"Student Chen Xu, when you're finished with your business in Linghai, contact me through the Soul-Inducing Token, and I'll take you to the Dragon Seed evaluation."
"Alright, Teacher Xia."
Chen Xu was beaming, his face full of joy.
After leaving the mental meeting, he was still immersed in the happiness of being sponsored by Daxia.
Now, he would go back to pack his things, say goodbye to his roommates, and follow Xia Qiming to the Dragon Seed Program evaluation.
Linghai Academy, men's dormitory.
"Sons, I'm back!" Chen Xu pushed open the door.
"Whoa, Brother Xu, why are you back so soon? You didn't just give up and quit, did you?"
"Yeah, you didn't actually take some banned substance last night, did you? Brother Yong, let's pin him down and report him to the academy."
"I second that!"
"I second it too!"
"Second my foot," Chen Xu interrupted their wild ideas. "I've already cleared the initial dungeon. I'm just back to pack. I'm reporting to the military academy immediately."
Xia Qiming had warned Chen Xu that the Dragon Seed Program was in a confidential phase and shouldn't be revealed to outsiders until the time was right.
Chen Xu had asked when the right time would be—after all, he really wanted to show off. A "Dragon Seed" sounded much more impressive than the Three Great Academies.
Xia Qiming hadn't replied, only giving a dry chuckle.
"For real? You haven't fried your brain, have you?" His roommates still found it hard to believe.
"Here, look at this." Chen Xu tossed out a student ID for the military academy. He had begged Xia Qiming for a long time to have this rush-ordered.
"A student ID from the military academy. Never seen one before, right?" Chen Xu was quite smug.
"Never. Definitely never seen one."
"Let me touch it. Tsk, this texture... is it some high-grade material? As expected of the Three Great Academies."
While Wu Yong and Zhao Siyuan were still fiddling with the ID, Li Jun suddenly dropped to one knee.
"Father, please accept your son's bow!"
"Damn it, Li Jun, you spineless bastard!"
The group immediately started fooling around.
...
"The world is vast; I wish you a smooth journey."
Chen Xu had finished packing his things into a storage ring. The ring was also given by Xia Qiming, called a benefit for students entering the Dragon Seed Program screening.
They all understood that this parting might be the last time they ever saw each other.
"See you again if fate allows, everyone!"
...
"Finished your business so quickly?"
After leaving the dormitory, Chen Xu went straight to meet Teacher Xia.
"Then let's go. We're taking the train to the West Wasteland. A new dungeon has formed there. Daxia scouts have already explored it; it's a primary conquest-type dungeon. Mr. Le has designated it as your Dragon Seed evaluation."
On the train, Chen Xu finally had time to check Bone Guard One's status and the rewards from the initial dungeon.
【Skeleton Hero: Bone Guard One (Level 10)】
【Skills: Command, Hold Fast, Shield Bash, Vanguard's Courage, Gaze of Fear, Blood-Bathed Body】
【Command (Level 10): A skeleton hero can command 10,000 skeleton soldiers and slightly enhance their attributes. Simultaneously, the skeleton hero gains attribute boosts based on the number of soldiers commanded.】
【Hold Fast (Level 10): During positional warfare, the skeleton hero and nearby skeleton soldiers gain additional defense attributes.】
【Shield Bash (Level 10): Use the shield to strike a target. When used against units smaller than the skeleton hero or lower in level, it is guaranteed to cause a stun.】
【Vanguard's Courage (Level 6): Deploys an aura that grants commanded soldiers additional speed and defense. When charging the enemy, their progress will not be halted by non-lethal wounds.】
【Gaze of Fear (Level 1): Unwilling souls cling to the shield, representing the ultimate terror for the living. Raising the shield and stimulating the souls terrifies enemies in front.】
【Blood-Bathed Body (Level 1): Blood is the source of power for the living. Bathing in that power strengthens the skeletal frame.】
【Hero Name: Beastman Reaper (A title forged from the blood of hundreds of thousands of beastmen; beastman-type enemies will feel fear toward you.)】
【Ascension Reward】
【Level 10: Headhunter's Glory】
【Headhunter's Glory】
【Equipment Type: Shield】
【Owner: Bone Guard One (Exclusive)】
【Equipment Traits: Gain different attributes based on the heads embedded in the shield. Current heads: Tiger, Bear, Pig, Bull, Snake, Hawk, Dog, Cat, Rat, Elephant.】
【Tiger's Strength: Attacks carry a sharpness effect.】
【Bear's Strength: Doubles strength.】
【Pig's Strength: Doubles health.】
【Bull's Strength: Doubles defense.】
【Snake's Strength: Doubles agility.】
【Hawk's Strength: Enables low-altitude gliding.】
【Dog's Strength: Enhances perception.】
【Cat's Strength: Improves balance.】
【Elephant's Strength: Doubles size.】
【Rat's Strength: Doubles the speed and range of necrotic aura dissipation.】
Bone Guard One, having completed its ascension, gained two new skills. Gaze of Fear was an area-of-effect control skill, while Blood-Bathed Body seemed to be a growth-type passive.
