[Ding! Constitution +1]
[Acquired skill: Water Magic Lv.1]
[Unlocked new evolution path: Low-Tier Ocean Skeleton]
[Low-Tier Ocean Skeleton] A skeleton born of the ocean, possessing the ability to manipulate water currents.
It feels good to be alive.
Seeing Li Xiuman lying on the ground with absolutely no change, Lucia's expression shifted from expectation back to disappointment.
She even kicked him for good measure, calling out, “Next!”
Li Xiuman scrambled back up from the ground and wandered off.
In truth, he was taking sadistic pleasure in watching his new batch of colleagues—and skill repositories—die in various creative ways.
He had to admit, watching other skeletons die once he himself was out of danger was actually a rather entertaining activity.
Damn, he really had turned into a pervert.
When he had first transitioned into a skeleton and been dragged into this skeleton den, he had been too afraid to even step outside at the sight of them.
Who would have thought he would end up like this?
Was this what falling from grace felt like?
After seeing off yet another batch of colleagues, the way the succubi looked at him changed.
In the days that followed, Li Xiuman didn't even need to cozy up to the succubi; instead, they scrambled over each other to rub against him.
They rubbed against him while muttering things like, “Lucky skeleton, bless me so I can promote to a Mid-Tier Succubus,” “Lucky skeleton, bless me to find a cute boy to feed on next time I go out,” and “Lucky skeleton, bless me to escape my bad luck and get back-to-back golds on my next tenfold pull.”
Well, that last one was actually what Li Xiuman wished for.
Dammit, superstitions really were ridiculous.
These succubi severely hindered Li Xiuman's efforts to farm his colleagues, and he barely managed to reach Lv.6 by the time Lucia returned, earning his life-saving Free Stat Point.
Li Xiuman's Constitution had already reached 11 points, which met the requirements for evolution, but his Strength was still only at 5.
He was severely lopsided.
Without a doubt, this round of experiments would be the earth element.
For this, Li Xiuman equipped the skills [Earth Resistance], [Resilience], [Hard Bone], and [Self-Healing].
Once again, Lucia singled Li Xiuman out from the pile of skeletons and cast her spell.
“Decay.”
This time, it was a skill that countered skeletons the most.
Using earth to rot and disintegrate bones was extremely effective against the skeleton race, who naturally suffered from the permanent state of [bone decay].
However, with a Constitution of 11 and possessing [Earth Resistance], Li Xiuman calmly weathered the decay.
This time, the earth crystal was already the size of a pigeon's egg.
In an instant, Li Xiuman was enveloped in a dusty-yellow flame, his bones disintegrating layer by layer into dirt.
In that moment, Li Xiuman felt as if he had returned to the earth, becoming a corpse sleeping deep within the ground.
His body steadily decayed, merging with the soil.
It was not just his physical body crumbling, but his very consciousness disintegrating as well.
“That was close.”
Li Xiuman sighed inwardly.
If this had happened before, facing the earth element which countered skeletons so heavily, he would probably have been in deep trouble.
But to the current Li Xiuman, this kind of elemental crystal could no longer pose a threat.
He didn't even need to allocate stat points to Constitution to pull through.
He was now a tank-build skeleton!
[Ding! Constitution +1]
[Acquired skill: Earth Magic Lv.1]
[Unlocked new evolution path: Low-Tier Earth Skeleton]
[Low-Tier Earth Skeleton] A skeleton born of the earth, possessing bones as hard as rock and the power to manipulate soil and stone. Level cap: Lv.25.
Shaking off the dirt clinging to his body, Li Xiuman ignored Lucia's disappointed gaze and went back to wandering around.
What a wonderful demon she was, delivering a whole set of elemental skills right to his doorstep. She was practically the angel investor of his prison break.
He would definitely make sure she died a peaceful death in the future.
Even though the outcome was favorable, there was no denying that this demon had been actively trying to kill him the entire time.
Subsequently, this fourth batch of colleagues kicked the bucket one after another.
Now, only one super skeleton remained who had survived all four rounds of experiments—Li Xiuman.
After that, Li Xiuman was released.
To be honest, Li Xiuman felt a little reluctant to leave.
Among the four elemental magic styles, he still hadn't obtained Wind Magic. He had actually been looking forward to it.
Before he left, his finger bones were even plucked clean by a crowd of succubi.
Apparently, each succubus wanted one, claiming that the lucky skeleton's finger bones granted a luck buff.
Having graduated from the Succubus Academy under the supervision of Principal Lucia Pound, Li Xiuman was brimming with confidence.
