Chapter 10: The First Time To Kill, Do It Simply

Not only were the three attackers stunned, but Ning Yiyi was stunned as well. With wide eyes and a small open mouth, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. It looked really cute.

She had seen Lin Moyu's skeleton warrior earlier that day. The level 10 skeleton had many cracks all over its body, and the weapons in its hands looked dilapidated and vulnerable.

Yet now, the mage's level 20 skills couldn't even hurt it. Neither the archer's split arrow volley nor the knight's charge caused any damage to the skeleton warriors. Was this really just a level 10 summon? Its strength seemed excessive.

And the quantity...Groups of skeletons materialized in the flames of the dark night, silently surrounding them.

Lin Moyu didn't speak much. He walked back towards Ning Yiyi, killing intent in his eyes. "Kill!" he commanded with a thought.

The skeleton warriors immediately attacked. The mage's face drained of color as his staff shook, conjuring an energy shield around his body - the signature defensive skill of mages. The higher the mage's level, the stronger this shield.

It was said god-level mages could withstand even forbidden spells with their energy shields intact. But mages had low agility and slow movement, unable to dodge nimbly like archers. And now surrounded, the mage had no room to evade.

One skeleton raised its blade and brought it crashing down. The energy shield twisted violently, nearly shattering from just that single blow. The mage's expression turned ghastly - what terrifying attack power did these skeletons possess?

Before he could process it further, a second skeleton's knife fell. The shield shattered with a sound like a thousand stars blinking out.

"Ring of Fire!" the mage shouted, releasing his skill. A huge ring of flames erupted, blasting several nearby skeletons back over ten meters.

His brief triumph was cut short as two skeletons leapt overhead. He never got a chance to cast again. Blades flashed, and the mage's severed head flew skyward. In less than two seconds, he was dead.

Meanwhile, the archer desperately tried to evade the pursuing skeleton warriors, terror filling his eyes after witnessing the mage's death.

He was far more agile than the mage, but still woefully slower than skeletons with agility over 3000. He burned evasion skills repeatedly, trying to break the skeletal siege, but his efforts ultimately proved futile.

As the skeletons closed in, his maneuvering space shrank until finally, inevitably, they cut him down.

Compared to the dead mage and dying archer, the knight fared better initially. He glowed like a light bulb, charging repeatedly in attempts to escape.

This radiance was stronger than the mage's energy shield, firmly protecting the knight. Even when skeleton blades struck, they could not injure him.

"Extreme Defense. I didn't expect this knight to master that skill," Lin Moyu recalled the knowledge behind this ability.

It was a knight's core skill - activating it made their defense extremely powerful for a short duration. Exactly how powerful was unclear, but some claimed a level 20 knight using Extreme Defense could withstand attacks from a level 40 mage.

A knight who had mastered Extreme Defense was nearly a different profession from those who hadn't. However, it was no easy skill to learn with no associated tome - only rare skill scrolls could teach it randomly.

The knight fled frantically under the effects of Extreme Defense. A scream behind told him the archer had fallen.

With the mage and archer dead, sheer terror gripped him. How could these skeleton warriors be so terrifyingly strong? Had he known earlier, he would never have risked his life for some intermediate skill scroll.

"Use skills!" Lin Moyu ordered. "Block him, don't let him escape!"

He could not allow the knight to flee, not after killing the others.

Red light flared from the skeleton blades as they activated Furious Blow, dealing 200% damage. 3000-strength skeletons instantly doubled their already monstrous attack power.

"Use skills too!" the knight shouted desperately.

The ghastly skeletons were dreadful enough, but the fact they could also use skills broke his nerve utterly.

A blazing red broadsword fell on the knight, and the white Extreme Defense radiance dimmed noticeably. Again the blades descended, and again, each strike rapidly depleting the skill's duration.

Extreme Defense lasted 1 minute under normal conditions, but the more intense the onslaught, the faster it drained. Skeletons swarmed activating skills nonstop, and the time remaining plummeted.

More surrounded the knight, cutting off any retreat until finally, filled with futile defiance, he was dismembered within ten seconds.

As Lin Mohan had instructed Lin Moyu: either don't do it, or don't hold back once you start.

"They're...all dead?" Ning Yiyi still hadn't reacted, frozen in stunned disbelief.

From start to finish, the entire battle had lasted only about 20 seconds. All three attackers, killed effortlessly.

And their instigator hadn't even moved, just stood watching.

Lin Moyu nodded at Ning Yiyi's dazed words - yes, they were all dead.

The skeletons returned to Lin Moyu carrying piles of dropped equipment and belongings. After professionals died, anything in their storage spaces would spill out.

[Bronze-level Carmon Staff, +20 Spirit, increases mage skill power 5%, requires level 18]

[Bronze-level Carmon War Bow, +20 Agility, increases bow/arrow skill power 5%, requires level 18]

[Bronze-level Carmon Sword, +10 Strength, +10 Constitution, increases offensive skill power 5%, requires level 18]

[Bronze-level Carmon Shield, +20 Constitution, increases defensive skill effect 5%, requires level 18]

Four pieces of weapons and equipment were neatly placed in front of them.

One was a bronze-level weapon, with a bluish-white light shining on it, similar to the luster on the skeleton warrior.

