Wizards begin by accessing the Inspiration panel.

Chapter 241 Undercurrents and Bones

Richard glanced around and, seeing the expressions of surprise, disbelief, and astonishment in the eyes of the group of wizard apprentices, couldn't help but smile slightly and said:

"My name is Richard, Richard Clavel. Many of you here should know me."

As soon as Richard finished speaking, the audience could no longer remain silent.

Instantly, a tsunami of gasps of amazement erupted from below.

Just now, many wizard apprentices were wondering whether the other person was the one they were thinking of.

But now that Richard himself has admitted that he is Richard, the shock to everyone is almost enough to make them dizzy.

"My God! This speed must have broken the record for the fastest advancement to a full-fledged wizard in the history of the Ignis School!" a second-level wizard apprentice exclaimed, his eyes wide.

He entered the Ignis School in the same batch as Richard, so he was naturally familiar with Richard, the former top student.

"Not only is he the fastest to advance to a formal wizard, but he has probably broken all the previous records as well."

"You mean the record of a second-level wizard apprentice being promoted to a third-level wizard apprentice?"

"Yes, in just a year and a half, he went from a first-level wizard apprentice to a full wizard. It seems even the school's record for promotion to a third-level apprentice isn't that fast!"

"Wow! That's terrifying!"

"Looking at it this way, it seems I made the right decision to join the Ignis School," a freshman said, his eyes fixed intently on the young instructor on the stage.

"Yeah, I initially thought my family recommended me to the Ignis School because they didn't think much of me, but now it seems that's not the case," another freshman muttered to himself.

"Actually, your family probably doesn't think highly of you. Richard the Wizard's case is an exception. However, I reckon the admission standards for the Ignis School will likely be much higher next year," a freshman chimed in.

"If that's the case, the ranking of the three major necromancer academies might change again in the future."

"That's not quite it; it's too difficult to change things fundamentally."

"."

Richard watched as the numerous wizard apprentices below couldn't help but whisper among themselves, but he wasn't angry.

After all, his rapid promotion was so shocking to their existing mindset that it was understandable that they were having trouble controlling their emotions.

A minute later, after he released some mental energy fluctuations again, the entire classroom fell silent once more.

"Now, let's begin the lesson."

"The origins of puppetry can be traced back to the ancient mythological era," Richard's magnetic voice began to echo in the classroom.

"Puppetry can be applied to the creation of various mechanical devices and combat puppets, and is suitable for a wide variety of combat scenarios."

"For example, this one."

Richard pulled a small squirrel out of his pocket.

At first, the apprentices below didn't realize what was happening, but later they discovered that this was not an ordinary squirrel, but a mechanical squirrel.

"That's right, it's a mechanical squirrel. It can be made without even needing a control core. It's a beginner-level product of puppetry."

"But what use is such a small thing, with such weak combat power?"

"If we put a bottle of Fire Dance Star inside a mechanical squirrel, and set the mechanism so that it automatically explodes when attacked, it might not be very effective against highly intelligent enemies, but it could be quite useful against monsters with low intelligence."

Richard's insightful yet accessible explanation of puppetry immediately captivated many of the wizarding apprentices below.

"This is the blueprint for a basic golem—the Harvest Golem. It's a very common type of basic golem in the dwarven region. It can be used to harvest barley and wheat, or it can be used to deal with ordinary enemies. Its combat strength is roughly at the level of a quasi-knight."

Richard took out a square drawing measuring one meter and explained it carefully.

At this moment, Lina in the audience was already listening with her eyes shining. The fighting power of a "quasi-knight"?

If we go a step further, wouldn't we have knight-level combat power, which would perfectly complement my combat abilities, allowing us to form a combat force comparable to a three-person squad?

"This is also a blueprint for a basic puppet. This is a tinplate combat puppet, but it requires a basic control core. Similarly, its combat power is higher than the previous two. The tinplate combat puppet's combat power is comparable to that of a formal knight."

"Hiss~"

Many of the wizard apprentices below are still at the first stage, and their strength is only around that of a formal knight, with some even only at the level of a quasi-knight.

So, after hearing Richard's introduction of the tin-skinned combat puppet, his eyes immediately lit up and he was filled with longing!

