New skill: Corpse Explosion

The fire mage's energy shield made a crisp sound like shattering glass under the bone sword. Illya Shadow Blade widened her silver-gray pupils and looked at the bronze skeleton warriors in front of her - they were still broken and cracked half an hour ago, but now they were as motionless as the guards of the Star Tower.

"Is this a level 10 summon?" She unconsciously clenched the Shadow Blade in her palm. "It's three times stronger than the level 20 Iron Guard I've seen!"

Irene Mercer stood in the center of the Soul Fire Array, the emblem of the Chanel World Council on her sleeve glowing faintly. The 44 bronze skeleton warriors had completed the encirclement, and the astral runes on the bone swords were clearly visible under the illumination. It was the exclusive mark of the "Dead Guard" recorded in her mother's notebook.

"kill."

The simple command was given, and the skeleton warriors moved in unison like machines. The flame mage's resistance ring had just pushed away the skeletons in the front row, and the two skeletons in the back row had already jumped into the air. The bone sword slashed down with a violent red light - a 200% bonus of 3000 points of strength, directly splitting the energy shield in half.

As the mage's head soared into the sky, Illya heard her own heartbeat. The storm archer's three consecutive arrows splashed sparks on the skeleton armor, but did not even leave a scratch, and was forced into a dead end by the high-speed combo of the skeleton warriors. The most difficult Templar Knight activated the ultimate defense, and the light of the holy mark on the holy shield illuminated the forest, but it quickly dimmed under the violent attack of 12 skeleton warriors.

"Ultimate defense?" Irene recalled the textbook from the Eternal Night Academy. "The duration is inversely proportional to the damage sustained."

With a thought, 20 skeleton warriors simultaneously launched a violent attack, and the red light on the bone swords merged into one. The knight's holy shield shattered with a loud bang at the seventh strike, and the burn marks left by the power of the holy mark on the bronze skeleton were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye - the automatic repair brought by the global amplification made these dead guards almost immune to continuous damage.

"Impossible..." The knight's guttural voice was drowned in the sound of the bone swords. When the last light of the ultimate defense was extinguished, his breastplate had been torn into pieces. Irene looked at the emblem of the Eternal Night Academy on the other party's wrist guard. The dark red stain was exactly the same as the wound on her sister Leila's back then. It was the symbol of the poisonous blood of the Dark Corrosion Cult.

The battle ended faster than a breath. The elite team that was so powerful 20 seconds ago was now only left with scattered equipment and gradually cooling bodies. Illya squatted down, her fingertips slid across the mage's storage ring, and took out the blue-glowing intermediate skill scroll - "Shadow Crow Strike: Dark Stab".

"Their equipment..." She suddenly noticed the spoils brought by the skeleton warriors. The Carmen emblem on the bronze-level weapons was from the same source as the emblem of the Evernight Academy. "It's the standard equipment of the Ring of Ashes. No wonder they dared to hunt me for three days."

Irene took over Carmen's staff, and her mental power test showed that its attached elemental amplification effect actually increased the soul flame of the skeleton warrior by 15%. This unexpected gain reminded her of the words of the old alchemist at the exchange: "The dead resonance material can produce evil energy resonance with any magic equipment."

"Do we need to deal with the body?" Illya kicked away the knight's holy shield. Her long silver-gray hair was stained with blood, but she was still elegant. "The tracking technique of the Dark Order can locate through blood."

"No need." Irene called back all the skeleton warriors. The bone blades glowed bluish-white in the moonlight. "Their blood will become nutrients for the poisonous plants in the forest."

The storage space's reminder sounds rang one after another, and the repair progress of the 44 skeleton warriors has reached 100%. Illya looked at the skeletons that had become smooth again, and suddenly realized that these seemingly broken summons were actually the strongest defense fragments of the Star Tower - just like the emblem on Irene's sleeve that was gradually being completed, each crack hid the secrets of the Ancient Council.

"Are you really only level 10?" She suddenly chuckled, her fingertips stroking the Star Tower tattoo on her back. "My mother said that the descendants of the Star Tower's gravekeepers will bring the dead back... It seems that it is a monster like you."

Irene did not answer, but stared at the eastern sky. The magic bell tower of Silvermoon City rang the fifth bell before dawn, reminding her that there were only five days left before the big exam. In the storage space, 44 goblin finger bones were resonating with the Shadow Raven Scroll, which was a sign that the summoned creature was about to unlock new skills.

"It's time to go." She turned and walked towards the depths of the Shadow Forest, with 44 bronze skeleton warriors following her like shadows. "Next stop, the Eternal Mine - the elite monsters of the Dark Order there should allow me to reach level 15 within three days."

Illya looked at the girl's back and suddenly realized that her steps were completely synchronized with the rhythm of the skeleton warriors, just like the commander of the same army. When the first ray of sunlight penetrated the tree canopy, she finally understood why the Dark Eclipse Cult issued an A-level hunting order for this level 10 necromancer - she was not leveling up, but rebuilding an army of the dead that was strong enough to break the seal of the Star Tower.

