Rorona sat in front of him, stretching out her tattered bat wings.
Thick silver bone nails pierced through bone and membrane, pinned in rows along her wings.
This caused her a tearing pain as if her wings were being ripped off whenever she opened them.
Even when she folded them, these silver bone nails felt like branding irons embedded in her bone and membrane.
Li Xiuman grabbed her wings and began pulling out the nails.
With every nail he pulled, her wings shuddered.
“Clink, clink, clink.”
As the final nail hit the ground with a crisp clinking sound, all of the silver nails had been pulled from her pair of wings.
“Get some rest first.”
Li Xiuman gathered the blood-stained silver items from the ground and walked out of the cave.
To avoid triggering Rorona, it was best to destroy these silver items.
After disposing of the silver items, Li Xiuman returned to the cave.
Rorona had already curled up on the ground and fallen asleep, or perhaps she had fainted.
Li Xiuman also found a corner and opened his status panel.
Now that he had some time, he planned to handle his evolution.
Currently, he had three evolutionary paths: [Half-Dragon Skeleton], [Mid-Tier Elemental Skeleton], and [Dragon-Blooded Skeleton].
The level caps for both the [Half-Dragon Skeleton] and [Mid-Tier Elemental Skeleton] were lv30.
The level cap for the [Dragon-Blooded Skeleton] was lv35.
Without hesitation, he chose the Dragon-Blooded Skeleton evolutionary path.
The [Strength Modifier] was simply too tempting for a skeleton.
Furthermore, he didn't know the stat requirements for his next evolution. Since this evolutionary path had the highest level cap, it would provide him with more stat points.
This way, he wouldn't get stuck at a level cap due to his evolution.
[Are you sure you want to choose Dragon-Blooded Skeleton as your evolutionary path?]
Another pop-up appeared in front of him with Yes/No options.
Li Xiuman quickly selected "Yes".
[You have selected Dragon-Blooded Skeleton as your evolutionary path. Commencing evolution...]
The bones in his body began to heat up, grinding against each other as they expanded.
Next, the phalanges of his toes and fingers began to grow sharp.
They looked like sharp claws.
His bones also became much thicker one by one, and his body gradually grew taller.
Before his thick bones could expand any further, they were compressed by a surge of energy, making them even more compact.
Then, during this compression process, the surface of his bones began to undergo a marvelous transformation.
Scale-like patterns began to appear across the surface of his bones.
They looked just like dragon scales made of bone.
The soul fire in his chest cavity and skull flared up, covering his entire skeleton from the inside out.
His tailbone also grew rapidly, transforming into a white bone dragon tail that extended from his back.
Each segment of the tailbone was incredibly sharp, resembling a long bone whip.
At his forehead, bone sprouted and formed a pair of skeletal horns protruding from his skull.
Sharp bone spurs also grew from the smooth joints of the bone wings on his back, and the wing surfaces formed by individual bones became flat and razor-sharp, like a row of bone blades.
It was not until the transformation stopped that the deep blue soul fire slowly retreated back into his body, burning quietly inside his skull and chest cavity.
[Ding! Evolution successful.]
[Your level cap has been increased to lv35.]
[Class upgraded from Tier 1 Elementalist to Tier 2 Elementalist.]
[Strength +1, Constitution +1, Spirit +1]
[Skill Bone Manipulation lv2 has been upgraded to Bone Manipulation lv3]
[Skill Appraisal lv2 has been upgraded to Appraisal lv3]
[Skill Elemental Magic lv2 has been upgraded to Elemental Magic lv3]
[Skill Bone Wings lv1 has been upgraded to Bone Wings lv2]
[Skill Elemental Resistance lv1 has been upgraded to Elemental Resistance lv2]
[You have acquired new skills: Dragonization lv1, Subordinate lv1]
[Dragonization lv1] When activated, increases all three primary attributes.
[Subordinate lv1] Consumes Experience and Mana to convert a target into your subordinate or kin. Currently convertible races: [Low-Tier Skeleton], [Low-Tier Elemental Skeleton]. (The higher the race and level being converted, the more Mana and Experience are consumed. Please ensure you have sufficient Experience, otherwise there is a risk of losing levels.)
A barrage of pop-ups instantly filled Li Xiuman's vision.
He quickly waved them away and examined his status panel line by line.
His current panel was as follows:
[Name] Xiuman Pound Li
[Race] Dragon-Blooded Skeleton
[Level] lv20/lv35 (Dragon-Blooded Skeleton level cap is lv35)
[Class] Elementalist (Tier 2)
[Strength] 25/50
[Constitution] 36/60
[Spirit] 35/60
[Free Stat Points] 3
[Evolution Requirement] Reach maximum stats in Strength, Constitution, and Spirit to achieve racial evolution.
[Skills] Bone Manipulation lv3, Appraisal lv3, Elemental Magic lv3, Elemental Resistance lv2, Great Strength lv2, Swordsmanship lv2, Bone Wings lv2, Magic Analysis lv2, Hard Bone lv2, Self-Healing lv2, Resilience lv2, Vampirism lv1, Golem lv1, Swiftness lv1, Quiet Steps lv1, Bone Hyperplasia lv1, Close Combat lv1, Subordinate lv1 [New!], Dragonization lv1 [New!]
[Status] bone decay
[Experience] 0/10000
[Description] A dangerous and cunning skeleton. Possesses a wide array of skills, specializing in disguise, close combat, and Elemental Magic. Underestimating him will cost far more than just one's life. Do not believe a single word from this skeleton. Estimated remaining time before collapse: 30 years.
His lifespan had doubled; the time before his decay-induced collapse had been extended twofold, reaching thirty years.
His name had also changed once again.
Originally, "Li Xiuman" was his name, and "Pound" was his surname. Now, "Li" had overwritten the surname of "Pound".
Though "Li" was originally his surname, the status panel had always failed to separate it, grouping it under his given name. He no longer hoped to get rid of "Pound" entirely.
Based on his research into magic during this period, he had already come to understand that one's true name was extremely important in this magical world.
Since he had been converted into a skeleton by Pound, the surname "Pound" was destined to stick with him.
“Is it because I obtained the [Subordinate] skill?”
Li Xiuman mused.
If he were to take on subordinates, he would bestow his surname upon their true names.
By then, the surname "Pound" would no longer be applicable.
So, when he took on subordinates, they would take "Li" as their surname...?
As in, XXX Li?
A strange sense of excitement and conquest welled up inside him.
It felt like planting his flag on an uncharted land, or leaving footprints on a pristine, snow-white field after the first winter snowfall.
However, he still needed to be careful about the fact that taking on subordinates consumed Experience.
Then, Li Xiuman controlled his body to return to its original appearance.
The tail and horns retracted, and the scales on his bones dissolved back into them one by one, leaving only barely perceptible patterns on his pristine white bones.
Rate on N.U.
