Skill: Resurrection of the Dead
Cooldown: 60 minutes
Cost: 100 Mana
Effect: Resurrects all non-professional, non-BOSS units within a thirty-meter radius that have died within the last 5 minutes. Lasts for 1 minute!
Lu Ran, of course, already knew about this skill.
And moreover, it was a famous one—a signature skill marking a Necromancer’s entry into a new phase.
Resurrection of the Dead!
And it was an area-of-effect skill.
The boost to a Necromancer’s personal combat power was immense!
Especially in dungeon runs.
Before initiating a BOSS fight, party members would gather the corpses of all monsters that had died within the last five minutes. They would concentrate them all within a thirty-meter radius, and then have the Necromancer cast Resurrection of the Dead.
This allowed the Necromancer to instantly command a large number of dungeon monsters as combat support!
Although it only lasted for one minute, casting it right before charging into the BOSS fight could maximize the distraction and draw the BOSS’s aggro for that crucial minute.
It not only dealt significant damage but also bought the team one precious minute of unbridled, full-force attacking!
It was precisely because of this skill that any Necromancer who reached level 45 was highly sought after in dungeon parties.
The unfortunate part, of course, was that the duration was only one minute, while the cooldown stretched to a full sixty minutes!
But even so, the explosive power for that single minute and the time it bought for the team were of monumental importance!
Unfortunately, Lu Ran didn’t consider this skill particularly useful.
Although his own skill range could cover hundreds or even thousands of kilometers, a duration of just one minute was far too impractical. It couldn’t even compare to the straightforward, satisfying rush of his infinitely stacking Bone Storm.
And while the sixty-minute cooldown became zero cooldown in Lu Ran’s case, that didn’t really change anything. After one large-scale Resurrection of the Dead, even if he cast it a second time immediately, there simply wouldn’t be any monster corpses left for him to manipulate.
It was, all in all, a rather underwhelming skill.
“I wonder if the new trait I just unlocked will pair well with the skill,” Lu Ran muttered to himself.
Then, his gaze shifted to the trait panel. And the moment he saw it, his eyes lit up! Speak of the devil!
Trait: Death and Rebirth
Effect: Removes the non-BOSS restriction from Resurrection of the Dead. Removes the one-minute duration limit. Resurrected beings exist permanently and are under permanent control!
Now this was a treasure! He hadn’t expected the new trait to actually be tailored to the new skill!
It perfectly compensated for all the shortcomings that made the skill so useless for him! While it still couldn’t control deceased professionals, the restriction on BOSSes was gone. That meant Lu Ran could now resurrect BOSSes!
Any BOSS he killed, Lu Ran could revive, store inside his spatial artifact, Sleeve of Heaven and Earth, and summon them at will!
His Bone Throne ability had a similar effect, but the Bone Throne could only control dark-attributed creatures!
Now, the Death and Rebirth trait, paired with Resurrection of the Dead, meant that in this world, as long as it wasn’t a human, anything Lu Ran killed could be permanently controlled!
Sure, he had to kill it first, which was a bit more complicated than the Bone Throne’s control method, but it didn’t matter. Lu Ran didn’t mind a little extra work!
Snapping out of his reverie, Lu Ran noticed the Dwarf King and his entourage were still holding their ceremonial poses.
Liu Xinxin nudged him with her elbow, whispering a reminder, “Don’t just stand there, show some courtesy!”
They had presented such a grand gesture of respect; remaining silent would be incredibly rude!
Even the Dwarf King was starting to feel awkward. Is it possible this young man doesn’t understand our Dwarven ceremonial customs? Why isn’t he saying anything? Should I keep holding this pose?
Just as he was wondering, Lu Ran finally spoke. “No need for such formality. From now on, we can consider ourselves friends. It was my duty to help.”
It was just polite chatter, the usual few lines, and Lu Ran knew them well.
The Dwarf King let out a sigh of relief and relaxed his posture.
After that, it was time for Lu Ran and his companions to leave. The Dwarf King did not urge them to stay longer.
The dwarves had a mountain of work ahead of them: cleaning up the corpses of the Evil Spirit Griffons throughout the city, gathering materials, forging large quantities of equipment, and preparing for their tribe’s migration back into the underground caverns. Naturally, they had no time to entertain guests further.
After Lu Ran’s group departed from Blackstone City, he opened his map for a glance.
“So, do we head back the way we came?” Lu Ran asked.
“You could grind monsters here if you want, but although the creatures here are high level, they’re too spread out. Going back to run dungeons is far more efficient,” Liu Xinxin replied.
After a pause, she seemed to think of something and added, “The Sandsea region would be suitable for unleashing wide-range skills to grind, since it’s a forbidden zone with no human professionals. But there might be other neutral races like the Dwarves. If you cast your skills there, they’d likely perish alongside the wild monsters. Wild monsters respawn, but those races… they’d be truly wiped out.”
Her concern had likely grown after their encounters with the Elves and Dwarves. After all, neutral races were far too similar to humanity. And they weren’t monsters that respawned; killing them en masse would be like indiscriminate slaughter.
“Understood. Best not to disturb those neutral races,” Lu Ran agreed, considering her point.
“And I’ve come to realize something else,” Ye Hongyi chimed in. “If you can, cultivating good relations with those neutral races can yield rewards far better than the paltry experience from grinding monsters. Besides, even though you still need to level up, it’s not an urgent matter. You’re already invincible, after all.”
Once she finished speaking, Lei Tai, unable to contain himself any longer, got straight to the point. “I can’t hold it in any longer! Come on, Lu Ran, tell us about your new skill and new trait!”
Hearing this, both Ye Hongyi and Liu Xinxin looked at Lu Ran with renewed interest.
Although they were excited too, Liu Xinxin managed to stay somewhat composed and teased, “Lei Tai, you haven’t forgotten a Necromancer’s skills again, have you?”
Lei Tai froze for a second, then quickly retorted, “How could I? A Necromancer’s level forty-five skill, hmm… let me think… Oh yeah! It’s Resurrection of the Dead, right?”
Ye Hongyi nodded in agreement. “That’s right, Resurrection of the Dead. One of a Necromancer’s signature skills. Pity it’s not very useful for my brother, since it only resurrects small monsters and only lasts a minute. Even though the sixty-minute cooldown is gone for him, the skill itself is a bit lackluster. It’s nowhere near as direct as his Bone Throne, and the Bone Throne offers permanent control.”
Upon hearing this assessment, even Liu Xinxin nodded. It was, in fact, true.
But Lu Ran just offered a mysterious smile. “Not necessarily. The new trait I unlocked corresponds perfectly to the new skill and completely solves the issue. Take a look for yourselves.”
With that, he pulled up the trait panel for them to see.
