Chương 2: Training Magic And Sword, Learning Skills

Alex ran for a while, not out of fear, but to test his new "stamina" and determine whether hard physical labor as a skeleton would tire him. The result surprised him. His Nether barely decreased, and when it did, it recovered almost instantly. Once he stopped, he slipped behind a tree in the dense forest as night fell and sat in silence, as if meditating. To any onlookers, he would have appeared as nothing more than a lifeless skeleton from some long-dead warrior.

In truth, Alex was carefully analyzing his new body.

"I see. Nether recovers naturally over time. The recovery rate is faster than what I expend while running at full speed for an entire hour. This means I don't need physical rest. Nether truly is a superior version of stamina in every way." He reached this conclusion quickly. Being undead truly granted him what felt like endless stamina. Yet he was beginning to understand that Nether served purposes beyond mere movement.

When he activated Self-Binding and forced himself to swing his sword a hundred times at a steady pace, his Nether dropped by roughly one point per second. It recovered at about one point every three to four seconds—sometimes five. The process was not perfectly balanced; a third factor seemed to be at play. Thanks to this experiment, he was able to drain his Nether completely and experience what that felt like. It felt like nothing.

"Ah. I'm using Mana now." Even with his Nether bar empty, he continued moving and swinging using Mana. Recovery was noticeably faster this time, and exhaustion never came.

"So once Nether is depleted, the burden shifts to Mana? Mana is less efficient—my movements have slowed—but it recovers more quickly. Intriguing." After swinging the sword five hundred times, Alex concluded that relying on Mana slowed his progress by roughly forty percent. He also realized that Nether restored itself naturally once he stopped all movement and "rested." Undead did need rest, but not in the way the living did.

"It's the soul that rests… and Nether flows from the soul." This discovery deepened his understanding of what it meant to be undead. In essence, an undead being was like a puppet controlled by its own soul. The body was merely a vessel held together by that soul, and rest became necessary only when the soul grew weary.

"The body is not alive, but the soul very much is. Now… what exactly is Nether?" He moved on immediately. Conjuring both Nether and Mana at once, one in each hand, Alex focused his enhanced vision and willed himself to see deeper into their particles. He saw them clearly. Mana consisted of tiny blue crystals, almost microscopic. Nether, by contrast, was not crystalline but composed of residual, ethereal, oil-like energy—the very "sweat" of the soul.

The description sounded strange, even wrong, yet that was precisely how Alex perceived it, and the revelation fascinated him.

"Why does this energy exist? Why couldn't we see it before? Did our world need to be assimilated by the System and the greater Universe before we could access these particles?" Most of these questions remained unanswered, their complexity growing with every layer he uncovered. Still, he pressed on, determined to solve as many mysteries as he could. Now that he had died and become a skeleton, Alex possessed both the time and the tireless body to think, theorize, and perfect his control.

After swinging his sword four thousand times, something strange began to emerge. A small silver light appeared within his soul—powerless and seemingly useless at first. Yet the more he swung, the more this light accumulated.

"Soul… the soul is producing another form of energy. What is this? And why does it only react to the sword?" His confusion lingered until he noticed pixel-like substances flowing between his sword and soul, connected by delicate silver threads.

"I see. The System is slowly rewriting my very existence. Every particle that composes me is being improved, evolved, and refined in ways most would never notice. Fascinating. Truly fascinating." Inspired, he continued swinging, experimenting with new forms: horizontal slashes, powerful vertical cuts, spinning strikes, mid-air jumps—anything he could imagine. The silver light grew stronger until it suddenly pierced his soul. For a brief moment, he gasped. The light was no longer mere light.

His sword overflowed with silver radiance, growing sharper and better able to channel magical power. Alex quickly calculated that the blade's striking force and durability had both increased.

"The System has modified the sword's molecular structure through this light, increasing its density while preserving its weight. The System's particles act like tiny artificial intelligences, continuously reshaping whatever they touch according to the 'Soul Waves' of the user. Once a threshold is reached, a sudden surge of power is granted. So this… is how a Skill is earned!" Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Ding!

[You have learned the Skill: [Novice Swordsmanship (Tier 1: 1%)]!] Alex froze mid-swing; his glowing violet eyes fixed on the blue notification. For a few seconds, only the faint rustling of leaves in the night wind could be heard. Then the corners of his jawbones slowly lifted in what would have been a wide grin.

"Finally. Tangible progress." He tested the new skill immediately. Raising the scavenged rusty sword, he repeated the same vertical slash he had performed thousands of times. The motion felt smoother, more natural. A faint silver light flickered along the blade's edge even without conscious effort. Each subsequent strike landed eight to ten percent faster and sharper than before. When he tested a powerful horizontal slash against the tree he had been resting against, the blade cut clean through it in a single blow.

Alex was captivated by the System's elegant design. It wasn't simply assigning a label—it was literally rewriting how his skeletal arms, shoulders, and spine moved in harmony.

"Skill acquisition through repetitive, soul-reinforced action… Interesting. The System rewards effort even for the undead. No muscle memory is needed when the soul itself drives the body. It's even more efficient than when I was alive. A living person would have required five to ten times more practice." Alex sat down cross-legged once more, sword resting across his femurs, and opened his status screen to examine the new entry.

