Rex led his three skeleton warriors cautiously through the dark dungeon corridors.
Glowing moss crawled across the damp stone walls, providing weak illumination for the passages. After turning several corners, he suddenly raised his hand, signaling the skeletons to stop.
Ahead in an open area, several ghouls were pacing around a bronze chest.
"One, two, three, four..." Rex counted while pressed against the wall, confirming he hadn't miscounted before focusing on the bronze chest.
These were common in the game, containing equipment and materials, usually including return scrolls.
Yes, in this dungeon game, you needed a return scroll to leave once inside. If you died in the dungeon, everything gained from that journey would be dropped.
Rex coveted the bronze chest and began carefully observing the terrain.
This open area was circular, with cracked stone slabs covering the ground and several collapsed stone pillars lying about. Best of all, there was a two-meter-high stone platform on the right side, topped with a pile of rotting wooden barrels.
"Perfect ambush point."
Rex's lips curved upward as he immediately formulated a plan.
He left two skeletons in position to wait while he and the most intact skeleton quietly circled around behind the stone platform.
Climbing onto the platform, the rotting wooden planks creaked dangerously.
Rex held his breath, seeing the ghouls below seemed to sense something and looked up alertly. He immediately commanded the two skeletons left behind to deliberately make noise.
"Crash—"
The sound of skeleton warriors kicking scattered bones successfully drew the monsters' attention. All four ghouls howled and charged toward the sound source, completely exposing themselves below the stone platform.
Now!
Rex and the skeleton beside him pushed over the pile of wooden barrels together.
The rotting barrel bodies shattered in mid-air, but the stone fragments inside rained down like hail. Two ghouls were immediately struck with bloody heads, while the other two were also cut by flying debris.
"Attack!" At Rex's command, three skeleton warriors charged from different directions while he grabbed a broken wooden stick and leaped down from the platform, precisely stabbing it into an injured ghoul's eye socket.
The battle immediately intensified.
Though the skeleton warriors moved stiffly, they perfectly executed Rex's tactics, with all three surrounding the two most severely injured ghouls and unleashing a storm of attacks with bone fingers and stone fragments.
Rex moved nimbly, looking for opportunities to strike from behind.
When the last ghoul fell, Rex's uniform was soaked with sweat.
He was delighted to discover his magical power had grown considerably, and even his spellcasting gestures were more fluid than before.
"No wonder people always say academy types are hothouse flowers. To truly grow stronger, you need real combat."
"Now then, let me check the spoils." Rex walked excitedly toward the chest.
The skeleton warriors faithfully stood guard around the perimeter.
He used a ghoul's claw to pry open the rusted lock, and when the lid popped open, a musty smell hit his face.
[Obtained: Worn Leather Armor (Unranked)]
[Defense +2, Durability 15/30]
[Obtained: Bone Charm (Unranked)]
[Effect: Grants summoned undead creatures +1.5% physical resistance]
[Obtained: Minor Mana Potion x2]
"Jackpot!"
Rex eagerly put on the leather armor. Though it was covered in cracks, it was still better than his academy uniform.
The bone charm was made from some creature's teeth strung together. The moment he put it on, he felt his three skeleton warriors' bone frames become more resilient.
Most precious were the two vials glowing with blue light. In the game, they could instantly restore mana — something incredibly valuable in reality.
Even if he were desperate for money, he wouldn't dare sell these.
He knew how many spellcasters would be green with envy.
Rex carefully stored them in his inner pocket, then began converting new skeleton warriors.
Surprisingly, while examining the ghoul corpses, he found a piece of yellowed parchment.
[Obtained: Return Scroll]
[Effect: Teleports the user to a safe area]
Now he could leave anytime, completely eliminating his worries.
As the incantation completed, four fresh skeleton warriors stood up. He now commanded seven undead servants, his confidence at an all-time high.
However, a new problem arose.
"Ugh, my head feels swollen."
Rex rubbed his temples. This wasn't his imagination — he quickly realized he was nearing the limit of minions he could control. Even if he found new corpses, he wouldn't be able to convert them.
