Chapter 5: The Assault Incident

“Extraordinary Skeleton?”

Lin Yi quickly opened the detailed description of this talent.

Extraordinary Skeleton (White Talent): The bearer gains +1 Strength, +1 Constitution, and +1 Agility, along with a 20% proficiency boost when learning external martial arts.

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow slightly.

Though it was classified as a white talent, it seemed quite decent.

The added +1 to Strength, Constitution, and Agility didn’t yet reveal whether those were exceptional stats, but the proficiency boost for learning external martial arts was certainly noteworthy.

Thanks to guidance from the village elder Gu He, Lin Yi understood that external martial arts were the early-game skills. If he could learn them, he’d at least have some means of self-defense in Gután Village.

However, judging from what happened that morning, it wasn’t easy to acquire any skill, external martial arts or otherwise, within the village.

For now, Lin Yi didn’t rush to solidify the “Extraordinary Skeleton” talent but instead decided to continue exploring Gután Village. After all, he knew very little about this game and needed to gather more information.

He walked westward along the surrounding wheat fields, heading deeper into the village.

It was midday, the sun blazing fiercely, and the temperature was high. Along the way, Lin Yi saw villagers busily working in the fields.

To these villagers, Lin Yi’s arrival seemed unremarkable; they barely glanced at him before returning to their labor.

After a round of exploration, Lin Yi found the village’s social structure quite interesting. On the outskirts were farmers tending crops or beggars eking out a living.

Scattered thatched cottages were unevenly distributed around the perimeter.

In the village’s core lived villagers like Butcher Li—those with a particular skill—who enjoyed slightly better living conditions.

Overall, the small population and clear class divisions made Gután Village resemble an ancient small county town.

Without his character data panel, Lin Yi might not have been able to tell if this place was another world or a game.

Yet, even as a game, Tianqi World was far from ordinary.

“Roar!”

Suddenly, a horrifying scream pierced the air from a nearby thatched house, sharp enough to startle Lin Yi.

“What the hell is that?”

Peering through the window of the hut, Lin Yi barely made out a dark shadow moving inside.

He wanted to approach and investigate but turned his head to see the villagers who had heard the scream fleeing in panic.

“Ghost demon! Run!”

“A ghost demon has sneaked into the village! Alert the elder!”

Ghost demon?

Lin Yi was stunned. Then, with a thunderous crash, the wooden door of the hut shattered as the shadow burst out.

The figure was about two meters tall, muscular and solid, with sharp teeth dripping fresh blood.

Its eyes glowed an eerie green as it greedily scanned its surroundings.

Clearly, everyone else had fled, leaving only Lin Yi, who was slower to react.

“Damn it, run!”

Lin Yi wasn’t foolish. His hairs stood on end as he turned and sprinted away.

“Roar!”

The creature, the so-called ghost demon, let out a furious roar and charged at him.

Lin Yi ran desperately, feeling the ground tremble beneath the heavy steps of the monster behind him.

After sprinting several dozen meters, he noticed the creature closing in rapidly. His heart pounded in his throat: “No way, I can’t outrun this thing!”

---

Seeing a small clearing ahead surrounded by trees, Lin Yi suddenly changed direction and dashed toward the scattering villagers.

Running alone was a dead end; blending into the crowd might offer a slim chance of survival.

But the ghost demon was alarmingly fast, clawing at the ground with its limbs like a vengeful spirit chasing him.

Within five seconds, it caught up.

At this critical moment, Lin Yi remembered he hadn’t yet activated the “Extraordinary Skeleton” talent. There was no time to hesitate; he solidified it to save his life.

A faint warm current surged through his body.

Thanks to the talent’s bonus to Strength, Constitution, and Agility, Lin Yi felt his running speed instantly increase.

Swish!

The ghost demon swung its sharp claws, narrowly grazing Lin Yi’s back.

Just a hair’s breadth away, and he would have died under those claws.

Dodging the strike, Lin Yi pushed forward, finally overtaking a slower-running villager.

“Wait for me!”

The villager, a dark-skinned farmer in his forties, saw Lin Yi rushing from behind and the terrifying demon chasing them, his face filled with fear.

