The Second Life of a Legendary Necromancer

Chapter 38: Evolution of Spectrals (2)

After leaving Duke Dilen’s territory, Yeonwol moved to a nearby city, secured lodging, and prepared his equipment.

The first thing he did was take the legendary weapon [Blessed Saber] out of his inventory.

Thump, thump.

He could feel the pounding of his heart.

In his previous life, Yeonwol had never laid hands on a legendary-grade item.

Not even once.

Thus, obtaining a legendary weapon was a lifelong dream for Yeonwol.

Though he never showed it to others… he had always envied the large and small legendary accessories and equipment owned by rankers.

The special things everyone else possessed.

The special thing he alone did not have.

In truth, legendary items belong in a different league compared to other grades.

Up to Unique grade, items steadily improved in performance with each rank, but legendary items could be unexpectedly inferior.

Some had disastrous attack power or no practical use as equipment at all.

However, such peculiar cases came with extraordinarily unique effects befitting the “legendary” grade.

Grade: Legendary

Description: One of the twelve renowned swords left behind by the legendary Swordmaster, Van Ledin. Contains Van Ledin’s swordsmanship secrets. Most of the sword’s abilities are currently sealed and cannot be used.

Equipping Requirements: Level 312
Advanced Swordsmanship Mastery*

Attack Power: +1–2%

Equipping the sword opens a portal to the “Seventh Throne of the Sword King.”

Its attack power was lower than that of a beginner’s wooden sword at Level 1. It had no effects, no skills.

The only function was a portal leading to a hidden field.

“This is unmistakable. It’s a sword that allows one to inherit one of the swordsmanship secrets of Sword King Van Ledin.”

Even in his previous life, the legend of the Blessed Saber was well-known.

A swordsman ranked in the lower tiers of the swordsman class had risen to the top tier after acquiring this weapon.

The skill obtained in that field, “Life Severance Blade,” had a one-hit-kill potential and could be considered an ultimate move with immense power.

However, the penalties were so severe that even the original wielder used it only three times and once after the synchronization event.

Despite this, it was enough for him to become a top-tier ranker.

“If I enter that field, I’ll receive guidance from Sword King Van Ledin. That alone will raise my Swordsmanship Mastery tremendously.”

For Yeonwol, whose Swordsmanship Mastery improved more slowly than swordsman-class players, it was an essential item.

“It’s not the right time yet. That’s for much later.”

Calming his excitement, he returned the Blessed Saber to his inventory. Then, he checked the stats and skills he had built up over the past month.

Lv: 100 Combat Power: 150

Class: Necromaster (Un)

Race: Human

HP: 1,680 (+250) MP: 2,990

[Reputation: 429]

[Strength: 256] [Agility: 211]

[Intellect: 84] [Stamina: 156]

[Life: 148] [Willpower: 95]

[Dexterity: 99]

After clearing the dungeon, his level had been 91, but after a month of grueling training, he had reached Level 100.

Even without hunting monsters, levels could rise through training.

Just as alchemists gained levels by performing alchemy and blacksmiths by crafting and refining equipment, combat classes could also train to level up. However, the efficiency was so low that almost no one chose this method.

Though training could improve both skill proficiency and level simultaneously, the prevailing strategy among high-rankers was, “Raise your level first, and then work on skill proficiency later.”

There was even speculation that a higher level would make it easier to raise skill proficiency.

The reasoning was that a higher level allowed one to face stronger monsters.

Of course, that reasoning was flawed.

The higher the level, the more nightmarish it became to raise skill proficiency.

Hence, Yeonwol chose to slow his level progression and focus all his efforts on skill proficiency and stats.

Had Yeonwol focused solely on leveling since logging into the game, could he have reached a combat power of 130?

Not a chance.

Had he leveled up in that manner, his combat power would have been significantly lower than it was now, and his level wouldn’t have been much higher either.

[Intermediate Swordsmanship Mastery: 0.4%]

[Intermediate Alchemy Mastery: 1.3%]

[Spectral Transmutation: 10.07%]

Thanks to the treatment of nobles and commoners as well as his swordsmanship training, his two primary combat-related skills grew rapidly.

Moreover, the arduous Spectral Transmutation skill, which had barely progressed, achieved a milestone of 10%, a significant leap from completing a single quest.

