Spiritual Resonance! Blood Rune Bone Hound

Tylen held the round bone fragment that served as the controller, his brow slightly furrowed.

Under his mental command, the Skeleton Dog wobbled across the table like a drunken man, moving in crooked, unsteady steps.

"Forward."

The bone dog lifted its left front leg, then followed with its right hind leg, but lost its balance and nearly face-planted.

"Backward."

The bone dog stiffly shuffled backward, its joints grinding with a teeth-aching screech.

This feeling was incredibly difficult and unpleasant.

It was like playing a game with a 500ms delay, and the controller's joystick was rusted.

Tylen had to channel his Mental Power through the bone fragment into commands, then transmit them to the Runic Core on the dog's body, finally driving the bones to move via the runes.

Every step of the conversion had a noticeable lag.

Fortunately, Tylen possessed the [Slacker Saint Body].

With a 30x mental acceleration, he could quickly analyze the feedback from each command and adjust the output frequency of his Mental Power in real time.

Five minutes later.

As its magic power ran out, the Skeleton Dog collapsed onto the table with a clatter, like a machine dog that had lost power, and lay still.

"Phew..."

Tylen rubbed his slightly throbbing temples.

"Just as the book described, the Bone Domination rune is a complete, self-consistent system."

"The entire rune system can directly draw and store magic power, achieving self-sustaining energy."

"By controlling the rune, consuming 1 point of Mental Power can activate and control a bone unit for about five minutes."

The theoretical knowledge from the book was fully verified.

Although the principle was similar to a "mental control joystick," the ceiling for this kind of operation was extremely high.

As long as the micro-control was fine enough, it was entirely possible to make this pile of bones perform all sorts of incredible movements.

Summarizing and digesting the experience.

Tylen consumed another 1 point of Mental Power and continued practicing.

This time, he was no longer satisfied with simple walking; he tried to make the bone dog run, and even perform pouncing and biting actions.

When his 2.6 points of Mental Power were completely exhausted, Tylen had conducted a total of 13 minutes of hands-on practice.

With the boost from the [Slacker Saint Body], this was equivalent to him having practiced intensely for 6.5 hours!

Now, Tylen had fully gotten used to that "sense of delay" and learned to anticipate.

He could control the bone dog to run in a straight line. Although its posture was still a bit awkward, at least it wouldn't trip on flat ground.

He could also control it to open its jaw full of sharp teeth to bite.

It was just a pity...

"Too weak."

Tylen looked at the shallow tooth marks the bone dog had left on a piece of scrap wood and shook his head.

"This bite force can barely pierce human skin, but there's no way it can damage muscle or even bone."

"Moreover, because it's driven by a purely mechanical structure, the whole dog is abnormally rigid."

"Turning requires it to inch around like a tank, and when running, braking relies entirely on face-planting, stumbling and rolling."

"Jumping is even more of a luxury; the joints are as stiff as a rusty iron door."

After his Mental Power was depleted, Tylen sat cross-legged and began meditating to recover.

Twenty minutes later, his Mental Power was fully restored.

Its upper limit had also risen slightly from 3.6 to 3.7.

Although he had gotten his first undead servant under control, Tylen always felt that this thing was far from what he had expected.

This thing might be fine for scaring ordinary people, but if it actually encountered a fight, it would probably be kicked apart by someone with one blow.

He turned his head and looked at the two Skeleton Soldiers standing in the corner.

Those were the helpers left for him by Instructor Makley.

"Bring me the Bone-Cleaving Knife," Tylen commanded.

The left Skeleton Soldier's eye sockets flashed with green fire, and it immediately turned and walked into the mortuary.

Its movements were smooth and natural, its joints flexible, and when it picked up the Bone-Cleaving Knife, its finger bones even adjusted their grip.

Then, it walked back with steady steps and handed the knife handle to Tylen.

Tylen took the knife and tried issuing a few more complex commands.

