Free Web NovelChapter 158: Chapter 98: Pale Elegy
It was a little hot.
But as the delicious broth and tender fish melted on his tongue, a faint, cool energy invigorated him, sweeping away the exhaustion from his long hours of Meditation and skill grinding.
Meanwhile, the little Vampire, Esther, was curled up on his lap, seemingly lost in a deep sleep, occasionally letting out soft, contented purrs.
She had, of course, drunk her fill again today.
Her meal had been the deputy captain, Hans—the very same man who had whipped Old John with a horsewhip and dared to smash down Lynch’s door.
For the record.
This wasn’t a case of Lynch being petty, of having a Vampire drink a man’s blood just because he broke down a door.
The main reason was that the guy was just a terrible person.
Back when Catherine’s hundred-man squad charged the garrison, Lynch had been on the second floor and captured a fleeting image through his Magic Crystal orb: the exact moment Hans whipped Old John and nearly stomped him to death.
At that moment, about twenty people, including Catherine and the Priest apprentice, had shown expressions of unease—some couldn’t bear to watch, while others were clearly angry and dissatisfied. It all just happened too quickly, and with Aus rescuing Old John, no one died, so nothing came of it.
Lynch took note of everyone who had shown sympathy, anger, or dissatisfaction. He then poached them all from Catherine’s team and had them stay on as instructors.
It wasn’t that this group was full of good people.
But at least they were better than the ones who had gloated as Old John was about to be stomped to death.
As for Hans, Lynch had originally planned to just teach him a lesson and leave it at that.
But afterward, when Aus spoke with them individually, many expressed their discontent with Deputy Captain Hans.
A few questions revealed that the man would stop at nothing to get promoted and curry favor with his superiors. Seizing grain and abducting able-bodied men were among his lesser offenses.
On many occasions, he had even abducted civilian women for his former superior to abuse.
For scum like that, Lynch naturally didn’t hold back. He gifted Hans to Esther for her enjoyment and then refined his corpse into a zombie. The official story would simply be that his injuries were too severe and he couldn’t be saved.
But enough of that.
Lynch sipped his fish soup, listening to Sea Song’s humming with a leisurely air.
’This quiet life isn’t so bad.’
The only problem was Esther, who was clinging to his leg a little too tightly. Lynch nudged her away with his foot, but to his surprise, she just rolled over with her eyes closed and hugged him even tighter. A strangely blissful smile spread across her porcelain-doll face.
’Ugh... Dammit!’ frёeωebɳovel.com
However, in stark contrast to this peaceful, cozy scene was the "battle" unfolding in a nearby clearing.
A dozen or so Elite Fishmen, hand-picked by Sea Song, were frantically attacking a Bone Valor · Witch Demon King. Their power was close to Tier One, and a few had even reached it.
Soon, the poor Bone Valor was dismantled into a pile of shattered bones.
But the battle didn’t end there.
Lynch simply raised his skull-topped Magic Staff and pointed it at the air.
A dark Netherworld Vortex opened.
CLATTER CLATTER~
Another Bone Valor crawled out from the vortex.
It blankly "looked" around for a moment before, driven by Lynch’s mental command, it fearlessly brandished its Bone Knife and charged at the group of Elite Fishmen.
The two sides clashed once more.
CLATTER. The Bone Valor was shattered to pieces again.
And so the cycle repeated.
That’s right. Lynch was "grinding" his skill proficiency.
For the past four months, aside from when he was traveling, he had spent nearly every day immersed in training and improving his skills.
During Meditation, he would take a vial of [Basic Concentration Potion]. Every few days, he would also brew a cup of the [Ghost Moss Tea] that his mentor, Annabella, had privately gifted him to nourish his Spiritual Power.
Combined with his [Basic Meditation Skill], which had already reached LV3 (6212/18000), these stacked effects made his Meditation efficiency far exceed that of an ordinary Tier One Mage.
He was now considered to be at the level of a mid-stage Tier One Mage. The "quantity" and "quality" of both his Mana pool and Spiritual Power were a huge leap from what they had been right after his promotion.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be impossible for him to break through to Tier Two in another seven or eight months.
A Tier Two Necromancer under the age of twenty would be considered a genius even in the Realm of the Dead, where Undead Magic flourished.
His LV3 [Basic Meditation Skill] played a huge part in this.
By grinding proficiency with his system panel, his mastery of the Meditation skill alone had already surpassed most Tier Two Mages and could even rival some Tier Three Casters.
This foundation of efficient Meditation resulted in a rate of progress visible to the naked eye. Lynch found himself completely addicted to the thrill of his power constantly growing, almost unable to pull himself away.
He was like a teenager addicted to grinding levels in a video game.
Of course, he hadn’t neglected the other skills on his panel either.
In terms of cultivating zombies, his greatest achievement was Bloodtooth’s successful promotion to a Purple Zombie. His other Black Corpses were also being steadily enhanced.
But the skill he had invested the most energy into over the past four months was [Skeleton Summoning Skill].
Back in Silver Sand Bay, he had relied on Serena’s Naga Squad to help "deal with" his Skeleton Soldiers, and the efficiency had been pretty good.
Later, after arriving in Lakefront Town and getting his zombies sufficiently cultivated, he began to focus all his efforts on this core summoning skill. His main method was having Sea Song’s elite Fishman unit act as "sparring partners," which made grinding experience stable and convenient.
Times had changed. He now had enough power to grind on his own, without needing to rely on an Angel Sentinel.
Time slipped by quietly amidst the constant "sacrifice" of the Bone Valors.
Before he knew it, Lynch had finished the entire pot of delicious Silver Scale Fish Soup, drinking every last drop of the broth.
