Another World: When a Necromancer Possesses the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls

"Look here," Chen Hao zoomed in on the vast, lush forest that seemed to devour the light, "the most important buffer zone in the northwest of Tianjing City, and also the closest and largest 'beginner' hunting ground to the city."

The outer 10-kilometer radius is a "safe zone" that is regularly cleared by the "Pioneer Legion". The star beasts are generally between the beginner level (rock-skinned boar, burrowing rat, swift rabbit) and the intermediate level (lone sharp-toothed wolf, withered vine snake), and the danger level is relatively controllable.

Further in lies the "deep green zone," reserved for licensed, team-based intermediate professionals, where intermediate-level star beasts and even small packs of sharp-toothed wolves may appear.

He clicked on a subdirectory in the log, and dense text and simple line drawings appeared. "Look, this contains detailed records of the ecology of more than twenty common first and second-level star beasts: their activity range, time patterns, main attack methods, fatal weaknesses (such as the small soft membrane at the junction of the Rockskin Boar's nape and spine), and high-value material parts (complete sharp-toothed wolf teeth, the Rockskin Boar's star core glands, the withered vine snake's venom sacs, etc.)."

"And my dad's practical trap-setting methods, simple medicine preparation techniques, and tips on avoiding large herds of beasts... are a million times more down-to-earth than those theoretical textbooks in the library!"

Li Xingyao's fingers gripped the cold obsidian crystal. The Dark Forest! The name, carrying the stench of wilderness and the allure of wealth, was instantly imprinted in his mind.

This tiny chip was far more valuable than Chen Hao had imagined—it wasn't just a survival guide, but a treasure map leading to soul power resources and credit points. "Thanks, Haozi!" He truly remembered this favor.

"Hey, we're like brothers!" Chen Hao waved his hand, quickly shoveling the rest of the food off his plate. "But seriously, the wilderness isn't a playground for fools."

Even in the outermost 'safe zone,' a moment's carelessness could be fatal. You should study this first, so you have a general idea. When the opportunity arises later..." He changed the subject, a knowing glint in his eyes.

Lunch ended with Chen Hao's anticipation of future wilderness adventures and Li Xingyao's dual calculations regarding credit points and soul power. The two parted ways at the cafeteria entrance; Chen Hao rushed to his afternoon "Close Combat and Evasion" intensive course, while Li Xingyao turned and headed towards the summoning-specific training ground.

The Summoning System's simulation training ground is located in the southern corner of the campus. It is an independent hemispherical silver-gray building with an extremely spacious interior, divided into dozens of independent square compartments by adjustable energy barriers.

The lunch break had just ended, and many students had already arrived early. The air was filled with the active buzzing of star energy, the lingering effects of the dissipating summons, and the tense atmosphere of practice.

When Li Xingyao appeared at the entrance of the alloy workshop, the previously noisy training ground seemed to be muted, momentarily freezing in place. Several pairs of eyes, as if drawn by a magnet, focused on him—curiosity, inquiry, exhaustion, and even a hint of helplessness as if driven by an invisible whip.

"I'm back..." A boy near the door, who was wearing an immersive neural-connected helmet and controlling a fire sprite in the virtual world, suddenly jerked his hand. In the helmet's field of vision, his sprite stumbled and was swatted away by the virtual star beast. He subconsciously let out a wail, the sound of which was particularly clear in the quiet space.

"Tsk, he's back again!"

"They only have 100 initial star energy points and they're still working this hard... Don't they even leave any chance for ordinary people to survive?"

"If I were him, I'd spend every lunch break enjoying life at the entertainment center. Anyway, with A-level potential, I'd be guaranteed admission to a top university..."

"Come on, keep trying, or Teacher Lin will definitely give you a C."

The hushed chatter was like a harmony in the background noise of the training ground. Li Xingyao was already used to it. In the past half month since his awakening, his almost self-torturing training intensity, along with his initial star energy value, had quickly earned him some reputation in the small circle of summoners.

Without glancing to either side, he walked straight to his usual corner cubicle, located at the very back. A barrier rose silently after his watch swept across the access control, the pale blue light shielding him from outside prying eyes and noise.

The secluded space was completely silent, with soft white light streaming evenly from above. Li Xingyao took a deep breath, trying to temporarily suppress the allure of the dark forest and the flood of information brought by his adventure log.

The most urgent task remains to solidify the foundation. No matter how alluring the wilderness may be, without sufficient strength, venturing into it is tantamount to suicide.

He closed his eyes, his consciousness instantly sinking into the depths of his mind. With lightning speed, his mental energy outlined the runic structure of the "White Bone Shield".

call!

There are no lengthy incantations, no complicated guiding gestures. Where the mind goes, the stellar energy responds!

Swish!Swish!

Two diamond-shaped shields made of stark white bones instantly materialized on either side of Li Xingyao's body! Each shield was about half a person's height, and was made of countless fine, interwoven, pale bone fragments tightly fitted together. The surface of the bone fragments flowed with a dim gray light, exuding a cold and solid aura.

