Fang Zhou naturally didn't hesitate.
As his Soul Fire was consumed, he felt as if he had returned to the moment his skeleton clone was bathed in the blood-red moonlight.
His consciousness seemed to cross myriad bizarre spatial barriers, arriving in a vast, cold, and desolate world.
His main body and the clone suddenly merged into one.
Then, a powerful surge of Death Energy enveloped Fang Zhou.
"Skill deduction successful: [Domination Skeleton]."
[Domination Skeleton] (Apprentice-rank, Skilled): Slightly increases the Four-dimensional Attributes of subordinate skeleton-type Undead Creatures. The increase is determined by the user's Spirit Attribute and Skill Proficiency.
Fang Zhou nodded slightly. It was another super-practical passive skill.
His current skills fell mainly into two categories: the Summoning Series and the Skeleton Series.
As his strength grew, he had initially been worried that the power of [Summon Skeleton] would prove to be insufficient.
After all, as pure cannon fodder, skeletons were simply too weak in terms of combat power.
Now, with the addition of [Domination Skeleton], his skeletons could remain a viable part of his combat lineup for a long time to come.
Fang Zhou casually uploaded this skill to the Human Alliance's Skill Library and received another 100 contribution points as a reward.
He then looked at his attribute panel.
[Name] Fang Zhou
[Profession] Undead Mage
[Tier] Apprentice · Middle Rank
[Attributes] Strength 3.9, Agility 3.9, Constitution 3.9, Spirit 6
[Status] Soul Split
[Equipment] Apprentice Mage Hat, Apprentice Necklace, Apprentice Ring*2
[Skills] Skeleton King Meditation Method (Perfection), Summon Skeleton (Perfection), Skeleton Flying Spear (Mastery), Skeleton Shield (Mastery), Skeleton Shackles (Skilled), Domination Skeleton (Skilled), Calm and Relaxed (Skilled)
Compared to his attribute panel right after his Awakening, Fang Zhou's Four-dimensional Attributes had more than tripled. He had also learned a total of seven high-quality skills, all with high proficiency.
This remarkable growth in less than a month gave him a spontaneous sense of accomplishment.
Fang Zhou stretched lazily. Just as he was feeling content and ready to sleep, his personal terminal flashed a few times and displayed a notification.
BING. "Junior Sergeant Fang Zhou, someone has redeemed the skills you developed: [Skeleton Flying Spear], [Skeleton Shield], [Skeleton Shackles], and [Domination Skeleton].
Per the profit-sharing rules, you have been awarded 20 contribution points."
Fang Zhou was slightly stunned. He hadn't expected someone to redeem the new Undead Mage skills he had uploaded so quickly.
He had originally thought that with a base of less than 100 Undead Mages, it would be a long time before anyone noticed the new skills.
However, it was only 20 contribution points, so Fang Zhou didn't give it much thought.
He yawned and quickly drifted into dreamland.
「...」
「Sea City Military Academy, Headmaster's Office.」
A stunning holographic projection floated before Su Tiankuo.
It depicted a young female officer with long, silver hair and breathtakingly beautiful features.
"Dad, I just redeemed those new Undead Mage skills you told me about.
Besides the three Skeleton Series skills, there was even an additional new skill, [Domination Skeleton]!
Such an innovative idea, such incredible talent!
Do you know who the developer is? I want to learn from him. I'd even be willing to take him as my master," the female officer said, her voice filled with excitement.
Upon hearing this, Su Tiankuo's expression immediately darkened.
"Take him as your master? Xinyan, are you kidding me?
This person is a first-year cadet at Sea City Military Academy named Fang Zhou.
Lu Hu has been begging me to transfer you back to be his mentor."
Su Xinyan was shocked. "What?! A first-year cadet?!
His understanding of Undead Magic is far more profound than even those Golden Tier Undead Mage seniors.
How could I possibly qualify to be his mentor?"
Su Tiankuo's brows drooped, and he asked with a sour expression, "Is that kid Fang Zhou really that talented?
Didn't you always pride yourself on being the most talented Undead Mage in history? Why the sudden lack of spirit?"
Su Xinyan chuckled, her confidence returning. "Dad, you're a Combat Professional. You don't understand the ways of a Mage.
When faced with a monster like Fang Zhou, who created an entire new Skill Tree less than a month after his Awakening, I can only call myself the second-most talented Undead Mage in history.
Just you wait. I'm submitting a report to headquarters to request a transfer back to the academy right now.
I can't wait to meet Fang Zhou."
Su Xinyan licked her tender lips, her pupils flashing with a strange light.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, it would be great if I could dissect his brain."
Su Tiankuo ignored his daughter's wild talk. He stood up, paced a few steps, and said, "In that case, Xinyan, you should come back quickly. The first-years' Simulation Battlefield is about to open anyway.
At that time, you can assess Fang Zhou's abilities up close.
If he can maintain this level of talent, I'll approve a research project on the Undead Mage Profession for you, with more than enough funding!"
Su Xinyan cheered, "Dad, you're brilliant!"
「...」
Time flew by, and another rest day quickly passed.
When Fang Zhou returned to Sea City Military Academy from the Cloud Welfare Institute, he noticed the atmosphere was much tenser than before. This was because the [Simulation Battlefield] was set to open to the first-year cadets the very next day. It was an open platform where the results of the past month of study would be put on display—the degree of one's professional skill development, differences in personal combat quality, and more. Everyone knew that their performance in the [Simulation Battlefield] would also determine whether they could make it onto the [Seed] list, which was reserved for the top one percent. The cadets couldn't help but feel nervous and concerned.
Fang Zhou sat on his bed, making his own final preparations.
His skills and attributes were already at the maximum level he could currently achieve. He had also accumulated considerable Combat Techniques and practical experience from his training courses and sparring sessions with Ye Fan.
The only thing left to upgrade is my equipment, and that means spending contribution points!
He opened his personal terminal and accessed the equipment exchange interface.
[Apprentice Magic Staff]—slightly enhances spell effects. Buy!
[Apprentice Magic Robe]—slightly increases Defense Power. Buy!
[Apprentice Shoes]—slightly increases movement speed. Buy!
[Apprentice Gloves]—slightly increases skill casting speed. Buy!
After spending 40 contribution points, Fang Zhou finally had a complete set of apprentice equipment, which activated the [Apprentice Set] bonus: a slight enhancement to spell effects!
From his experiments, Fang Zhou found that this full set of equipment increased his Combat Ability by at least ten percent.
Considering that Fang Zhou's attributes and skills already crushed those of his peers, this was a very significant improvement.
Early the next morning, Sea City Military Academy was bustling with excitement. The [Simulation Battlefield] was opening to the first-years for the first time, and nearly 10,000 new cadets were flocking to the training ground where it was located.
This was a spacious venue built specifically for the Simulation Battlefield, large enough to hold tens of thousands of people.
Once inside one of the Simulation Pods at the training ground, anyone with the proper authorization could log into the [Simulation Battlefield] at any time via their personal terminal.