Lin Mu followed the priest's instructions and placed his hand on the Altar.
The Altar emitted a pitch-black glow, so dense it seemed capable of swallowing him whole.
[Necromancer Lin Mu meets the requirements for First Advancement]
[Please select an advancement path]
1. [Necromancer]
???
Lin Mu was completely dumbfounded!
What was going on?!
Why was [Necromancer] still listed as his advancement path?!
In the original host's memories,
Necromancers clearly had three distinct branches for their First Advancement.
The [Bone Sage], who mastered powerful bone skills.
The [Shadow Caster], who specialized in curses and shadow magic.
And the [Corpse Priest], who toyed with corpses and plagues.
Why did he have only one option, and why was it still [Necromancer]?
He did know that a handful of exceedingly rare special classes
kept the same class name from beginning to end.
For example, Huaxia's Guardian Deity, a pillar of the nation, Fifth Weifeng.
The class he had awakened, [Cultivator], had never changed from beginning to end.
Just as Lin Mu was lost in thought,
the Altar's prompt rang out again, cold and emotionless.
[Please select an advancement path]
1. [Necromancer]
Lin Mu's mouth twitched.
"There's only one option. How is that a choice?"
He grumbled helplessly to himself, then focused his thoughts on the sole option.
[Necromancer Lin Mu has selected an advancement path: Necromancer]
[Advancement quest issued]
[Lin Mu's exclusive advancement quest: Clear the [Frost Plain] Dungeon within three hours and bring back the BOSS Frost Lord's exclusive quest drop: Ice Soul Core]
[Exclusive advancement quest issued. Please complete it within three days and return to the Holy Temple to submit the quest and complete your advancement]
"Are you freaking kidding me?!"
Lin Mu nearly blurted out a string of curses.
"What the hell is this?"
"The [Frost Plain] is a level 30 open Dungeon! You're telling me to clear it within three hours when I'm only level 10?!"
Lin Mu's complaints received no response.
He could only reluctantly take his hand off the cold Altar.
"I hope you can complete your advancement quest soon."
The white-robed priest watched Lin Mu step away from the Altar.
He didn't even raise his eyelids, merely offering the remark in a flat voice.
After leaving the Holy Temple,
Lin Mu pushed aside his doubts and headed straight for the Trading Hall.
He sold off in one go all the gear he couldn't use, dropped in the wild and in the [Wailing Cavern].
Junk was junk.
He had nearly twenty pieces of equipment altogether, but they earned him only eighty thousand Nova Coins.
Then he stocked up on some high-grade health and Mana Potions,
as well as a few special potions that could cure abnormal conditions like freezing, slowing, and poisoning.
And with Liu Qing's enthusiastic recommendations,
Lin Mu spent another 180,000 Nova Coins
on a piece of purple equipment specifically suited to this quest.
[Frost Breath Whisper Hood] (LV.10, Purple)
Defense: 25–30
Constitution: +5
Special Effect 1: Reduces Frost damage taken by 11%.
Special Effect 2: Restores 10% of your mana every minute.
His Amethyst VIP Card got him a 30% discount, and the transaction was complete.
Lin Mu wasted no time and went straight back to his new home at Tianlan Mansion.
Impatiently, he took out the [Resurrect Skeleton Archer] skill book.
[ding! Learn the skill "Resurrect Skeleton Archer"?]
"Learn!"
[Resurrect Skeleton Archer] (Level 1): Costs 25 mana to summon 1 Novice Skeleton Archer to fight for you. Maximum number: 1.
"I finally have a ranged unit!"
Lin Mu's eyes lit up, and his talent, [Description Tamperer], activated at once!
A more detailed description appeared before him.
[Resurrected Skeleton Archer] (Level 1): Costs 25 mana to channel Death Aura and summon 1 Skeleton Archer wielding a Bone Bow from the void to fight for you. Fires Bone Arrows. Slow attack speed. Maximum number: 1.
Lin Mu was torn.
His gaze swept back and forth over "wielding a Bone Bow," "fires Bone Arrows," and "maximum number."
In the end, he stuck to his usual approach.
First, he changed "Maximum number: 1" to "Maximum number: 9"!
Bzz—
The skill description reshaped itself.
[Resurrect Skeleton Archer] (Level 1): Costs 25 mana to summon 1 Novice Skeleton Archer to fight for you. Maximum number: 9.
Next, Lin Mu turned his attention to the [Frost Breath Whisper Hood] he had just bought.
"Change 'Reduces Frost damage taken by 11%' to 'Reduces Frost damage taken by 91%'!"
The description blurred, and the equipment's attributes changed.
