Undead Mage: I Have a Skeleton Clone-Chapter 407 - 306: Remodeling Marvels, Xinyan Instructor’s Private Stash

Considering the characteristics of the two Marvels, the Ring of Burning Fire crafted by Instructor Shen Hongyu was the more intuitive choice for an alchemy beginner like Fang Zhou. Another important reason was that Instructor Shen Hongyu had specifically crafted this Ring of Burning Fire for her adopted daughter, Shen Ziwei. As a result, she had used only top-quality materials and even left room for future enhancements. For Fang Zhou, this ring was undoubtedly the perfect object for practice.

Of course, Instructor Shen Hongyu was a Silver-tier Flame Mage, while Fang Zhou was currently an Upper-tier Apprentice Undead Mage. Therefore, his first step was to modify the ring’s internal array, transforming the original Fireball Skill Array into one suitable for Undead Magic Skills.

Su Xinyan then said to Fang Zhou, "Fang Zhou, which magic array do you plan to inscribe? You must understand, the materials we’re using are incredibly active and precious. I suggest you inscribe one of the direct damage Undead Mage Skills. This will not only increase the success rate but also make better use of the materials’ energy."

Fang Zhou fell into deep thought. He was aware of his own abilities and understood Su Xinyan’s concerns, so he replied, "Instructor Xinyan, I don’t have many direct damage Undead Mage Skills right now, mainly just two.

"One is the single-target skill, ’Skeleton Flying Spear.’ It’s designed for extreme single-target lethality, and I usually use it against powerful enemies. Sometimes, to ensure a one-hit kill, I’ll even use a Charging Scroll to enhance the spell’s effect. However, if ’Skeleton Flying Spear’ is inscribed in the ring, the power it could unleash probably wouldn’t exceed me casting it myself. So, there isn’t much point in doing that."

Fang Zhou paused for a moment before continuing, "That’s why I’m more inclined to inscribe ’Death Ripple,’ a large-scale area-of-effect skill. After all, ’Death Ripple’ consumes a tremendous amount of Spiritual Power. If I can cast it through the ring’s array, it would be a huge help, even if the power is slightly reduced. As long as it conserves my Spiritual Power, it’s more than enough for me."

Su Xinyan nodded with satisfaction, clearly agreeing with his analysis. She gently moved aside and picked up a delicate little bottle from the experiment table. It contained a liquid that exuded an aura of decay and death.

She explained, "Alright, we’ll go with your plan. You should know that modifying the original Fireball Skill Array into one suitable for ’Death Ripple’ will require this Undead-Attribute Alchemy Essence."

As she moved, the liquid in the bottle glinted eerily in the dim light, looking exceptionally strange. A hint of playful pride entered Su Xinyan’s eyes. Looking at Fang Zhou, she said in a slightly boastful tone, "You won’t find this in the resource repository at Sea City Military Academy. This is a bottle of Apprentice-level Alchemy Essence I had left over from long ago, and now I’m giving it to you. Use it sparingly, though. If you run out, you won’t be able to find more anytime soon."

Fang Zhou accepted the bottle of precious liquid. He felt its cool touch in his hand, and a wave of warmth spread through his heart. After acquiring the Black Gem Dragon Egg, Fang Zhou had come to understand just how rare and precious Undead-Attribute materials were. Therefore, as he took the small, valuable bottle of Alchemy Essence from Instructor Su Xinyan, he couldn’t help but sigh deeply.

"This isn’t good news for my future alchemy practice," he murmured.

As an Apprentice Alchemist specializing in the Undead Attribute, Fang Zhou was naturally more skilled at crafting Undead-Attribute Marvels. Besides inscribing Undead Mage Skills into them, he could generally only inscribe some Universal Skills for Magic Professionals. However, among those Universal Skills, not many had truly potent practical effects in combat.

Hearing his words, Instructor Su Xinyan gave him a look filled with profound meaning. She said softly, "That’s precisely why you must give it your all in the upcoming new recruit competition and earn a good ranking for Sea City Military Academy. It will bring immense benefits to everyone, from elite students like you to instructors like me."

Fang Zhou nodded. Instructor Su Xinyan had stressed this point to him many times before, and her words were deeply ingrained in his mind.

He shook his head, clearing away the distracting thoughts, and focused his full attention on the Ring of Burning Fire in his hand. Following Instructor Su Xinyan’s previous guidance, Fang Zhou skillfully operated the alchemy instruments and slowly pried open the Ring of Burning Fire, revealing the complex and precise Alchemy Array within. Every node and line on the array flickered with a soft light. He then carefully dripped a few drops of the faintly glowing Undead-Attribute Alchemy Essence from the bottle onto the ring’s surface. The drops instantly fused into the metal, as if the ring had greedily devoured them.

Afterward, Fang Zhou closed his eyes and concentrated his Spiritual Power. As if holding an invisible brush, he began to sketch and paint over the original Alchemy Array. Like an artist sweeping ink across a canvas, he started to transform the formation. His Spiritual Power danced like fine threads in the Void, each subtle adjustment demanding extreme precision and control. Every modification of a node, every extension of a line, was a recreation of the original array’s structure.

About ten minutes later, Fang Zhou finally opened his eyes and let out a long breath. Through his efforts, the original Fireball Skill Array had been successfully modified into a ’Death Ripple’ Array. However, Fang Zhou wasn’t satisfied. Due to the ring’s inherent power limitations, the new Death Ripple Array could only release an energy attack at the Lower Apprentice level.

This was clearly not enough for him. He needed to expand the array’s output power, preferably upgrading it to the Upper Apprentice level. Only then could the modified ring truly become a major asset in his battles.

Instructor Su Xinyan had taught him many times that Alchemy was not just a perfect fusion of matter and energy but also an art—a creation born from a deep understanding of the Laws of Creation.

Now, Fang Zhou prepared to use the Undead-Attribute Alchemy Essence from Instructor Su Xinyan to try and elevate the output power of the ’Death Ripple’ Array within the ring. His Spiritual Power moved like a precise scalpel, slicing and reshaping the original array structure, embedding the power of Death Ripple into every node, one by one. As the Alchemy Essence was consumed, the output power of the Death Ripple Array steadily expanded until it reached the Upper Apprentice level.

When the last wisp of Spiritual Power was withdrawn and the array was complete, a glimmer of satisfaction shone in the beautiful eyes of Instructor Su Xinyan, who had been observing in silence.

She said to him, "Congratulations, it’s a complete success. Fang Zhou, you’re remarkably talented in Alchemy. To handle your first upgrade and modification so perfectly is quite an achievement."

Su Xinyan picked up the brand-new ring from the alchemy workbench, examining it from all angles. "Since you’ve completely transformed the Alchemy Array inside, the name ’Ring of Burning Fire’ doesn’t really fit anymore," she said. "You should give it a new name. What do you think? Any ideas?"

Fang Zhou thought for a moment, then smiled. "Since the array inside is for ’Death Ripple,’ let’s just call it the ’Ripple Ring’."