“Wait for me! Don’t leave me behind!”

“Sorry...”

Before Lin Yi could finish, a scream came from behind.

Turning around, he saw the dark-skinned farmer clutched in the demon’s grasp, torn in half like a helpless chick.

Scalding blood splattered the muddy ground.

Lin Yi had no time for guilt as the two-meter-tall ghost demon tore off the farmer’s head and stuffed it into its mouth full of razor-sharp teeth.

Crunch. Crunch.

In just two bites, the skull shattered and was swallowed.

Lin Yi was shaken to the core. He had just narrowly escaped death; if he had been slower, he would have been the one eaten.

Damn, Gután Village was incredibly dangerous!

And he was only level one, yet he had encountered such a monster?

No time to dwell, Lin Yi continued to flee wildly.

The ghost demon, having eaten one person but still hungry, was clearly intent on catching another.

At that moment, a fierce shout rang out from afar.

“You damn monster, your grandpa’s here!”

A burly man holding a longsword came running swiftly from the front.

Despite being several hundred meters away, he closed the distance within seconds.

The ghost demon seemed to sense the threat and abandoned Lin Yi and the others, charging toward the newcomer.

“Bold! Die!”

Enraged, the man swung his longsword, its rough blade flashing a reddish-brown glow as it struck the demon.

Boom!

Red and black clashed in midair, sending shockwaves rippling before they separated and landed, evenly matched.

The demon crouched low, claws digging into the earth, roaring furiously. Its green, bloodthirsty eyes locked onto the man.

“No wonder it sneaked into the village—it’s an eighth-level ghost demon! But if it’s met me, your luck’s run out!”

The man charged again, swinging his longsword.

Clang! Clang!

Blades and claws met, sparks flying red.

Many villagers who had been fleeing stopped to watch from a distance, Lin Yi among them, gasping for breath.

“Thank goodness, it’s Captain Gu Man of the militia’s third squad. With him here, we might be saved!”

“Too bad Old Chu was too slow and got eaten by the demon. Luckily, I ran fast, or I’d be next.”

Captain Gu Man?

Lin Yi pondered. To handle an eighth-level ghost demon, Gu Man’s level must be quite high.

But this broken game had so few features—even checking NPC or monster levels was impossible.

Suddenly, someone glared at Lin Yi and blamed him.

“It’s all this newcomer’s fault. If he hadn’t attracted the demon, Old Chu wouldn’t have died!”

Villagers murmured angrily, many looking at Lin Yi with hostility.

Lin Yi awkwardly scratched his nose. Indeed, it was his fault the monster appeared—no denying that.

But in that life-or-death moment, he had no choice but to prioritize his own survival. If given a second chance, he’d do the same.

After all, it was his life on the line. Death in this game might be permanent.

He could only offer his apologies to the fallen villager.

Ahead, Gu Man held his longsword and exchanged blows with the demon. His swordplay was bold and explosive, each strike filled with tremendous force.

Dust billowed on the battlefield, and within minutes, the demon was forced to retreat, its massive black body marred by blood-red sword wounds.

The demon howled in agony.

“Damn it, causing trouble on my patrol day! I’ll tear you to pieces!”

With a final swing, Gu Man severed the demon’s front claw. As the creature writhed in pain, Gu Man’s expression remained calm as he thrust his sword into the ground, pinning the demon down.

The demon’s foul-smelling blood seeped into the earth along the blade.

Clearly, the demon was now Gu Man’s captive.

“Hey, kid over there, come here!”

But Gu Man didn’t hurry to finish off the demon. Instead, he beckoned Lin Yi from the crowd.

“Me?”

Lin Yi blinked in surprise.

Gu Man glared and waved again.

“Yes, you—the newcomer. Don’t dawdle, come over while this filthy beast still has one breath left!”

Lin Yi had no choice but to step forward.

Gu Man then stepped on the demon’s chest, yanked his bloodstained longsword free, and handed it to Lin Yi.

The sword was heavy. Lin Yi gripped it with both hands, barely able to lift it.

At that moment, data appeared before Lin Yi’s eyes.