Nie Yan, accompanied by two Haigu Keduo, was clearing out newly-spawned Haigu Keduo nearby, occasionally casting the Necromancer’s Ritual skill in an attempt to summon additional Haigu Keduo. Obviously, the success rate was very low, but it was worth trying.
Since the Skeletal Kodoku did not spawn in groups but rather scattered individually, Nie Yan, along with his two Skeletal Kodoku, roamed around crushing enemies. After defeating over a dozen Skeletal Kodoku, he successfully summoned another one.
With three skeletons, Nie Yan had already met the requirements for this mission.
The three summoned skeletal warriors stunned Tang Yao.
“What’s your current experience percentage?” Nie Yan asked.
“Fifty-seven percent.”
“You’re about to level up. I have something to do later, so after you reach level 8, switch your experience to exclusive for the Arcane Sprite! I’ve already brought the Arcane Sprite up to level 2, and then I’ll help you find a good spot to level up,” Nie Yan said. It was relatively easy to bring the Arcane Sprite from level 1 to 2, but the experience required to reach level 3 was hundreds of times more. The experience needed for levels 3 to 4, and then 4 to 5, was even more ridiculous. This was why raising an Arcane Sprite was quite difficult.
“Okay,” Tang Yao nodded. Although he wanted to level up more, since Nie Yan had something to do, he wouldn’t bother him. There would be plenty of opportunities to level up together in the future. Leveling up with Nie Yan was just too awesome.
“Where should I level up?” Tang Yao asked in confusion. Given his current strength, leveling up here would practically be suicide.
“There’s an area to the east where level 19 skeletons spawn. You can level up there. I’ll show you later,” Nie Yan replied.
Tang Yao was a bit puzzled. At his current level, could he even handle level 19 skeletons? However, Nie Yan must have his reasons.
Nie Yan, along with his three skeletal minions, charged through the area, sweeping everything in their path. After a while, a system prompt sounded—he had leveled up.
Level 10 meant he could allocate points. Nie Yan opened his character interface and found he had seven free attribute points and two free skill points.
Without hesitation, he allocated all seven points to Strength, aiming to wear the Saugot Shadow Cloth Boots as soon as possible.
Looking at his Strength, it was now at 53. Though seemingly far from 130, Nie Yan knew he had many ways to increase Strength. This was also why he had chosen to obtain the Freedom Chapter, which added a significant amount of Strength. Wearing the Saugot Shadow would be absolutely awesome.
With two remaining free skill points, Nie Yan allocated them to Intermediate Archery and Basic Sleight of Hand. Intermediate Archery increased a rogue’s attack power when using crossbows and had a 1% chance of armor-piercing damage. Basic Sleight of Hand allowed a rogue to switch dagger attack modes—reverse grip, standard grip, etc.—providing an additional 2% damage bonus and extra benefits for the Pickpocket skill.
Pickpocket was a skill that increased a rogue’s income, not particularly useful for leveling up, but there were some interesting quests related to it. Being exclusive rogue quests, they offered top-tier rogue rewards, so the rewards were generous enough to make most rogues envious. Nie Yan could take on these quests after obtaining the Freedom Chapter.
Since he received two free skill points every five levels, Nie Yan could allocate skill points more freely, focusing on useful skills.
After a while, Tang Yao reached level 8 and switched his experience to exclusive for the Arcane Sprite.
The Arcane Sprite’s experience began to skyrocket.
There were not many undead spawn areas in Karol City. Once players reached the 20s or 30s, there would be almost no suitable undead grinding zones. If the Arcane Sprite was cultivated early and Tang Yao improved his Arcane damage, learning numerous high-damage Arcane spells, the damage output of an Arcane Mage with an Arcane Sprite would be terrifying, making monster grinding and leveling extremely fast.
Nie Yan spent nearly half an hour grinding with Tang Yao, and finally the Arcane Sprite reached level 2. Going from level 1 to 2 was very easy, but reaching level 3 would be difficult.
“What are the Arcane Sprite’s current attributes?” Nie Yan asked Tang Yao.
“Magic Regeneration +300%, Spell Cooldown Reduction -40%, Casting Time Reduction -40%, Spell Damage +10%, Monster Level Difference Negation +2.” Tang Yao hesitated slightly when reading the last attribute.
“Perfect! With Monster Level Difference Negation +2, you should be able to handle level 19 skeletons,” Nie Yan said. This was precisely why he had helped Tang Yao bring the Arcane Sprite to level 2 before letting him grind alone.
Nie Yan had already calculated this earlier.
Leading Tang Yao eastward, they approached a continuous stretch of sand dunes where many skeletons were active below.
“I’ll bring you up to the dunes. You can level up there; don’t come down since skeletons can’t reach you,” Nie Yan explained. Skeletons had limited mobility and couldn’t climb the dunes.
