At the Holy Maiden Convent. Tonight, the moon was hidden, and the wind howled high above. An eighteen or nineteen-year-old youth, tall and sturdy, sneaked stealthily along the base of the wall.
He wore a slightly worn black Mage Robe. The hood obscured most of his face, revealing only a pair of eyes that shone exceptionally bright in the darkness as he scanned his surroundings with vigilance. Separated by a single wall lay the dormitories of the Saint Roland Holy Maiden Convent.
The youth twitched his nose, as if he could catch the faint, sweet scent of young maidens lingering in the air. He carefully felt his way forward a bit further until he finally reached the spot he had scouted beforehand.
Seeing the unrepaired gap in the wall before him, delight flashed in his eyes, and a flush of excitement colored his cheeks. However, he did not act rashly. He first looked around warily. After confirming no one was nearby, he extended his thumb to carefully measure the distance before pulling an old, eerie Magic Staff from his robes.
The staff was crafted from an unknown bone. Perhaps due to years of handling, it was covered in a smooth, luminescent patina.
"Nether God above, please bless your believer tonight," the youth prayed solemnly. He then brandished the Magic Staff and chanted an ancient, obscure Spell.
As the final syllable fell, a pale light surged from the tip of the staff, condensing into a faint Pentagram Array in the air and stirring up a spatial vortex. A ghastly white Skeleton crawled out of the vortex.
It stood no more than six feet tall, with three broken ribs in its chest and a slight limp in its left leg. It gripped a chipped Bone Knife, yet it carried itself with arrogant pride, looking fierce and ready to hack at an enemy at any moment.
The youth expended a considerable amount of Spiritual Power to pacify this short-tempered Skeleton Soldier.
"Tonight, we aren't fighting. We're working in secret," he thought.
Under the micromanagement of the youth's Spiritual Power, the Skeleton Soldier limped stealthily along the base of the wall, Bone Knife in hand. Its posture was exactly the same as the youth's earlier sneaking. Soon, the Skeleton Soldier climbed over a pile of rubble and swaggered toward the gap.
Just as it was about to cross the threshold, a sudden change occurred!
A pure light flashed. A phantom Angel, wielding a Holy Sword and radiating Holy Light, appeared out of thin air and casually swung its blade.
CRACK!
The irritable, limping Skeleton Soldier did not even have time to struggle before it was reduced to a pile of dry bones under the baptism of the Holy Light. The phantom Angel scanned the area with lifeless eyes. Finding no other evil, it vanished in another flash of light.
Despite his painstakingly summoned Skeleton being instantly killed by a single strike, the youth was not frustrated. Instead, his eyes grew increasingly excited.
"I've finally found another perfect treasure trove to practice my skills," he thought.
This kind of Angel Sentinel would automatically detect and purify any evil units within its range. He had repeatedly measured the distance earlier; his current position was right on the edge of the safe zone. Following the same method, the youth summoned another Skeleton Soldier and ordered it to crawl toward the gap.
The pure light flashed again, and the Skeleton was once more turned to dust. Then came the next one... The cycle repeated over and over.
Before the youth's eyes, lines of text continuously popped up on an invisible panel.
[You have successfully cast "Summoned Skeleton LV0", Experience +3, Current Skill Level LV0 (956/1000)]
[You have successfully cast... Experience +2...]
[You... Experience +4...]
The youth's name was Lynch. He was originally one of the Huaxia People from Earth. After being struck and killed by a dump truck while saving someone, he had transmigrated to this Otherworld.
Coincidentally, his predecessor was also named Lynch. He just had an extra surname, making him Lynch Blackwood. He was eighteen years old and came from an ordinary, minor wealthy merchant family.
Two and a half years ago, after being tested and found to possess Magic Talent, his predecessor was admitted to the Undead System of the Hurst Royal Extraordinary Academy, becoming an apprentice Necromancer. Unfortunately, the original owner was severely injured during a "sparring match." He lay dying in his dormitory until his body was eventually taken over by the transmigrated Lynch.
After transmigrating, Lynch discovered he had gained a Skill Panel. While others needed years of bitter Meditation and skill refinement to raise their Skill Level, he only needed to cast spells successfully to gain skill experience. He could even intuitively see his upgrade progress.
Thus, the current scene came to be.
For a Necromancer, the Skill Level of Summoned Skeleton was extremely important, yet it happened to be one of the hardest skills to train. Influenced by the world's Law, a Skeleton Soldier summoned from the Netherworld could not be summoned again unless it died or was banished. It was equivalent to signing a contract. However, if one casually killed too many of their own summoned Skeletons, they would be marked by the will of the Netherworld and permanently blacklisted.
Therefore, the best way to level up was to find someone to help "dispose" of the Skeleton Soldiers. But not only was this highly inefficient, it was also difficult to explain. As a result, this kind of Angel Sentinel—which automatically purified the Undead and lacked independent consciousness—became the perfect sparring partner.
However, every time an Angel Sentinel struck, it consumed Light Energy. Not to mention he couldn't afford the Bright Magic Stone fees required for its maintenance, even if he could, the Holy Light Church definitely wouldn't agree to it. Left with no choice, he had to resort to guerrilla tactics.
Lynch had discovered this leveling spot during the day yesterday. Taking advantage of the dark, windy night, he came to test it out, and it indeed proved to be a treasure trove.
Just as Lynch was hopelessly addicted to the thrill of gaining experience points, a dizzying wave of exhaustion suddenly washed over him. This was the exact sign that his Spiritual Power was depleted and his Mana was exhausted.
"Damn it! Does it have to be this frustrating?" he thought. "I'm just one step away from leveling up! If I go back now to restore my Mana through Meditation, what if the people from the Monastery discover this precious leveling spot and conveniently repair the wall? Nowadays, finding such a suitable leveling spot near Saint Roland City is far too difficult."
With no other option, Lynch gritted his teeth. Wearing a pained expression, he pulled a square Crystal Bottle from his robes, popped the cork, and GLUG GLUG GLUG, drank the glowing liquid inside in one breath.
An extremely bitter taste exploded in his mouth, jolting his sluggish spirit awake. His dried-up Mana pool also sprang back to life, as if a fresh spring had poured into it.
Basic Awakening Potion, five gold coins a bottle. Sold in all major shops across Saint Roland City, with absolutely no credit allowed.
Lynch's potion was bought from the Dwarf Blacksmith boss at the "Copperbeard's Wind: Honest Blacksmith Shop". It cost six gold coins, but credit was accepted. To rush his Summoning Skill, he had bought ten bottles on credit in total, racking up a massive debt.
Lynch quickly stuffed the empty bottle back into his robes. Recycling this thing was worth one Silver Coin. While the potion's effects were still active, he hurriedly cast Summoned Skeleton again, frantically grinding for experience.
Time passed. Finally, DING! Accompanied by a crisp notification sound that only he could hear, the Summoned Skeleton skill leveled up!
The panel displayed:
[Skill: Summoned Skeleton Lv 1 (0002/3000)]
"Good grief. To reach LV2, it really takes three thousand experience points," he thought. "Whatever. I've already drank the Awakening Potion, so stopping now is absolutely impossible. Even if it brings me to tears, I have to squeeze every last drop of value out of those six gold coins."