Personal Instruction, Bone Domination Rune

Six in the evening.

The setting sun was red as blood, painting Lion City's skyline a desolate, crimson hue.

Tylen led the old horse, inching his way back to the Menial Worker District of Cain Wizard Tower.

The old horse was so exhausted that it was foaming at the mouth, all four legs trembling.

After all, the rickety cart was now neatly stacked with seven corpses.

Besides the two thugs, the addict, and the baby originally required by the assignment, there was also Haige, a burly man built like a brown bear, along with the brother and sister who had died because of their own greed.

The weight was practically pushing the old horse to its physical limits.

Tylen wasn't doing much better. To keep the old horse from dropping dead along the way, he had walked almost the entire route, occasionally giving the cart a shove from behind.

"Phew... phew..."

Panting hard, Tylen pushed open the wooden door to the Menial Worker District, which reeked of fuel and horse manure.

"Hey, Little Ma!"

Cole, a craftsman who had just finished work and was getting ready to head home, was hanging his hammer from his belt. Seeing Tylen return with a full load, he grinned.

"Looks like you had a good haul today! With a load like that, you'll have your bonus at the end of the month, right?"

"Your old horse is going to get an extra meal tonight."

Tylen wiped the sweat from his forehead and gave him a tired but sincere smile.

"Yeah, Brother Cole. I got lucky and landed a few big jobs."

"They sure were big jobs."

Sack, a young laborer who was adding fodder to the horse trough nearby, came over.

The young man was only twenty-three, cheerful by nature, and saving up to get married.

He glanced at the bulging corpse bags on the cart and clicked his tongue.

"That looks heavy."

"Brother Little Ma, you ought to work on your strength. Otherwise, you won't be able to bring back a big load like this next time."

Just then, an elderly voice came from the corner.

"Little Ma, where's that old rascal Jack?"

It was Old Smith, an old horseman who kept horses with Old Jack.

The two got along best and often gathered to share a couple of glasses of cheap ale, bragging about their romantic exploits back in the day.

"He said he was going to deliver something in town yesterday, but no one's seen him all day today."

"That old fool. Don't tell me he's hiding somewhere, slacking off and drinking?"

At the question, the relaxed atmosphere in the Menial Worker District abruptly froze.

Everyone was prepared for something to have happened when someone suddenly failed to show up for work.

Tylen stopped what he was doing and fell silent for a moment before letting out a soft sigh.

"Old Jack... is dead."

The words landed like a stone dropped into still water.

The dozen or so people in the Menial Worker District fell silent. Only the sound of horses chewing their fodder echoed around them.

The fodder fork clattered from Old Smith's hand and hit the ground.

He stared blankly at Tylen, disbelief flashing in his cloudy eyes before they quickly filled with grief.

"D-dead?"

Old Smith's lips trembled, and his eyes reddened at once.

"That old fool... In the end... he still couldn't make it past this hurdle!"

Of course, Old Smith had known about Old Jack's situation. Sadly, there was nothing he could do to help beyond offering words of support.

After all, in this world, they could barely support themselves. They had no means to look after anyone else.

"Ah."

Cole took off his oil-stained cap and held it in his hands, his expression heavy with sorrow.

"Uncle Jack was a good man."

"When my third child got sick, he lent me the money for medicine."

"He was always so generous. How could he just be gone like that?"

Sack's grin faded too. He lowered his head and nudged a pebble with his foot.

"Uncle Jack had it rough."

"He'd been a capable man in his youth, and he and his wife had lived happily together all their lives. I never thought something like this would happen to him in the end... Sigh."

Looking at the genuine sorrow on the faces of these toilers at the bottom of society, Tylen felt a warm current rise in his heart.

In this cold Wizard world, perhaps these people at the very bottom were the only ones who still showed a little human warmth.

"He died protecting Granny Linda."

Tylen said quietly, giving Old Jack's life a dignified ending.

"I buried them together. In the cemetery at Saint Rest Church."

Hearing that, Old Smith wiped away a tear and patted Tylen firmly on the shoulder.

"Good lad... You did well. That old fool will thank you down there."

After bidding everyone farewell, Tylen struggled to drag the corpse bags and haul the bodies off the cart, one by one, into the Morgue.

It was an exhausting physical task.

Haige's corpse was especially difficult. The dead weight of more than one hundred and eighty pounds made him feel like a slab of granite.

Gritting his teeth, Tylen used all his strength to push him onto the autopsy table.

"Phew... phew..."

By the time all seven corpses had been settled, Tylen was soaked from head to toe, as if he'd just been hauled out of the water.

He collapsed into a chair, feeling as if his lungs were about to burst.

"My physical condition... is terrible."

Tylen looked at his thin arms and shook his head helplessly.

He was five foot nine, and weighed only ninety-five pounds.

That was the result of long-term malnutrition.

"I need to find a way to exercise and improve my fitness. Otherwise, with brains but no body, I'll end up dying of exhaustion halfway through a job."

But then he thought about it and gave a bitter smile.

Exercise required proper nutrition.

If he exercised blindly without taking in enough energy, he wouldn't be getting stronger. He'd be slowly killing himself.

