Skills with no cooldown? I become the Undead Scourge! - Chapter 56

Upon hearing the news of Lu Ran’s level-up, the four guild leaders immediately dropped everything and sprinted over from their various positions within the Firelands. Lei Tai, using a Leap Strike, was the first to crash-land in front of Lu Ran.

“Quick, quick, quick! Show me what the new trait is!” Lei Tai urged impatiently.

By then, the other three guild leaders had also arrived.

The four of them surrounded Lu Ran, looking at him with the eager anticipation of children waiting for candy.

“Uh… Sure, let me check,” Lu Ran nodded.

Seeing how anxious the four guild leaders were, he simply shared his status panel so they could all see it together.

[Trait: Throne of Bones]

[Effect: Can unconditionally control all non-human Dark-type units, ignoring level restrictions.]

Huh?

The four guild leaders looked at each other, bewildered.

What did this mean?

“Control non-human Dark-type units? Does that mean Dark-type monsters?” Ye Hongyi asked, confused.

“How did ‘Throne of Bones’ even pop up? What, is the King of the Underworld here or something?” Lei Tai quipped jokingly.

“Does it work on Dark-type monsters in instances? It probably refers to the Undead type, right?” Yu Cangqiong also voiced his question.

Only Liu Xinxin, after a moment of contemplation, spoke.

“The Undead type is a subset of the Dark type. There are many kinds of Dark-type creatures. But what I’m curious about is… the trait says ‘unconditionally control all non-human Dark-type units, ignoring level restrictions.’ So, what about summons from other classes?”

“Whoa, that can’t be right, can it? That’s terrifying! My Guardian Army has Dark-type summoners. If he can control those… that would be way too overpowered!” Lei Tai exclaimed dramatically.

“It’s just a guess,” Liu Xinxin shrugged. “But judging by the trait description, it’s not impossible. After all, which of Lu Ran’s previous traits wasn’t ridiculous? It would be more unusual if this one wasn’t overpowered.”

At that moment, Ye Hongyi asked curiously, “If Lu Ran can forcibly control non-human Dark-type units, even a professional’s summons… then what about the Sakura Empire’s Shikigami?”

Her words instantly made everyone’s eyes light up.

Their first reaction was to look at Liu Xinxin.

Liu Xinxin also looked surprised at Ye Hongyi’s suggestion.

Then she said, “Sakura’s Shikigami are divided into two types. One originates from their so-called ‘deities,’ and the other comes from folkloric monsters. The monsters should belong to the Dark type.”

Hearing this, the guild leaders immediately grasped the potentially absurd implications of this trait.

The Sakura Empire was a special case. Their signature class, the Onmyoji, didn’t exist in other countries.

The fact that this small island nation held such international stature was closely tied to this unique class.

A large number of Onmyoji dominated everything in the Sakura Empire.

And Shikigami were the greatest reliance of the Onmyoji, similar to a summoner’s summons.

“Furthermore, among Shikigami, the ones based on deities are very rare. Monsters make up the vast majority. If Lu Ran can control those…” Liu Xinxin’s expression became peculiar. “That would truly be…”

That would be a crushing superiority!

One could easily imagine Lu Ran facing an Onmyoji.

Just as the opponent excitedly summons their Shikigami, in the blink of an eye, Lu Ran takes control, and the Shikigami turns around to attack its own master.

The scene would be a sight to behold!

“The key question now is whether Lu Ran can actually control Dark-type summons belonging to other professionals. Ideally, we’d capture a few Onmyoji to test it,” Yu Cangqiong mused.

But with cross-border teleportation currently blocked, finding an Onmyoji within their borders was difficult.

Little did he know that, under Nanami’s orders, a group of Onmyoji were currently crossing the Forbidden Sea, braving near-certain death, essentially delivering themselves as test subjects.

“Wait a minute,” Lu Ran interjected curiously. “How do I actually do this control? I didn’t get a new skill. Even if I want to control something, how? I can’t just shout at it, right?”

Uh…

The four well-informed guild leaders looked at each other.

How would they know that?

They’d never encountered anything like this in their lives!

“We’ll probably find out soon how the control works,” Liu Xinxin said. “Now that you’re level 25, the next dungeon we’ll farm isn’t the Firelands anymore; it’s the Level 25 Demon Monastery.”

The demons in the Demon Monastery clearly fit the requirement. Once Lu Ran entered, he would naturally figure out how the control worked.

“Alright, we’ll test it later. For now, it’s time to deal with that bastard in the deathmatch arena,” Lu Ran nodded. His mind was still firmly set on the deathmatch.

Yu Cangqiong’s face showed a hint of hesitation. After a moment’s thought, he said, “The new trait, from what we can see now, doesn’t seem to offer much help in a one-on-one fight. So, I’m still a bit worried.”

Lu Ran waved his hand dismissively. “The trait might not help much directly, but my new skill will definitely be useful!”

The four leaders suddenly remembered. They had almost forgotten that Lu Ran would unlock a new skill upon leveling up.

“The skill unlocked at level 25 for Necromancers is Ancient Golem. Summon one and let’s see,” Liu Xinxin instructed. “Also, store one in the Gourd. You can discard the Skeleton Warrior inside.”

Lu Ran did as he was told.

He waved his staff.

Poof!

A large cloud of black mist erupted before them.

Then, a giant, three meters tall, with a massive, rotund belly—looking almost like a large lump of flesh—appeared before them. It resembled a Corpse Fiend, but its skin seemed desiccated and hardened, almost rock-like. A pattern of totemic markings on its chest continuously emitted a dark aura.

The group glanced at its stats.

They were the standard stats for an Ancient Golem.

One hundred thousand Hit Points.

“Not bad for the favorite tanking undead used by Necromancers. A hundred thousand HP right out of the gate,” Lei Tai praised.

And as Lu Ran’s level increased, the Ancient Golem’s HP would also receive a significant boost.

“At this stage, that HP pool is more than sufficient. Lu Ran, store one in the Gourd,” Liu Xinxin urged, never forgetting to have Lu Ran keep one in the Gourd as a lifesaver.

This was much more reliable than a Skeleton Warrior.

This way, if anyone tried to assassinate Lu Ran, the first thing to take the damage would be the Ancient Golem in the Gourd.

One hundred thousand Hit Points!

And even if that Ancient Golem died taking the hit, Lu Ran still had the Yin-Yang Worlds passive from the Crystal Skull to trigger. During that process, an endless stream of Ancient Golems would be summoned, all capable of absorbing damage for Lu Ran.

Who could possibly kill Lu Ran now?

“The timing is about right. Let’s finish this run and head out. I’m going to the deathmatch arena,” Lu Ran said.

Yu Cangqiong hesitated for a brief moment.

Finally, he nodded. “Alright. But you must be careful. If the opponent, for some reason—be it a special skill or equipment—can’t be killed by you, just ensure you have an endless supply of summoned… no, not Skeletons, summon Ancient Golems. Just make sure you don’t die.”

Liu Xinxin had explained this mechanic to Lu Ran before.

Once someone entered a deathmatch room, it was like accepting a challenge; they couldn’t leave voluntarily. To exit, one side must die, allowing the victor to leave. Alternatively, if both sides persisted until the half-hour time limit, they would be forcibly ejected from the room.

“Understood. I’ll be careful,” Lu Ran replied with grave seriousness.