The exploration speed of the nineteen Skeleton Soldiers was quite fast; after all, it was evident from his constantly increasing experience points that at this rate, he could level up in about an hour.
However, Mu Chen also knew that after exceeding level 10, the experience gained from farming monsters here would likely decrease significantly.
After all, the most experience is gained when the monster's level differs from one's own by 4-8 levels.
Most of the Ox Demons here were between levels 13-15, which perfectly met Mu Chen's needs before level 10.
After level 10, Mu Chen would probably have to delve a bit deeper to gain the maximum experience bonus.
As the Skeleton Soldiers continued to advance, they naturally encountered people from other professions leveling up or farming materials.
When they suddenly saw the Skeleton Soldiers appear, they instinctively treated them as monsters and used Detection Art.
However, they quickly noticed three large white characters above the heads of these Skeleton Soldiers: Summoned Creature.
Clearly, these Skeletons were summoned by someone.
Although everyone was somewhat surprised, they didn't pay too much attention; the owner of these Skeletons should be a Summoner.
While most Summoners summon various monsters for combat, theoretically, these Skeletons could also be considered a type of monster.
So some people just glanced and then looked away, but a few others noticed the difference in these Skeleton Soldiers.
When they saw that these Skeleton Soldiers could actually use skills and their strength far exceeded that of the wild monsters, they instantly realized that these Skeleton Soldiers were not as simple as they seemed!
Especially one Skeleton holding a staff could even use some witchcraft curse skills, which was something utterly impossible for the Summoner profession!
These people began to develop an interest in the master behind the Skeletons, as befriending such a capable person would be entirely beneficial to them!
Mu Chen had been continuously gathering information about the surroundings through these Skeleton Soldiers, so he quickly noticed the situation here.
Thus, he directly recalled the Skeleton Warlock, and those people could only watch helplessly as the Skeleton Warlock disappeared before them; unwilling to give up, they searched around but found no trace whatsoever, eventually having to abandon their search!
With this lesson learned, Mu Chen decided to explore even deeper to avoid being disturbed; anyway, with the current attributes of these Skeleton Soldiers, even some Elite-level monsters would probably not be their match.
As they moved further from Dongyang City, the surrounding environment gradually quieted down, with only occasional roars from demon beasts or magical creatures.
Mu Chen still kept the Skeleton Priest by his side, sending the other Skeleton Soldiers to explore in all directions.
【Killed Cat Demon, Experience +310】
【Killed Cat Demon, Experience +310】
Compared to the previous Ox Demons, this Cat Demon only yielded 15 more experience points, indicating that its level was not much higher than that of the Ox Demons.
The only thing that somewhat pleased Mu Chen was that the number of Cat Demons was far greater than that of Ox Demons, though this was likely due to the lack of people farming monsters in the vicinity.
Calculating it this way, it was still faster to level up by killing Cat Demons than Ox Demons, and not long after, Mu Chen's level successfully rose to 10!
Level 10 is a small watershed because upon reaching level 10, one can learn new skills.
However, this skill is not automatically learned at level 10; instead, it requires killing demon beasts or magical creatures above level 25 and of Elite quality or higher, which has a certain probability of dropping it.
However, the drop rate is even more disheartening than that of equipment.
Of course, if one is a rich spender, they can purchase it through the Imperial Merchant Guild, but the price is enough to deter eighty percent of people!
Most people obtain their first skill scroll around level 30.
After all, at level 30, various attributes become much stronger, and killing level 25 Elite monsters is not difficult, so most people choose to raise their level to 30 before farming Elite monsters for skill scrolls.
However, for Mu Chen, none of this was a problem; his level had already risen to 10, and his summoning space had increased by 10!
He could currently summon thirty Skeleton Soldiers, and Elite monsters generally act alone; with thirty Skeleton Soldiers attacking, let alone Elite monsters, even rare monsters could be taken down!
Mu Chen first recalled all his Skeleton Soldiers, then had them surround him, as the wilderness was full of unknown risks.
Then Mu Chen directly activated the summon!
【Elite Skeleton Archer】
【Level】 lv.20
【Strength】 238
【Agility】 665
【Stamina】 238
【Spirit】 238
【Skills】 Annihilation Arrow (lv.20), Explosive Arrow (lv.20)
【Annihilation Arrow (lv.20)】 Shoots an arrow to attack the enemy, with a 50% chance to deal 200% damage ignoring defense. Each arrow consumes 1 spirit.
【Explosive Arrow (lv.20)】 Shoots an arrow to attack the enemy. The arrow explodes upon hitting the enemy, dealing 200% damage and having a knockback effect. Each arrow consumes 0.5 spirit.
He immediately summoned an Elite unit he hadn't possessed before, which made Mu Chen beam with joy; a surprise right at the start!
However, Mu Chen's smile quickly froze; perhaps he had used up all his luck on the first summon or for some other reason, but the remaining 9 summons, apart from another Elite Skeleton Warlock, were only ordinary Skeleton Warriors and ordinary Skeleton Knights.
Although somewhat depressed, it couldn't be changed, and Mu Chen soon came to terms with it, releasing the summoned Skeleton Soldiers as well.
Because his spiritual power was almost exhausted, Mu Chen sat cross-legged on the ground to fully recover his spiritual power before standing up.
Mu Chen checked his current summon configuration: 8 Skeleton Knights, 17 Skeleton Warriors, 3 Elite Skeleton Warlocks, 1 Elite Skeleton Priest, and 1 Elite Skeleton Archer.
This configuration was already considered very luxurious; given that these Skeleton Soldiers were all level 20 and had powerful attributes, Mu Chen felt they were sufficient to encircle and kill level 25 Elite monsters!
Mu Chen glanced at the time; it was already afternoon, but there was still some time until nightfall.
Mu Chen thought for a moment and decided to go find an Elite monster to test the situation first.
Mu Chen remembered that outside Dongyang City, there was a Mist Jungle, which was a paradise for level 20-30 monsters, and the Elite monsters there were precisely level 25!
Moreover, the terrain within this Mist Jungle was complex, and the thick fog made visibility even worse, making it extremely dangerous.
Because of this, most people would not choose to level up here, but for Mu Chen, it was an excellent leveling ground.
Without delay, Mu Chen walked towards the Mist Jungle, while having the Skeleton Soldiers clear out wild monsters along the way to earn some experience.
Half an hour later, Mu Chen had arrived at the edge of the Mist Jungle.
The entire Mist Jungle was composed of an unknown type of tree, whose only characteristic was their immense height, each tree being at least twenty meters tall.
A Jungle composed of such trees, if one lacks a sense of direction, it would be very easy to get lost once inside.
Therefore, most who dared to enter would choose to come in groups, or they had a certain confidence in their own strength to enter alone.