A little progress isn't progress at all.
At four in the morning, [Mu Yuan] was increasingly invigorated, his whole body buzzing with energy.
The ability to evolve the troop types undoubtedly held the key to breaking through the current impasse, but there were still many unclear aspects of this ability.
Mu Yuan delved into research.
Evolution Points could baptize and transform a single skeleton, but his initial attempts had failed—the current number of Evolution Points was insufficient.
He gained a vague intuition, suggesting roughly that he needed to accumulate "1" unit of Evolution Points to initiate evolution.
Moreover, the source of Evolution Points stemmed from the activities of the Little Skeletons themselves.
Perhaps, as long as the Little Skeletons existed, they would eventually produce Evolution Points, but after conducting some comparative experiments, Mu Yuan found that working Skeletons produced markedly more Evolution Points than those slacking off.
007, more capable of generating value.
He wanted to continue researching, but alas... at that moment, the sky was beginning to lighten, and Mu Yuan suddenly realized he had been up all night, and could no longer keep himself going.
His entire spirit was hazy, and he was seeing double.
If he didn't sleep now, he feared he might suddenly die in front of his computer.
"In the Supernatural Game, my role is that of a Lord, tasked with defending my homeland, and expanding territory, while also materializing some special treasures into reality... This is a prolonged battle. An overnight rush is of little effect. Keeping one's energy abundant is key to handling emergencies."
"Besides, my Little Skeletons can evolve. There's no need to let them recklessly wander out of the village to explore the outside world. Using the Village Ruins as a stronghold is a stable approach."
Mu Yuan was still somewhat worried.
Because the Supernatural Game did not pause due to his exit, it was a real world, which, even if he did not operate, would still function according to established rules.
In other words, during his rest or when he was out, his territory could potentially suffer attacks from outsiders.
This was a situation most feared by novice players.
"But fortunately, when the territory faces enemy invasion, players are alerted even without opening the game, and the troops will defend automatically."
Before going to sleep, Mu Yuan intended to assign the skeletons some exercise tasks to accumulate more Evolution Points, but for safety, he extinguished the idea.
These Little Skeletons were foolishly naive. He was worried that if he issued the order, they might execute some clumsy operations.
He also concerned that exercise might affect the state of the Little Skeletons themselves, and thus the safety of the entire territory.
Better to play it safe and not rush.
He'd try again tomorrow.
He instructed the Skeletons to guard himself and the Territory Altar before shutting down the computer. Without even washing up, he climbed directly into bed, covered himself with a small blanket, closed his eyes, and fell into a peaceful sleep.
...
But that night... that day, [Mu Yuan] did not sleep peacefully.
His mind was occupied with thoughts of the Supernatural Game, and his dreams were filled with the dilapidated village. He dreamed of a Giant Dragon emerging from the mist, Diving down, and with a burst of Dragon Breath, turning the entire village into a sea of fire.
Mu Yuan then awoke bathed in sweat.
Checking the time, he had only slept for six hours.
Six hours was enough. It was time to get excited.
[Mu Yuan] hurried to his computer and quickly opened the game, only relaxing when he saw the broken village was safe and sound, and then wiped the sleep from his eyes.
"It's nerve-wracking to play a game worrying about my homeland. Until the territory has a strong defense, I can't truly enjoy playing."
When [Mu Yuan] opened the game, his own game character also woke up in a leaky broken wooden house.
Perceiving that he had awoken, several Little Skeletons gathered around, clacking their jaws noisily.
One of them held up a slab of wood.
Oh no, not a wood slab, but a shield made from a door panel.
Yesterday, [Mu Yuan] had taught the Little Skeletons to fully utilize resources and had set up a few simple pits and snare traps. Could it be that today the Little Skeletons had improvised and crafted their own? Such teachable moments!
[Mu Yuan] controlled his character to pat the shiny skulls of the Skeletons in praise, then looked at the other Little Skeletons.
They all seemed to be seeking praise too.
Uh, one Little Skeleton had several branches stuck between its ribs, quite the artistic impression; another had found a black tattered bag and put it over its head, looking spirited; yet another was banging on its own bones, and with a snap, detached one.
[Mu Yuan]: "..."
He really shouldn't have held too high expectations for the Little Skeletons, although they were already better than expected, honestly.
Mu Yuan silently recited the Evolution Points, and a special code appeared within the game.
"Skeleton Evolution Points: 0.71"
He had only kept the Little Skeletons on alert, not fully squeezing out their 'potential,' so the production of Evolution Points was indeed less.
Today, with his own supervision, he might as well try to find an efficient method to generate points.
As for going out to explore, Mu Yuan was not in a hurry.
At this time, other players indeed needed to start exploring; without taking that step, they would never become stronger, they had to take risks.
But he was different.
He was constantly accumulating Evolution Points. Once he had enough to evolve a high-level soldier, then going out to find resources and level up would be much more secure.
No need to rush at this moment.
Surviving was victory.
Little Skeletons didn't need to eat, and the status of the game characters was closely related to his own in reality, meaning if he filled his stomach in real life, his game character wouldn't starve—no need to worry about food issues.
From this perspective, the Little Skeletons had a pretty decent start.
The 007 work schedule also matched well with the Little Skeletons.
Mu Yuan opened the formal player panel to check the details.
[Mu Yuan]
"Identity: Quasi-Selected Lord"
"Territory: Unnamed (must pass the Novice Trial to gain the true authority of a Lord and control the territory)"
"Domination Troops: Little Skeletons ×10 (click for details)"
"Capacity of Lord's Seal: 0/3"
Players... Selected Lords can store their own troop types in the Mark Space and summon them in the real world... This is also the basic manifestation of players holding Supernatural powers.
However, the strategy posts clearly stated that extracting material across borders costs, and summoning troops across borders is even more difficult, especially when the player is weak—it's not recommended to try.
Of course, Mu Yuan wouldn't attempt it.
Summoning troops across borders also required Soul Sand as a medium, which he didn't have a drop of.
If he tried forcefully, either the troops would have issues, or he would become drained.
He couldn't risk it, he couldn't risk it.
He dared not further weaken his territory's already weak defensive capacity during his vulnerable period.
Be patient, be stable.
Mu Yuan manipulated each Skeleton one by one, assigning them different training or work tasks to accumulate Evolution Points.
The process was tedious, yet he didn't feel impatient.
That slow but steady growth of Evolution Points was his greatest joy.
Mu Yuan planned to hold on until the Little Skeletons evolved before he started to explore the outside world.
But,
Things don't always go as planned, and the Eternal Continent wasn't that safe; it was normal for players' territories to suffer harassment and attacks.
On the back of his hand, a Mysterious rune suddenly lit up, slightly warm and tingling.
He seemed to see wolves, dirty but fierce-looking, emerging from the thick fog, warily but resolutely, walking toward the village ruins.
The timing really couldn't be worse!
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PS: Thanks for everyone's comments and votesღ(´･ᴗ･`), two updates a day during the new book period, occasionally three. Contract status will change next Monday, investments yield even greater returns now dear~~~