"This puppetry is amazing! It only requires a tiny bit of mental energy to control a puppet whose combat power rivals that of a full-fledged knight. This is way easier to get started with than any of the necromancy-based summoning spells."

"Yes, unless one is exceptionally talented, to ensure a high success rate, the necromancy spell can generally only be cast by at least a level two wizard apprentice, and it also consumes a lot of mental energy."

"It seems this puppetry technique is incredibly cost-effective! I just wonder how many magic stones it would cost to create such a puppet?"

"."

After class, the words Richard and puppetry quickly swept through the entire Ignis school of wizarding apprentices.

Even many students who were stationed or escorting others learned that a wizarding apprentice who had only been enrolled for a year and a half had successfully become a full wizard.

At first, when the other apprentices heard the news, they would often have an expression that said, "Are you kidding me?"

But after verification, when the news was found to be true, they were completely stunned, and soon after, they became someone else spreading the news.

Since the Ignis School is currently serving as a transit point for the underground battlefield, the news quickly spread to the apprentices of the other two major necromancer academies.

-

The Ring of North, a room filled with the scents of various healing potions.

"What? That guy has appeared, and he's now a full-fledged instructor in the Ignis School?"

Gildas, who was lying on the bed with a pale face, suddenly sat up when he heard the news that Richard had become a formal instructor of the Ignis School.

However, the look of surprise on Gildas's face vanished in an instant.

"I should have expected this. If someone really does become a full-fledged wizard in just a year and a half, it wouldn't be surprising if the Ignis School valued him and hired him as an instructor!"

"But... in that case, I can't use many of my methods openly and honestly."

After Gildas regained his composure, he muttered to himself.

Looking at Gildas's dazed face, the burly Ondino sighed and said:

"Gildas, focus on recovering. There will always be other opportunities in the future."

Gildas was seriously injured in the last battle, and because of the double injury, his strength almost dropped below the level of a formal wizard.

Half a year has passed, and countless magic stones have been spent. It was only with great difficulty that Gildas's strength at the formal wizard level was preserved. This was also the result of the great efforts of the Colonna family behind Gildas.

but

From this point on, Gildas' potential and future prospects were almost completely cut off!

Meanwhile, Gildas, who was the chief heir of the Colonna family, was quickly replaced by a new family member, and his treatment in all aspects was reduced.

In a large wizarding family, the selection and competition within the family are also very fierce. Similarly, it is impossible for the family to choose a descendant whose future is cut off to inherit the position of patriarch, as this would cause turmoil in the entire family.

In Gildas's eyes, all of this was caused by Richard, and it was Richard who caused the consequences.

It's fair to say that Gildass hated Richard to the core!

"No! Ondino, I must get my revenge!"

Gildas's bloodshot eyes blazed with a ferocious, predatory gaze.

Andino shook his head, looking at his once spirited friend in such a state, and couldn't help but sigh, saying:

"Gildas."

However, before Andino could even open his mouth, Gildas interrupted him.

"Don't worry, Andino, I know what you're going to say. The other side has already gained momentum and become a rising star in the Ignis School. I know what's important and won't take action myself."

"However, don't forget, I know exactly what they did in the Norman Secret Realm. Robert Soto died at their hands. I will inform the Soto family of this immediately."

Robert Soto—if Richard were here now, he would surely remember this man.

The opponent was the first level three wizard apprentice that Richard killed after entering the Norman Secret Realm.

The Soto family behind it is a very powerful family within the Ignis school.

When Robert Soto died, the Soto family sent someone to inquire about the matter with Gildas.

However, Gildas was in a coma at the time and had no evidence to prove that Robert Soto had died at Richard's hands, so the matter was left unresolved.

When Gildas awoke, he paid a great price to have a highly skilled astrologer perform a divination, only to learn that not only his son, but also Robert Soto, had died at Richard's hands.

But before Gildas could tell the Soto family anything, Richard disappeared.

Now that the other side has returned, Gildas can make good use of this information.

He will definitely not let Richard get away with this!

With three formal wizards in charge, the Soto family can be considered the leading large wizarding family in the Ignis School, with deep-rooted influence within the school.

In particular, the Soto family has an elder who is over 150 years old and whose strength is close to that of a top-level wizard. His status in the Ignis School is second only to a second-level archmage.

