The Storm Subsides, Strength Surges

The Old Priest pointed at Lin Mu, his withered finger trembling violently.

The horror in his eyes was practically overflowing.

His lips quivered, no longer able to maintain that ancient, undisturbed composure.

"You... what exactly are you?"

"Quick! Activate the Holy Temple Defensive Array! Detain him!"

The Old Priest's voice was hoarse yet piercing.

He retreated while desperately trying to activate the runes beneath his feet.

Lin Mu's expression remained calm; he couldn't even be bothered to move.

He simply stood there quietly, watching the Old Priest's performance.

Because his perception range, reaching a massive ninety-nine meters, had already captured several powerful auras rapidly approaching from outside the Holy Temple.

He was very familiar with two of the auras among the three leaders.

Mayor Fan Zhiheng and Department of Education Director Ji Xiangwen.

"BOOM!"

The side hall doors were blasted open from the outside by brute force, sending stone shards flying.

Fan Zhiheng and Ji Xiangwen led a squad of elite City Guard members as they broke in.

At a single glance, they saw the bizarre scene before them.

Lin Mu, unscathed and calm.

And the Old Priest, slumped on the floor, scared out of his wits.

"Seal this place! No one is allowed in or out!"

Fan Zhiheng's face was grave as he issued the order in a low voice.

He strode over to Lin Mu, his sharp gaze scanning him up and down.

"Lin Mu, what was the meaning of the phenomenon just now?"

Lin Mu wore a well-timed expression of "lingering fear" and "bewilderment."

It was as if he hadn't yet recovered from the sudden shock.

He had already prepared his story.

"I... I don't know either."

"I was in the middle of changing classes, and my class seemed to... seem to have undergone some sort of mutation."

"Then, an uncontrollable surge of energy suddenly erupted; there was nothing I could do."

Lin Mu's tone carried just the right amount of innocence.

He spread his hands, indicating that he was a victim as well.

Mayor Fan and Ji Xiangwen exchanged a glance, both seeing deep skepticism in the other's eyes.

Class Mutation?

While this explanation was strange, it wasn't impossible.

But for a single class change to trigger a terrifying phenomenon that engulfed the entire city was simply too outrageous!

Yet, they could find no flaws in his story.

Not to mention the SSS-Rank and SS-Rank myths Lin Mu had previously created.

This youth was already filled with mysteries.

"It seems that the class change of a genius truly cannot be judged by conventional logic."

Ji Xiangwen adjusted his glasses.

In the end, they could only accept this explanation, which sounded the most absurd yet was impossible to refute.

The level of importance they placed on Lin Mu was raised to a new height once again.

The disturbance gradually subsided.

Fan Zhiheng dismissed the irrelevant personnel and kept Lin Mu behind for a long, private talk.

Finally, he patted Lin Mu on the shoulder, his voice low and powerful.

"Remember, Xilin City will always be your most solid backing."

"However, the scale of this incident is no small matter; I fear it will attract some unnecessary attention. You must be careful in your future dealings."

"Many thanks for the reminder, Mayor."

Lin Mu expressed his gratitude.

By the time he left the Holy Temple, the sky was already in the early hours of the morning.

A deeper desire to explore the upgrades of his talent and the uniqueness of his class stirred within him.

Returning to the mansion at Tianlan Mansion.

Lin Mu first took out the purple Ice Armor dropped by the Frost Lord and the Ice Group Control Skill Book to take a look.

They were both quite good, but he had no use for them.

Too lazy to modify them, he would simply sell them for cash later.

He couldn't wait to open his Class Panel.

He began to study the newly comprehended first-turn skill.

Death Prayer (Level 1): Consume 100 mana to invoke an ethereal sound that lingers around summoned units, increasing their attack, defense, and speed by 150%. Duration: 1 minute. Cooldown: 30 minutes.

His talent activated, and a more detailed description emerged.

Death Prayer (Level 1): Consume 100 mana to use death energy to invoke the ethereal sounds of the surrounding dead, causing them to linger around summoned units and unleash their potential, increasing their attack, defense, and speed by 150%. Duration: 1 minute. Cooldown: 30 minutes.

The corners of Lin Mu's mouth curled up.

After his talent upgrade, he could modify each target twice per day.

He didn't hesitate, activating two modifications simultaneously!

