...
The Holy Maiden Convent.
Tonight.
The moon was dark, the wind was high.
A young man of eighteen or nineteen, tall and sturdy, crept furtively along the base of a wall.
He wore a slightly worn, black Mage Robe, its hood obscuring most of his face, leaving only a pair of eyes that shone exceptionally bright in the darkness. He scanned his surroundings vigilantly as he moved.
Just on the other side of the wall were the dormitories of the Saint Roland Holy Maiden Convent.
The young man sniffed, as if he could detect the faint, sweet fragrance of young women in the air.
He cautiously made his way a little further, finally reaching the spot he had scouted out beforehand.
Seeing the unrepaired gap in the surrounding wall, his eyes lit up, and a flush of excitement crept onto his face.
But he didn't act rashly.
First, he warily scanned his surroundings. After confirming no one was around, he gauged the distance with his thumb, then pulled an old, sinister Magic Staff from within his robes.
The Magic Staff was crafted from some unknown bone. Perhaps from being handled for so long, it was covered in a smooth, fluorescent patina.
"Nether God above, please watch over your believer tonight," the young man prayed solemnly. Then, he brandished his Magic Staff and chanted an ancient, esoteric incantation.
As the final syllable fell, a pale light surged from the tip of the Magic Staff, coalescing in the air into a faint Pentagram Array that stirred up a spatial vortex.
A ghastly white Skeleton crawled out of the vortex.
It was no more than six feet tall, with three broken ribs in its chest and a limp in its left leg. It carried a Bone Knife full of nicks, yet it had a self-important air, looking fierce and ready to slash at an enemy at any moment.
The young man expended a considerable amount of Spiritual Power to calm the irritable Skeleton Soldier.
'Tonight, we're not here to fight. We're here to work on the sly.'
Under the young man's fine control via his Spiritual Power, the Skeleton Soldier, Bone Knife in hand, limped furtively along the base of the wall.
Its posture was an exact replica of the young man's from moments before.
Soon, the Skeleton Soldier climbed over a pile of rubble and swaggered toward the gap.
Just as it was about to cross the wall's foundation...
A sudden change occurred!
A flash of sacred light shone out. A spectral Angel holding a Holy Sword, its body radiant with Holy Light, appeared out of thin air and casually swung its blade.
"CRACK!"
The irritable, limping Skeleton Soldier didn't even have time to struggle before it was reduced to a pile of dry bones under the cleansing of the Holy Light.
The spectral Angel scanned the area with its lifeless eyes. Finding no other evil, it flashed with light once more and vanished.
His painstakingly summoned Skeleton was killed in a single strike, yet not only was the young man not discouraged, his eyes grew even more excited.
'Finally! I've found another perfect treasure trove for training my skills.'
This type of Angel Sentinel automatically detected and purified evil units within its range. He had repeatedly measured the distance earlier; his current position was right on the edge of the safe zone.
The young man then repeated the process, summoning another Skeleton Soldier and ordering it to crawl toward the gap.
The sacred light flashed again, and the Skeleton was once more reduced to dust.
Then the next time...
And so it went, over and over.
Before the young man's eyes, lines of text were constantly scrolling on an invisible panel.
[You have successfully cast "Summon Skeleton LV0". EXP +3. Current Skill Level: LV0 (956/1000)]
[You have successfully cast... EXP +2...]
[You... EXP +4...]
The young man's name was Lynch. He was originally one of the Huaxia People from Earth. After being hit and killed by a dump truck while saving someone, he had transmigrated to this Otherworld.
Coincidentally, his predecessor was also named Lynch.
He just had a surname: Lynch Blackwood. He was eighteen years old and came from the family of an ordinary, minor merchant.
Two and a half years ago, his predecessor was discovered to have Magic Talent and was admitted to the Undead System department at the Hurst Royal Extraordinary Academy, becoming a Necromancer apprentice.
Unfortunately, the original owner was severely injured during a "sparring match" and was left lying on the verge of death in his dormitory, which was when the transmigrated Lynch took over his body.
After transmigrating, Lynch discovered he had gained a skill panel.
While others needed years of arduous Meditation and honing their craft to raise their skill levels, he only needed to successfully cast a spell to gain skill experience, and he could even see his progress toward the next level.
And that was what led to the current scene.
For a Necromancer, the skill level of Summon Skeleton was extremely important, but it also happened to be one of the most difficult skills to train.
Due to the laws of this world, a Skeleton Soldier summoned from the Netherworld could not be summoned again unless it died or was banished, as if a contract had been signed.
And if you killed your own summoned Skeletons too many times, you would be marked by the will of the Netherworld and blacklisted forever.
Therefore, the best way to level up the skill was to find someone to help "take care of" the Skeleton Soldiers.
But not only was this method inefficient, it was also difficult to explain.
Thus, this kind of Angel Sentinel, which could automatically purify the Undead and lacked its own consciousness, became the perfect training partner.
However, the Angel Sentinel consumed Light Energy with every strike. Not only could he not afford the Bright Magic Stones needed for its maintenance, but even if he could, the Holy Light Church would never agree to it.
Left with no choice, he could only resort to guerrilla tactics, moving from place to place.
Lynch had discovered this grinding spot yesterday during the day. He came tonight under the cover of darkness to give it a try, and it truly was a treasure.
Just as Lynch was indulging in the pleasure of his rapidly increasing experience points, a wave of dizziness and exhaustion washed over him.
It was a sign that his Spiritual Power was depleted and his Mana was exhausted.
'Holy shit~'
'Does it have to be this cruel?'
'I was just a hair's breadth away from leveling up!'
If he went back to restore his Mana through Meditation now, what if someone from the convent discovered this precious grinding spot and patched it up?
Finding such a suitable grinding spot near Saint Roland City these days was no easy task.
Left with no alternative, Lynch steeled himself and, with a pained expression, pulled a square crystal bottle from his robes. He uncorked it and, GULP GULP, downed the fluorescent liquid inside in one go.
An extremely bitter taste exploded in his mouth, instantly revitalizing his flagging spirit. His dry pool of Mana felt as if a spring had surged into it, becoming active once more.
[Basic Awakening Potion]. Five gold a bottle.
Sold in all major shops in Saint Roland City. No credit.
Lynch's potion was bought from the dwarf blacksmith owner of [Copperbeard's Wind · Honest Blacksmith]. The price was six gold, but he could buy it on credit.
In order to power-level his Summon Skeleton skill, he had bought ten bottles on credit, racking up a mountain of debt.
Lynch quickly stuffed the empty bottle back into his robes. The thing was worth one Silver Coin when recycled.
While the potion's effects were still active.
He hurriedly cast Summon Skeleton again, frantically grinding for experience.
Time passed.
Finally.
"DING~"
Along with a crisp notification sound that only he could hear, the Summon Skeleton skill leveled up!
The panel displayed:
[Skill: Summon Skeleton Lv 1 (2/3000)]
'Damn, it really does take three thousand experience points to get to LV2.'
Never mind that for now. He'd already drunk the Awakening Potion; there was no way he was stopping. Even if he had to cry through it, he was going to squeeze every last drop of value out of those six gold.
...