"230 damage? Are you kidding me?!" Lily's voice was filled with shock, her eyes wide as saucers.
"This is a Stone Golem! Its defense is 30 points! That's insane!"
She muttered to herself, glancing over at Ethan with a look of disbelief in her eyes.
But Ethan? He acted like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Calm and composed, he gripped his Boneblade with steady hands. His movements were sharp and precise, as if that jaw-dropping attack was just another routine strike for him.
Lily's gaze quickly shifted to the weapon in Ethan's hand.
The blade looked completely different now—its surface shimmered with a deep, blood-red glow, cold and menacing, as if it could devour anything in its path.
"The sword… it changed?" she murmured under her breath, a swirl of complicated emotions rising in her chest.
Just moments ago, she had been feeling pretty smug about her new Bear Set armor. But now? It was like someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over her. Her excitement fizzled out in an instant.
"I'm still the same useless nobody… nothing's changed," she muttered, staring down at her gear. Her voice was barely audible. "All this time, and all I've become is a more experienced failure."
She looked up again, her eyes landing on Ethan.
His frame was lean, but there was an undeniable strength in the way he carried himself. It wasn't just physical—it was the kind of presence that demanded attention.
"High attack power, crazy crit rate, solid defense, and his weapon can even transform into a bow… Mr. Bones, just how many secrets are you hiding?"
Lily stood there, her gaze fixed on Ethan, her emotions a mix of curiosity and awe.
Then, Ethan's attack rhythm suddenly shifted.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of his blade striking stone echoed through the air, but this time, the damage numbers that popped up were noticeably lower.
–117!
–75!
–45!
"Huh? What's going on?"
Lily immediately noticed the change and turned her attention to Ethan. He frowned, his grip on the blade tightening as his hand trembled slightly. It was clear he could feel the strong recoil from the weapon.
"The Stone Golem's surface… is it getting darker?" Ethan muttered, his eyes locked on the monster in front of him.
It didn't take him long to figure out what was happening.
"Petrified Skin… its defense just doubled."
Recalling the skill description for the Stone Golem, Ethan quickly pieced together the situation.
"That's actually a pretty solid skill. Maybe I can Pillage it and use it myself," he said quietly, a glint of excitement flashing in his eyes.
Even though the Stone Golem's defense had skyrocketed, Ethan didn't stop his assault.
His blade continued to strike with precision, targeting the monster's weak points. Finally, with a critical hit, he drained the last of the Stone Golem's health.
–85!
With a thunderous crash, the Stone Golem collapsed to the ground.
"Stone Golem defeated. You've gained 100 experience points and 100 evolution points. Bonus: Overlevel kill—additional 50 experience points and 50 evolution points."
The system notification rang out, and Lily's eyes lit up.
"150 experience points! That's five times what a Rotting Grizzly gives!" she exclaimed, her voice brimming with excitement.
And to top it off, the Stone Golem had dropped an item.
[White Boots]
Quality: Common
Level: 15
Defense: 5
Description: Just a pair of ordinary boots. Nothing special.
"Double XP and double drop rates! Grinding here is amazing!" Lily couldn't help but gush.
But her excitement was short-lived. Her brows furrowed as she thought about something.
"That Petrified Skin, though… it's kind of a pain."
Ethan bent down, picked up the dropped item, and casually tossed it to Lily. Instead of rushing to engage another monster, he stood still, lost in thought.
"Petrified Skin is a passive skill. It only triggers when the Stone Golem's health drops below a certain threshold," he muttered, analyzing the situation. "If I pull multiple Stone Golems at once, I can wait for them to trigger Petrified Skin, then switch targets. With Cleave Attack's passive defense-ignore effect and the Pierce trait reducing armor by 10 points, I should be able to deal even more damage."
Thinking of this, Ethan immediately sprang into action. His skeletal joints cracked audibly as he slowly walked over to Lily, waving his bony hands in a series of exaggerated gestures.
Lily froze, staring at him with a blank expression. "Uh… Mr. Bones, what exactly are you trying to tell me?" She shrank back slightly, her face full of confusion.
Ethan let out a long, exasperated sigh.
His gestures were clear enough—any normal person should've been able to understand what he meant.
"This airhead…" Ethan grumbled internally, his gaze sweeping over Lily's delicate features.
Her long hair cascaded over her shoulders, her big, bright eyes sparkled with innocence, and her heart-shaped face was small and perfectly proportioned. Her figure? Flawless—long legs, a slim waist, a perky butt, and a full chest. She was, without a doubt, a stunning beauty.
Too bad her brain didn't match the package.
Ethan's instructions were simple: drag over the corpse of a Rotting Grizzly so he could grind it into Bone Powder. He needed it to lure more monsters with his bow.
"Seriously, anyone with half a brain would've gotten that," Ethan thought, shaking his head in resignation. His impression of Lily's… unique personality deepened.