If the other party knew that his most beloved grandson, the family's most promising candidate to become a formal wizard, had died at Richard's hands, he would definitely be unwilling to accept it and would do something about it.

-

After class, Richard went to the laboratory located underground in the Ignis School.

Before arriving at the laboratory, Richard had never imagined that such a vast space had been unearthed beneath the school's grounds, containing dozens of different types of laboratories, control rooms for various witchcraft arrays, and an array spirit that had been passed down for a long time.

The point tallying and complex calculations for all the wizards are all done by this spirit.

No wonder the points don't update in real time if the wizards leave the school's headquarters.

At this moment, Richard had just finished creating one hundred basic control cores and was pondering some things.

"My return this time has been quite high-profile, mainly because the Norman Secret Realm incident might have some lingering effects. Therefore, I deliberately joined the school in a high-profile manner and began teaching puppetry."

"If people continue to cause me trouble under these circumstances, I think I should retaliate appropriately so that the school of thought doesn't become too biased."

So that's why Richard made this high-profile comeback.

"Furthermore, the production of the Bloodbone Golem can begin immediately. Apart from the skeleton, I prepared three of the other raw materials, including the advanced control core, when I left Tug City."

"Among the skeletons I saw in the Grand Wizard of Grass's room, several met the requirements for making Bloodbone Golems."

"However, it's not wise to go directly to Archmage Graf. I should go to the school's supply depot first and see if they have the high-quality skeletons I need in their exchange materials."

"Even if not, it would be more appropriate to ask Instructor Seras to make a deal with Archmage Graf later."

In no time, Richard had figured out the things he needed to do.

After thinking for a moment, Richard quickly left the underground laboratory and went to the supply point.

Inside the supply depot, the same girl with maroon hair was still working. Seeing Richard enter, she stood up and smiled sweetly:

"Lord Richard, what are your needs this time?"

"Help me find some raw materials related to the skeleton."

Richard smiled and handed his ring to the girl.

"OK."

The girl respectfully accepted Richard's ring with both hands and quickly began to operate it.

Before long, rows of material names appeared on the black stone slab beside them.

"Lord Richard, this is the list of materials you are looking for. You can flip through the pages to find them yourself. Of course, you can also tell me more detailed requirements, and I will help you with the process," the girl said respectfully.

"No need, I can do it myself."

Richard carefully examined the list of materials on the black stone slab.

Under the control of the sect's underground array spirit, this black stone slab achieved an effect almost similar to the tablet Richard had in his previous life.

Of course, the effects mentioned here are only the display and simple page-turning controls.

The list of materials related to the skeleton displayed on the black stone slab was not long.

Soon, after eliminating some irrelevant options such as bone powder, bone palms, and bone staffs, and then removing non-humanoid skeletons, Richard kept only three items.

"A rare orc skeleton from the continent of Vitlor. Estimated strength before death was around high level one. Complete. Exchange requirements: Total points must exceed 1000. 250 points are required to exchange for this item."

"Ogre skeleton, a skeleton from a roaming ogre, estimated strength at mid-level 1, complete. Exchange requirements: Total points exceeding 800, 150 points required to exchange for this item."

"The remains of an ancient troll warrior, from a certain ruin, are estimated to have been at the top level of level one in life, missing the little finger and ring finger of his right hand. Exchange requirements: Total points exceeding 1500, 300 points are required to exchange for this item."

Richard's heart immediately warmed upon seeing the three skeletons.

From his perspective, all three skeletons met his minimum expectations, and he wished he could take them all at once.

Richard glanced at the 100 points displayed on the inner wall of his ring and couldn't help but sigh.

"It takes 700 points to get them all, which is a real headache. I've already done a preliminary calculation, and the points I can get from submitting the three advanced knowledge items are just enough to exchange for a level one witchcraft model."

"It seems we lack the strength to exchange for more bones."

Richard crossed his arms and rubbed his chin.

"Let's wait for the review results first!"

Not long after leaving the supply point, Richard encountered his mentor, Seras, in the corridor.

However, Celeste looked at Richard with a grave expression, as if something bad had happened.

This immediately made Richard's heart skip a beat.

"Richard, come with me for a moment, I need to talk to you about something."

"Yes, mentor," Richard said with a slight bow.

(End of this chapter)