Chapter 5: Synthesizing Rock Armor, the Skeleton Buddy Is a Good Guy!

Hiss—!

Ouch ouch ouch!

Just after using the Synthesis Heart, Su Hao felt an intense stabbing pain in his head.

Beads of cold sweat the size of soybeans seeped from his forehead; the pain made him involuntarily bend over, and he instinctively wanted to give up this synthesis.

"No! I can't give up!"

This is the last synthesis opportunity for today; if I give up, I might have to wait until tomorrow.

In order to obtain a set of defensive armor, he ultimately gritted his teeth and persevered.

After the golden light wrapping the armor and stone ore faded, a brand-new set of armor appeared before Su Hao's eyes.

The rust stains on the armor had disappeared, leaving it gray and dusty, as if made of stone.

In terms of style, there wasn't much change; just a helmet was added, increasing safety considerably.

【Rock Armor】

Effect: A piece of armor made from rock, with decent defense, but wearing it reduces movement speed!

"It really is made of stone."

Su Hao gave a slight smile and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Being able to synthesize this set of armor makes everything worthwhile!

"As expected of something synthesized, this weight is lighter than I imagined."

After putting on the armor, Su Hao moved his body a bit and was surprised to discover.

This armor surely weighs over a hundred jin, yet after putting it on, he felt it was only about ten jin.

Although it somewhat affects movement, it's still fairly easy to move.

Clang clang clang!

Su Hao picked up a stone and struck the armor hard a few times, producing several dull thuds.

Yet his body beneath the armor felt no impact at all.

"Not bad, not bad! With this rock armor, even if five or six goblins surround me, I'm not afraid at all—hahaha!"

Su Hao let out a long laugh, feeling pleased that his strength had increased.

Afterwards, he took his serrated long blade, dug a pit in the ground, and buried that skeleton.

After all, this armor of his was stripped from that skeleton, so burying the skeleton to let it rest is only reasonable.

"Huh? This is..."

After burying the skeleton, Su Hao suddenly saw, amidst the rubble, beneath where the skeleton's body had been, a small grayish bag.

Out of curiosity, Su Hao took the bag out.

【Worn-Out Small Storage Bag】

Effect: A small storage bag corroded by an ominous curse, containing a 10m×10m×10m space, most of whose contents are already damaged.

"Holy crap! The skeleton elder is really a good guy!"

Su Hao's face lit up with a brilliant smile.

First he got a set of armor from the skeleton, and now he's picked up a storage bag.

Moreover, perhaps the skeleton elder's other legacies are still inside this storage bag.

Shush shush shush!

Just as he was about to open the storage bag, a rustling sound came from the nearby grass.

"Again?"

Su Hao stood in place, his expression calm as he looked toward the source of the sound.

"Ababa!"

Just then.

Five rotting-flesh goblins burst out from behind weeds taller than a person, swinging wooden clubs and smashing toward Su Hao.

Protected by the rock armor, Su Hao felt no fear at all.

He did not retreat but advanced, striding forward and actively charging into the goblin ranks.

With a swing of his blade, a soft "puff" sounded, and one goblin's head was severed.

Clang!

After all, he was now surrounded by the goblins; after he killed one, the remaining four swung their clubs and struck Su Hao's body.

But with the rock armor, Su Hao suffered nothing; he backhanded four swings, lopping off the heads of those four goblins.

Then he delivered a follow-up strike to each of the four goblins, chopping their hearts to pieces.

Finally, Su Hao used the Item Refining Technique and obtained two fangs, an illustration fragment, and three portions of contaminated blood.

"Time to head back!"

Glancing at the increasingly dim sky, Su Hao walked back the way he came.

Without a personal light source, the dark forest at night would make even distinguishing directions impossible, increasing the threat level by who knows how many times.

Moreover, having been out this long and having slain five goblins, Su Hao's mind was filled with bloodlust; staying longer might trigger a mutation.

After returning to the shelter, the first thing Su Hao did was take out the storage bag.

For someone who goes out exploring, a storage bag can be considered an essential tool.

However, in his previous life, Su Hao lacked mental power, so even if he had a storage bag, he couldn't use it.

Now it's different!

Su Hao's mind stirred slightly, he mobilized the mental power in his brain, and opened the Storage Bag.

The next moment.

Then he saw the Storage Bag flash with light, a pile of dust flowed out from its mouth and appeared on the tabletop.

Under the corrosion of the Dark Forest, most of the things inside the Storage Bag turned to dust.

Fortunately, two items remained undamaged, so it wasn't a total loss.

One of them was a silver-white lantern, its surface somewhat pitted.

The other was a bottle of red potion placed inside a special glass vial.

Su Hao took the silver lantern out of the dust and gently wiped off the dust on it.

【Awakening God Lantern】

Effect: Carried on one's person, it makes people more alert; it is one of the essential items for entering the Dark Forest.

The Awakening God Lantern is currently severely damaged; it can be used at most three more days before it breaks completely.

……

"This is a great thing!"

Su Hao gently stroked the lantern's pitted surface, his face showing delight.

Although the Awakening God Lantern cannot directly resist the Bloodthirsty Curse, keeping people alert can weaken the curse's influence from the side, extending exploration time in the Dark Forest.

Moreover, the lantern itself counts as a semi-supernatural item; in a dark environment it automatically emits light, illuminating the surrounding area without worrying about energy consumption.

With the lantern, exploration time increases and the impact of night is reduced; this is an essential item for everyone exploring the Dark Forest.

I never expected to obtain the Awakening God Lantern on the first day.

From now on, progress in exploring the Dark Forest will be twice as effective with half the effort!

As for the lantern's impending damage, Su Hao is not worried at all.

Wait until tomorrow, find a suitable material, combine it with the lantern, and it'll be done!

Su Hao put the lantern back into the Storage Bag and looked at the bottle of red potion.

【Furious Potion】

Effect: After consumption, it fully increases one's strength, stamina, and speed, but after the duration ends, one falls into a weak state.

……

"Skeleton Old Brother, you're really a great person; if you were alive, I'd have to thank you properly!"

Su Hao excitedly waved his arm; he originally thought this was a recovery potion, but didn't expect it to actually be the Fury Potion.

In terms of life-saving effect, this is even better than the recovery potion.

If one encounters an enemy hard to deal with, one can completely rely on this bottle of Fury Potion to turn the tide of battle.

After obtaining armor, a Storage Bag, a lantern, and a Fury Potion from the skeleton's body in succession, Su Hao wanted to dig up the Old Brother Skeleton and personally thank him.

Skeleton: "Are you polite?"

Afterwards Su Hao went to his house, moved the gas cylinder, food, and kitchen utensils upstairs, made dinner for himself and the little girl, then went to lie down and rest.

Before going to sleep, he opened his wristband, glanced at the group chat messages, and found that only half a day had passed, yet several people had already obtained shelters and were chatting in the group chat.

Among them, several were big shots who had dominated a region in their previous lives.

One of the chat messages made Su Hao involuntarily take a second look.

【Zhang Biao: Hahaha, you might not believe it if I say it, but I found a Warrior Rune at my doorstep; now I'm a Superhuman, able to blow up a goblin with two punches!】

"Superhuman..."

If nothing unexpected happens, that relic should contain a Superhuman Rune.

Su Hao lightly tapped the table, deciding to head toward the relic direction to explore tomorrow.

I just don't know whether the Superhuman Rune can be used to synthesize...