Typically, swordsman-class players reached Basic Swordsmanship Mastery at around Level 70.

Reaching Intermediate Mastery required several additional months to a year of dedicated hunting, usually achieved around Level 150.

Yet Yeonwol had just reached Level 100 after only a month and had already attained Intermediate Mastery. Considering he wasn’t even a swordsman-class player, this was utterly extraordinary.

Given his level and the date his character was created, many would accuse him of being a “bugged character.”

No conventional method could produce a character with such stats.

“I’ve even addressed my only weakness: swordsmanship.”

With this, his foundation was solidified.

Of course, there was no guarantee he would continue growing at this pace.

Skill mastery progression significantly slowed from Intermediate onward.

In the coming years, only a handful of rankers would achieve “Advanced” combat proficiency.

[Skill has reached 10% proficiency. The new skill effect “Spectral Evolution” is now unlocked.]

Furthermore, as a “main skill” of his class, Spectral Transmutation enhanced existing effects or unlocked new ones each time its proficiency reached a certain threshold.

Spectral Evolution: Strengthens the skeleton and muscles of Spectrals with new materials, evolving them. The evolved Spectrals’ stats are determined by the Necromaster’s Spectral Transmutation proficiency and combat power.

“Whew.”

Yeonwol closed his eyes tightly.

Although acquiring the Blessed Saber made him happy, he had one pressing concern.

“How does a Necromaster undergo a second class advancement?”

Ordinary classes could advance upon reaching Level 100 through the Class Advancement Centers or by meeting special NPCs around the world.

Even players with mundane E-rank classes could meet special NPCs during second advancement and transition into a hidden class.

Even if not hidden, countless branching paths were offered.

But what about those who already had a hidden class?

Yeonwol had no apparent way to perform a second class advancement.

This meant he wouldn’t receive any of the countless quests, equipment, achievements, or opportunities typically granted during a second advancement.

In other words, having a hidden class didn’t solely offer advantages.

Growth became significantly harder.

Compared to Yeonwol’s current strength, Necromaster-class skills had become relatively weaker.

A couple of months ago, his Spectrals were far more formidable, but now their strength lagged behind his own by a noticeable margin.

‘What should I do with the Spectrals that are falling behind my stats?’

Even if he created new Spectrals by defeating stronger monsters, it was obvious they would grow weaker again after one or two months of Yeonwol’s rapid progression.

Should he continue creating and searching for new Spectrals every time this happened?

He had been grappling with whether his second class advancement could resolve this issue, but the skill solved everything at once.

‘Yes… as I grow stronger, I just need to keep evolving the Spectrals so they can keep up with my strength.’

Returning directly to the exclusive research lab of the Sellatan Guild, Yeonwol immediately began researching Spectral Evolution.

“This place has improved again since the last time I was here.”

No one could enter this place once Yeonwol stepped inside.

Thanks to that, he could freely fill the lab with monster corpses for research.

“Eltis. Come out for a moment.”

[Mirror of Spectrals: Eltis]

With a crackling sound, a 4-meter-tall mirror formed, and Eltis, wrapped in a silver and violet aura, was summoned.

Since the last battle, he had not been repaired, leaving his body in ruins and his armor half-destroyed.

He knelt and lowered his head.

-Master, I am ashamed. My lack of power has made me unable to support you fully.

“No. Your weakness is my deficiency. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

Yeonwol carefully removed Eltis’s damaged armor piece by piece.

Seeing his scarred and battered form, it was clear how grueling the battles had been.

Spectrals could feel pain. Unless Yeonwol commanded them to erase their senses, they would feel pain even while regenerating.

Had Eltis been a weak-willed Spectral, he might have screamed and writhed on the ground in agony. In fact, even the monster Cooling couldn’t endure pain and let out shrieks whenever wounded.

Eltis, however, didn’t. No matter how injured or broken he was, he silently carried out orders without uttering a sound.

The reason was simple.

It was because Yeonwol had commanded him.

If he hadn’t been able to summon Eltis due to a low level, it would have been a significant regret.

“I’m glad I can continue working with you, Eltis.”

-…Thank you.

“From now on, I will evolve you into a higher being. I’ll count on you to continue as you have.”

Eltis struck his chest with his fist and bowed his head.

-Eternal loyalty.

