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

Many familiar faces have disappeared—those students who failed to awaken may now be in a classroom at a vocational training center, learning the professional skills needed for the city's operation, drifting further and further away from the path to extraordinary success.

A subtle atmosphere permeated the air, a mixture of excitement, anticipation, and a barely perceptible sense of alienation.

"Everyone's circumstances are different."

"I hope everyone has a bright future."

Li Xingyao followed the flow of people into the large lecture hall marked "Basic Professional Knowledge".

After the school bell rang, a figure slowly walked to the podium. Li Xingyao looked up and saw a middle-aged male teacher with a serious face standing on the podium.

Li Xingyao remembered that his surname was Zhou. He had strong, defined shoulders, clearly indicating a warrior-type background. Without further ado, Teacher Zhou's gaze swept over the noticeably sparser number of students below—only the hundred or so who had successfully awakened remained.

"I used to think I would awaken the warrior class, and I even made a point of looking into this teacher," Li Xingyao thought, looking at the familiar teacher.

"Students, welcome to the end of your high school career, which is also the true starting point of your extraordinary path." Teacher Zhou's voice was loud and clear, with a metallic quality. "From today onwards, you are no longer ignorant students, but rather candidates who have stepped into the ranks of 'professionals'."

Your names will be entered into the government's initial records. This signifies both responsibility and resources.

"This is different from the senior year pep rally in my previous life," Li Xingyao muttered to himself.

The teacher on stage brought up a holographic projection to display the core concept diagram of Star Energy—an invisible energy network flowing with a faint light.

"Star Energy!" Teacher Zhou slammed his hand on the projector. "The Pandora's box that the Cataclysmic Era brought us is also the cornerstone of the new era. It flows in your veins and is the source of all your power. Understanding it, mastering it, and strengthening it will be your eternal theme for the future!"

He began to explain in a simple and easy-to-understand way:

Perceiving and guiding astral energy: How to tame the surging power within the body after awakening through meditation, like guiding a rushing stream into a river. This is the first step in cultivation and the foundation of all professions.

The transformation of Star Energy: Warrior-type Star Energy strengthens muscles and flesh, bringing explosive power and tough defense; Elemental Mage-type Star Energy is transformed into energy attacks in specific forms such as fireballs and ice spikes; Summoners use Star Energy to construct spatial channels or maintain the existence of summoned creatures. Necromancer-type Star Energy… Li Xingyao's fingertips unconsciously caressed the cold strap of his watch.

Star Energy Growth: Basic meditation is a slow and gradual process, but efficiency is crucial. Teacher Zhou mentioned "meditation potions," a basic auxiliary resource whose rarity drew eager glances from many students. Furthermore, combat, extreme training, special cultivation environments, and even certain rare and precious materials can accelerate star energy accumulation.

Levels and Bottlenecks: The upper limit of a beginner professional's Star Energy is between 100 and 300 points. Breaking through 300 points marks the intermediate level. Each major level jump brings a deeper understanding and opportunities for one's profession, as well as corresponding improvements to the body; it's not simply a matter of energy accumulation.

Teacher Zhou spoke calmly and steadily, delivering solid content. Li Xingyao listened attentively, even though he had some prior knowledge of the subject. However, combined with his experience yesterday communicating with the necromantic space and summoning skeletons using stellar energy, many abstract concepts became vivid. The mental exhaustion he felt from yesterday's forced summoning was also greatly reduced.

"...That concludes the basic theory. Remember, theory is static; the stellar energy flowing within you is dynamic. The path ahead requires you to explore, fight, and experience it for yourselves!" Teacher Zhou concluded, his sharp gaze sweeping across the room.

Then, he changed the subject: "Now, it's time for you to activate your professional privileges. Raise your smartwatches."

A soft "beep beep" sound filled the classroom. The students did as instructed, their faces filled with anticipation and nervousness.

"Look at the camera on your watch and request 'Activate Professional Access'," Teacher Zhou's voice rang out.

"Finally, I'm about to unlock access." Li Xingyao has never had a deep understanding of the deeper aspects of this world because ordinary citizens don't have access to much information. To downplay the gap in talent, the government has set up many "information cocoons."

Li Xingyao did as instructed, focusing his gaze on the center of the watch's dark blue screen, and "Activate professional privileges."

hum-

The watch trembled slightly, and a barely perceptible scanning beam swept across his pupils.

The watch screen flickered briefly before a clear interface appeared:

User: Li Xingyao

Class: Necromancer (Beginner)

Star Energy Intensity: 100

Potential rating: A

Job Permissions: Enabled (Lv.1)

Accessible databases: General Knowledge of Professions (Necromancer Specialization), Basic Skills Library (Lv.1), Beginner's Guide to Star Energy Cultivation, Guide to Central Continent, Blue Star Creature Encyclopedia, EAD Beginner Regulations, Credit Exchange System (Preview)...

