The two apprentices in the mine had also grown over time.
Bal had successfully advanced to a second-rank apprentice a year ago, and he had become much more confident in both word and deed.
The once timid yet clever youth now knew every tunnel and every fissure in Shadow Mine like the back of his hand. He could walk the whole place with his eyes closed.
He fanatically worshipped the melee techniques Lynn occasionally displayed, developing the Ironbone Family's "Bone Hyperplasia" system to new heights.
Oh, no... it was the "human exoskeleton" system.
This system could not only strengthen one's own bones, but also allow portions of them to controllably grow outside the body, forming a crude exoskeletal bone armor that fitted the wearer's frame.
The Wizards of the academy looked down on this melee-oriented combat system, but it was the foundation upon which the Ironbone Family survived.
The Ironbone Family had continuously developed this spell, reinforcing the bones of its younger members from an early age to increase their density and strength.
The effects were obvious. Every member of the family possessed a powerful skeleton, and after death, with a little processing, they could become high-quality skeletal undead...
Of course, there were side effects as well. Because their bones had been reinforced too early, the family's children were generally short.
Bal was one such case. Though he was already seventeen or eighteen, he was about as tall as a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old.
Perhaps that was the price of becoming stronger.
Though Bal's bone armor could not compare to a Wizard artifact, it greatly enhanced his defense, strength, and agility.
He often stood in the training ground, using a katana-shaped bone drawn from his body as a bone blade.
Then he clumsily imitated and practiced the sharp techniques Lynn had