Most importantly, the ascension reward, Headhunter's Glory, provided massive boosts to Bone Guard One, completely transforming its strength.
Next, Chen Xu checked his clear rewards.
【Dungeon Space Fragment. Fragment Attributes (Ancient Battlefield, Abundance): Can be synthesized with other space fragments or fused into a dungeon.】
【Level increased by 4.】
【Destiny Points: 1.】
"Claim rewards."
A surge of energy flooded into Chen Xu's body.
【Level increased. Current level is 2.】
【Level increased. Current level is 3.】
【Level increased. Current level is 4.】
【Level increased. Current level is 5.】
【Class: Necromancer (Rare)】
【Level: 5】
【Talent: 996 (Whenever you work or cultivate continuously, you receive an additional bonus percentage. The longer the duration, the higher the bonus.)】
【Attributes】
【Health: 90】
【Strength: 10】
【Agility: 10】
【Spirit: Transcendent】
【Skills: Raise Skeleton, Weaken Curse, Bone Armor, Necrotic Space】
【Raise Skeleton (Level 20): Summons a skeleton. If a corpse is consumed, gain additional bonuses based on the corpse's quality.】
【Weaken Curse (Level 1): Curses creatures within an area, reducing all their attributes.】
【Bone Armor (Level 1): Summons a set of bone armor to resist damage.】
【Necrotic Space (Level 5) (Unique): A space inherent to the Necromancer where undead creatures can survive and be carried. The Necrotic Space is a unique skill; its level synchronizes with the character's level.】
After reaching Level 5, Chen Xu could finally see his four main attributes. However, while Health, Strength, and Agility had numerical values, Spirit was simply listed as "Transcendent"—a rank without a specific number.
"Teacher Xia, do you know what the Transcendent rank is?" They were in a private carriage, with only the two of them present.
"Your spirit has reached the Transcendent rank?!" Xia Qiming was also incredulous. "Once an attribute reaches 1000 points, it transforms into the Transcendent rank. After that come Epic and Legendary, but I'm not sure what follows. Currently, no one in Daxia has reached a higher rank."
"When a professional levels up, they gain 10 Health and 10 points in their primary class attribute per level. Usually, Transcendent-rank attributes are only achieved around level 50 through skills and equipment."
"Jie jie, it seems I really am a once-in-a-million talent." Chen Xu laughed happily.
"No, you are unprecedented. Whether there will be others like you remains to be seen."
After laughing, Chen Xu took out the Dungeon Space Fragment. It was a crystal-like object about the size of a fingernail.
"A Dungeon Space Fragment! You got this as a clear reward too?" Xia Qiming saw the crystal appear in Chen Xu's hand and looked closely to realize it was a space fragment.
"It seems the world's consciousness really favors you."
"Teacher Xia, what's the use of this fragment? The description says it can be fused with other fragments or into a dungeon, but I don't own a dungeon."
"You can fuse it into your Necrotic Space," Xia Qiming replied.
"Huh? Skills can be fused too?" Chen Xu was full of doubt.
"Yes. The Necrotic Space physically exists; it's not just a skill displayed on a panel."
He opened his smart terminal and sent several files to Chen Xu.
"I've sent you some academy research on skills. If you're interested in studying the theory, you can look them over in your spare time. If not, that's fine too."
"Then forget it," Chen Xu waved his hand. "Teacher Xia, you've probably seen my files. Research and theory... my grades just won't allow it."
"By the way, Teacher Xia, I can perform the fusion now?"
"You can. Fusing a skill won't cause any major issues; only fusing a dungeon creates a massive disturbance. Go ahead and fuse it; I'll keep watch for you."
"Connect the fragment to your Necrotic Space using your mental energy, and the fusion will occur."
Following Teacher Xia's instructions, Chen Xu enveloped the space fragment with his mental energy and extended it to the Necrotic Space within him. Once the connection was established, the space fragment melted and flowed through the mental channel into the Necrotic Space.
【Necrotic Space has fused with a Dungeon Space Fragment. The space has expanded and gained special terrains: Ancient Battlefield, Blood-Soaked Swamp.】
【Necrotic Space has reached the requirements for the next tier. The rare class Necromancer has ascended to the transcendent class: Necrotic Lord.】
【Obtained new skill: Lord's Covenant.】
【Lord's Covenant (Exclusive): All damage received by the Necrotic Lord is shared equally among all summoned creatures.】
He hadn't expected that fusing a single fragment would elevate his class to the transcendent rank and grant him a divine survival skill.
His massive spirit brought an overwhelming number of summons, and under the influence of Lord's Covenant, the health of those summons was effectively Chen Xu's health. As long as his summons lived, Chen Xu was invincible.
Rate on N.U.
