Dark Wizard: Rise! My undead army!

The chaos in the market did not subside after he left.

Lynn felt no pressure about the mission from the people he knew, since they all had someone to rely on.

Mary successfully collected five magic stones with the "selfless help" of her second boyfriend and the help of her third boyfriend who set up a stall to sell goods.

With the financial support of her innocent boyfriend, Lillian easily passed the test.

Thomas has good family skills and has done a lot for his mentor in the past three months, selling goods at a stall and doing dirty and tiring work. It is also easy for him to earn five magic stones from the shop.

This third hurdle is not a problem for most apprentices if they are prepared.

However, a small number of apprentices who were unable to accumulate enough contribution points or magic stones made their final choice.

Some people rushed into the marketplace of the formal wizards, hoping to find a shop to seek refuge in.

Some people, clinging to a sliver of hope, hid in a corner of the market or under abandoned stalls, trying to survive the final moments.

Even worse, some people threw away their identity badges, thinking that this would help them escape the academy's pursuit and punishment.

However, their idea was too naive.

"Time's up."

A cold voice suddenly rang out from somewhere, echoing throughout the entire market.

Immediately afterwards, several gray figures appeared like ghosts throughout the market—these were more soul hunters.

Those who hid were easily pulled from their hiding places, and those who discarded their nameplates were also locked onto by some kind of invisible tracking magic.

They were picked up by the hunters like chicks and thrown into a small open space in the center of the market, where they quickly formed a small pile.

There were about twenty people, all of them ashen-faced and trembling.

"No—! Give me a little more time! My friend promised to lend me the magic stone! He will definitely bring it!" an apprentice cried out hoarsely.

"Let me go! I've passed the test! I just... I just lost the nameplate and the magic stone!" Another apprentice struggled in vain.

"Damn it! Carter! You promised you'd help me! I'll haunt you even as an undead!"

Some people uttered the most vicious curses towards the market entrance, cursing the friend they trusted who ultimately failed to lend a helping hand.

Their fate was already sealed.

Violating the rules or failing to complete the assessment is tantamount to losing one's value in this dark wizarding academy.

Their bodies, souls, and even the last bit of value they had before death will be completely extracted by the academy in the most "efficient" way, becoming "materials" or "experiences" for other apprentices or wizards on their path to advancement.

...

Lynn walked out of the market area, playing with the soul lamp in his hand, reflecting on the fulfilling days he had spent there.

For the past few months since enrolling, he has basically been going back and forth between the laboratory, the library, and the task hall, living a monotonous life.

Although the three days at the market were busy, they were also full of the warmth and life of everyday people.

Moreover, you can occasionally find a bargain at the market and "borrow" some knowledge for free, broadening your horizons considerably.

Hmm... how about we just set up a stall at the market from now on? That way we can have more "surprises" than in the mission hall.

"It's time to go back. Professor Gregor will probably complain that I'm 'not doing my job properly' again."

Lynn's lips curled slightly as he disappeared into the shadowy path leading to the laboratory area.

Inside the laboratory, Gregor was frowning at a bone plate, seemingly facing some difficult problem.

When he sensed Lynn's figure appear outside the laboratory, his eyes lit up.

The kid's finally back!

Lynn's figure had just appeared in the corridor outside the laboratory when the door opened automatically before he could even reach out to push it open.

An invisible spiritual force extended out, precisely "wrapped" him, and then, without saying a word, "pulled" him into the laboratory.

"Hey—my mentor?"

Lynn felt a blur before his eyes and found himself standing in front of Gregor's workbench, which was piled high with bone plates and a jumble of instruments.

Gregor's cloudy eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had seen a savior.

"You're finally back, kid! You've got yourself hooked on setting up a stall, huh? Come here, use your clever little brain and help me take a look at this monstrosity!"

Gregor shoved the bone plate in front of Lynn, pointing to the tangled energy nodes on it.

"See that? The third deflection loop of this 'Reverse Soul Prism' should theoretically be able to disperse the peak soul pressure during 'death metamorphosis' most efficiently, but the actual simulation always fails!"

"The energy here is either dissipating prematurely or inexplicably converging into a spiked, reactive core! Logically, there's nothing wrong with it, so where did things go wrong?"

Gregor spoke rapidly, clearly troubled by this problem for quite some time, his tone revealing the anxiety characteristic of a research fanatic.

Lynn composed himself, suppressing the relaxed state of mind he had when he returned from the market, and turned his gaze to the bone plate.

As he listened to Gregor's description, he activated his [Analysis] function to its fullest extent, immersing his consciousness in the complex model.

A moment later, he pointed to one of the intersections where several runes connected:

"Mentor, look here. The core of the 'prism' effect is 'deflection' and 'dispersion,' but the entrance angle of the third loop you set is incorrect. It should be..."

As he spoke, Lynn picked up the bone pen beside him and quickly sketched an enlarged and simplified diagram in the blank space.

Gregor leaned closer, staring intently at the simple drawing Lynn had made, his fingers unconsciously gesturing in the air, a flash of sudden realization crossing his cloudy eyes.

"Negative angular difference...vortex front..."

"Damn it! How come I didn't think of that! Good lad! He solved my problem that's been bothering me for three days as soon as he got back!"

After the initial excitement subsided, Gregor seemed to only then notice Lynn's travel-worn appearance and gave him a quick once-over:

"How was it? Had enough of the market? Didn't get ripped off?"

"Thanks to my mentor, the results were decent."

Lynn smiled, took the [Broken Phase Lamp] from the Necromancer's Ring, and handed it to Gregor.

"I also found a small bargain, Professor, please take a look at this."

Gregor took the Soul Lamp, glanced at it casually, then let out a soft "Huh," his fingers tracing the worn runes on the lamp and the murky crystal.

"Phase attribute? Or is it a Horcrux? It's quite badly damaged... It only has a second-ring base, what a pity."

"You have a good eye. If this thing were intact, it would be worth quite a few magic stones. As for now... it can barely be used as a somewhat special soul container. What, you want to repair it?"

"That's exactly what I'm thinking."

Lynn nodded. "I already know its repair requirements. The rest are manageable, but the core requires [Void Silver Dust] and a complete [Stable Phase Rune Set]."

"Professor, you are very knowledgeable. Do you have any connections in the lab or through any channels to obtain these two items?"