23: Chapter 23: Have the Skeleton Soldiers Mutated Too?

"You shameless pile of bones."

"I worked so hard to beat that monster to a pulp, and you just swoop in to steal the kill?"

"Do you have no shame!"

The Slime trembled all over, its little eyes burning with raging fury.

The Little Skeleton had long since retreated.

It hid behind Lu Yuan, poking out half its skull with an innocent look.

"Wasn't it your command... that told me to go up and finish it off?"

Slime: ...

Damn, it really did say that itself.

It went into a sulk.

Bai Zhi opened her mouth wide in disbelief.

"230 damage? A level 1 Skeleton Soldier actually dealt 230 damage? How is that possible?"

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly.

This was the charm of Heartsteel.

Although it couldn't compare to True Damage.

But the potential of 'Heartsteel' was limitless.

Increasing HP meant increasing damage.

This was the importance of 'spending money'.

What truly surprised Lu Yuan was the decisiveness the Little Skeleton showed when it attacked just now.

This little guy didn't seem as cowardly as it looked on the surface.

Interesting.

Lu Yuan rubbed the Slime's head.

"Alright, stop being angry."

"As the boss, you must have enough awareness."

"From now on, you need to beat all the monsters to a pulp and leave the kills for the Little Skeleton."

???

The Slime widened its little bean eyes, looking at Lu Yuan in disbelief.

"A soldier can be killed, but not humiliated!"

"Master, you can't do this."

"I, King Slime, have dominated these dungeons for so many minutes; when have I ever suffered such grievances?!"

Lu Yuan picked up the Slime, leaned close to its ear, and lowered his voice.

"Are you stupid?"

"Let me ask you, do you want to rest? Do you want to lie on the bed with me, getting foot massages? Do you want to have endless rare treasures to eat every day?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

The Slime's eyes glowed, and it nodded like a pounding pestle.

Lu Yuan grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, like a devil seducing a child.

"If you want to enjoy yourself, you have to cultivate the Little Skeleton well first."

"When it grows up and becomes strong, it can take over your position."

"Only then can you truly lie flat."

A flash of brilliance crossed the Slime's eyes.

Giving up kills = Little Skeleton gets stronger = Someone works for me = I can lie flat.

This logic... although it felt a bit strange.

But it holds up?

"But... but those are monsters I beat to a pulp..."

Lu Yuan guided it step by step, starting to paint a big picture:

"You are King Slime. Your strength is so great, you beat so many monsters; do you really care about a few kills? You need to look at the big picture."

"Is our journey to the stars and the sea? Wrong! It's the damn foot massages."

"To be able to lie flat completely, you must suffer first."

"Sweetness comes after bitterness; only those who endure the bitterest of the bitter can become the best of the best, do you understand?"

The Slime nodded in a daze.

Although it felt like something was wrong, it believed its master wouldn't lie to it.

For the sake of lying flat, for the foot massages. Let's do it!

"...Fine, I'll give them up!"

It glared fiercely at the Little Skeleton.

"Pile of bones, you remember this: these kills are a reward from me, your King!"

"And it's only temporary. Once you level up, you're not allowed to steal my kills anymore."

The Little Skeleton bowed elegantly, gesturing with its bony claws.

"Thank you for your generosity, Lord Slime. King Slime, boundless in magic power, unifies the dungeon, unrivaled in the world."

When had the Slime ever heard such things?

It was completely flattered into a stupor.

Lu Yuan: Nice.

This Little Skeleton was interesting; it had quite a way with words.

Next, it was time to see the effect of Heartsteel.

"Uncle Paladin, please continue. I need more monsters to help the Little Skeleton level up."

Lu Yuan waved his hand lazily.

Zhou Xiong took the order and left.

Soon, he returned, dragging a dozen or so bound monsters to the villa entrance.

[Black Scale Snake (lv9)] [Deep Forest Python (Elite · lv11)] [Vine Snake King (Elite · lv13)] [...]

