He vaguely remembered the succubus's whisper by his ear.But now, none of that mattered anymore.What mattered was surviving the Aeolus Wind.
Suppressing the unease in his soul, he forced his bones to flatten.[Toughness] and [Hard Bone] strengthened his frame as his arms shielded his ribcage, protecting the soul flame flickering within.[Regeneration] worked tirelessly, mending the fine cracks and erosions gnawed into his bones by the raging wind.Within his chest, the soul flame compressed tightly, burning denser and heavier, refusing to be extinguished.
Yet even so, the surface of his bones looked as though they had been chewed by a thousand invisible ants—pitted and scarred.Around him, clouds of white bone dust mixed with the gale, striking his body like a storm of knives.
Li Xiuman came to truly understand the importance of resistance skills.If not for [Fire Resistance] last time, he would never have endured the searing [Magma].This time, though… he was utterly doomed.
Then, the wind ceased.
All that remained was a tattered skeleton standing amidst the silence, the tiny blue flame within his chest flickering as though about to vanish.Lucia, watching from afar, almost believed he was dead.
But a moment later, the azure fire within his ribcage quivered—then blazed anew.Hollow eye sockets kindled with ghostly blue light.He had survived.
Li Xiuman swayed weakly, barely managing to remain upright.Yet Lucia had no intention of letting him rest.With a gesture, two succubi stepped forward, steadying his trembling body.Lucia approached, holding a crystal unlike the one before—pale blue, and smaller in size.
That confirmed Li Xiuman's suspicion: Lucia was adjusting the crystal's power based on each skeleton's performance in the previous round.This amount—just enough to kill a skeleton.She was testing the lethal thresholds of each elemental crystal.
"Let's try this one," she murmured.
Without hesitation, she pressed the crystal into the flame burning in his chest.At the moment of contact, the fire flared violently, as if doused in accelerant.The ghostly blue blaze shifted to a bright cerulean, sweeping across his body like a hurricane.
Within moments, his entire skeletal frame thinned, the white bone powder swirling around him once again.So this is karma, Li Xiuman thought bitterly. Punishment for grinding my poor colleagues into dust last night.
Soon his teeth loosened and fell away; his skull was eroded to a fragile shell, punctured by countless holes.Within those holes, the flickering azure flame wavered—but refused to die.
One by one, his ribs snapped and fell; his limbs thinned to the width of a finger, the phalanges breaking off in a brittle cascade.His body teetered on the brink of collapse.
Yet his mind remained painfully lucid.
When he sensed his body nearing the limit, Li Xiuman opened his panel and poured his free attribute points into Constitution.Instantly, the synergy of [Regeneration] and his strengthened physique launched a counterattack.
His bones glimmered faintly, knitting themselves together in bursts of radiant light.Lucia's eyes widened in astonishment as she watched the shattered skeleton mend itself.
"Just like before," she whispered."Is this skeleton's unique gift… extreme regeneration?"
Touching her smooth chin thoughtfully, she muttered to herself, then turned away.The remaining force of the crystal could no longer harm him—she had lost interest.
"The next one."
Li Xiuman finally endured the storm and collapsed, staring at the floating panel before him.
[Ding! Constitution +1][New Skill Acquired: Wind Resistance Lv.1]
He waited, but the message he longed for—[Wind Magic Lv.1]—never appeared.
"Damn it… where's my wind magic?" he grumbled inwardly.Still, he understood the reason. The wind crystal Lucia used this time had been too small.A larger one, however, would have killed him outright.
Still… what a scam.
If only he'd had [Wind Resistance] earlier, he wouldn't have been in such a pitiful state.
He rose shakily, pretending ignorance, wandering aimlessly like a clueless skeleton.
There were four elemental attributes—Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind.Lucia had already tested Fire and Wind; next would surely be Earth or Water.
Just in case, he considered acquiring [Earth Resistance] and [Water Resistance] before the next trial—to avoid another disaster.
By the end of the experiments, Li Xiuman was once again the last skeleton standing.He silently mourned his fallen colleagues—each one a fine repository of skills.It was an honor to know you all, he thought dryly.
The succubi glanced at him with a mix of awe and disbelief.Perhaps they were marveling that this skeleton's luck—or sheer durability—had carried him through two full rounds.Well… he was born tough, as the saying went.
The third batch of skeletons was brought in swiftly.Li Xiuman, now experienced, selected one with [Stealth Step], swapping out [Toughness] for it.
That night, under cover of darkness, he quietly ambushed his "colleagues."Two a night, sometimes three—each strike smoother than the last.
So much bone dust filled the air that even the succubi began to fly lower, as if disturbed by the pollution.By then, Li Xiuman had reached Level 5, close to Level 6.
But tonight, he chose not to act.His recent spree had drawn attention—he'd even overheard succubi commenting during the day that the square seemed emptier than before.Still, none suspected a skeleton was behind it.
Their trust filled Li Xiuman with a perverse pride.To earn the enemy's confidence… not bad at all.
The next day, Lucia returned once more.Li Xiuman had already replaced his skills with [Earth Resistance], [Water Resistance], [Toughness], and [Regeneration].He no longer trusted the succubi's "tests."
Lucia had him pulled from the pile again.Damn it, this demon really can't wait to kill me, he thought bitterly.And here I was hoping to let a few more colleagues test the traps first.
"This time, it's water. Try to endure it," Lucia said sweetly."Water Prison."
Her voice was gentle, but her actions merciless.Streams of water condensed from the void, swirling around Li Xiuman to form a floating, spherical prison.
The pressure rose, the currents battering his bones.One by one, they began to bend under the strain.
Yet with [Toughness] fortifying him, he managed to hold on.At Constitution 9, Lucia's eyes gleamed with fascination.
Then she drew forth a deep-blue crystal—larger than even the one used in the fire test—and thrust it into the flame within his chest.Once again came the agony worse than death.
But with his newly enhanced constitution, Li Xiuman endured.