The Skeleton Warriors took the Headhunter Race captives away. There wasn’t a dedicated place to hold prisoners in the fortress, so they just found an empty patch of ground and assigned some Undead to guard them. The siege by the Headhunter Race had finally come to an end.

A great deal of time had been lost fighting the Headhunter Race, so Li Ziyu immediately ordered the fortress to press onward to the next treasure location. Only after the fortress began to move did Li Ziyu settle back onto the White Bone Throne. He let out a long sigh, his entire body going limp with relief.

"Xingxing, if there’s nothing else, you should head back and get some sleep," Li Ziyu said, glancing at Liu Xingxing, who was standing beside him.

Liu Xingxing, who had been running high on adrenaline just a moment ago, finally felt the exhaustion hit as he began to relax. He couldn’t help but yawn. Hearing Li Ziyu’s words, he nodded and shuffled out, his mind still replaying the hair-raising battle. ’If it weren’t for the Undead,’ he thought, ’the other Catman and I would both be dead.’

After Liu Xingxing left the main tower, the great doors slowly closed. The usual tranquility returned to the tower’s interior. Li Ziyu leaned against the White Bone Throne, rested with his eyes closed for a moment, and then opened them.

The shadow at his feet stirred, and a skull poked out. It was none other than the Dark Skeleton, which had gotten no chance to join the battle today. It gazed silently at Li Ziyu, and Li Ziyu gazed silently back. Then, Li Ziyu extended his leg and kicked the protruding head, sending it flying.

’Damn it all. I spent so many resources to create you, and you turned out to be completely useless.’

The skull went rolling away, CLATTER CLATTER, its jaw clacking open and shut as if it were cursing up a storm. The rest of its body emerged from the shadow and scrambled after its head.

The appearance of the Dark Skeleton reminded Li Ziyu that he still had a building he hadn’t looked into yet. He had been so preoccupied with summoning the Ox Demon and the Dark Skeleton that he had completely ignored the Tattoo Workshop. To be fair, the building was rather unassuming, and with so much going on, he had simply forgotten about it until this very moment.

’Anyway, I’m not busy right now,’ he figured. ’Might as well check out the Tattoo Workshop. Who knows, it might have a pleasant surprise in store for me.’

With that thought, Li Ziyu found the Tattoo Workshop in the system interface and opened it up to take a look.

The Tattoo Workshop was a building unlocked after defeating the Demonized Minotaurs. Its purpose was Enchantment. Currently, there was only one enchantment available: the Basic Dark Magic Energy Rune, which was synthesized from Dark Magic Energy Rune Fragments. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

According to the description in the system interface, Weapons, Undead, and even members of other Races could be enchanted in the Tattoo Workshop, but their respective Tattoos needed to be unlocked beforehand.

Different Tattoos possessed different abilities, and a Tattoo’s Level would influence the effectiveness and success rate of the Enchantment.

When he first synthesized the Basic Dark Magic Energy Rune, the system’s description had simply read, "Possesses Dark Power," followed by a ruthless jab. Now, however, looking at it in the Tattoo Workshop, the description was far more detailed.

[Basic Dark Magic Energy Rune]

[Effect: Increases Power and Constitution.]

[Special Effects: 1. Automatically absorbs Dark Energy at night. 2. Emits a "Dark Aura" at night that can weaken enemies. 3. Attacks carry an innate corrosive effect.]

[Note: Dark Magic Energy affects the soul to a certain extent. The longer it is used, the more profound the impact on the soul becomes.]

’Holy crap, this thing seems pretty powerful!’

Reading the description, Li Ziyu’s spirits lifted immediately. ’If I tattooed this onto the Skeleton Warriors, wouldn’t that be like adding wings to a tiger?’ The special effects, in particular, were a perfect fit, since the Undead’s primary battlefield was the night. It was practically tailor-made for them.

However, after reading the note, Li Ziyu hesitated. Applying the Dark Rune wasn’t the issue, but if the Skeleton Warriors became as unhinged as the Dark Skeleton, that would be a serious problem.