Like the most loyal guards, they began to slowly rotate around Li Xingyao's body at a steady pace.

This is the second skill Li Xingyao has mastered, and currently the only defensive skill he can learn. The necromancer's early-game vulnerability stems from a limited number of summoned creatures, a weak early-game combat presence, a lack of offensive spells, and a lack of mobility and survival tools.

Therefore, the "Bone Shield," which provides immediate protection, is a very high priority in his skill tree. He is a very pragmatic and receptive person.

"Basic surrounding defense." He concentrated, trying to precisely control the two rotating bone shields. His mental energy was like invisible threads, carefully adjusting their rotation speed and angle, trying to make them respond to his thoughts more flexibly and quickly, covering any direction from which his body might be attacked.

Li Xingyao nodded slightly, having no intention of pursuing ultimate control for the time being. With his current beginner-level professional skill and limited mental energy, achieving perfect, effortless control would consume a tremendous amount of time and energy, making it inefficient.

His plan was clear: before breaking through to the intermediate level and achieving a significant increase in mental strength, he needed to first be able to maintain and basically control the three "bone shields" simultaneously, forming a relatively stable triangular defense system.

"After all, the core defensive skill of a high-level necromancer is the universal 'Mage Shield,' which is the signature defense that can truly withstand various energy impacts and can be freely shaped."

Li Xingyao's allocation of training time was extremely meticulous, like the most precise instrument. He knew he had too many aspects to improve: star energy level, skill proficiency, development of the undead space, repair of the Myriad Soul Banner... If he wanted to perfect every aspect, he would probably have to "grind" until he died young, directly joining the undead army in soul form.

After stabilizing the two bone shields surrounding him, Li Xingyao didn't pause for a moment. He raised his right hand, fingers spread, his gaze as sharp as a hawk's, fixed on the alloy energy target standing silently at the other end of the compartment. He was about to take on an even more difficult challenge—to launch a precise attack while maintaining the defensive shields!

In an instant, his mental energy split into three streams! One stream maintained the basic guidance of the two "bone shields," keeping them rotating; the other two streams were highly concentrated, one guiding the stellar energy within his body to rapidly surge and converge along the specific path of the "Arrow of Death," and the other focusing on aiming and locking on.

With a thought, pure gray death energy frantically condensed and stretched in front of his palm, quickly transforming into an energy arrow about one meter long, its entire body shrouded in ominous gray energy!

go with!

Driven by his will, Li Xingyao locked onto the target and thrust his fingertips forward!

"laugh--!"

The arrow of death was released from the bow, accompanied by a piercing whistle as it cut through the air!

puff!

A dull thud resounded! The dark coating on the alloy target, used to absorb energy impacts, suddenly caved inward, a ring of gray energy ripples spread out, the target emitted a low hum, and the value representing the energy impact jumped rapidly on the adjacent light screen, finally settling on a good value.

"Success!" Li Xingyao thought to himself, but a fine layer of sweat instantly appeared on his forehead. He felt a slight tightness in his chest, as if an invisible hand had squeezed it.

The mental energy consumption of this attack was far greater than he had anticipated! In the real world, maintaining a shield requires continuous mental energy for precise control; otherwise, the shield's rotation speed and response angle will be greatly reduced, making it unable to truly exert its immediate defensive effect.

At the same time, one must also concentrate on focusing, guiding, and precisely releasing an attack spell. This kind of "multitasking" requires a very high level of mental strength! This already falls into the category of exceeding one's level.

After a brief period of exhaustion, a surge of intense excitement welled up inside me.

"It's effective! Although it's clumsy and mentally taxing, the direction is right! With more practice, it will develop muscle memory and instinctive reactions. As proficiency increases, the energy expenditure should decrease." A determined light shone in Li Xingyao's eyes.

He thought of the current barrenness of the necromancer's low-level skill pool—besides "Death Arrow" and "Bone Shield," there were only a handful of other skills such as "Skull Spikes" and "Basic Undead Manipulation (Enhanced)."

Many powerful and visually stunning elemental shaping spells require at least an advanced professional level, with sufficient star energy and mental strength to be accessible.

Of course, these are not things Li Xingyao needs to consider right now. Moreover, the reason why necromancers are assigned to the summoning branch is quite simple—historically, most explorers of this path have focused their energy on how to summon stronger and more numerous undead creatures, while their development of their own spells has lagged behind.

But Li Xingyao is different. He has the undead space, a heaven-defying "reserve barracks," so summoning is the problem he's least worried about! He has the luxury of focusing more on improving his own survival and attack capabilities.

Putting aside distractions, Li Xingyao gritted his teeth and practiced the "double shields + one arrow" combination several more times.

When his internal star energy reserves dropped below 10 points, he stopped, panting heavily, feeling as if he had been pulled out of water, and prepared to engage in deep meditation to restore his nearly depleted mental strength and star energy.