Ning Yiyi said, "These were all obtained from the copy of the Kamen Orc Legion dungeon."

Lin Moyu was a little puzzled, as he had never heard of this dungeon before.

Seeing Lin Moyu's confusion, Ning Yiyi continued to explain, "The Kamen Orc Legion dungeon is a level 20 dungeon outside Shaohai City, and the three of us often run that dungeon."

Lin Moyu nodded in understanding.

These four pieces of bronze-level equipment were useless to him, but he could sell them for some money.

He unceremoniously put away the four bronze pieces, and Ning Yiyi didn't say anything about it.

There were still some materials left, such as wolf skins, animal bones, and young grass, though not too many.

Lin Moyu accepted all of them without hesitation. No matter how small, they could be sold for money.

Once the weapons and materials were put away, only one thing remained: a primary skill scroll.

The introduction read: "Skills below level 20 can be obtained, and it is possible to obtain previously learned skills."

Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a primary skill scroll, worth 100,000 gold coins – very valuable.

Lin Moyu held the scroll, considering whether to use it himself or sell it for money.

Ning Yiyi asked, "You haven't used the primary skill scroll yet, have you?"

Lin Moyu nodded, indicating he had not.

"Then you should use it. Although there's a chance to acquire skills you've already learned, you may also learn new ones," she said.

"Don't you want to sell it for money? Are you that short on funds?" she asked.

"A basic skill scroll isn't high-level, so it's not worth that much money," Ning Yiyi added, implying 100,000 gold coins wasn't a significant sum for her extraordinary family.

Lin Moyu held the skill scroll and asked, "How do I use it?"

Ning Yiyi giggled, "It's very simple, you just hold the scroll and say 'use' loudly."

Lin Moyu didn't doubt her, but when he tried to use the scroll by saying "use," nothing happened.

"Oh, that's not right, you didn't speak loudly enough. You have to speak very loudly to use it," Ning Yiyi said.

Lin Moyu looked at her, realizing she was teasing him, and decided not to try again verbally.

He had never used a skill scroll before, but he wasn't stupid enough to fall for that trick.

Instead of speaking, Lin Moyu guessed how to activate it and used his mental power to trigger the skill scroll directly.

Ning Yiyi had been expectantly waiting for Lin Moyu to call out "use," but he never did.

Suddenly, the skill scroll burst into brilliant light and enveloped Lin Moyu.

Ning Yiyi let out a disappointed sound, "You figured it out."

She had wanted to tease Lin Moyu, but he had found the correct way to use the scroll, foiling her prank attempt.

The skill scroll turned into a ball of light and surrounded Lin Moyu.

A message appeared: [Acquired skill: Corpse Burst.]

[Corpse Burst (level 1): Detonate the corpse, causing damage equal to 10% of the corpse's HP to enemies within 1 meter.]

He had gained a new skill, and the scroll was not wasted.

Corpse Burst was currently at level 1, meaning it could only be mastered at level 10.

Looking at the skill description again, it didn't seem outstanding at first glance.

The range was only 1 meter, which seemed too small to be useful.

And the power was based on the corpse's HP.

Lin Moyu understood the concept of a corpse's life force as a necromancer.

Even in death, a corpse still contained life energy from its flesh, blood, bones, and even soul.

Some powerful beings retained immense energy in their corpses, preventing decay for thousands of years after death.

However, Lin Moyu saw different potential in this skill.

Corpse Burst was an area-of-effect skill. Facing thousands of enemies, he couldn't rely on skeleton warriors to cut them down one by one – too slow.

By detonating one corpse, he could kill enemies within the skill's range.

As each enemy fell, a new corpse would form, allowing him to chain detonate endlessly.

As long as he had mental power remaining, the skills wouldn't stop.

Combined with his talent increasing the range to 20 meters and lethality to 200%, it became a powerful magical ability.

As long as one's talent existed, one's skills were almost all divine.

The scroll's light dissipated.

Ning Yiyi blinked her big eyes expectantly, "Well, did you learn any new skills?"

"I learned one," Lin Moyu replied.

He didn't blame Ning Yiyi for teasing him earlier. She was just playful and mischievous – he wasn't petty enough to take offense.

Ning Yiyi smiled happily, "You have such a nice voice, why don't you like talking? It's such a pity."

Lin Moyu looked at her, finding her quite different from the girls at his school – very lively and playful.

"Your voice is nice too," he complimented her, a rarity for him.

It wasn't that he disliked talking, just that he preferred not speaking nonsense.

Around his sister Lin Mohan and grandmother, he talked plenty.

Ning Yiyi looked very pleased and said with a giggle, "Thank you for the compliment, I do know my voice is quite nice."

"For the sake of hearing Miss's praises, I'll give you this."

With that, Ning Yiyi took out a box and stuffed it directly into Lin Moyu's hand.

It was an [Intermediate Skill Scroll].

The introduction read: [Skills between levels 40 and 70 can be awakened, and it is possible to obtain previously learned skills.]

An intermediate skill scroll could fetch up to 10 million gold coins on the market – 100 times more valuable than a primary one.

It was extremely expensive and precious, a sky-high price for Lin Moyu's current means!

Ning Yiyi mentioned the person chasing her was also after this scroll.

To simply gift it was quite generous.