Undead Mage: I Have a Skeleton Clone-Chapter 277 - 241: Clone Evolution, True Body Ascends!
The skeleton Clone swiftly traversed the Hill of Corpses. Its footsteps intertwined with the roars of the surrounding Undead, forming an exhilarating battle anthem.
Soon, another night of slaughter passed.
「...」
Sea City Military Academy, Concentration Meditation Room.
Fang Zhou stretched lazily, his bones emitting a faint cracking sound. Standing up, he looked at his attribute panel with satisfaction, where the fruits of his night’s battle were reflected.
After his skeleton Clone was significantly enhanced by the energy of the White Bone Stone, he finally had the confidence to explore deeper into the Hill of Corpses. Although the attrition rate of his Skeleton Team had greatly increased in the continuous battles, this was merely a temporary loss for Fang Zhou.
The number of ordinary Skeleton Warriors was almost endless, like wild grass in the mountains, growing back in endless waves. Therefore, even if some were lost in battle, Fang Zhou could quickly replenish them, ensuring his army’s combat effectiveness remained at its peak.
Reflecting on the night’s hunt, his efficiency was once again a notch higher than before. Coupled with the large amount of Soul Power obtained from the Mutated Zombies, his reserves broke through the 200-point mark.
Fang Zhou excitedly rubbed his hands together. 200 points of Soul Power meant he was once again qualified to choose a new Black Iron-level Universal Skill for his skeleton Clone.
This time, his choice was between [Victory Roar] and [Horror Roar].
Fang Zhou fell into brief contemplation. [Horror Roar] possesses a powerful control effect, but at this stage, my combat power is enough to crush Undead Creatures of the same level. I don’t seem to have an urgent need for it.
Thus, he decisively chose [Victory Roar]. This skill could not only enhance his own combat power but also provide buffs to Tidamia and the other Skeleton Squads, making them nearly invincible on the battlefield.
Since they’re both buff-type skills, I imagine the [Victory Roar] my Clone is about to learn has some similarities to the [Group Brutality Skill] I deduced. If the skeleton Clone’s [Victory Roar] can provide more inspiration and materials for perfecting the [Group Brutality Skill], then the Skeleton Army I summon will achieve a qualitative leap in its offensive capabilities.
Imagining countless Skeleton Warriors roaring on the battlefield, a confident smile appeared on Fang Zhou’s lips.
After making his decision, Fang Zhou no longer hesitated. He firmly inserted the Skill Key—loaded with a Black Iron-level Universal Skill and its accompanying Skill Insights—into his personal terminal.
As the key connected, the terminal screen lit up, emitting a light, crisp hum. Fang Zhou’s gaze quickly scanned through the Skill Library, finally stopping on the [Victory Battle Cry] skill. Without hesitation, he selected the skill along with the accompanying Skill Insights.
After his selection, the personal terminal once again emitted a low, pleasant humming sound. A transparent holographic screen then slowly materialized before Fang Zhou’s eyes. The screen clearly displayed a line of text: "Data transmission in progress. Skill demonstration will begin shortly."
Meanwhile, new prompts appeared on Fang Zhou’s attribute panel.
"Skill Materials for Clone detected. Consume 100 Soul Power to begin learning?"
"Skill Proficiency enhancement materials for Clone detected. Estimated 100 Soul Power required for perfect absorption. Begin absorption?"
Looking at the prompts, Fang Zhou took a deep breath and unhesitatingly spent 200 Soul Power, once again entering the Burst of Inspiration state that others could only dream of.
In the Burst of Inspiration state, Fang Zhou’s mind felt completely illuminated, and all his perceptions were magnified to their absolute limit. His experiences from the past several months, having used the [Battle Cry] skill countless times with his skeleton Clone, now became exceptionally clear, as vivid as if they were happening right before him.
Scenes of past battles flashed by one after another. The circumstances surrounding each use of the [Battle Cry] skill were recalled in perfect detail. These past combat experiences transformed into streams of immense power, becoming a priceless treasure for his rapid evolution.
At the same time, the skill demonstration projected by his personal terminal showed him, without reservation, how the [Battle Cry] skill evolved step-by-step into the more powerful [Victory Battle Cry]. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
His own practical experience, combined with the Skill Insights generously shared by his predecessors, was amplified by the Burst of Inspiration. The skeleton Clone’s [Battle Cry] skill, which had already reached Perfection-level proficiency, underwent a qualitative leap. In an instant, it was as if he had crossed an insurmountable chasm, jumping directly from Perfection-level proficiency to an instinctual, thorough mastery. The gap between them seemed to have been filled in a flash by some mysterious and powerful force.
Finally, as the Burst of Inspiration state slowly dissipated, Fang Zhou’s consciousness returned to the real world. His eyes glinted with excitement and confidence.
With a ’little’ bit of assistance from the attribute panel, he had succeeded once again! The skeleton Clone had not only raised the Apprentice-level [Battle Cry] to an instinctual level of proficiency but had also advanced it into the Black Iron-level [Victory Battle Cry].
After a moment, Fang Zhou took a few deep breaths, managing to calm his turbulent emotions. He opened his eyes, his gaze piercing the void to land on the attribute panel. There, the skeleton Clone’s Skills Bar was flashing.
[Victory Battle Cry] (Black Iron, Mastery): Gather your Battle Qi and unleash a rousing battle cry. This grants a buff to all allies within a certain range, increasing attributes such as Strength, physique, and agility. It also boosts movement speed and attack frequency. The area of effect, buff magnitude, and duration are determined by your Strength attribute and Skill Proficiency.
The skill description provided by the attribute panel was perfectly consistent with Instructor Lu Hu’s explanation.
Fang Zhou nodded slightly, the hollow eye sockets of his skull seeming to perceive everything. The slight trembling of his jawbone revealed his undeniable satisfaction with this skill.
However, his thoughts did not linger on this. Just like before, I’m more interested in what kind of Skill Material feedback my main body will receive now that the skeleton Clone has mastered [Victory Battle Cry]. Based on my past experience, the attribute panel should be reacting any moment now.
Sure enough, a prompt from the attribute panel soon rang in his mind like heavenly music.
"Sufficient Skill Materials have been accumulated. A related skill of the main body can now be perfected."
"Estimated consumption: 10 Soul Power. Begin deduction?"
The Soul Fire within Fang Zhou’s skull blazed brightly. Without the slightest hesitation, he chose to begin the deduction.
Ten points of Soul Power, like fuel thrown into a furnace, instantly ignited the flames in Fang Zhou’s mind, allowing his thoughts to gallop like a wild horse across a prairie of knowledge.
Riding the wave of inspiration and passion from having just mastered and upgraded the [Victory Battle Cry] skill, Fang Zhou quickly launched into a new attempt. He decided to use a Mage’s casting logic to replicate the group buff effect of [Victory Battle Cry] through a different magic structure.
This time, however, his goal was not to create an entirely new skill. Instead, he intended to perform an in-depth optimization of the existing [Group Brutality Skill] to make it better serve his Undead Legion.
Fang Zhou closed his eyes, immersing himself in thought. He replayed every detail of the [Victory Battle Cry] skill in his mind—from its execution to its effects, down to the various techniques mentioned in the Skill Insights. This information continuously interwove and collided in his mind, sparking one flash of inspiration after another.
He began constructing a new framework, attempting to integrate the essence of [Victory Battle Cry] into the [Group Brutality Skill]. This process required him not only to deeply understand the mechanics of [Victory Battle Cry] but also to possess a thorough knowledge of the original structure of the [Group Brutality Skill].
