Dark Wizard: Rise! My undead army!

The next morning, Lynn finished meditating and looked refreshed.

Meditation can be a good substitute for sleep; just two hours of meditation can relieve mental fatigue.

Kevin had just woken up from a light meditation, a hint of frustration on his face.

Although he tried to attract negative energy particles, he had little success.

This amount of energy was so small that it couldn't even form a spiritual core; it dissipated almost completely before it even entered the sea of ​​consciousness.

While the two were washing up, Kevin had already composed himself.

His talent wasn't actually bad; he possessed a moderate talent for death, making him a minor genius.

But compared to Lynn...

Let's not even compare!

"Lynn, shall we go to today's general education class together?" Kevin invited enthusiastically.

"It's 'Introduction to Meditation and Techniques for Focusing the Spiritual Core.' The instructor is said to be very experienced and will be very helpful in focusing our spiritual core!"

"Even if you have condensed an energy core, you can still listen to the methods for stabilizing your spiritual core and laying a solid foundation."

Lynn shook her head and politely declined:

"Thank you, but I have something else to attend to. I hope you have a good time in class."

He has already successfully built a core group, so these most basic courses are useless to him and a complete waste of time.

Lynn left the dormitory amidst Kevin's somewhat disappointed gaze.

Instead of going to the public teaching area, he went straight to the college's dining area.

Using his ID badge, he bought two relatively fresh dark breads and smoked meats, as well as two glasses of diluted light beer—a standard apprentice meal, which he bought two of.

In the Tower of Bones, the identity plaque is not only proof of identity, but also a key to access, a storage device for contribution points, and a simple talisman.

Its material and style are strictly corresponding to the holder's level.

The nameplate in Lynn's hand was made of rough bone and was grayish-black in color.

The front is etched with a simple emblem of the Bone Spire (a tower-shaped structure made of three bones), with the apprentices' names and a set of identification numbers engraved below.

Activating your identity badge allows you to cast the [Glimmering Light] spell and also view a map of the entire academy.

This lowest-grade identification badge is issued to all new students.

The neonatal mortality rate is extremely high, so the materials used are naturally the worst, and no one feels bad about throwing away so many.

The nameplates of formal wizard apprentices or formal wizards seen in the academy are obviously much more exquisite.

Lynn planned to go to the "Apprentice Ladder Hall" later to undergo formal certification as a first-class wizard apprentice and change his nameplate.

A moment later, Lynn arrived at the area where his mentor Gregor's laboratory was located.

It was even more deserted than the apprentice area, and the air was filled with all sorts of strange smells.

A pungent chemical smell, a faint putrid odor, and something like... burnt feathers?

Undead puppets and bizarre creations occasionally pass by, carrying piles of materials or transporting all sorts of strange-looking waste from the laboratory.

These waste materials are mixed with various negative energies: death, miasma, curses, resentment, distortion...

The waste was too numerous and unusable, so the undead puppets transported it to a cliff edge and dumped it there.

At the very bottom of the cliff was a giant, dark purple, sludge-like creature, its enormous mouth wide open, waiting for the waste to fall into its mouth automatically.

All waste is a delicacy to it.

Its unconscious aura alone is enough to pollute and erode everything around it.

Lynn didn't dare to wander around here, after all, the existence that could apply for a laboratory was not someone he could afford to offend.

What if my leisurely demeanor displeases a wizard whose experiment is not going well, and he kills me in one move? Where can I complain then?

Gregor's laboratory was a huge room that looked like a converted warehouse, with the door ajar.

Lynn knocked on the door, and an impatient "Come in" came from inside.

Pushing open the door, the scene before her made Lynn raise an eyebrow slightly.

The laboratory was even more cluttered than he had imagined, with various instruments, materials, books, and bone plates piled up everywhere, leaving almost no room to step.

Mentor Gregor stood before a complex device made of metal conduits and shimmering runes, his brow furrowed, his hands constantly making notes.

He was still wearing that stained gray robe, and his already messy hair seemed even more disheveled.

"Good morning, mentor. I brought you breakfast." Lynn placed a piece of food on a corner table that was barely empty.

Gregor didn't even look up, just waved his hand, and then walked to the windowsill.

There was a potted plant that looked half-dead, like a twisted cactus, and was entirely grayish-black.

He skillfully picked a shriveled fruit, about the size of a walnut, and without even looking at it, threw it into his mouth, chewed it a few times, and swallowed it.

"Don't bother with these things."

Gregor's voice was still hoarse and tired. "Just eat this when you're hungry. It's called 'Fullness Mushroom.' One mushroom will last you all day."

Lynn understood. Was this the otherworldly version of "Buttocks" (the herbal elixir)?

This stuff can fill your stomach, but it lacks the satisfaction and pleasure that good food provides.

If this continues... what's the point of living?

Seemingly noticing the incomprehension on Lynn's face, Gregor snorted coldly.

"You'll understand when you reach my level. A wizard's body can automatically absorb the surrounding energy to maintain its functions, and some wizards' bodies are even completely transformed into elemental bodies."

"Ordinary food is no longer of much use to us. If it weren't for the fact that the filling mushrooms can stabilize my magical power, I wouldn't even eat this stuff."

Lynn suddenly realized what was going on. He stopped dwelling on it and looked around the laboratory, asking:

"Professor, is there anything I can help you with? Cleaning, or organizing documents?"

Gregor finally turned around, his cloudy eyes glancing at Lynn, seemingly somewhat surprised by his initiative.

"No need, I'm used to it this way. Including you, I currently have four apprentices under me, and three more..."

"Hmph, one's hanging around the mission hall earning contribution points, another's tinkering with undead creatures somewhere, and the last one's trying to seduce the female apprentice from the Soulweaver's side."

"I don't ask anything of them. Just don't ruin my reputation or cause me trouble. They rarely come. You can do whatever you want with them. Just don't disturb me while I'm doing my experiments."

Do you still have a reputation?

A crazy old man? A paranoid man?

However, Gregor's words were exactly what Lynn wanted to hear.

Isn't the reason for choosing it precisely because of its immense freedom?

Lynn nodded, but did not leave. Instead, he began to carefully tidy up the pile of scattered bone plates closest to him.

These bone plates are engraved with complex formulas, rune configurations, and experimental data records, most of which are related to energy circuits, soul thresholds, and the construction of negative pressure environments.

These are clearly research materials for the [Death Transformation Ritual].

With the knowledge she gained in the library yesterday, Lynn was not a complete novice; she could understand some simple data formulas.

Gregor glanced at him, but didn't stop him, and went back to his work.

As Lynn organized the information, she quickly stored the scattered pieces of knowledge using the panel's "Record" function.

At the same time, he activated the "Analyze" function, directly targeting several core problems that repeatedly appeared in this messy information.

After a busy day, around noon, Lynn was about to eat the extra breakfast, but Gregor ordered a meal for Lynn, letting him experience a proper wizard's "working meal".