He didn't have a single penny of his own in his pocket. Every day, he ate the free sustenance meal from the cafeteria. How could he spare money to buy meat for working out?

Just as Tylen leaned back in his chair, panting hard, his brain growing dizzy from lack of oxygen,

a flutter of wings broke the silence...

A crow flew in through the window without a sound and landed on the sill.

It cocked its head, its ink-black eyes shining with intelligence as it quietly watched Tylen, who was pale and limp with exhaustion.

Its gaze was full of approval and admiration.

"Magnus."

A calm, imposing voice with a familiar metallic quality came from the crow's beak.

It was Mentor Makley's voice.

Tylen jolted and instinctively tried to stand and bow.

But he was simply too tired. His knees buckled, and he dropped straight to one knee.

"M-Mentor!"

The crow beat its wings and glided gracefully onto a nearby table. Its voice carried a rare hint of gentleness.

"No need for formalities. You're exhausted. Just get some rest."

It turned its head, its sharp eyes sweeping over the seven neatly arranged bodies on the autopsy tables. It nodded with satisfaction.

"Looks like you did an excellent job with today's corpse collection. You even went above and beyond."

"Tell me, what happened today?"

Tylen took a deep breath and forced down his exhaustion.

He hid nothing and embellished nothing, recounting everything that had happened that day in an objective, measured manner.

From what had happened to Old Jack, to his dealings with the Fine Wine Gang; from Father Logan's greed and sudden change of attitude, to Haige's provocation and their duel; from the siblings' betrayal and his counterattack, to the way he handled things at the White Cloud Eye Rune Shop.

He told him every detail and every exchange, even admitting that he had used public funds to buy a grave for Old Jack and his wife and had bribed the guards.

"However, Mentor, I didn't go over the budget Sister Violet Star gave me."

After he finished, Tylen lowered his head and waited for his mentor's judgment.

Watching this honest-to-a-fault disciple through the crow's eyes, Makley nodded to himself.

He had already learned everything through the token's surveillance, and Tylen's candor pleased him greatly.

"Your performance was quite good."

Makley gave him a very high appraisal.

"Especially the way you handled Haige. You showed some strategy, protected the Wizard Tower's dignity, and resolved the trouble. Well done."

Then the crow's voice turned imposing and oppressive.

"However... you were secretly learning magic without telling your mentor?"

Tylen's heart tightened. He hurriedly bowed again, his voice full of nervous respect.

"Reporting to my esteemed Mentor! I had my own selfish motives!"

"I wanted to get good at magic first. Even if I only learned the basics, I could still make you look good at a crucial moment! I wanted to surprise you."

"I hoped I could prove my worth this way, and... and earn more opportunities to attend your lessons!"

The words were heartfelt and sincere. They showed his ambition while flattering his mentor—a textbook-perfect answer.

The approval in the crow's eyes deepened.

It walked gracefully to the table and waved a wing to signal Tylen to get up.

Then its gaze fell on the slash across Haige's chest, and the cleanly severed limbs of the siblings.

"Your cuts are quite sharp."

Makley's voice turned professional and seasoned.

"For a beginner, you've grasped the essence of Three-Dimensional Magic Weaving so quickly and applied it to Magic Thorn Art..."

"Though it's only a first-level spell, it's enough to show that you have some talent for Magic Control and perception."

Hearing this, Tylen trembled with excitement, his voice choked with emotion.

"Thank you for recognizing me, Mentor! Earning your praise is the greatest honor of Magnus's life!"

The crow nodded.

The next moment—

Boom!

A mass of ghostly blue fire suddenly erupted from the crow.

Then countless tiny runes danced within the flames as the free-floating energy in the air rapidly gathered.

To Tylen's astonishment, the little crow began to swell and change shape.

As countless mysterious runes interwove, bones stretched, flesh rearranged, and blue ghostfire traced the outline of a human form.

In just a few seconds, the crow was gone.

In its place stood Makley, dressed in a black robe, his face stern and imposing.

Tylen couldn't tell if this was the real man, but he looked and carried himself exactly like Makley!

What kind of trick was this?!

Tylen's eyes widened, undisguised longing and shock shining in them.

Was this what an Official Wizard could do? Create countless avatars and be everywhere at once?

So powerful! So convenient!

Makley, now back in human form, paid no mind to his disciple's shock.

He casually waved a hand, and a thin, black-covered book appeared on the table out of thin air.

"As a reward for your recent performance, you've earned the right to receive personal instruction from me."

Makley pointed to the book.

"I can see that you have a good grasp of runes. Take this copy of Detailed Explanation of Bone Domination Runes and study it carefully now."

"If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me right away."

With that, Makley turned and walked toward the autopsy tables, his gaze sweeping over the corpses as though he were searching for suitable materials.

Tylen was so excited his heart was about to leap out of his chest.

First, he rushed over to the sink and washed his hands three times with soap. Then he dried them thoroughly with a clean rag before carefully lifting the thin rune book.

As if he were holding the whole world.

He opened the book.

As a seasoned study fanatic, Tylen immediately entered a state of complete focus.

