NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4: Bone Refinement
With a thought, Chu Xiu activated his ability. The dried flesh of the child's corpse seemed to be burned by an invisible force, melting and seeping into the bones. At the same time, the tiny skeletons began to connect and fuse together on their own.
Under the influence of his Perfect Refinement talent, Chu Xiu instinctively grasped the refining method. Countless pieces of information intertwined in his mind, and it felt as if the white bones before him were an extension of his consciousness, able to be refined into various weapons as he wished.
Swords, knives, spears, lances, hammers...
Without much hesitation, Chu Xiu made what he believed to be the most rational choice.
As he settled his mind, the child's skeletal remains disappeared, replaced by a 1.5-meter-long, pale bone spear.
A long weapon is always advantageous.
Spears have always been the best weapons for humans to hunt large beasts.
In this post-apocalyptic world filled with mutated creatures, Chu Xiu felt there was no better close combat weapon than a spear.
[Refinement complete. Profession experience +1]
With the prompt, a bone spear appeared before Chu Xiu.
He eagerly examined his creation.
[Extremely Fragile Hollow Bone Spear]
[Rank: F]
[Quality: Trash]
[Attributes: Sturdiness (0.15), Sharpness (0.2), Weight 0.7kg]
[Evaluation: This might be the most fragile weapon ever created by this secret art.]
[I once thought using grandma's rib was the lowest this art could go. I was wrong.]
[A thirty-year-old child's corpse? You must be a genius!]
[Handle it gently, don’t crush the baby.]
Chu Xiu: ...
He suddenly found the Abyss’s item evaluations quite sarcastic.
But it wasn’t wrong.
Holding the bone spear, he could feel its fragile nature. It felt barely sturdier than a cracker. Examining it closely, he could see tiny holes within, as if gnawed by countless insects.
If not for the Perfect Refinement talent, which mimicked the skills of a top-tier artifact master, this bone spear would not have been possible.
Fortunately, the strength of Bone Refinement lay in the ability to continually collect other bones for reinforcement.
Chu Xiu walked over to the mother’s corpse slumped against the wall and activated his talent again.
Flesh melted into the bones, and soon, the bones fused into the spear.
In just a few seconds, a new bone spear was born.
[Extremely Fragile Bone Spear +1]
[Enhancement Progress: 3/10]
[Rank: F]
[Quality: Trash]
[Attributes: Sturdiness (0.5), Sharpness (0.65), Weight 1.2kg]
[Evaluation: The addition of fresh bones has filled the spear’s hollows, significantly increasing its strength.]
[But still not as good as grandma’s rib.]
[I can almost hear it crying out: Find me more bones!]
After absorbing a new corpse, the spear’s strength had greatly improved. Chu Xiu felt it was now comparable to some brittle wood.
The spearhead was sharpened, and although its strength was questionable, it should suffice for piercing human skin, making it a barely usable weapon.
Additionally, he gained 2 more profession experience points.
“But there are no more corpses in this room. To continue leveling up, I need to go outside...”
“Outside...”
Chu Xiu’s gaze shifted to the tightly locked iron door of the hall. Judging by its rusted edges, it would make quite a noise when opened, no matter how careful he was.
Chu Xiu pressed his ear against the iron door, listening for any movement but detected nothing. That didn’t mean the building was devoid of mutated creatures.
Perhaps the moment he opened the door, terrifying predators would come hunting.
“Maybe I should try the balcony?”
The creature that killed the mother and child seemed to have entered and left through the balcony.
However, Chu Xiu quickly abandoned this idea. The balcony of the apartment wasn’t large, and it wasn’t close to the neighbors. The only place to step on was a shaky air conditioning unit. Without wall-climbing skills, it was best not to try it.
So what should he do now? Take the risk of going outside or stay in this temporarily safe room and wait?
Waiting seemed like a better option, but with no food or water, he would eventually have to go out.
As Chu Xiu pondered, a crisp sound suddenly came from the room next door!
“Clang!”
It sounded like porcelain breaking, followed by a low female exclamation.
Chu Xiu’s eyes lit up!
Someone! And they were next door!
Most likely, it was another trial participant teleported here with him. This person had been hiding until they accidentally made a sound, which Chu Xiu detected.
However, Chu Xiu had no intention of revealing himself. Instead of seeking allies to establish cooperation, he was more interested in using them as cannon fodder to explore the way.
Chu Xiu pressed his ear to the iron door again, carefully listening for any external noise.
After two minutes of silence, he made a decisive move. He gripped the door handle with both hands, cautiously using his body to support the door as he slowly pushed it open.
“Creeeak—”
The screech of rusted metal filled the air, making Chu Xiu’s heart race.
Fortunately, it was still quiet outside.
He steadied himself and continued pushing. When the iron door was open just enough for a person to pass, Chu Xiu quickly poked his head out to survey the surroundings.
Outside was a corridor. Chu Xiu’s room was in the middle, with three or four rooms on either side, some open, some locked.
After confirming no one was around, he slipped through the gap, quickly moving away from his room and into a nearby open room.
Once hidden again, he breathed a sigh of relief, quietly observing his surroundings.
After five minutes with no incidents, he finally relaxed.
He searched the empty room but found nothing useful, not even a single corpse.
Still, he didn’t lose hope because, during his brief time outside, he saw several corpses in the hallway and got a good idea of the floor’s layout from a safety diagram on the wall.
The floor was square, covering a large area. The center housed the stairs and elevators, with corridors on all four sides and rooms on the outer edges—twenty-seven rooms in total.
As long as there were no mutated creatures, there would be something useful in so many rooms.
With a clear goal, Chu Xiu stealthily moved out of the room, heading straight to the first corpse he had seen. Quickly, he activated Bone Refinement.
This was a male adult. As his corpse dissolved and shrank, all its essence was absorbed into the spear, making it noticeably sturdier.
Although it didn’t level up, it added 6 enhancement experience points and 2 more profession experience points.
Chu Xiu continued to absorb the next corpse until he had absorbed all five corpses in the hallway.
By then, the bone spear in his hand had undergone significant changes.
[Ragged Bone Spear +3]
[Enhancement Progress: 2/10]
[Rank: F]
[Quality: Inferior]
[Attributes: Sturdiness (1.0), Sharpness (1.2), Weight 2.2kg]
[Evaluation: After relentless reinforcement, this bone spear has finally surpassed grandma’s rib.]
[For your weak strength, it’s now a usable weapon.]
[However, it’s tired of rotten corpses and craves fresh flesh.]
[Keep going, young one. With one more step, it will gain extraordinary power.]