The death aura in the inner zone of the Bone Burial Ground was even denser than the outer zone, so it didn't surprise Su Mu to encounter a Level 9 Skeleton here.
What did surprise him was that this was a Skeleton Soldier with a Class Template, not just an ordinary Skeleton!
Just like how players, upon reaching level 10, could change class through quests to become Mage Apprentices, Warrior Apprentices, Assassin Apprentices, etc., humanoid monsters like Skeletons could also acquire Class Templates. (Beast-type monsters had their own attribute templates.)
Having a Class Template versus not having one were two completely different concepts.
An ordinary Skeleton had a growth rate of only 0.5.
Even worse, that 0.5 point of growth was randomly distributed among the four main attributes when leveling up, making it highly unpredictable.
A Skeleton Soldier's growth rate… was at least 2 points! And the attribute bonuses were fixed!
In other words, a Skeleton Soldier with a Class Template could gain more power from just one level-up than a normal Skeleton would from levels 1 to 9!
For players at the early stages of the game, a Level 9 Skeleton Soldier could definitely be considered an Elite monster.
...
"Level 9 Skeleton Soldier…"
In the inner region of the Bone Burial Ground, Su Mu watched the Skeleton Soldier not far away. It was clearly much bulkier than a normal Skeleton, and it held a bone sword and bone shield. A flicker of green light flashed through Su Mu's eye sockets.
He didn't know when this Skeleton Soldier had obtained its Class Template.
If it had only just acquired it in the past few levels, then with Su Mu's stats being far superior to a typical Skeleton, he might still have a chance to kill it and absorb its bones to grow stronger.
But if it had started with the Class Template from Level 1…
Then between Levels 1 and 9, this Skeleton Soldier would have gained at least 16 attribute points! Combined with its fixed growth bonuses, it might far outmatch Su Mu in terms of strength!
"I can't take this lightly."
He whispered to himself, and a thought to retreat began forming in his mind.
Thanks to the Erosion Talent, Su Mu could simply hunt a few more tough Skeletons in the inner zone and quickly raise his Four Attributes again.
Once he was stronger, he could always come back to deal with this Skeleton Soldier.
But—
Just as he was about to turn around, the Skeleton Soldier suddenly swiveled its head, its green Soul Flame locking onto Su Mu's position.
It had spotted him!
The next moment, before Su Mu could react, the Skeleton Soldier charged at him, sword and shield in hand, with incredible speed.
There was no way to retreat now.
Its charging speed was even faster than Su Mu's own.
If he turned and ran, he'd be caught for sure.
So...
Fight!
Steeling himself, Su Mu grabbed a femur in his right hand and snatched up a cracked skull from the ground with his left, charging toward the oncoming Skeleton Soldier.
Ten meters!
Five meters!
Three meters!
At three meters, Su Mu hurled the cracked skull at the Skeleton Soldier's head with his left hand, while swinging the femur in his right hand toward the Skeleton's spine!
Clang!
A sharp sound rang out.
The skull was useless.
Not only did it fail to hit the target, it was easily smashed apart by the Skeleton Soldier's bone sword, scattering into fragments.
Even the femur aimed at the spine was blocked by the Skeleton Soldier's bone shield.
However—
The key difference between Su Mu and the Skeleton Soldier wasn't just stats or Class Template—it was intelligence!
Su Mu had once been human.
Even though he'd been reborn as a Skeleton, he retained his human memory and intellect. His opponent, no matter how high its stats or fancy its template, was only fighting on instinct.
As soon as his first two attacks were blocked, Su Mu twisted his body and delivered a clean, forceful kick to the Skeleton Soldier's leg bone!
Crack!
With a crisp sound, the Skeleton Soldier's leg bone was shattered by Su Mu's kick!
Losing balance, the Skeleton Soldier collapsed to the ground and struggled to rise. At that moment, Su Mu raised his femur and, using all his strength, smashed it down on the Skeleton Soldier's skull!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
A series of muffled impacts echoed through the wilderness.
By the time the femur in his hand had snapped in half, Su Mu grabbed the remaining shard and drove the sharp end into the Skeleton Soldier's eye socket, twisting it hard—
Soul Flame shattered.
The struggling bones of the Skeleton Soldier collapsed and fell apart on the ground.
"You have slain 'Skeleton Soldier.'"
"You have gained 100 Experience Points."
As the system notification flashed across the interface, Su Mu finally exhaled and tossed away the broken femur.
The battle had seemed short, but it was incredibly dangerous.
In just a few exchanges, Su Mu realized that this Skeleton Soldier's strength, speed, and agility were all superior to his own. Its bone sword alone could easily destroy a skull…
Had he been hit even once, the one lying on the ground now wouldn't be the Skeleton Soldier—it would've been him.
Fortunately…
He won.
Now came the reward!
With practiced ease, Su Mu knelt down and placed his bony hand on the remains of the Skeleton Soldier, far bulkier than his own.
Talent activated: Erosion!
The next moment—
A powerful heat surged out of the bones, rapidly enhancing Su Mu's Bone Body.
At the same time—
A stream of system notifications began appearing on his status panel.
Two whole minutes later, the warmth faded.
The Skeleton Soldier's remains turned to dust and scattered in the air.
Su Mu opened his status panel to review the gains from this battle.
"You absorbed the essence from the bones. Your body is now stronger."
"Strength increased by 0.5."
"Agility increased by 0.3."
"Constitution increased by 0.4."
"Spirit increased by 0.1."
"You obtained the Class Advancement Info for 'Basic Class Template – Skeleton Soldier.'"
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