"Stand on one leg."

"Make a chopping motion."

"Simulate throwing a javelin."

The two Skeleton Soldiers executed the commands with flawless precision. Their movements weren't exactly fluid, but they were remarkably intelligent and agile.

Compared to them, his own Skeleton Dog was like a defective toy fresh off the assembly line.

"Where's the gap?"

Tylen's eyes were locked onto the faint green flame burning within the hollow eye sockets of the Skeleton Soldiers.

"The core should be this—the Undead Fire."

"According to the knowledge in the book, the essence of Undead Fire is the aggregate of a creature's spiritual essence after sublimation."

"It's like the 'soul' and 'nervous system' of the undead, capable of granting cold bones instincts and functions similar to those of living beings."

"I definitely don't have Undead Fire right now; that's high-end stuff only a full-fledged wizard can play with."

"But..."

A flash of inspiration suddenly struck Tylen's mind.

"What if I also imbue my Skeleton Dog with a certain amount of spiritual essence?"

"Would that increase its flexibility too?"

"And, if that spiritual essence comes from myself... could I achieve deeper control through the Spirit Summoning Control Method?"

With that thought, Tylen immediately leaned in close to the two Skeleton Soldiers, carefully examining the surface of their bones.

Sure enough!

Under the dim candlelight, he noticed that the runes on these Skeleton Soldiers weren't a lifeless black.

Instead, they shimmered with a faint green glimmer, as if injected with some kind of flowing liquid.

"The Undead Fire follows the pathways of the inscriptions, covering all the key nodes."

"This is the core reason they can move so flexibly—an energy-conducting medium!"

"My runes only have mana, no medium, which is why they're so stiff."

"So, what has abundant spiritual essence and can serve as an excellent conductor for mana?"

Tylen's gaze fell on the Bone-Cleaving Knife in his hand, then shifted to his own wrist.

A trace of ruthless determination flashed in his eyes.

"Perfect timing to test this body's current recovery ability."

He picked up a clean wooden bowl and placed it on the table.

Took a deep breath.

Shiiick!

The sharp blade of the Bone-Cleaving Knife sliced across his left wrist.

Bright red blood instantly gushed out, dripping down his wrist into the porcelain bowl.

Drip, drip...

Watching his own blood flow, Tylen instinctively felt a wave of dizziness and physical discomfort.

But he forced himself to keep his eyes wide open, staring intently at the wound.

"This is the necessary price."

"If I can't even bear to look at this much blood, how will I face even more brutal battles in the future?"

In less than two minutes, nearly half a bowl of blood had flowed out.

And then, a miraculous scene unfolded.

The wound, which had been bleeding steadily, began to contract and coagulate at a visible rate.

A scab quickly formed, effortlessly stopping the bleeding.

"So this is 30 times recovery power?"

Tylen praised inwardly, swiftly bandaging the wound.

Then, he closed his eyes and activated his newly initiated first-stage Spirit Summoning Control Method.

Hum...

Within his perception, the porcelain bowl filled with blood radiated a vigorous, warm, and vibrant spiritual glow.

"The knowledge in the book didn't deceive me!"

"In the mystical system of this world, the blood of the living holds the most spiritual essence."

"As early as the legends of the Second Epoch, it was recorded that blood carries the most vital essence of the human body; its circulation grants humans life and spirituality."

"And the blood of a wizard is an even richer concentration of spiritual essence!"

Tylen hesitated no longer.

He picked up the Bone-Cleaving Knife and dipped its tip into the bowl of fresh blood.

Then, like the most meticulous painter, he dripped the crimson blood, drop by drop, carefully into the rune grooves on the Skeleton Dog's bones.

The blood spread along the lines, as if alive, rapidly filling the entire rune system.

Ten minutes later.

The task was complete.

Tylen wiped away the excess blood with a cloth.

The once gray-white bones were now covered in dark red lines, interwoven like blood vessels, exuding an eerie beauty.

