Victor Stone waved to the newcomer. "Patriarch Xia, come have a seat."
Xia Donovan, Patriarch of the Xia Family in Westsea City, Sophia's father. There was an empty seat at the table, and Xia Donovan sat down without ceremony. "Greetings, Principals," he said after sitting down.
Xia Donovan had resolute features and a commanding presence even without anger.
Stone poured a cup of tea for Xia Donovan. "Patriarch Xia is here to see young Sophia, I presume?"
Xia Donovan smiled. "Sophia has relied on your care these past few years, Principal Stone."
Stone waved his hand. "I haven't done much. Young Sophia is very clever, and her class change this time was very successful."
Xia Donovan said, "I heard from the family. I just returned to Westsea City today; unfortunately, I missed Sophia's class change."
Stone knew Xia Donovan was very busy and spent little time at home.
"We were just discussing whether young Sophia can reach Level 5 by the end of the 12-hour dungeon session today. If she wants to test for Xiaming Academy, the difficulty is not small."
Xia Donovan replied, "It should be fine. Even if she falls a bit short, it's okay. I can pull some strings."
Stone shook his head. "I advise against that. I know young Sophia's temperament. If you do that, she will resent you."
Xia Donovan sighed. How could he not know that?
Xia Donovan changed the subject. "I heard your school also produced a Hidden class during yesterday's class change. Congratulations! May I ask what class it is?"
Stone's face lit up. "The class is called Necromancer. It's a never-before-seen class. It can summon skeletons. We don't know yet how powerful it is."
Not all Hidden classes were powerful; useless Hidden classes had appeared before.
Can summon skeletons? Sounded somewhat sinister and evil. Moreover, the name Necromancer didn't seem very reputable. Dealing with the dead and spirits inevitably led to wild imaginations.
Stone discerned Xia Donovan's thoughts. "Don't worry. Although Morintis doesn't talk much, he's a good kid. His older sister tested into Xiaming Academy last year."
"If young Sophia goes to Xiaming Academy, you might even ask Morana to look out for her a bit."
With Stone's words, Xia Donovan felt relieved. Having been friends for years, he knew Stone's character very well.
Inside the starter dungeon, Morintis received information relayed back by a Skeleton Warrior.
[Maximum distance reached. Cannot move further away.]
The farthest Skeleton Warrior was now 500 meters away from Morintis. It stood still at that 500-meter mark, no longer advancing. Morintis understood that the Skeleton Warriors currently had to stay within 500 meters of him.
Seeing the other Skeleton Warriors were about to reach this distance limit, Morintis could only order them to return.
Being a hands-off manager was no longer possible. Morintis could only choose a direction and head deeper into the dungeon.
Ten Skeleton Warriors fanned out ahead, clearing the path, maintaining a distance of about 100 meters from Morintis. Any monsters encountered along the way were instantly killed by the Skeleton Warriors.
In the fourth hour after entering the dungeon, Morintis welcomed his third level-up.
[Name: Morintis]
[Class: Necromancer (Unique)]
[Level: 4 (0.00%)]
[Strength: 40]
[Agility: 40]
[Spirit: 80]
[Constitution: 40]
[Equipment: None]
[Summon Space: 10/40, Skeleton Warrior (Quantity: 10)]
[Talent: Comprehensive Amplification (Level 1, Unique)]
[Passive Skill: Damage Transfer]
[Active Skills: Soul Flame (Level 4), Summon Skeleton Warrior (Level 4)]
After leveling up, Morintis continued summoning Skeleton Warriors. The Spirit cost to summon one Skeleton Warrior had now reached 25 points.
He had leveled up three times consecutively in four hours. As the number of Skeleton Warriors increased, the leveling speed didn't decrease much; instead, it showed a tendency to accelerate.
Morintis, with his skeleton army, officially entered the latter half of the starter dungeon. Large numbers of Level 5 and Level 6 monsters began to appear. But before the Skeleton Warriors with their staggering 450 Strength, it was still a one-slash affair.
[Killed Level 5 Green Wolf. Experience +50]
[Killed Level 6 Black Panther. Experience +60]
For Morintis, killing Level 1 monsters and Level 6 monsters was equally efficient. Therefore, the higher the monster level and the greater the monster density, the better.
He summoned three more Skeleton Warriors. A full thirteen Skeleton Warriors now ravaged the starter dungeon. Experience points increased rapidly. With more skeletons, the leveling speed increased instead of decreasing.
"At this rate, I'll level up again in less than an hour."
"Could I reach Level 8 directly within the first 12 hours in the starter dungeon?"
"That's twice as fast as I expected. After reaching Level 8, I can go to the Westsea City outskirts, where there are higher-level monsters."
Morintis had already planned his leveling route in his mind. Going to the Westsea City outskirts required school approval; otherwise, the city guards wouldn't let him out. Level 8 was the minimum standard; it couldn't be lower.
[Killed Level 7 Brown Bear. Experience +70]
As Morintis ventured deeper, Level 7 monsters began to appear, still dealt with in a single strike.
The starter dungeon was created for newcomers. Monster strength was low, the overall environment simple, and safety was much higher compared to the wilderness. So even though Morintis leveled and farmed monsters with ease, he still didn't let his guard down.
In his memory, Morana once returned from the Westsea City outskirts, stained with blood and injured. She told him very seriously: "A lion must use all its strength even when hunting a rabbit. Never let your guard down under any circumstances."
Morintis had firmly remembered these words. And now, he acted accordingly.