The skeleton is too invincible; I leveled up with the school beauty!

Wen Lian's carefully permed bangs were soaked with cold sweat and stuck to her distorted face.

"My goblin's stats clearly crush all F-rank skeletons!"

"Why is it that now, a dozen goblins are fighting one... and they can't even touch a single bone?!"

Wen Lian murmured to herself, her eyes filled with disbelief.

In the game's lore and in the public's perception, skeleton soldiers are the lowest-level cannon fodder, serving as practice targets for newbies.

While goblins are also basic cannon fodder, they far surpass skeletons in terms of basic strength, agility, and ferocity!

But now, her goblin army was reduced to a pile of mangled corpses. And the skeleton that should have been cannon fodder was now emanating an eerie aura that sent chills down her spine!

Om-!

Just then, a deep energy vibration came from deep within Xu Nuo's bones!

[Ding! Mission complete!]

[Evolution process initiated!]

[Evolutionary progress 12%...25%...]

Just then, accompanied by a system notification, Xu Nuo's skeleton began to tremble violently.

Black mist gushed out from every crevice of the bones.

Xu Nuo felt that all of her bones were being reorganized and strengthened, as if millions of ants were crawling in her bone marrow.

"Crunch—crunch—"

His bones made cracking sounds, as if they were undergoing a transformative change.

A surprised and uncertain voice suddenly came from among the students watching.

"Wait...look at the skeleton's bones!"

"It's glowing! Could it be evolving?"

These words were like cold water poured into a hot oil pan, instantly freezing Wen Lian's already unpleasant expression.

"evolution?!"

Wen Lian's voice suddenly rose, "How could the worst F-rank skeleton soldier possibly evolve?! Without expensive evolution potions, it's simply a pipe dream!"

As a summoner, she understood better than anyone what a contracted beast capable of autonomous evolution meant.

That's the rarest growth-type monster, with immeasurable potential!

"No...we must not let it succeed..."

A glint of malice flashed in Wen Lian's eyes, her slender fingers twitching nervously. "Why... we're both from the slums, so why do you, Su Wanqing, always get ahead of me?!"

"You can summon a trash skeleton and still get this incredible stroke of luck?! Is my Wen Lian's talent completely worthless?!"

She pointed sharply at the last goblin lurking in the shadows, screaming hysterically, "Fools!!! While it can't move—tear that pile of bones to shreds!!! Now! Immediately! Right now!!!"

The last goblin hiding in the shadows, upon hearing the command, suddenly sprang into action, its rusty dagger flashing a cold light in the dim light as it thrust straight at Xu Nuo.

At this time, Xu Nuo was in a critical period of evolution, and his entire skeleton was being reorganized, making him completely unable to move.

"Promise—!"

A slender figure lunged forward. Su Wanqing spread her arms to shield the skeleton, and the dagger pierced her shoulder with a "thud," instantly staining her school uniform with blood.

"Ugh!"

She collapsed to her knees in agony, yet still clung tightly to the goblin's dagger. Blood dripped from her fingertips, pooling at Xu Nuo's feet in a small pool, reflecting the flickering soul fire in the skull's eye sockets.

[Contract Resonance exceeded the threshold and was triggered!]

[Deep activation of life connection!]

[Soul Bond! Forged!]

Amidst the excruciating pain, Su Wanqing suddenly saw the contract mark on her chest glow with a ghostly blue light. An unprecedented connection resonated deep within her soul.

She could feel it—every inch of his skeleton was enduring excruciating pain, as if being forged in a furnace!

She resonated with it—how that violent evolutionary force, powerful enough to reshape existence, surged and crashed wildly deep within Xu Nuo's very bones!

She even... heard with perfect clarity the roar that came from the depths of the soul, piercing through endless pain. The feeling was so strange, as if an invisible thread was tightly binding their fates together.

That thread, woven from Su Wanqing's blood and the promised soul fire, was stronger than any contract.

From this day forward, their joys and sorrows will be intertwined, their destinies will be interwoven...

Meanwhile, Xu Nuo's soul is experiencing a tsunami.

Su Wanqing's pain surged like a tidal wave through the contract:

The sharp pain of a cold blade cutting through flesh...

The warm blood seeped into the sticky fabric...

Each breath triggered a sharp pain in the wound...

These unfamiliar sensations nearly ignited his soul fire.

So this is what it feels like to be cared for...

So warm...and so painful...Xu Nuo's bony hand trembled violently as he reached out towards the girl, but his throat bones could only make a "crackling" grinding sound.

He longed to call out her name, he longed to tell her...

Su...Wan...Qing...

The goblin drew its dagger and was about to stab Su Wanqing in the heart again.

"boom!!!"

Just then!

A jet-black beam of light suddenly shot into the sky!

Amidst the horrified gazes of the crowd, Xu Nuo's height skyrocketed from 1.8 meters to 2.2 meters.

The original gray-white skeleton was covered with a layer of jet-black bone armor, which gleamed with a metallic luster!

The bones of his right forearm extended and deformed, transforming into a three-foot-long, gleaming white bone blade.