"Blood Rune Bone Hound, complete."

Tylen took a deep breath and picked up the Control Bone Shard again.

He consumed 1 point of Mental Power to activate the rune switch.

At the same time.

Spirit Summoning Control Method activated!

In an instant, Tylen felt his Mental Power crash into a warm ocean.

It was his own blood!

His mind immediately resonated strongly with the blood flowing through the Skeleton Dog's runes.

This resonance was remarkably wondrous.

It was no longer like operating a game character through a controller.

Instead... his mind extended directly outward, covering that skeleton.

The 500-millisecond delay instantly dropped to 20.

He felt as if the Skeleton Dog had become part of his own body—an extended hand or leg.

"This feeling... is truly wondrous!"

Tylen's eyes were filled with both astonishment and excitement.

He consumed 1 point of Mental Power to activate the Skeleton Dog.

"Rise!"

With a thought.

The Blood Rune Bone Hound on the table instantly sprang up.

Its movements were light, its landing silent.

Although during subsequent motion, Tylen could still feel the stiffness and rigidity of the mechanical structure.

But the spiritual resonance brought by Spirit Summoning Control Method perfectly compensated for the operational delay.

Tylen's mind instinctively took over the Skeleton Dog's balance system.

"Run!"

The bone hound sprinted through the cramped morgue.

Sudden stops, turns, jumps.

Though it occasionally stumbled upon landing, compared to the previous state of half-paralysis, limb weakness, and numb movements, this was a qualitative leap!

"This is the effect I wanted!"

In the time that followed, Tylen poured all 6.5 of his remaining 7.5 Mental Power into training control over the Blood Rune Bone Hound.

In the last minute before his Mental Power was nearly exhausted.

By then, under Tylen's control, the Skeleton Dog had become almost indistinguishable from a normal dog.

Though its overall function still couldn't match a real living dog, it had barely reached the level of those two Skeleton Soldiers.

Seeing that the control time was about to end.

Tylen's gaze sharpened.

"One last test—attack power!"

He consumed his final 1 point of Mental Power, channeling all his magic into the bone hound's lower jaw.

At the same time—

[Magic Thorn Art] activated!

[Magic Thorn Art experience +70]

[Magic Thorn Art upgraded to Lv3.]

Hum!

A chilling ripple of vibration instantly lit up the bone hound's stark white fangs.

"Bite!"

Crunch!

The Bone Dog bit down on a palm-thick discarded plank beside it. The hard oak board, before the fangs enchanted with the Magic Thorn Art, was as fragile as a cookie. It was bitten straight through! Wood chips flew everywhere, leaving two holes that went clean through from front to back.

"Good, good, good!"

Watching this scene, Tyron couldn't help but clap and cheer, his face full of delight and excitement.

"With such terrifying bite force, plus the armor-piercing effect of the Magic Thorn Art..." "One bite like that is enough to catch a target off guard and pierce their throat!" "This is a true killing move!"

Ending all practice.

Though Tyron was mentally exhausted, his mood was incomparably light. He stored the Bone Dog away, then took out the rune paper Ars had sent over and began drawing Runic Frames to earn money. After all, getting stronger required coin.

Fifty minutes later.

Finishing everything, Tyron snapped back to reality and habitually opened his System Panel for a look. He was startled to find that his attributes had undergone a considerable change.

code
[Name: Tyron Arthas Magnus]
[Rank: 0 → Level 1 Apprentice]
[Constitution: 1 → 1.2]
[Spirit: 3.6 → 3.8]
[Mana Control: 7.666 → 11.7]
[Technique: Spirit Summoning Control Method (11684/100000)]
[Skill: Magic Thorn Art Lv.3 (10/300)]
[Knowledge: Runic Studies Level 0.2 → 0.4]

Looking at these rising numbers, Tyron let out a long breath and leaned back in his chair.

"Finally, things are looking up!"