Sophia was 1.7 meters tall with a graceful figure and an exquisitely beautiful face, regarded by many as the school belle and goddess.
Unfortunately, Morintis was even taller at 1.85 meters, so even Sophia had to look up at him.
"Morintis, I want to compete with you."
Morintis looked at her, his face full of question marks.
Knowing Morintis disliked talking, Sophia went straight to the point. "I challenge you to see who gets the better score in the major exam. Do you dare accept?"
"Oh." Morintis let out a noncommittal sound and walked around her.
Sophia stamped her foot. "It's settled then! I won't keep losing to you forever!"
Sophia had thought her Rare class today would firmly suppress Morintis. She never expected him to get a Hidden class instead. Regardless of the Necromancer's strength, it was clear she had lost again.
But Sophia would not admit defeat.
Morintis walked back home.
The house was empty.
Morintis simply prepared a little food for himself.
The furnishings inside were very simple, with almost no furniture. One photograph was particularly conspicuous.
In the photo were Morintis, a young, beautiful woman, and an elderly woman with graying hair. The Morintis in the photo was smiling under the sunlight, completely different from his current self. Besides him, the young woman and the elderly woman in the photo were also smiling.
The photo was taken three years ago.
He had crossed over, inheriting the original owner's memories and emotions. His feelings for the two people in the photo ran very deep. In his previous life on Earth, he was an orphan with no family or relatives. Here, he had family who cherished and loved him. He treasured this doubly.
Unfortunately, the good times didn't last. Two years ago, his grandmother passed away from illness. A year ago, his older sister left for Xiaming Academy.
Now, he was the only one left at home.
Morintis spoke less and less, becoming colder and colder.
"I will also go to Xiaming Academy," Morintis affirmed determinedly in his heart.
For no other reason than because Morana was there. But Xiaming Academy was extremely difficult to get into. Last year, in the entire Westsea City, only Morana had tested in.
A knock came from the door.
"Principal Stone."
Victor Stone stood at the doorstep, holding a package.
"Morintis, here's some food. Take it for now."
"I'll bring some fresher supplies in a few days."
Morintis accepted the food. "Thank you."
Stone nodded. "You'll enter the dungeon tomorrow. Get some good rest."
For the past year, Stone had been bringing food every few days. This was something he had promised Morana he would do.
Last year, Morana was admitted to Xiaming Academy as the top scorer from Westsea City. But at the time, she didn't want to go, the reason being she wanted to stay and take care of her younger brother, Morintis. Once she went to Xiaming Academy, she wouldn't be able to return for at least three years.
Stone repeatedly counseled Morana, assuring her that he would take good care of Morintis. Only then did Morana agree to go to Xiaming Academy.
For a city like Westsea, producing a student who tested into Xiaming Academy was a tremendous honor. This was especially true for First High School and for Stone himself.
Stone kept his promise and had been looking after Morintis throughout the year.
At night, Morintis studied his skills.
His Spirit had fully recovered. He could summon another Skeleton Warrior at any time.
In his left palm, he held a crimson gem. This was the only object he had brought with him when he came to this world.
As he raised his hand, about to summon, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
[Detected host has awakened as Necromancer.]
[Class meets requirements. Binding the Ultimate Talent System.]
[Beginning to draw upon world essence to optimize skills.]
[Skill optimization complete.]
[Congratulations to the host for awakening the Unique Divine-tier Talent: Comprehensive Amplification (Level 1)]
[Congratulations to the host for acquiring the Passive Skill: Damage Transfer.]
Morintis's spirit was jolted. He immediately checked his status.
[Name: Morintis]
[Class: Necromancer (Unique)]
[Level: 1 (0.00%)]
[Strength: 10]
[Agility: 10]
[Spirit: 20]
[Constitution: 10]
[Equipment: None]
[Summon Space: 1/10, Skeleton Warrior (Quantity: 1)]
[Talent: Comprehensive Amplification (Level 1, Unique)]
[Passive Skill: Damage Transfer]
[Active Skills: Soul Flame (Level 1), Summon Skeleton Warrior (Level 1)]
[Comprehensive Amplification (Level 1): Effects of all skills are increased tenfold.]
[Damage Transfer: All damage received by the Necromancer is borne by their summons.]
[Soul Flame (Level 1): Burns the target's soul, causing fire damage. Power scales with the caster's Spirit and skill level.]
[Summon Skeleton Warrior (Level 1): Summons one Black Iron-tier Skeleton Warrior.]
His base attributes hadn't changed. For now, he had only gained one Talent and one Passive Skill.
But both could be called divine abilities.
The Talent went without saying—a Unique Divine-tier Talent. Even at Level 1, it amplified all skill effects by ten times. How powerful this Talent was, Morintis couldn't accurately describe in words. Even his normally calm self now wore a faint expression of shock.
The effect of the Passive Skill was equally astonishing, fully deserving of the title 'divine'. All damage was transferred to his summons.
This meant, as long as his summons weren't all destroyed, he wouldn't die. To kill him, one had to kill all his summons first. How powerful this Passive Skill was, need not be said.
If he had thousands upon thousands of summons, Morintis would be akin to an immortal.
He had never heard of such a Passive Skill before.
It took a long while for Morintis to recover from his shock.
He noticed the ruby in his left hand was gone.
"So it was you," he murmured in understanding.
Morintis activated his skill, summoning a Black Iron Skeleton.
A vortex appeared before him. Accompanied by the teeth-grating sound of friction, a Black Iron Skeleton Warrior stepped out of the vortex.