An inn.
A single room tucked away in a corner.
Li Xiuman sat on the bed, exuding an imposing aura—truly fitting for a skeleton among the undead.
Before him, Rorona knelt on one knee.
“...”
Li Xiuman remained silent for a long time, which made Rorona grow nervous.
Is Master... going to punish me?
...After all, they hadn't perfectly completed the task Master assigned, so being punished was only natural.
This time, if not for Master, that evil noble's scheme would have actually succeeded. That would have been terrible.
Looking back, Master had told them last time to thoroughly investigate the White Feather Merchant Association.
If they had understood the underlying meaning behind Master's words back then and found the White Feather Merchant Association's spy, things wouldn't have turned out like that.
Master had actually foreseen today's outcome way back then.
What incredible foresight!
And Master was already setting the board back then, effortlessly resolving the present crisis.
Everything was like second nature to him.
As expected, as expected, as expected of their all-knowing and wise Master!
In truth, Li Xiuman was in a terrible mood, so he didn't know what to say at first.
How on earth did the White Feather Merchant Association make money so easily?
This time was even more bizarre—he just dropped by once, and they inexplicably struck it rich.
It wasn't scientific at all—no, magic-scientific.
“Rorona.”
“Rorona is here.”
Hearing Li Xiuman's voice, Rorona, who was pondering Master's deep intent and grand scheme, shuddered and hurriedly replied.
“Rorona, the task I assigned to you last time...”
“I am terribly, terribly sorry!”
Rorona hastily began apologizing, causing Li Xiuman's shoulders to twitch.
That familiar feeling.
That familiar feeling!
“Don't apologize, and don't rush. Take your time. The task will be completed sooner or later.”
Li Xiuman was actually very satisfied with Rorona.
Having a vampire infiltrate the White Feather Merchant Association was already a massive success.
Under these circumstances, uncovering the background and boss behind the White Feather Merchant Association was only a matter of time.
Was Rorona being way too hard on themselves?
“Take my time?”
Rorona froze.
Without a doubt, they had failed miserably at the task Master assigned this time.
They had completely failed to understand Master's deep intent and hadn't even discovered the spy hidden in the White Feather Merchant Association.
Yet judging by the subtext of Master's words, it seemed they hadn't failed after all.
Could it be that there was another hidden meaning behind Master's words this time?
Rorona, oh Rorona, use your wooden brain and think carefully about Master's words.
Master provided connections from the Royal Capital this time.
And then told me not to rush, to take my time.
This refers to the investigation—investigating the White Feather Merchant Association thoroughly.
Just now, I thought 'investigation' meant dealing with the spy.
Looking at it now, that might have only been the second layer, while there's actually a third layer?
Carefully review the strengths and weaknesses of the White Feather Merchant Association, play to strengths while avoiding weaknesses, build up strength, and expand.
Does Master mean that I should prepare so I won't be left behind in Master's even grander scheme in the future?
“Replying to Master, Rorona will definitely complete the investigation task!”
“Mm, very good.”
Li Xiuman patted Rorona's shoulder.
This is my capable right hand. How truly gratifying.
“In that case, go back to your work.”
“Yes!”
Rorona flipped out the window and vanished into the night.
“What a good kid.”
Pulling the curtains closed, the room instantly fell pitch-black.
Li Xiuman raised his wand, emitting light to illuminate the room, then took out Number Zero.
With Brad and the others around along the way, Li Xiuman hadn't found time to check how Number Zero was doing.
After all, it wasn't just him; Number Zero had been cursed by that spirit as well.
If Number Zero had also been hit with an intelligence-lowering curse, his dungeon trip this time would be a total loss.
Aside from ten thousand gold coins to soothe his soul, he had been forcibly gender-bent and hit with an IQ-draining curse.
Looking at Number Zero on the floor, Li Xiuman walked in a circle around it.
“The pink-melt stone seems a bit off?”
Li Xiuman poked the skin made of pink-melt stone, only to realize the texture of the pink-melt stone seemed to have become much closer to human skin.
Not only that, but every material composing Number Zero had been enhanced from the inside out.
Its red eyes were also far more expressive.
“Appraisal.”
Scanning Number Zero's skill list, he finally found the extra skill.
[Water Spirit's Soul Blessing Lv. 1]: Obtained a portion of a water spirit's soul power.
“...Soul?”
Li Xiuman looked at Number Zero.
Number Zero had already undergone many special changes, and now it had received a water spirit's blessing.
It might become the most extraordinary Golem in history.
Perhaps the key to upgrading his skill [Golem Lv. 3] to Lv. 4 would rely on researching Number Zero for inspiration.
Having confirmed Number Zero hadn't suffered intelligence reduction, Li Xiuman sighed in relief and turned his gaze to his own status panel.
This time, his three primary stats had reached the requirements for evolution.
“Open available evolution options.”
Following Li Xiuman's command, a pop-up window opened on the panel.
Various evolution paths and evolution branches appeared before Li Xiuman.
[Elemental Specialization Path] High-Tier Dragon-Blooded Skeleton (Lv. 45), Elemental Skeleton (Lv. 50), Water Spirit Skeleton (Lv. 50)
[Death Specialization Path] Skeleton General (Lv. 40), Undead Skeleton (Lv. 50), Death White Shadow (Lv. 50)
[Warrior Specialization Path] Heroic Skeleton (Lv. 60)
[Evil God Specialization Path] Evil God Skeleton Servant (Lv. 60)
[Bone Specialization Path] Graveyard Guard (Lv. 50)
[Holy Specialization Path] Holy Light Devourer (Lv. 45), Fallen Angel Skeleton (Lv. 55)
[Undead Specialization Path] Wandering Skeleton (Lv. 40)
[Please select your specialization path carefully. Once chosen, evolutions cannot be changed.]
There were so many evolution options that Li Xiuman experienced the happy dilemma of not knowing what to choose.
During the ten days since returning from the dungeon, Li Xiuman had been constantly pondering his choice.
He eliminated the [Warrior Specialization Path] first.
After all, both of Li Xiuman's classes were Mage classes, and he had always walked the path of a Mage.
Next was the Evil God Path, which had the highest level cap.
He felt this might be the work of that lingering, abominable evil god, and evolving down this path might bring bad side effects.
So he abandoned that as well.
The Holy Path was out of the question too; he was a bit afraid of the Goddess of Light.
The best choice was to select between the [Elemental Path] and the [Death Path].
Li Xiuman's two classes were Elementalist and Necromancer, so these two paths offered the greatest benefits and future potential.
[High-Tier Dragon-Blooded Skeleton] was an advanced evolution of his current race.
After evolving, his Strength Modifier and physical durability would likely increase.
But its level cap was only Lv. 45, so for the sake of long-term security, he had no choice but to pass on it.
[Elemental Skeleton] granted elemental affinity; choosing this race would likely make his Fusion Magic faster and more powerful, while also raising his talent for Elemental Magic.
On top of that, it granted an extra +1 Spirit modifier point with every level-up.
If he developed toward an Elementalist, this would be his top choice.
Rate on N.U.