[Novice Swordsmanship (Tier 1: 1%)] You have taken the first step toward mastering the blade. Increases cutting power, accuracy, and efficiency of sword-related movements by 10%.

He closed it shortly after and stood up.

"I would like to keep training, but there is more to existence than swordsmanship. This was merely a test. Though I must admit, a necromancer-turned-skeleton wielding a blade is something I wanted to witness. It seems class labels no longer restrict me—if they ever truly did beyond my own preconceptions from games I once played. In any case, it doesn't matter. Let's try magic now." His thoughts sharpened as he used Self-Binding to focus his body and soul toward a single goal.

Violet light gleamed in his eyes while Mana gathered in his hands.

"For the next three hours, attempt to conjure any kind of elemental spell. Identify which elements you are compatible with through trial and error." His body responded instantly, drawing on knowledge he hadn't known he possessed. Mana swelled and transformed into ancient runes that gathered into a perfect circle.

"A magic circle… I see. Magic circles are accumulations of mana given meaning—words." And through those words, the world listened and answered. CRASH! The first attempt—a Wind Spell—failed. The circle shattered with no response from the element. Undeterred, Alex continued cycling through element after element. He memorized every circle his body produced. In total, he identified over thirty conjurable elements, ranging from basic to complex combinations.

Yet only two actually responded to him and allowed successful casting. The first was Fire.

"Fireball." The simple yet potent flame element. After memorizing the circle, Alex marveled at the beauty of the fireball floating gently above his palm. With a mere thought, magic energy directed it wherever he wished. The mana particles allowed the flames to behave with intelligence while still carrying their true, ferocious nature. The second element he unlocked was quite obvious to him.

"Black Shadow." Darkness gathered around him, letting him sink into it completely. The shroud proved excellent for concealment at night and stealthy approaches.

"My elemental affinities are Fire and Shadow. As an Undead, I expected Death Affinity… But why not?" For a moment he had hoped for Death, Phantom, or Curse Elemental Affinities, but it seemed he faced certain restrictions for now.

"Perhaps they will unlock when I evolve. Or there may be other ways—through materials, maybe. Either way, this is fine for the moment." He spent the rest of the night alternating between sword swings and magic practice, carefully balancing the two so his Mana never ran dry. As the sun rose on the horizon, he lifted his skull and basked in its warm light, an oddly satisfying sensation washing over him.

"It's done." This time a different blue light resonated with his Mana. The accumulated energy crystallized into two new skills. Ding! [You have learned the Skill: [Fire Magic Apprentice (Tier 1: 1%)]!] [You have learned the Skill: [Shadow Magic Apprentice (Tier 1: 1%)]!]"Apprentice Skills… Does that mean I taught myself?" Alex felt a flicker of bemusement before moving on. He had learned two spells from each skill—the current limit.

Fire Magic Apprentice granted Fireball and Fire Shield, a defensive barrier of flames that burned approaching foes. Shadow Magic Apprentice gave him Shadow Veil (also called Black Shadow) and Black Bolt, a lightning-like dark magic attack that grew stronger when emerging from shadows.

"My stats have risen as well." Alex finally opened his full status screen.

♢♢♢♢ [Name]: [Alex Rivera] [Titles]: [Necromancer] [Self-Summon] [Race]: [Undead Skeleton (Bound Self-Summon – F)] [Level]: [1/30] [Class]: [Soulweaver Necromancer (F+)] [Profession]: N/A [Health Points (HP)]: [65/65 -> 70/70] [Mana Points (MP)]: [140/140 -> 150/150] [Nether]: [95/95 -> 100/100] {Stats} [Strength]: [8 -> 9] [Agility]: [14 -> 16] [Endurance]: [6 -> 7] [Toughness]: [18 -> 19] [Wisdom]: [16 -> 18] [Intelligence]: [17 -> 19] [Perception]: [19 -> 20] [Willpower]: [20 -> 21] [Spirit]: [22 -> 24] [Free Points]: [0] {Passive Skills} [Self-Binding (Tier 1: 30% -> 50%)] [Undead Evolution (Tier 1: 30% -> 35%)] [Novice Swordsmanship (Tier 1: 1% -> 31%)] {Active Skills} [Summon Undead (Tier 1: 25% -> 31%)] [Soul Thread Weaving (Tier 1: 1% -> 29%)] [Death Echo (Tier 1: 0% -> 10%)] [Fire Magic Apprentice (Tier 1: 1% -> 11%)] [Shadow Magic Apprentice (Tier 1: 1% -> 9%)] {Changelog} After becoming a Skeleton, your body is no longer alive, thus there's no Vitality and you cannot possess Stamina either.

Vitality has been replaced with Spirit. Stamina has been replaced with Nether. ♢♢♢♢"It's time to start leveling. Staying at this low level brings no benefit. Yes, training raises stats slowly, but actual leveling should be far faster. I'll reserve training once I cannot grow through leveling anymore."

As he sheathed his blade, Alex turned his glowing eyes toward the mountain in the distance, where the Troll Nest ruled by the aberrant troll queen awaited and began walking towards his goal with robotic, precise motion.

"I guess it's time to stretch my bones. Let's test how strong I truly am. If I'm still too weak… I'll simply return to training."