For a full minute, Thoren did not leave his spot as he replayed what had just happened in his mind.

’Who was that voice?’ he asked himself.

’Cressida was a host?’

’A host to whom?’ 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

The series of questions bugged his mind seriously. He had thought the presence of a cult was already dangerous enough.

But he was completely wrong.

Cressida was nothing but a pawn, dancing in the palm of an unknown existence. Until her dying breath, she never knew she was someone else’s host.

’Now I have the mysterious cult to deal with, plus a powerful soul necromancer that is after my life,’ he mused, and a heavy sigh escaped from his lips.

He raised his head and looked into the distance. The endless desert dunes stared back at him, as if informing him that he was in deep trouble.

However, Thoren had gotten where he was today not because he was easily intimidated, nor did he cower in fear.

He had gone against the Federation, the Slave Trade Guild, and the Beast God Sect, and he had never been defeated.

Why would this situation be any different?

Since the enemy was coming for him, he would also go after them.

The clash had become inevitable. It was either him or them.

And he would be damned if he let fear take charge of his life. Slowly, his gaze burned with fierce rage.

He clenched his fist for a moment before he sucked in a cold breath.

’Now is the time to use the two skill scrolls,’ he whispered.

Without hesitation, he took out the two skill scrolls from his inventory. The skill scrolls glowed softly in his hand.

Without any further delay, he tore one of them. Instantly, a bright flash of light appeared before his face before vanishing.

[Congratulations, you have unlocked one new skill]

[Grave Shift]

[Level: 1]

[Description: This skill allows the user to instantly exchange places with one of their undead servants. The distance cannot be more than one hundred meters.]

Looking at the skill description, Thoren sorrowed for a moment before a slow, satisfied smile crept up his face.

With this skill, he could move in and out of the battlefield as he pleased.

With the countless undead servants under his control, he had no fear that he would not be able to swap places with one of them when needed.

"Good. This is refreshing," he smiled widely.

The closest he had come to dying was against the Sanguine Vulture swarm. Just thinking of that encounter sent a cold shiver down his spine.

’I will make sure I am never in that situation ever again,’ he vowed silently in his heart.

Taking a deep breath, he looked at the second scroll, and his heart skipped a beat, filled with anticipation.

The first skill had already increased his chance of survival dramatically, and now he could not wait to unlock another powerful skill.

Whoosh!

The moment he tore the second skill scroll, his heart almost leaped out of his chest.

[Congratulations, you have unlocked a new skill]

[Bone Mirror]

[Level: 1]

[Description: By focusing on the mental link, users can see through their undead servant’s eyes. This allows users to see what their undead servants are seeing in real time.]

"This is incredible," Thoren gasped and froze for a moment.

Hahaha.

He burst into genuine laughter. Although the skill did not make him stronger in direct combat, with it, he could achieve so much more.

Now, he would not be confined to one place. He could stay in a safe location and would be able to see what was happening in another place entirely.

Previously, if he was exploring dangerous ruins, he needed to follow his undead servant inside to know what was going on. But now, he did not have to do that at all.

He could stay in a secure place and see through one of his undead servant’s eyes.

And if he needed to be present, he could use Grave Shift to instantly change positions with that undead servant.

"Good. Very good," he shouted with joy.

All the gloominess in his heart had vanished completely. Now, his chance of survival had increased by a large margin.

With these two skills, he did not have to worry about dangerous ruins or deadly traps.

He could dedicate one of his undead servants to serve as a scout. This would save him from any ambush and much more.

A bright smile plastered on his face. It had been a long time since he was this deeply happy.

He grinned and took out the ancient map he had obtained from the Jackal Chief.

"Now, I can explore this ruin with complete confidence," he said firmly.

He had never truly trusted the Jackal Chief. With such a rare ruin, why would the Jackal Chief give him the map without trying to explore it himself?

Unless the ruin had a serious problem, or the threat was beyond what his level could handle.

Yet the Chief had casually given him the map. This only meant one thing. He wanted Thoren to die and then easily retrieve the map from his corpse.

His original plan had been to hunt a few Jackal Beastmen villages to increase his strength, but now that was not needed.

Threat or no threat, he was going to find out what lay inside that ruin. And when he came back, that would be the time for the Slave Trade Guild and the Jackal Chief to answer to him.

With the plan firmly in mind, he was not ready to depart just yet. He still had one more thing to do.

He looked at his ten unassigned attribute points and assigned them all to his strength.

[Strength 40 + (10) → 50]

[Unassigned Attributes Points: 0]

The moment his strength reached the fifty threshold, a stream of warm energy washed over him, and he could feel the difference immediately.

"Now, I do not have to worry about my physical strength," he mused.

He summoned the undead Iron Roar Komodo from his undead space while keeping the other undead servant.

Without hesitation, he leaped onto the back of the undead Komodo and departed into the Bleeding Desert.

A few minutes after his departure, a group of humans and Jackal Beastmen arrived at the exact spot where he had been standing.

****

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