Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 219 - 206 Undead Will
Lyle accepted Mr. Law’s proposal, agreeing to provide a batch of Spine Wheels without speed limits to the Executive Committee. Mr. Law left the Necromancer Figure Club satisfied.
The next day, Lyle and the others were on their way to White Bone Territory; today was Giant Dragon Sir’s class.
"I heard that many people got caught for speeding today."
"Speeding? But we haven’t started selling the Spine Wheels yet."
"Speeding isn’t exclusive to our vehicles; it’s been happening, but only now is it receiving more attention." Shiny flipped through the speed limit order in his hands, searching for potential loopholes. "Those riding various summoned creatures are now detained at the committee, some having their vehicles confiscated, some grounded for a period proportional to their speeding severity."
"You really should go see for yourself, there’s one hanging directly on the main gate. Advanced Magic Research caused another incident. I heard that Mr. Laser from the electromagnetic series was experimenting with a new long-distance travel method, a manned experiment. A second after launch, he hit the speed limit Spell Command set by Mr. Law above Andrey. He got stuck in mid-air." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
"The funniest part is, the strong impact force from the launch partially broke Mr. Laser free from the Spell Command’s restriction."
"Partially broke free?"
"Literally, his pelvis and leg bones below the spine were fixed in mid-air, and now he’s hanging on the Executive Committee’s main gate. His upper body is still being collected, as the Executive Committee searches along the pre-set trajectory for Mr. Laser’s upper half. So far, about twenty bone fragments have been found. Since they haven’t located his skull yet, the search must continue."
Lyle imagined Mr. Laser’s miserable state—probably quite embarrassing. However, the dignity of Advanced Magic Research was probably as shallow as their safety consciousness.
"Boss, I heard you and Giant Dragon Sir are from the same club. Do you know what he’s been up to recently? If we encounter someone like Mr. Crimson again, my interest in Spirit Summoning Studies will greatly diminish."
Watching Shiny, who pretended to be serious, the manipulator, who feigned disinterest but stopped in his tracks, and the flexible one who looked eager to know the answer, Lyle gently tapped his own mask.
"Giant Dragon Sir... He hasn’t done anything special recently, just trying to find ways to study giant dragons."
"Could the assignment he gives us be to defeat an Undead Bone Dragon?" asked Shiny, looking apprehensive.
"That won’t happen. Even if Giant Dragon Sir wanted to mix private matters with public duties, at most he would take you fossil hunting. In fact, Giant Dragon Sir is much more reliable in class; you know how he conducts his lessons. He is our enlightenment teacher. Moreover, creating an Undead Dragon might not be as easy as we imagine; otherwise, Giant Dragon Sir would have been surrounded by dragons long ago."
"Why would you have that thought?"
"Because Giant Dragon Sir seems to have a bad habit. He likes to compete with other instructors in teaching. He wants to prove he’s the best teacher, at least no worse than anyone else."
"Isn’t that good? The more the teacher displays, the more we learn."
"If this were the past, that would be true. But we’ve already seen Mr. Crimson’s taboo creation, the Blood Nest Great Tree, on his class and got stripped to the bone by it. If Giant Dragon Sir wants to compete in that as well..."
Shiny shivered, looking at the manipulator and the flexible one, "I still have some extra scales."
At least when the four arrived at White Bone Territory, the woods were still as before.
The apprentices gathered together were much more numerous than those specializing in the flesh refinement faction; after all, among the three major factions, the White Bone Series was the simplest and most foundational. Ease of entry did not imply simplicity in the future, as could be seen from Mr. Giant Dragon himself, who usually appeared as the chief instructor, even when all three major factions were present.
Mr. Giant Dragon stepped out of his Spiritual Tower, dressed in his usual Giant Dragon mascot suit, although Lyle thought the Spirit Summoning Studies’ White Bone Series uniform looked better.
"Welcome, my students, White Bone Spirit Summoning Studies is the foundation of our existence. To understand it, is to understand yourselves."
"First, let me briefly introduce the courses we will be learning."
"You will learn to proficiently craft White Bone Creations and various derivatives, including but not limited to all kinds of armor such as Bone Shields, and all kinds of weapons including bone spears. White Bone Refinement might be quite challenging for you, but it is the only way to attain powerful Mutated Skeletons, apart from natural acquisition. You will also learn Weapon Mastery and Blocking Mastery, and by the end of my course, I expect you to master at least three types of weapons including swords, hammers, spears, hooked claws, and scythes, with your hundred-meter spear throws being within three rings of precision."
"You have two choices for your final assessment. One is to create a fourth-order Mutated White Bone Creation, and the other is to defeat a demon race guard in hand-to-hand combat in the Black Abyss Arena."
"?????"
Spirit Summoning close-combat magicians?
A student raised a hand, "Mr. Giant Dragon, I don’t mean to challenge your authority, but as far as I know, we Spirit Summoners seem to be categorized as casters... "
"Yes, we are casters. But when your bones can easily block a sharp sword, and your bone spear can easily pierce through armor, why not just spear them to death? The best way to protect ourselves is to kill the enemy."
Mr. Giant Dragon took out a giant bone staff, or rather, a bone hammer, from his pocket, his towering figure becoming a shadow in front of the students. "The reason White Bone Spirit Summoning Studies has become the largest faction in Spirit Summoning Studies is because we are tougher and more combat-capable than the other factions."
On his mascot suit, two glass eyes emitted a ghostly blue fire, his gaze chilling.
"I’ll whip you newcomers into shape. To learn to hit people, you’ve got to learn to take hits first." Mr. Giant Dragon raised his bone hammer high, looking down at the trembling students below him.
"Of course, we should start with knowledge first, the bone training comes later, at least after you’ve learned how to refine skeletons."
"Our first lesson today, the very foundation, is controlling yourselves."
"We have an innate ability to control skeletons, but do not forget, we are ourselves of the same kind. To master skeleton techniques, you must first ensure you will not betray yourselves."
"Lesson one, Undead Will."
"You need to adhere to your heart, and walk out of the maze I’ve set up amid the interference of external skeleton manipulation. For those who fail, I will have corresponding punishment."
As Mr. Giant Dragon’s voice fell, a gigantic Skeleton Gate opened behind him with a pale white barrier. From behind the door, a tide of white bones surged forth, flowing past Lyle and others, folding, merging, and forming a skeleton maze.
And all the students were right in the center of the maze.
