For his first Undead Creature Advancement Ritual, Morris wasn't planning on taking any risks, like Guantou or Yanhua.
After all, this ritual could be dangerous, and the success rate isn't 100%.
Therefore, he specifically brought the Skeleton Dog from his dormitory over.
Anyway, this skeleton has no thoughts, and Morris has no feelings for it. Even if it fails and turns into dust, he won't feel too bad.
It's just a loss of thirty Galleon... well, it still hurts a bit.
He couldn't even scrape together ten Galleon from all his possessions.
After everything was ready, Morris placed the Skeleton Dog he was carrying in the center of the magic circle.
It will only act upon receiving a command from its owner.
Morris clapped his hands, and the previously motionless Skeleton Dog immediately ignited blue soul fire in its empty eye sockets.
"Stay put and don't move."
He gave the instructions, then took a few steps back to make sure he was outside a safe area.
He then briefly closed his eyes and took a breath.
Three seconds later, Morris opened his eyes and began to chant softly.
At the same time, the symbols in the center of the entire magic circle lit up one by one.
Gradually, all the patterns were stained with an eerie dark red.
In that instant, it was as if the whole world had fallen silent, leaving only Morris's rhythmic chanting.
The Skeleton Dog stood in the center, nervously turning its skull.
Instinct told it it should leave immediately, but Morris's command overrided everything, leaving it frozen in place.
Finally, Morris finished chanting, and the entire magic circle glowed faintly, entering a state similar to standby.
He wiped his sweat and opened the backpack at his feet.
At this moment, the Gap Energy Crystal inside the backpack seemed to be drawn by the magic circle and were trembling slightly.
Morris picked up a Gap Energy Crystal and tentatively tossed it into the magic circle.
In an instant, the magic circle flashed red, and the Gap Energy Crystal instantly turned into a mist that surrounded the Skeleton Dog.
"I see..."
Morris seemed to understand something.
He roughly understood the principle behind the magic circle.
Simply put, it involves gathering energy together and ultimately transforming it into a "catalyst" that allows undead creatures to advance.
What he needs to do now is to continuously inject energy into it.
Having reached this conclusion, Morris reached into his backpack with his right hand and began to shower the magic circle with Gap Energy Crystal, one after another.
Without exception, the energy crystals silently dissolved and turned into mist the moment they came into contact with the red light of the magic circle.
As the energy increased, the fog became more and more condensed, and its color gradually changed from white to grayish-black.
After Morris poured most of the Gap Energy Crystal from his backpack into the magic circle, a muffled sound came from the magic circle, as if something had exploded.
"Boom!"
A violent current of air suddenly expanded from the Skeleton Dog as its center.
"!!!"
Morris hadn't expected such a commotion; his wizard robes were blown to cling to his body, and his hood was pulled up, flapping loudly behind him.
He instinctively raised his arm to shield himself and squinted.
The thick, gray-black fog swirled, tumbled, and expanded within the magic circle, making it almost impossible for him to see anything.
"Very dangerous!"
Morris's inner alarm bells were ringing.
However, curiosity about the ritual ultimately outweighed the warnings.
He had to witness it all with his own eyes!
Morris gritted his teeth, braving the raging air currents, and slowly and laboriously made his way towards the center of the magic circle.
A few pebbles were swept up by the airflow, leaving tiny bloody scratches on his face, but he was oblivious and did not stop.
Finally, he managed to move with difficulty to the vicinity of the center, where the surrounding airflow subsided.
Now he can finally see the Skeleton Dog clearly.
The Skeleton Dog lay motionless on the ground, and the gray-black mist, as if it had found its target, was frantically drilling into its body.
Morris watched this scene, for some reason, he felt a sense of calm.
He simply sat down and quietly watched the Skeleton Dog's transformation.
Time ticked by, second by second.
When Morris came to his senses, the fog had been completely absorbed, and the magic circle on the ground had disappeared.
The surroundings returned to complete calm.
"Woof!"
A dog's bark echoed in his mind.
It's Skeleton Dog.
It stood up somewhat unsteadily, its appearance unchanged, except that the flames in its eye sockets burned even brighter.
"How do you feel?" Morris asked.
"Woof!"
Another cheerful call echoed in my mind, carrying a clear hint of intimacy and excitement.
Morris breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed the outcome wasn't bad.
"Have you gained any new abilities?"
The Skeleton Dog pointed at the skull in a human-like manner.
"Let me show you."
It seems that the Skeleton Dog's intelligence has also improved; at least it can understand his more complex commands now.
As soon as he finished speaking, the Skeleton Dog turned its skull toward a nearby tree, and the flames in its eye sockets flickered.
"Swish! Swish!"
Two sharp bone spurs, each as thick as a forearm, appeared out of nowhere and instantly embedded themselves in the tree trunk, and then...
"Bang! Bang!"
They exploded one after another.
Wood chips flew everywhere, leaving two horrifying holes in the tree trunk.
"Cool!" Morris whistled.
After several more rounds of testing, he roughly figured out the Skeleton Dog's abilities.
Simply put, it involves shooting out explosive spikes.
The size of the spikes, the power of the explosion, and the range can all be freely controlled.
It's worth mentioning that the Skeleton Dog can create high-speed bone fragments when the bone spikes explode, resulting in secondary damage.
Isn't that just a fragmentation grenade?
"Wuhu--!"
Perhaps due to excessive excitement after advancing, the Skeleton Dog suddenly let out a strange roar in Morris's mind.
Morris was taken aback.
"Wuhu!" the Skeleton Dog barked again.
"That's not how dogs bark," Morris said earnestly.
Wuhu?
"The same goes for Skeleton Dog."
"Wuhu! Wuhu! Wuhu!"
Morris's lips twitched.
Oh well, let it be.
In short, the Skeleton Dog's advancement ceremony went very smoothly.
Morris will tentatively refer to the current Skeleton Dog as " Second-Tier Undead Creature," while the Guantou and Yanhua will be considered " First-Tier Undead Creature."
However, with the example of the Skeleton Dog, Guantou and Yanhua will eventually be able to advance smoothly as well.
But then another problem arose...
Morris turned to look at the backpack on the ground, which was mostly empty; the Gap Energy Crystal inside were almost gone.
To make matters worse, his Draught of Living Death was almost gone.
His primary task was to obtain some finished " Draught of Living Death" or the materials needed to prepare it.
"What a hassle..."
Morris rubbed his temples.
Going back to Hogwarts ' Potions supplies warehouse is definitely not feasible, so we'll have to find a way to buy them from outside.
Ultimately, it all comes down to a lack of money...