Chapter Thirty-Five: The Attribute Panel

"You're going to wear that?" Zhang San arrived, draped in a gray robe, her golden-red hair cascading carelessly over her shoulders, her shapely figure accentuated perfectly by the garment.

If an ordinary bald villager wore such a robe, Mo Fangyuan wouldn't have minded—it was, after all, the common attire of professionals. But the problem was that Zhang San was no longer the long-nosed, bald male villager. Now she was a female mage whose beauty rivaled the legendary beauties of ancient China, and dressed like this, Mo Fangyuan couldn't help but suspect she was deliberately tempting him with her choice of uniform.

"Your Majesty, it's the only clothing I have!" Zhang San replied, a little embarrassed.

Yes, you guessed right. All sorts of clothing had to be crafted through synthesis, and to acquire more, one needed to advance as a tailor to obtain synthesis recipes. The Block Kingdom possessed very few garments—robes, shirts, cloth trousers, and the like.

Mo Fangyuan covered his face, speechless.

"Luckily, only Zhang San and Yali suit my taste right now. If there were more, how would I resist…"

"Enough about that. Let's talk about your abilities first."

When Zhang San returned, she had told Mo Fangyuan that after absorbing a colorful experience orb, she gained an attribute panel, visible only to her. With this panel, she could level up and earn knowledge points to upgrade her skills and attributes—very much like a game.

"If I'm not mistaken, your profession must be a fire mage?"

"Your Majesty, how did you know I'm a fire mage!" Zhang San exclaimed in surprise.

"Isn't it obvious?" Mo Fangyuan replied. Hair color usually indicated a mage's abilities. Zhang San's was gold and red—colors typically associated with fire or light powers.

Don't ask how Mo Fangyuan knew—he learned it from anime!

"My attribute panel says my skill is: Fire Step, which allows me to accelerate and move briefly in the air…"

"Strange, it's not Fireball?"

Fireball was the eternal entry-level skill for mages.

"Not a mage girl? Why does it sound more like an assassin?" Mo Fangyuan was puzzled.

"My attribute panel also says my magic is 5, strength 2, movement speed 10, endurance 7…"

"Oh, I see…"

Mo Fangyuan made mental calculations—her endurance was so low… He could outlast Zhang San!

After an intense exchange, Mo Fangyuan gained a clear understanding of Zhang San's skills and physical state.

She was a profession with great potential. If she acquired more offensive skills, she could wipe out a medium-sized monster swarm single-handedly.

"Now, let's talk about the situation in the West." Mo Fangyuan went straight to the point.

The number of western refugees who fled to the Block Kingdom had reached fourteen. Mo Fangyuan felt both joy and fear. Joy because he'd gained some new laborers, fear because he worried something else had happened in the West.

If another monster king appeared, the Block Kingdom could never withstand it.

"Your Majesty, it's actually nothing much…" Zhang San took out a map of the western plains she'd prepared, retrieving it from between her legs.

With her Fire Step skill, Zhang San explored quickly. She filled in the map's blank areas and marked various resources with different symbols. Now the map was a complete miniature, meeting the standards to be integrated into the Block Kingdom's map.

"Only, the Skeleton King in the northern plains…"

Zhang San explained how she was ambushed by the Skeleton King's forces in the west, managed to escape, and then waged guerrilla warfare against the skeletons across the vast plains.

"I see…" Mo Fangyuan nodded.

The Skeleton King, whom Mo Fangyuan had previously enraged and forced to hide in a small valley, hadn't caught him but instead came upon Zhang San. Yet, Zhang San escaped, causing the Skeleton King significant losses. So the king turned his wrath on other human villages, explaining the influx of western refugees.

"Alas, poor western compatriots! These monsters are truly unforgivable!"

Mo Fangyuan mourned deeply and strongly condemned the monsters for their atrocities.

"Well, you've been busy for so long—you should rest now…" Mo Fangyuan reluctantly granted her half a day's leave, letting her go relax and, incidentally, fix her clothes.

"I actually gave someone half a day's leave… Ah! I'm truly a merciful ruler! Surely, no other king is as kind as I am!"

But as he pondered Zhang San's attribute panel, Mo Fangyuan's expression grew serious. According to her, her abilities were inherited from a colorful experience orb.

If there was one, there must be a second, a third, and more.

If he could obtain twenty-one colorful experience orbs and convert all of the Block Kingdom's combat professionals into female mages with astonishing growth, unique abilities, and unparalleled beauty, wouldn't the Block Kingdom be invincible?

"Perhaps this is a feasible plan…" Mo Fangyuan took out his notebook and recorded the idea, preparing to try it when the opportunity arose.

For now, though, his primary objectives remained strengthening defenses, expanding the labor force, and seeking a chance to build an iron golem…

In the distant northern mountains.

A towering range separated the southern plains from the northern forests, with strange peaks rising from the earth and forming a majestic landscape.

In the shadow of a mountain near the plains, a fortress built from white bone blocks and stone bricks stood tall.

Atop the fortress hung a flag emblazoned with a black skull.

This was the core territory of the Skeleton King's forces—let's call it the Skeleton Fortress.

Inside the central hall of the fortress, countless skeletons stood. Some wore different garments, some held weapons or staffs…

But without exception, all knelt on one knee toward the deeper shadows.

"Clack! Clack!"

The sound of metal armor echoed in the hall.

The presence in the depths emerged.

Compared to the other skeletons, its frame was more slender, as if a single punch could shatter it. Yet the crimson flames flickering within its skull heralded something else… It was the Skeleton King!

"What is happening in the East!"

Once the Skeleton King reached this level, speaking was no longer difficult.

The king's icy voice resounded in the hall.

The other skeletons only bowed their heads lower—none dared speak to their king.

"A bunch of ashes! Why did I ever choose to promote you lot!"

The Skeleton King snorted coldly.

"No matter who you are, you will become part of me!"

"For now, no activity in other regions! The skeleton troops in the West are to withdraw! The northern black fiends are stirring again…"

On the edge of the southern plains, in the Block Kingdom, Mo Fangyuan remained unaware of these events.

He was thinking—he had been stuck at level eight for months. If he didn't advance soon, he'd risk being surpassed by his subordinates.

That would never do! Mo Fangyuan was a king—did he not care about his dignity?

So he decided to train for a week at the edge of the southern Black Forest before recruiting more people from the West. With the map completed and village locations identified, all he needed was to go make the rounds.

"I wonder what terrain lies beyond the Black Forest…"