the sky remained bright even at 8:00 PM.

This was the basic condition for venturing out.

He was still a complete newbie; if night had already fallen, it would be better to just wash up and sleep.

…

The coverage area of the Newbie Territory was roughly one to two hundred meters in diameter.

Everything within this range was fully visible to Mu Yuan sitting in front of his computer, but this god-like, wide-angle perspective was limited to within the territory’s boundaries.

Further away, rolling white mist slowly churned, appearing as pitch black on the map.

Mu Yuan began selecting his troops.

The Undead General was definitely coming along. Besides him, Mu Yuan also handpicked three ordinary Little Skeletons. Well, the main role of these Little Skeletons was to protect him, the weak Lord.

He didn’t really want to go out either.

But once troops step beyond the territory’s boundaries, the Lord can no longer control them remotely; they can only follow previous orders.

Thus, leading troops on expeditions was the norm for new players.

Deadbone already possessed self-awareness and the foundation for independent action, but Mu Dad still couldn’t rest easy letting it venture out alone.

He really worried endlessly about his skeletons.

Soon, one human and four skeletons arrived at the edge of the territory, facing the thick, churning white mist ahead.As Mu Yuan stepped forward, the drifting white mist began to recede, and the scenery beyond the territory gradually became clear.

But at the same time, Mu Yuan’s field of vision was also descending.

The perspective shifted from a bird’s-eye view, slowly lowering to a third-person perspective.

“Prompt: You have stepped beyond the territory’s boundaries.”

Wispy white mist drifted, winding around towering trees over ten meters tall. Fallen leaves piled up, the path was rugged, and occasionally, massive claw prints of wild beasts could be seen, adding a touch of terror to the serene forest.

Mu Yuan had long understood the precautions for venturing out and was not surprised by the change in perspective, but this drastically reduced field of vision still made him feel uncomfortable and unsafe.

No wonder strategy guides advised players who were unsure to simply stay within the territory and not venture out.

The difference between fighting inside and outside the territory was immense.

He grew even more cautious.

Deadbone walked at the forefront, pushing aside the bushes.

Mu Yuan, meanwhile, stayed firmly in the middle of the three Little Skeletons. Well, this positioning was more conducive to command. It was just a pity that the Little Skeletons were still too short, and their bones were full of gaps. If only they were three Skeleton Soldiers, it would be about right.

Suddenly, the bushes rustled, emitting faint, sparse sounds.

Deadbone’s soulfire flickered, his gaze fixed intently on that patch of grass.

A wild gray wolf appeared!

They hadn’t even taken a few steps, and they were already encountering wild monsters? Hmm, judging by the tracks of these gray wolves, they were likely on their way to attack his territory.

They had already chosen the path to their doom!

The number of gray wolves was not as large as the previous batch—only seven—but the leader had glossy fur and was noticeably more robust than the others.

“Gray Wolf (Common ★): Tier Zero, Level 4.”

It was a Level 4 ‘Wolf King’!

The Wolf King’s gaze was fierce as it pounced.

Deadbone, however, showed no fear. His saber unsheathed, wreathed in faint threads of black light.

Boom—!

The power of Cleave surged forth, shattering the Wolf King’s sharp claws with overwhelming force, then continued unabated to strike the Wolf King’s ferocious head. It sliced through fur, tore through flesh, and severed bone. The sheer force compressed the wolf’s entire body until it was completely deformed.

Deadbone, descending from above, slammed the blow fiercely into the ground.

Residual energy scattered.

The earth cracked.

In the center of the cracked earth lay a shapeless mass—the remains of the departed Wolf King.

(End of Chapter)