At the same time, Fang Zhou's Skeleton Clone also underwent a slight change.
Its body seemed to have become sturdier, and new bones had grown in its previously damaged parts.
Of course, the biggest change was on Fang Zhou's attribute panel!
[Attributes]
Strength: 1.1
Constitution: 1
Agility: 1
Spirit: 1
[Soul Power]: 0.1
Fang Zhou clenched his bony fist, his heart filled with excitement.
The Strength attribute increased by 0.1, which had to be the effect of [Skeleton Armament].
The Skeleton Race could inherently grow stronger by devouring their own kind.
Most importantly, there was also an influx of Soul Power.
If his guess was correct, whenever he killed an enemy, he could absorb the enemy's Soul Essence and convert it into Soul Power!
And what can Soul Power do?
"Soul Power, converted from Soul Energy, has multiple uses such as Inference Skill, Potential Enhancement, and equipment enhancement."
Fang Zhou's Soul Fire flickered. Isn't this just the classic "add points" system? My cheat has arrived!
CRACK.
CRACK.
Fang Zhou's upper and lower jawbones clicked together, emitting a silent laugh.
He already understood what he needed to do next.
Explore, kill, devour, evolve!
He would accumulate Soul Power, strengthen both his main body and his Clone, and create his own legend in this Era of Myth!
Soon, Fang Zhou calmed down. He picked up a femur from the ground and carefully observed the surrounding environment.
Guided by his skeletal instincts, he could clearly sense the density of the scarlet moonlight.
Based on his recent experience, the scarlet moonlight was to Undead Creatures what the "Emperor's Liquid" of myth was to spirits—a substance that could awaken their Spiritual Intelligence.
The denser the scarlet moonlight, the stronger the Undead Creatures should be.
It was best to pick off the weakest ones first. Fang Zhou waved the bone club in his hand and decisively began exploring the area where the scarlet moonlight was weakest.
Soon, another dilapidated, frail Skeleton appeared in Fang Zhou's line of sight.
He repeated his earlier trick, maneuvering to the Skeleton's rear.
CRACK!
As the femur in Fang Zhou's hand broke in two once more, this Skeleton, like the first, had its skull shattered and its Soul Fire extinguished. Its ashen-white bones scattered across the ground.
Fang Zhou once again placed his grim, bony palm over the pile of remains.
A familiar warm current emerged, entering his body.
This time, however, Fang Zhou did not use the Skeleton Essence to strengthen himself. Instead, he attempted to craft his own [Skeleton Armament].
To do a job well, one must first sharpen their tools.
The bones he picked up from the ground were too fragile and barely suitable as weapons.
Since he had the [Skeleton Armament] skill, he might as well rely on himself to create a durable weapon.
An inch longer, an inch stronger. Fang Zhou wanted to craft a long spear for himself.
Just as humans are born to breathe and fish are born to live in water, [Skeleton Armament] was also an instinct for Skeletons.
Ordinary Apprentice-level Skeletons didn't have Skeleton Armaments simply because they lacked the awareness to use weapons.
With a thought, Fang Zhou instantly felt strands of Skeleton Essence flowing within him. In just a few breaths, a long spear appeared in his hand.
"Successfully crafted equipment: [Skeleton Long Spear]!"
[Skeleton Long Spear] (Gray-Inferior): A long spear condensed from Skeleton Essence that can slightly increase damage.
The spear was nearly two meters long and entirely pale white. It was formed from the hardest bone in Fang Zhou's body, and its tip glinted with a hint of sharpness.
In the Era of Myth, humans classified a Professional's Equipment into several grades: Gray-Inferior, White-Ordinary, Green-Excellent, Blue-Fine, Purple-Zhuo Yue, and more.
As a Skeleton Armament, the solidity and sharpness of the Skeleton Long Spear were directly linked to the amount of Skeleton Essence Fang Zhou invested.
Right now, Fang Zhou was just starting out and had invested very little Skeleton Essence, so the Skeleton Long Spear was only equivalent to Gray-Inferior Equipment.
As he invested more and more Skeleton Essence, the Skeleton Long Spear could potentially rival Epic Equipment and Legendary Equipment. It might even become a mythical Divine Artifact!
This was a growable, exclusive weapon, so he had to carefully allocate the ratio of Skeleton Essence between strengthening himself and his weapon.
With the Skeleton Long Spear in hand, Fang Zhou once again embarked on the path of devouring and evolving.
HISS!
Another Skeleton's Soul Fire was pierced, and all the essence from its bones was absorbed.
Agility +0.1, Soul Power +0.1.
「An hour passed.」
On the land Fang Zhou had named the [Burial Wilderness], a robust Skeleton holding a Long Spear was gazing around.
It stood about 1.7 meters tall and was entirely ashen-white. Its Soul Fire burned with unusual vigor, making it seem like a completely different species from the newly born, frail Skeletons of this land.
This was precisely Fang Zhou's Skeleton Clone.
In one hour, Fang Zhou had hunted dozens of Skeletons in the vicinity.
These Skeletons had not only greatly enhanced his four core attributes but had also brought him 10 points of Soul Power.
At this moment, the Skeleton Clone's attribute panel had become:
[Attributes]
Strength: 3
Constitution: 2
Agility: 2
Spirit: 2
[Soul Power]: 10
His Four-dimensional Attributes—Strength, Constitution, Agility, and Spirit—had all increased two to threefold. This was undeniably a massive gain.
However, Fang Zhou was still somewhat dissatisfied.
This was because at the start, he could absorb an average of 0.1 in attribute points from each Skeleton.
Later on, the attribute points absorbed from each Skeleton decreased to 0.05.
Now, he needed to absorb the bones of several Skeletons just to gain 0.1 in attribute points.
The returns from the [Skeleton Armament] skill were diminishing.
After all, for the current Fang Zhou, the newborn Skeletons nearby were too weak, so the Skeleton Essence they could provide was naturally dwindling.
Perhaps it's time to explore deeper?
The thought emerged in Fang Zhou's mind, but he quickly dismissed it.
He decided to hold back. As long as he laid low and focused on developing, he would become stronger. There was no need to rush.
He would wait until the weak Skeletons on the outskirts no longer provided any value. By then, his Skeleton Clone's attributes would have grown significantly, and hopefully, he could have learned a few skills using his Soul Power.
Only after making foolproof preparations could he venture deeper.
Having made up his mind, Fang Zhou took his Skeleton Long Spear, dug a pit in the ground, and buried himself in it.
The continuous slaughter had left him weary. It was time to rest.
***
In the dormitory of the Sea City Military Academy, Fang Zhou opened his eyes. The exhaustion from his soul made him yawn uncontrollably.
He glanced at his main body's attribute panel and his eyes suddenly widened in surprise.
[Attributes]
Strength: 1.2
Constitution: 1.1
Agility: 1.1
Spirit: 2.11
[Skills]
Skeleton Meditation Method
Summon Skeleton
Inference Skill (+)
Both the attributes and skills sections had changed.
My core attributes are slowly growing... An incredible hypothesis emerged in Fang Zhou's mind.