After temporarily escaping the threat of the Skeleton Centipede, Rogel surveyed the surroundings.
It was no different from what he saw outside; it seemed to be a long-abandoned village.
Wind-blown dilapidated houses, collapsed shacks, abandoned livestock pens, and... bones on the ground.
Crack!
At this moment, the game character makes a sound of stepping on bones while walking.
Looking down, he saw the ground was actually covered with yellowed bones of unknown creatures.
And those dilapidated houses were clearly built out of bones.
The roofs weren't covered with thatch or tiles but rather the dried skins of many creatures!
Even more frightening was the extremely eerie BGM that started playing, immensely unnerving.
This made Rogel, who's playing the game from a third-person perspective, involuntarily shrink a bit.
"How did playing suddenly become a horror game..."
Rogel's heart tightened.
Before entering the cave, his impression of the game was always "leisurely adventure management."
Now the scene suddenly shifted, making him feel like it turned into "horror adventure survival."
After surveying the surroundings, Rogel saw what seemed to be a well not far ahead, also made of bones, with some bloodstains on it.
He walked towards the well.
But just when Rogel was halfway there, something unexpected happened.
[×&%￥#@...]
A low and indistinct spell echoed through the village, impossible to discern its origin.
Along with the chanting, several streams of purple-black air emerged from the corners of the village, pouring into the bones on the ground.
Something's up.
Rogel was somewhat amazed at this sight.
Even a fool could sense trouble brewing from this situation.
However, he didn't immediately flee; primarily, he wanted to see what would unfold.
Though he restrains himself from abusing the save/load feature.
But, as those who know, understand that having it like a mushroom bomb, whether you use it or not, provides a sense of security.
So, let the show begin.
Crack crack...
As the purple-black air adhered to the bones, several skeletal creatures rose instantly, making crunching sounds.
Some appeared humanoid, others beast-like, wielding varied weapons, be it swords and shields or sharp horns.
But the same in all was the purple-black flames burning in their hollow eyes.
[Skeleton Hero]
[Type: Subordinate Creature]
[Quality: Ordinary]
[Level: 2]
[Tier: Extraordinary]
[Explanation: The once great hero who wielded a greatsword has fallen to time's embrace. Sadly, even though the soul has dispersed, the shell finds no peace.]
[Skeleton Horned Beast]
[Type: Subordinate Creature]
[Quality: Ordinary]
[Level: 1]
[Tier: Extraordinary]
[Explanation: The giant horns grant the horned beast immense attack power, but through time's erosion, the horns are severely damaged.]
The purple-black air stirred dozens of skeleton monsters, averaging around level one or two, all names starting with Skeleton.
Besides these two, there were Skeleton Goblins, Skeleton Minotaurs, and more.
After watching for a while, Rogel became curious and started observing elsewhere.
Undoubtedly, these skeleton monsters were summoned and controlled by someone.
The issue was that Rogel couldn't find the person secretly manipulating the monsters.
That cunning old fox!
Crack crack!
The sound of bones colliding echoed as the Skeleton Warrior forcefully struck its Bone Shield, then let out a silent roar toward the sky.
Next, it twirled its sword tip, pointing at Rogel upfront.
It seemed to be issuing a command...
Charge!
Instantly, dozens of skeleton monsters charged toward Rogel.
Rogel pondered momentarily and decided to first take down one or two monsters to see what they would drop.
Thus, he navigated the character into auto-combat mode.
The game character on screen began skillfully maneuvering.
This is where I must mention, while the game's auto-combat feature has an upper limit, its lower bound is undeniably high.
This battle proved it.
The game character adeptly utilized Fog Flash and Horror Demon Sharp Claw for attacks and dodged skillfully with high agility.
When attacking, it targeted vital spots of ordinary creatures, not stiffly fixating on one place to provoke critical strikes.
Yet Rogel frowned.
Though the character's attacks on the skeleton monsters showed damage numbers...
But... it seemed ineffective?
These skeleton monsters endured injuries, bones shattering, yet still could reassemble into full form and continue fighting.
They looked entirely unkillable.
Rogel sensed his heart sink, realizing that physical attacks seemed futile against these skeletal creatures.
Just as he prepared to maneuver the character out of battle, an unexpected situation happened.
[Skeleton Goblin is gripped by fear.]
After the game notification, the bone club in the Skeleton Goblin's hand fell to the ground, and it continually backed away in terror.
Its eye sockets' purple-black air even detached instantly, swiftly floating in a direction.
Rogel didn't receive a kill notification.
But his eyes lit up.
There it was, a guide!
Hurriedly, he controlled the game character pursuing the direction the purple-black air floated.
Behind Rogel, dozens of skeleton monsters relentlessly pursued him.
Along the way, some extremely eerie skeletal creatures roamed.
Soon enough, the purple-black air floated into a house.
Without hesitation, Rogel followed it into the house.
However, upon entering, he didn't immediately see the man behind the scenes.
After observing for a while, he looked down to notice a wooden plank on the floor, clearly indicating a basement.
Rogel lifted the plank and indeed found a basement.
He leaped down without hesitation.
The skeleton monsters relentlessly chasing after him made banging sounds on the door.
Inside the basement, Rogel looked around but found only a one-way passage, so he proceeded decisively.
Soon, a wooden door blocked Rogel's path.
Rogel pushed the door, and the basement suddenly opened up.
In the pitch-black basement, a mysterious figure clad in a black robe was pondering the swirling purple-black air ahead.
[Skeleton Secret Witch]
[Type: Monster]
[Quality: Boss]
[Level: 5]
[Tier: Extraordinary]
[Explanation: The secluded witch hidden underground, capable of manipulating skeletal creatures, often accompanies death.]
He seemed puzzled why this power was flying around in terror.
And Rogel's sudden intrusion gave him quite a shock.
After angrily cursing in a language Rogel didn't understand, he picked up a black Magic Staff beside him and began casting a spell to attack Rogel.
But Rogel was faster.
"Now that I've found you, you're in for some trouble!"
Rogel sneered wickedly, with his figure instantly turning into mist.
The mysterious mage was aghast, hurriedly trying to fend off Rogel.
But the next second, pale sharp claws had already slashed across his neck.
With a swish, blood spurted.
The black-robed mage clutched his neck and fell.
This black-robed mage's body seemed weak, and Rogel could easily take him down.
[You have slain the Skeleton Secret Witch, gaining Combat Experience, and your Character Level has increased.]
[Your current Character Level is: 5, with 4 free attribute points remaining.]
[You have defeated the floor guardian, and the floor's portal has been marked.]