’I need to be careful. Very careful.’

The price for the Enchantment wasn’t cheap, either. Each attempt required 1,000 units of Soul Energy, which would not be refunded, regardless of success or failure.

After a moment’s hesitation, Li Ziyu still couldn’t resist giving it a try. He wouldn’t enchant a Skeleton Warrior, though. Instead, he decided to enchant a Bone Saber. ’Enchanting a weapon is safer than enchanting a living being,’ he reasoned. ’Worst case, I can just get rid of the saber. It’s cheap, after all.’

He consumed 1 Skeleton to craft 5 Bone Sabers, casually picked one up, and selected the Enchantment option.

The Bone Saber instantly vanished from his hand. The unassuming Tattoo Workshop began to stir, and a mysterious light could be seen flashing from within, visible through the gaps in its bony structure.

[Enchantment with Basic Dark Magic Energy Rune failed.]

Huh...

It failed?!

It actually failed!

’Did 1,000 units of Soul Energy just go down the drain?’

Li Ziyu suddenly felt a pang in his heart. He knew Enchantments had a failure rate, but he hadn’t paid it much attention. As far as he was concerned, it was just an Enchantment with a Basic Rune; the success rate should have been high. But reality delivered a harsh slap to the face—it really had failed.

’No, I refuse to believe it. I can’t just let 1,000 units of Soul Energy go to waste like that. Again!’

The second Bone Saber: failure. The third Bone Saber: failure...

By the fifth Bone Saber, Li Ziyu’s expression was grim. ’Damn it, what is with my luck? Failing a Basic Rune enchantment this many times in a row... I’m speechless!’

’One last time. I refuse to believe that I can’t even manage to enchant a single saber.’

Another 1,000 units of Soul Energy were deducted.

[Congratulations. Enchantment with the Basic Dark Magic Energy Rune was successful. You have obtained an Enchanted Small Bone Saber.]

’Success, finally!’

Li Ziyu breathed a long, internal sigh of relief. He quickly retrieved the saber from the system and held it in his hand, examining it closely.

The Bone Saber’s outward appearance was mostly unchanged, but now it was covered in fine, black lines that seemed to flow across its surface. The lines intertwined, combining to faintly outline the shape of the Dark Rune. Staring at it too closely made one’s vision blur and darken, creating the sensation of being pulled in.

After studying it for a moment, Li Ziyu took a deep breath and gripped the saber’s hilt.

The instant he gripped the hilt, the black lines seemed to come alive. They swiftly snaked up from his palm, spreading across the surface of his body.

Li Ziyu didn’t notice the flicker of black that flashed in his eyes before they returned to normal. He raised his hand and looked at it. The black lines on his hand were identical to the ones on the Bone Saber, flowing slowly. He could feel his body surging with power—a power far greater than anything he’d felt before.

He slowly rose from the White Bone Throne. A faint black mist swirled around him for a moment, then vanished.

’This is incredible!’

’This power... it’s amazing! I feel like I could take on the entire Headhunter Race by myself. I could fight a hundred of them!’

Brimming with confidence, Li Ziyu swung the Bone Saber. The blade cut through the air with a sharp CRACK. His gaze grew cold, a thirst for slaughter welled up within him, and he felt a strange affinity for the darkness.

At that exact moment, Li Ziyu’s body went rigid. He immediately tossed the saber away. His posture, which had been ramrod straight, instantly crumpled, and he bent over, bracing his hands on his knees and gasping for breath. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead as he stared at the Enchanted Bone Saber on the floor, his eyes filled with alarm and horror.

’That was close!’

’It managed to influence me in such a short amount of time... Is this really just a Basic Dark Magic Energy Rune?’

’I almost fell into its trap.’

Indeed, the Enchanted Bone Saber had made Li Ziyu feel powerful, but it had also affected his mind. If he had held on to it for much longer, he would have become an emotionless, ruthless killing Puppet, controlled by the saber itself.

After catching his breath, Li Ziyu sat back down on the White Bone Throne, feeling completely drained. It was the backlash from the sudden loss of power.