"Mr. Bones… I'm sorry… Am I just too dumb? Am I holding you back?" Lily hugged her arms to her chest, her head hanging low. Her lips pouted dramatically, and her face was full of guilt and frustration.
Ethan glanced at her, then spread his skeletal hands in a helpless shrug, letting out another sigh.
"Looks like if I want to level up quickly, I'll need to fix our communication issues first," he thought to himself. "And her skills… yeah, those need some serious work. She's way too green."
Without saying another word, Ethan turned and headed back into Silverpine Forest. In no time, he took down a few Rotting Grizzlies, dragged their corpses back, and dumped them unceremoniously at Lily's feet.
Lily blinked, stunned for a moment, before finally catching on. She quickly got to work on her assigned task—grinding Bone Powder.
"Unbelievable. Me, the top-ranked player on the leaderboard, reduced to grinding Bone Powder for a summoned creature…" she muttered under her breath, her tone half-joking. But despite her words, a small, relaxed smile crept onto her face.
Truth be told, she didn't mind doing these little tasks. If anything, she felt relieved.
Her biggest fear was being completely useless—a deadweight dragging Ethan down. Now that she had something to do, even if it was just grinding Bone Powder, she felt like she was finally contributing.
"Helping Mr. Bones grind Bone Powder… what an honor!" she thought to herself, her hands moving faster as she worked.
Still, she couldn't help but glance up at Ethan in the distance, a hint of curiosity in her eyes. "But… what's Mr. Bones planning to do next?"
Earlier, she'd watched him fight a Stone Golem, and honestly, his efficiency wasn't great.
Stone Golems had ridiculously high defense and massive health pools—easily double that of other monsters at the same level. On top of that, once their health dropped below 50%, they triggered their Petrified Skin ability, which boosted their defense even further.
Sure, the experience points were great, but the time it took to kill one was just… way too long.
"Honestly… if he switched to a different monster, his efficiency would skyrocket," Lily thought to herself. But then she shook her head. "Maybe… Mr. Bones thinks the Stone Golems are safer for me. Their attack power isn't that high, so I'm not in much danger. Plus, he's probably farming gear for me."
She glanced down at the white boots on her feet, a soft smile spreading across her face.
"Mr. Bones is so thoughtful…" she murmured as she continued grinding the Bone Powder. "He's willing to waste time just to get me better gear. If only he weren't so cold all the time. A little warmth wouldn't hurt…"
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sharp sound of metal striking stone echoed in the distance, accompanied by the splintering of rock.
Lily looked up to see Ethan already engaged in battle with four Stone Golems.
He stood in the middle of a canyon, tanking their attacks head-on while swinging his Boneblade with relentless precision.
Each strike landed with a satisfying crunch, and damage numbers floated above the Stone Golems' heads:
–115.
–15.
–15.
–15.
Clang!
–257!
A critical hit! The damage spiked, instantly triggering one of the Stone Golems' Petrified Skin abilities.
Ethan didn't hesitate for a second. He immediately shifted his focus to the next Stone Golem, continuing his assault without missing a beat.
–115.
–15.
–15.
–15.
Sure enough, the Petrified Skin ability had no effect on Ethan's Cleave Attack passive skill.
His strikes continued to bypass a portion of the Stone Golems' defense, dealing consistent damage.
Ethan stuck to his strategy: every time a Stone Golem's health dropped to half and triggered Petrified Skin, he immediately switched targets to another one.
And so, he cycled through the four Stone Golems, steadily chipping away at their health bars.
Before long, the first Stone Golem finally collapsed.
"Boom!"
A system notification popped up:
"Stone Golem defeated. You've gained 100 experience points and 100 evolution points. Overlevel kill bonus: +50 experience points, +50 evolution points."
At the same time, Ethan took three hits from the remaining Stone Golems. Tiny damage numbers floated above his head:
–1.
–1.
–1.
He didn't even flinch. Completely unfazed, he shifted his grip on the Boneblade, which suddenly began to morph. The Cleave Attack passive triggered, activating his Morph Armor skill. The blade transformed into a sleek, bone-crafted longbow.
Ethan nocked an arrow and drew the bowstring, aiming at a distant Stone Golem.
"Whoosh!"
The arrow flew straight and true, striking the Stone Golem squarely in the head. A spray of shattered rock erupted from the impact, and the creature, now enraged, lumbered toward Ethan.
Calm and composed, Ethan backed away, luring the Stone Golem toward the others. Once he had all four grouped together again, he resumed his methodical cycle of attacks.
This new approach was at least three times more efficient than before.
From a distance, Lily stood frozen, her jaw practically on the ground.
"Wait… you can do that?" she muttered to herself, her face a mix of awe and disbelief.
She glanced down at the white boots on her feet, her earlier smile fading into something a little more awkward. "Okay… I take it back. I might've been overthinking things…"