However, even among the Night Spirits, there are different factions. I don’t know which faction I belong to, but at least the ones appearing before me are already on my enemy list.

Under the starlight, skeleton monsters with ghastly white bones were wandering through the graveyard, letting out low, guttural howls—this was the legendary ghost wail.

Incomplete Skeleton Warrior LV-12

……

Level 12 skeletons, hmm, perfect for testing my sword!

With a swift stride, I dashed forward. My longsword, wrapped in a swirl of green light, came crashing down on the skeleton’s scapula—Execution Blade!

“147!”

The skeleton trembled all over, staggering backward. The power of Execution Blade was quite impressive.

I leapt after it, my sharp blade rising again, slashing and striking in quick succession—four consecutive blows landed on the skeleton, but it didn’t even get a chance to counterattack. That’s the rhythm you need to master in a realistic game: once you control the tempo of your attacks, it’s a one-sided fight.

The technique of rhythm is actually simple. When I launch a successful attack, the skeleton loses its balance and falls back. At that moment, you mustn’t give it time to recover. If it’s falling that way, add more force in that direction so it can’t regain its balance—victory is assured.

“Slash!”

A fierce thrust pierced straight into the skeleton’s eye socket—a critical hit!

“228!”

A powerful damage number. The level 12 skeleton collapsed on the spot, granting me 75 experience points. In the air, a wisp of purple flame lingered, gently burning with a faint sound.

“Huh, what’s this?”

I was a bit surprised. I reached out and cupped the flame in my palm, when suddenly a chime sounded in my ear—

“Ding~!”

System prompt: Do you wish to absorb this Undead Fire Seed?

……

It probably isn’t a bad thing, so I immediately clicked confirm!

“Whoosh!”

The purple flame shot straight into my chest. Instantly, I felt refreshed all over, like I’d just inhaled two pounds of marijuana—my whole body felt reborn.

Strange, though—no experience gain, no other effects. Was it just for the rush?

I shook my head and laughed to myself, “Whatever, a little rush never hurts.”

Continuing to roam the graveyard, these incomplete skeleton warriors are the lowest-level creatures among the Night Spirits. The Undead Fire Seeds are pretty weak. I don’t know what good they do, but every time I kill one, I absorb the fire seed—no point letting them go to waste, might as well eat them all!

“Crack!”

Another skeleton fell, dropping a small magic stone—probably worth about 1 silver coin.

Picking up the small magic stone, I couldn’t help but sigh, “One small magic stone per hour? Man, this drop rate is shameless…”

Still, my experience had increased a lot—already at 95% of level 10. A few more kills and I’d reach level 11. Plus, I’d already collected 9 of the 10 skeleton fingers needed for the quest—almost ready to turn it in.

Checking the time—8:30 AM Beijing time. It was already morning. Unknowingly, I’d played for over seven hours. Not bad—I’d made it out of the newbie village and even got two pieces of Blackstone equipment. At this stage, I was practically a semi-expert.

Opening the rankings, I saw that Frosthold was already flooded with players, but my level hadn’t even made the top ten. Wow, China really is a land of hidden dragons and crouching tigers! Checking the list, I was ranked 12th in Frosthold, not even on the board. The top player was someone named “Wind Fantasy,” a level 13 warrior—what insane leveling speed! That guy must be exploiting some kind of bug!

Second place was “Benjamin Franklin,” a very strong class—level 11 Death Knight. Looks like he’s probably the same type as me.

If I can’t even make the top ten in Frosthold, that means I’m not even in the top 100 in all of China. That’s honestly kind of tragic.

But I got over it. Levels are just numbers—there’s no need to chase after being number one. A true expert is someone who can take down leaderboard masters with a casual move, not just someone who’s first in level.

……

“Slash!”

The green blade swept through the air—another level 12 skeleton fell, dropping a broken skeleton finger and a small magic stone. At the same time, a golden light poured over me—I finally reached level 11!

After absorbing the Undead Fire Seed, I immediately returned to Frost Ridge with the quest items, found the skeleton captain Frank, and handed over the ten skeleton fingers.

Frank held the fingers and laughed heartily, “Well done, little skeleton! Those filthy bugs finally know our strength! Very good, you have defended the honor of our Night Spirit clan. Here, this is your reward!”

“Ding~!”

System prompt: You have completed the quest [Skeleton Fingers], gained 1200 experience points, +5 reputation, and received the quest item [Black Bracer]!

I was delighted—an equipment reward, not bad luck!

Clack!

A black bracer dropped into my inventory—it was even a stat equipment!

[Black Bracer] (Blackstone · Armor)

Defense: 8

Strength: +2

Required level: 10

……