**[Death''s Gaze]!**


    As Su Mubai''s gaze focused, the skill activated instantly.


    His demeanor changed dramatically in an instant, a terrifying and majestic aura rising.


    Although there seemed to be no visible change, it gave the impression of some unknown presence descending.


    -49940


    The Soul Fire in the skeleton''s pupils twisted instantly, followed by a terrifying gray-white number emerging above its head.


    **[Killed a level 20 skeleton, gained an additional 50% overlevel bonus, experience +30 points.]**


    The first wave of damage was enough to bring the skeleton down, leaving it completely dead.


    Its body remained intact, without a single mark, but it had become an empty shell.


    The pale bones quickly turned into fragments under the trampling of other skeletons.


    But it wasn''t over yet; [Death''s Gaze] inflicted damage every second for a total of ten seconds.


    Even though the first target was dead, the skill didn''t end there.


    As Su Mubai''s gaze shifted, the Soul Fire in each skeleton''s pupils twisted instantly, and they fell with a crash.


    -124850!, -49940, -124850!...


    Until the tenth skeleton fell, the effect of [Death''s Gaze] finally ended.


    "This skill is absolutely incredible!"


    Experiencing the release of [Death''s Gaze] firsthand, Su Mubai felt a thrill that struck his very soul.


    The moment he activated the skill, he vaguely felt as if he could control everything.


    The life and death of these skeletons before him were entirely at his whim.


    Before using it, he had some expectations of the damage, but seeing those terrifying numbers still left him stunned.


    It was even higher than the damage dealt by the Skeleton Warriors with the class Cataclysm trait!


    His mind quickly flashed through his stats.


    With 2497 Spell Power, [Death''s Gaze] dealt ten times the damage per second under the class trait.


    Plus, the [Death Codex] increased damage to undead creatures by 100%.


    Which perfectly explained the number 49940.


    True damage, no need to calculate any resistance or defense, just straightforward and unadorned.


    Currently, his spell critical rate was as high as 35%, and with the boost from [Dylan''s Crystal Ball], critical damage increased to 250%.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Out of ten targets, four suffered critical damage of over 120,000!


    And this was just the basic damage effect of [Death''s Gaze]; the strongest part of this skill was its remaining effects.


    The SSS skill, enhanced by the class Cataclysm trait, had terrifying effects.


    Unfortunately, these skeletons were too weak, dying the moment Su Mubai gazed at them, leaving no chance to test the remaining skill effects.


    His MP was instantly consumed by 5%, and with a thought, Su Mubai used 4 points of Death Qi to refill it.


    Then, his gaze fell on the scattered bone fragments on the ground.


    **[Absorb Death Qi]!**


    **[Notice: You successfully absorbed 4 points of Death Qi from the corpses of 20 normal wild monsters "skeletons."]**


    **[Notice: Your stored Death Qi has reached its limit. You can continue to absorb after consumption.]**


    "Undead creatures indeed yield more Death Qi."


    Su Mubai''s eyes lit up; he had only consumed 4 points of Death Qi, so this wasn''t necessarily the maximum he could absorb.


    Even so, it was double what he absorbed from the Buffalo corpses before.


    At this moment, Su Mubai suddenly remembered he still had 11 unused skill points.


    He had planned to save them to see what new skills he could learn at level 10.


    However, leveling up [Death Drain Feedback] required a full 50 skill points, so it wasn''t feasible in the short term.


    "Should I upgrade [Death Drain Feedback] first?"


    Su Mubai thought for a moment and decided to wait and see.


    The Land of the Forgotten was full of undead, and it was bound to drop Necromancer skill books.


    Maybe he could find a low-level top-tier skill like [Summon Space Expansion] here?


    With this in mind, Su Mubai decided to save his skill points for now.


    After all, upgrading a skill wasn''t the same as increasing its tier; leveling up usually only provided a 10% increase in amplitude.


    No need to rush.


    The skeleton legion continued its tireless slaughter, and in just a few minutes, Su Mubai''s experience points rose from 0% to 27%.


    The leveling speed was like a rocket, several times faster than before in the Green Mead.


