Chapter 10

Most of humanity's fears stem from the unknown. Gordon knew that this world was different from Earth, where ghosts, spirits, and skeletons—various types of undead creatures—indeed existed, and that these undead could be destroyed. Therefore, when he saw the green ghostly flame accompanied by the creaking sound of bones, approaching him, he did not panic.

Gordon's hand reached into his mage robe, firmly gripping the materials for casting a magic missile.

The standard mage robe had twenty small pockets sewn into the lining for storing various spell components. There were also ten buckles on the waist, which could hold various potions or wands.

The design of the mage robe was ingeniously similar to the individual combat gear in the technological world.

The reason such mage robes existed was that mage battles were somewhat like duels in the Wild West; the faster one's hand speed, the quicker one could draw out spell components and various magical items, which was a crucial factor in determining victory.

It was said that the tailor who invented the standard mage robe was rewarded with an extremely generous gift by the Goddess of Magic for enhancing the overall combat capabilities of mages on the continent.

Creak, creak...

Creak, creak...

The grating sound grew closer.

Finally, Gordon saw the uninvited guest who had come in the middle of the night.

A somewhat aged skeleton, its surface already gray and decayed, seemed to have just crawled out of a grave, still covered in dirt. Several insects crawled in and out of its hollow eye sockets.

The skeleton held a rusty greatsword. When it noticed Gordon, the green flame in its chest suddenly flickered, burning more intensely.

The instinctive hatred and enmity toward life made the skeleton warrior attack Gordon.

Naturally, Gordon would not sit idly by.

Two droplet-shaped energies, emitting a pale silver glow, flew from Gordon's fingertips. In the darkness, the magic missiles left a faint trail, accurately hitting the skeleton warrior's face.

"Boom! Boom!" The force field energy contained in the two missiles was instantly released, making the skeleton warrior stagger as if hit by two heavy punches. Several rotten teeth fell out, and a crack appeared on its skull.

"The power is too weak," Gordon shook his head.

As a third-level mage, he could cast two magic missiles at once when using the spell, but the damage was still insufficient.

If he reached the ninth level, the power of the magic missile spell would reach its maximum, allowing him to fire five missiles at once.

The skeleton warrior was quite tenacious. After being hit by Gordon's two magic missiles, it staggered back a few steps and then stubbornly charged forward again.

Gordon quickly cast a jump spell on himself, leaping onto the roof of the small house.

With only bones and no muscle tissue, the low-level skeleton's movement ability was far inferior to that of a human, let alone Gordon, who was as agile as a flea with the jump spell. Standing on the roof, he was already in an invincible position.

The magic missile was the only first-level offensive spell Gordon knew. Although the power was not great when he cast it, even the sturdiest skeleton could not withstand continuous attacks from magic missiles.

Two magic missiles not enough? Then let's have a dozen or twenty more. After all, I, the mage, have plenty of mana!

Rattle!

Continuous magical attacks finally extinguished the green flame in the skeleton's chest. Without the negative energy, the skeleton instantly turned into a pile of broken bones, lying still.

A golden light rose from the pile of bones and then merged into Gordon's chest.

He received a system notification: "Gained 10 experience points."

"Really not worth it."

Gordon had used spell components worth 14 silver coins to defeat the skeleton.

Thus, it was clear that low-level mages rashly participating in battles would result in more costs than benefits.

Gordon circled around the pile of bones shattered by the magic missiles. Suddenly, his eyes lit up with the excitement of a gold miner who had found a gold mine.

He took a necklace from the broken neck bone. It was a beautifully crafted silver necklace. After casting a detection spell on himself, Gordon focused and saw a faint magical aura emanating from the pendant.

"Actually, it's a magical item!"

Unfortunately, due to the ravages of time, the surface of the silver necklace had oxidized, turning black and losing its former luster. The runes and magic array engraved on the necklace had been destroyed, losing their original magical effects.

However, it didn't matter to Gordon. As long as he melted and refined the necklace, he could obtain pure, new silver. The materials for making enchanted items were secured!

Taking items from the dead might not be good, but since the dead had been tainted by negative energy and turned into undead, it wasn't really desecrating the dead. Gordon felt no guilt. It was just like looting equipment from a monster.

After this small incident, nothing else happened in the cemetery.

Gordon smoothly passed the night and welcomed the rising sun of the morning.

Jack, the priest of the Dawn Temple, came to the cemetery to hand over the work, basking in the golden sunlight.

"How was it, Mage Gordon? Did everything go smoothly last night?"

Gordon pointed to the pile of bones outside the hut and said, "It was fine, just that an uninvited guest came."

