Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 130 - 115 Masterpiece

The sheer size of the human skeleton matched the height of a White Bone Golem; the left arm bone, covered with sharp spurs, turned into a Kirin Arm with claw-like phalanges; a human bone with a ten-meter wingspan growing from the scapula; a lizard skeleton with an oversized skull; and a spine resembling five vertebrae fused together like a starfish.

Before Lyle’s eyes were monster skeletons that completely subverted common sense. Not a single one was normal. Nia reached out her tendrils to these remains, and it couldn’t be denied that Nia looked quite harmonious among them. The Evil God and its monster army.

Without further thought about the details, Lyle started his coursework.

Dispelling the magic power that drove them, the twisted bone creatures collapsed like a pile of falling dominoes, scattering across the ground.

Lyle began to pick out the parts he wanted. For him, with a background in medicine, it was a rather painful process. Because as far as the eye could see, any bone in your field of vision was telling you a fact: I am sick, I am deformed, I am disabled, I am abnormal.

This one, with swollen phalangeal tips, could not move normally. That one, with osteoporosis, the marrow section covered with an unidentified filth, could not move normally. The skull in front of him, with protruding teeth structure, could not close the mouth properly; forcibly closing it would tear the biting muscles and lips, causing severe bleeding. The person with this skull would die of either starvation or blood loss, unable to move normally.

With diagnoses forming in his mind, Lyle wasted much time.

In a panic and following the foolproof reconstruction taught by the Giant Dragon mentor, he connected those malformed bones together.

The patchwork monster he cobbled together, refuted by both the medical and physics fields, could still move. Lyle fell silent.

Indeed, the most absurd thing is reality itself.

There was still a little time before the Giant Dragon mentor would come to inspect, and Lyle looked at his repugnant creation. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

He asked himself, is this really enough? His heart answered in the negative; this work was nothing but a stack of advantages from predecessors, lacking a trace of his own touch. The Giant Dragon mentor cared deeply for him, and was he going to gloss over that patient teaching with such a piece? No, I need to show all my skills, achieve my utmost, and conquer him with true art.

......

The Giant Dragon mentor nodded as he looked at the lizard-shaped creature before him.

"Mr. Shiny, introduce your creation, please."

"Of course, Giant Dragon mentor. This is a Skeleton Lizard I put together using one thousand two hundred and forty-six bones. It includes the skeletal structures of humans and other creatures, serving both combat and riding purposes. I combined the features of the Atlan Giant Lizard and the Christ Lizard; it has a solid body, its six legs have webbing between the toes encased in flesh, allowing it to adapt to all terrains, even moving on the surface of liquids. I also added a bony club similar to that of an ankylosaur, right at the end of its tail."

"The area I’m most proud of is its exoskeleton—that’s right, the scales. I chose blue whale cartilage and punched many microscopic holes in it, within which lie those lovely scales. They adhere to the body as needed, resistant to impacts, magic, eliminating drag, and even carrying oxygen. Okay, the last point is a bit of a rib, but one day, my creation will be all the rage, and then human customers will buy such a versatile mount. With it, they can survive in areas otherwise uninhabitable for regular people, isn’t that amazing?"

The Giant Dragon mentor, with the Skeleton Lizard changing its colorful scales under Mr. Shiny’s direction—golden, deep black, dark green, maple red—ignored Mr. Shiny’s grand commercial visions and counted the changes in the scales.

"One, two, three... eleven, eleven live lizards’ scales, eleven blood debts." If he hadn’t been sure Mr. Shiny had restrained himself a lot after his warnings, the Giant Dragon would want to strangle him now. No, he would let his skull be released from the constraints of the body and roll freely.

"A very nice idea, Mr. Shiny, but please don’t be arrogant. There is always someone better, always a higher mountain. Keep up this passion for Spirit Summoning Studies; it will certainly not let you down."

"Thank you, Giant Dragon mentor."

The Giant Dragon moved to another area where a pair of twin students were working, manipulating and adapting.

First was the creation of Manipulation, a sleek and slender human skeleton. Its internal bones were hollowed out, with red flesh exposed at the tips. He discovered a patch of abnormal flesh, a layer of spiderweb-like crimson tissue covering the human skin.

"Manipulator, your creation lacks an exoskeleton structure; I’m not sure if it was intentional, but without it, it will be incredibly vulnerable," said the giant dragon.

"It just has to avoid being hit. If it dodges every attack, its resistance against impacts becomes irrelevant. And that’s exactly what I can accomplish," replied the manipulator.

The manipulator lit up his magic power, and the giant dragon saw the flow of energy within the deformed spider-web-like flesh.

"A beautiful Magic Network Model, I had almost forgotten that you are one of the newcomers of the Magic Research Society. Such exquisite skill," complimented the giant dragon.

"The Magic Network Model allows me to precisely control every strand of energy, every minute motion of my creation; I can dodge all attacks," boasted the manipulator.

"Incredible," praised the giant dragon.

The giant dragon looked toward his brother, Mr. Versatile.

Behind him, a cube made of skeletal structures floated in the air, spinning erratically, with many bone fragments being manipulated by magic power around it.

"Mr. Versatile, could you introduce your creation?" asked the giant dragon.

"Sure, Mr. Giant Dragon. My principle for survival is that having no rules is the best rule. Therefore, with a complex Magic Network Model, I’ve created a Bone Cube. Strictly speaking, it doesn’t qualify as a creation but is a device that operates according to the protocols I’ve set. For now, it serves the function of ejecting bone fragments," explained Mr. Versatile.

"Its strength lies in its variability. Gathering, dispersing, arranging and rearranging, transforming. And there’s one aspect I favor the most."

"Exoskeleton armor, attach," he commanded.

The Bone Cube instantly disintegrated into a sky full of bone fragments, a fine surge that adhered to the manipulator’s humanoid creation, as if a knight had donned his armor.

The pieces of bone were connected by muscle tissue, forming an armor patterned with lava-like lines. Bone Dust was assembled into a curved saber with spikes on the blade and tiny fragments flowing along the back. With a casual wave, the saber’s blade extended and cut down a distant tree; the ensuing bone particle residue struck the remaining parts like spiked projectiles.

"Amazing," said the giant dragon.

Mr. Giant Dragon turned away and left, touching the nonexistent sweat on his forehead. This year’s students might lack ability, but they certainly aren’t short on imagination.

The creations of the two brothers were so impressive that they shook the giant dragon’s confidence to its core; he needed to visit his best student immediately to regain his assurance.

Around Lyle’s workspace, numerous malformed materials were chaotically scattered.

The giant dragon breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed the materials were sufficient.

Pushing aside a pile of bones, he moved towards the inside. The giant dragon found his student and also saw the creation beside him that surpassed his imagination.

It took a long moment for the giant dragon to come back to his senses.

"A skeletal soldier?" he mused aloud.