Endless Evolution As A Skeleton In A Game-Like World

[Harvest successful! You have successfully received D-Rank trait, Heat Resistance!]

[Harvest successful! You have successfully received 2 Defence points!]

[Harvest successful! You have successfully received 1 Defence point!]

Harvest successful...

After wiping out the wolves, Ark went around from body to body, using his skill to harvest stats.

He was not shocked that all the stats he obtained were defense stats. To survive in such a place, the monsters needed a very high natural resistance to the harsh environmental conditions.

In total, he managed to gain 5 defense points, and two unassigned stat points he could freely use. Ark invested the points into his mana...

Adding the two stat points to the mana stats he already had, Ark now had a total of 500 mana points...

’Not bad.’ He mused as he stared at his stat screen. He was progressing steadily, but Ark could not help but feel a little impatient. Because although his progress was undeniably good...

His eyes drifted down to the bottom of his system tab. ’I’m still a long way off...’

Ark’s next evolutionary stage was Skeleton Shaman, but he needed one thousand mana points to qualify for evolution. He was already investing most of his free stats into mana, the problem was that magical beasts were much rarer than regular ones.

’If I can find some of them, I will be able to hit the threshold much easier—’

”You’re doing it right now aren’t you?” Olivia suddenly asked from behind him, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Ark sighed and turned around to face her. ”Done it already, you are late.”

She pouted as she stared at the monster. ”Anyways, are we continuing the push?” She stared up at the sky. ”We still have some sunlight left... I think.”

Ark followed her gaze and shook his head. ”We can’t...”

Although they did have some daytime left, the clouds had grown even darker than they looked when they first arrived. He could also feel the winds beginning to pick up.

If his suspicions were right, then there was going to be a...

”I think a storm is forming.” Thalia walked up to them, dragging along the body of a rather plump wolf.

Did she perhaps want to eat it?

Ark decided to save his questions for later. ”That is what I am thinking...” He stared at the sky, a dark look flashing in his eyes.

Normally, a storm should not have been enough to keep players like them at bay. Ark would much rather farm more exp in the middle of the rain.

But when it came to areas like this, the rain was usually not ordinary. ”It might be acid rain. If we get caught in that, we won’t survive the night.”

”Right now, we need to find shelter, preferably a cave, or something strong enough to not be melted if it is indeed acid rain.”

”A cave? I know the perfect spot.” Thalia smiled with a mildly excited look on her face.

”Really?” Ark was pleasantly surprised. It had not been too long since they arrived, how come she had already found a cave?

”I followed some of the retreating wolves.” She smiled. ”It turns out they were trying to hide in their cave, so I killed them all.”

”Oh, that explains why you were gone for a bit. Alright then...” Ark made sure he was not forgetting anything, before gesturing at Thalia. ”Lead the way!”

The cave Thalia had found had a low ceiling. She was the tallest one among them, so her head was nearly touching the ceiling above.

Worse of all, when they tried to go deeper, there was a thick stench of rot. It was coming from dead prey the Obsidian Wolves were likely storing for a later meal.

Because of this, they had to stay near the entrance, which was not all bad. This way, they would be able to see any enemy that was to wander close to them.

Not long after they settled in, Thalia got a fire going. Both she and Olivia had gathered parts of a strange, leafless tree that grew around the area.

The moment the fire was ready, they began to roast the wolf Thalia had carried along with her, the invigorating aroma of the barbecued meat seeping into his nose holes.

He gave them a long, judgmental stare. Why would they eat knowing fully well that he could not join them?

True partners would have fasted in solidarity!

Ark sighed and glanced at his summons that stood by the side...

”Alright, listen up. I have a special task for you four...”

SHAAAAA—!

While the girls enjoyed their meal, the rain gushed down with fervour, bathing everything in sight.

Just like Ark had expected, the raindrops that fell on the ground sizzled on impact, meaning it was highly acidic.

There was no way for him to go under the rain, but it was a different case when it came to his summons...

His summons had a unique ability to merge with the shadows, and in that form, the acid rain would have no effect on them.

The best part of this was that most monsters were likely in caves such as this one, hiding away from the rain.

’Hunting them will be easy!’

So what if he could not hunt in the rain? His summons will simply do it for him!

He turned to them and said, ”I want you guys to find caves similar to this, and when you do...” A malicious glint appeared in his eyes. ”Kill every single monster you see.”

Following his command, they melted into the shadows and rushed out of the cave. Ark found a comfortable spot by the side to sit back and relax, and it wasn’t long until he began to see the results of their little outing.

[You have slain a level 12 Obsidian Wolf! +15 exp]

[You have slain a level 12 Obsidian Wolf! +15 exp]

[You have leveled up!]

[Level 9 >> Level 10!]

[You have received +7 stat points]

[You have slain a level 12 Obsidian Wolf! +15 exp]

....

[You have slain a level 12 Baslisk! +15 exp]

[You have slain a level 12 Baslisk! +15 exp]

...

One by one, the notifications began to pour in. There were many times his summons were killed, but each time, his mana drained as he resummoned them to continue the battle.

And then finally...

[Jenna has leveled up! Lvl 9 >> Level 11]

[Mountain has leveled up! Lvl 8 >> Lvl 10]

[Inquisitor has leveled up! Lvl 10 >> Lvl 12]

[Sumo has leveled up! Lvl 8 >> Lvl 10]

[ALL summons have now reached level 10. You can now activate the elemental gacha to decide on their elements!]

In the dark cave, resting idly with his legs crossed, and his arms folded behind his head, Ark let out a maniacal laugh.

”Heheehehehehehehehe...”

Olivia stopped chewing and stared at him with a worried look in her eyes. ”Thalia, do you think Ark is of sound mind?”

Thalia gave it a little thought before shaking her head. ”Well... no...”