Chapter 7: Comprehensive Ascension, The Death Codex!

[Killed Level 3 Wildcat, obtained 50% level-gap bonus, EXP +4.5.]
[Killed Level 3 Wildcat, obtained 50% level-gap bonus, EXP +4.5.]
...
As Su Mubai used [Cataclysm] to promote his equipment and skills, the ten small skeletons continued their movements without pause.

Divided into squads of five, they relentlessly hunted the Wildcats blocking the path.

Using [Cataclysm] did not require him to stop. Once his agility reached 6 points, Su Mubai’s movement speed finally returned to normal. The skeleton squads continued clearing monsters while advancing further into the distance.

Su Mubai opted to mask the skill effects while repeatedly using [Cataclysm]. Otherwise, the pillars of light shooting into the sky would be far too conspicuous when he began strengthening his higher-level skills later.

[You have obtained the Common-grade equipment "Bone Staff."]
[You have obtained the Common-grade equipment "Linen Robe."]

Equipment in the Ten Thousand Worlds game is categorized into ten tiers: Inferior, Common, Black Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Dark Gold, Epic, Legendary, and Mythic.

Players start with the most trashy, Inferior-grade equipment, which serves as little more than decoration. Its only real use is to prevent public indecency and to allow for the casting of skills, as many skills cannot be utilized without a weapon.

Now that the grade of these two pieces of equipment had been raised to Common, they finally possessed stat panels. However, it didn't make much of a difference, merely increasing Su Mubai’s spell power and physical defense by a few points.

What truly enhanced his power was the promotion of his skills!

[Your F-rank skill "Summon Small Skeleton" has successfully been promoted to E-rank skill "Summon Skeleton."]

[Summon Skeleton]: (E) Level 1, Active Skill.
Summons a skeleton to fight for you.
Casting time: 3 seconds, Cooldown: 30 seconds, Mana cost: 40 points.
(Skeleton stats are boosted by the player’s Spirit attribute.)

This time, the ten small skeletons already in combat did not receive an automatic upgrade.
"It seems that after a skill is promoted, I need to re-summon them."

Su Mubai did not rush to summon; instead, he continued to use [Cataclysm] to promote his remaining skills.

[Your F-rank skill "Scorch" has successfully been promoted to E-rank skill "Scorch."]

The name of "Scorch" remained unchanged, but the skill damage increased from 150% to 200%, and the mana cost became 20 points.

"Now, for the main event."
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as Su Mubai selected the next skill.

[Your A-rank skill "Life Link" has successfully been promoted to S-rank skill "Life Share."]

[Life Share]: (S) Passive skill, no level.
Skill effect: You share your health points one-way with all undead creatures you have summoned.

"Incredible!"

Looking at the simple description of Life Share, Su Mubai couldn't help but exclaim aloud.
Not only did the active skill become a passive one, but the targets for sharing had expanded to include all summoned creatures!

Advancing from A-rank to S-rank was nothing short of a qualitative leap. Such a skill was equivalent to a player gaining an extra S-rank talent, something essentially impossible to obtain in the early stages of the game.

But Su Mubai had the advantage of cheating. Combined with his class’s Cataclysm trait and the [Summoning Amplification] skill, the value of [Life Share] for him was far greater than an S-rank talent for any ordinary player. After all, players who awakened such talents wouldn't be able to summon so many creatures.

Gazing at the brand-new health bar beneath his own, the contrast between the staggering 8000+ figure and his 1/1 base health was profound.

At this moment, even Su Mubai felt he was becoming a bit monstrous.
Permanently stuck at 1 HP?
So what?
My secondary health bar is nearly 9000!
Is this still a spellcasting class?
A tank with an S-rank talent would cry and report him for hacking.

Su Mubai’s lips curled upward as his gaze fell upon the final skill.
[Cataclysm]
[Target: Summoning Amplification]
[Your S-rank skill "Summoning Amplification" has successfully been promoted to SS-rank skill "Death Levy."]

[Death Levy]: (SS) Passive skill, no level.
Skill effects:
1. Summoning skill casting time reduced by 75%.
2. Summoning skill cooldown reduced by 75%.
3. Summoned creature stats increased by 100%.
4. Summoning space capacity increased by 10 times.

The effects of Death Levy had been doubled. Aside from everything else, Su Mubai was now one step closer to his goal of summoning a Scourge Legion.

[Summoning Space: 10/20]

It was a pity that Summoning Space was just a stat, not a physical object, so he couldn't use [Cataclysm] to get it for free.

Su Mubai’s thoughts stirred, and he pulled the [Book of Death] from his inventory.
"Finally, time to promote this thing."

As his level reached 1, the stats of the Book of Death unlocked. However, it only revealed a base stat of Spell Power +10, which seemed completely unworthy of its status as an exclusive item.

Su Mubai equipped the [Book of Death] in his off-hand. Holding the Bone Staff in one hand and the ancient, death-radiating book in the other, he finally looked a bit like a real Necromancer.

[Cataclysm]
[Target: Book of Death]

This time, the activation of [Cataclysm] took significantly longer than before. Although he had masked the visual effects, Su Mubai still felt a heart-palpitating aura. Just as he thought the promotion had failed, a cold system notification finally rang in his ears.

[Your exclusive item "Book of Death" has successfully been promoted to "Codex of Death."]

[Codex of Death]
Class Exclusive (Bai Ye)
Special Item
Cannot be dropped, cannot be damaged, cannot be traded, can be summoned or retracted at will.
Level: 1 (Scales with character)
Base Stats:
Spell Power +15
Special Effects: Unlocks at level 10.
(This is a Book of Rules. Only you may read it. Once requirements are met, you may learn the exclusive skills of the Master of Death from it.)

"No way, it only added five points of spell power?"
Su Mubai frowned. After carefully reading the stats of the [Codex of Death] several times, he finally noticed a subtle change in the description. What was originally a "Book of Laws" had now transformed into a "Book of Rules"!

It seemed the true power of the [Codex of Death] would only reveal itself as his level increased.

Watching the [Codex of Death] shift from an off-hand item to a "Special Item," Su Mubai willed it to act. The Codex flickered with a faint light, transforming into an inscription that branded itself onto the back of his left hand.

To his pleasant surprise, he discovered that his off-hand equipment slot had miraculously become empty, yet the spell power bonus from the [Codex of Death] remained!

"Just for the fact that I can equip another off-hand item, this promotion was worth it."

Having reaped an unexpected harvest, Su Mubai was in high spirits. After using [Cataclysm] to "cheat" his way through all these upgrades, his strength was now worlds apart from what it had been.

"Now, the leveling officially begins."

He added his only skill point to Summon Skeleton and waved his bone staff. With [Death Levy] and the class’s Cataclysm trait acting in unison, his summoning became nearly instantaneous.

A pale gray vortex, slightly larger than before, emerged, and two skeleton soldiers stepped out. Following the skill promotion, the summoned skeletons were noticeably stronger; their bones were no longer a sickly pale white but now held a faint luster. The cracks on their bodies had diminished, and the weapons they held were free of notches.

They finally possessed a sense of presence.