    This was because there was no need to search for or lure monsters here; the skeleton legion could just stand in place and operate like an assembly line.


    Upon entering the Land of the Forgotten, Su Mubai suddenly felt like he was playing a hack-and-slash game.


    Despite killing so many, the number of skeletons in the sea showed no sign of decreasing, still densely packed.


    However, the mystery in Su Mubai''s heart remained unsolved.


    [Death''s Gaze] burned souls, and being damaged by this skill meant these skeletons had souls.


    Moreover, the azure Soul Fire was no illusion.


    But why couldn''t the [Death Codex] absorb soul points?


    Where was the problem?


    "This is the Land of the Forgotten; in life, we were all cursed, and our souls have long been locked here."


    Just as Su Mubai was puzzled, an ethereal voice suddenly sounded in his ear.


    "Who?"


    Su Mubai felt his hair stand on end; he hadn''t noticed how the other party appeared at all!


    "Me? Just a forgotten one."


    "Let me think..."


    "Oh right, Rod, that was my name once. You can call me that."


    The ethereal voice echoed, sounding distant despite being right next to his ear.


    Su Mubai turned sharply and was shocked to find that the voice came from a soul form.


    It still resembled a human but was semi-transparent, without any substance, and floated in mid-air.


    **[The Forgotten One—Rod]**


    Special Elite


    Soul Form


    Level: 20


    HP: 100,000/100,000


    (Soul Form immune to physical damage.)


    **[Current Exploration Progress: 10%]**


    The moment Rod''s soul appeared, Su Mubai was surprised to find his exploration progress had jumped to 10%.


    The other was just a special elite, which was quite unbelievable.


    Despite killing so many skeletons before, the exploration progress hadn''t budged, but now it had increased significantly, suggesting Rod was a key figure in the Land of the Forgotten.


    Thinking of this, Su Mubai asked, "What is the curse you mentioned? And how can the soul lock be broken?"


    "Curse... yes, curse! It''s a terrible curse!"


    "A terrible curse!"


    ...


    This question seemed to trigger a switch.


    Rod''s expression suddenly twisted, clutching his head as if in great pain, repeating the phrase over and over.


    Su Mubai was momentarily dumbfounded.


    Come on, buddy, you were fine talking about it yourself, why did you become like this when I asked?


    He was at a loss for what to do, so he could only watch Rod''s performance art in silence.


    After a moment, Rod returned to normal, his eyes filled with despair, shaking his head at Su Mubai, "I forgot, let me think, let me think..."


    With that, he became a broken record again.


    Su Mubai helplessly patted his forehead, continuing to wait for more.


    Fortunately, he didn''t need to fight monsters himself; if it were another player, they''d have a headache dealing with the skeleton sea while protecting this guy.


    With his years of gaming experience, Su Mubai figured that an "NPC" like Rod would also be attacked by the skeleton sea.


    This time, Rod took much longer to think, and it wasn''t until Su Mubai''s experience bar reached 43% that he suddenly pointed north.


    "I remembered something, there!"


    "What''s there?"


    Su Mubai looked in the direction he pointed.


    "I forgot."


    "Stop! I won''t ask anymore."


    Su Mubai rolled his eyes, raising his hand to interrupt Rod, afraid he''d become a broken record again.


    Since there was only this one clue, he decided to check it out first.


    "Move the whole formation north."


    With a thought, he commanded the skeleton legion.


    In an instant, the meat grinder formed by the skeleton legion began to move.


    The outermost 100 Skeleton Warriors maintained their formation, starting to move north.


    The number of skeletons in the sea was terrifying, but their strength was no match for a single Skeleton Warrior, unable to stop the legion''s advance.


    The Skeleton Shooters and Skeleton Mages within the encirclement also moved, with Su Mubai at the center, walking leisurely.


    After being interrupted, Rod floated silently beside Su Mubai, clearly intending to accompany him to the destination.


    Hi everyone, if you like this novel and want to read more in advance, please support me on PawRead</a>.


    Discord:https://discord.com/invite/ua2A852bws</a>