...
Annabella glanced over the eleven students present, her expression neutral. "In just over three months, it will be time for the academy's year-end assessment. I'm sure you all understand that this year's assessment is far more significant than in previous years."
The moment she spoke, the area fell even quieter. Even the sound of breathing seemed to cease.
Everyone knew that this assessment wasn't just about the resource allocation they would receive upon advancing to the High Tier classes. It would also affect the number of newly admitted junior students in the next intake, as well as their resource provisions.
The academy accepted new students once every three years.
And this was a recruitment year.
Suddenly, the pressure on everyone was immense.
After applying the pressure, Instructor Annabella said no more. She walked over to a "bone pile"—a small mountain formed from countless old bones—and announced, "Today's lesson will be continued practice with the Undead Resurrection Skill. First up, Pella Bird. You give it a try."
The one called upon was a female apprentice who looked rather timid.
She stepped forward, raised her Magic Staff, and began to chant a long, obscure incantation at the massive pile of bones.
As the final syllable fell, a ghastly white light of Negative Energy erupted from the tip of her Magic Staff, blanketing a large section of the bones.
Lynch sighed. He didn't need to see the result to know it was terrible.
Sure enough.
After a sparse RATTLE from within the bone pile, only two Skeleton Servants with missing limbs staggered to their feet. They looked so frail that a gust of wind could blow them over.
Although the individual combat strength of a Skeleton Servant was utter trash—nothing compared to the powerful Skeletons of the Netherworld—they were the basic units a Necromancer used to form a Sea of Skulls. Their strength lay in overwhelming enemies with sheer numbers.
A paltry couple like this wouldn't even be a snack for an enemy.
However, the apprentice's lack of skill wasn't entirely to blame.
The main problem was the scarcity of fresh corpses in the graveyard.
This bone pile mostly consisted of old, weathered bones that had been used for practice by countless previous apprentices. The vast majority of them had long since lost their spiritual essence, making them no different from ordinary dry bones. It was inevitable that the effect of the Magic would be diminished.
Instructor Annabella's face remained expressionless. She said coolly, "Dispel the Magic."
The female apprentice did as she was told and waved her Magic Staff. The two Skeleton Servants instantly seemed to have their souls torn out, collapsing with a RATTLE back into the bone pile.
Annabella offered a few brief comments on the problems during the casting process, then called the next apprentice's name. "Gat..."
This male apprentice, Gat, performed slightly better, successfully resurrecting three Skeleton Servants whose skeletal structures were also a bit more stable.
However, there was also a skilled apprentice who managed to resurrect six at once.
This drew gasps of amazement from the other apprentices.
Even Instructor Annabella gave a slight nod.
「Soon enough.」
It was Lynch's turn.
Instructor Annabella's gaze was noticeably more focused than before.
Her previous impression of this student wasn't particularly strong. She had always found his aptitude for Magic to be average. Aside from being tall and possessing strength far beyond his peers, his performance in learning Magic could only be described as conventional.
But a few months ago, after being severely beaten, he seemed to have a sudden awakening. He became exceptionally diligent, and his mind grew much sharper.
What surprised Annabella even more was his apparent unique talent for Curses. He had actually cultivated the Weakness Curse to Tier One.
One must understand, many apprentices graduated from the entire High Tier program without necessarily reaching Tier One with the Weakness Curse.
Therefore, she felt Lynch might just have a surprise in store for her.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Lynch walked calmly to the bone pile. He waved his grim, bone-like Magic Staff and began to cast the [Skeleton Resurrection Skill].
An ancient and obscure incantation flowed from his lips in a unique rhythm.
As the Magic progressed, a ghastly white light, far more solid and wider in scope than any of the previous apprentices', erupted from the tip of his Magic Staff, covering a large area of bones before him.
RATTLE...
A distinct commotion immediately came from within the bone pile.
Following that, one after another, Skeleton Servants wobbled to their feet from within the pile.
One, two, three, four... seven, eight!
A full eight Skeleton Servants!
The eight Skeleton Servants, gathered in a group, already projected the faint aura of an "army," placing considerable pressure on the apprentices present.
Furthermore, the Skeletons Lynch resurrected had stable structures and no obvious signs of missing limbs.
For a moment, shock and admiration filled the eyes of every apprentice.
Even Instructor Annabella's eyes flashed with gratification. She really hadn't been wrong about Lynch.
At the same time, a notification popped up on Lynch's panel.
[You have successfully cast [Skeleton Resurrection Skill] LV0. EXP +4. Current Skill Level: LV0 (556/1000)]
Lynch had also put effort into practicing this skill, but compared to [Summon Skeleton], its priority was slightly lower.
It wasn't that the skill was weak, but that its practice conditions were more demanding; it required corpses or a pile of bones.
More importantly, without an elite Skeleton Soldier to lead them, he would have to divert a large amount of his Spiritual Power to control these clumsy Skeleton Servants, which would in turn hinder his own combat effectiveness.
Now that he had the Bone Jade, things were different.
While it couldn't yet help Lynch command a vast Sea of Skulls, it was more than capable of acting as a squad leader for ten or twenty Skeleton Servants, leading them in simple tactics like surrounding an enemy or charging.
"Not bad," Annabella said, a rare word of praise from her.
But her smile vanished just as quickly. She began to point out specific flaws and correct them, explaining everything from the stability of his Mana output to the subtle techniques of using Spiritual Power to guide the knitting of bones. She went on for a full ten minutes.
Lynch listened with rapt attention as if he had discovered a priceless treasure, carefully absorbing every detail.
[You listened to your instructor's guidance and gained insight. [Skeleton Resurrection Skill] EXP +2. Current Skill Level: LV0 (558/1000)]
[You listened... EXP +1. Current... (559/1000)]
[You... +2...]
Ten minutes later, Lynch's experience for the Skeleton Resurrection Skill had increased by a total of 35 points, reaching LV0 (591/1000)—a massive gain.
He would have been happy for his instructor to lecture until the end of time, but by the eighth minute, the content had become too profound. He was completely lost, and his experience gain ground to a halt.
Annabella also felt she might have gone too deep and decided to stop. However, seeing Lynch nod repeatedly with a look of dawning comprehension, she was very pleased, feeling her efforts had not been in vain.
"Lynch, you have some talent for the Skeleton Resurrection Skill. You should focus on practicing and studying it more. I hope you can make a good showing at the academy assessment in three months." Despite her happiness, a trace of helplessness rose in Annabella's heart.
In her eyes, Lynch's talent was ultimately a case of being the tallest among dwarves. Compared to herself, or the young geniuses she had seen in the Realm of the Dead, the gap was still immense.
'Three months... It's just too short. Based on his current performance, I'm afraid it will be very difficult for his Skeleton Resurrection Skill to advance to Tier One. I just hope he can perform well enough to prevent those people from having an excuse to dismantle the entire Undead Major.'
...