Lin Mu sat cross-legged on the soft, spacious bed and opened his Class Panel.
His eyes first fell on his core skill, [Resurrect Skeleton].
He had planned to spend his skill points right away, then adjust the number of summons.
But when [Resurrect Skeleton] reached level five, its description had changed in a way he hadn't expected, beyond merely increasing the number of summons.
[Resurrect Skeleton] (Level 5): Consumes 505 mana to summon 100 Steel Skeleton Warriors to fight for you. Maximum number: 990.
The skeletons had become skeleton warriors.
It might look like a difference of only one word, but the difference could be enormous.
Lin Mu immediately activated his talent to examine the deeper details.
[Resurrect Skeleton] (Level 5): Consumes 505 mana. By channeling multiple surges of extremely powerful Death Aura, summons 100 steel-armored Steel Bone Skeletons wielding Steel Spears from nothing to fight for you. They move extremely slowly and deal extremely high damage. Maximum number: 990.
They moved extremely slowly but dealt extremely high damage.
This was a classic unit with both a clear strength and a clear weakness.
An ordinary class user might have to make a difficult choice.
But to Lin Mu, this was perfect material for modification, delivered right to his door.
After a moment's thought, he made his decision.
"Change 'move extremely slowly' to 'move extremely quickly'!"
"Change 'summon 100' to 'summon 900'!"
The text on the panel blurred, then reshaped itself.
[Resurrect Skeleton] (Level 5): Consumes 4505 mana to summon 900 Steel Skeleton Warriors to fight for you. Maximum number: 990.
Next was [Bone Tooth]. It was only one level away from reaching level five.
Sure enough, leveling it up also brought a qualitative change.
[Bone Tooth] (Level 5): Consumes 9008 mana to summon 9001 poisonous Bone Teeth from underground and thrust them into a linear area ahead. Each deals 6–8 physical damage and 6 poison damage per second for 3 seconds.
Lin Mu checked the detailed description again.
[Bone Tooth] (Level 5): Consumes 9008 mana. By channeling Death Energy, summons 9001 sharp teeth tainted with Corpse Poison from the Dead Remains buried deep underground and rapidly thrusts them into a linear area ahead. Each Bone Tooth deals 6–8 physical damage and 6 poison damage per second for 3 seconds.
Poison damage lasting three seconds was better than nothing.
But excitement glimmered in Lin Mu's eyes.
"Change '6 poison damage per second' to '9 poison damage per second'!"
"Change 'lasts 3 seconds' to 'lasts 3 quarters of an hour'!"
After the changes:
[Bone Tooth] (Level 5): Consumes 9008 mana to summon 9001 poisonous Bone Teeth from underground and thrust them into a linear area ahead. Each deals 6–8 physical damage and 9 poison damage per second for 3 quarters of an hour.
Lin Mu quickly calculated the numbers in his head.
A single [Bone Tooth] dealt more than eighty thousand poison damage per second.
And the effect lasted a full 45 minutes!
If the target took the full duration of poison damage, the total would reach an astronomical figure.
218,724,300!
What monster could withstand that kind of terrifying damage?
Lin Mu forcibly suppressed his excitement.
He immediately upgraded [Grasp of Bones].
[Grasp of Bones] (Level 5): Consumes 33 mana to summon a skeletal hand at a designated location. After grasping for 3 seconds, it explodes, dealing 105 physical damage within a 90.5-meter radius.
He checked the detailed description.
[Grasp of Bones] (Level 5): Uses Death Force to shape fresh bones at a designated location. They form a skeletal hand that bursts from the ground and quickly grasps enemies in range. After 3 seconds, the bones explode, dealing 105 physical damage to enemies within a 90.5-meter radius.
"Change 'grasp enemies in range for 3 seconds' to 'grasp enemies in range for 9 seconds'!"
"Change 'deal 105 physical damage' to 'deal 905 physical damage'!"
Modification successful!
[Grasp of Bones] (Level 5): Consumes 33 mana to summon a skeletal hand at a designated location. After grasping for 9 seconds, it explodes, dealing 905 physical damage within a 90.5-meter radius.
The damage still wasn't top-tier.
But this area-wide crowd control, with a radius of over ninety meters and a duration of nine seconds, had strategic value far beyond that of any pure damage skill.
Next was the detailed description of [Resurrect Skeleton Archer].
[Resurrect Skeleton Archer] (Level 3): Consumes 25 mana. By channeling Death Aura, summons 10 Skeleton Archers wielding Crossbows from nothing to fight for you. They fire Fire Arrows and attack extremely quickly. Maximum number: 10.