"Change 'increase by 150%' to 'increase by 950%'!"

"Change 'Duration: 1 minute' to 'Duration: 15 minutes'!"

The skill description was instantly reshaped!

An unprecedented and terrifying group buff skill was born.

Lin Mu suppressed the excitement in his heart and began to systematically plan his subsequent reinforcement route.

The dual modification authority had given his reinforcement efficiency a qualitative leap!

He first aimed his sights at the core summoning skill, Resurrect Skeleton.

"Change 'Quantity Limit: 100' to 'Quantity Limit: 900'!"

"Change 'Summon 90 Steel Skeletons' to 'Summon 99 Steel Skeletons'!"

The skill description changed once more.

Resurrect Skeleton (Level 4): Consume 500 mana to summon 99 Steel Skeletons to fight for you. Quantity limit: 900.

His Skeleton Legion had expanded tenfold!

Next was Resurrect Skeleton Archer.

Since he already had an army of Steel Skeletons, he decided to first enhance the individual strength of the skeleton archers.

He would increase their quantity later.

"Change 'wielding Bone Bows' to 'wielding Crossbows'!"

"Change 'fire Bone Arrows' to 'fire Fire Arrows'!"

Resurrect Skeleton Archer (Level 3): Consume 25 mana to summon 10 Fire Crossbow Skeleton Archers to fight for you. Quantity limit: 10.

His entry-level archers had instantly upgraded from muskets to cannons!

Then came Bone Tooth.

Lin Mu first modified "summon 990 Bone Teeth" to "summon 999 Bone Teeth."

Then, he invested a skill point to raise it to Level 4, bringing the summoning quantity to 1000.

Following that, he modified it again.

"Change 'summon 1000 Bone Teeth' to 'summon 9000 Bone Teeth'!"

Bone Tooth (Level 4): Consume 9007 mana to summon 9000 Bone Teeth from the ground, piercing a linear area in front and dealing 5-7 physical damage respectively.

Bone Tooth had almost become a "Ten Thousand Tooth Return"!

Even with the 99% mana cost reduction from the Withered Wood Staff, the mana cost per cast reached 90 points.

The range of Grasp of Bones was sufficient for the time being.

Lin Mu directly modified the damage twice and leveled it up to 4.

Grasp of Bones (Level 4): Consume 31 mana to summon a skeletal hand at a designated location; it bursts after grasping, dealing 100 physical damage within a radius of 90.3 meters.

Finally, his equipment.

He maxed out the ice damage reduction and mana regeneration of the Frost Breath Whisper Hood.

Frost Breath Whisper Hood (LV.10, Purple)

Defense: 25-30

Constitution: +5

Special Effect 1: Reduces incoming ice damage by 99%.

Special Effect 2: Regenerates 99% of max mana per second.

[Fear Whisper Ring] (LV.10, Gold)

Constitution: +5

Intelligence: +5

Special Effect 1: [Fear Aura]: After equipping, inflicts the [Fear] effect on all hostile targets within a 90-meter radius (all attributes decreased by 9%).

Special Effect 2: [Despair Scream]: Actively activated, consumes 100 Mana to emit a scream containing endless despair, dealing (900 + Intelligence * 9.5) mental shock damage to all enemies in a fan-shaped area in front, with a 50% chance to inflict the [Confusion] status for 5 seconds (attacks do not distinguish between friend and foe). Cooldown: 60 seconds.

The damage from [Despair Scream] is absolutely explosive!

Lin Mu finished allocating the attribute points gained from leveling up.

Added with the bonuses from his class advancement, his new panel looked brand new.

[Name: Lin Mu]

[Class: Necromancer]

[Level: LV.13, Experience: 4382/10000]

[HP: 470/470]

[Mana: 610/610]

[Strength: 7]

[Agility: 19] (Boots +5)

[Intelligence: 61] (Whisper Ring +5)

[Constitution: 47] (Chestplate +3, Necklace +2, Hood +5, Whisper Ring +5)

[Free Attribute Points: 0]

[Skill Points: 2]

His overall strength had increased more than tenfold compared to before his class advancement!

Just as Lin Mu was immersed in the thrill of his surging power.

His formidable perception.

Suddenly caught a familiar yet ghostly aura.

It was appearing silently and soundlessly on the balcony of his living room.