Chapter 285, Testing Skills
Corpses from future kills will be his to handle after autopsy?
Hearing this, Wu Heng felt a surge of joy.
It seemed that the Steward of Gold-Silver Island wasn't overly hostile towards necromancers, or rather, as long as Wu Heng didn't cause trouble, their attitude remained quite friendly.
From now on, any bounty targets he killed, their bodies would be his after the autopsy.
Honestly, this seemed only natural, but in Blackstone Town and Rentam City, he had never received such treatment.
Yazde of Blackstone Town was even afraid he'd steal corpses, having them burned by the squad and guards the next day.
"Thank you, Steward!" Wu Heng expressed his gratitude.
The elegant elf smiled approvingly, "You've just arrived and already taken down several Level 3 bounties; you've done well."
After speaking, his tone shifted, emphasizing again, "Your profession is quite unique. Follow the Guild's regulations in your actions. If you encounter any difficulties, you can speak to me."
Wu Heng understood what he meant.
He nodded and said, "I will."
"Good."
At this moment, the elf assistant on the side finished writing the proof for retrieving the corpse.
"Thank you!" Wu Heng accepted it, then glanced at the tablet on the table. "Steward, would you like this?"
There were plenty of tablets in the zombie world; entire warehouses were filled with new ones with no place to store them.
But in this world, they were indeed rare items.
At the very least, there was no device here that could take photos or view pictures.
Imiro glanced at the tablet and said indifferently, "Leave it here."
"Oh, this device needs to be recharged. If the screen goes dark, hand it to me, and I'll take it back to recharge," Wu Heng explained.
"Understood."
Wu Heng nodded and exited the room.
...…
Holding the freshly written proof.
He headed towards the underground morgue.
The morgue exuded a chilling coldness.
The two coroners were not present today, only the guards at the entrance were chatting.
Seeing Wu Heng approach, they immediately stood straight. "Deputy Steward!"
"Yes, this is the Steward's proof. I'm taking this body. Go find a mat and wrap it up," Wu Heng said, showing them the proof.
In truth, if Wu Heng wanted to steal the body.
There were plenty of ways.
After all, as a Deputy Steward himself, he could easily cover it up and use the realm gate to transport the body to another world without issue.
But it was best to go through proper channels.
To avoid any negative consequences over a single body.
"Understood." One of the guards glanced at the proof and quickly entered the morgue.
He wrapped the body in a mat.
Wu Heng directly stored it in his spatial ring.
"You can carry on." Wu Heng said.
The two guards bowed slightly.
...…
Wu Heng returned to his office.
Andviel was sitting inside. "Master!"
"Have you retrieved the rewards?" Wu Heng asked.
"Yes, they're on the table."
Wu Heng walked to the desk and saw several items: two skill books and three leather pouches filled with silver coins.
These were rewards for rescuing Madam Shanella and killing the Blood Hand Pirates.
After a few days of processing by the Guild, the rewards had finally been issued.
Andviel smiled and said, "When I went to collect the rewards, members of the Third Squad were there too. Olin said to reach out if you needed anything."
"Looks like they're satisfied with the mission rewards as well."
"Yes, everyone seemed quite pleased."
Andviel stood up, poured Wu Heng a cup of tea, and returned to her seat to continue sorting documents.
Wu Heng put away the bounty and looked at the two skill books in his hands.
This time, he exchanged for [Death Aura] and [Animate Objects].
There was also a necromancy skill, [Plague Insect Spell], at the counter.
But since this skill overlapped with the one on his staff, he didn't plan to exchange for it.
So he had Andviel exchange for another skill that piqued his interest, [Animate Objects].
Besides envisioning brooms sweeping and teapots pouring tea, he also wondered if casting the skill on a car would turn it into a Transformer.
Or if a machine gun would autonomously charge onto the battlefield and start firing.
With these thoughts in mind, he casually opened the skill book.
...…
As he read the book's contents.
Wu Heng gradually became engrossed.