"Change 'wielding crossbows' to 'wielding crossbow artillery'!"
"Change 'wielding crossbow artillery' to 'wielding cannons'!"
After the two modifications, the panel description changed again.
[Resurrect Skeleton Archer] (Level 3): Consumes 25 mana to summon 10 Skeleton Artillerymen to fight for you. Maximum number: 10.
"I wonder if their ammunition changed too."
Lin Mu was a little unsure, so he checked the detailed description.
[Resurrected Skeleton Archer] (Level 3): Consumes 25 mana. By channeling Death Aura, summons 10 Skeleton Archers wielding cannons from nothing to fight for you. They fire shells, attack slowly, and have a wide area of effect and extremely high damage. Maximum number: 10.
Perfect!
Modernized skeleton artillery!
Although their attack speed had slowed, the value of a single artilleryman was enough to match a thousand ordinary archers.
"Last one, [Death Prayer]."
[Death Prayer] (Level 1): Consumes 100 mana to draw the mysterious voices of the dead nearby with Death Energy. The voices swirl around your summons and unleash their potential, increasing their attack, defense, and speed by 950%. Duration: 1 quarter of an hour. Cooldown: 30 minutes.
The duration was adequate for now, so he prioritized modifying the multiplier.
"Change 'increase by 950%' to 'increase by 990%'!"
"Change 'increase by 990%' to 'increase by 999%'!"
After the modifications, Lin Mu put his final skill point into [Death Prayer].
[Death Prayer] (Level 2): Consumes 120 mana to draw mysterious voices that swirl around your summons, increasing their attack, defense, and speed by 1004%. Duration: 1 quarter of an hour. Cooldown: 30 minutes.
Lin Mu imagined the terrifying boost he could make to [Death Prayer] the next time he modified it.
He casually took off his equipment and started modifying it.
[Frost Breath Whisper Hood] was already fully modified. Only the [Fear Whisper Ring] remained.
Once he modified the [Despair Scream]'s [Confusion] chance, it would become another piece of equipment with a skill that combined small-area crowd control and high damage!
[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 consume 100 mana and unleash a scream filled with endless despair. Deals mental damage equal to (900 + Intelligence × 9.5) to all enemies in a fan-shaped area ahead, with a 99% chance to inflict [Confusion] for 5 seconds (attacks do not distinguish between friend and foe). Cooldown: 60 seconds.
Lin Mu once again split the 10 attribute points he had gained evenly between Intelligence and Constitution.
[Name: Lin Mu]
[Class: Necromancer]
[Level: LV.15, Experience: 7523/22000]
[Health: 520/520]
[Mana: 660/660]
[Strength: 7]
[Agility: 19] (Battle Boots +5)
[Intelligence: 66] (Whisper Ring +5)
[Constitution: 52] (Chestplate +3, Necklace +2, Hood +5, Whisper Ring +5)
[Free Attribute Points: 0]
[Skill Points: 0]
The next day.
At Shengjing Academy, in front of the entrance to the [Void Secret Realm].
A massive black Light Gate hovered silently in the middle of the plaza.
It radiated a heart-stirring aura.
All the new students of the Heaven Branch had gathered.
The air was thick with tension and fighting spirit.
Lu Hu and Ao Di stood like two gatekeepers, one on either side of Lin Mu, not far away. Their eyes openly brimmed with provocation.
"Necromancer, don't go wetting yourself as soon as you get inside. Just crush your Teleportation Talisman and crawl back out!"
"Hahaha! Then we won't get to see you bowing down!"
Lin Mu ignored their childish taunts.
He was resting with his eyes closed, adjusting his mental state.
In a corner, Luo Tian, who had awakened the [Golden Talent: Elemental Mastery], gave Lin Mu a casual glance, then looked away, as if he couldn't care less about any of this.
Mu Wanqing appeared quietly.
She swept her gaze over the crowd and spoke in a cool voice.
"The [Void Secret Realm] is made up of countless World Fragments. Each of you will enter the same Dungeon world, but in a separate space."
"The monsters you encounter will also be exactly the same."
"Remember, survive, then earn as many points as you can."
"Now, the examination begins!"
As she spoke, she swept out her slender hand.
Twenty-nine beams of light shot from her hand and landed between the brows of the new students. Lin Mu's vision went black, and a powerful spatial force began pulling him toward the black Light Gate.
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