"It's a knight, escape!"
Their wild laughter merged with extreme panic, making the marauders' faces contort.
They hadn't anticipated encountering a formidable opponent. That youth was actually a Tier 1 knight.
"Believe you can escape?"
Ace moved like a phantom. Marauders kept collapsing.
Those few knight apprentices extracted their blades and fought him desperately.
However how could a firefly compete with the brilliant moon? Their blades were severed by his battle aura, and his blade slashed across their throats.
From the moment Ace initiated his action to when all the marauders were deceased, only a few minutes had elapsed.
Before a Tier 1 knight, ordinary soldiers and knight apprentices seemed powerless.
When Ace returned, Audrey was still observing him wide-eyed. She hadn't recovered from the shock yet.
Wasn't Ace a necromancer apprentice? She'd never heard he was a knight!
[System Alert: Combat Complete]
[Total Enemies Eliminated: 37]
[Total Experience Gained: +74]
[Current Progress: 102/100]
[Ding! Level Up!]
[Archaeomancer Level: Apprentice → Initiate]
[New Function Unlocked: Bone Age Analysis]
[New Skill Available: Temporal Reconstruction (Basic)]
Ace dismissed the notifications mentally and behaved as though nothing had transpired, occupying the position by the flames to continue roasting the rabbit meat.
"Listen, why didn't you reveal your knight identity?"
After recovering from astonishment, Audrey inquired curiously.
An official knight was serious combat capability. Such a youthful Tier 1 knight possessed a promising future.
If Ace had revealed his knight identity, he wouldn't have confronted expulsion, exile, and having his engagement dissolved.
"The Duwadon family isn't deserving of my service. My existence is mine to govern."
Ace transferred the roasted rabbit to Audrey, speaking calmly.
He possessed a mature consciousness and had planned his existence from a youthful age.
When his father was still surviving, he'd secretly utilized his father's status to secure a batch of battle aura training resources.
Before his father's incident, he'd warned him repeatedly. Unfortunately, his father was excessively confident and didn't listen, eventually perishing on the otherworldly battlefield.
After his parents perished, Ace, who'd never felt attached to the Duwadon family, began planning to depart the family.
For these eight years, he'd stayed beyond sight, utilizing the batch of battle aura training resources he'd concealed away to improve himself.
He'd anticipated his mage talent might not be favorable and wasn't going to depend himself on one tree.
His original intention was to depart the family and become independent. How could he possibly reveal his knight identity and serve the Duwadon family?
"Wow, this is delicious!"
Ace had always possessed his personal concepts since he was youthful. Audrey could comprehend him making that decision.
Her attention was rapidly captured by the roasted rabbit. She was certain this was the finest thing she'd ever consumed.
Who realized Ace possessed this capability? She was genuinely curious how he'd spent those eight years.
"Listen, don't you possess any thoughts regarding me whatsoever?"
Satisfied and content, Audrey nudged Ace with her elbow.
She still couldn't overcome how decisively Ace had consented to dissolve the engagement.
"Not interested."
Ace glanced at Audrey. This young woman had followed him on impulse, so inquiring peculiar questions was reasonably normal.
"Listen, you don't prefer..."
Audrey suddenly contemplated something, her expression turning peculiar.
"Don't question my preferences. Observe yourself—what's attractive regarding you?"
Ace's eyes were sharp. Observing Audrey sneak a glance at that yellow-toothed brute, he immediately comprehended what she was contemplating.
Having his preferences questioned, Ace responded. He stared at Audrey's flat chest plate mockingly.
"Hmph, don't underestimate me!"
Audrey removed her chest plate and observed Ace proudly.
"Acceptable, I'll acknowledge you're genuinely proficient at concealing."
This occasion Ace was stunned. He hadn't anticipated Audrey to bind herself so securely.
"So?"
Audrey deliberately moved closer to Ace, desiring to observe this unflappable individual lose his composure.
"You genuinely desire something to transpire?"
Ace thought this was peculiar. He couldn't comprehend Audrey's thought process.
"I've fantasized regarding us experiencing existence and death together, then having a pleasant evening following some adventure. I've fantasized regarding..."
"Presently there's another possibility—you're a knight, so perhaps one day you'll grow excited and pin me against a wall!"
Audrey excitedly discussed her fantasies, all regarding the two of them experiencing various adventures and forming an extraordinary friendship in different scenarios.
