Dark Wizard: Rise! My undead army!

When March finally arrived, the academy notified all new students via plaques that they should go to the Skeleton Square the following day to participate in the assessment.

Those who do not participate in the assessment will be stripped of their apprenticeship and forcibly recruited as "volunteers" to participate in certain research experiments.

As for the consequences... let's not talk about them.

The three trials of life and death serve as the entrance examination, testing more than just combat skills.

The first level, "Siege of the Living Dead," is divided into two rounds: a large-scale free-for-all and a solo trial.

The Great Melee involves putting all the apprentices and zombies together, and those who survive for a set time are considered qualified.

This round is extremely dangerous for apprentices. If they are left alone, they are likely to fall into the "zombie frenzy," which can eliminate many apprentices who are not strong enough or have bad luck.

The second round is a one-on-one battle against a zombie, which is a test of raw strength. If you have enough resources, you can rely on magical artifacts, potions, equipment, etc. to get through it.

The second challenge, "Whispers of the Dead," requires finding and bringing back a designated "token" within the outermost maze of the Eternal Tomb.

The maze is filled with intense negative energy and countless echoes of regret. Those with weak wills are easily driven to madness and become lost in the tomb.

The third challenge, "Proof of Blood Pact," tests the apprentices' ability to acquire resources.

They will have all their resources confiscated and be thrown into the Ghost Market, where they will have to obtain 50 contribution points or the equivalent of 5 standard magic stones through any means that do not violate the academy's official rules.

These three challenges were nothing to Lynn.

His mental strength and soul were far superior to those of ordinary apprentices, and the second level of the maze could not trap him at all.

The third challenge requires obtaining 5 magic stones or 50 contribution points within three days without carrying any resources. This is extremely difficult for other apprentices, but for him, it's a piece of cake.

Whenever "Lynn the Questioner" needs capital, all he has to do is open his mouth, and magic stones and contribution points will come rolling in.

Other apprentices need to consider how to earn magic stones without start-up capital or any resources.

It's like offering you a tiny pin in exchange for a villa—that's outrageous.

Of course, the academy won't give you tasks you can't complete.

As long as you don't directly rob the academy's official facilities, or cause death or large-scale destruction, you can do whatever you want.

Earning money by completing tasks, earning it through "craftsmanship," selling one's skills, providing information services, or even lending, fraud, coercion, and double-crossing are all viable options.

Lynn successfully pushed his mental strength to 29 points during this final period, leaving him with only 1 point to meet the standard for a third-class apprentice.

When a third-class apprentice is promoted, their spiritual core begins to be energized, and ordinary apprentices can instantly cast level 0 spells and skillfully perform apprentice-level witchcraft.

After reaching the third-level apprentice level, one needs to master at least three apprentice-level sorcery and complete a trial recognized by the academy before one can exchange for the "Soul Gold" nameplate.

Hmm...we can postpone changing the nameplates to avoid being dragged into the battlefield.

After inspecting his undead squad and organizing his equipment, Lynn quietly awaited the assessment.

...

The next morning, when Lynn arrived at the central Bone Plaza with the crowd, the sight before him made his gaze slightly narrow.

The vast plaza was completely surrounded by a black bone fence covered with spikes, the top of which shimmered with runic light, eliminating any possibility of escape by trickery.

Through the gaps in the fence, one can see that the square has been temporarily altered by witchcraft.

The complex terrain is characterized by towering, broken stone pillars, scattered piles of bones, shallow pits, and low earthen walls.

Hundreds of new apprentices arrived early at the edge of the square and gathered outside the entrance.

A tense atmosphere filled the air.

The sounds of discussion, prayers, and heavy breathing mingled together.

"Once we go in, we'll stick together! Find a place with obstacles to guard! Your skeleton soldiers will be at the front."

"I don't know if my skeleton soldiers can hold them off. Your zombies have higher defense, so put them at the front..."

"Hey! You're such a sneaky guy!"

"Does anyone have a healing potion? I'll pay a high price!"

"A first-class apprentice with a Frankenstein's monster, looking for a strong team."

"Don't push! Let me through!"

"Which little bastard touched my breasts! He's got a death wish!"

...

The crowd was noisy, and in some places, conflicts even broke out.

Lynn's gaze swept across the crowd, and he spotted several familiar faces.

Carl was surrounded by several members of the "mutual aid society." His face was extremely pale, but he was still trying to stay alert, waving his arms and whispering something in an attempt to calm everyone down.

Lillian clung tightly to her third-class apprentice boyfriend's arm as he whispered something to her. She nodded repeatedly, while the enormous bone bear beside them protected them both.

Thomas stood alone to one side, examining his forged iron warhammer and the bone wheel spinning on the modified zombie's arm beside him, his eyes burning with fervor.

It seems that he has made a breakthrough in his "Undead Forging Method", as half of the zombie's body next to him is gleaming with a metallic sheen.

Mary mingled on the edge of the crowd, chatting and laughing with a second-class male apprentice beside her, their behavior quite intimate.

The bulky, robed zombie behind him watched all this silently, its hood faintly glowing green.

Alphonse stood a short distance away, accompanied only by a skeleton guard, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding commotion, simply gazing quietly at the entrance to the plaza.

When Lynn looked at him, he seemed to sense it and nodded to Lynn from a distance.

Lynn nodded in return, but became more cautious.

What terrifying sensory abilities!

At that moment, Carl also spotted Lynn and his face lit up with joy. He was about to leave his teammates to come and meet her.

If we could team up with Lynn, our safety would be greatly increased.

But before he could take two steps, the accident happened.

"quiet!"

A cold, sharp shout silenced all the noise, and all the apprentices felt their bodies suddenly sink.

Everyone looked up and saw a mentor dressed in black robes with a sinister face, riding a three-headed chimera undead that exuded a terrifying aura, hovering above the square.

The chimera is an extremely peculiar creature with three distinct heads: a demonic ram's head in the center, a lion's head on the left, and a dragon's head on the right.

Each of the three heads has different abilities and attributes. When they attack together in battle, they can unleash considerable combat power.

The three hollow eye sockets of the chimera's head swept downwards, bringing a heavy pressure to the soul.

"I'll only say the rules once."

The mentor's voice, amplified by witchcraft, echoed in every corner: "First trial, 'The Siege of the Living Dead'."

"The first round is a free-for-all. After the entrance opens, you will have twenty breaths to enter the plaza. After that, three hundred undead will be thrown in."

"What you need to do is survive for half an hourglass, by any means necessary, regardless of life or death."

"The second round is a solo challenge. Those who survive the melee will enter a separate cage and face a zombie. Killing or controlling it will count as passing the round."

"The entrance is now open."

"Timer, start!"