〘Rank: ?????〙〘Skill: Pre-eminent Imperishable Bones〙〘Gained〙

Oh wow.

The sensation of warmth and coziness engulfed my bones. The bordering air glowed. I looked at my frame. It had changed. The former, grayish bones had turned golden.

After a while, the glowing stopped.

〘The System And The Skill Have Federated〙

〘Endurance Stat Decapitated〙

〘Bones Mutation Complete <Permanent Change>〙

So, what exactly happened?

Expand,

⑉⑉⑉⑉⑉⑉

〘Skill: Pre-eminent Imperishable Bones〙

Mutates the core constitution and functionality of an organism.

A skill formed by the amalgamation of two deiform skills. Pre-eminent frame and Imperishable Bones.

—Pre-eminent frame: No matter how superior the frame of your opponent is, yours shall surpass them.

Effects: Pre-eminence

—Imperishable Bones: From the birth of all, life continues to endure and survive. The cycle of life shall never end as there always shall be creatures responsive to change. Through following the extreme principles of Adapt, Evolve and Overcome, your bones shall forever endure but never perish. If change is what it needs, then change is what it shall do. And start an endless cycle of Ever Enduring Evolution.

Effects:

Bone Evolution{Passive}
Pressure Distribution{Passive}

〧〧〧

I remember now!

Not a pleasant thing to remember, but I do remember this skill.

Someone else had a similar skill—Vladimir, Demonic Vampire Overlord. A braggy self-obsessed Demon Lord. That brat always bragged about how he rose from a mere skeleton to being an Overlord of the Bloodfall Crypts.

Oh, and If you are wondering, how do I know how to use the system? Then, the answer’s pretty simple. I had one when I was demon lord. In fact, every demon lord had some sort of system. And this one has pretty similar mechanics compared to my previous one. Even the cursed screen looks the same. And why do I call it a cursed screen? Well, that’s a story for another time.

Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait…………. yes, I can evolve too. I can regain my senses. I can taste food again! I can regain my handsome face……no, maybe this time my face would end up being actually handsome. And this time, I can brag too! His skill was only Imperishable Bones. Meanwhile, mine has an extra word.

Hell ya! First, let’s escape this place!

How? You ask. Well, although my first impression might make me look a bit dumb, I am pretty good at utilizing skills after learning about them. A trait I developed after hours of gaming.

Walking across the serpent’s body would not guarantee escape. As discovering any opening to get out would be unlikely. So,

I walked towards the side, near the inner wall of the serpent, and caressed the wall. The skin had a funny touch, mostly squishy.

Quite weird, as a skeleton, I have no nerves, yet I can feel the temperature and softness or hardness of a material.

Like, I said before, if there’s no path, then form a path.

Cliché idea at its finest!.

But wait, how can a skeleton with no tools or shape claws dig a hole? That’s where skill utilization comes in.

So, I started scratching the surface with my arms.

Why you ask?

Wait, and see…

So, some time passed, I kept scratching. My hands are currently unable to dig through the squishy surface. But have patience. Something will happen.

Some more time passed….

And some more time passed…

and more…

and more….

Nothing happened…

Come on! Why’s nothing happening? Was I wrong?………. Of course, I was wrong……pretending to be wise when I’m not….good thing I don’t have eyes. If I had then, I would be sobbing……..and it would not be a pleasant sight.

〘Skill: Imperishable Bones has determined your bones need change〙

Yes! Thank god, something happened.

〘Applying the Principle of Adapt, Evolve and Overcome〙

〘Bone Evolution Started〙

Yes! I was right!

Ouch, my arms hurt. Can’t the process be less painful? It feels like my bones are tearing apart.

Holy!

My usual humanoid fingers and palm mutated and now looked like a fierce set of claws, just perfect for digging.

I thought something like that would happen. Why? There was a phrase, ‘If change is what it needs, then change is what it shall do.’ If I tried digging and failed, my bones would need some form of change to overcome the situation.

Although there was a risk that change might happen only during life-threatening situations, but considering my skill, there can be no life-threatening situation, only adaption, and evolution.

〘You have gained a better understanding of the system〙〘Exp increased by 10%〙

So, again, I tried scratching, this time with a fang all sharpened, first with my right arm.

Slash!

Went right through the fabric!

Also,

Another intriguing skill is 'Pressure Distribution.'

I won’t lie. I might be wise and insightful and all-knowing, and I could have thought of the unique ways to use the skill, ‘Pressure Distribution.’ But the ways I do know of how to use this skill, I……..did not come up with it. It was Vladimir. He used to brag about his skill ‘Pressure Distribution’ and never even cared whether others knew about his skill or not. He even declared, “Spread rumors, and let everyone know about my skills, then they shall realize, just how powerless they are against me, muahahaha.” I am not even exaggerating. As for why the skill is OP, that’s also a story for another time.

So, I used my claws to strike again. Of course, there was some resistance. The skin got denser as I tore through them.

It got harder and harder to tear through them. And it looked like it would never end. I was not really a hard worker. But for some reason, I did not feel like stopping.

I did not want to stop!.

The cursed screens also kept popping.

〘Skill: Imperishable Bones has determined your bones need change〙

〘Bone Evolution Started〙

The claws kept on getting more sharper and sharper.

As time passed, the rate of striking also increased.

〘Agility Increased by 0.8%〙

〘Agility Increased by 1.2%〙

〘Agility Increased by 1.6%〙

Sometimes, it was not sharpness that lacked, but the strength of my arms.

〘Strength Increased by 0.8%〙

〘Strength Increased by 1.2%〙

〘Strength Increased by 1.6%〙

I kept going, I felt excited, I felt unstoppable!

Clunk!

But then, I could no longer tear the surface. The surface was rigid. It was not skin anymore but a shell. The last layer, if I broke this, then freedom lay in front.

But, the surface felt so dense, tearing through it seemed like a far stretch. If I kept scratching, maybe my bones would evolve enough to tear the shell after a long time. But from what I noticed, the evolution process happens step by step. For example, when my finger first turned into claws, they were sharp but not that sharp. As I kept striking and tearing more denser surfaces, it got sharper.

Let’s say the claws were level one when they first mutated; the surface density was also level one. When the surface density became level two, my claws become level 2, and so on. The pace of rising density level and the pace of my claws evolution matched. But here, if my claws were level 10, the shell was like level 1000. The time it would require for my claws to reach that level would be excessive. Not impossible, just too much unnecessary hard work.

And, as a lazy person, I always find ways to do things in a simple way.

So, how, you ask?

This is where pressure distribution comes in.