7 Chapter 7: Grave Digging

Su Ran didn't even have the will to curse anymore. Silently, he pulled the novice hoe from his bladder, and equipped it, looking at the attributes of the novice hoe:

[Novice Hoe](Exclusive to Skeleton players)

Attack base +1

Increase mining chance by 3%.

Cannot be dropped, cannot be damaged.

Note: This is a hoe used to teach beginners how to mine.

After equipping it, Su Ran's attack amounted to -5—0.

Su Ran shook his round skeleton head, making a clattering noise. Immediately, he brandished the only weapon in his hand, the novice hoe, and rushed towards the largest tomb in front of him.

Yes, you heard correctly. Su Ran was going to dig up graves!

Clang! Clang!

"Ding! Congratulations to the Skeleton player on learning the life skill—mining!"

I needed a special skill to understand this? This is so simple!

Underneath a large tomb, a tiny skeleton repeatedly raised his hoe and slammed it down.

"Ding! Congratulations to the Skeleton player on acquiring a special item: Tomb Grass."

[Tomb Grass](Herb)

Eat: Qi Blood +50.

What a nice find! He stuffed it into his bladder.

"Ding! Congratulations to the Skeleton player on acquiring a special item: Tomb Suppressing Paper."

[Tomb Suppressing Paper](Item)

Stick it on: Defense +20. Cannot move after applying: Duration: 3 minutes.

Well, it's somewhat useful. He chucked it into his bladder.

...

After half an hour, most of the large tomb was dug up by the tiny skeleton. He dug up 5 pieces of Tomb Grass and 3 pieces of Tomb Suppressing Paper, and that was it. Regardless, Su Ran labored on, continuing to dig with unwavering determination. He strongly believed that after all this hardship, a bright future awaited him! And also...breathing and living!

Just as the tomb was about to be completely emptied, the cute system voice came once again:

"Ding! Congratulations to the player for digging up a Decayed Coffin! A plot event has been triggered, and a zombie has crawled out from inside! Please be careful!"

Ah! A monster appeared!

Su Ran tightly gripped the novice hoe in his bony claws, before swinging it fiercely at the approaching zombie!

There was a "thud", followed by a big "+5 Qi Blood" floating above the zombie's head.

...

Su Ran decided not to fight anymore.

The zombie glanced slantingly at Su Ran and then...just crawled away...just crawled away...

Uh, the monster ignored him.

Fighting back tears, Su Ran took a look at the zombie's properties:

[Zombie]Level 3

Attack: 5-10

Qi Blood: 100

Defense: 2

Agility: 1

Note: This is a zombie whose ancestral tomb was disturbed...it's in a predicament...

Well, Su Ran decided to pretend he didn't see that. He bent down to check the properties of the coffin he had dug up.

[Decayed Coffin](Tent-type item)

Durability: 2800

When used non-combat, continuously restores player's Qi Blood and heals injuries. Stops healing when interrupted or after healing is complete.

Note: A nearly rotten coffin. Remember to close the coffin lid when using.

What a find! The small skeleton's eye sockets seemed to light up for a moment. He looked at his bladder, then back at the large coffin on the ground.

Uh, how was he going to fit this in?

The small skeleton clenched his teeth, picked up the coffin, and tried to cram it into his bladder.

What happened next was amazing! The coffin instantly became smaller, effortlessly fitting into the skeleton's exposed bladder. What's even more remarkable was that it didn't fall out.

Seeing that it was only 10 p.m., Su Ran figured he could keep up the hard work for another eight hours. He decided to keep digging the graves. He mumbled an apology to the zombies.

And so, Su Ran began his great grave-digging initiative.

"Ding! Congratulations, Skeleton Mage player, you have acquired a special item: Paper Money."

[Bundle of Paper Money] (Mage equipment)

Ignites after use and attacks the target, enhancing fire magic attack by +1.

Durability: 100.

Upon seeing the properties of the Paper Money, Su Ran was moved to tears. After countless attempts and several collapsed graves, he finally found some usable equipment!

Su Ran looked at the five or six wandering zombies he had dug up. He immediately equipped the stack of Paper Money, lit a sheet, and threw it.

