[Congratulations! You have evolved into a Scarlet Skeleton Vanguard.]
[You have obtained the weapon of the Scarlet Skeleton Vanguard.]
[Detected: Boneblade of Devastation and Pierce already owned. Upgrading to Scarlet Edge of Devastation and Pierce!]
[You have acquired the Scarlet Skeleton Vanguard skills: Bloodlust Berserk and Crimson Verdict.]
[Health and Mana increased by 500. Attack and Defense increased by 50. Strength and Agility increased by 50.]
As soon as the system notification faded, the molten crimson flames burning in Ethan's hollow eye sockets flared up violently. The fiery glow grew brighter, as if it were ready to devour the surrounding darkness entirely.
His skeletal frame was now enveloped in a blazing crimson aura, radiating an ominous, hellish energy that sent chills down the spine.
Slowly, he raised his hand, carefully examining the changes to his body.
What was once dull, gray bone had transformed into a deep crimson hue, as if it had been forged in molten lava. Faint red flames flickered across the surface of his skeleton, like the pulse of life coursing through his bones.
The bone spikes at his joints had grown sharper, looking as though they could tear through anything that dared to stand in his way.
Ethan's gaze shifted to the weapon in his hand. The Boneblade he had wielded before was gone, replaced by the blood-red Scarlet Edge. The blade gleamed with a cold, menacing light, its surface wrapped in faint red flames. It felt alive, exuding a bloodthirsty aura that made it seem like more than just a weapon.
Turning his head, he noticed something new on his back—a crimson cloak draped over his skeletal shoulders. But this wasn't an ordinary piece of fabric. It seemed to have grown naturally from his bones, as if it were a part of him. The cloak swayed gently, carrying an eerie vitality.
"What is this?" Ethan muttered under his breath, reaching out to grab the edge of the cloak. He gave it a tentative flick.
In an instant, the Scarlet Edge in his hand vanished into thin air!
He froze for a moment, stunned. Then, with another flick of the cloak, the blade reappeared in his grasp, its red flames flickering ominously.
"This cloak… is a sheath?" A spark of excitement flashed in Ethan's eyes.
Gripping the Scarlet Edge tightly, a thought crossed his mind: Who would ever expect a weapon to be hidden in a cloak? If I suddenly draw it during a fight, my enemies won't even have time to react.
He continued experimenting, picking up a bone arrow from the ground and placing it into the cloak. Sure enough, the arrow disappeared instantly.
When he reached out again, the arrow reappeared in his hand.
"This is going to make things so much easier," Ethan said with a satisfied nod.
Previously, when using Morph Armor, his biggest frustration had been the inability to carry Bone Powder with him. Every time he needed to use his bow form, he had to pre-convert Bone Powder into bone arrows and awkwardly attach them to his ribcage.
At most, he could carry twenty arrows this way. But during battles, his skeleton would end up looking like a pincushion, which was both ridiculous and embarrassing.
DerpyKitty had even secretly laughed at him several times because of it.
But now, that problem was finally solved.
"Let's check my stats," Ethan murmured, opening his status panel.
Name: Ethan
Level: 14 (EXP: 31,588/40,000)
Race: Scarlet Skeleton Vanguard
Health: 1,530
Mana: 1,230
Attack: 165 (Base Strength Bonus +50, Scarlet Edge of Devastation and Pierce +90)
Defense: 140
Strength: 50 (+50 Attack)
Agility: 80 (Attack Speed: 1 hit every 2.4 seconds, Movement Speed: 1 step every 1.5 seconds)
Active Skills:
Bloodlust Berserk (Level 1)
Morph Armor (Level 2)
Quick Slash (Level 8)
Passive Skills:
Crimson Verdict (Non-upgradable)
Pillage (Non-upgradable)
Cleave Attack (Level 4)
Evolution Points: 101,588
Enhancement Points: 0
Skill Details
[Bloodlust Berserk]
Skill Quality: Rare
Effect: Increases attack power by 30% and attack speed by 30% for 30 minutes upon activation.
[Crimson Verdict]
Skill Quality: Rare
Effect: Passive trigger. 5% chance to activate the "Execution" effect, reducing the target's current health by 0.1%.
Ethan glanced at his stats, and a faint smile crept across his face.
"My overall stats… they've already surpassed a fully equipped level 14 player with Epic gear by at least five times!" he murmured, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
What's more, he now had two Rare-tier skills, something absolutely unheard of among players at this stage of the game.
While Bloodlust Berserk didn't provide an overwhelmingly massive boost to attack power and speed, it could stack with Quick Slash, multiplying its effects. On top of that, the skill could be upgraded using evolution points, giving it limitless potential.
As for Crimson Verdict, that was a game-changer—a skill tailor-made for taking down bosses.
Ethan's thoughts drifted back to his past experiences. He had once soloed an ultimate boss. Even though his attack power had ranked in the top ten across the entire server at the time, it had still taken him over two hours to bring the boss down.
Ultimate bosses had absurdly high health pools, often measured in the billions. No matter how high your attack power was, it still took an eternity to chip away at their health.
But now, with Crimson Verdict, everything was different.
"Don't underestimate that 0.1% health reduction. For bosses with billions of HP, this is a devastating blow!" A sharp glint flashed in Ethan's eyes.
He quickly did the math.
An ultimate boss typically had around 10 trillion HP. If Crimson Verdict triggered, a single strike would shave off 10 billion HP!
And it wasn't just ultimate bosses. Dungeon bosses, guild bosses, challenge bosses, even world bosses—all of these special enemies had ridiculously high health pools.
This skill was a weapon designed specifically to annihilate high-HP targets.
"Sure, it might not be super useful early on, but later in the game, this is going to be my trump card!" Ethan clenched his fist, his heart brimming with anticipation.
"Now, let's see how much my blade has improved." He turned his attention to the Scarlet Edge in his hand and opened its weapon stats panel.