Planning to leave, he glanced at the lonely bronze chest in the corner and suddenly had a bold idea.
In the game, chests disappeared after opening, but this was a realized dungeon. Rex tried grasping the chest's handles and lifting with force.
"I can actually carry it!"
The bronze chest was lighter than expected, its surface covered with mysterious runes and the patina of ages.
"This chest would be inconvenient to carry around. I should call it a day here."
Without further hesitation, Rex unrolled the scroll. The obscure spell text immediately glowed blue.
After another bout of dizziness, Rex found himself standing on his dorm room's wooden floor again. Seven skeleton warriors appeared behind him in unison, and the bronze chest landed with a thud.
Rex looked at the black handheld console in his hands with affection. With this thing, he'd happily be a gaming addict every day.
After securing it close to his body, he quickly checked the tears and bloodstains on his uniform, finding they were all real.
The skeleton warriors looked around in confusion, soul fire burning quietly in their hollow eye sockets.
"This won't do." Rex quickly considered countermeasures. "All of you, hide in the wardrobe and under the bed. Don't come out without my orders!"
The skeletons obediently squeezed into various corners, their bones clicking softly as they moved.
Rex quickly changed into a clean uniform, stuffed the bloodied clothes under his bed to mend later, then wiped the dirt off the bronze chest's surface.
"Need to find somewhere to sell this."
Rex remembered the "Official Alchemy Association Exchange" in the academy's southwest corner, which specialized in purchasing mysterious items students brought back from various places.
He wrapped the chest in a bed sheet and struggled to carry it through the dormitory area's cobblestone paths.
"Morthen, what are you carrying?" A red-haired girl approached from the opposite direction, a sword at her waist. She curiously examined the bundle in Rex's arms.
"Uh... a model for Ancient Magic History class." Rex recognized the newcomer — a fellow student he got along with well.
More accurately, she was a celebrity.
Her name was Monica. Also from the bottom tier, everyone initially thought she'd only gotten into Saint Lor Academy because her sister married a baron's second son.
Later, when she rejected pursuits from kingdom nobles, everyone realized she'd earned everything through her own efforts, not through her sister's supposed good marriage.
She became an object of admiration for all bottom-tier students — a true success story.
"You have time to tinker with that? I heard no team is willing to accept you. Have you figured out how to handle next month's examination?"
Monica extended her hand openly: "If you don't mind, you can join my team."
"Thank you for the kind offer, but how could a necromancer like me qualify to join the famous Lionheart Guild?"
Rex shook his head in refusal. Saint Lor Academy had many organizations formed by professionals, with the Lionheart Guild ranking among the top.
If this had been half a day ago, he'd have eagerly accepted, but now with the dungeon handheld, he believed he had a chance to solo the student examination.
"I see... well then, goodbye."
Monica didn't insist and turned to leave.
After Rex turned two more corners, the Exchange with its hanging copper bell finally came into view.
Passing through the archway, the shop was filled with the scents of pine and parchment. An elderly man wearing a monocle sat behind the counter. When Rex placed the bronze chest on the counter, the bell chimed crisply.
The old man looked up.
"Young man, what are you selling?"
"A chest."
"A chest?"
The old man unwrapped the sheet and carefully examined the chest's patterns with a magnifying glass, suddenly making a surprised sound: "I've never seen these runes before."
He scraped off some patina with his fingernail and rubbed it between his fingers: "And this copper-tin ratio..."
"How much is it worth?" Rex nervously rubbed his hands. The original owner hadn't left him much money, and he was sick of being poor.
He didn't want to count every penny for even a meal.
The old man held up his hand: "5 gold coins, or equivalent academy credits."
Rex's breathing stopped. This was equivalent to half a year's living expenses for an ordinary student! The original owner would have had to process hundreds of corpses for underground arena fighters in the black market.
Yet he'd just played a game for half a day, grabbed the least valuable chest to sell, and could get this much money. This was incredible!
After calming down, Rex quickly understood this was due to rarity value — it wouldn't be worth so much later, and he couldn't explain how he kept obtaining such items.
