Dark Wizard: Rise! My undead army!

Only Lynn and Haske remained in the hall.

"Mr. Lynn is truly a promising young man!"

Haske warmly invited Lynn to sit down and took out a bunch of things from his personal storage bag.

Several thick scrolls of maps and ledgers, several record crystals, and a bone key engraved with a map of the mine.

"This is a detailed map of the Shadow Mine, marking all known ore veins, danger zones, and... cough cough, some small mines that aren't marked on the 'Academy Map'."

Haske winked and pushed the map toward him.

"This is the mining account for the past three years. You can see what the annual targets were, how much was actually stored, and... what the 'reasonable loss' was."

He pushed the ledger over, which was covered with dense numbers, but there were subtle markings at the key points.

"This crystal records the characteristics and coping methods of several common undead in the mine, as well as the key points for observing ley line fluctuations."

"This key can open the protective array at the main entrance of the mine, as well as the doors to several important warehouses."

Haske speaks quickly but clearly, which is obviously due to his experience in handover work.

"Also, there's something I need to remind you of," he said, leaning closer and lowering his voice.

"Mine No. 7 was previously guarded by Lord Chris, the 'Bone Weaver,' who was urgently recalled to the academy three years ago, leaving three apprentices to temporarily oversee it."

"These three lads... they're not very clean. They've kept all the 'extra output' from the past three years, and their accounts are really messy."

"This is, after all, Lord Chris's 'family matter.' We originally planned to wait for him to return and then handle it ourselves, but unexpectedly, Lord Chris was left at the academy and was unable to return until the end of his term."

"Lord Grom didn't bother with it, but now that you've officially taken over, you'll probably have to deal with these messes yourself."

Lynn recalled Lord Roland's reminder, which corroborated Haske's words, and understood.

These three apprentices are so irresponsible. We entrusted them with guarding the mine, and they really think they own it.

They actually wanted to eat it all!

What a joke! Even their mentor doesn't have that much of an appetite, yet these junior apprentices are so greedy.

Even if they hand over 90% of their resources over these three years, the remaining 10% will be enough for them to make a fortune.

Unfortunately... human greed is insatiable.

This time, not only was Grom, the head of the organization, dissatisfied with them, but their own mentor, Chris, also completely abandoned them.

Otherwise, Lord Roland wouldn't have explicitly told him to "dispose of it himself."

"I understand." Lynn packed up all his belongings. "Are those three apprentices still in the mine?"

"Yes, they're probably trying to cover up the accounts, or figuring out how to 'report' to you."

Haske chuckled.

"After you go there, you can decide whether to establish your authority or clean up the mess, it's up to you."

"If you need any help, just ask. I have a few trustworthy apprentices I can borrow."

Haske's words were tantamount to a death sentence for those young apprentices.

After all, with one less mine offering "tribute" over the past three years, the income of these "logistics support" personnel has also decreased significantly.

It's true that three bad apples spoil the whole bunch.

"No need for manpower for now, I'll go check the situation first." Lynn stood up. "Thank you, Mr. Haske."

"Don't mention it, we're all on the same side from now on!" Haske said with a smile as he saw Lynn out of the garrison hall and all the way to the gate of the outpost.

"The mine has all the basic facilities, it's just a bit deserted. If you need anything, or want to buy supplies or sell 'surplus production,' feel free to come to me. I guarantee fair prices!"

"By the way, this is my communication bone fragment. Keep it safe for now, and you can contact me if you need anything in the future."

Lynn took the bone fragment Haske handed him, took out a useless bone fragment from his ring, engraved his own communication frequency on it, and handed it over as well.

Haske solemnly accepted, Lynn bowed and took his leave, and "Wings of Bones" reappeared behind him, quickly flying towards the Shadow Mine, five hundred miles away.

The Shadow Mine is nestled between two black rocky mountains, its entrance shrouded in thick vines and a perpetual gray fog.

