As the lord of the Skull Graveyard, the red skeleton, Reid, had lived in this graveyard for at least six hundred years. But ever since he leveled up to level seven and, by luck, learned the 'Undead Intimidation' skill three levels earlier, becoming the lord of this graveyard, he had never been this troubled before.
Where did that damned, always-lazy skeleton mage come from, the one who carries a bone staff behind his neck and acts like a slacker?
Reid had been racking his brain over this question.
As a high-level undead... well, at the lowest level of high-tier undead, Reid had learned the most basic rules of the undead world over the centuries — the strong rule, and the weak either obey or become food...
But that filthy skeleton mage, who was only level four, dared to ignore his existence and hunt freely at the edges of the Skull Graveyard! Every time Reid wanted to confront that damned skeleton mage in battle, the mage would just run away. What kind of cowardice is this?
Didn't that mage know the basic rule of undead combat — the stronger one challenges, and the weaker one has no choice but to fight?
That skeleton mage was nothing but a coward!
Poor Reid, the skeleton lord, had thought the damned mage had finally left since he hadn't seen him for more than thirty cycles of the blood-red twin moons. But just when Reid was starting to relax, the mage returned! And this time, the damned mage had brought three skeletal dogs with sharp steel-like teeth, and expanded his hunting range from the graveyard's outskirts to the very heart of it. This was a blatant act of provocation!
Furious, Reid's soul flame nearly boiled over. He wanted nothing more than to catch that mage and smash his skull into pieces.
But... that cowardly mage still dared not face him. Every time, he just turned and fled! Yesterday, the mage had even managed to send one of his skeletal dogs to bite off Reid's two toes before running away with his minions and dogs.
Reid looked down at his severed toes in anger. His soul flame boiled again. If that coward dared show up again today, he would crush his skull and feast on his soul flame!
Reid, still lying in ambush behind a large tombstone, didn't see the mage. Was that coward wise enough to know he would be waiting there?
No, that's impossible. A low-tier coward like him couldn't possibly understand ambush tactics. Every day, that coward showed up to hunt near this tombstone, and he would come again today!
Reid's confidence returned when he thought about how smart he was.
What was wisdom? Reid remembered that before becoming a lord, he was just a stronger red skeleton soldier, weak and scared of strong enemies, wandering aimlessly in the graveyard when he was full. But becoming the skeleton lord was different. He understood how to use the Undead Intimidation skill to make weaker skeletons submit, how to ambush, and how to use all these skills to hunt.
But suddenly, Reid seemed to lose his way. What else did he really know? He sank into confusion, and negative thoughts overwhelmed him, making his soul flame flicker wildly.
Suddenly, in a state of chaotic confusion, Reid leaped up, swinging his bone-spiked mace. All the low-level skeletons in his range were sent flying, their bones shattering into a cloud of dust.
Who am I? What do I know?
Reid, now completely lost, fell into a state of utter disorder. High-level undead, especially skeleton lords, often found themselves overwhelmed by negative thoughts. Once their minds spiraled into chaos, it was difficult to regain control of their soul flames. This could lead to them becoming mindless killing machines, slowly consuming their remaining soul energy until they died in silence.
This was the second time Reid had fallen into this state. The first time, he had gained some wisdom when he snapped out of it. But this time... who could say?
Reid rampaged through the graveyard, smashing everything in sight. As he did, he finally spotted the mage and his three vicious skeletal dogs.
"Kill them! Kill them all!"
In the distance, Ander, the skeleton mage, was just as surprised to see Reid charging at him.
This was completely unexpected. How could the red skeleton move so fast?
Although Ander had been provoking Reid for several days and had finally decided to confront him, could it be that Reid had suddenly grown smart and realized Ander had come to fight him?
"Go, dogs!" Ander yelled, ordering his skeletal dogs to charge, while he himself quickly ran in a zigzag pattern, dodging the heavy swings of Reid's mace.
The skeletal dogs, now used to Reid's Undead Intimidation, were more aggressive and began to bite at Reid's right leg as Ander ran around. Reid, in his fury, pursued Ander, but his large body couldn't match the quick turns Ander was making, and every time he tried to follow, he had to stop to turn around.
Ander and his dogs kept up their relentless attack on Reid's leg, and it was clear that Reid's leg was getting chewed down, piece by piece.
Just as Ander made another turn around a large tombstone, a heavy mace swung past him and smashed into the tombstone.
"Damn you, you piece of trash! You think I'm just a punching bag?!" Ander shouted, throwing a bone spear at Reid.
But as he turned to keep running, he noticed that Reid had fallen onto the ground in a massive crash.
Reid, the once mighty skeleton lord, had finally broken his own leg.