Skeletons handled by Necromancers had a clear ranking system.

How was this rank determined?

It was based on their life before becoming Skeletons.

Basic Skeleton Soldiers, the standard units, were made from ordinary individuals or minimally trained soldiers.

However, Skeleton Archers required well-trained soldiers, while Skeleton Heroes and Skeleton Generals were made from warriors of renown in their lifetimes.

Thus, the primary criterion for creating a Skeleton was “how strong they were in life.”

No matter how exceptional the Necromancer’s abilities were, they couldn’t turn a weak person into a powerful Skeleton.

The Necromancer’s role was limited to “how much of the deceased’s abilities they could inherit.”

For instance, a Necromancer might create a Death Knight from the corpse of a great knight but inherit only 50% of the knight’s abilities. A Necromancer like Riolis, however, could achieve up to 70%.

So, what about a Necromaster?

‘They can elevate the deceased’s abilities to over 200%.’

Of course, this didn’t apply to every Spectral.

It was crucial that the Spectral possessed a strong will to become stronger, and the summoner needed a once-in-a-century talent for human transmutation.

[Spectrals that do not desperately seek strength may fail in ‘Spectral Evolution.’ Be cautious!]

[If evolution fails, the Spectral may completely return to the afterlife and lose the chance for future evolution!]

Humans could only grow stronger through their desire to improve—just like real-life boxers, marathoners, soccer players, wrestlers, and countless other athletes. Or like players striving to become rankers in Elthera World.

Spectrals also required effort and determination.

Fortunately, Yeonwol’s Spectrals were filled with such resolve.

Their helpless defeat in the battle against the Zombie Knight had left a profound impact.

[Commencing the evolution of Spectral Eltis. Bloodline composition: 71% human, 29% titan. Please choose the direction of evolution.]

In this world, hybrids like human-elf or human-titan existed in various forms.

Eltis, with his titan bloodline, stood over 3 meters tall as a born warrior.

This bloodline could be further strengthened based on probabilities.

[If the titan bloodline is strengthened, the body will grow larger, and strength will dramatically increase, but agility and flexibility will be greatly reduced.]

[However, you cannot summon Spectrals taller than 4 meters.]

Although greater strength suited Eltis’s role as a tank, a bruiser or fighter position offered better versatility.

A bruiser with decent speed, significant strength, sufficient flexibility, and solid defense.

A so-called “damage tank.”

This seemed adequate with the current bloodline ratio.

“I’ll maintain the bloodline ratio as is…”

[Please select the body parts and structures to evolve.]

Since Spectral Evolution was still at a low level, full-body evolution was impossible.

In Mad’s case, since he was a wolf, strengthening his leg muscles sufficed.

What about Eltis?

“I’ll evolve the entire skeletal structure evenly.”

[Evolving the entire skeletal structure evenly may lower the degree of evolution.]

Focusing on strengthening one arm’s bones might yield better strength. But for Eltis, overall durability was crucial.

“You’ll always be the one protecting my back. I don’t expect an unbreakable wall. I want a wall that rises again, even when broken or toppled.”

Yeonwol placed his hand on Eltis’s chest as he stood with his eyes closed.

“It might hurt a little… but I hope you’ll endure and follow through.”

Crackle!!

As the silver light of Spectral Transmutation began, Eltis’s expression twisted slightly, and sweat began to drip down his face.

This was proof that the evolution was succeeding!

But it wasn’t over yet.

The evolution of a Spectral didn’t end with Yeonwol’s will alone.

[Spectral Eltis is entering the “Threshold of Death.” He must now overcome himself.]

Eltis’s body was entirely engulfed in silver and violet aura as he floated motionless in the air.

Yeonwol stepped back.

In this exclusive space for Spectrals, Eltis would have to defeat his living self.

At this point, Yeonwol could not intervene. It was solely up to Eltis’s will.

“Eltis, I’m sure you’ll return victorious.”

Without a hint of doubt, Yeonwol turned his head.

There stood Mad and Cooling, injured but waiting with intense determination.

“All right, it’s your turn now.”

Crackle!!

[Spectral Mad is entering the “Threshold of Death.” He must now overcome himself.]

[Spectral Cooling is entering the “Threshold of Death.” He must now overcome himself.]

“I hope you don’t betray my trust.”