The book wasn't long, only about three thousand words from beginning to end.

But every word was a distillation of knowledge.

There wasn't a single word of fluff.

The book detailed a set of rune formulas called Bone Domination.

It was more than just a spell; it was a complete engineering blueprint.

From the construction of the Runic Frame to the logic behind the drawing sequence;

from the derivation of the core formulas to the optimization of the mana pathways;

even the driving method and the ratio and techniques for using Mental Power to drive mana were explained in detail, with illustrations.

Tylen watched, utterly absorbed. Every line was filled with a beauty born of logic.

"Marvelous... So Mental Power can be guided like this..."

"The runic structure at this turning point is a stroke of genius..."

Tylen's mind raced. Combining what he had learned about the basics of Runic Studies, he quickly broke down and absorbed the knowledge in the book.

Once, twice, three times...

He read it five times in all.

When he finally raised his head and let out a long breath, he felt as though an entirely new door had opened before him.

The runes' effect was simple: they used Mental Power to control and command bones inscribed with runes. But their potential was enormous.

Though he couldn't yet summon an army of skeletons like a necromancer, using bone fragments and bone armor for defense was well within his reach!

Just as Tylen came back to himself,

a flash of blue light suddenly appeared.

The corpses of the siblings on the autopsy tables burst into blue flames.

It was Undead Fire, a powerful branch of knowledge mastered upon reaching mastery in the Spirit Summoning and Control Art.

Only with Undead Fire as a foundation could one cast necromantic spells of the third level or higher.

Under the flames' licking tongues, their flesh turned to ash in an instant, leaving behind only two skeletons, white as jade.

The skeletons had been prepared with such care that their surfaces were smooth and lustrous. They were even cleaner than the specimens Tylen had gone to great lengths to prepare.

Makley stood to one side and lightly tapped a finger.

Click! Clack!

It was as if souls had been breathed into the skeletons. Their joints made crisp sounds, and they rose to their feet!

They flexed their hands and feet, then walked with stiff but orderly steps to stand behind Makley, heads bowed and arms at their sides.

Skeleton Soldiers!

Real undead creatures!

Tylen held his breath. This was the first time he had seen an Official Wizard cast necromantic magic with his own eyes.

That effortless control, that ability to make something rotten seem miraculous, filled him with yearning.

"How's your study going?"

Makley turned around nonchalantly and asked.

Tylen immediately collected himself and answered respectfully:

"Thanks to your clear and thorough explanations during the runes course, I've more or less grasped the material."

Then he began to speak at length.

From the flow of energy through the runic nodes, to adjustments in the frequency of Mental Power resonance, to the effects of bone material on the runes...

Combining the contents of the book with his own unique insights, Tylen explained everything in a clear and orderly way.

On a few key points, he even raised several questions that showed real promise.

After listening, a flicker of surprise crossed Makley's eyes before turning into a satisfied smile.

"Not bad. It seems you've put real effort into Runic Studies, and you have some talent for it."

He pointed to the two Skeleton Soldiers behind him, freshly transformed.

"Now that you understand it, you need to practice."

"Here's an assignment for you."

"Three days. Use your understanding and application of the Bone Domination runes to give these two Skeleton Soldiers a layer of bone armor."

"Requirements: it must provide good defense without affecting their agility."

"Also, these two Skeleton Soldiers will stay here to help you for the next few days."

Tylen immediately straightened up, excitement surging within him as determination blazed in his eyes.

"Understood! I'll absolutely live up to your expectations, Teacher!"

The lesson was over.

Makley's figure began to turn hazy. He was clearly about to leave.

Seeing this, Tylen hurriedly pulled the Lion Head Token Makley had given him earlier that day from his robe. Holding it out with both hands, he respectfully offered it to him.

"Teacher, here's your token. The task is complete, so I'm returning it."

Makley took the token and casually slipped it into his sleeve.

Before his body vanished completely, he looked at Tylen, his tone turning somewhat more serious.

"As for Jane and Tom's attack on you, you don't need to worry about what happens next."

"I'll warn them. This kind of vicious infighting isn't allowed in my tower."

Makley paused, then added meaningfully:

"But you need to understand something."

"Your status is worlds apart from theirs. Jane and Tom are both legitimate nobles of Lion City."

"You'd best not provoke them."

"You have good talent, but not so much that you can cross a vast class divide and look down on the nobility."

"Understood?"

Hearing Makley's warning, Tylen felt a chill in his heart.

He bowed deeply. Only after Makley's figure had completely vanished into ghostly flames did he straighten up.

"Thank you for your warning and protection, Teacher."

"I'll follow your orders, study hard, and work twice as hard."

Then, as a large number of runes contracted, Makley's human body turned back into a black crow. He flapped his wings and flew away.

In the empty Morgue, only Tylen and the two quietly standing Skeleton Soldiers remained.

Tylen looked at the two skeletons, a playful smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"A class divide, huh?"

"If you swing your hoe well enough, there's no wall you can't dig under."

"If I can draw my runes fast enough and accurately enough... this divide isn't impossible to bridge!"

"You pair of bastards, just you wait!"