“You’ll level up just fine without following me. You can stay here and gain several levels, but make sure to keep the experience exclusive for the Arcane Sprite. The Arcane Sprite is too important to you. Those skeletons are level 19, and you’re only level 8. Grinding monsters 11 levels above you will yield massive experience, and the experience bonus from the level difference will go directly to the Arcane Sprite. If you grind for three days, your Arcane Sprite can evolve.”
The Arcane Sprite gained experience differently from regular players. Grinding higher-level monsters was the fastest way for it to level up. If you followed the usual method of leveling with the Arcane Sprite, even sharing all experience with it, it would still take at least a month to level up, and who knew what might happen in that time.
In a previous life, someone used a similar method to grind for a month and brought their Arcane Sprite up four levels. However, when trying to go from level 4 to 5, no matter how much they ground, it wouldn’t level up because the Arcane Sprite required PvP kills instead of monster experience to evolve from level 4 to 5.
However, many Arcane Sprites obtained through such grinding were eventually killed by the Arcane Mages’ enemies. As the saying goes, “Frequently walking by the river, one cannot avoid getting their feet wet.” Even the strongest individuals could be ganged up on and killed.
“This place is great. I’ll bring the Arcane Sprite to level 3, and then we can grind monsters and level up together,” Tang Yao said. If a level 2 Arcane Sprite already had such strong bonus attributes, a level 3 one would be even more terrifying.
Most Arcane Mages could only hope to have a level 3 Arcane Sprite when they reached level 40 or 50, or even higher. If Tang Yao could grind out a level 3 Arcane Sprite now, it would be like wielding an advanced item, with incredible power.
“You can start leveling up here. With the Arcane Sprite, your mana shouldn’t be a problem. I’m heading out now. Contact me when you’re ready to return,” Nie Yan said as he checked the cooldown timers of his Skeletal Kodo. The first one he summoned had less than an hour remaining.
“Alright, don’t worry. I’ll definitely complete the mission within three days, but don’t come looking for me within five days,” Tang Yao replied. If he wanted to bring the Arcane Sprite up to level 3, he would need to stay here and grind for a while longer.
“Your gear is a bit behind, but with the Arcane Sprite’s spell damage boost, you should be fine leveling up to 15 before getting better gear. I’m off now.”
Tang Yao climbed up the dune and started casting spells at the skeletons below. Most of his spells were single-target, with only one AoE spell, Celestial Fall, dealing significant damage. Still, his leveling speed was decent since he kept casting non-stop.
Nie Yan bid farewell to Tang Yao and walked away with his three skeletal companions.
Nie Yan’s figure gradually faded into the distance, eventually disappearing at the edge of the vast desert. Tang Yao looked at Nie Yan’s back and began grinding monsters non-stop.
For the next three days, he would stay in this dune area.
“Life sure is lonely,” Tang Yao sighed, opening the chat list to look for pretty girls.
“Hey, pretty girl, what are you up to?”
“Leveling up.”
“Chat with me for a bit.”
“No time.”
“I’m telling you, I’m a real expert. I’m currently leveling in a level 20 monster area. I can take you there later.”
“Yeah, right,” the girl hung up, leaving a busy signal on the voice chat.
Tang Yao gave a bitter smile. Why did no one believe him when he told the truth? He clicked another avatar and started harassing the next pretty girl.
Leveling up, chatting with pretty girls, entertaining himself, and listening to the bubbling sounds from the Arcane Sprite beside him, he found himself quite enjoying the time. To become a true expert, one must endure loneliness.
Nie Yan gradually ventured deeper into the Hems Wastes, where fierce winds carried yellow sand swirling through the air. Almost no plants could survive here.
The sky remained consistently gloomy, and the monotonous scenery made it hard to distinguish directions. Nie Yan checked his coordinates. His memories from a previous life were vague, but he believed he was heading in the right direction.
After walking for over ten minutes, Nie Yan finally saw an endless graveyard emerging from the yellow sand. Countless tombstones, either toppled or shattered, densely covered the desert, stretching as far as the eye could see.
This desolate graveyard, through countless years, told the story of death’s solitude.
Looking into the distance, amidst the endless yellow sand, a ruined building stood among the graves. It was the entrance to the underground catacombs.
This was the catacomb of the Lich Abraham, the terrifying devil who once commanded an undead army that surged from beneath the earth, bringing death, fear, and plague to Glinlan. After his body was purified by an archangel, it was eternally sealed on this barren land.
Many thieves had attempted to enter this catacomb to steal Abraham’s necklace, but none had succeeded. However, the Freedom Chapter had been left behind in this graveyard.
As Nie Yan approached this graveyard, a dark force rippled through the sky like water waves. One, two, hundreds, thousands—countless skeletons clawed their way out of the earth, pushing aside the dirt around the gravestones.
Endless waves of skeletons stretched as far as the eye could see, like an ocean.
At this moment, Nie Yan finally understood what it meant to face a skeleton army, reminiscent of the grand ancient battlefield.
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