"However," Yuan chuckled for a moment before saying leisurely, "I’ll accept the gift, but don’t think this makes you my future son-in-law."

Wei’en: "..."

’There might have been a chance before, but after learning Kali’s identity, any such thought had vanished completely.’

’Women will only slow down my progress in getting stronger!’

"You can rest assured, sir. I would never have such an idea."

"What are you two talking about? You look so happy."

Just then, Kali’s soft, sweet voice came from behind him. "Wei’en, what’s impossible?"

Yuan quickly raised the hat in his hand. "Wei’en gave me a hat. He said it was to thank me for recommending him for the job at the Secret Investigation Department, right?"

"Yes," Wei’en said. He turned, and only after seeing that Melbel was gone did he look at Kali with a light smile. "Would you like to come over to my place for a bit?"

Kali hesitated for a moment before nodding gently. "Alright."

"What? No!"

Yuan blocked their path. "Kali, don’t be fooled by this kid’s honest and reliable appearance. In reality, he’s..."

"I know, Father," Kali interrupted softly. "You’ve forgotten. I’m very strong now."

"That’s true," Yuan conceded, but he still waved a hand behind him, clearly not reassured. "Six-Eyes, you go with them and keep an eye on things."

"HISSS GAH."

Just then, Wei’en saw the giant, six-eyed spider crawl over and immediately felt a headache coming on. "Uncle Yuan, isn’t this a bit much?"

’Does he really think I’m a suitor with bad intentions?’

Kali whined, "Father, you..."

Yuan tilted his head up and huffed, "I don’t care. Better safe than sorry."

He had the look of a man determined to protect his precious daughter at all costs.

"Let’s go, Sister Kali," Wei’en said, listlessly opening his door. ’There’s really no dealing with this doting father.’

"Mm."

With that, the two of them and the spider entered the room and shut the door.

Yuan tiptoed to the door and squatted, turning his ear to eavesdrop, but he couldn’t hear a thing. "Damn it, are the Rune Arrays made by those Phantoms really that effective?"

Wei’en set down the things in his hands. "Sister Kali, I just wanted to ask you a few questions."

Kali’s face visibly flushed. "That... that person was indeed me..."

"What? Sister Kali, you’ve misunderstood. That’s not what I wanted to ask."

Wei’en didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "I wanted to know why Melbel, from this morning, addressed you as ’Your Eminence.’ What’s your current status?"

"Oh, that... I thought..." Kali covered her face, saying shyly, "I’m a Candidacy Saintess right now."

’A Saintess... a Candidacy Saintess of the Dawn Church. No wonder...’

"Then, what about Melbel? What’s his status?" This was the question Wei’en really wanted to ask.

"He... he’s a Guardian Knight who came from Klande with Archbishop Pulvi," Kali said, looking at him with confusion. "Why do you ask about him?"

"It’s nothing. I just think he’s... very handsome. That’s all."

"Is that so?" Kali looked at him, skeptical. "Then, about becoming a Guide for the Dawn..."

"I’ve thought about it. It’s best to just keep faith in my heart."

Wei’en gave a noncommittal answer and then looked at the giant spider. "You can go back now. I’m getting a little scared being watched by the powerful and kind Six-Eyes here."

"’Keep it in your heart?’ For you to have such a thought is truly a blessing from the Dawn."

After she left with the spider, Wei’en closed the door and glanced thoughtfully outside.

’A Guardian Knight from Klande, huh?’

’I guess I’ll keep that grudge to myself for now, too...’

Thinking of this, Wei’en fixed himself something to eat. He couldn’t help but admit the only downside to expensive things was their price.

The dark bread paired with cheese tasted surprisingly good... well, aside from being a little hard.

After returning to his bedroom, Wei’en took out the exchange list from the blue and white box and carefully selected the magical knowledge on it.

Now that he had committed to the paths of Undead Magic and the Mechanical Mage, he was ready to spend all his money.

In the end—

Two parchment scrolls, *Basic Knowledge of the Undead Magic System* and *A Brief Analysis of Undead Summoning Magic*, for a total of 1 gold pound and 5 shillings.

Plus a precision scale, a crucible, and a protective suit for making Magic Potions. These three tools cost him 3 gold pounds and 4 shillings.

Now, he only had 17 shillings and 7 pence left, which should be enough to cover his daily expenses.

Wei’en then began his research, unable to wait a moment longer. ’This time, I’m going to allocate my points!’

"So it’s like this..."

Contrary to what he had imagined, the undead summoned through Magic didn’t come from a traditional Undead World.

Instead, they came from a source space opened up by the founder of the Phantoms, which served as the very foundation of the Phantoms’ existence.

Then, after countless years of creation and projection by generations of Undead Wizards, it gradually formed the vast population of Undead Creatures it holds today.

It was worth noting that these Undead Creatures weren’t exclusively used by Wizards. Some Extraordinaries with sufficient Spiritual Power could also form contracts and summon them.

’That must be the case with Dr. Yuan and that huge Skeleton Warrior of his...’

Furthermore, the available creatures for a contract varied depending on the level of the Magic and the Wizard’s own Spirit.

Typically, Wizard Apprentices could only form contracts with low-level skeletons.

In Wei’en’s view, this method had its pros and cons.

If an Undead Creature’s soul was destroyed, he would have to find and form a contract with a new one.

’And there’s no guarantee I’ll be able to find another one I’m satisfied with... It’s a gamble.’

It was also worth noting that besides the essential Undead Summoning, the Undead Magic system included another branch: Undead Transmutation.

It was a terrifying form of Magic that could transform flesh-and-blood corpses into Undead Creatures.

Fortunately, this Magic could only be learned after becoming an Official Mage. Otherwise, Wei’en would have had to prepare himself for dealing with corpses on a daily basis.

After studying the basic knowledge, Wei’en took out a quill and began carefully tracing the Undead Summoning Rune.

The book *A Brief Analysis of Undead Summoning Magic* provided a comprehensive breakdown of the spell, listing numerous use cases for Undead Creatures.

For example, they could be used in combat, for helping with chores, and some of the more intelligent ones could even serve as temporary assistants to a Wizard during experiments.

[You have successfully drawn the Undead Summoning Rune. Special Reward: Survival Points +3, Spirit Level +1.]

He had to copy it a total of five times before this message appeared on the panel.

Compared to the Soul-Devouring Magic, the Undead Summoning Rune was clearly more complex.

Wei’en suspected this was because it contained rune nodes related to the contract aspect...

Once he was ready, he opened the panel and looked over the information.

[You have been scanned by Balats Carteright’s Spirit sense. Reward: Survival Points +1.]

[You have been... Reward: Survival Points +1.]

Five consecutive Spirit sense scans. ’They must be from the high-ranking committee members at the Secret Investigation Department.’

’As expected of the higher-ups. None of them are weak.’

Wei’en focused on his calculations: the Undead Summoning Rune, the basic runes for a Mechanical Mage, and the cost of future upgrades... ’75 Survival Points... that’s really not enough.’

’Maybe I should level up Soul-Devouring Magic to level 3 first?’