The interface is simple and clear, and the screen also displays relevant instructions on how to access these permissions through the watch.

"Once the permissions are granted, you can access the knowledge base that matches your professional level anytime, anywhere via your watch."

Teacher Zhou's voice rang out again, interrupting Li Xingyao's thoughts, "The basic access includes all the fundamental theories, low-level skill descriptions, training methods, and EAD management regulations that you need to master at this stage. Make good use of it! It is an indispensable tool for you on your path to power! At the same time, some publicly available information has been opened for querying, which you can access according to your needs."

"Finally, based on your awakened profession, you will be assigned to different specialized classes for further in-depth learning and practice." Teacher Zhou pulled up a new holographic list: "Warrior class, go to the Warrior specialized class; Ranger class (archer, etc.), Ranger specialized class; Assassin class, Assassin specialized class; Elemental Mage, Elemental specialized class; Summoner and its variants, Summoning specialized class."

The list has been shared with all watch owners. After class, please follow the instructions to your respective classroom.

A large amount of text appeared on the screen at the podium, and everyone's information also appeared on their smartwatches for easy viewing. As the list scrolled, Li Xingyao quickly saw his name, followed by the prominent class: "Summoning Class 1".

Then Li Xingyao looked at the classmates around him.

The Warrior Specialty Class: The largest in number, gathering the future core of melee combat. Even though they had just awakened, most of them still carried a spirited and sharp glint in their eyes. Several familiar boys excitedly pounded each other's shoulders, making dull thuds, discussing the power they felt during their awakening yesterday: "I felt like I could smash through a steel plate with one punch!"

「嘿，知道我50点星能吧！1星能≈3力量，我这开局就是150斤的拳力！」空气中似乎都瀰漫着力量与荷尔蒙的气息。他们走向的教室门口，战士系核心属性（1星能≈3力量+1.5敏捷+0.5精神），在这里将是反覆锤鍊的目标。

Ranger Specialty Class: Second in number, they moved with light steps. A tall girl unconsciously twirled her fingers, seemingly simulating the action of drawing a bow and shooting an arrow. She was a novice archer with 38 Star Power and a significant Agility bonus (1 Star Power ≈ 1.5 Strength + 2.5 Agility + 1 Spirit).

The Assassin specialization: also quite large, and the most low-key. A boy in a dark hoodie flashed through the crowd, disappearing around the corner almost unnoticed. Their professional characteristics (1 star energy ≈ 1 strength + 3 agility + 1 spirit) endowed them with speed and explosive potential far exceeding that of ordinary people.

The Element Specialization Program: The class was small, and the air seemed to emanate a faint energy fluctuation. A boy danced with a small cluster of ice flowers on his fingertips, eliciting a gasp from his female companion; a small, constantly spinning vortex hovered above another girl's palm, ruffling her hair.

They discussed elemental affinity and spell model construction with great enthusiasm. The high mental requirements of elemental mages (1 star energy ≈ 0.5 strength + 1 agility + 3.5 spirit) mean that they are the artillery and control masters on the battlefield.

Summoning Specialization: Least in number. Li Xingyao and his few companions walked here, looking somewhat lonely. Besides him, there were two girls and a slightly chubby boy. One girl was a light elementalist. The other girl, an earth elementalist, looked somewhat dejected. The slightly chubby boy had awakened the more common beast summoner.

The core of the Summoning class (1 Star Energy ≈ 0.5 Strength + 1 Agility + 3.5 Spirit) lies in the strength of their spiritual power and their control over the summoning space. The quality and quantity of summoned creatures in the early game directly determine their combat power ceiling, which is why they are generally considered weak in the early game. The Necromancer is a particularly "famous" but unpopular class among them.

The atmosphere around him seemed to have subtly shifted again. A few scattered gazes swept over him, some curious, some scrutinizing, and a hint of barely perceptible distance. Necromancer… In an era where elemental mages and powerful physical attackers were the mainstream, this profession was practically synonymous with “weak” and “unpopular” in its early stages.

At the same time, due to the nature of their profession, necromancers were also categorized as "potentially bad guys." Even the aura of A-level potential and 100 points of star energy didn't seem to completely dispel this prejudice. A girl in the front row, awakened as a fire mage, toyed with a flickering flame between her fingers, glanced at Li Xingyao, and seemed to have a subtle sense of superiority on her lips.

"It seems I'm no longer popular."

"Well, even though I didn't awaken the warrior-related specialization as I envisioned, being a 'Commander' who commands countless undead doesn't seem so bad. Anyway, with the technological advancements in this world, mages can wear kinetic armor. If I could also equip myself with a two-handed sword, it would be even more fitting for a melee mage. I wonder if I could cosplay the Lich King."