Jack's expression turned serious as he looked at the skeleton Gordon had scattered.

This was an energy-active fantasy world. It was not uncommon for the dead to be transformed into undead due to the influence of negative energy. Although the appearance of undead in the cemetery was not a happy event, seeing the priest's furrowed brows, Gordon felt that things were not that simple.

Jack glanced at the skeleton's greatsword, "From the emblem on the hilt, this is an ancestor of the Barato Viscount's family. I need to send someone to notify his family. Also, these bones cannot be reburied. To prevent residual negative energy from eroding, they must be cremated..."

"Jack, why did the cemetery still produce undead despite the magic array suppressing the negative energy?" Gordon asked.

A devout follower of Meridia sighed, "Under normal circumstances, the magic array is sufficient to suppress negative energy and prevent the dead from turning into undead. But this year is somewhat special."

He hesitated for a moment and then said, "Forget it, it's not a secret. Since you work for the temple, you have the right to know... Do you know what the year number was last year?"

At the end of each year, the astrologers in the towers would summarize a year number based on the major events or changes of the year.

"Last year was the 936th year of the Fourth Era, and the astrologers called it the 'Year of the Black Crow.'" Gordon's historical skills came into play, and he quickly gave the answer.

"Do you know what the black crow means?"

As a mage, even if he was poor and weak, he was still well-versed. Gordon thought for a moment and answered, "The black crow is the symbol of the Goddess of Death, also known as the Queen of Crows, who governs all death in the world."

The priest nodded and continued, "Last year, the Queen of Crows issued a divine edict, but her church split into factions, leading to internal strife. After that, the negative energy in the material plane also became active, and the dead began to rise as undead, walking under the moonlight... It was from then on that we built shrines and set up magic arrays in the cemetery to suppress the negative energy's influence on the dead. But from the current situation, these measures are still insufficient."

I see.

Gordon nodded. However, these major events related to gods and world changes did not affect him. His focus remained on how to earn money to improve his life and pay off his debts.

"By the way," Jack suddenly approached and lowered his voice, "Please don't spread the news about the skeleton appearing in the cemetery to avoid unnecessary panic. I will report it to the higher-ups of the temple."

Taking the three golden coins handed to him, Gordon smiled and nodded, "Of course, I understand."

Seeing Gordon's understanding, the white-robed priest smiled in relief, "Now, the power of the magic array is no longer sufficient to completely suppress the negative energy in the cemetery. Could you help Lady Dawn by patrolling the cemetery every night? If you encounter these wandering single undead, you can deal with them as you see fit."

"Jack, the contract does not specify that I must patrol the cemetery," Gordon said. Staying in the hut to keep watch, he could still find time to read and gain experience points. If he had to patrol the cemetery, it would not be so leisurely.

"Regarding this, we can modify the contract, and of course, your compensation will also increase appropriately."

"Best of all."

The two went to the Dawn Temple and revised the contract. Gordon's monthly pay increased to thirty gold coins. At the same time, Jack gave Gordon a Dawn emblem. If something happened in the cemetery that he could not handle, he could use the Dawn emblem to notify the church promptly.

Gordon thought he would have to wait a month to get his pay before starting his money-making plan. Now, with the three gold coins Jack gave him as a gag fee and the necklace he found as raw materials, it was enough.

Leaving the temple, Gordon went straight to a store called "Ogre Scalp" in the riverside commercial district. This store specialized in buying and selling magical materials. The reason for its terrifying name was that it was famous for selling high-quality ogre scalps. Ogres' scalps were a rare alchemical material needed for many high-level potions, and they were in short supply in the market.

In the past, Gordon bought all his spell components and meditation incense from here.

It was only a little past eight in the morning, and the store had just opened. The owner, Duro, was sitting behind the counter, leisurely enjoying his morning tea.

Seeing Gordon push the door open, Duro put down his teacup, pushed his thick belly, and stood up, "Oh, Mr. Gordon, good morning. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Duro was a tall, robust man in his fifties, slightly overweight, with a ruddy face and a full beard, giving the impression of a friendly bear. It was said that he used to be a formidable mercenary and retired to open this small store. With his unique affability and the connections he had built, his business was quite good.

Gordon took out the three gold coins that were still warm in his pocket, "I want to buy something, boss."

"Oh, you've struck it rich?" Duro's eyes lit up, seemingly dazzled by the golden glow. He knew Gordon's background. This fallen nobleman almost never bought anything over one gold coin at a time. This time, he suddenly took out three gold coins, which was quite unusual!

"I just found a new job with a decent reward," Gordon said without further explanation.

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Duro's eyes sparkled, "What can I do for you, Mr. Gordon?"