By now, more than twenty skeletons had been reduced to ruin, with only three managing to survive the baptism of molten fire.Yet even those three met their end soon after, when Lucia embedded some strange crystalline core into their chests.The azure flames in their eye sockets and ribcages instantly turned crimson, and in a heartbeat, their bodies were engulfed and charred into heaps of blackened fragments.
Now, Li Xiuman stood alone—every other skeleton around him had vanished.Damn it. Too conspicuous.He had been so fixated on watching the skeletal "barbecue" that he hadn't realized all the others had been taken.
Trying to appear aimless, he turned his head slightly and began wandering toward where the skeletons had once been, hoping that by lingering longer, he might glean something useful—or at least delay his fate.But he had barely taken a few steps when two succubi seized his shoulder bones, one on either side.
Damn... I can't move.Suppressing his instinct to struggle, Li Xiuman went limp, feigning the mindless stillness of an ordinary skeleton as he was carried before Lucia.
Up close, Lucia was breathtaking—a beauty of infernal grace. Her horns curled elegantly, her tail swayed with hypnotic rhythm, and the black wings upon her back shimmered with a dark allure.But Li Xiuman had neither the mood nor the desire to admire such a devil.He forced his trembling spirit into silence, bracing himself for the coming flames.
Lucia regarded him with a passing glance—nothing more. To her, these skeletons were mere beasts of bone and instinct, no different from mindless insects.Her slender right hand pressed against his smooth skull. A heartbeat later, her voice echoed softly in his mind:
"Flame Infusion."
Magic lines flared beneath her palm, forming a burning sigil. Power surged forth, and molten fire cascaded over his skull like liquid agony, spreading down his spine until every inch of bone was cloaked in searing flame.
It was the first time Li Xiuman had felt pain since becoming a skeleton.The ghostly blue fire in his chest and eyes flickered wildly, trembling with each wave of torment.His throat, long devoid of flesh, issued strange, rasping cries—the eerie sound of bone grinding against bone.
"Krrr... krrr..."
His bones scorched, cracked, then knit themselves back together. The [Fire Resistance] skill dulled the fury of the flames, barely allowing him to survive the infernal baptism.When the spell finally subsided, his bones glowed faintly red, steaming as though fresh from the forge—like iron just tempered to perfection.
Lucia tilted her head slightly, intrigued."Such a weak aura… and yet you endured the flame."
With a flick of her wrist, two succubi lifted him again—this time not with hands, but with invisible tendrils of magic. His bones radiated such heat that even demons dared not touch him directly.
"I hope you'll continue to surprise me," she murmured.
She drew out another crystalline core—larger than those she had used before.Special treatment? A reward for excellence?
The crystal sank precisely into the azure flame within his ribcage.Instantly, the fire flared violently, burning orange and red. His entire body ignited like a pyre.
The pain was indescribable. Compared to this, the molten flame from before had been a warm bath.
"Crack—crack—crack!"Fissures split across his bones; his skeleton turned crimson, glowing like overfired porcelain ready to shatter at any moment.
[Regeneration Lv.1] struggled desperately to mend the damage, but the collapse was too rapid—each healed crack gave way to new ones.Only [Resilience], [Hardbone], and [Fire Resistance] kept him from disintegrating entirely.
"So it fails again," Lucia sighed, disappointment softening her tone.
She had, in truth, increased the dosage deliberately—enough to kill him.This was never a trial for success, but an experiment to measure death.
Through the agony, Li Xiuman forced open his status panel.Even amidst the raging inferno, the display shone clear and untarnished.
"Free attribute point—add to Constitution!"
A chime echoed in his mind: [Constitution +1].Warmth surged through his marrow, halting the spread of cracks. His regeneration and Constitution fused their power, slowly repairing what remained.
Break—heal—break—heal—A relentless tug-of-war, with his bones howling like tortured strings.
At last, the fire waned. Liberation washed over him like a cool breath from the abyss.
[Ding! Constitution +1][New Skill Acquired: Fire Magic Lv.1][Unlocked Lv.10 Class Option: Elemental Magus][Class Description: Elemental Magus — A mage who commands the forces of destruction and chaos through elemental power.][Evolution Path Unlocked: Lesser Flame Skeleton][Lesser Flame Skeleton — A rare variant of the undead, imbued with the essence of fire. Maximum Level: Lv.20.]
The orange blaze within him dimmed, cooling back to its original blue hue.Lucia's expression shifted—from delight, to mild disappointment.
"So even you failed the transformation... still, to survive it at all—you're quite the lucky one."
She gave him a casual kick, then turned toward the remaining skeletons."Next."
Li Xiuman staggered upright, pretending to wander aimlessly once more.Yet deep within his eye sockets, a flicker of orange-red light glimmered.
Fire Magic—acquired.
Suppressing the urge to test his newfound power, he continued his dull, meandering act.Hide. Wait. Endure.He had gained another secret weapon.
In the end, he was the only skeleton to survive the experiment—though his transformation had failed.Lucia, unsurprised, began seeking new test subjects.
Before long, fresh skeletons filled the square once again.From observation, Li Xiuman realized Lucia never counted them—each mindless creature was no more than livestock to her.
He marked five potential targets—four at Level 5, one at Level 6.When Lucia left once more to gather materials, leaving only a few lesser succubi as guards, he made his move.
Creeping toward one of the marked skeletons, he pressed a hand to its skull."Flame!"
A ghostly blue fire erupted, devouring the target's head in silence.With his other hand, he pierced its chest, gripping the core flame within and letting his fire consume it whole.
[Ding! Defeated Lesser Skeleton — Experience +50]
Glancing around, Li Xiuman dismantled the corpse, removing its left leg. He swapped it with his own, which carried the [Fire Resistance] trait.Yet to his surprise, the skill remained active on his status panel even after the swap.
So surviving that inferno must've branded [Fire Resistance] into me directly.
He connected the new limb, activated [Bone Morphing], and heard the faint chime again:
[Ding! Acquired Skill: Stealth Step Lv.1]
Even the whisper of his movements vanished into silence.
Carefully, he reduced the rest of the remains to ashes, burning each fragment until nothing but dust remained.When the task was done, exhaustion seeped through his very soul.
"Magic… must be tied to Spirit points," he murmured weakly.
Grateful that his Spirit was above average, Li Xiuman let his consciousness fade—and slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep.