The next day.
Han Shuo was still groggy and not fully awake when the little door to the Supply Storeroom banged open. The chubby Jack rushed in and shook him awake, shouting excitedly, "Brian, get up! There's something good to watch!"
Han Shuo blinked sleepily. He had just been dreaming that he had sent Little Skeleton to beat up that little witch Lisa. Before the rest of the dream could unfold, Jack had woken him. "What's going on so early in the morning?" he asked irritably.
Jack's two soybean-sized eyes shone with excitement. Laughing, he said, "Brian, somehow that little witch Lisa summoned a really strange little skeleton. It wouldn't even obey her. I don't know what happened, but there was all this crashing and banging in her room first thing this morning.
"Then the little skeleton ran toward the Light Department Magic Academy, with Lisa chasing desperately after him. Oh! I swear, in all my time at the Necromancy Academy, I've never seen a little skeleton run that fast. He even has seven bone spikes that look like wings!"
At first, Han Shuo felt delighted as he listened. But when Jack finished, his expression changed slightly. Suddenly thinking of something, he snapped his gaze toward the little bucket. At some point, the multicolored water inside had turned pitch-black. The seven bone spikes and Little Skeleton had all disappeared.
No way. I only used the Demonic Treasure Refining method on him yesterday. Half asleep in my dream, I seemed to have ordered him to teach Lisa a lesson. But wasn't refining this Demonic Treasure supposed to take thirty-six days? How could this happen? Was it because I recklessly used bone spikes as a substitute for a Yin Demon, leaving me with insufficient demonic essence?
At that thought, Han Shuo's heart chilled. He sprang out of bed, ignored even his morning task of wiping the statues, and dragged Jack off toward the Light Department Magic Academy.
Han Shuo grew anxious as he ran. He was not purely a magic student of the Necromancy Department, and could not yet treat summoned creatures with the others' indifference, utterly disregarding whether they lived or died. Little Skeleton had been helping him take out the garbage all this time, saving him so much effort. Without realizing it, Han Shuo had grown attached to him, and naturally did not want anything to happen to him.
Han Shuo and Jack were not the only ones. Some students from the Necromancy Department were also hurrying toward the Light Department Magic Academy with strange expressions, chattering nonstop along the way.
"How strange! Such a little skeleton, and he's actually black, with seven bone spikes on his back. I really don't know how Lisa summoned him," Amy said as she hurried along.
"Yes, and what's even stranger is how fast that little skeleton can run. Oh, heavens! Could Lisa's greater Mental Power mean the Skeleton Warriors she summons are different from ours?" Athena looked equally astonished, exclaiming as she and Amy hurried toward the Light Department Magic Academy.
Nearby, the Junior Mage Bella frowned slightly when she heard Athena. She snorted. "I'm a Junior Mage too, but I've never summoned such a strange skeleton. Stranger still, this little skeleton actually disobeys his summoner. That makes no sense at all."
As Han Shuo ran with Jack, he listened to the Necromancy Department students nearby. From their conversations, he learned that Little Skeleton, whom he had refined using the Demonic Treasure Refining method, was extraordinarily unusual.
Secretly anxious, Han Shuo tried to contact Little Skeleton with his Mental Power. He found that he could establish contact, but Little Skeleton seemed unable to receive his commands. He did not know whether this was because of the Demonic Treasure Refining method. Little Skeleton was still running about in the distance.
Unlike the Necromancy Department, the Light Department Magic Academy did not have so few students. The Light Department was a major department at Babylon Magic Academy, with many outstanding students. Its magic students had also always disliked the Darkness Department, perhaps because their magic opposed each other. They particularly disliked the Necromancy Department's magic students, and Light Department magic also had a restraining effect on Necromancy Department magic.
Many Light Department spells were extremely lethal to the dark creatures summoned by necromancers. It would not even be an exaggeration to call Light Department magic the bane of the Necromancy Department. After returning to the Necromancy Department, Han Shuo had learned a great deal. From its students, he had learned these things that counted as common knowledge, making him worry even more about Little Skeleton.
Dragging Jack along, Han Shuo sprinted all the way at great speed. His scrawny body moved even faster than some of the Necromancy Department students, startling those he left behind. Since when had this idiot become so fit after going mad?
By the time Han Shuo dragged Jack to the Light Department Magic Academy, Jack was exhausted. He plopped onto the ground, panting heavily and complaining repeatedly, "Brian, you run so fast! Being dragged along nearly killed me, but you don't even have any sweat on your forehead!"
By then, Han Shuo's attention was entirely focused on Little Skeleton, who was darting and leaping about the Light Department Magic Academy. He completely ignored Jack's complaints.
In the magic square at the center of the Light Department Magic Academy, a small skeleton, black as ink from head to toe, darted all over the place. Seven bone spikes protruded from his spine, and he held a dagger-like Bone Blade that gleamed with an eerie light.
After Han Shuo's refining, Little Skeleton's black bones seemed to shimmer with a faint glow. The bone spikes set into his spine looked perfectly natural, without the slightest awkwardness, as though they had always belonged there.
As he ran, his two shinbones stretched and flexed like springs. The seven bone spikes on his back kept flapping. Though they could not carry him into the air, they seemed to give him a boost, making him extremely fast. Chasing behind him, the little witch Lisa failed to hit him with several Necromancy spells.
