"Enhancement successful! Boneblade has been upgraded to Boneblade of Devastation and Pierce."
As soon as the system notification chimed, the Boneblade on Ethan's right arm burst into a brilliant blood-silver glow.
At the point where the blade connected to his arm bone, a deep crimson dot appeared, pulsating like a beating heart. Simultaneously, a fine blood groove began to emerge along the blade's surface, running from the hilt to the tip, exuding a chilling aura of lethal intent.
[Boneblade of Devastation and Pierce]
Rarity: Rare
Attack Power: 60–80
Critical Rate: 15%
Trait 1 - Devastation: +30% Critical Damage
Trait 2 - Pierce: Ignores 10 points of target's defense
Ethan stared at his newly upgraded weapon, unable to suppress a quiet murmur of admiration. "This is... powerful."
From the Rare tier onward, equipment gains randomly assigned traits. Traits like Pierce and Devastation were already rare enough on their own, typically appearing individually on Rare-tier gear.
Epic-tier equipment could have two traits, Legendary-tier three, and so on. But for his Boneblade, a Rare-tier weapon, to possess both traits simultaneously? That was practically unheard of.
"Looks like gear enhanced with enhancement points really is on a whole different level," Ethan thought to himself.
With this weapon in hand, combined with his Cleave Attack skill, his combat efficiency would easily double.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips as a glimmer of confidence lit up his eyes.
"It's time to help her with her class change," he muttered under his breath.
Turning around, Ethan began walking toward the direction of Twilight Ravine.
He had no intention of returning to the Undead Starter Village. After all, there were no class-change NPCs there. To complete a class change, one had to travel to a main city, and the closest one to him was Eternis City.
Twilight Ravine was the only path leading to Eternis City, and it was also one of the most challenging zones in the world of Dark Scrolls.
As one of the 108 main cities in the game, Eternis City served as a major hub for players in the North American region. Twilight Ravine, however, was the bottleneck that every player had to pass through to reach it.
The world of Dark Scrolls was often referred to as the "Second World," with its in-game time flowing differently from reality. Three days in the game equaled just one day in real life.
This unique time mechanic had drawn over 75% of the global population into the virtual world, with a staggering 6 billion players worldwide. The servers were perpetually on the brink of overload.
In the North American region alone, there were 400 million active players—roughly one-twelfth of the global player base.
Even with 108 main cities, the sheer number of players made the cities feel overcrowded.
But none of that mattered to Ethan.
His goal was clear: cross Twilight Ravine and reach Eternis City.
Twilight Ravine wasn't just a necessary passage to the main city,it was also an excellent leveling zone.
The area was infamous for its Level 15 Stone Golems, creatures with a staggering 30 points of defense—on par with the Uncommon-tier Rotting Grizzly boss Ethan had fought earlier.
For most players, even at Level 15 and equipped with a full set of class gear, dealing meaningful damage to the Stone Golems was nearly impossible.
However, while the Stone Golems had high defense, their attack power was relatively low, and the experience points they granted were exceptionally high.
For players with enough attack power to break through their defenses, Twilight Ravine was a leveling paradise.
And with Ethan's Boneblade of Devastation and Pierce, boasting a total attack power of 135 and the ability to ignore 10 points of defense, he was more than capable of taking them down.
"Mr. Bones, are you sure you don't want this gear?" Lily's voice carried a hint of uncertainty.
Ethan stopped in his tracks, glanced back at her, and gave a small nod before turning away and continuing his steady descent down the mountain path.
His steps were firm, radiating confidence in the challenges ahead.
Lily stood frozen for a moment, then broke into an uncontrollable smile, clutching the Bear Set armor tightly in her arms.
Just then, a Rotting Grizzly lunged out from the shadows, growling as it charged at Ethan.
Before the creature could fully close the distance, Ethan's Boneblade had already sliced through the air, leaving behind a blood-silver arc of light.
"–556!"
The damage number flashed in midair, glowing a vivid, blood-red hue that was impossible to ignore.
Ethan's strike had landed squarely on the Rotting Grizzly's neck, triggering a double-damage critical hit.
Immediately after, the critical effect activated, tripling the damage.
But that wasn't all. The Devastation trait further amplified the critical damage, pushing the multiplier to an astonishing 3.3x!
And then there was the Pierce trait.
The Rotting Grizzly's original 5 points of armor were reduced to -5, activating a special mechanic in Dark Scrolls: when a target's armor drops below -10, an additional 10% damage multiplier is applied.
In the end, Ethan's attack reached a jaw-dropping 3.4x critical multiplier, dealing a massive 556 points of damage!
The Rotting Grizzly didn't even have time to let out a death cry before collapsing to the ground, its decayed body disintegrating into a pile of rotting flesh.
Ethan glanced briefly at the loot on the ground but didn't stop.
His goal wasn't these low-level monsters. His sights were set on the Stone Golems deeper within Twilight Ravine.
He needed to test the true power of his Boneblade combined with his Cleave Attack skill.
Meanwhile, Lily was still lost in the excitement of her newly acquired Bear Set armor. She was so absorbed in trying it on that she hadn't even noticed the brief battle.
Even when the system notification chimed, informing her of the Rotting Grizzly's defeat, she barely registered it.
After all, Ethan's overwhelming attack power had long since stopped surprising her. One-shotting a Rotting Grizzly was just another Tuesday for him.
As she eagerly swapped out her old gear for the Bear Set, she followed behind Ethan almost absentmindedly. It wasn't until the environment around them began to change—becoming darker, more oppressive—that she finally snapped out of her daze.
"Wait a second… Is this… Twilight Ravine?" Lily's eyes darted around, a mix of surprise and unease flickering across her face.
Before she could fully process their surroundings, Ethan had already approached a Stone Golem.
The creature was massive, its entire body encased in jagged rock. Its sheer size and the weight of its presence made the air feel heavier.
Panicking slightly, Lily quickly opened the Stone Golem's stat panel:
[Stone Golem]
Level: 15
HP: 500
Attack: 1–15
Defense: 30
Skill: Petrified Skin
Description: A monster covered in impenetrable rock. Boasts extremely high health and defense. Killing it grants 200% the experience and rewards of a normal monster.
Lily's face paled as she read the stats.
"This place… Oh my god, Mr. Bones, why are we here?" Her voice trembled with a mix of panic and disbelief. "These Stone Golems have insane defense! We can't even scratch them—"
Before she could finish, Ethan had already raised his Boneblade and swung it down without hesitation.
"Clang!"
The sound of blade meeting stone rang out, sharp and piercing. Sparks flew as the Boneblade struck the Golem's rocky exterior.
A damage number floated up from the Stone Golem's head.
"–230!"
Lily's eyes widened in shock, her mouth falling open as she stared at the number.
"Wha… What?!"
She was utterly speechless.
…