Chapter 2: Rewards After the Battle

"According to the research conducted by several of the elders of our Free Alliance, we have decided to fully oppose the actions of the Black Moonstone Guild and hope that the Black Moonstone Guild will halt its reckless plans, ensuring its interests on the Bloodthirsty Wasteland."

Such ambiguous words sounded unpleasant to both Old Shubi and Thousand Phantoms Ice Cloud. Thousand Phantoms Ice Cloud realized that the Black Moonstone Guild's plan to monopolize the Bloodthirsty Wasteland had fallen apart. Although they could retain control of half the cities on the wasteland, they could no longer fulfill their previous vision of exclusivity.

Old Shubi was even more frustrated. He used to be the sole authority in the entire wasteland, but now, whenever something significant happened, he had to consult with the Black Moonstone Guild. The resentment in his heart was hard to quell.

But what could they do if they refused? The Free Alliance was one of the larger guilds in the game, ranking similarly to the Black Moonstone Guild, but it maintained excellent relations with several other guilds. Moreover, their guest elders were all accomplished figures in the game. For the time being, no one could do anything about them.

With this in mind, Old Shubi and Thousand Phantoms Ice Cloud could only accept the outcome. The counterattack campaign on the Novice Continent, initiated by the Black Moonstone Guild, ended quietly and without fanfare.

Upon returning to Shubi's Bloodthirsty City, Li Bin, who had barely had a moment to rest, was summoned to the city hall where Old Shubi was waiting for him.

As soon as Li Bin entered, Old Shubi hurriedly said, "I feel bad for calling you here in such a rush, but I have to go discuss the distribution of the wasteland with the Black Moonstone Guild soon, so I can't talk for long."

While speaking, Old Shubi had three items brought out and placed before Li Bin.

Following Old Shubi's gesture, Li Bin looked at each item in turn and saw a City Heart, a book, and a roll of parchment. All three gave off a strong aura of resentment, marking them clearly as items intended for the Undead.

Pointing at the three items, Old Shubi explained, "You've truly rendered great service this time. These are rewards based on your achievements. First, the City Heart."

At Old Shubi's prompting, Li Bin picked up the City Heart. Besides the undead insignia, he noticed a small number 5 engraved on it.

"Don't look at me like that. This undead City Heart, which allows you to build a level 5 town, is the highest reward I could secure for you," Old Shubi clarified, seeing the doubt in Li Bin's eyes. "It's in recognition of your suggestion before the battle and for being the first to join me."

Li Bin nodded in satisfaction. Having already possessed a level 3 City Heart, he clearly understood the difference between a village and a town. To put it simply, the territory controlled by a level 4 town was greater than that of five level 3 villages combined.

After storing the City Heart, Li Bin turned his attention to the book. He wasn't sure of its purpose—perhaps a skill manual or a training guide for a particular unit?

Old Shubi resolved his confusion. "This is an advancement manual for undead hero classes. After your campaign level surpasses 5, your hero class will shift from mage or warrior types to those matching your race. This book records several rare hidden classes, and you may choose one from among them to change your profession."

Li Bin immediately grabbed the book and began to leaf through it. As Old Shubi said, it contained numerous hidden undead classes.

Under normal circumstances, Li Bin would need to fulfill at least eighty percent of the conditions for each class to advance. For example, the Reaper class required a level 5 undead warrior, priority for Soulbinders and Ghosts, learning three instant death spells, and meeting seventeen other criteria. The Dragon Lich required dragon lineage and a three-hundred-year stay in a dragon tomb.

But now, as long as Li Bin wasn't grossly unqualified, he could freely advance, without even needing to wait for campaign level 5.

After carefully reading all the class descriptions and memorizing some of their features, Li Bin chose the most suitable and most challenging class for a Mummy: Deathmaker.

This advancement required the player to be of mage type, and to have skills in mechanical engineering, alchemy, wide-area attack, and curse spells, among others. The manual indicated that the requirements for Mummy players were increased by thirty percent.

Upon advancing, the player would gain the following class skills:

Plague Creation: After killing enemy troops, their corpses have a 20% chance to become a plague that spreads over a certain area, causing nearby non-undead units to suffer poisoning, morale loss, and health reduction.

Plague Control: Enables the casting of Death Cloud magic without consuming mana, with free control over the Death Cloud's movement.

Death Summons: Temporarily revives corpses on the battlefield or summons them as undead units. The number and type of revived or summoned units depend on the player's campaign level.

Living Servitude: Non-undead units directly under the player's command become enslaved, unaffected by morale, but their susceptibility to mind-affecting magic is increased.

Moreover, several of the Mummy player's attributes would be increased by forty to seventy percent, depending on the Mummy's level.

What most excited Li Bin was that these skills had no tier restrictions—they depended solely on the player's level and campaign attributes. For someone with a host of skills but unsure how to advance, this was the best news.

Having made his decision, Li Bin felt a chill run through his body. His attribute panel automatically popped up, showing his level unchanged at 4/4, but his race and class had shifted from Mummy to Mummy Deathmaker.

Satisfied that nothing was missing from his new class skills, Li Bin turned to the last item, the parchment, hoping for more benefits.

This time, however, he was disappointed. The parchment was merely an E-ranked mercenary certificate. With this, after leaving the Novice Continent, Li Bin could obtain supplies, reinforcements, and assignments in public cities even if he lost his own city.

But Li Bin had already received plenty from Old Shubi and didn't mind. Upon learning that the only way to leave the Novice Continent was to take the mercenary certificate to the one-way portal at the center of Shubi's Bloodthirsty City, where a system deity would choose a continent suited for his growth, he was content.

Bidding farewell to Old Shubi, Li Bin took his mercenary certificate and headed toward the city center. As he walked, he ordered his subordinate heroes to quickly return to the Cemetery Magic Domain. He knew that only he needed to use the portal, but he didn't want to arrive on a new continent and discover half his troops missing.

Just as Li Bin was hurrying toward the one-way portal, several voices called out to him at once.

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