Quite a few Light Department magic students were in the square, along with some enormous stone pillars carved with exquisite patterns. Little Skeleton wove among the students and pillars with indescribably strange agility, leaving the little witch Lisa helpless.
Seeing Little Skeleton suddenly become so fast and agile, Han Shuo was momentarily stunned. Then he hurriedly concentrated his Mental Power, trying to order him back to the Supply Storeroom. Unfortunately, Little Skeleton seemed completely unable to receive Han Shuo's mental commands. He continued weaving swiftly among the pillars and Light Department magic students, making them shout and scatter out of his way.
The square was in chaos.
"Lisa, your Necromancy Department has really been getting more and more outrageous lately. You actually brought these filthy dark creatures into our Light Department Magic Academy. Are you still unhappy about losing to me last time, and trying to take this opportunity to show off how powerful your Skeleton Warrior is?" Eileen, a Junior Light Department Mage, said coldly, giving Lisa a provocative look.
Eileen was seventeen, with short, tousled, pale blue-green hair and pretty bangs across her forehead. Her sky-blue eyes resembled two brilliant sapphires. She wore a holy Light Department Magic Robe, with a diamond-shaped blue gemstone set into the chest. Its hazy blue radiance complemented her eyes, making her even more beautiful.
Another little beauty, too. Han Shuo glanced at Eileen and secretly compared her with the little witch Lisa. He found that Eileen was no less pretty than Lisa, and her breasts were already beginning to grow full and firm, swelling considerably more than Lisa's.
"Eileen, my affairs are none of your business. Don't think I'll be afraid of you just because you're from the Camplin Family." Lisa stopped chasing Little Skeleton for the moment and answered Eileen with a cold snort of her own.
"Hmph, filthy dark creatures will never be permitted in the sacred Light Department Magic Academy. Since you can't take him away and dismiss him, let me help you!" Looking holy, Eileen raised both hands and slowly chanted an incantation. "O blade of light, become a longsword that purifies evil, and cleave this lowly life-Light Sword Slash!"
A longsword formed entirely from dazzling light appeared when Eileen finished her incantation. At her direction, it shot swiftly toward Little Skeleton.
Han Shuo's Little Skeleton had been dodging this way and that. When Lisa stopped just now, he had foolishly stopped as well. Even when Eileen's Light Sword Slash reached him, he seemed not to have reacted. The light sword stabbed straight into the bones of his chest.
The instant the light sword entered his inky-black skeleton, his bones seemed to flare with a faint, eerie light. Then the sword vanished, and a thin wisp of black smoke rose from Little Skeleton's chest. Struck by the blow, his small, frail frame swayed before steadying again. Holding the little dagger that gleamed with cold light, he looked around, seemingly trying to see who had hit him.
"Oh! This dark creature was hit by the holy light of Light Department magic, but he didn't fall apart immediately!"
"Yes, yes, it's so strange! Light Department magic is the bane of dark creatures. His bones should have turned to ashes under that holy light. What's going on?"
"Ah... could the Necromancy Department have discovered how to make dark creatures unafraid of the holy light of Light Department magic? How is that possible? Wouldn't that make the Necromancy Department's dark creatures far too powerful?"
Han Shuo looked around and found the surrounding Light Department magic students all wearing horrified expressions, staring incredulously at Little Skeleton as he looked about.
Whenever a dark creature of the Necromancy Department was struck by Light Department magic, it suffered additional damage on top of the normal attack. Higher-level undead creatures would have their bodies rot, while something as low-level as a Skeleton Warrior should immediately turn to ashes and disappear.
Yet this Little Skeleton, refined by Han Shuo using the Demonic Treasure Refining technique, had overturned common magical knowledge, demonstrating an inconceivable fact to the students of both departments.
Cries of astonishment kept rising from the Light Department magic students. Even Lisa stood there dumbstruck, shocked by this formidable little skeleton.
But while everyone was marveling, Little Skeleton, after looking around for quite some time, finally found the person who had hit him. His five bony fingers gripped the little Bone Blade, glittering with cold light, and he charged toward Eileen. His seven little bone spikes flapped rapidly, and once again, with astonishing speed no Skeleton Warrior should possess, he reached her. Clutching the little Bone Blade, he stabbed fiercely at the panicking Eileen.
Eileen paled in fright. Seeing Little Skeleton rush up to her in an instant, she knew she had no time to chant another spell and hurriedly dodged left with all her strength. A ripping sound rang out, and she cried out in alarm.
Because Eileen dodged quickly, Little Skeleton's thrust missed her, instead slicing open her Magic Robe from her right shoulder to her soft breast and exposing her fair, delicate skin. A small piece of snow-white underclothing still hung from Little Skeleton's Bone Blade. Once again, he stood there foolishly, looking somewhat bewildered, without pressing his attack.
Damn, beautifully done! That's what she gets for hitting you with Light Sword Slash. You should slash all her clothes to shreds, Han Shuo thought in delight.
As this thought arose, Han Shuo suddenly felt his Mental Power concentrate intensely. Little Skeleton straightened his shinbones and stood bolt upright. The Bone Blade clenched in his hand flashed coldly, and he charged again toward Eileen, who was covering her upper body, her face flustered and embarrassed. Clearly, he meant to carry out Han Shuo's command—slash all her clothes to shreds.
Ha, now he actually receives my orders, the lecherous skeleton!
Before you continue