Unlike the castle at Soul Outpost, which boasts various defensive and functional facilities, Shadow Mine is pitifully rudimentary.

A small fortress built of rough black stone stands beside the entrance, its gate half-closed, the emblem of a withered bone spire on the lintel already somewhat faded.

Lynn hovered in front of the fortress, his soul perception spreading out silently, instantly enveloping the entire fortress and its surrounding area of ​​thousands of meters.

The fortress was deserted, and the living quarters were covered in a thin layer of dust, indicating that it had not been properly cleaned for some time.

But as their senses swept across the depths of the mine, they detected three life forms at the end of a branch tunnel.

The two had weaker auras, their soul fire fluctuations were at the level of third-grade apprentices, and they were filled with unease and anxiety.

And the third aura...

Although the aura was still unstable, the undeniable sense of a leap in life level and the initial solidification of the spiritual core all indicated that—

This person has already entered the realm of a formal wizard!

Lynn understood.

"That's incredibly audacious. Using three years' worth of embezzled resources to forcibly catalyze spiritual power. It seems they've only recently advanced and their cultivation level is still unstable..."

A cold glint flashed in Lynn's eyes.

Although he wasn't exactly a rule-abiding person either, he loathed these unruly and audacious little mice even more.

After all, it's his piece of the cake that's being divided now.

Lynn did not conceal his presence, but walked straight into the fortress, through the empty hall, and arrived at the iron gate leading to the depths of the mine.

The door was unlocked. When you pushed it open, you found yourself in a downward-sloping passageway with dimly glowing moss embedded on both sides.

Lynn didn't go down; he simply stood at the entrance, a simple [Amplification] spell sending his voice steadily into the depths of the mine:

"The new resident wizard, Lynn, has arrived. All relevant personnel, come out for the handover."

The loud, piercing sound echoed continuously through the mine tunnels, carrying an undeniable authority.

The three auras deep in the mine clearly became disordered.

A moment later, hurried footsteps sounded.

Two young men wearing apprentice robes covered in mine dust rushed out of the mine tunnel in a panic.

When they saw the figure in the black magic-patterned wizard's robe guarding the entrance, their faces turned pale instantly, and their legs went weak.

"S-Sir!"

The two stopped ten steps away from Lynn, bowed deeply, their heads almost touching their knees.

"I was unaware of your arrival today, sir. I apologize for not being able to greet you properly!"

Lynn's gaze swept over the two men, both of whom appeared to be in their early twenties.

However, his soul fire was weak and his aura was chaotic, which clearly indicated that he had long lacked systematic cultivation and was only barely maintaining his status as a third-class apprentice by piling up resources.

"Where's the other person?" Lynn asked calmly.

Both apprentices shuddered simultaneously.

The slightly taller apprentice on the left swallowed hard, his voice trembling, "Reporting to...Reporting to Your Excellency...The other person is...is Senior Brother Hoy."

"He...he said yesterday that he was going to the nearby market to buy supplies, but he hasn't returned yet. We...we are waiting for him too."

The slightly overweight apprentice on the right quickly added:

"Yes, yes! Senior Brother Hoy might have encountered some trouble on the way. We can take over for you."

Lynn smiled.

The smile was faint, yet it sent a chill down the spines of the two apprentices.

"Purchasing supplies?" Lynn raised his hand and pointed deep into the mine, in the direction of the third aura.

"At the end of that mine tunnel, who is that person who has just advanced to the rank of formal wizard, whose cultivation level is still unstable...?"

"Could it be that your mentor Chris, who was transferred back to the academy a long time ago, has secretly returned?"

"boom--!"

The two apprentices were struck dumb; their knees buckled, and they collapsed to their knees with a thud, their foreheads drenched in cold sweat.

"S-My lord, please calm down! We...we..."

They were rambling incoherently, clearly not expecting the new resident wizard to be so perceptive, let alone to be so direct in pointing it out.

Just then, a cold snort came from deep within the mine tunnel.

"Useless! What's there to be afraid of him for!"