Inside the pitch-black room, the Little Old Man Skeleton, a slender female skeleton, and the Infant Skeleton stood in a row, like an honor guard awaiting inspection.
Ning Zhu attempted to summon a fourth Skeleton Soldier.
As a result, his soul fire throbbed with a sharp pain, and no matter what he did, he couldn't activate the summoning spell.
“It’s not a problem of spiritual exhaustion, which means… only three Skeleton Soldiers can exist at the same time?”
“Is it because my own evolution level is too low, or is my skill proficiency not enough… perhaps both are decisive factors?”
Ning Zhu pondered carefully; three incompetent people can still outwit one genius.
Three Skeleton Soldiers, working together, could even defeat a master.
Besides, if one of them died, couldn't he replenish it in time?
As a Necromancer, what he relied on was wisdom and tactics, how could he be compared to those bayonet warriors whose heads were filled with muscle?
Ning Zhu successfully convinced himself.
His jawbone opened, mimicking a human's wide grin, revealing a brilliant smile.
But he was a skeleton now, so his smile was very eerie; any child who saw it would surely cry non-stop.
“Very good, I have a preliminary understanding of the Magic Coffin’s abilities.”
“There was no discomfort during the transformation process, human thought logic and emotional fluctuations operated normally, coffin nurturing, corpse sealing, and coffin opening—the golden three steps are complete. At this stage, I am already a qualified First-Order Magus!”
Ning Zhu began to consider the next question.
The Skeletal Divine Court—besides helping him complete the final step of corpse sealing and providing a monster panel for reference, did it have any other miraculous functions?
Soon, Ning Zhu discovered that the Magic Coffin ‘Necromancy Apprentice’ currently did not possess abilities like “Summoning Mark” or “Coordinate Positioning.”
Summoning Skeleton Soldiers most likely involved randomly selecting suitable Undead Minions from a certain spatial distance.
Assuming he canceled the spell, the Little Old Man Skeleton, the female skeleton, and the Infant Skeleton—would either be thrown back to their original locations or banished to other areas, making the probability of encountering them again infinitely close to zero.
Now, Ning Zhu had a new choice.
【Do you want to send Undead Minions to the Skeletal Divine Court?】
【Note: The Skeletal Divine Court provides storage space for Undead Minions. When summoning Undead Minions, if chosen from here, all related spiritual or magical consumption is halved.】
“This is great!”
Without thinking, Ning Zhu silently affirmed: Yes.
The Little Old Man and the woman were fine, but the Infant Skeleton was a peculiar skeleton that mastered ‘Bite’! Being able to retain and re-summon it was like getting a pillow when you’re sleepy!
“Swish—”
The three Skeleton Soldiers vanished before Ning Zhu’s eyes.
At the same time, Ning Zhu’s own consciousness was pulled, and in a daze, he once again saw the dilapidated temple floating in mid-air.
“Ah-bah, ah-bah?”
The Little Old Man Skeleton, the female skeleton, and the Infant Skeleton stood dumbfounded amidst a pile of ruins, not daring to move around.
The change in environment was undoubtedly an unsolved mystery of their undead lives, given their limited brain capacity.
At this moment, Ning Zhu looked at them again, having lost the sense of familiarity he had just felt.
In the unseen, he was no longer the absolute ruler, but merely a bystander.
“The spell has ended, and the three Skeleton Soldiers have regained their freedom?”
“But they are bound within the Skeletal Divine Court, and only when I reactivate the summoning spell will they be re-dominated by me?”
Ning Zhu suddenly realized, and continued to observe without a change in expression.
The dilapidated temple, initially appearing boundless, was now covered in a hazy mist, limiting his vision.
Not far from the three Skeleton Soldiers, a bronze mirror embedded in a pillar had the characters “Magic Coffin” engraved on its front and “Analysis” on its back. The previous appraisals were almost certainly from it.
Looking around, there was a faint golden light on the ground, possibly the light effect of a magic array.
Storing Undead Minions, replacing the skill Teleportation—let’s just call it a “Teleportation Array” for simplicity.
And then, a little further away, near the misty area, there was another magic array!
As Ning Zhu’s thoughts stirred, his consciousness transformed into an ethereal human form, instantly traversing a large distance and flashing to the center of the mysterious magic array.
“Synthesis… Summon?”
“Consume 10 First-Order Undead Minions of the same race to summon 1 powerful Minion…”
“Individuals already marked as ‘powerful Minions’ cannot participate in secondary synthesis…”
More information appeared in Ning Zhu’s mind. After reading it word for word, he couldn't help but swallow.
It looks super powerful…
How about… try it now?
Ning Zhu made up his mind.
In an instant, his consciousness flew out of the temple and returned to the Necromancy Apprentice’s body.
“Come out, my loyal soldiers!!”
One Skeleton Soldier, two Skeleton Soldiers, three Skeleton Soldiers—stood obediently in front of him.
Although their skeletal structures were close to human, they varied in height, weight, and build.
Ning Zhu glanced at them; none of the three had skills. This “lottery draw” had average luck.
“Go, all of you, go stay in the temple.”
With a wave of his hand, the Skeleton Soldiers, who had not even been in the room for thirty seconds, all entered the Skeletal Divine Court and began to stand at attention as well.
“Soldiers! Come out! Come out! …”
Ning Zhu repeated the steps.
Summoning ‘Skeleton Soldiers’, as an Undead-type spell, naturally used soul fire as its core energy.
Ning Zhu’s originally almost full mental energy rapidly drained, and a sense of fatigue gradually emerged from the depths of his soul, growing from weak to strong, beginning to affect his sound mind.
“So tired…”
“Is this the drawback of a Magus? If I lose my mana, I’m finished…”
Finally, the tenth spell.
In the Skeletal Divine Court, ten Skeleton Soldiers stood dumbfounded.
Oh no, the Infant Skeleton was lying on the ground, like a mischievous puppy, truly the most conspicuous among the bones.
Ning Zhu hesitated slightly.
At this point, his mental energy was on the verge of exhaustion.
Maintaining this state, when he returned to his human form, although he would still feel dizzy and weak in his limbs, he should still be able to maintain some clarity, not immediately fall unconscious.
But the Infant Skeleton had ‘Bite’!
Although it was only a one-star skill and only at “Beginner” intensity… it was a skill after all! He only got one after drawing ten! He had to cherish it!
Ning Zhu decided—to temporarily keep the Infant Skeleton!
He bit his jawbone and activated the Skeleton Soldier summoning spell again.
“Whoosh whoosh whoosh—”
The circular magic array gradually appeared.
To Ning Zhu’s great surprise, the array actually split, turning from one circle into two, and two Skeleton Soldiers rose simultaneously.
“Hiss~”
“So there’s a chance for a double summon. One cast, unchanged consumption, increased Minion count…”