Shasha~
The tall trees swayed, and the white fog drifted, making the depths of the forest seem so mysteriously unpredictable.
Only by being in one's own territory and using a godlike perspective to oversee everything could one feel a bit of safety.
As the third-person perspective gradually ascended to an overhead view, Mu Yuan's game character stepped into his territory.
In front of the computer, he rubbed his slightly swollen wrists.
Night had fallen; Baijiang City was bright with lights, and the roar of a motorcycle passing by echoed from outside the window.
The daylight in Eternal World also gradually receded from the horizon. Darkness fell, shrouding the land, and the fog rolling beneath the night sky seemed like gaping maws ready to devour anything that entered.
Various creatures also became more active. Their cries rose and fell, interweaving into a terrifying symphony.
"The Dead Bone has grown stronger, but going out still requires extreme caution, and the efficiency is low."
Today, his exploration team had expanded slightly, consisting of 2 Skeleton Soldiers + 3 Little Skeletons + 1 Falcon.
And they had ventured out twice.
The reason for only twice, breaking off midway to rest, was because his game character couldn't handle it. He had eaten a RedBlood Fruit yesterday, which had slightly improved his physical fitness, but the poor road conditions in the wilderness were still too difficult to traverse. Mu Yuan had to be fully focused when controlling his game character, or a careless stumble on something could send it crashing to the ground.
It was all the roads' fault!
Of course, the low efficiency of exploration was also related to his excessive caution; sensing the slightest danger, Mu Yuan would immediately make a strategic retreat, so their exploration was slower.
However, compared to yesterday, today they had clarified several dark areas on the map.
Mu Yuan opened the map.
The area outside his territory was still shrouded in white fog, and naturally, he couldn't see any units, but the previously explored areas had their darkness fade away, revealing the landscape clearly on the map.
"North, the orchard we found yesterday continues to the north, where there's a small Goblin Camp."
"It may be small, but it's still a camp. From a distance, there seem to be at least dozens of Goblins, an existence we currently can't afford to provoke."
Before discovering the Goblin Camp, Mu Yuan's squad had also taken down some isolated Goblins.
These ordinary Goblins were as weak as the Little Skeletons, and the Skeleton Soldiers could chop them up crisply.
When they found the Goblin Camp, 'Bone Two,' this dimwit, charged in head-on.
"Cack cack cack~"
Charge! Crush them all, utterly, completely!
Mu Yuan guessed at the meaning, but it was probably incorrect. He didn't think 'Bone Two' was that smart; he suspected that the thing simply didn't have any thoughts and would just recklessly charge and rush.
He shouldn't have given this dimwit a "Two" in its name.
Uh, but then again, most ordinary Troops, and even lower-level rare Troops, are like this.
They only retain some basic combat instincts, so one can't expect too much.
It was the Dead Bone that had raised his expectations.
"So, Dead Bone, from now on, all new Skeletons will be trained by you. Perform well."
Mu Yuan patted Dead Bone's shoulder.
The Dead Bone, entrusted with an important task, was very happy; its Soul Flame flickered more intensely, and it struck its armor with duangduang sounds to indicate that it would surely not disappoint.
Mu Yuan, who had become a hands-off manager and hadn't even overpromised yet, nodded with a smile.
He had heard that Troops that had awakened self-awareness were not only more gifted, had stronger learning abilities, and were more likely to break through but also had certain flaws.
They were too clever.
Clever Troops sometimes look down on weaker Lords, would dismiss commands they didn't like, and some would demand daily payment from their Lord, or simply be lazy and lie down on the job.
In summary, Troops with self-awareness have higher potential but also have greater demands.
"Really? I don't quite feel it."
Mu Yuan stroked his chin.
As long as Dead Bone was willing, he wasn't exactly exploiting his employees.
No, how could one describe it as 'exploitation'? This was training; precisely because Dead Bone had awakened self-awareness, it needed more training opportunities to harness its potential.
And Mu Yuan was merely providing some of those training opportunities.
Unable to attack the Goblin Camp, Mu Yuan could only send out the Falcon, which was there just to make up numbers, for some reconnaissance. Unfortunately, he didn't speak bird language and didn't have any self-aware Troops who understood it to translate, so he didn't quite understand the Falcon's meaning.
He only managed to roughly figure out that there were at least dozens of Goblins in the camp, and there were no fewer than three types of Goblin Troops.
Goblin, Big Goblin, and Goblin Spearman.
The Goblin Spearman was a Two-star Troop, maybe not very lethal but equipped with long-range capabilities.
During the Falcon's reconnaissance of the Goblin Camp, it almost got shot down by Spearmen and was now shedding feathers all over.
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"This Goblin Camp is too close to our territory, and must be dealt with as a priority once we have the capability. Otherwise, they will eventually come knocking on our door."
