Chapter 341: I expected shenanigans and was still surprised anyway

Chapter 341: I expected shenanigans and was still surprised anyway

Sofia brought back a lot of random stuff from Azurians shop, it barely made a dent in her gold reserves, so much that she was starting to wonder whether Sun might actually be annoyed at her for taking it. Not that it would have survived anyway, but still, before the deep whale destroyed everything, she had technically stolen it.

She stopped in front of the academy.

Back already? Youve only been gone a few hours, teacher Sonia, were my recommendations not to your liking? the dog man asked with a bright smug smile.

No, it was good, a bit too good, even. You have some flair, Senior Caneb, I must admit it.

Glad to hear it from you, well, get in, he invited her, showing her the gate.

Wait, before that. Would you happen to know of a good place to test destructive spells? Is there a room like that within the academy?

Not quite within, no, but deep beneath, surely. That is outside of the barrier, but you can go all out there. Make your way to the arena, but instead of entering it, keep going forward, then take every stairs down that you see until you reach the cube. Very easy!

The cube?

Youll understand, he confirmed, nodding to himself.

Alright, thanks. Have a nice day.

Sofia phased through the gate and followed Calebs instructions. Since the Academys corridors were mostly empty, she rushed through at dangerous speeds and made her way down to the deepest part of the academys underground. A weird lift took her straight through the barrier and down several kilometers into the ground. The lift took quite some time to descend and the air gradually got hotter and hotter as she went deeper.

Finally it stopped! Is it over?

The doors opened, revealing a small glass cabin overlooking a giant cube. To be exact, a cube-shaped cavern, glowing with flowing magma on the sides. A short old-looking Exidian man with a cane approached Sofia from the side, he was under level 100.

Come to try out a boomin spell or two? Ive seen yer mug in the teacher book, go right ahead, he said after observing her face for a second, pointing at the door leading to nothing on the side of the cabin.

Is it safe? What if one of my spells reaches this cabin? Its pretty high but not out of reach.

Dun worry, tis all quite safe ya? Headmaster himself comes here to try new magic, walls carved through a natural mana leyline and reinforced so much, tell ye what, Ill eat mah cane if you can scratch em.

Thats not exactly what I asked but sure then

Sofia headed through the door.

The reason she had sought out this place was quite simple: she needed to use the ring of Zars [Collapse] to absorb the curses of the necromancers chest after activating them, but it was currently still full of mana. To activate it again, she was going to train the piercing Angels bolt some more, which would drain the rings remaining mana to give the bolts more power.

The magma flowing down the walls gathers in this vortex at the center Is the city built on a volcano? It looked quite flat. Maybe its that thing with a mana leyline? Im not sure Ive ever heard of those before More reading ahead, it seems. But first!

Sofia landed on a spot far away from the several magma rivers coursing through the ground, and she dumped out all of the bones she had just bought, then summoned the book of skeletons. Have a nice meal.

The bones were devoured by the book, and a new page took shape showcasing the drawing of a short skeleton holding a book and an ornate cup overflowing with a misty black liquid. Hiding the mana cost with her hand, Sofia had a good look at the drawing.

Now that I can see the full skeleton, thats a bit thin for a male dwarf. She slowly slid her hand to reveal the mana cost. There wasnt one.

No cost? What do you mean no cost?

Is something wrong, Bookie?

The page freed itself from the book and split into two down the middle.

Whats going on now?

So it's only the pages with a single skeleton on it?

Sofia flipped to the last two pages, which were normally the ones with the ingot monster and the quartz giant. On one, the small skeleton became huge and encased in a larger, thicker skeleton, while on the other, the depiction had become much smaller, with twig-like wings, and looking ferocious. With a chuckle, Sofia gave the book back to the skeleton, which he grabbed, then let go. It moved by itself and hovered behind his skull.

If the book is Bookie, and the skeleton is Bookie, Im going to start having naming issues.

Can you summon stuff by yourself?

Once again, the skeleton nodded.

All right, summon the elven caretaker then. I want to see you with a broom.

Without the skeleton doing anything, the page ripped itself from the book and turned into mist, which very quickly collapsed on itself and became a broom in the skeletons hands.

[Solar Book of Caretaker Skeletons - Lv. 249]

Health : 12450/12450

Mist : 98%

Lifetime : 14725s/14940s

That's cute. Wait, you actually lose health? Is that because of this fusion in particular? Does that happen every time? Well, only one way to find out. Summon the bow soldier now,she told the broom-brandishing skeleton.

Once again, a page ripped by itself, and an instant later, Bookies new form was now fitted with a small spiked helmet as well as two more arms above his original set, holding the broom, a bow, and with a quiver filled with bone arrows attached to his waist.

[Solar Book of Caretaking Soldier Skeletons - Lv. 249]

Health : 24900/24900

Mist : 97%

Lifetime : 14711s/14940s

Oh! The health is back to normal. Can we add more? she asked.

Not only did Bookie acquiesce once again, but the book flew to Sofia once again, opening at the page of the sandworm. It showed Bookies upper body sprouting out of the sandworms back. The sandworm was much smaller than usual, as if scaled down to Bookies size.

Sure, go for it!

The result was exactly as Sophia expected, she lost 90000 mana for the summoning, and the four-armed Solar Book-Worm of Caretaking Soldier Skeletons now slithered happily around Sofia, waving its broom as if fighting imaginary enemies. Its stats had also changed quite a lot.

Health : 249000/249000

Mist : 54%

Lifetime : 14623s/14940s

Oh yeah, this is fun. I think I like that a lot more than a regular old necromancer skeleton.

You were always a member, but now it feels a bit more real. Welcome to the team, Bookie.

Bookie brandished his broom high in the air in celebration.