Chapter 3 - Braising Skeletal Bones? Doesn't Your Conscience Hurt?

Chapter 3: Braising Skeletal Bones? Doesn’t Your Conscience Hurt?

“Level 1 Anti-Evil! And it’s gold quality.”

“I’ll choose this one.”

Seeing this sub-Sub-attribute, Su Mu didn’t hesitate at all. He decided to add it directly.

After the addition, the crossbow in front of him transformed. The original grey, iron-like colour began to shimmer with a golden light, adding a touch of nobility. The firing slit now bore a small golden emblem resembling a flickering flame, but this flame was gold.

“This looks much better now.”

Su Mu touched the improved crossbow. The previously rough texture felt much smoother, and it even looked more aesthetically pleasing. Holding it in his hand, he could sense a calm emanating from it.

What made Su Mu even happier were the new attributes of the crossbow.

[Name: Anti-Evil Crossbow]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Level: 1]

[Sub-Attribute: Level 1 Anti-Evil]

[Description: Feel the Peace (Physically)]

After the sub-attribute was added, the crossbow’s attributes were completely transformed into an item of excellent quality. In this world, it might not even be possible to obtain such an item from a treasure chest.

In high spirits, Su Mu opened the system forum. The world channel was filled with people discussing the weapons they had just received from the beginner’s gift package.

[User 1: I received a sword. Can this fancy weapon really be effective?]

[User 2: Not too bad, I have a war hammer, but being a weak girl, I can’t even lift it.]

[User 3: The person above is definitely a strong man, confirmed.]

[User 4: You think that’s bad? I have a throwing star!]

[User 5: Isn’t this great? You can be a ninja.]

[User 4: Great, my foot! Throwing stars are consumable weapons, and the Starter Pack only gave me one!]

[User 5: Oh no, rest in peace, brother.]

[User6: I have a fire axe, but it feels weird.”]

[User6: The fire axe has a 10% damage bonus against zombies. Don’t you have that?”]

…

Seeing this, Su Mu stopped reading. The person who received the fire axe was immediately swarmed by others on the World Forum.

Not all weapons are equal. Some people are lucky enough to get weapons with certain attribute bonuses. Those are the truly fortunate ones, but out of two billion people, how many are there?

Su Mu thought the number shouldn’t be small, but not many would choose to reveal it. This was a barren apocalypse, and everyone could be a potential enemy. Before becoming absolutely powerful, it was better to keep secret any special weapons.

As for the lucky ones, Su Mu might have envied them a bit before. But now…

“The sanctuary has a three-day protection period. And the Anti-Evil Crossbow is a long-range weapon. So I’ll stay here and take a few shots at the skeletons to see the effect.”, he muttered to himself.

Taking a deep breath, Su Mu opened the door to the shelter. The sight outside surprised him.

The outside was worse than he had imagined. Although the sun still hung in the sky, the entire expanse seemed to have lost its colour. Outside the wooden hut of the shelter, the land resembled a scorched wasteland.

Standing beneath the thin shield, Su Mu took a deep breath and looked around. The aura of life felt completely out of place with the golden Anti-Evil Crossbow in his hand. It seemed he had immediately become the focus of the monsters’ attention.

“Is that… a skeleton dog?”

Su Mu watched as a creature crawled up from the wasteland. The scene was grotesque, with shattered bones reassembling on the ground, taking the form of a dog. However, this skeletal dog was the size of a sheep.

As Su Mu observed, some data appeared in his vision.

[Name: Skeleton Dog]

[Level: 3]

[Characteristics: Bite, Sting]

[Description: Rookie Killer]

As soon as the skeleton dog spotted Su Mu, it charged at him. Since it was only a skeleton, its speed wasn’t very fast. Moreover, the light of the shelter was still shining, causing the skeleton dog to crash right into the protective barrier.

Watching the barrier ripple like water, Su Mu realized this skeleton dog was definitely not easy to deal with. However, during the protection period, he was absolutely safe. He could stand inside the barrier and attack from a distance.

“Hunting like this isn’t too difficult.”

Su Mu aimed at the Skeleton Dog’s spine and pulled the trigger of the crossbow. The golden bolt shot out instantly, hitting the Skeleton Dog with incredible speed. The creature emitted a puff of black smoke and collapsed back into a pile of bones on the wasteland.

“Did it just get shot?”

Su Mu was surprised to see the Skeleton Dog disappear so easily. This creature was labeled a “novice killer” by the system, but in front of the Anti-Evil Crossbow, it was as fragile as paper.

“Is that the power of an excellent weapon?”

Su Mu couldn’t help but admire the Anti-Evil Crossbow in his hand. Not only did it possess great power, but it also allowed him to safely hunt monsters from a secure area. His sense of security skyrocketed!

Walking over, Su Mu examined the remains of the Skeleton Dog. The area where the bolt had passed through was completely pierced, and golden flames flickered on the shattered bones.

However, when Su Mu touched those flames, he didn’t feel any heat. Moreover, after the Skeleton Dog was shattered, its bones seemed to become special drops.

[Purified Bones]

[A probable drop from defeating a Skeleton Dog.]

“Probable drop? But why does it feel like it’s a guaranteed drop to me? Could it be because of the purification?”

Su Mu couldn’t tell if this was related to the Anti-Evil Crossbow, but the next description of the drop caught his attention.

[Absorbing the bone marrow can increase the physical strength of the hideout owner.]

All right, it’s decided. Today’s lunch will be bone soup.