’First things first, max out the Undead Summoning Rune.’ he thought.

No sooner said than done. Wei’en immediately opened his panel and selected the Undead Summoning Rune to add points.

1/1,

[Undead Summoning Rune Level 1 (1/1), upgrade?]

[Upgrade.]

[Congratulations, your Rune Knowledge: Undead Summoning Rune has been upgraded to Level 2. Effect: Success rate for drawing this rune is 20%.]

[Undead Summoning Rune Level 2 (1/2), upgrade?]

...

[Undead Summoning Rune Level 9 (9/9), upgrade?]

[Upgrade.]

[Congratulations, your Rune Knowledge: Undead Summoning Rune has reached max level. Effect: Success rate for drawing this rune is 100%.]

[Congratulations on obtaining a max-level rune knowledge. Your Rune Knowledge Novice Advancement progress: 2/10. Special Reward: Spirit Level +1.]

Now that the Undead Summoning Rune had reached max level, every detail about it surfaced in Wei’en’s mind.

He could now trace the tangled lines and nodes from their start to their end, and he understood the optimal way to handle them.

Hmm?

’Areas for optimization?’

Wei’en stared at the rune pattern in his mind, silently counting. ’One, two, three... a full twenty-three optimizable nodes?’

Most were one or two extra circuits added next to important nodes.

"What’s going on here?"

Although he had found spots that could be simplified when he maxed out the Soul-Devouring Rune, there had only been two such places.

But this Undead Summoning Rune had twenty-three spots that could be simplified.

Wei’en didn’t know if these were errors, if they had some hidden purpose, or if there was even some kind of conspiracy involved.

But he could deduce a few possibilities.

One: the School was holding back, providing its Intelligence Officers with a watered-down version of the rune diagram.

Two: they intentionally added these flaws to ensure the School’s Core Runes weren’t leaked, thus maintaining absolute control.

The last possibility was that the rune had been flawed from its very inception... either due to insufficient rune knowledge, resulting in a crude diagram, or for some ulterior motive.

In other words, what was commonly called a backdoor.

With that in mind, Wei’en took out his quill and tried to remove these problematic circuits one by one.

After nearly an hour, the new Undead Summoning Rune that materialized before him was merely half the size of the original.

As he analyzed and trimmed it down, his understanding of the new rune diagram deepened.

He could now clearly identify which parts were the rune nodes for contracting the undead, which were the nodes that acted on the Origin Progeny, and the few nodes related to summoning...

"This extra stuff is enough to make a whole new rune."

Wei’en thought for a moment, then restored the circuits he had removed, reassembling them according to their original nodes and lines. Then, he removed the parts belonging to the Undead Summoning component.

"It really is a new rune."

The reassembled rune pattern before him was not complex; it was actually extremely simple.

The overall shape was a standard Hexagram, with twelve major nodes and eighteen minor nodes.

But in the center of the Hexagram, hundreds of interwoven lines bizarrely formed the pattern of an eye, making the entire rune look incredibly strange.

Wei’en frowned as he looked at the rune. He didn’t recognize it, nor did he know its function...

Just then, a new notification flashed on his panel. The color—blood red.

[You have successfully drawn the Origin Rune of Death God Olanir. Special Reward: Survival Points +5, Spirit Level +2, Resilience Level +2.]

[You have learned the name of Death God Olanir. Olanier’s awakening progress +1, current progress is 3/??. Special Reward: Origin +1.]

[Note: Effect of the Origin Rune of Death God Olanir—it can borrow a trace of Death God Olanir’s Origin Power to enhance the effect of the rune it empowers.]

Immediately after, information about the rune’s effects appeared in his mind.

"The Origin Rune of Death God Olanir?"

’It can borrow the Origin Power of Death God Olanir... Holy shit!’

Aside from ’holy shit,’ he couldn’t find a more fitting phrase to describe his current mood.

