Knights and the Undead

Having settled the matter of his mount, Lynn headed to a stall he had scoped out earlier that sold leather armor and hides.

Various beast hides hung from the stall, and Lynn immediately took a liking to a dark-colored piece of leather—[Shadow Lizard Hide].

"Boss, how much is this hide?" Lynn asked.

The stall owner was a Second-Class Apprentice with a scar across his face. He glanced at Lynn and said,

"You've got a good eye, student! This is Shadow Lizard hide. It comes with a concealment effect, and those things are hard to catch."

"This hide has been tanned well. Fifteen Magic Stones, and it's yours."

Lynn felt the leather. It was smooth yet tough, but he shook his head.

"The quality is decent, but the area is too small. It isn't enough for a normal-sized set of leather armor; at most, it can make a breastplate. I'll take it for eight Magic Stones."

The stall owner frowned slightly.

"Too small? A Shadow Lizard of this size is already far from small. It's definitely enough for a fitted set of leather armor!"

"Even if it isn't, I can stitch other leather onto less important areas. The effect won't be much worse."

"Go look elsewhere if you want. Shadow Lizard hide costs this much!"

Clearly, the stall owner had complete confidence in his price. If Lynn tried the old "sell it to me or I'll leave" routine again, it probably would not work.

"I'm making a full set for my follower," Lynn said calmly, then directly summoned Wu Liuqi.

The small but sturdy black skeleton appeared soundlessly beside Lynn.

Though the aura of an lv2 Elite-tier creature was restrained, it still made the stall owner's pupils contract sharply, and shock flashed across his face.

A First-Class Apprentice... could actually control an lv2 Undead?!

Th-this... how was that possible?!

The stall owner subconsciously took half a step back. He warily watched Wu Liuqi, then looked at the calm-faced Lynn. His attitude instantly became much more cautious.

This thing isn't going to suddenly attack someone, is it?

He carefully studied Wu Liuqi's frame, which was noticeably much smaller than that of a normal adult and roughly the size of a ten-year-old child, rapidly calculating in his mind.

"Ah... I see."

The stall owner's tone softened considerably.

"If it's tailored for it... then this hide is indeed enough. Ten Magic Stones, and I'll make it to fit."

"Eight. If the craftsmanship fee is separate, then the hide itself isn't worth that much."

Lynn held firm, and Wu Liuqi cooperatively gave the bone dagger in its hand a slight shake.

Looking at the master and servant before him, the stall owner felt immense pressure. He had never expected to be threatened by a First-Class Apprentice.

He had barely scraped by all these years through his leatherworking skills, and his combat ability was not strong. If that Undead assassin truly latched onto him, he would probably come off badly.

Fortunately, fighting was strictly prohibited in Ghost Market. Otherwise, he would already be drenched in sweat.

He did not want trouble, especially trouble whose depths he could not see.

"...Fine, eight it is! I'll throw in the crafting fee!"

The stall owner gritted his teeth and agreed. He only wanted to finish the transaction as quickly as possible.

Lynn directly took out eight Magic Stones and tossed them over, showing that he had no intention of forcing a purchase.

After accepting them, the stall owner did not waste any time. He cautiously approached Wu Liuqi, afraid it might suddenly slash at him.

Once he had confirmed that Wu Liuqi would not abruptly attack, he quickly measured its body.

Then, with practiced skill, he picked up his tools and began cutting, stitching, and adding simple protective runes...

It had to be said that the stall owner had not spent all these years in vain. The Shadow Lizard Hide swiftly turned into leather armor in his hands.

A breastplate, shoulder guards, bracers, leg guards...

In less than an hour, a set of dark leather armor fitted to Wu Liuqi's body and barely affecting its mobility was complete.

After Wu Liuqi put it on, its figure became even blurrier in the dim light. The Shadow concealment effect had indeed improved.

Moreover, the leather armor provided considerable defense and resistance to negative energy, greatly increasing Wu Liuqi's survivability.

After completing those two transactions, Lynn was even more satisfied with the configuration of his Undead army.

A Death Knight armed to the teeth charging into battle, Wu Liuqi lurking in the shadows to deliver fatal strikes, plus his own Wizardry for battlefield control...

This combination was enough to let him run rampant among Second-Class Apprentices, and it could even pose a certain threat to Third-Class Apprentices.

The only issue was that his own defenses were still relatively weak, and his endurance was not particularly strong either.

Most apprentices in Withered Bone Spire Academy kept Undead guards of some kind. It had already become part of the Academy's "traditional culture."

After all, Wizards had relatively fragile bodies, and Dark Wizards who absorbed negative energy were even worse—one touch, and they would shatter.

With Undead guards, they would be much safer. When facing a single enemy, they could let the Undead guards entangle the opponent while they calmly cast Wizardry from behind.

It was said that Wizards from other Academies chose several knights as guards instead. Compared with Undead guards, each had its own advantages and disadvantages.

Knight guards possessed autonomy and retained complete emotions and reason. Normally, they were not merely guards; they could also serve as a Wizard's attendants and handle all manner of chores.

When danger arose, they could adapt flexibly through their own judgment rather than waiting blindly for orders.

Some knights cultivated combat techniques that could complement a Wizard's abilities and increase combat strength.

The advantage of Undead guards was that they were cheap and durable. Even if damaged, they could be repaired directly. Their endurance was exceptional, and they could remain vigilant at all times.

Because they had no thoughts of their own, the Undead obeyed orders absolutely under the constraints of Wizardry. Even if ordered to slaughter a city, they would not blink.

And after mastering high-level Wizardry, one could summon Undead in massive numbers and drown opponents beneath a sea of skeletons.

After finishing his purchases, Lynn once again began his favorite journey of "freeloading."

He lingered around the stalls selling Wizardry scrolls, quietly using the panel to Record several Zero-Level Cantrips and two new Apprentice-Level Sorceries—[Undead Enhancement] and [Negative Energy Ray].

[Undead Enhancement]: Applies a beneficial effect to an Undead creature under your control, temporarily increasing one of its attributes, such as bone hardness, muscle strength, or the intensity of its soul fire.

[Negative Energy Ray]: Fires a concentrated beam of dark energy that deals significant cold damage to living creatures and carries a life-force erosion effect. It provides a weak healing or enhancement effect to Undead.

These two were fairly practical, and both could enhance Undead.

[Negative Energy Ray] was one of the most commonly used Apprentice-Level Sorceries. It was simple to inscribe, could both attack and enhance, and was useful in many situations.

Basically, every Wizard Apprentice chose it as their first formal Wizardry.

Lynn was not far from becoming a Second-Class Wizard Apprentice. He planned to first fully Analyze the six Apprentice-Level Sorceries currently in his possession before considering how to combine them.

There were also apprentices in the market selling their cultivation insights, along with scattered knowledge about material processing and basic Wizard Array arrangements.

Lynn accepted everything without exception, recording it all in the [Memory Library] to enrich his knowledge reserves.

Only when the Blood Vessel Light Bands in the sky gradually dimmed and some apprentices began packing up their stalls did he reluctantly return to his laboratory.