So he began haggling.
"These are unprecedented runic craftsmanship! If you sell this to knowledgeable runic school spellcasters, they'd pay top dollar. The craftsmanship alone is worth at least 15 gold coins!"
"6 coins, and I can't even confirm it's truly some kind of rune." The old man pushed up his glasses. "Unless you can tell me its exact excavation site."
After some back-and-forth, they settled on 7 gold and 12 silver.
In the Kingdom of Lotus, 1 gold exchanged for 20 silver, 1 silver for 32 copper, and a loaf of black bread cost 1 copper.
When the heavy coin purse fell into his hands, Rex noticed a "Undead Creature Keeping Permit" in the corner of the counter, priced at exactly 5 gold.
"I'll take that too."
Rex retrieved five crown-emblazoned gold coins from his purse, somewhat excited. With this permit, his skeleton minions could appear openly on campus.
"Certainly. Anything else?"
"Ten spears, and how much armor can the remaining money buy?"
"Iron spears are 2 silver 6 copper each, iron-reinforced leather armor 13 silver per piece. Not enough."
Rex pulled out the rotting poison gland and placed it on the counter: "Add this. How much can it fetch?"
The old man's monocle flashed with light as he held up the gland to examine it against the lamp: "A ghoul's poison gland? Remarkably well-preserved... excellent quality."
He made a small incision with his knife, dabbing a bit of fluid on test paper and watching it quickly blacken: "Highly toxic. Superior material for paralysis potions."
He set down the gland: "This can be valued at 2 gold 8 silver. Combined with your remaining balance, enough for ten spears and two iron-reinforced leather armors."
Rex was pleased but kept his expression neutral: "Two pieces of armor might not be enough. Add one more."
The old man shook his head: "Young man, this is already a fair price. I can't just add more. However..." He lowered his voice, "If you can regularly provide materials of this quality, I can offer you a long-term purchase price — 10% above market rate."
Rex's eyes lit up — this was exactly the stable income source he needed. With many ghouls on the first floor, the chance of poison gland drops was high: "Deal! Though I'll need some time. These materials aren't easy to collect."
"Understood." The old man smiled knowingly and pulled out parchment from under the counter. "Shall we sign an agreement?"
After signing the agreement, Rex received ten gleaming iron spears, three half-new iron-reinforced leather armors, and the precious permit.
While packing the goods, the old man casually asked: "By the way, who are these for? They don't look like spellcaster equipment."
Rex was prepared: "For some friends. They're forming a team for next month's field examination."
"I see." The old man finished tying the last package. "Need delivery service? Just 5 copper extra."
"No thanks." Rex declined — he couldn't let anyone know he was hiding seven skeletons in his dorm.
When Rex returned to his dorm laden with packages, the skeleton warriors immediately emerged from their hiding spots and surrounded him loyally.
He distributed the leather armor to the three most intact skeletons and equipped each with a spear.
"From today, you're regular soldiers."
Rex surveyed his fully-equipped undead squad with satisfaction. In the evening light, the armored skeleton warriors holding spears had an imposing presence.
He picked up the "Undead Creature Keeping Permit," its cover bearing a golden skull emblem that gleamed under the lamplight.
Opening to the first page, it detailed regulations for summoning and commanding undead creatures on campus.
"Article 1: All undead creatures must wear identification badges issued by the academy."
"Article 2: Summoning undead creatures is prohibited in public areas such as dining halls and libraries."
"Article 3: After 10 PM, undead creature activity is restricted to the spellcaster dormitory area."
"Article 4..."
Rex carefully read every regulation, finally signing his name solemnly at the signature line.
As magical light flashed, three small skull emblems appeared on the permit — exactly the number of undead the academy allowed him to keep.
"Now I can bring them out openly."
Rex sighed with relief, pinning the badges to each skeleton warrior's ribs. From now on, he could openly move around campus with his undead squad.
"So tired. Time to sleep. Tomorrow I'll continue challenging the dungeon and try to find the boss room."