Chapter 257 - 148: Triple Enchantment (2)
Li Ziyu was very self-aware. He never thought of himself as a king of luck. On the contrary, he was a jinx—the kind of person who could never even win a "free drink" from a bottle cap.
But the temptation of a super Alien Undead was too great, so he decided to give it a shot. Of course, he wouldn’t be foolish enough to experiment with Demonized Minotaur Skeletons. It was better to be cautious with such powerful units; he didn’t have enough of them to be wasteful.
But Demonized Beasts were another story. He had plenty of those, especially Demonized Desert Grey Rats. Even if converted into Alien Undead, their combat effectiveness would be limited—about the same as a Skeleton Undead holding a Weapon. They weren’t very useful, but he had a massive number of their Skeletons, making them perfect for experiments.
To put it simply, Desert Grey Rats were just large grey rats, a common rodent in the Wasteland. They were about 30cm long, lived in groups, were almost completely non-aggressive, and were omnivores that wouldn’t initiate attacks on creatures larger than themselves.
After being corrupted by Demonic Qi, the Desert Grey Rats mutated. Their size increased from 30cm to over 60cm. They remained social but developed a hierarchical structure. They now had a Rat King, who was surrounded by guards. The Rat King was typically 100cm long, while its guards were over 80cm.
It wasn’t just their size that changed; the temperament of the Demonized Desert Grey Rats underwent a massive transformation. They became frenzied, quick to anger, and highly aggressive. Though still omnivores, their diet shifted to be primarily carnivorous. They would attack any creature that approached their territory in packs of at least ten to twenty at a time.
Although the Demonized Desert Grey Rats grew bigger and stronger, their base stats were too low. Even after Demonization, they didn’t gain any special abilities. At most, they were slightly stronger, their teeth were a bit more Solid, and they were unafraid of death. In the Underworld, where Demonized Creatures congregated, they remained at the bottom of the food chain—a favorite meal for many other creatures.
This time, the Skeleton Undead Army had swept through the underground tunnels, wiping out several packs of the grey rats. As a result, Li Ziyu had accumulated a large number of Demonized Desert Grey Rat corpses.
The Demonized Desert Grey Rat units were classified under the Skeleton Beast category. For Skeleton Beasts, the type of Alien Undead created depended on the Beast Skeleton used.
Previously, he could summon them directly. Now, when he clicked to summon a Skeleton Beast, a new interface appeared. It required him to input the type of Skeleton, as well as the Runes for the Enchantment.
Li Ziyu thought for a moment and filled in the first Enchantment slot with a Plague Magic Energy Rune. He felt this Rune was the most suitable for a Desert Grey Rat Undead. ’Since its combat power is weak, I’ll just add a damage-over-time effect.’
’Hey, you’re poisoned. I don’t even have to attack you. I’ll just run circles around you, and you’ll drop dead in a moment.’
It reminded him of the Alchemist from League of Legends in his past life—chase him and you die. ’If you attack me, I’ll run. If you don’t, I’ll just keep flinging poison at you to tick you off.’
For the remaining two Runes, Li Ziyu chose Speed and Constitution. Since he was relying on sustained damage for his main output, speed and survivability were key. ’It has to at least be able to stay alive for a while,’ he thought. ’If it gets killed instantly, then poisoning its target is pointless.’
After selecting the Runes, Li Ziyu put in a regular Demonized Desert Grey Rat Skeleton. He wanted to test the success rate first, so he selected "summon."
The materials disappeared, and the system instantly completed the summoning.
’I-It worked?!’
Li Ziyu’s eyes widened in utter disbelief. He whipped his head toward the Alien Tomb.
A rat-like Skeleton Undead crawled out of the tomb, cocking its head as it surveyed the world before it.
’It... it succeeded on the very first try?’
’Did my luck turn around after I transmigrated? Am I no longer a jinx, but a king of luck now?’
Li Ziyu looked down at his hands, nearly moved to tears. ’It’s been so hard... so hard for me. The God of Destiny is finally smiling upon me!’
He lifted his head and beckoned to the Skeleton Desert Grey Rat, signaling it to come closer.
The Skeleton Desert Grey Rat paused for a moment before turning into a grey streak and darting in front of Li Ziyu.
Li Ziyu crouched down to observe the Triple-Enchanted Skeleton Desert Grey Rat. Its body was 60cm long, same as in life, with its tail making up almost half that length. The bones were grey, and swirling across their surface were thin bands of eerie, dark-green runes that seemed to flow, making them hard to notice without close inspection.
The materials required differed when summoning different Skeleton Beasts. To summon a Desert Wolf or a Giant Tusked Boar, for example, required a Demonized Beast Skeleton, 10 units of Mutated Soul Energy, and 10 units of Soul Energy.
But summoning a Skeleton Desert Grey Rat, aside from the Skeleton itself, only required 2 units of Mutated Soul Energy and 2 units of Soul Energy—far less than a Desert Wolf or Giant Tusked Boar.
However, because it was a Triple Enchantment, the actual cost was 12 units of Mutated Soul Energy and 12 units of Soul Energy. This was actually more expensive than summoning a Skeleton Desert Wolf or a Giant Tusked Boar.
Because it was equipped with a Plague Rune, Li Ziyu didn’t dare test it carelessly. If he experimented and accidentally infected his own units, it would be a huge hassle. Therefore, his only option was to try and communicate with the Skeleton Desert Grey Rat.
Communication proved to be a hassle. The intelligence of a Skeleton Undead was low to begin with, and the Skeleton Desert Grey Rat’s was even lower. It was completely unable to articulate clearly. It took a great deal of effort for Li Ziyu to understand the gist of what it was trying to convey.