Skill: Morph Armor (Active)
Rarity: Rare
Description: When activated, lasts for 10 minutes. Transforms the weapon into an Assault Bone Armor that covers the entire body, granting additional defense (+6) and increasing the current weapon's attack power by 20%. Unlocks new forms, such as a bow, upon skill upgrades.
Requirement: Bone Powder.
"Wait, a Rare skill? Now that's a pleasant surprise!"
The soul fire flickering in Ethan's eye sockets danced slightly, as if celebrating this unexpected windfall.
In the world of Dark Scrolls, skills, like equipment, were categorized by rarity. But skills were far harder to come by than gear. They were ranked across nine tiers: Basic, Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary, Mythical, Divine, and Supreme.
And this skill, Morph Armor, wasn't just a Rare-tier skill—it also allowed weapon transformation. A utility skill like this was practically priceless.
"This is a jackpot," Ethan thought, unable to suppress the surge of joy welling up inside him.
In this game, the drop rate for equipment was already abysmally low, but skill books? Those were so rare they were practically mythical.
Ordinary monsters almost never dropped skill books. Only by defeating bosses or completing hidden quests could players even hope for a minuscule chance of obtaining one.
A Rare-tier skill book? Its market value would easily be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Even though this skill had been granted as part of his evolution, Ethan couldn't help but feel lucky.
More importantly, this skill felt tailor-made for him.
As a former top-tier player, Ethan understood better than anyone the potential of weapon transformation.
In life, he had earned the title The Apex Tyrant because he dominated the cross-class leaderboards, becoming the undisputed number one player.
Before Dark Scrolls came along, Ethan had already cemented his legend in another game: Everfall.
That game boasted a staggering 60% realism rate and a global player base of over five billion.
Unlike Dark Scrolls, where players could only create one character, Everfall allowed up to sixteen characters per account, each representing a different class.
Ethan had spent three years maxing out all sixteen classes and securing the top spot on the PvP leaderboards for every single one.
Each of his accounts bore the name Tyrant: Tyrant Forceblade, Tyrant Wraithcaller, Tyrant Voidblade, Tyrant Grandmaster, Tyrant Demonbane… These names became legendary, synonymous with dominance.
For Ethan, any weapon in his hands could unleash its full potential.
And now, this Morph Armor skill was about to make him even more unstoppable.
"If I can unlock the bow form, that'd be perfect," he muttered, the soul fire in his eyes flaring brighter.
As a skeletal creature, his lack of mobility was a glaring weakness. He was an easy target for enemies who relied on kiting tactics.
But if he could unlock the bow form, he'd finally have a way to counterattack from a distance.
With his past archery skills, he might not hit a bullseye every time, but landing every shot? That was a given.
The thought made him itch to test the skill's power immediately. But he forced himself to hold back, shifting his focus to another skill instead.
Skill: Pillage (Passive)
Rarity: Advanced
Description: Upon killing an enemy unit, there is a 1% chance to plunder one of the target's skills or talents. Can be upgraded using Evolution Points.
"This passive is insane!"
The soul fire in Ethan's eyes flickered again, clearly reflecting his excitement.
The ability to steal skills or talents meant he could target specific enemies to acquire the abilities he wanted.
For example, if he wanted the Roar skill or the Thick Hide talent from a Rotting Grizzly, all he had to do was hunt them repeatedly until he successfully plundered what he needed.
"This is basically an infinite skill library!"
"...Though, a 1% chance? That's brutal."
The soul fire dimmed slightly, as if expressing his frustration.
Still, Ethan quickly adjusted his mindset, muttering to himself, "Whatever. Let's see how it works first. I'll need to start farming Evolution Points anyway."
He glanced over at Lily, who stood nearby with a sour expression on her face. Ignoring her mood, he raised his weapon.
The Reaper's Scythe in his hands began to shift under the influence of Morph Armor, transforming into a sleek, razor-sharp Boneblade.
Without any unnecessary movements, Ethan swung his blade down in a clean, decisive strike.
"Ahhh! The summon is killing its master! The summon is rebelling!" Lily's scream echoed through the entire forest.
"Splat!"
Ethan's attack was precise, dealing a devastating blow. With 64 base attack power and an additional 30 from his weapon, the total 94 damage landed as a critical hit.
"–183!"
The system notification followed immediately:
"Congratulations! You've slain a Rotting Grizzly. You've gained 22 experience points and 22 evolution points."
The full-health Rotting Grizzly that had just spawned behind Lily was instantly killed, its health bar wiped out in a single strike.
Ethan didn't pause. He stepped past Lily, who was still covering her eyes, and headed deeper into Silverpine Forest.
From his years of gaming experience, he knew that areas populated by a single type of monster often had stronger, Uncommon-tier creatures lurking deeper within.
Since he was already here, there was no way he'd pass up the opportunity.
Might as well take down a few tougher monsters and see if they dropped any gear.
After all, since his evolution, he hadn't seen a single piece of equipment drop.
"Looks like… I'll have to rely on first kills," he muttered to himself.
"Ahhh… I thought I was done for!" Lily clutched her chest, trying to calm her racing heart.
For a moment, she had genuinely believed that Ethan, after evolving, had decided she was too much of a burden and was about to kill her.
She had even covered her eyes, bracing herself for death.
But to her surprise, it turned out that a Rotting Grizzly had spawned behind her.
"Hey! Don't just walk off! Where are you going?" Lily called out, quickly chasing after him. She ran while bombarding him with questions.
She watched Ethan's skeletal frame stride steadily toward the depths of Silverpine Forest, the Boneblade in his hand gleaming coldly under the dim light.
A sinking feeling crept into her heart. She just knew this summon of hers was about to pull off another one of his insane stunts.
"Big guy, can't we just stay here and grind? Look, you're one-shotting Rotting Grizzlies! Leveling up would be so fast, right?"
"As a summon, shouldn't you be a little more cautious? Come on, doesn't that make sense?"
But no matter how much Lily nagged, Ethan didn't respond. He simply kept moving forward, his Boneblade slicing through any monsters that dared to block his path.
He had to get stronger.
Even though his power had already undergone a massive transformation, he still didn't know if he could revive after dying. Without a safety net, he wasn't willing to take any risks.
"Slash!"
Another clean strike.
A Rotting Grizzly that had just reared up on its hind legs didn't even have time to roar before Ethan's blade found its neck.
"–267!"
The system notification popped up:
"Critical hit! Vital strike! Triple damage!"
The 267 damage instantly drained the Rotting Grizzly's health bar to zero.
Immediately after, another notification appeared:
"Pillage successful! You've plundered the Rotting Grizzly's talent: +20 max health, +1 defense."
The soul fire in Ethan's eyes flickered slightly, a clear sign of his satisfaction.
His evolved physique was proving to be a massive advantage.
Before his evolution, Ethan had stood at only 4 feet tall. Against a Rotting Grizzly standing upright, his attack range barely reached its shoulders. As a result, his usual strategy was to first slash at its legs, bring it down, and then finish it off with a strike to the neck.
But now, standing at 6 feet tall, he could directly target the Grizzly's neck without any extra effort.
Even without triggering a critical hit or using his Quick Slash skill, his 94 attack power combined with the double damage from a neck strike was more than enough to take down a 100-health Rotting Grizzly in one blow.
What thrilled him even more was that his Pillage passive had finally triggered!
"This effect… is absolutely broken!"