...

However, after a moment of thought, Lynch decided not to get involved in the commotion.

’What’s so interesting about watching women fight?’

Right now, he was busy improving his own strength.

After putting on his usual disguise, Lynch first went to the new meeting point to meet with the adventurers’ corpse-collecting team and picked up seventeen fresh bodies.

Once he had converted all the bodies into Skeleton Soldiers, he went straight back to a secluded grove behind the academy.

Hank from Stone Crow Town was already waiting there with his militia. Next to them was a large flatbed cart, originally used for hauling lumber, covered with a thick tarp.

When he saw Lynch approaching, dressed in a black robe and followed by a large group of Skeleton Soldiers, he hurried forward to greet him respectfully. "Good evening, esteemed Mage."

Lynch gave a slight nod in response.

Hank rushed forward, pulled back the tarp on the cart, and revealed a full load of Goblin corpses.

Having rotted for over a week, the corpses reeked to high heaven. The militiamen’s faces turned pale from the stench, but they dared not show any disgust.

These Goblin corpses were the spoils from the previous Goblin extermination mission.

But at the time, Lynch had plenty of troops, so he had Hank take the bodies to Stone Crow Town for storage. This time, under the pretext of delivering lumber, Hank had brought them all over in one go.

Lynch glanced over them. Seeing the number was about right, he casually tossed Hank and his men a small bag of silver coins.

After unloading the cargo with a thousand thanks, they pulled the empty cart and departed.

After they left, Lynch finally dropped his aloof demeanor and let out a helpless sigh.

Looking at the small mountain of Goblin corpses, he couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on.

Previously, Lynch had hoarded these corpses like a doting parent, afraid he would run out of soldiers.

But as the number of elite troops under his command grew, he now looked down on these Goblin grunts. At the very least, a unit had to be a Humanoid Skeleton to barely catch his eye.

Soon, an idea came to him.

Lynch returned to the academy and made a round through the cheap dormitory area.

A moment later, a dozen or so apprentices from the Undead Major, dressed in black robes with mostly pale, haggard faces, appeared in the grove with him.

They looked bewildered, completely unaware of what "Brother Lynch" wanted. But Lynch now held considerable prestige among his peers, and everyone was willing to listen to him.

That is, until they saw the mountain-like pile of dark green corpses in the clearing.

"HISS..."

A wave of sharp inhales sounded instantly.

Over a dozen pairs of eyes immediately glowed with a green light. They stared intently at the corpses, their breathing growing heavy. Their expressions were like those of men who had just laid eyes on a group of peerless beauties.

"These Goblin corpses were just brought in from the outside," Lynch said in a calm tone. "There are about one hundred and twenty of them. They’ve only been sitting for a little over a week, so they’re still fresh."

For Necromancers who would gladly dig up ancestral graves, a mere week was indeed considered fresh.

"F-Fresh... corpses." The apprentices were so ecstatic they were about to faint. They unconsciously mumbled the words, their Adam’s apples bobbing up and down.

To them, apprentices of the Undead Major struggling at the bottom of the academy, what did fresh corpses mean?

This was a source of troops!!!

You have to understand, the Holy Light Church’s control over corpse sources was becoming stricter and stricter, and the common folk viewed Necromancers as vipers and scorpions. Where were poor apprentices like them supposed to find so many troops?

Without a source of troops, they couldn’t go out on missions. They couldn’t possibly rely on that single, crippled Skeleton from their Netherworld Contract to complete tasks, could they?

If they accidentally ran into a horde of monsters, even a weak school of Fishmen could easily wipe them out.

The more this happened, the poorer and weaker the Undead apprentices became. Over time, they were trapped in a vicious cycle.

Seeing their pathetic state, Lynch said irritably, "Pull yourselves together. These are all for you."

Upon hearing this, the light in the apprentices’ eyes grew even more feverish. One of them even pinched his own arm, afraid it was all just a dream.

"Two Gold Coins per corpse," Lynch added.

"Ah, this..."

The feverish atmosphere froze in an instant.

The ecstatic expressions on the apprentices’ faces stiffened.

They subconsciously felt their empty coin purses, expressions of hesitation and struggle appearing on their faces.

Two Gold Coins each meant twenty Gold Coins for ten... For most of them, this was a huge sum.

Lynch took in everyone’s reaction.

’Give them away for free!?’

’I’m no philanthropist. Not to mention, my own training consumes a massive amount of resources. All the potions, materials, and even the reserves for my future trip to the Angelo Mountain Range require money.’

’Besides, things that are free are often not cherished. Soldiers bought with money are the ones that will be cared for meticulously.’

Lynch also hoped the Undead Major would rise, but he didn’t want to just spoon-feed them.

However, he also knew the current situation of these apprentices. They were all from fallen minor noble families or small merchant households. If any of them had real family backing, who would have chosen the Undead Major?