His spine bulged out segment by segment, sprouting six sharp bone spurs! The ghostly blue flames in his eye sockets turned a terrifying blood red!

[Evolution Complete: Rank E Skeleton Warrior]

【Strength: 60】

[Defense: 50]

[Agility: 50]

【Spirit: 50】

[Gain Skill: Bone Blade Storm (Area of ​​Effect Attack)]

[Next Evolution Stage: Skeleton Commander (Unlocks language ability, requires devouring 100 E-rank undead)]

The skeleton soldiers have evolved!

This...this is still an F-grade piece of junk?

How can skeletons evolve?!

This is unprecedented!

The moment Xu Nuo completed his evolution into an E-level Skeleton Warrior, Su Wanqing suddenly felt the contract mark on her chest become slightly hot.

[Contract feedback triggered!]

[Host is evolving in sync...]

"This is......"

The holographic panel quietly unfolded in front of her:

Name: Su Wanqing

[Profession: Contract Master (Legendary)] [Rank: F → E]

[Strength: 15] (↑+5)

[Defense: 18] (↑+8)

[Agility: 20] (↑+5)

[Spirit: 50] (↑+40) (Greatly increased! Contract bond depth enhanced!)

[Contractor: 1/1] (Skeleton Warrior - Promise)

[Contract Skill 1: Summon/Repatriate to the Abyss]

[Contract Skill 2: Psionic Chains (3/3), fires a binding chain composed of mental energy and contract energy, which can forcibly bind the movements (body and energy) of targets of Rank E or below for 1 second!]

What?

Su Wanqing has also advanced in the same way?!

"This is... power... I've advanced..." Su Wanqing trembled as she reached out her hand, and three chains glowing with blood-red light appeared in her palm.

This is her control skill!

Before everyone could recover from their shock, the air in front of Xu Nuo suddenly distorted, and a pitch-black crack appeared out of thin air!

[The first level of the Vault of the Dead is now open!]

[The first sealed artifact has been unlocked!]

Reaching Rank B will unlock the second Sealed Artifact!

From within the crack, a giant sword shrouded in black mist slowly emerged.

The sword is a full 1.5 meters long, entirely black, with two large, blood-red ancient seal characters engraved on it: "Natural Disaster".

Xu Nuo stared at the two blood-red ancient seal characters on the sword, his soul fire pulsating violently.

That name...it's fucking awesome!

The sword is also engraved with the words: "All living beings will eventually decay, only death is eternal."

The oppressive aura emanating from the sword caused the surrounding students to involuntarily take a few steps back.

Xu Nuo extended his bony hand and firmly grasped the sword hilt.

A violent killing intent surged from his finger bones straight into his soul fire!

[Name: Catastrophe] [Status: 2/9] (More power unlocks as the holder evolves)

[Current Effect: Touch of Decay - Damage inflicted by this sword will be cursed with 'Eternal Decay,' preventing wounds from healing (low-level regeneration abilities are nullified), and causing life to continuously drain until the body decays into dust!]

【Trait: Forbidden Zone of Life (Passive) - The death field naturally emitted by the artifact accelerates the passage of time for surrounding non-undead units (manifesting as decay/weathering/withering), weakening their energy activity.】

With a loud "boom," a chilling aura erupted from him.

The temperature in the entire square dropped ten degrees instantly!

Countless fragments of bloody memories exploded within Xu Nuo's consciousness:

He saw the Cataclysmic Sword, with its sharpness that could pierce through all realms, tear through the starry river and pierce through the chest of a divine body with boundless divine radiance!

The scalding divine blood gushed forth like a starburst, drenching the barren land and instantly blooming into an endless, eerie sea of ​​blood-red spider lilies...

He saw that figure, wearing a crown of thorns forged from the chaotic crystal cores and divine bones born from the destruction of countless universes, sat alone on a cold, eternal throne, gazing upon a desolate, lifeless universe devoid of any remaining stars...

The blood flames in Xu Nuo's eyes paused briefly, as if frozen, because they touched upon an ancient and terrifying illusion!

These... are scenes of a fallen god... are the past of a sword...

Or is it... the path of natural disasters that I am destined to embark on?

The students were in an uproar!

"That...that sword is absorbing light!"

"My shadow! My shadow has been eaten!"

"Look at the ground!"

Someone suddenly screamed.

Centered on the promise, the paving stones within a ten-meter radius are decaying and cracking at a visible rate, as if they have undergone a thousand years of weathering.

All of this was caused by the deathly aura naturally emanating from the Cataclysmic Greatsword!

"Click, click, click—"

The giant sword dragged blinding sparks across the ground. Xu Nuo slowly raised his head, his crimson soul fire locking onto Wen Lian, who was slumped on the ground.

This green tea bitch...

How dare you harm my Master?

How dare you make Su Wanqing bleed?

I won't scatter your ashes today...

Xu Nuo's skeletal hand gripped the sword hilt tightly, and the aura of death surged like a tidal wave.

And that spoiled brat Wang Dao next to me... I'll show you what a natural disaster looks like!