In the underground conference room of the Eternal Night Academy, three elders watched the battle signal disappear in the crystal ball. One of them tightly grasped the scepter engraved with the emblem of the Celestial Tower: "Inform Sera Winter to give up the personal competition with the Necromancer. The war between the Celestial Council and the Dark Eclipse Cult will be reignited because of this girl."

Four pieces of bronze-level equipment with a faint bluish-white glow were neatly placed on the pile of rotten leaves, with the same luster as the skeleton warrior's bone armor. Illya Shadowblade kicked one of the war bows engraved with Kaladin beast patterns, and her silver-gray eyes flashed with cunning: "These are from the level 20 dungeon of Kaladin Orc Fortress. Those three guys go there three times a week."

Irene Mercer nodded and traced the astral runes on her staff with her fingertips. The runes were exactly the same as the emblem on her sleeve, confirming what Illya had said before: "The standard equipment of the Ring of Ashes does bear the remnants of the Astral Tower."

These equipments were of no use to her at this stage, but the materials of the dead resonance in the storage space could be sold at a high price. When the last piece of wolf skin was stored in the space, only the primary skill scroll with a faint glow was left lying on the dead leaves.

"You haven't used it before?" Illya leaned in, her nose almost touching Irene's silver hair. "Although there is a chance that the primary scroll will be repeated, what if a magical skill is revealed?"

"100,000 astral gold coins sound like street bread in your mouth." Irene stared at the scroll and remembered the price quoted by the old alchemist in the exchange. "You must come from an extraordinary family."

Illya suddenly laughed out loud, and the tips of her elf ears turned pink in the bonfire: "I am the heir of the Shadow Blade family! But..." She suddenly lowered her voice, "You have to shout 'In the Name of the Star Realm' to use the scroll."

Irene raised her eyebrows and gently pressed her fingertips on the scroll. As soon as her mental power touched it, the scroll burst into brilliant light, enveloping her in a cocoon of light. There was no need for any so-called spells. Illya's disappointed cry reached her ears, but was drowned out by the system prompt sound:

[Skill Acquisition: Corpse Explosion (Level 1)]

[Effect: Detonate the designated corpse, causing range damage equal to 10% of the target's HP before death to enemies within 1 meter, consuming 50 points of mental power]

Irene's pupils shrank suddenly. On the surface, the 1-meter range and 10% damage were insignificant, but the 20-fold bonus of the global amplification talent allowed her to see infinite possibilities: 1 meter expanded to 20 meters, 10% increased to 200%, combined with the high-frequency killing of the skeleton warriors, it was enough to form a chain explosion.

"How's it going?" Illya looked around while clinging to the edge of the light cocoon. "Did you learn any amazing skills?"

"Chain detonation." Irene answered briefly, looking at the skill icon that emerged after the light cocoon dissipated - a skeleton was exploding, and the soul fire turned into a shock wave. This seemingly useless skill, with the cooperation of the army of the dead, will become a powerful weapon for clearing the field.

Illya suddenly took out a wooden box inlaid with a crow feather emblem and stuffed it into Irene's hand: "This is for you! An intermediate skill scroll that can teach you level 20-40 skills. I stole it."

[Intermediate Skill Scroll: Forbidden Skill Level of the Dark Erosion Cult]

[Effect: Randomly obtain level 20-40 skills of this profession, with the risk of duplication]

Irene's fingertips paused on the wooden box. She knew that a scroll of this level was priced at 10 million astral gold coins on the exchange, and it was the core technology of the Dark Eclipse Cult. Illya's generosity reminded her of the astral tower tattoo on her back - that might not be a coincidence.

"Why?" She looked directly into Illya's silvery grey eyes. "You risked your life to steal something."

"Because you saved me!" Illya shook her long hair, and the crow feather emblem on the wooden box resonated faintly with the tattoo under her cloak. "And... you reminded me of the 'Commander of the Dead' that my mother often talked about, the one who could reorganize the Star Tower."

The bonfire crackled in the wind, and 44 bronze skeleton warriors turned their heads in sync in the shadows, their souls flickering like an army waiting for orders. Irene held the intermediate scroll in her hand, and suddenly realized that this seemingly joking gift might be the key to unlocking the mystery of her mother's disappearance.

"Time to try out a new skill." She stood up and ran her fingertips over the nearest goblin corpse, "The corpse exploded."

A 20-meter-diameter blue shockwave exploded, and three dying rotten wolves were turned into dust in the explosion. The experience prompt sounded three times in a row. Illya whistled and looked at the unharmed skeleton warrior: "Global amplification increases the range by 20 times? You are simply cheating!"

Irene did not answer, her eyes fell on the Dark Eclipse Order outpost in the distance. The crow feather flags there fluttered in the night wind, providing the best testing ground for new skills. When the first corpse of an Order soldier rose in the explosion, she knew that the era of group attacks by necromancers had arrived.

In the observation room of the Star Tower of the Eternal Night Academy, Sera Winter looked at the blue explosion light flashing in the crystal ball, and the ice crystals on her fingertips suddenly condensed into sharp blades. The necromancer who had crushed her in the novice copy was now using the power of the dead to rewrite the entire professional landscape of the Roland Empire.