The Bone Reaper.
It could slash, stab, lift, and thrust.
It was said to be “a single strike that cleaves both horse and rider.”
If wielded with enough strength, it was undoubtedly a devastating weapon!
As for its appearance…
John Shepherd didn’t care.
Not only was he facing monsters now, but even when players descended later and the class of blacksmiths emerged, countless strange weapons and equipment would populate the game world.
Moreover, even if a player saw the Bone Reaper in John’s hand, they’d likely think it was just an Easter egg in the game, not drawing any other conclusions.
As John’s exclusive weapon, the Bone Reaper was formed from the hardest bones in his body.
That meant the durability and sharpness of the Bone Reaper were directly tied to John’s constitution attribute.
When his constitution was only a few points, the Bone Reaper might be comparable to a standard iron weapon. But when his constitution reached the hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands… the Bone Reaper could rival epic gear, legendary equipment, or even the mythical artifacts!
This was a weapon that could grow along with him!
With the Bone Reaper, John no longer needed to worry about weapons, nor did he need to scavenge bones from the ground to use as makeshift tools.
After completing his class advancement, John took a moment to adapt to his new body before stepping deeper into the Graveyard of Bones.
Just entering the inner layer had already given him such rewards. Now, the Graveyard of Bones appeared to him as a vast treasure trove, waiting for him to excavate and reap its riches.
…
…
When he officially entered the inner layer of the Graveyard of Bones, John resumed his hunt.
With his attributes far surpassing those of regular skeletons and wielding the Bone Reaper, John was unstoppable against the stronger skeletons that populated the inner layer.
With each slash of the Bone Reaper, the sheer power was enough to tear apart a level 10 skeleton, reducing it to a pile of bones.
Only skeletal soldiers with class templates could put up any resistance.
After hunting dozens of strong skeletons and further increasing his level and attributes, John shifted his focus to skeletal soldiers, which offered more experience and attribute rewards.
Crunch.
Crunch.
In the quiet sound of his footsteps, John crossed a small hill entirely made of shattered bones.
A skeletal soldier appeared in his view.
Lv13. Skeletal Soldier.
Skeletal soldiers were not uncommon in the deeper parts of the Graveyard of Bones.
Those who could advance to skeletal soldiers possessed a degree of self-awareness and the instinct to hunt and level up, though their mental attributes weren’t particularly high.
When John saw the skeletal soldier, it saw him as well.
No words were exchanged.
As soon as they spotted each other, both charged forward simultaneously. While rushing toward their target, both had already summoned their Bone Armaments, ready to strike a lethal blow.
John’s weapon was the Bone Reaper.
The level 13 skeletal soldier wielded a two-handed greatsword.
As the distance between them shrank, the skeletal soldier raised its greatsword high, using the momentum of its charge to slash fiercely at John!
Clang!
A dull, heavy clash rang out.
John blocked the skeletal soldier’s strike with the Bone Reaper.
Both were using Bone Armaments, weapons formed from their own bones. When the Bone Reaper collided with the two-handed greatsword, the Bone Reaper only showed a faint white mark, while the greatsword developed a small chip at the point of impact.
This showed that John’s constitution attribute had already surpassed that of the level 13 skeletal soldier.
What would come next…
John’s jawbone moved slightly, almost as if he were smiling.
When the skeletal soldier raised its greatsword again to deliver another strike, John was already a step ahead, swinging his Bone Reaper!
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Three consecutive strikes echoed.
In the span of a few breaths, John poured all his strength into the Bone Reaper, delivering three powerful blows to the skeletal soldier.
The skeletal soldier was forced to use its greatsword to block the attacks.
With each slash, another chip appeared on the greatsword. After three strikes, the soldier’s greatsword had four notches, resembling a saw.
The fourth strike!
When the skeletal soldier instinctively raised its greatsword to block the next blow, John’s Bone Reaper slightly shifted its angle, bypassing the greatsword and slashing the soldier’s right arm, which was holding the weapon.
Snap!
A crisp sound rang out.
If the greatsword couldn’t block the Bone Reaper, how could a mere arm?
As the Bone Reaper sliced through, the skeletal soldier’s right arm was severed, falling to the ground.
The next moment!
The Bone Reaper struck a fifth time!
With only one arm remaining, the skeletal soldier couldn’t lift its greatsword and was defenseless against the incoming attack. As the blade flashed, the soldier’s head was sent flying, landing on the ground.
The skeletal soldier wasn’t dead yet.
Although John had separated its head, body, and arm into three parts, each part of the skeletal soldier still struggled to move, trying to reunite.
John sheathed the Bone Reaper and walked up to the soldier’s severed head.
Without its body, the head couldn’t move. Yet, through the hollow eye sockets, John could still see the vibrant soul fire burning within the skull.
At this moment, John only needed to deliver a final blow to crush the skull or extinguish the soul fire to finish off the skeletal soldier completely.
Conversely, if he reassembled the three parts, the soldier would soon recover.
However…
Bending down, John picked up the skull and pondered.
Skeletons and skeletal soldiers that he killed were turned into bone essence by his Corruption Talent, boosting his attributes. But what about skeletal soldiers that hadn’t been killed by him?
Could his Corruption Talent work on an intact skeletal soldier?
If it could… what would happen?
Lost in thought, John activated his Corruption Talent.
No warmth flowed from the skeletal soldier’s skull into his body. Instead, John felt something leaving him, flowing into the skull as his Corruption Talent took effect.
Before activating Corruption, the soldier’s skull had been struggling.
Even without the ability to move, the jawbone clattered as if trying to bite John.
But once Corruption was activated, the skull’s movements gradually slowed.
Until finally, it stopped completely.
The process didn’t take long.
After about a minute, nothing more flowed from John’s body, and the skull produced no heat or energy to return to him.
At that moment, a crisp system notification sounded in John’s mind.