Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 216 - 203: A Small Test

"The Blood Nest Great Tree is the crystallization of my academic achievements, and I am more than happy to boast about my work to you, and to introduce it in detail. It is also closely related to your upcoming studies."

"First, there’s the ground beneath your feet, as well as all the flesh constructs of this creation. This is the essence of the Flesh Sect, its function is to build and connect." Mr. Shiny toyed with the red flesh beside him, as if it were strings of a harp, "Since you have yet to participate in the course by Dragon Master from the White Bone Sect, I can still boast that it is the most resilient material for Spirit Summoning you’ve ever seen. Tough, with excellent conductivity. This flesh inherently contains forty-two techniques from the Flesh Sect. Your main task is to understand it, learn the techniques. I will teach all forty-two, and if you can master twelve of them, I will consider you competent."

Mr. Shiny moved his position, his body turning into blood on the silk threads, and he arrived at the most dazzling part of the Blood Nest Great Tree. He gently tapped the Pearl Clusters in the very center.

"Memory Stone, its material is similar to that of a Soul Stone. It’s a representative work of the Soul Faction. If I remember correctly, creating a Soul Stone is a graduation requirement for students who choose the Soul Faction. The purpose of the Memory Stone is not as all-encompassing as the Soul Stone; as its name suggests, it can record a segment of memory. And memory, for the soul, is something quite significant. The contents of these Memory Stones, even more so."

"Herein lies knowledge. Many Spirit Summoning Masters of past generations have spent time here, their knowledge and wisdom, preserved in this place. That’s why I call this the cornerstone of Spirit Summoning Studies, the Blood Nest Great Tree bears the fruits of our educational endeavors in Spirit Summoning. They are also your reward; distinguished students, I can permit them to consult a Memory Stone."

"Plague Doctor, congratulations on establishing the Necromancer Figure Club." There was a note of satisfaction in Mr. Shiny’s voice. "If you perform well in my class, I can let you sense those few special Memory Stones."

"Memory Stones with detailed analyses of the construction of transcendent creatures’ bodies should be helpful to you."

Lyle saw Mr. Shiny rubbing his hands together excitedly.

Got it, Mr. Shiny’s award is akin to Gundam model designs.

"Next, the Hive part."

Mr. Shiny led the students down from the silken paths and into the Hives one by one.

Under Mr. Shiny’s command, the flesh barriers of each Hive fell away, revealing the white bone exoskeletons within. Each Hive was like a small room, their structures nearly identical. On the floor, clumps of jelly-like blood plasma, like blobs of jelly, and from the ceiling hung a lump of flesh, similar to a small tongue.

"Bone exoskeletons as structural support, exceptionally hard. This is your workshop for what comes next, one room per person. The gel on the ground will provide you with flesh, and your objective is very straightforward: just like bees, use the knowledge of Flesh Weaving I teach you to connect these walls with flesh into a complete individual. That hanging clot of blood in the air is the cognitive entity of the Blood Nest Great Tree; her name is Nola. She is your examiner."

"As you proceed with your work, she will continuously refine the bone structure of the Hive, which will become increasingly complex and tricky. The scope of knowledge encompasses every aspect of Flesh Studies. To put it simply, once you are able to complete one ’Bee Room,’ your Flesh Weaving ability will be sufficient to independently create a complete flesh entity. You will receive full marks in my course, and Nola will reward you with memories from the corresponding Memory Stone."

"But Nola also has a system of punishment. If you fail to meet her expected standards, she will ’consume’ you."

"Swallowing you within the walls, her digestive blood will corrode everything on you apart from bone and what’s inside your pouches."

Mr. Shiny looked at the new recruits standing stiffly in place with a certain malevolence.

"You’ll often see people entirely naked under the Blood Nest Great Tree."

"Don’t worry, you will be one of them."

All the students took a step back, with Lyle retreating several steps. This punishment, if it happened to him, would mean a direct job class change to Liches.

Lyle looked at Shiny next to him, while Mr. Shiny was still trembling with excitement.

"What’s wrong with Mr. Shiny, why does he want us to be totally naked?"

"Mr. Shiny is a Primitivist."

"Primitivist?"

