Chapter 190: Skeleton Lair (Part 1)
The moment the Sand Eagle died, a series of notifications flashed before Luo Bingqing and Elyara’s eyes, causing them to freeze on the spot.
Azrael glanced at them and immediately noticed that Elyara had leveled up from level 17 to 18, while Luo Bingqing had reached level 17.
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---) Small Fragment of Rule Stone: Upon usage, while inside the Broken Fragment of Ancient Genesis, it transforms the rules around the user to resemble those of the Ancient Genesis. Effect lasts for one day.
====
The details of the Small Fragment of Rule Stone stated that while inside the Broken Fragment of Genesis, which was essentially an ancient ruin, it could alter the rules within a 200-meter radius around the user, making them similar to those of the Ancient Genesis.
After using the Rule Stone, Azrael realized that although it was not a complete replication, the stone had changed the 200-meter area around him into something akin to Eonrift.
He was still uncertain whether the "Ancient Genesis" referred directly to Eonrift, but at the very least, when it came to killing creatures and plundering a portion of their power, the effect was undeniably similar to Eonrift.
Inside Eonrift, when multiple people worked together to slay a creature, each individual received a portion of the creature’s power according to their contribution.
In the case of the Sand Eagle, Elyara had contributed the most, and as a result, she obtained the largest share of its power.
"How... We are not inside Eonrift, are we?" Elyara muttered in a voice filled with shock, staring at the notifications before her.
Luo Bingqing was no different and his face also carried an expression of disbelief.
Both of them turned to Azrael, who had just stored away the body of the Sand Eagle and was walking back toward them.
"How did you do it?" Elyara asked in a voice laced with disbelief.
Coming from a prominent family, she was knowledgeable about many things. Yet, she had never heard of anyone being able to increase their powers by killing creatures outside of Eonrift.
Azrael had already anticipated this question so he was not flustered by it and answered naturally.
"I received a special prop as one of my rewards after completing my Eonrift Trial. With this prop, both I and those I choose can level up by killing creatures even outside of Eonrift."
"A reward for your trial..." A look of realization flashed across both Luo Bingqing and Elyara’s faces.
Eonrift was one of the most important places within Genesis, a domain filled with countless treasures.
After hearing that Azrael had received an item from Eonrift that allowed him to level up by slaying creatures outside of it, they were shocked—yet they did not doubt his words.
Although they had never heard of anyone else obtaining such a reward, but considering Eonrift’s mysteries, it was not impossible.
"You said it was a prop and not an artifact. That means its effect is not permanent, correct?" Luo Bingqing asked with a serious expression.
Azrael’s own face grew solemn as he nodded.
"That’s right. I can only use this prop twice, and each use lasts for twenty-four hours." He paused briefly before narrowing his eyes.
"Before this time runs out, we must increase our strength as much as possible."
"So that’s why you want to head toward the core area—since most of the powerful monsters would be found there?" Elyara asked knowingly.
"That’s one of the reasons," Azrael nodded as killing monsters was indeed one of his primary motivations for entering the core area despite its dangers.
"Then there’s no need for us to waste time on idle talk. Instead of standing here, we should hunt down more monsters before the effect of that prop of yours runs out," Elyara said with a excited look and without hesitation, she began climbing down the cliff.
Azrael and Luo Bingqing exchanged a brief glance, then followed her without wasting a second.
Within less than a minute, the three of them descended the high cliff and dashed toward the core of the ruins.
*****
(You have killed Level 29 Fallen Skeleton)
(Stamina +4, Strength +3, Cosmic Energy +2)
(You have leveled up and reached Level 17)
Azrael pulled Fallen Star free from the skull of an undead skeleton and gave it a sharp flick to shake off the black blood clinging to the blade.
He turned back toward Luo Bingqing and Elyara, who were following behind, and walked over to them.
"These skeletons were really a pain in the a*s..." Elyara muttered, unable to contain her frustration as she dropped onto a boulder to rest.
Though Luo Bingqing remained silent, his expression made it clear that he wholeheartedly agreed with her words.
"Still, despite being difficult to kill, they were plentiful and other than their abnormally high defense, they weren’t much of a threat. For us, they were perfect for leveling up at this stage," Azrael said calmly as he sat down on a nearby boulder and pulled out an energy bar to eat.
It had been four hours since they began their journey toward the core area.
Along the way, they had encountered numerous creatures—some were class-level, while others were epic-level.
Among them, they had even spotted a Level 45 epic-class elite monster. The creature’s power was so overwhelming that the moment they glimpsed it from afar, a chill ran down their spines and wthout the slightest hesitation, they diverted their path, unwilling to even risk approaching it.
By changing their route, they eventually stumbled upon a skeleton lair crawling with hundreds of undead. Most of the skeletons were class-level, but there were also several epic-level skeletons.
After confirming that these skeletons possessed no abilities beyond their unnaturally hardened bones, the three decided to clear the lair out entirely and use it as a chance to raise their levels before venturing deeper.
The Level 29 skeleton Azrael had just killed was the final epic-level monster within the lair.
While chewing on his energy bar, Azrael summoned his status window and examined it closely.
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---) Name: Azrael Thorne
---) Level: 17 (Class Warrior)
---) Class: Judge
---) Traits: Infinite Comprehension (Eternal Grade), Cold Blooded (Orange Grade — Evolvable)
---) Soul Armament: Fallen Star (Unawakened)
---) Attribute: Astral
---) Rune: Rune of Spirit
---) Substance: Nether Wind
---) Title: ??? [Locked]
---) Bloodline: None
---) Strength: 59→ 73
---) Agility: 55→ 69
---) Stamina: 64→ 80
---) Cosmic Energy: 219→ 230
---) Skills: Cosmic Energy Breathing Method (Mid Level), True Focus (Entry Level), Unyielding Body (Entry Level)
---) Class Skills: Absolute Decree, Balance Severed
---) Meditation Technique: Sun, Moon, and Star Sutra
---) Essentia Arts: SkyRift Slash (Entry Level), Wings Of Wind
---) Shop
---) Inventory
---) Tasks:
1. Find The Traces Of The Enders
(Reward : 30,000 task points, a random low level wind type Essentia Art)
2. Make the Seed Of The End within you acknowledge you as its master.
(Reward:???)
---) Task Points: 4045
====
Seeing the noticeable increase in his power, a faint smile curved the corner of Azrael’s lips.
He took a deep breath and then looked toward the cave in front of them, its mouth exuding a thick stench of undead energy.
"Should we head inside and take a look at what these skeletons were guarding?" He asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"I just hope there aren’t more of these baldies waiting in there," Elyara muttered as she kicked away the skull of a fallen skeleton before standing up.
Luo Bingqing also rose to his feet and after studying the cave’s dark entrance for a moment, all three of them set off toward it together.