No wonder even when players team up, it's hard to defeat these level 17 skeletons. One is too tanky, and the other is too fierce; it's really tough to fight them!

A Skeleton Archer gave Zhang Yi 100 EXP and dropped 9 Copper Coins.

After the battle, Zhang Yi took a red potion from his bag and drank it to restore the HP he had just lost.

From then on, Zhang Yi needed to consume one red potion for every Skeleton Archer he killed, and he also had to use blue potions intermittently, which was not something an average player could afford.

After all, a single level 3 red potion costs 10 Copper Coins, while a skeleton drops at most 9 Copper Coins, making it a losing battle for Zhang Yi.

However, with a fortune of 31 Gold Coins, Zhang Yi didn't care about these costs. As long as these high-level skeletons could provide him with higher EXP and help him complete the "Undead Requiem" quest, it was worth it.

The reason he chose to target Skeleton Archers first was that their HP and defense were lower compared to Skeleton Warriors, making it quicker to kill them. Zhang Yi was eager to level up to 14 so he could equip the Magician's Pants and Silver Bone Ring, making fighting these skeletons as easy as a father disciplining his son.

Until then, Zhang Yi dared not use Chain Lightning to attack multiple targets at once, as the damage from the Skeleton Archers was too high. If surrounded by three of them, Zhang Yi would be instantly killed.

Zhang Yi was doing relatively well. Looking around, other players without the enhancement of level 25 divine gear or the Dragon Bloodline attribute bonus struggled against these high-level skeletons. Having accepted the quest, they couldn't bear the severe penalties for failure and dared not easily abandon it, leaving them in despair.

Compared to other players, Zhang Yi found it easier to fight these skeletons. Yet, he still felt it was quite challenging.

While hunting these skeletons, Zhang Yi was simultaneously working on two quests. The "Undead Requiem" quest was relatively simple, with each kill advancing the progress by 1.

However, the hidden quest was more troublesome. Zhang Yi had to kill five Skeleton Archers before finally obtaining a piece of "Divine Bone"!

And the quest required collecting a total of 1,000 Divine Bones...

Putting that aside, the priority was to level up to 14.

One by one, Zhang Yi tirelessly farmed the Skeleton Archers. When he killed the 31st Skeleton Archer with a Fireball Spell, a loud dragon roar echoed from above...

Hellfire Dragon Flame!

Boom!

Scorching dragon flames poured down from above, instantly covering all Skeleton Warriors and Skeleton Archers within a 100-meter radius around Zhang Yi.

The skeletons engulfed in the sea of fire took a massive 375 points of true white damage, followed by 75 points of burning damage per second!

In an instant, countless Skeleton Archers around Zhang Yi lost half their HP from the initial damage of the Hellfire Dragon Flame. As they approached Zhang Yi, they were burned alive by the continuous burning damage over five seconds, dying one by one!

"Ding~ You killed a level 17 Skeleton Archer, EXP 100!"

"Ding~ You killed a level 17 Skeleton Archer, EXP 100!"

Ding...

The total HP of a level 17 Skeleton Archer was just over 700, just enough to be directly killed by the Hellfire Dragon Flame!

Thus, after five seconds, the Hellfire Dragon Flame subsided. A total of 42 level 17 Skeleton Archers were instantly killed, while over 50 level 18 Skeleton Archers and the tougher Skeleton Warriors were left with just a sliver of HP, continuing to approach Zhang Yi.

Zhang Yi quickly swung his staff, taking out each one with a basic attack, not giving the skeletons a chance to get close. Using the slight advantage of player attack range over monsters, he shot down the Skeleton Archers outside their effective attack range, then used basic attacks to finish off the Skeleton Warriors.

With a casual wave, he gained over 100 EXP. In no time, Zhang Yi's EXP bar was full, and a beam of golden light descended from above—

"Ding~ Congratulations on reaching level 14..."

The surrounding players were already dumbfounded, not expecting that the dragon flame just now was triggered by Zhang Yi...

Player A: "What the heck... Who just used a magic scroll? That scroll must cost at least 100 Gold Coins per use!"

Ignoring the discussions around him, Zhang Yi, who had instantly leveled up to 14 after triggering the Hellfire Dragon Flame, eagerly took out the "Silver Bone Ring" and "Magician's Pants" from his bag, equipped them, and used 25 Level 2 Enhancement Stones to enhance the previously unenhanced "Silver Bone Ring"—

"Ding..."

"Ding..."

"Ding... Congratulations, your equipment 'Silver Bone Ring' has reached enhancement level 25, unlocking the exclusive talent 'Advanced Serious Injury'!"

Enhancing the Silver Bone Ring to level 25, its attack power soared from 35 to 123 points. The "Advanced Serious Injury" talent was nostalgic, as it was the upgraded version of the "Serious Injury" talent Zhang Yi unlocked when he first enhanced the big iron hammer.

Advanced Serious Injury adds an extra 50 points of damage to each attack!

Checking the status bar, with the powerful boost from the Silver Bone Ring, Zhang Yi's attack power skyrocketed from 249 to 340 points.

His defense also broke the three-digit mark, reaching 131 points, thanks to the 2-star level 14 Magician's Pants.

The 18 points of stamina added by the Silver Bone Ring increased Zhang Yi's HP to 720 points!

After completing the equipment swap, a previously injured Skeleton Warrior, not yet finished off by Zhang Yi, approached with a large iron sword, slashing at Zhang Yi with a harmless damage—

-71!

Compared to before, the damage was reduced by more than half!

Zhang Yi retaliated with a Fireball Spell—

-438!

Roar~

The level 18 Skeleton Warrior was blasted away, turning into 120 EXP, absorbed by Zhang Yi.

The next moment, several arrows flew from all directions, landing on Zhang Yi with 90-plus points of damage each. Compared to the previous 180-plus points per arrow, the damage from Skeleton Archers was now halved for Zhang Yi!

Zhang Yi unceremoniously took down the level 18 Skeleton Archers with a few basic attacks.

Awesome!

This was the feeling Zhang Yi wanted!

Forget about fancy moves or positioning; Zhang Yi just wanted to say, "I just want to stack attributes and stand my ground!"