"They advocate for discarding pretenses and preserving the real essence of craziness. These nuts once ran naked through Andrei Academy and were caught by the Executive Committee, who performed soul scorching on them. It seems their brains became even more disturbed."

"But, Mr. Shiny is properly dressed, isn’t he?"

"Boss, this is his creation avatar. Have you ever seen a Lich that can turn into blood? His real body is probably tucked away in some corner having a blast!"

Unfortunately, it seemed Mr. Shiny overheard the two’s conversation.

"So, the first lesson, my students, let’s see what your strength is really like. Just a little joke, Mr. Shiny, we’ll start with you." Saying this to Shiny, Mr. Shiny gave Lyle a smile.

"Damn exhibitionist." Mr. Shiny muttered under his breath as he approached the center of the room.

The gel stand erupted with many gobs of flesh paste, an excellent flesh conduit, and Shiny’s hands gathered magic to form the unorganized flesh into muscle lines, finding a corner of the room and quickly filling it with flesh.

Mr. Shiny did have some real skills, and he seemed to have a certain understanding of how muscles are connected. This implied that he had tormented quite a number of lizards. The room quickly filled up, with Mr. Shiny also adding a bit of his own creativity. He incorporated a type of luminescent scale powder into the flesh, something Lyle had seen before with the ability to absorb impact but without compromising the softness of the flesh.

But it still wasn’t enough. Relying on his own experience in dissection, Lyle immediately spotted the flaws in Mr. Shiny’s muscle construction. After all, not being formally schooled, Mr. Shiny’s knowledge of body structure was almost on par with the worst students from Eiffel Medical Academy.

The outcome didn’t surprise Lyle at all.

"Too many defects, don’t want to explain, fail!" the voice emanating from the central mass of flesh sounded like a roaring witch. Mr. Shiny was quickly seized by tentacles and pulled into the adjacent wall of flesh.

Thirty seconds later, he was spit out, still cursing like mad.

But in Lyle’s eyes, Mr. Shiny seemed unchanged, as if Crimson was just joking around.

"Mr. Shiny, are you alright?"

"Boss, do I look alright to you?"

"You do."

"...Boss, scales are considered an exoskeleton, but I’m hollow inside. Damn you, Crimson!"

"Next, Mr. Plague Doctor!"

As expected, Crimson, a treacherous scoundrel!

Mr. Shiny looked at Lyle with sympathy, "Don’t be scared, boss, I’ll lend you some scales later, won’t let you leave bare-assed."

Mr. Shiny, you don’t understand my pain at all.

With a glum face, Lyle began to construct the muscle tissues, much faster and more adept than Mr. Shiny. The companions around him continuously let out gasps of awe, but Lyle didn’t dare to be careless. If he failed, he would lose everything—his life and his dignity.

Ultimately, Lyle concluded with a result that he himself felt was perfect.

What followed was the evaluation from the conscious entity Nola, and Lyle watched the mass of flesh intently.

"Excellent body structure, beautiful muscle tissue... But isn’t this just an ordinary human? Such a fragile body, fail!" It was the worst sound Lyle had ever heard.

As he was about to be seized by the fleshly tentacles, Lyle had only one thought.

Stupid artificial stupidity, what’s wrong with being human.

Rebellion! A fleshly revolt! Nia emerged from behind Lyle, her tentacles dancing in the air, emitting a piercing roar. The muscle tissues that were originally built became bizarre tentacles, including the one that was dragging Lyle away.

As Lyle prepared to rebel and wait for the next attack, Nola calmed down instead.

"Remarkable ability, transforming body parts into individual entities. Weakness eliminated, each part becomes a point of attack."

"Individual record: Mr. Plague Doctor. Welcome, Mr. Plague Doctor, to becoming a member of the Hive."

Mr. Crimson began to clap, facing the kneeling Plague Doctor.

"Magnificent, Mr. Plague Doctor. You are the first in my teaching career, a freshman who passes."

Lyle breathed a sigh of relief, his life saved.

"I can hardly wait to start your more challenging tests, Mr. Plague Doctor, but your first test was perfect."

Lyle held his breath, with only one thought in mind.

Garbage Crimson.