"And without a strategy to conquer the camp, it's inadvisable to detour and continue exploring northward. Otherwise, in the event of an emergency that requires a strategic retreat, it would be easy for the Goblins to cut off our escape."
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On the second exploration, Mu Yuan chose the west.
The number of solitary wild creatures like Grey Wolves, Goblins, and Cave's people to the west had diminished, but there was an increase in a seldom-seen creature—the Two-star monster, poison spiders.
They were as large as millstones, with terrifying appearances, and could spit venom.
The venom wasn't a skill but was poisonous nonetheless.
For other players, these poison spiders would likely be an unwelcome challenge due to their toxicity. Once troops are poisoned, their recovery can prove to be a hassle—consuming quite a bit of Soul Sand, an inefficient trade-off.
Coincidentally, Mu Yuan's Skeletons weren't particularly afraid of poison.
So, Mu Yuan, along with Dead Bone and other Skeletons, chaotically slaughtered their way through the Poisonous Spider Forest, cutting down at least twenty poison spiders.
However, as they ventured deeper, the environment of the Poisonous Spider Forest gradually changed; the trees and leaves shone with a dark purple luster, and from afar, one could even see huge spider webs spanning across tree branches tens of meters high.
How big must those spiders be?
Mu Yuan became concerned.
Dead Bone also felt that a strategic retreat could be a sensible option.
So they retreated.
Mu Yuan took out an A3 sheet of paper and began to sketch. He drew a circle to represent his own territory and marked the Goblin Camp to the north with an "X."
As for the west, their exploration had only touched the very edge of the black and purple forest. He could not guess how vast the forest was or if even more terrifying giant spiders lurked deeper within.
He named it the Poisonous Spider Forest, noting that it was not suitable for deeper exploration.
After an entire day, he didn't come across the Root of Corruption but did slay many solitary wild monsters and cleared many areas, yielding a significant haul.
Mu Yuan took stock of everything.
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"Soul Sand, 39.6 grams; Remnant Souls, as we didn't encounter monsters of higher level or star-rating, only one has been dropped... or perhaps this is the normal drop rate?"
"As for materials, we found three stalks of Ordinary level Hemostatic Grass, which have noticeable wound healing effects, but seem ineffective on Skeletons."
"There were also 4 Detox fruits, 5 Calming Grass, and 3 Filling fruits."
These were all Ordinary level materials, but their values differed greatly; the first three paled in comparison to RedBlood Fruit. However, the Filling fruits were even more valuable than RedBlood Fruit.
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'Filling fruit (Ordinary): A cultivation material that can slightly increase the energy of troops.'
Even if the increase was slight, Filling fruits were mostly used by Professional Soldiers, and Mu Yuan estimated that it could provide a significant boost to the endurance of Dead Bone.
RedBlood Fruit was also a cultivation material, but its compatibility with Skeletons wasn't merely a poor match—it was completely nonexistent.
"As for Soul Sand, priority will be given to Dead Bone and the two Skeleton Soldiers. The rest of the Little Skeletons will have to be cut off for now; there's just not enough money."
"With the talent and effort of Dead Bone, it could reach level four by tomorrow—practically mid-Apprentice level."
One step closer to the Great Perfection of a nine-level Apprentice and Half-step Career Level.
The future is promising.
No, the promise is now.
All of this hard work and effort will not be in vain; Evolution Points will return with true brilliance.
"It's time to show our strength, Evolution Points."
Currently, there are fifteen Skeletons in the territory, producing one unit of Evolution Points in about four hours. Plus, with him leading Dead Bone and the Skeletons on explorations, battles, and chaotic killing sprees, this process has accelerated.
The Evolution Points have been fully accumulated.
It's time to show our true power.
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'Evolution Points: 5.23'
"Dead Bone, step forward, and do not fail to honor this power. Continue to forge ahead and strive. I hope that one day you will become a true... Skeleton Emperor."
Mu Yuan painted a picture for it: a vision of the Skeleton Emperor sitting atop an imperial coffin, back turned to all life, fishing through eternity.
Skeleton Emperor?
The young Dead Bone was filled with longing, taking several steps forward, clenching a fist to its chest as if making a pledge.
Its armor was already covered in scratches and stained with dried, coagulated blood, and its Standard war knife was somewhat nicked... all marks of valor from the countless battles over the past days.
It was already a Skeleton that had braved a hundred battles alone.
The next moment, a warm, miraculous, great, and invisible power descended. Dead Bone transformed into light once again, and amidst the dazzling white light, the figure of the Skeleton Soldier began to change.
Its armor grew more ferocious and majestic, and its presence more intimidating.
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'Ding!'
'Notification: Your troop type "Skeleton Soldier" has been influenced by the Miracle Power and has undergone metamorphosis, now evolved into "Skeleton Warrior".'
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