[Frost Breath Whisper Hood] (LV.10, Purple)
Defense: 25–30
Constitution: +5
Special Effect 1: Reduces Frost damage taken by 91%.
Special Effect 2: Restores 10% of your mana every minute.
After all that,
the hood, which had been a decent piece of purple gear, instantly became a top-tier frost-resistant item any class user would go crazy for!
Once he was done,
Lin Mu distributed the attribute points he had accumulated.
At midnight, his talent refreshed once again!
Lin Mu modified his skills in turn.
He also raised [Resurrect Skeleton] by one level,
and [Resurrect Skeleton Archer] by two levels.
As for his equipment, only the [Frost Breath Whisper Hood] and the [Fear Whisper Ring] were worth modifying for now.
[Frost Breath Whisper Hood] (LV.10, Purple)
Defense: 25–30
Constitution: +5
Special Effect 1: Reduces Frost damage taken by 91%.
Special Effect 2: Restores 10% of your mana every second.
[Fear Whisper Ring] (LV.10, Gold)
Constitution: +5
Intelligence: +5
Special Effect 1: [Fear Aura]: When worn, inflicts [Fear] on all hostile targets within 90 meters, reducing all their attributes by 9%.
Special Effect 2: [Despair Scream]: Activate to spend 100 mana and unleash a scream imbued with endless despair, dealing (100 + Intelligence × 0.5) mental damage to all enemies in a fan-shaped area in front of you, with a 50% chance of inflicting [Confusion] for 5 seconds (attacks hit friend and foe alike). Cooldown: 60 seconds.
After finishing the changes, Lin Mu immediately put on his new equipment, and his status panel was transformed.
[Name: Lin Mu] [Class: Necromancer] [Level: LV.10, Experience: 318/4500] [Health: 370/370] [Mana: 460/460] [Strength: 2] [Agility: 14] (Battle Boots +5) [Intelligence: 46] (Whisper Ring +5) [Constitution: 37] (Breastplate +3, Necklace +2, Hood +5, Whisper Ring +5) [Free Attribute Points: 0] [Skill Points: 1] Skills: [Resurrect Skeleton] (Level 4): Costs 455 mana to summon 90 Steel Skeletons to fight for you. Maximum number: 100. [Bone Tooth] (Level 3): Costs 997 mana to summon 990 Bone Teeth from underground and thrust them into a linear area in front of you, each dealing 4–6 physical damage. [Grasp of Bones] (Level 3): Costs 29 mana to summon a skeletal hand at a designated location. After grabbing its target, it explodes, dealing 40 physical damage within a radius of 90.1 meters. [Resurrect Skeleton Archer] (Level 3): Costs 25 mana to summon 10 Novice Skeleton Archers to fight for you. Maximum number: 10. Equipment: Withered Wood Staff, Fire Lizard Guardian Breastplate, Swift Wind Boots, Rapid Healing Ring, Silent Black Stone Necklace, Frost Breath Whisper Hood, Fear Whisper Ring.
Early the next morning,
Lin Mu made his preparations and headed straight out of the city.
It took him more than two hours to reach the entrance to the [Frost Plain] Dungeon.
Unlike the [Wailing Cavern],
this was a resource Dungeon open to class users all year round.
Since it was relatively high-level, there were usually few people around.
Biting winds poured constantly from the enormous blue Light Gate, dropping the temperature in the area by several degrees.
Three class-user parties were recruiting at the entrance, with their requirements written on signs.
<Level 30 [Frost Plain] party, looking for a powerful tank and healer. Full blue gear required at minimum!>
"Damn it! The monsters in there totally counter me. My Ice Spikes deal half damage!"
"Any experts willing to carry me? I need an [Ice Crystal Beast] fang. Price is negotiable!"
"Good thing you can leave the [Frost Plain] Dungeon whenever you want. Otherwise, I would've been done for in there last time!"
Listening to the chatter around him, Lin Mu calmly walked over to the registration desk.
When the staff member saw that a level 10 Necromancer
intended to challenge the [Frost Plain] alone,
he wore the very same expression as the registration clerk at the [Wailing Cavern].
"Hey, are you sure? This isn't a joke. The weakest monsters in the [Frost Plain] are level 28. You..."
Lin Mu said nothing, merely showing him the details of his quest.
As soon as the staff member saw the words "advancement quest," he promptly shut his mouth.
"Whose First Advancement quest sends them into a level 30 Dungeon?!"
The clerk was puzzled, but he quickly processed Lin Mu's registration anyway.
Under the baffled gazes of everyone around him,
Lin Mu entered the frozen world alone.
"Frost Lord... I'm coming for you!"
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