Skills with no cooldown? I become the Undead Scourge! - Chapter 2

Outside the School Field

Lu Ran wandered around for a while before finally spotting Wang Yujiao.

“Jiaojiao! Over here!” Lu Ran waved excitedly when he saw her standing gracefully beneath a tree in the distance.

Wang Yujiao turned her head, startled at the sight of him.

But unlike usual—when she would have rushed over like an affectionate little bird—today, she remained rooted in place.

Unfazed, Lu Ran jogged toward her, his excitement still bubbling.

“Let’s go level up! I saw you awakened as a rare class—the Magic Archer, right? With our teamwork, we’ll definitely—”

“Lu Ran,” Wang Yujiao interrupted, cutting through his enthusiasm. “I was actually looking for you too. There’s something I need to say.”

“Huh?” Lu Ran blinked in confusion.

But Wang Yujiao hesitated, her words stuck in her throat.

Just as Lu Ran was about to ask what was wrong, a group of people approached.

The young man leading them glanced at Lu Ran dismissively.

“Why waste time talking to him? Let’s go grind. We’ve got better things to do.”

It was Liang Shaoyu.

Throughout their time at the academy, he had constantly pestered Wang Yujiao.

But today, instead of resisting, Wang Yujiao—who had been frozen in place—shifted slightly toward Liang Shaoyu.

Then, she finally spoke to Lu Ran.

“I was just about to tell you… Liang Shaoyu invited me to join his party, so I won’t be teaming up with you anymore.”

Lu Ran stood there, stunned, his gaze flickering between Liang Shaoyu and the older youths beside him.

When their eyes met, Liang Shaoyu smirked.

“My dad arranged for high-level players to power-level Jiaojiao and me. Lu Ran, why don’t you go find somewhere else to cool off? It’s not like you’re alone—you’ve got your skeletons to keep you company, haha!”

His mocking tone drew laughter from the others.

Lu Ran ignored him, his expression hardening as he focused on Wang Yujiao.

“So, what does this mean for us? Are we breaking up?”

After graduation, countless couples split up due to differences in their awakened classes. But Lu Ran had never imagined it would happen to him.

Wang Yujiao took a deep breath, her eyes resolute.

She nodded.

“I’m a rare class. You’re a common one. The gap between us will only keep growing—don’t you get it? In the end, we’re just not from the same world.”

She continued, her voice firm.

“In a month, the Celestial Alliance will only recruit three graduates. But this year, there are five rare-class awakeners besides Qin Wuyao, who’s already secured one spot. The rest of us have to fight for the remaining two positions. I… I can’t gamble my future on you.”

Lu Ran’s heart turned to ice.

Without waiting for his response, Wang Yujiao looped her arm through Liang Shaoyu’s.

“Shaoyu, let’s go level up.”

Liang Shaoyu’s face brimmed with smug satisfaction as he casually slid his hand around her slender waist, stroking it possessively.

“Sure. First, I’ll take you to my family’s storage to pick out some decent starter gear. Not that we’ll need it, though—we’ve got high-level players carrying us. We won’t even have to lift a finger.”

With that, they strutted off, leaving Lu Ran standing there, feeling utterly hollow.

How laughable.

He had thought he knew Wang Yujiao so well. But in the end…

Tap.

Lost in his thoughts, Lu Ran nearly jumped when a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.

He turned to see none other than Qin Wuyao.

“Tsk tsk… Breaking up right after graduation? That’s harsh,” she said, watching Wang Yujiao’s retreating figure with a sarcastic smirk.

Lu Ran rolled his eyes.

He swatted her hand away and turned to leave.

“Hey, no need to be so touchy. You should be glad trash like that took itself out—less baggage for you,” Qin Wuyao teased, catching up to him.

Normally, Lu Ran got along well with Qin Wuyao.

After all, they were the only two in the academy with a Spirit stat exceeding 100.

“Are you done?” Lu Ran had no interest in continuing this conversation.

“Wanna team up and grind?” Qin Wuyao grinned.

“No thanks,” Lu Ran refused flatly. “You’re a hidden-class awakener. What use do you have teaming up with a common-class like me?”

Qin Wuyao wasn’t bothered.

Tilting her head, she said, “So what if you’re common-class? Your Spirit stat is 130—that’s rare even nationwide. I don’t believe you’re just some ordinary Necromancer.”

Her words surprised him.

Most people assumed that an awakened class determined one’s entire future.

Few thought the way Qin Wuyao did.

But Lu Ran still shook his head.

“Not interested.”

With that, he walked off alone.

After spending 300 gold on a set of basic white-tier gear from a shop in town, Lu Ran didn’t head for the city gates. Instead, he made his way to Blackflame City’s central square.

The Dungeon Hall was located there.

Of course, Lu Ran wasn’t planning to tackle a team dungeon—he couldn’t even enter one yet. The lowest-level dungeon required players to be at least Level 5, and Lu Ran was still Level 0.

But the Dungeon Plaza had a special training ground for beginners: the Novice Trial Grounds.

It was packed with monsters, offered higher EXP than wild mobs, and was a solo-only instance—albeit slightly more challenging than open-world grinding.

Most new players avoided it, though.

In this data-fied world, despite the variety of classes, there was no such thing as resurrection.

If you died, you died.

Even healing classes could only do their best to keep their teammates alive.

But if they slipped up and a party member’s HP hit zero? That was it—game over. Not even hidden-class healers had revival skills.

Given that, it was no surprise that most newbies, having never fought monsters before, weren’t reckless enough to dive into the Novice Trial Grounds alone.

After all, every class started with only one skill. If multiple monsters aggroed at once in the trial grounds? That was a one-way ticket to the afterlife.

But Lu Ran was different.

His skills had no cooldown.

An orphan who had worked hard to put himself through school, Lu Ran only had a little over 400 gold to his name.

After spending 300 on gear, he was left with barely enough for meals.

But it was worth it.

The white-tier gear’s stats were pitiful, but what Lu Ran cared about was the +100 max MP from the full set.

Combined with his base 100 MP, he now had 200 MP total!

Not counting natural MP regeneration, he could cast Summon Undead 20 times in a row—each summon bringing forth two skeletons, meaning 40 skeletons total.

That was a terrifying number!

And that wasn’t even factoring in his MP regeneration, which would let him summon even more.

Forty skeletons rampaging around? That was way more efficient than fighting wild monsters in a five-man party!

With his mind made up, Lu Ran entered the bustling Dungeon Hall, weaving through the crowd of players of all levels and classes.

He headed straight to the northeast corner—the entrance to the Novice Trial Grounds, where not a single soul lingered.

Without hesitation, Lu Ran stepped forward and vanished into the glowing portal.

Unbeknownst to him, a young man in black tight-fitting armor watched from the crowd.

The moment Lu Ran disappeared, he quickly opened his communicator and sent a message:

“Miss, Lu Ran just entered the Novice Trial Grounds.”