Mages Association (1)

"Had Soul Summoning LV3 already reached the limit my body could withstand?" Green muttered inwardly, unable to hide his disappointment. He had originally planned to raise [Soul Summoning] all the way to [LV10] in one go, but now it seemed he had been too naive. As for the other spell he had obtained from Doctor Wilkins—[Bone Spikes]—he had only studied it briefly at the beginning and had not devoted much more time or effort to it. Since he could not sense Void Spirit Energy or communicate with the Netherworld through his magic power, he could only communicate with his own Graveyard. The principle behind [Bone Spikes] was actually much the same as [Soul Summoning]. Both were fundamentally summoning spells; the only difference was their targets. [Soul Summoning] called forth undead creatures, while [Bone Spikes] summoned spikes of bone from the ground.

Unfortunately, there were no great quantities of bones in the Graveyard at present with which to form bone spikes. So even if Green could learn the spell, he could not use it for the time being.

Under these circumstances, Green had originally given up on the spell and planned to focus wholeheartedly on Soul Summoning. He had not expected an accident to occur: [Soul Summoning] had reached the limit of his current body at LV3. Only then did he start paying attention to the Bone Spike spell again.

"My situation is different. Because the Graveyard exists, I effectively possess a small, private Netherworld. Moreover, communicating with the Graveyard is far easier for me than communicating with the Netherworld is for an ordinary Necromancer. But the Graveyard is still too crude to count as a small Netherworld. If I want to cast Bone Spikes, I need to have bone spikes first. Looks like I'll have to find a way to put some bone spikes in the Graveyard." Green racked his brains. "No, they don't necessarily have to be bone spikes. Iron or steel spikes would be even more powerful! Ordinary Necromancers don't use them not because they don't want to, but because they can't. I can give it a try."

Green was eager to test it, but he had no way to obtain steel or iron spikes for the time being. He could only settle for second-best and use bricks and stones from the ruins in the Graveyard for his experiment. The results were surprisingly good. In a nearby park, he found an empty patch of ground and began casting the spell. With a bang, more than a dozen white stone spikes of varying lengths suddenly thrust out of the ground five or six meters in front of Green, covering an area of nearly four or five square meters. They emerged extremely quickly, their tips razor-sharp, and the attack came without warning. Anyone caught within the spell's range would have been impaled from behind and strung up like candied fruit.

Seeing the results of the experiment, Green's eyes lit up. He was extremely satisfied with the power of this modified [Bone Spikes]. The only imperfection was that rock had a low magical affinity. Even though communicating with the Graveyard was easier for him, this spell was still slower than normal Bone Spikes, giving enemies more time to react and dodge.

"The casting speed is still too slow. The spell has enough power, but what use is that if it can't hit the enemy?" Green fell into thought, wondering whether he should switch back to bone spikes. But where would he find so many bones in Landon City to replenish the Graveyard? That was another problem. In the end, Green could only settle for second-best and use rocks to cast Bone Spikes for now. To increase the casting speed, he had no choice but to keep practicing and raise the spell's level.

Although both were first-circle spells, [Bone Spikes] consumed more magic power than Soul Summoning. With Green's current reserves, he could only cast it six or seven times in succession, making it even more difficult to raise the level of [Bone Spikes]. Moreover, the spell could not be used indoors. If he exhausted his magic power and wanted to enter the Graveyard to accelerate his recovery, he would have to return home first. Green did not dare enter the Graveyard outside with no defenses at all. As a result, his progress in practicing [Bone Spikes] was rather slow. It took a full two days to reach [LV2]. Fortunately, although the power did not increase by much upon gaining a level, the casting speed increased considerably, giving the spell a certain degree of practical combat ability.

Over the past few days, Green had shut himself away from the outside world and focused on practicing magic, while the people of Landon City had become increasingly uneasy.

Several newspapers in the city had been covering the tragedy at Baron Lonanks's residence in endless detail.

It turned out that Baron Lonanks's death had only been the beginning. On the very day Green returned, another murder occurred. A relative who had hurried over to fight for the family fortune was found dead in a guest room on the second floor of Baron Lonanks's residence. The scene was said to have been extremely bloody, with the body torn to pieces.