In all those fantasies, she took the initiative. After Ace's knight identity was exposed, she'd added some new scenarios.
"You genuinely let your imagination operate wildly, correct? It's all fantasies regarding me?"
Ace didn't know how to respond. This young woman's thought process was truly distinctive.
"Well, obviously? I absconded with you. Who else would I fantasize regarding if not you?"
Audrey rolled her eyes at Ace. They'd progressed this far—could she genuinely return?
"I don't possess thoughts in that direction presently. If you've got energy to expend, proceed bury those corpses, or proceed excavate the bones buried in the soil at these locations."
Ace changed the subject. Presently he didn't even possess a location to reside, the crisis wasn't concluded—how could he possess the mind for pleasure?
"Hmph, like I'd provide it to you even if you desired it!"
Audrey snorted lightly.
"Listen, there are fresh corpses directly there. Why do we still require excavating underground?"
Audrey didn't delay and inquired Ace why he wasn't utilizing the readily available materials.
"You comprehend why necromancers declined?"
Ace looked up and inquired.
"No comprehension."
Audrey shook her head. She didn't know the reason.
"Presently those corpses are bathed in holy luminescence. Executing necromantic spells on them is no different from suicide."
In a necromancer's perspective, those marauders' corpses were glowing alabaster. That was the God of Light's Blessing of Final Care, specifically targeting necromancers.
"Oh, I comprehend."
After comprehending the reason, Audrey grabbed a shovel without another word and departed to excavate bones, without any of that spoiled noble young woman attitude.
Ace didn't remain idle either. He located a position to excavate bones buried underground.
These bones buried underground had perished after the Blessing of Final Care manifested.
Those bones still possessed traces of the blessing on them—refuse materials for necromancers.
However Ace didn't care. He planned to test that special Bone Resurrection methodology.
[System Alert: Would you like to activate Bone Age Analysis?]
[Yes] [No]
Ace mentally selected "Yes."
After entering the casting condition, information regarding the bones manifested in Ace's mental vision. These were human bones with a history of one hundred and thirty-seven years.
[Bone Age Analysis Complete]
[Subject: Human remains]
[Time Since Death: 137 years]
[Bone Classification: Green Grade]
[Optimal Resurrection Method: Temporal Reconstruction - Green Variant]
[Predicted Result: Green Bone Component (Arm)]
He selected the special casting methodology. After the necromantic obsidian luminescence descended on those bones, the casting succeeded, yet no skeletal undead manifested.
The bones melted in the obsidian luminescence and condensed into a pale green bone arm.
That bone arm possessed distinctive information in his vision. This was a green bone arm that could be utilized to assemble a green bone skeleton.
Green bone components originated from bones one hundred to three hundred years old.
A freshly resurrected green bone skeleton was equivalent to a knight apprentice, with a growth capacity of Tier 2.
[Ding! Successful Historical Resurrection]
[Experience Gained: +15]
[Achievement Unlocked: First Temporal Reconstruction]
[Bonus Reward: Enhanced Perception (Passive)]
"Fascinating."
Excited luminescence shone in Ace's eyes. His mage talent had merged with his previous existence's consciousness and mutated into a distinctive time-based spell.
For him, the older the bones, the more precious they were. Time was the accumulation of capability.
He shouldn't be designated a necromancer. He should be designated an archaeologist.
After excavating some additional bones, Ace began measuring the age of those bones.
When the necromantic obsidian luminescence aimed at corpses five to fifty years old, gray luminescence manifested in his mental vision. Bones in this time range would transform into gray bone components.
[Bone Classification: Gray Grade (5-50 years)]
[Predicted Result: Gray Bone Components]
[Initial Strength: Militia-level]
[Growth Capacity: Knight Apprentice-level]
Gray bone skeletons initially equaled militiamen, with a growth capacity roughly equal to knight apprentices.
Fifty to one hundred years showed pale luminescence and could be transformed into white bone components.
[Bone Classification: White Grade (50-100 years)]
[Predicted Result: White Bone Components]
[Initial Strength: Elite Soldier-level]
[Growth Capacity: Tier 1]
White bone skeletons initially equaled elite soldiers, with a growth capacity of Tier 1.
[System Note: The Archaeomancer's power increases with bone age. Ancient remains offer exponential advantages over conventional necromancy.]
Ace smiled slightly as he continued his excavation, the system's confirmation validating what he'd already suspected. Time wasn't just power—it was his unique advantage in a world that had abandoned necromancy.