Chapter 104: Graveyard Demon Levels Up

Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Graveyard Demon Levels Up

Stepping out of the Old Tent, Gu Su already had a clear plan. He had long since decided which three items or materials to choose, without a shred of hesitation.

’He knew full well that gray-quality items—trash that could barely even be considered to have a quality rating—were out of the question.’

’The materials have to be at least White Quality. That’s the baseline, and I can’t go any lower.’

Gu Su also understood that he couldn’t just throw things in randomly and waste this rare opportunity. Every item he invested had to be worth it.

’They either need to be high-quality enough to genuinely boost the Graveyard Demon’s Attributes.’

’Or they need to be inherently Spiritual or have bizarre Traits that could add some hidden effects to the Graveyard Demon.’

’Or there has to be a large enough quantity to provide a bonus through sheer volume. It has to be at least one of these three.’

Once his mind was made up, Gu Su didn’t immediately start rummaging through his things. Instead, he asked his subordinates a few questions, considered his recent gains, and then made his final decision.

He would invest all the [Broken Red Balloon Skin], [Exotic Beast Skeleton], and [Destructive Military Band] he possessed into the Graveyard Demon’s upgrade, leaving nothing behind.

These three materials each had their own advantages and origins.

The [Broken Red Balloon Skin] was loot from killing the Sewer Kobolds. Each Kobold had one of these balloons on its back.

He had killed a large number of Kobolds back then and collected a considerable amount of the balloon skin. The original plan was to use them as Beast Skins, but now, he would use all of them for the Graveyard Demon.

The [Exotic Beast Skeleton] had been dug up from the bottom of the pool where the Wild Swamp Wolves nested. The bones were hard, with a unique texture, and there were a great many of them. According to Gu Su’s original plan, these bones were meant for crafting weapons for his Skeleton Warriors.

But now, they would also be used for the Graveyard Demon’s upgrade.

After all, upgrading the Graveyard Demon was a long-term investment. Improving its overall strength was more important than temporarily boosting his subordinates’ combat power. He was willing to sacrifice short-term gains for long-term development—a trade-off he made without hesitation.

The [Destructive Military Band], on the other hand, was actually his Alternative Plan.

Originally, Gu Su’s first choice had been the music box named [Completely Ruined Alice]. That music box was Green Quality, which made it the best material by any measure.

Unfortunately, the music box was too severely damaged. Tooth Bone had been working tirelessly to repair it, but it still wasn’t fixed.

Later, Gu Su considered investing the giant turtle heart that the Ash Squad had brought back. The heart was enormous and contained a dense, bizarre energy. If he used it, it would surely provide a significant boost to the Graveyard Demon.

But who could have guessed? Not long after the giant turtle heart was brought back, it was targeted and completely devoured by the Yin Fire Heap. As a result, the Yin Fire Heap was enhanced, and its efficiency at gathering Yin Qi skyrocketed. Its base efficiency became 1,250 points of Yin Qi per day.

On top of that, the items that refreshed in the Yin Soul Shop today were even worse than the [Destructive Military Band], offering nothing of value. With that, Gu Su was left with no real choice. He had to commit to these three materials, and he did so without any more hesitation.

After selecting all the materials and finishing his preparations, Gu Su delayed no further. He walked briskly back to the Old Tent, pulled up the Graveyard Demon’s upgrade panel, and decisively clicked "confirm," officially initiating the upgrade sequence.

The moment Gu Su pressed the confirm button, the Graveyard Demon, which had only just settled down, began to shake violently again. The ground beneath his feet swayed relentlessly. The tremors were more intense than any before, and a bizarre, unsettling energy wave permeated the air.

Everything inside the Graveyard Demon seemed to be pulled and manipulated by some mysterious force. It all began to churn and twist. The ground cracked open, earth and rock tumbled about, and buildings, plants, and even scattered materials shook wildly as if they were about to be torn to shreds.

The bizarre scene was like the entire Graveyard Demon being swallowed by an invisible black hole, with everything inside rapidly disappearing.

But in the next second, new matter materialized from the void, slowly taking shape and replacing everything that was there before. The cycle of old and new was both bizarre and magnificent.

Fortunately, the one thing that remained unchanged was the layout of the Graveyard Demon, which Gu Su had so carefully planned.

The paths of the roads, the arrangement of the Gravepiles, and the positions of the buildings were completely unaffected, remaining in their previous, orderly state. This allowed Gu Su to breathe a small sigh of relief.

This violent transformation lasted for seven or eight minutes. Throughout this time, the tremors never ceased, and the bizarre energy waves continued to blanket the entire Graveyard Demon.

Gu Su stood his ground, steadily absorbing the impact of the tremors. His eyes were fixed on the Graveyard Demon, unwilling to miss a single detail of its changes.

Finally, as the last tremor subsided and the bizarre energy in the air slowly dissipated, everything returned to calm, no longer churning or twisting.

Just then, a system notification chimed clearly in Gu Su’s ear.

[Your Graveyard Demon has reached Level 1.]

[You have completed the Main Quest: Find suitable materials within ten days, complete the graveyard’s first upgrade, and activate a Talent (Graveyard Demon).]

[Please gather all your items and troops. You will be exiting novice world 5QPRPZ222FT in one hour.]

Gu Su paid no mind to the sudden notification about completing the main quest and exiting the novice world.

All his attention was currently focused on the Graveyard Demon’s transformation. His gaze was intense and serious as he carefully inspected the upgraded base, eager to see what amazing changes the upgrade had brought.

As his gaze swept over the Graveyard Demon, Gu Su quickly discovered that the biggest change was to the surrounding wall.

The previous, shabby wall—made of nothing more than a single layer of sheet metal and patched-together old wood—had now completely transformed. It had become a ring of neatly arranged two-story buildings that encircled and protected the entire Graveyard Demon.

These two-story buildings had a peculiar appearance, looking somewhat like old shipping containers—each two meters wide and two meters high—stacked in layers.

The walls were mottled, giving off a derelict industrial vibe. The exteriors of the buildings were entwined with dense, dark-green vines and the roots of Strong Root Grass, which clung tightly to the walls, both reinforcing them and adding to the bizarre atmosphere.

The outer edge of the rooftops was wrapped in fine iron wire, behind which were barbs made from one-meter-long white bones. This formed a formidable defensive line; any enemy attempting to climb up would surely be cut by the barbs, making it difficult to get close.

The roofs were covered with patched-together Red Balloon skins, which served as waterproofing.

In addition, foundations had been set aside inside the buildings every few rooms.

These foundations were built to specific, regular standards, clearly intended for the future installation of watchtowers, defense towers, or turrets.

As long as they gathered enough materials, they could quickly construct defensive structures, further enhancing the Graveyard Demon’s Defense and giving this mobile graveyard offensive capabilities.