[Killed Level 10 Goblin Scout. Experience +300]
[Killed Level 11 Goblin Soldier. Experience +350]
[Obtained Goblin Bone]
...
Notifications flooded in like a scrolling screen, and his experience rose rapidly.
Forty-four Bronze Skeleton Warriors were killing monsters in the forest. With the skill upgrade, Morintis once again enjoyed the thrill of instant kills.
These Bronze Skeleton Warriors killed Level 10 and Level 11 Goblin monsters with a single slash each. Efficiency increased once more.
Starting from Level 10, the experience required to level up had increased again, nearly tripling. Leveling was becoming progressively slower.
Calculating roughly, Morintis needed to kill at least 5,000 Goblin monsters to gain one level. The Skeleton Warriors, tireless and killing instantly, still fell a bit short.
By the time night fell, Morintis was still 30% experience away from Level 11.
Morintis lit a campfire in the woods and ate the food he had brought from home. He didn't plan to return; time was limited and shouldn't be wasted on travel.
"At this leveling speed, I should reach around Level 13 tomorrow. Whether I can make it to Level 15 the day after is still unclear."
"After Level 15, the leveling speed will slow down further, and I need to reserve a day for the return trip. Calculating like this, Level 16 is probably my maximum."
"How did my sister level back then? Her speed couldn't have surpassed mine."
"Sister had the Rare class, Summoner. Her leveling speed should be similar to Sophia's."
"I must have overlooked something."
Morintis searched his memories, considering the knowledge learned in school and combining it with Morana's known actions back then. Suddenly, he realized something.
The Westsea Mine Dungeon.
"Did sister party up and run the dungeon?"
"And it must have been at least the Nightmare difficulty."
"Nightmare dungeons are filled with enhanced elite monsters, surely giving a lot of experience."
"That's why sister returned injured that time, and had been healed by someone."
"Right, it must be so."
Morintis clenched his fist, feeling his guess was likely correct.
"I'll go check it out tomorrow."
His mind made up, he settled for the night. The night grew deeper.
All monsters within a five-hundred-meter radius centered on him had been cleared. The Skeleton Warriors hid within the darkness, and he began to meditate.
With 44 Skeleton Warriors protecting him and his passive skill in place, he didn't need to worry about safety at all.
The forest at night wasn't completely silent.
Occasional wolf howls came from the distance, accompanied by the rustling of leaves in the wind, creating a somewhat eerie and frightening atmosphere.
The area where Morintis was had a lower temperature than elsewhere; the presence of the Skeleton Warriors turned the night breeze into a chilling wind.
Around midnight, a Skeleton Warrior suddenly issued an alert. Morintis woke from his meditation. The Skeleton Warriors had detected someone approaching his location.
"A class holder coming to level?"
"Not many people come to the forest to level in the middle of the night. Could they be lost?"
Morintis didn't move, but his vigilance was raised. Out here, one must never let their guard down. The campfire was the best guiding beacon in the night.
Soon, the person appeared within Morintis's line of sight.
"It's her." Morintis had seen her in the afternoon—the fleeing figure in black.
"Excuse me, do you have any food?" The black-clad figure's voice was pleasant. A pair of large eyes shone brightly and clearly in the firelight.
Morintis took out a sweet potato and handed it over. The food he had prepared was only sweet potatoes and some water.
The figure in black didn't disdain it. After removing her face covering, she ate in large mouthfuls, seeming truly starved.
Behind the mask was a delicate and pretty face, looking only about 18 or 19 years old, exuding a youthful aura.
Morintis did not use Detection. Using Detection on a stranger was very impolite and could even provoke hostility.
"Than—" Before she could finish the word, she broke into a violent coughing fit.
She had been trying to speak while eating the sweet potato and had choked.
Morintis took out a bottle of water and handed it to her. She drank a few mouthfuls before catching her breath.
"Thank you." She finally managed to speak clearly. Morintis merely gave a slight nod to indicate it was nothing.
The black-clad figure ate the sweet potato bite by bite. Morintis asked nothing, and the atmosphere fell into an awkward silence.
She didn't eat quickly; her movements were elegant. While eating, her beautiful eyes occasionally glanced at Morintis, sparkling with an unknown light, as if pondering something.
After finishing, she finally spoke, "What's your name?"
Seeing Morintis didn't answer, she continued, "Don't like talking? How about this? Let's use Detection on each other."
Morintis thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement. Faint light glowed at both their fingertips as they cast Detection on each other.
Morintis was taken aback. The Detection failed; he hadn't obtained any information.
The black-clad figure suddenly giggled, looking like her scheme had succeeded. "Hehe, got nothing, right?"
"So your name is Morintis, Level 10, Class is... Necromancer? I've never heard of that class before. How strange."
"This afternoon, I saw something like a skeleton near you. Was that your summon? An undead summon is pretty rare."
Her words suddenly became numerous, one sentence after another.
"Why aren't you talking? Don't tell me you're mute; you don't look like it."
Morintis looked at her and asked calmly, "Why?"
Her face lit up with surprise as if discovering a new continent. "So you really can talk!"
"Why?" Morintis looked at her and repeated the question.
Her smile remained. "You're asking why the Detection failed, right? Because of this."
She took out an item that looked like a badge.
"This is called a Masking Badge. As long as you wear it, anyone whose level isn't more than 10 levels higher than you will fail when using Detection on you."
She put the Masking Badge away. "Now, try using Detection on me again."
Morintis nodded and cast Detection. This time, it succeeded.
[Isla Ning, Level 19, Shadow Assassin.]
A gentle breeze blew. Isla Ning's smile instantly vanished. Morintis also looked towards one side.