The paper money flared up brilliantly as it soared in the air and collided with a zombie.

"Boom!"

-34! (Lucky Crit)

A big crit number appeared above the zombie's head. Su Ran threw several more Paper Money sheets at the zombie until its HP was depleted. After it fell to the ground, an equipment item dropped, and Su Ran's experience bar increased by 5 points. (Damage from crits is double the original damage)

Excellent, a crit! Having high luck really pays off!

Su Ran roared and ran to pick up the fallen equipment. It turned out to be a dark black Zombie Hat.

[Zombie Hat] (Universal Equipment)

Defense +3

Qi Blood -5

Note: Exercise caution when wearing hats, especially zombie ones.

The Little Skeleton eagerly picked up the first dropped item, looking at it from all angles. He was about to put it on when there was a "ding!" The annoying system notification sound rang out again. "Due to the special nature of the Skeleton Mage player's class, the Skeleton Mage player can only equip weapons."

Su Ran was already fed up!

"I want to file a complaint! Since when can't players equip gear?!"

"Ding! The player's class is Undead Skeleton. Given the special nature of the class, you now have two growth options: enhancement or evolution."

"If you choose enhancement, the Skeleton Mage player will permanently lose the ability to equip gear, with the exception of weapons. This player can duel-wield weapons after enhancement."

"If you choose evolution, the Skeleton Mage player can equip normal equipment after evolving into a third-tier BOSS."

"Considering the player's inherent vulnerability, we recommend that the Skeleton Mage player chooses the enhancement branch."

Enhancement? Evolution?

Su Ran wasn't stupid. He opened the professional panel and read it carefully. He understood right away. Enhancement refers to making the skeleton itself stronger, while evolution refers to evolving within the Undead race, ultimately evolving into the ultimate Boss, the Bone Dragon! Of course, the path from a skeleton to the ultimate Bone Dragon Boss is tough and fraught with challenges!

I may be a skeleton, but I'm still human….in form, at least!

Turn into the ultimate Bone Dragon? No way!

At this moment, Su Ran made up his mind. He chose to enhance himself! He didn't care that he wouldn't be able to equip gear. An enhanced skeleton could duel-wield weapons! Moreover, he had an attack method already - a stack of Paper Money.

"Ding! Announcement to all servers! Player of the 'Only Love You' guild, Marrow Love, has defeated the 40-level BOSS Rhinoceros Commander out of his league! Special reward: experience +5000, coins +100!"

"Ding! Announcement to all servers! Player of the 'Only Love You' guild, Marrow Love, has defeated the 40-level BOSS Rhinoceros Commander out of his league! Special reward: experience +5000, coins +100!"

The consecutive server messages made Su Ran's head spin. Defeated the Boss?

Su Ran swallowed hard. He could imagine the scene if he evolved into a big BOSS: As soon as Su Ran logged on, the system would issue a region-wide broadcast: "The Skeleton Boss has respawned, coordinates: 234.432." Then a massive influx of players would arrive, rushing to kill him for his BOSS equipment. Damn, just thinking about it gave him the shivers. What was the point of successfully evolving if you just ended up being slaughtered by the players every time?

'Only Love You' guild? A guild?

He realized he'd forgotten to ask Han Siying for her online nickname and guild. Oh well, he'd ask her at school.

While Su Ran was standing around cluelessly with his novice hoe, an out-of-place voice sounded nearby: "Huh? Is a Skeleton Mage a BOSS?"

Su Ran immediately turned his head and saw a giant fireball coming right at him.

"Boom!"

-105!

Su Ran's vision went dark as his health plummeted. His bones scattered across the ground, and every item in his bladder exploded.

"Wow! One shot, one kill! Haha, big explosion!" The player ran over, excited and joyful.

"Damn it!" The player spat and grumbled, "Bad luck! What the hell!"

And just like that, without even picking anything up, he left…

Three dark lines formed above the shattered little skeleton's head.

Su Ran awkwardly looked at the [Grave Grass], [Grave-Suppressing Paper], [Paper Money], and [Decayed Coffin] scattered all over the ground. These items just had unattractive names, right? Sigh, he'd collect them anyway….