NOVEL NEXT Chapter 13: Skeleton Captain
In the midst of the skeleton horde, Arlo charged towards the skeleton whose head he had previously knocked off. With one strike from his goat horn weapon, the skeleton's head went flying, followed by a blow that broke the hand holding its wooden club. After a flurry of attacks, the skeleton was completely disassembled, unable to move, and finally dead—just as Caiyi had described.
However, this skeleton turned out to be incredibly stingy. It dropped absolutely nothing. In the past, at least one coin would drop, but this time there was nothing. Frustrated, Arlo muttered, "What a cheapskate!"
The commotion, however, alerted the nearby skeletons. They began to close in on Arlo. Thankfully, they moved too slowly, allowing Arlo to create some distance. Employing guerrilla tactics, he lured individual skeletons away from the group, taking them down one by one. Whenever the rest got too close, he would retreat again. Although he occasionally took a hit, his sturdy health and small healing potions kept him going. His experience points increased rapidly.
Arlo's spirits soared when he took down his twenty-third skeleton. A distinct "ding" sound caught his attention. Looking at the ground, he saw a large machete glinting in the sunlight.
"A blade!" Arlo's eyes gleamed with excitement. He eagerly picked it up and stepped back to inspect its stats.
Machete: Level 5 One-Handed Weapon
Attack: 15
Arlo threw his head back and laughed, "Haha! Finally, a little gem of an item!"
The only downside was that Arlo was still at Level 4 with 35% experience. To wield the machete, he needed to reach Level 5.
"Alright!" Arlo stored the machete in his inventory, gripping his goat horn tightly. "Level 5, here I come!"
Driven by the desire to equip his new weapon, Arlo picked up the pace, killing monsters even faster. Over the next two hours, he took down over a hundred skeletons.
The drop rate for skeletons was indeed impressive. In addition to the machete, Arlo acquired four more pieces of equipment: a shield, a hand axe, leather boots, and a helmet.
Shield: Level 5 Common Item
Defense: 10
Hand Axe: Level 5 One-Handed Weapon
Attack: 15
Leather Boots: Level 5 Common Item
Agility: 3, Defense: 5
The boots were a true gem, granting both agility and defense.
Helmet: Level 5 Common Item
Defense: 5
The sight of these items made Arlo even more eager, though he couldn't use them until he reached Level 5. This anticipation pushed him to fight even harder and faster.
As Arlo took down several more skeletons, he was just 2% away from reaching Level 5. That's when he spotted a skeleton wielding a massive iron spear.
This skeleton was unlike the others. While most stood around 1.6 meters tall with white bones, this one towered over 2 meters and had jet-black bones. Its iron spear gleamed menacingly, an intimidating sight.
"Master, be careful! That's an Elite Level 8 Boss—Skeleton Captain!" Caiyi warned Arlo loudly.
"Level 8 Elite Boss? Are you kidding me?" Arlo quickly cleared out the nearby skeletons, keeping his focus on the Skeleton Captain.
The Captain let out a guttural roar, lowering its spear and charging at Arlo.
"So fast!" Unlike the sluggish skeletons, the Captain moved at a pace comparable to a normal person. Although slower than Arlo, its speed was still enough to warrant caution.
Arlo bolted, running for about ten seconds and creating a seven-to-eight-meter gap. Feeling more confident, he taunted, "Ha! Trash mob! You're just eating my dust, Skeleton Captain!"
Gripping his goat horn weapon, Arlo steeled himself. Despite the four-level difference, his faster speed gave him confidence. Besides, reaching Level 5 was within reach, and he saw this Captain as the perfect challenge to push him there.
The Skeleton Captain, frustrated by the chase, seemed to grin—a sinister, unnatural expression—as Arlo suddenly stopped running. Its glowing eye sockets narrowed, and it charged again.
As the Captain closed to within five meters, its iron spear thrust forward. Arlo sidestepped to the left and counterattacked, slamming the goat horn into the Captain's head. The attack dealt -25 damage, but unlike other skeletons, the Captain's head stayed firmly in place. Startled, Arlo hesitated for a moment, and the Captain took advantage of it. Its spear swept horizontally, hitting Arlo squarely in the back.
Arlo felt a sharp pain as he was sent flying, taking -50 damage.
"Damn it!" he cursed.
At Level 4, Arlo had 240 health points. One hit had already taken 50, meaning five strikes from the Captain would kill him.
"Master, are you okay?" Caiyi asked anxiously.
"I'm fine." Arlo quickly got to his feet and started running again, with the frustrated Captain chasing behind him.
Once he'd widened the gap to about ten meters, Arlo turned to face the Captain once more, gripping his weapon tightly and preparing for the next round.