Now, he possessed the confidence to unleash a dimensional strike on his foolish peers.
He swiftly equipped himself with a complete set of god-tier gear.
[Swiftness Lv.1] right leg, [Quiet Steps Lv.1] left leg, [Swordsmanship Lv.1] right arm, and [Great Strength Lv.1] left arm.
This was especially true for his right arm, which possessed [Swordsmanship].
That was an ultra-rare find. Out of all the Low-Tier Skeletons Pound owned, Li Xiuman had only encountered a single one with it.
After acquiring the [Swordsmanship] skill, a new evolution path and class had even opened up for him.
[Low-Tier Skeleton Swordsman] A skeleton that wields a sword and can execute sword techniques. It is a highly dangerous skeleton. Level cap: Lv.20.
[Swordsman] A Warrior class capable of learning powerful sword techniques.
Now, he could practically walk all over the other Low-Tier Skeletons.
Lie low, gain strength, await the opportunity.
Li Xiuman had not forgotten these three rules.
The opportunity was already on the horizon. If nothing went wrong, in less than twenty days, a group of people would arrive to subjugate Pound.
During these next twenty-odd days, his task was to lie low, raise his level, and gain power.
And then, seize the opportunity.
A week of hunting raised Li Xiuman's level to Lv.7.
Since this was Pound's domain and there were now intelligent succubi wandering around, he didn't dare to kill too many skeletons at once. He could only take his time, killing two or three a day.
Today, his target was a max-level Lv.10 Low-Tier Skeleton.
After all, the level cap for a Low-Tier Skeleton was only Lv.10; anything higher would be a Mid-Tier Skeleton.
By now, Li Xiuman had already hunted down quite a few Lv.10 skeletons.
Using Bone Manipulation to shape his hands into claws, he would grab them by the neck, use Earth Magic to rapidly decay their cervical vertebrae, and then snap them.
Next, he would pour Water Magic directly into their skulls, extinguishing their soul fire.
Finally, he would use Fire Magic to reduce their bones to ash and scatter them to the wind. The entire process was as smooth as flowing water, practically a work of art.
If there were judges watching, they would surely lift a scorecard with a perfect ten without a second thought.
[Ding! Slain Low-Tier Skeleton, EXP +100]
He was one step closer to Lv.8.
Li Xiuman activated [Quiet Steps], carefully searching for his next target.
His luck was pretty good today. He hadn't spent much time before finding his first lone skeleton; perhaps he could set a new hunting record tonight.
He carefully navigated through the areas with fewer skeletons.
Before long, Li Xiuman found another lone skeleton.
Unbelievably lucky.
Li Xiuman crept over, not even bothering to wait for the skeleton to fall asleep.
He now possessed the confidence to brute-force a kill without attracting anyone's attention.
With [Quiet Steps] active, he crept closer.
The bones at the fingertips of his right hand slowly elongated, turning into razor-sharp claws.
Unleashing [Great Strength], he slammed his fist into the back of the skeleton's skull.
He watched the soul fire in its hollow sockets shudder violently, and a Stun debuff appeared on its status bar.
Before the skeleton could collapse, Li Xiuman closed the distance in a flash, driving his bone claws deep into the skeleton's eye sockets.
“Incinerate.”
A deep-blue flame flared wildly in the pitch-black night, invading the skeleton's eye sockets and swallowing its soul fire.
[Ding! Slain Low-Tier Skeleton, EXP +90]
From start to finish, he had barely made a sound.
Li Xiuman carefully lowered the skeleton to the ground, preparing to cast Earth Magic to sink the body beneath the soil.
But in the next instant, a petite figure descended from the sky.
Pitch-black bat wings, goat horns, and a slender tail covered in fine scales.
It was a succubus.
[Name] Triss Lucia Pound Shute
[Race] Low-Tier Demon
[Level] Lv.14/Lv.20
[Class] Dark Mage
[Description] An assassin mage lurking in the dark, a Low-Tier Demon capable of wielding shadow and dark energy. You would not want to be targeted by her, otherwise, you will never sleep in peace again.
“It's you,” the succubus said.
Li Xiuman lunged forward without a moment's hesitation, one of his ribs squirming and growing until it turned into a sharp bone sword.
He ripped the rib free with his right hand and thrust it toward the succubus.
“You actually possess intelligence!”
A chill ran down Triss's spine.
She recognized this skeleton. It was the same skeleton that had seen her communicating with her master that night.
He actually had intelligence!
Rate on N.U.
