Chapter Fifty-Five: A New Mission

Absorption Attribute (Level 1)

After killing an enemy, there is a chance to absorb 30% of any one of the enemy’s attributes, with a 0.2% chance to obtain 10%, a 2% chance to obtain 5%, and a 10% chance to obtain 1%. (No restrictions on level or type.)

Li Ren opened his attribute panel, and the description of the Absorption Attribute skill appeared before him.

All the absorption probabilities had doubled! Moreover, there was now an additional effect—no restrictions on level or type. This meant that if he had possessed this upgraded Absorption Attribute skill the last time he and Shadow slaughtered the Iron Saw Centipedes, his current attributes would be far more impressive.

Still, it was fortunate that he’d finally leveled up. Monsters were endless anyway; he could always farm more in the future.

Li Ren was in high spirits and didn’t care to dwell on minor gains or losses.

The Skeleton King, seeing Li Ren’s excitement, showed no particular reaction, as though what he’d given away was nothing significant. In his eyes, it seemed what he’d given was not as valuable as the weakest skeleton spirit fire Li Ren had brought him.

It was just a feeling, and Li Ren found it odd, but since the Skeleton King was willing to give it away so casually, he decided not to worry over it.

“I have a new task for you. Are you interested?” the Skeleton King asked, sounding nonchalant.

Here it comes, Li Ren thought. Shadow was right again; refusing would be foolish. So he asked, “What kind of task?”

“To attack Yuxiao City—one of the great human cities in the east.”

“What? Just me?” Li Ren was genuinely shocked.

“Not just you. I’ll assign some subordinates to assist,” the Skeleton King replied, showing rare generosity.

Any city officially called a ‘great city’ boasted formidable defenses. Even at its current level, Falling Cloud City could only be considered a town. Upgrading it to something like Yuxiao City would require immense effort. Li Ren had once calculated that summoning the souls of a thousand or so Lantis would probably suffice for an upgrade.

For now, the defensive strength of his Falling Cloud City was already formidable, especially considering the limits on soul numbers.

Those system-built cities had top-tier defenses—no explanation needed.

With the Skeleton King’s confirmation, Li Ren was left with no choice.

“But if you agree, I can give you some good items for self-defense before you go, without violating system rules,” the Skeleton King offered enticingly.

Li Ren’s interest was piqued. Shadow had already said this quest had to be accepted. Now that he’d decided, perhaps he could coax a bit more out of the Skeleton King?

He feigned hesitation, as if caught between reluctance to accept the task and unwillingness to forgo the reward.

The Skeleton King was unfazed and continued, “If you agree, I’ll assign you a squad of royal guards, under your complete control. Each squad has ten royal guards and ninety skeleton guards—more than enough to protect you.”

Li Ren considered this, glancing at the Skeleton King’s expression. This seemed to be the maximum the Skeleton King was willing to offer. After all, Li Ren didn’t think he possessed anything else the Skeleton King wanted; this was already a generous concession.

He nodded, accepting the mission.

The Skeleton King laughed heartily. “Come, let me first give you something for protection.”

With a wave, a skeleton royal guard appeared, level 130, elite, and knelt respectfully.

Without even glancing, the Skeleton King flicked his finger, and the royal guard transformed into a mass of blood essence, floating into Li Ren’s hand.

“There. Take this. It should strengthen you.”

It was more than just strengthening. Most of Li Ren’s current attributes had come from his first skeleton royal guard. Now, with another, his attributes would double instantly.

The Skeleton King then summoned several bone armor pieces, so chilling with deathly energy that the air itself grew cold.

As the equipment floated toward him, Li Ren’s heart raced with excitement.

“Normally, you wouldn’t be able to equip these yet. To wear them, you’d need to reach level 130 and fuse with the skeleton royal guard within you. But I’ll grant you this ability as an early reward—though you can only equip half the slots,” the Skeleton King continued, confirming Li Ren’s suspicions and filling him with delight.

As a skeleton, being unable to wear equipment had always frustrated him, greatly limiting his growth. Good equipment could boost his power significantly.

Now, the issue was resolved ahead of time, and he’d received a set of top-tier gear for free. Even if only half the slots were usable—meaning only one accessory like a ring, and only helmet, chestplate, and greaves for armor, with boots, gloves, and belt locked—it was still a huge boon.

What was there to complain about? The main defensive slots were open; the rest were of little consequence.

“All right, go prepare. The system will notify you before the attack on Yuxiao City. It’ll likely be about a month from now.”

With another wave, the Skeleton King dismissed him, and Li Ren took his leave.

Behind him trailed ten skeleton royal guards and ninety skeleton guards.

Leaving Skeleton Mountain and thinking of the siege mission in a month, Li Ren sensed things would not be so simple.

He left his subordinates at Skeleton Mountain and headed out alone.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t bring them along, but having such a conspicuous group would draw too much attention and be inconvenient.

More importantly, they couldn’t help him fight monsters to gain experience, so there was little point in bringing them.

As Li Ren departed, the Skeleton King’s crimson soul fire blazed fiercely in its sockets, and a faint voice echoed in the great hall: “Hurry up, boy. Don’t let me down.”

Glancing at the vast number of green skeleton spirit fires left in his pack, Li Ren could barely resist devouring them all at once. But Shadow had warned him since he first obtained them—after consuming the red spirit fire—that unless the right moment came, he must not consume any more.

And when that special time came, Li Ren would know. He was certain of it.