Chapter 208 - 151: Skeleton Forest

"Aah... aah..."

A wail, like that of a dying person, yet also like the caw of a crow, shattered the dead silence.

A crow with half its skull exposed flew over, flapping its wings. Its tattered feathers fell like Ashes, dusting the damp, blood-reeking ground.

After searching for a moment, the grotesque crow finally found a place to land.

On a tree built from bone and flesh, shriveled, hardened fingers formed its branches.

"Aah..."

The grotesque crow tilted its head, its murky avian eyes staring fixedly toward the coast through the gaps between the trees of piled-up bones.

It was as if it had seen something.

The next moment, the grotesque crow’s body began to twitch erratically, its feathers rustling as they fell.

SPLAT!

The sound of Tearing flesh rang out as a bloody eyeball was forcibly squeezed from its socket.

Its body swelled madly all over, bursting open as blackish-red tentacles erupted from it.

After the bloody eyeball was squeezed out, it still seemed uncomfortable and pushed out a little further. The crow’s head was completely forced onto its back, with only a few scraps of skin left dangling.

The eyeball’s true form was partially revealed.

It appeared to be a bizarre worm-like creature that had been living inside the crow.

The next moment, it rigidly flapped its wings and lunged madly toward a specific spot.

SWISH!

An afterimage, like the flash of a blade, flickered past. The grotesque crow was instantly sliced in two. Foul, black blood splattered as it twitched on the ground for a moment before dying completely.

[You have killed a Parasite.]

[Acquired: Wax Oil x23]

After killing the crow monster with a single strike, Skyrim didn’t stop. With a sharp flick of his wrist, the blade in his hand flew out.

PFFT! The Dagger accurately struck another spying crow that was still convulsing and transforming.

"Huh?"

Guagua, who had been about to Attack, froze mid-motion.

She couldn’t believe her eyes as she watched what was happening.

She’d been busy lately and hadn’t been getting much sleep, so she hadn’t been logging into the game as often.

But today she had more free time. Her bestie, Lemon, had to pull an all-nighter for something, so she’d planned to check out the new dungeon by herself.

Then she ran into Li Miao and Shore, and they’d shoved Skyrim at her, asking her to show the newbie around.

Guagua figured it didn’t matter. She was pretty bad at the game anyway, so a solo dungeon and a two-person dungeon were both a pain. There was no real difference.

But she never expected that as soon as they entered the game, Skyrim would give her a little demonstration of his skills, showing off the air of a pro.

He was only Level 20, not even Molten Slag Ash Tier! And his Skills and Warfire were almost completely blank. It was ridiculous!

’Brother Miaozi, this is the newbie you wanted this old lady to carry?’

’Awesome! I get to ride someone’s coattails again! Yay!’

’My luck is so good! Hehe!’

Guagua laughed to herself.

Meanwhile, Skyrim had already walked over and pulled his Dagger from the corpse.

’Warfire... It certainly works in a similar, wonderful way...’ Skyrim thought to himself.

"Brother Skyrim—no, Master Skyrim, you’re so strong!" Guagua said, full of admiration and envy.

He’d only been playing for a couple of days and he was already slaughtering everything, while she could only follow behind the pros, pick up trash, and get stuck in life-or-death struggles with mobs.

’This is the difference in Talent between people!’

’If only I were that strong!’

’Hmm... I wonder if Sister Mei could be this amazing in this game...’

"...It is but a minor trick, unworthy of mention."

Skyrim replied with a calm expression, but his hands moved behind his back involuntarily.

"Okay." The master was being humble, so Guagua didn’t keep praising him.

Still, she was a little curious why Skyrim always spoke so formally.

This Skyrim guy gave her the impression of someone knowledgeable and well-grounded, but at the same time, naive about the world... It was a little strange.

But Guagua didn’t ask, turning her gaze to what lay before them instead.

However, a single glance at the scene in front of her was enough to make her feel unwell.

The name of this new dungeon was [Skeleton Forest].

And what they were seeing was, indeed, exactly that.

The pelts of unidentifiable creatures formed the bark, bones were kneaded into trunks, and desiccated limbs became branches that squirmed from time to time.

As for eyeballs and ears, they had become the "leaves" on these Corpse Bone Trees.

These Corpse Bone Trees were a tangled mess of roots, crisscrossing the damp and foul-smelling earth, their foundations seemingly buried deep within it.

Rooted in the ground, and with ample nutrients, they grew tall and lush. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but a terrifying vista of intermingled white and red.

"Ugh, this dungeon is so gross and scary..."

Although her in-game body had no reaction, Guagua truly felt a wave of nausea. If this were her real body, she’d probably be dry-heaving already.

"They are merely illusions. Pay them no mind," Skyrim said.

’Nice words.’

’Then why are you staring everywhere else, too afraid to look at these Corpse Bone Trees?’

Guagua was speechless.

She’d figured it out. He was just a kid who liked to act profound but didn’t actually have much life experience.

In other words, he liked to put on an act.

Still, acting aside, this kid was seriously tough... his skills, she meant.

"I need to turn my sensory feedback down a bit..."

Guagua couldn’t take it anymore and obediently started adjusting her game settings.

A moment later, she finally let out a sigh of relief, feeling much better.

Then she glanced at Skyrim beside her and kindly advised, "You should adjust your sensory feedback too, or you’ll feel sick."

"There is no need."

"Only through total immersion can one achieve true refinement."

Skyrim took a slow breath and spoke earnestly, simultaneously forcing himself to fix his gaze on the Corpse Bone Trees and face the horrific sight head-on.