[Animate Objects] belonged to the Transmutation school of magic.
This school was also known as the Transformation school, commonly used to alter objects or environments. The [Feather Fall] spell he learned before was a type of transformation.
However, [Animate Objects] was a more advanced spell type that could animate up to ten non-magical items within the casting range.
And these ten items couldn't be chosen at will.
Weight and size would influence the casting difficulty and the number of items that could be controlled.
The book gave an example: a normal caster could animate ten quill pens to write letters, but could only animate five chairs to move due to weight and size differences.
This highlighted the impact of weight and size.
Turning cars into Transformers was impossible; the spell couldn't produce such effects.
The spell didn't truly bestow life or a false soul onto objects.
It was more like issuing commands for objects to perform actions.
There was no independent consciousness involved.
Wu Heng flipped through the pages, marveling at the magic's wonders and at those who managed to develop such a spell.
Reaching the last page, a system prompt appeared.
[Skill Unlocked: Animate Objects]
Wu Heng stored the book in his spatial ring and looked at the desk.
He cast a spell on a nearby quill pen.
The quill, which was hanging on the pen holder, floated to the desk and wrote the words "quill pen" on the paper with a swish.
It wasn't the quill itself writing but rather the magic Wu Heng had preset.
Dispelling the magic, the quill fell back onto the desk.
Wu Heng waved his hand again, and the teapot beside him floated over, pouring tea into the cup.
Andviel, who was working intently, was instantly on alert, flipping out her pistol and pointing it at the suddenly moving teapot.
"Don't worry, it's just a new skill I learned," Wu Heng quickly explained.
Andviel glanced at the teapot, then at Wu Heng, and holstered her gun. "What kind of spell?"
"It's the 'Animate Objects' skill I just brought back. It allows objects to move on their own."
"Pouring tea, huh? Looks like Minnie won't have much to do anymore."
Wu Heng looked at her, then snapped his fingers with one hand.
The ribbon tied in Andviel's hair suddenly untied itself, quickly tied her hands together, and lifted them high.
Wu Heng walked over and grabbed her raised arms, "Pretty handy, huh?"
Andviel, her hands bound, glanced nervously at the door, blushing as she softly said, "What are you doing, Master? We're still at the Guild; what if someone walks in?"
"Doesn't it feel fun?"
"Let's play at home!"
...…
After teasing Andviel for a while, Wu Heng dispelled the magic.
He couldn't really do anything at the Guild, especially in broad daylight.
Sitting back at his desk, he picked up the second book to examine it.
[Death Aura] was a necromancy spell.
Its type was similar to [Fog Cloud] and was likely a redeveloped version of it.
It could create a fog-like area, not only obscuring vision but also having various negative effects common in necromancy.
It resembled a toxic fog zone infused with necromantic energy.
From the beginning, Wu Heng saw great value in this skill.
Whether it was for covering terrain or blocking pursuers, it had a lot of potential.
Of course, these effects applied primarily to living creatures and had little impact on the undead.
He turned to the last page.
The system prompt appeared immediately.
[Skill Unlocked: Death Aura]
With the skill unlocked, Wu Heng stored the skill book in his spatial ring.
Feeling that there wasn't much else going on at the Guild, he said, "Andviel, I'm heading back. If there's nothing important, go home early and have dinner."
"Yes, Master." Andviel replied.
Wu Heng left the Guild and headed towards his residence.
...…
Both the Guild and his home were in the central area, so the distance wasn't too far.
It only took about 10 minutes or so to reach.
As he walked back.
Suddenly, Wu Heng felt as if he was being watched.
He abruptly turned around, looking behind him.
People were coming and going on the street, and everyone seemed normal; no one appeared to be watching him.
But the feeling he had wasn't a mere illusion.
He glanced at the street and then the sky, confirming no one was there before turning back and continuing his walk.
"See if anyone is following me." Wu Heng whispered as he walked.
Glenda, invisible, flew up to the sky, overlooking the area below.