Therefore, he added, "If you don’t have enough money, you can owe me. Once you complete some missions and have some earnings, you can pay me back then."

These words were like a ray of bright sunlight piercing through dark clouds.

"Brother Lynch," the shifty-looking apprentice was the first to jump out. "I want ten! But I only have eight Gold Coins right now. I’ll pay you back the remaining twelve as soon as I finish my first mission."

He fumbled to pull out a small cloth pouch, CLATTERING out six Gold Coins. He added some Silver Coins and copper plates, then eagerly held it all out to Lynch.

Lynch nodded. Without counting carefully, he accepted the money. "Go on, pick them out. Take your time and choose well."

"You got it!" The shifty-looking apprentice was overjoyed and immediately dashed toward the pile of corpses.

Undeterred by the filth and stench, he began to rapidly sort through them, specifically picking out the ones that looked strong and sturdy, with no missing limbs.

With him as an example, the others’ worries were instantly dispelled.

’That’s right! With troops, we can do missions. And if we can do missions, why worry about not having money to pay off debts?’

These Goblin Skeleton Servants would be the capital they needed to turn their fortunes around.

"Lynch, I want ten too! Here are six Gold Coins, I’ll owe you fourteen."

"I want eight... here are five Gold Coins..."

"Big Brother Lynch, I’ll take twelve! I’ll pay ten Gold Coins up front!"

The crowd surged forward, each person pulling out nearly all their savings and scrambling to shove the money at Lynch, afraid that if they were too slow, the best "recruits" would be taken by others.

Lynch accepted everything offered. He hadn’t brought a pen or paper, relying entirely on his memory to keep a rough mental tally of who paid how much and who owed what.

With his strength, he wasn’t worried about anyone defaulting on their debt.

Soon, the approximately one hundred and twenty Goblin corpses were all divided up.

Each person had a small pile of corpses next to them, their faces beaming with happy and satisfied smiles.

Meanwhile, Lynch now had a large bag of money. A rough calculation showed he had about seventy-three Gold Coins in cash, and the recorded debts added up to another one hundred fifty or sixty Gold Coins.

For him, this was a decent income.

"Alright, you have your soldiers now." Lynch put away his coin pouch and instructed, "Hurry up and convert them, and get familiar with controlling them. I suggest you form teams of three to five to take on some small-scale extermination or gathering missions at the edge of dangerous areas. Get some practice, earn some money to pay your debts, and improve your strength while you’re at it. Remember, safety first."

"Yes, Big Brother Lynch!" the crowd responded in unison.

Their eyes, as they looked at Lynch, were filled with gratitude and motivation.

Soon, the sounds of overlapping incantations echoed through the woods.

Lynch paid them no more mind. He returned directly to his private dorm and placed the seventeen newly acquired Humanoid Skeleton Servants in the cellar.

After that, he once again fell into a simple, reclusive lifestyle.

He drank the Ghost Moss Tea his mentor gave him, performed Meditation, and tempered his Spiritual Power.

He strengthened Bone Jade and Bone Mage—oh, and now he also needed to strengthen Red Rabbit. It was his mount and personal guard; it wouldn’t do for it to be weak.

He also had to attend important classes, and in his spare time, he would study the Spell Notes left behind by the bone mage from its life.

Occasionally, he would receive fresh "goods" delivered by the adventurers’ "corpse-collecting team" to expand his inventory.

His days were peaceful and fulfilling, and his strength grew steadily, bit by bit.

As time passed, he constantly consumed potions and strengthening bone powder, buying or exchanging for more whenever he ran out.

He also sold off his previous spoils, such as the Black Corpse’s gemstone ring and gemstone sword. Although they weren’t Magic Equipment, they still earned him several hundred Gold Coins.

In addition, the first batch of the Water of Life from his good dwarven brother was ready.

Thanks to its mellow taste and rare potency, the liquor was quite popular. However, limited by the initial production volume, the monthly profits were not yet significant.

And so, two months flew by.

「On this day.」

Inside his dorm, Lynch looked at Bone Jade, his heart filled with a mix of sorrow and relief.

’It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t easy at all!’

’All in all, it took over two full months and consumed a huge amount of academic credits and strengthening bone powder, but Bone Jade... it finally made it.’

The current Bone Jade’s skeleton had become tougher and thicker, dense and compact. Its surface had a faint, warm luster like ivory, and its height had shot up by more than a foot.

Even standing in front of the already tall and sturdy Lynch, Bone Jade was no longer shorter than him.

"Good. Very good." Lynch was full of gratification. He looked at Bone Jade like a father looking at a precious son who had finally been raised to adulthood.

What pleased Lynch even more was that the Soul Fire in Bone Jade’s eye sockets had more than doubled in intensity, and the Bone Knife in its hand had become heavier and sharper.

The entire Skeleton exuded a powerful aura.

This was—

A Tier One Skeleton Warrior.

...