Wei’en stared at the rune diagram in his hand and muttered, "Just what kind of being created the Undead Summoning Rune? To play for such high stakes?"

The title of "Death God" was clearly not something an ordinary Undead Mage could covet.

Just how much of a badass did you have to be to dare draw such a rune to steal... oh, no, to *borrow* the Origin Power of a Death God?

Not only that, but the panel’s notifications also made it clear to Wei’en that the original Undead Summoning Rune did indeed have a backdoor.

But this was no damn conspiracy theory; it was a genuine perk that an ancestor had gone and secured for them.

That ancestor was, without a doubt, an invincible, top-tier powerhouse.

Beyond that, there was something else that caught Wei’en’s attention—

The name of Death God Olanir was known by even fewer people than Gonzalez. Including him, only three beings knew the Death God’s true name...

If Wei’en wasn’t mistaken, the other two were absolutely not "human"!

"So here’s the question: I share a secret with two super-badass beings. Does that mean I’m also a badass?"

’The answer was obvious—the panel was the real badass here.’

’If not for the panel’s notification, he might have already started the Rune Branding for the truly watered-down version of the Undead Summoning Rune.’

’If that had happened, he wouldn’t even know where to begin crying...’

It just went to show that curiosity was fine, but you should never casually dismiss the greatness of your predecessors.

However, Wei’en was well aware.

Other than taking these secrets to his grave, there was nothing else he could do.

He couldn’t just go and announce the names of Death God Olanir and Gonzalez to the world, could he?

Doing so would certainly speed up the awakening of these two powerhouses, but it would also undoubtedly bring endless disaster upon himself.

There were many ways to die, but he didn’t need to be in such a hurry to find one, right?

After a good while, Wei’en finally shook off these wild thoughts. "What’s the point of overthinking? Increasing my strength is what’s most important."

Now that he had learned the Undead Summoning Rune, the next step was to complete the Rune Branding on a Xiaoxi.

That way, he could use the Undead Summoning Spell.

"Which one should I brand first?"

Wei’en looked at the Xiaoxi floating in mid-air. After sensing his "ill-intentioned" gaze, they began to gulp and exhale faster.

"Baba?"

"You’ll be the one, then."

Wei’en looked at the Xiaoxi that had spoken and gave it a "kind" smile. "Come here, I have something good to show you."

In situations like this, speaking up first was a clear advantage.

Besides, this Xiaoxi had been with him the longest, and their bond was the deepest. It was the perfect choice to be the Origin Progeny for his Undead Magic system.

The Xiaoxi scattered and fled. "No, no..."

But this time, Wei’en’s target was clear. He grabbed the little head and began the Rune Branding of the Undead Summoning Rune.

The branding process went much more smoothly this time.

Wei’en easily branded the complete version of the Undead Summoning Rune onto the back of the Xiaoxi’s head, where it formed a new pattern next to the Soul-Devouring Rune on its forehead.

However, compared to the Soul-Devouring Rune’s pattern, the Undead Summoning Rune’s pattern was several times smaller.

To be precise, it was only one-tenth the size of the Soul-Devouring Rune’s pattern.

When it was all over, Wei’en waited for a moment. Seeing that nothing unusual was happening, he relaxed.

The last time he branded the Soul-Devouring Rune, the excruciating pain had been quite traumatic for him.

Fortunately, nothing like that happened this time.

Then, Wei’en held the Xiaoxi and examined it carefully, paying special attention to the difference between the two rune patterns.

"Is this the difference between a Core Rune and a magic system rune?"

Just then, the Xiaoxi timidly opened its mouth, "I... I..."

"Hm?"

The Xiaoxi’s eyes were no longer as blank as before; they now held a spark of intelligence.

Wei’en asked tentatively, "Are you calling me ’daddy’?"

"I was saying ’Baba’," the Xiaoxi chirped, its mouth curving into a grin. It spun around joyfully. "Baba, Baba..."

"You’ve really gotten smarter. Say something else."

