Chapter 61: New Skill, Body of the Undead
Rumble—
The train left the city, traveling high above the ground, weaving through clouds as if flying. Xu Han gazed downward. Stretched beneath him was an endless plain. Many people were battling monsters, leveling up. In the distance, a vast forest gradually grew larger. The train began its descent, finally stopping slowly at a small platform.
Stepping off the train, Xu Han noticed the air was cooler by several degrees. The noisy chatter filled his ears. He turned, seeing a small town. At its edge stood a massive wooden sign, several meters wide, painted with blood-red letters: Maple Leaf Town.
His gaze swept over Maple Leaf Town. Though called a town, it was scarcely more than a village—one could see from one end to the other at a glance, barely spanning a hundred meters. All the buildings were single-story wooden huts, dilapidated, scarred everywhere by the claws of strange beasts.
The town sold only food and medicines; many people hawked equipment at roadside stalls. Xu Han wandered through, quickly losing interest. He walked straight toward the Darkwood Forest.
Inside the forest, the sky seemed to darken. Dense leaves blocked nearly all sunlight; walking there was like moving through night. No wonder it was called Darkwood Forest, Xu Han thought silently.
He traveled alone in the gloom. Suddenly, he sensed a chilling murderous intent from the grass to his left—there was a beast lurking. Xu Han stopped, calm, waiting for it to strike first.
Snap!
A branch cracked underfoot. Xu Han spun around. A skeleton emerged from the thicket, blue flames flickering in its pitch-black eye sockets. It held a rusty machete, stained with dark red blood.
In this darkness, encountering such a skeleton would terrify any newcomer. But Xu Han, though surprised, felt no fear. He activated the Piercing Eye to examine the skeleton's information.
[Name: Skeleton Warrior]
[Race: Undead]
[Level: 25]
[Skill 1: Undead Body LV.1 (Passive. Skeleton Warrior is immune to fear and poison.)]
[Skill 2: Undead Flame LV.1 (Imbue machete with undead flame, increasing its power for 10 seconds. Attacks ignore all defenses. Cooldown: 1 minute.)]
[Skill 3: Reassemble Body LV.1 (Even if its body is dismembered, the Skeleton Warrior can reassemble and recover 50% HP. Cooldown: 10 minutes.)]
Xu Han stroked his chin. Interesting—an undead beast. The undead were a special category: once living people or beasts, revived to return to battle. They felt neither pain nor fear, obeying orders without question. Tough and resilient, able to restore health, they were difficult opponents. Only skills with light attributes could easily defeat them.
The Skeleton Warrior advanced, brandishing its machete. Its bones scraped together, producing a harsh creaking sound. Though its speed was decent, to Xu Han it seemed as slow as a crawling turtle.
Wind Blade!
With a casual flick, three blades of light shot toward the Skeleton Warrior.
Clang, clang, clang!
Three crisp sounds rang out as metal struck bone. The Skeleton Warrior paused, but its health barely dropped. Xu Han narrowed his eyes—its defense was indeed formidable.
The Skeleton Warrior let out a low growl, its pale skeletal claw reaching into its own eye socket. It withdrew its hand, now engulfed in blue flames. The fire danced without warmth, instead lowering the temperature around it. With a grunt, it slapped the soul flame onto its machete, which instantly glowed blue.
It lunged at Xu Han, machete swinging.
Xu Han sidestepped, the blade slicing so close it nearly grazed his clothes.
Hiss!
The soul flame touched the grass beneath it, igniting the leaves, which turned to ash in an instant.
"Shadow Step!"
Xu Han transformed into a blur, appearing behind the Skeleton Warrior. His right hand morphed into a jet-black dragon claw, which he slammed onto the back of the skeleton's skull.
Crack!
The hard skull shattered like paper under the dragon claw, scattering fragments across the ground. The soul flame was exposed to the air, and in the next moment, it extinguished.
The skeleton collapsed, its bones scattering. The battle was over. Xu Han dusted off his hands and casually picked up one of the Skeleton Warrior's bones.
"Let's test the Devour All function."
Devour All allowed him to consume inedible beasts, gaining attributes and skills. The bone couldn't be eaten; only Devour All would suffice. He concentrated, and a pitch-black vortex appeared in his palm, swallowing the bone.
A system prompt sounded:
"Host has devoured a Tier Two Skeleton Warrior for the first time, gaining 30 points of Strength and 30 points of Constitution."
"Host has acquired Skeleton Warrior's skill: Undead Body."
Xu Han was delighted. Though the attributes were modest, the skill was excellent. He opened his attribute panel:
[Name: Xu Han]
[Race: Human]
[Class: SSS Gourmet (Tier One)]
[Level: 20]
[Strength: 1272]
[Constitution: 1129]
[Agility: 620]
[Mental: 219]
[Physical Resistance: 10%]
[Magic Resistance: 10%]
[Physical Penetration: 10%]
[Magic Penetration: 10%]
[Cooldown Reduction: 10%]
[Life Steal: 10%]
[Skills: Piercing Eye LV.2, Dragon Claw LV.2, Ghost Eye Hypnosis LV.1, Spider Silk Spray LV.1, Damage Devour LV.2, Explosive Fireball LV.1, Psychic Mirage LV.1, Explosive Punch LV.1, Rapid Recovery LV.1, Shadow Step LV.1, Wind Blade LV.1, Lightning Chain LV.1, Devour All LV.1, Undead Body LV.1]
He clicked on Undead Body to view its effects:
Undead Body LV.1: Passive skill, immune to fear and poison.
For humans, fear and poison posed enormous threats, able to shatter fighting resolve in an instant. Yet undead creatures were unaffected—even if their teammates were wiped out, they felt no fear, only obedience. Immunity to fear and poison would be remarkably effective when fighting such beasts in the future.
Wait!
If he became Undead Body, would it affect his physical form?
Undead bodies were said to rot.
Xu Han was startled, quickly checking himself over. After a moment, he breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, apart from paler skin, tighter muscles, and a slightly improved physique, there were no other negative changes.