Chapter 16: Skill Enhancement

After much turmoil, Xiao Yang finally returned once more to the dim and oppressive Skeleton Dungeon.

To be honest, after such a journey, Xiao Yang found himself strangely nostalgic for this place. Although he had seen many things and enjoyed a better environment at the Celestial Market, he inexplicably preferred the eerie silence and emptiness of the Skeleton Dungeon. Perhaps it was because, as a novice, he had struggled to contend with the seasoned veterans of higher rank there.

Of course, if you ask whether he would return to the Celestial Trading Zone, the answer was definitely yes. The resources for enhancing his attributes and the materials needed to conquer the Skeleton Dungeon all came from that very trading area.

Xiao Yang had gathered enough for the ten-thousand-entry fee, thanks in part to a visiting Dragonkin who delightedly swept up the coins he had carefully arranged and offered him a good price. This Dragonkin had inherited the dragon’s love for treasure but added her own taste—she favored jewelry with history. The coins Xiao Yang found in the Skeleton Dungeon barely met her standard.

In short, there was no need to panic anymore. After a day’s rest, refreshed and in much better spirits, Xiao Yang appeared in the cell with its door wide open.

No prisoner zombies had invaded this cell. Xiao Yang stuffed a smoked sausage into his mouth and chewed heartily, savoring the rare taste of meat after so long.

“So delicious!” he couldn’t help but exclaim.

With food and drink taken care of, it was time to begin the second round of exploring the hidden areas on the first floor of the Skeleton Dungeon.

The primary goal was to clear the prison corridor teeming with prisoner zombies.

The secondary objective was to collect more gold coins, antiques, and materials to prepare for his return to the trading zone in seven days, stocking up on various potions.

That was the plan.

Now, Xiao Yang was full of energy.

On the third day since returning from the Celestial Trading Zone, after almost nonstop hunting and luring the prisoner zombies along the corridor, their bodies piled high enough to fill an entire cell, the once densely packed zombies thinned out.

Only four zombies remained. In such a situation, there was hardly any need to draw aggro. Even if Xiao Yang charged in to fight them head-on, he could easily dispatch them.

But to be cautious, he decided to lure more enemies.

Another prisoner zombie fell, unexpectedly dropping a Zombie Slayer trinket. Sadly, the effects of these accessories couldn’t stack, but selling it would still fetch some spirit coins.

Only one zombie remained in the corridor. Xiao Yang cast his gaze toward it and was surprised to find this one seemed somewhat different.

[Prisoner Zombie
Race: Undead
Rank: Common
Level: 12
Health: 120
Attack: 16
Defense: 2
Agility: 2
Traits: Undead Body, Undead Toxin, Robust Physique
Description: A strong prisoner who became a mindless zombie due to an accident.]

Its health and attack far exceeded those of ordinary prisoner zombies, and it had an extra trait. Yet with Xiao Yang’s current attributes and stats, handling this slightly unusual prisoner zombie was still no problem.

However, if this creature suddenly struck amidst the horde, it could pose some trouble.

Being prudent was wise.

Since Xiao Yang had cleared out the other zombies, only this one remained, so the situation was manageable.

Before long, under the fierce swings of Xiao Yang’s wild short-handled axe, the robust prisoner zombie collapsed with a thunderous crash. A burst of white light exploded from its body, and Xiao Yang seized it.

A valuable item appeared—a skill Xiao Yang already possessed: Heavy Strike.

The manifested form of this skill was a rough, yellowed scroll.

Though only a white-tier skill, Heavy Strike was versatile and popular, and such a scroll could sell for around five thousand spirit coins in the Celestial Trading Zone.

It was a good haul. A smile spread across Xiao Yang’s face. More importantly, the corridor was now cleared. The next hidden area on the first floor of the Skeleton Dungeon was finally opening up to him.

Without hesitation, Xiao Yang chose to use the Heavy Strike skill scroll again.

Skills could be enhanced in several ways: self-cultivation and practice, learning from seasoned players and experts, or the simplest method—using identical skill scrolls repeatedly.

Of course, this last method was somewhat wasteful but also the simplest and most straightforward.

Since Heavy Strike was quite useful and familiar to Xiao Yang, strengthening it was a no-brainer.

Although the scroll could have been sold for many spirit coins, Xiao Yang now needed combat power more than currency.

After using the Heavy Strike scroll again, an inexplicable insight dawned in Xiao Yang’s mind.

The power of the Heavy Strike skill hadn’t increased—it still dealt double damage—but Xiao Yang’s technique and skill in using it had improved immensely.

Now, his strikes were more seasoned, and he could effectively avoid the stiffness caused by the Heavy Strike.

This improvement was very useful, and Xiao Yang was pleased.

After the battle, Little Bone, poking its head out from a large pack on Xiao Yang’s back, brought him a substantial extra haul.

Little Bone’s careful scavenging of monster corpses didn’t count against Xiao Yang’s loot limit, effectively allowing two rounds of drops per monster.

The second round of drops was pure profit for Xiao Yang.

Although most of the time Little Bone only fetched a few extra materials, occasionally it found valuable items.

For instance, now it was rummaging through the corpse of the robust prisoner zombie Xiao Yang had already looted and pulled out a pair of boots glowing with a lustrous green light.

[Zombie Flesh Boots
Quality: Fine
Type: Light Armor, Boots
Effects: +2 Defense, +1 Health Regeneration, +1 Life Steal
Drawback: Constant undead plague status while worn
Description: Ah! These are boots made from zombie flesh and skin. Beware—they suck your blood!]

These Zombie Flesh Boots had excellent attributes and even bore two affixes Xiao Yang had never seen before: Health Regeneration and Life Steal. Unfortunately, they didn’t seem quite suitable for the living to wear.