Wei’en was also delighted. This meant the Xiaoxi were capable of growth!

"Something else, something else..."

"Don’t repeat what I say! Let me ask you, what do I usually call you?"

"Baba?"

A vein bulged on Wei’en’s forehead. He wrapped his fist in Spiritual Power and bonked it on the head. "I’m asking what *your* name is!"

The Xiaoxi clutched its head and looked at him with an aggrieved expression. "Oof... Baba?"

"Forget it."

Wei’en gave up in exasperation. It seemed impossible to get it to admit its name was Xiaoxi.

Still, he couldn’t just let it be...

"From now on, your name is... Ghost."

Ghost—taken from Ghost Soul and Undead, representing the Undead Magic system of the Ghost Soul School. It was a fitting name for this Xiaoxi.

"Ghost?"

"That’s right, Ghost is your name. From this day on, you are Ghost, and Ghost is you."

The Xiaoxi’s expression was first one of confusion, but after getting a definitive answer, it became exceptionally happy. It flew around the other Xiaoxi nonstop. "Ghost, Ghost, my name is Ghost..."

The other Xiaoxi, however, was just as it was before, staring at them blankly, clearly not understanding the change.

After watching for a while, it went back to absorbing Elemental Power in Meditation. "Rexi..." (Despair...)

Wei’en watched Ghost with satisfaction. ’At least it’s teachable,’ he thought.

At least it didn’t ask a stupid question like ’What is a ghost?’

He then opened his panel and started looking through it, wanting to see the specific effects of his Undead Magic.

[You have successfully branded the Undead Summoning Rune and learned the Undead Summoning Spell, Level 1. Evaluation: The starting point of a great Wizard is much like this. Special Reward: Spirit Level +1, Survival Points +2.]

[Note 1: Undead Summoning Spell Effect: Can contract and summon Undead Creatures.]

[Note 2: A Level 1 Undead Summoning Spell allows you to contract Level 1 Undead Creatures whose Spirit Level does not exceed your own. Examples: Skeleton Warriors, ghosts, etc.]

"So that’s how it works..."

He had been wondering what the criteria were for matching Magic level with the level of the Undead Creatures.

But now Wei’en knew it was determined by his Spirit Level. As long as it didn’t exceed his own Spirit Level cap, he could contract and summon them.

His Spirit Level had already reached 39.2. He wondered how strong the Undead Creatures he could contract would be.

In the skill list, the cost to upgrade the Undead Summoning Spell from Level 1 to Level 2 was 5 Survival Points, the same as for Soul-Devouring Magic.

After a moment’s thought, Wei’en decided to add the points directly.

It was a simple principle: the effects of a Level 2 Magic were guaranteed to be better than Level 1.

Undead Summoning Spell Level 1 (1/5), Undead Summoning Spell Level 1 (2/5)...

[Undead Summoning Spell Level 1 (5/5), upgrade?]

[Upgrade.]

[Congratulations, your skill: Undead Summoning Spell has been upgraded to Level 2. Effect: You can now contract Level 2 Undead Creatures whose Spirit Level does not exceed your own.]

Just like Soul-Devouring Magic, the Level 2 Undead Summoning Spell required 50 Survival Points to reach Level 3.

"Undead summoning... I wonder what kind of creature I’ll be able to contract?"

Wei’en licked his lips. Then, with a thought, his Spiritual Power flowed through the origin connection, triggering the Undead Summoning Rune on Ghost’s head.

The Xiaoxi—Ghost—perched on his shoulder, its expression solemn. It opened its mouth and uttered a phrase in the language of Gonzalez, "Diyagulajia!" (Undead Summoning!)

As the incantation echoed, a Rune Array rose from the ground.

Energy flowed between the runes of the Array, forming a bridge to the Undead Realm. A black vortex slowly swirled in the center of the Array, gradually emitting a sinister aura.

Immediately after, several bizarrely shaped black silhouettes slowly appeared...