After that, the baron's servants were killed one after another, each meeting a horrible end. The young widow, on the other hand, had been shrewd enough to flee to the police station at the first opportunity, escaping the disaster. At the same time, the three female Elf slaves Baron Lonanks had bought also disappeared. The scene was a complete mess, with large quantities of blood left behind. No one knew whether they were alive or dead...

Green sat across from Vincent with a newspaper in his hands, looking thoroughly surprised.

He had previously assumed that the strange being who killed Baron Lonanks and the adventurers had done so to save the three female Elves. But now an unexpected turn of events had occurred. The three female Elves had vanished, and judging from the scene, their prospects looked grim.

"Could it be... that the strange being wasn't trying to save anyone at all, but had some other motive?" Green sank into deep thought. When he had gone to Baron Lonanks's residence that day, he had not seen the three female Elf slaves. As for what had happened, he had no way of judging.

"My brother, this matter has become more complicated. According to reliable information, when the three Elves disappeared, the people from the Anomalies Bureau responsible for the investigation were right next door." Vincent's expression was solemn. "Those three from the Anomalies Bureau didn't notice a thing!"

Green nodded noncommittally. He knew that the strange being could turn invisible. The three people from the Anomalies Bureau had only just arrived, and they were arrogant by nature. With a little carelessness added to the mix, it was entirely normal for them to be caught off guard by the strange being. Moreover, Green suspected that the strange being's wanton killing might be connected to his taking the Wind Blade Bracelet. The strange being had lost its treasure and was venting its fury.

This gave Green a faint sense of danger. Clearly, the strange being was vicious and extremely vindictive, which did not fit the image he had previously imagined of someone who only wanted to rescue the three female Elves. Although the Wind Blade Bracelet was gone now, there was no guarantee that the other party could not follow the clues and find him. If he encountered that strange being, his current strength would likely leave him in grave danger.

Looks like I need to improve my strength as quickly as possible! Green thought, while remaining outwardly calm.

"By the way, how is the magic you asked Doctor Wilkins for last time? Have you been practicing it?" Vincent suddenly changed the subject and asked about it.

"Not bad. I've already learned it." Green smiled. He casually flicked his hand and uttered three obscure syllables.

The next moment, a rotating magic circle appeared on the floor of Vincent's study. A tall Skeleton Soldier then crawled out of it.

Vincent's eyes widened. Although he had never seen a Formal Rank mage, there were quite a few Advanced Apprentice Mages in Landon City, including one or two Necromancers. But he had never seen anyone use magic as casually as Green, especially at such close range. Moreover, the Skeleton Soldier Green had summoned was clearly different from the others: tall and imposing, equipped with excellent gear, and with green soulfire flickering within its skull that gave off an especially powerful sense of intimidation.

"This... this is your Skeleton Soldier!" Vincent raised his voice excitedly. "Brother! Your Skeleton Soldier is truly extraordinary!"

Green did not want to expose the Graveyard, so he replied, "I was lucky. When I used [Soul Summoning], I summoned several decent Skeleton Soldiers and contracted them directly."

Vincent nodded without probing further. His assessment of Green rose another level. He had learned Soul Summoning in only two or three days, entirely through self-study, and could use it with such ease. That was a performance worthy of a true genius.

After saying goodbye to Vincent, Green left the study with twenty pounds of gold.

His purpose in coming to Vincent this time had been to borrow money. Now that he had learned [Soul Summoning] and [Bone Spikes], he was qualified to register.

The registration system for supernatural practitioners was the policy used by the Lorenzo Kingdom and most other countries on the continent to manage supernatural practitioners. Whether one was a knight, a mage, or belonged to another profession, once one advanced to the apprentice rank, one had to register with the relevant government-administered professional association.

This registration system was semi-compulsory. It served both as regulation and protection. Especially for someone like Green, who had come up through an unconventional path, registering with the Mages Association would provide certain basic benefits, as well as legal access to spellbooks and magical equipment.