Name: Alexander
Level: 3
Race: Undead Skeleton (Owned by Player: Sophia)
HP: 120
Mana: 0
Attack: 4 (Bone Blade +15)
Defense: 3
Weapon: Exploding Bone Blade (Elite)
Evolution Points: 100
Enhancement Points: 20
"Finally reached 100 evolution points. Time to evolve!" Alexander felt elated and was looking forward to what he would evolve into.
"Congratulations, evolution successful."
"Evolved into Skeleton Bladesman. HP increased by 100, Mana by 100, Attack by 10, Defense by 5, Agility by 10."
"Received upgraded weapon: Bone Steel Blade."
"Bone Blade upgraded automatically to Exploding Bone Steel Blade."
"Acquired beginner skill: Quick Slash."
"Next evolution requires 1000 evolution points."
A warm flow circulated through Alexander's white skeletal body. His bones turned from white to a darker shade, appearing tougher.
His overall stats also increased. Even his agility rose by 10 points. The Bone Blade had also upgraded, now giving off a metallic sheen under the sun. Furthermore, he gained a new blade skill.
Name: Alexander
Level: 3
Race: Tier-One Skeleton Bladesman (Owned by Player: Sophia)
HP: 220
Mana: 100
Attack: 14 (Exploding Bone Steel Blade +30)
Defense: 14
Agility: 10 (Attack speed every 2.9 seconds, Movement speed 2 meters/sec)
Weapon: Exploding Bone Steel Blade (Elite)
Skill: Quick Slash
Evolution Points: 0
Enhancement Points: 20
Quick Slash (Level 1): "Consumes 10 Mana, increases attack speed by 30% for 10 minutes."
"I've evolved this much on the first try. What will I become in the future?" Alexander couldn't help but feel expectant.
At this early stage after the server opened, most players are only levels 1 or 2. Yet, he's already level 3 with insanely high attributes post-evolution.
Usually, players would only see a significant stat boost after reaching level 10 and changing classes. Until then, players would have similar low stats, especially given the extremely low rate of good equipment drops.
He's already reached attributes comparable to a level 10 player post-class change, just by evolving at level 3! With the increase in overall stats, his speed and defense have also improved, making fighting skeletal wolves much easier.
The wolves only have an attack of 10, while Alexander's defense is 14; they can't even break his defense, so being surrounded is no issue. Moreover, his attack has now reached an astonishing 44 points!
Item: Exploding Bone Steel Blade (Elite)
Attack Power: 30
Critical Rate: 8%
Description: An enhanced infantry weapon, extremely powerful.
This Exploding Bone Steel Blade is merely of blue elite quality.
Compared to the current stage where most players probably only have a basic weapon for their starting class, he's essentially top-tier. If he were to auction off this weapon, it would surely fetch tens of thousands of dollars!
This game was one of the subjects of study at the gaming club he belonged to in his previous life. He participated in the beta tests and knows how difficult the game is and how low the drop rates are. Elite equipment can only drop from elite-level monsters, which no one can beat just half an hour after the game's server opened.
When countless players are still struggling with basic weapons, having the Exploding Bone Steel Blade would give an immense advantage.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Everyone dreams of being the first and the focus of all players. A step ahead is leaps ahead, so $10,000 is his conservative estimate.
If those cash-rich major guilds knew he had such a weapon, he might even get tens of thousands for it. But money is useless to Alexander now, so he won't auction it. Besides, this weapon is the basis of his current strength.
Excited by his and his weapon's powerful attributes, Alexander is eager to test its capabilities. He steps forward toward the skeletal wolves.
"Hey, I didn't ask you to go. It's dangerous!" Watching Alexander, who has transformed from a white skeleton to a darker shade, Sophia is confused.
She has no idea what just happened. Why didn't this skeleton disappear when the summoning time ended? And it looks like he's even evolved.
But even if he has evolved, he can't be this reckless! If he gets surrounded by the skeletal wolves, with his speed and defense, he'll be killed for sure!
Sophia can't see Alexander's attributes and doesn't know how strong he's become. So she quickly chants a spell, "God of Death, heed my call and grant me the power of the undead!"
After Sophia finished chanting her spell, ten ordinary skeletal soldiers appeared before her. She immediately ordered them to go assist Alexander.
"Little skeleton, you can't die; my income this month depends on you," she muttered.
She's not here to play; she's here to make money. Despite her stunning looks, life has not been kind to her.
Although she comes from a well-off family, her parents divorced when she was young, and she now lives with her biological father and stepmother. Since the birth of her half-brother, her stepmother has been neglectful towards her.
At just 18, Sophia couldn't stand this treatment any longer. She dropped out of school, left home, and was fortunate to find work at a cosmetics company. Her goal was to build a career and earn respect, but the manager there was only interested in her appearance.
Despite her outstanding abilities, her career stagnated because of the manager's suppression. He even told her that he would promote her if she became his girlfriend. Disgusted, she threw a cup in his face and quit on the spot, forgoing that month's salary.
Sophia just wants to earn money on her own terms, but now she's struggling to even afford meals. She chose to play this game because it offers a high degree of realism and countless opportunities. With over 7 billion pre-orders for the game's helmet, she thought it was a good chance to earn some money.
She chose the Necromancer class, knowing that she could summon skeletons early in the game, thereby avoiding the frustrations of being stuck due to weak monsters. However, reality dealt her a harsh blow.
Upon entering the game, she found the world overrun with Necromancer players, mostly from gaming studios. There were more players outside the Necromancer starting village than there were monsters.
Struggling through the crowd, Sophia couldn't even manage to kill a single monster. With no other option, she ventured into an area populated by level 3 skeleton wolves.
But new problems arose: Her level-one skeletal soldiers could barely inflict 1-2 points of damage on a level 3 wolf, and it would take at least a minute to kill one. On top of that, the wolves traveled in packs, making it impossible to isolate and kill one.
Sophia had been about to give up and return to the area with level-one monsters when Alexander, a unique skeletal minion, appeared.
Until that point, she'd gained nothing and was feeling extremely frustrated. Seeing Alexander recklessly go off to take on a pack of skeleton wolves, she was obviously alarmed.
She couldn't afford to lose Alexander; he was her one shot at turning things around.
"Please hurry," she muttered as she watched Alexander approach the attacking range of the wolves.
Her heart sank as she saw eight skeleton wolves close in on Alexander. "No, no, no! My precious skeleton, don't die!"
But her freshly summoned skeletal soldiers were too slow to help. Desperate, Sophia tried to move closer to shield Alexander, but she was too far away.
She could only watch as the wolves attacked, each bite causing only a point or two of damage.
"It's over; my precious skeleton is going to die," she thought, defeated.
The appearance of Alexander had given her hope, but she'd lost him due to her own shortcomings.
"I'm so useless," Sophia thought as she crouched down, tears filling her eyes.
Although not skilled at the game, she knew that an early lead could make all the difference. A unique skeleton like Alexander would have given her a substantial advantage, but now she'd lost it.
Her gaming skills were mediocre to begin with, which was why she'd chosen the Necromancer class, lacking in technical complexity.
As despair filled her, a thought struck her: "Wait, why did the skeleton wolves only reduce Alexander's health by one point each?"