Dozens of them; not only were they all snake-type monsters, but the vast majority were Elite monsters.

Uncle Paladin narrowed his eyes and said, "Young Master."

"I don't know why, but there are an unusually large number of snake-type monsters today."

Lu Yuan glanced at them; they were indeed all snake-type monsters.

However, he didn't think much of it.

He waved his hand, signaling the two Magic Pets to begin.

The time that followed was a boring grinding session.

The Little Skeleton was responsible for eating.

After the Slime beat the monsters to a pulp, the Little Skeleton would go up and 'steel' them.

Steel—!!! -235! [HP permanently +23]

Steel—!!! -235 [HP permanently +23]

[...]

Steel—!! -430 [HP permanently +43]

Steel—!!! -532 [HP permanently +53]

Steel—!!!

The Little Skeleton stacked Heartsteel while eating rare treasures.

Soon, its HP broke the 5000 mark.

Its size also expanded at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The Little Skeleton, which was originally only 1.5 meters tall, was also steadily growing.

It had grown about 3 centimeters taller.

For anyone, 3 centimeters is a lot!

Everyone present was shocked.

Bai Zhi was stunned.

For a newly summoned Little Skeleton to deal 200 damage was already extremely, extremely outrageous.

In such a short time, this Skeleton Soldier's damage had actually increased to 500.

It seemed that after every attack, the damage it dealt increased.

How is this possible?

It's crazy. This world must be crazy.

Is this still a squishy Skeleton Soldier?

Bai Zhi looked at Lu Yuan, who was leaning on the sofa, looking lazy.

Ever since the Young Master changed his class to 'Summoner'.

Her understanding of Magic Pets, as a genius from Qingbei, had been completely overturned.

The Slime was mutated.

The squishy Skeleton Soldier had explosive damage.

Although Zhou Xiong didn't know much about Magic Pets.

He understood very clearly what 500 damage meant.

This was too outrageous.

Moreover, the Skeleton Soldier's size seemed to have increased as well.

Don't know if it was an illusion.

These two experienced professionals were completely numb.

The Slime's abnormality could be explained by "mutation".

After all, a Magic Pet like a Slime has extremely strong plasticity.

Although mutations are rare, they are not impossible.

But the Skeleton Soldier?

This lowest-level Magic Pet, which didn't even have skills, how could it undergo such a drastic change?

Bai Zhi said uncertainly, "Could it be... that this Skeleton Soldier has also mutated?"

Two Magic Pets summoned by one Summoner. Both mutated?

This could no longer be explained by "genius".

This was simply monstrous, a miracle!

Lu Yuan checked the Little Skeleton's attributes.

[Skeleton Soldier] [Level: 5] [HP: 5302 / 5302] [MP: 0] [Attack Power: 25] [Skills: None] [Hextech Rune: Heartsteel (991)]

In this short while, it had only 'steeled' a few dozen times.

Heartsteel had already stacked over nine hundred HP.

Plus the boost from a large amount of rare treasures.

The Little Skeleton's HP was increasing quite fast.

And 'Heartsteel' was a percentage increase.

It would be relatively slow in the early stages.

It would become faster as the Little Skeleton's base HP increased.

Just then, the communicator on Zhou Xiong's waist suddenly rang.

He looked down and his expression changed drastically.

"Young Master, there is an emergency."

He walked quickly to Lu Yuan, his voice grave.

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly.

"What is it?"

Zhou Xiong looked up into the distance.

"The nearby Green Python Mountain Range has had unusual activity; it is suspected that a beast tide is gathering."

Everyone followed his gaze to look into the distance.

Above the mountain range, the originally dense forest was shaking violently.

Countless birds flew up, blocking out the sky and sun.

And at the foot of the mountain range—

A colorful wave was slowly surging.

No, there was no colorful wave.

That was a huge torrent formed by dense swarms of snake-type monsters.

Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes.

"This beast tide is interesting."

"Other monsters are fleeing, staying away from that mountain."

"But the snake-type monsters are frantically gathering toward that mountain range."