The moment he stepped onto the deck and looked into the distance, however, even he was stunned speechless.
It was as though he had entered another world entirely.
The sky above was an endless dark violet.
There was no sun.
No moon.
No stars.
Only twisted, vein-like streams of light drifting across the heavens, casting a dim and eerie glow over the land.
The air itself was thick with dense negative energy, carrying a suffocating sense of oppression.
And in the far distance,
A colossal tower stood upon the barren wasteland.
Grotesque.
Magnificent.
Impossible to fully describe.
The Bone Spire.
The tower was not built from brick or stone.
Instead, it had been constructed from countless enormous skeletons fused together into a monstrous whole.
Massive dragon ribs formed gigantic archways.
The skulls of abyssal creatures protruded from the structure like decorations.
Human bones, beast bones, and unknown remains filled every visible gap.
Thick black chains, seemingly forged from condensed souls themselves, coiled tightly around the spire.
From those chains hung countless wailing spirits.
Their agonized screams intertwined into an endless chorus of soul-chilling noise that echoed around the tower without pause.
The spire pierced deep into the purple heavens, its summit vanishing into swirling crimson clouds.
Within those blood-red clouds, enormous skeletal creatures resembling giant bats could vaguely be seen circling through the sky.
Around the tower stood countless bizarre structures.
Houses woven entirely from living vines.
Towering walls of flesh and blood that writhed constantly, their surfaces covered with distorted human faces frozen in eternal agony.
Huge enclosed pens shrouded in sickly green mist, from which haunting howls continuously emerged.
Even the dock itself was horrifying.
It was a gigantic floating skull drifting atop a black, lifeless sea.
Within its eye sockets burned two enormous green soul flames, guiding incoming ships toward the harbor.
"This… is Bone Spire Academy?"
Slade muttered unconsciously.
The people here truly had bizarre tastes.
Wouldn't ordinary buildings be more comfortable?
Why did everything have to look so sinister and terrifying?
This place looked no different from the legendary underworld itself.
But then Slade noticed something strange.
These buildings…
They seemed alive.
No,
More accurately, they were necromantic constructs.
Whether it was the towering Bone Spire, the vine-covered houses, or the walls of living flesh,
Every structure within his field of vision was a form of undead life.
They continuously absorbed negative energy from the environment, strengthening themselves while releasing dense waves of deathly aura back into the air.
Slade could clearly sense the endless negative energy particles saturating the world around him, along with the dense aura of death permeating the air.
Within his Mental Core, his magical power became unusually active in response to the environment.
The countless whispers of souls and death drifting through the atmosphere resonated faintly with his Soul Whisper Meditation Technique.
With every breath he took, it felt as though every cell in his body was rejoicing.
"What an incredible place…"
But the other apprentices clearly did not share his feelings. The source of this chapter is g.com.
Whether noble-born or commoner, nearly everyone wore pale expressions, stunned speechless by the hellish landscape before them.
Many had already begun showing signs of physical discomfort under the corrosion of the dense negative energy.
Even the normally composed Prince Alphonse had tightened his fists, solemnity filling his eyes.
Alphonse himself was one of the top talents among the apprentices.
He possessed a high-level affinity for death and a medium-level affinity for shadow.
However, his death affinity had not been innate.
It had awakened only after he became entangled in a vicious royal power struggle and was pushed to the brink of death.
Before that experience, his initial mental strength had been merely seven points.
But after awakening in a near-death state, his mental power had surged to fifteen points in a single leap.
From that moment onward, he became a rare genius blessed with high-level death affinity, medium shadow affinity, and extraordinary mental strength.
The Bone Spire wizards had quickly discovered his talent and personally "invited" him to join the academy.
Although Alphonse had never practiced meditation techniques before, he had undergone rigorous knightly training.
Even so, this environment still made him uncomfortable.
As for the remaining apprentices, most of whom were still ordinary humans, they would not be able to survive long in a place like this.
The concentration of negative energy here was more than ten times higher than in the outside world.
For living beings, prolonged exposure was equivalent to being immersed in highly corrosive acid.
Simply breathing the air caused a burning sensation throughout the body, as though one's flesh and organs were slowly being eroded from within.
Several pampered noble girls soon discovered gray-black patches spreading across their skin, while strands of hair began falling from their heads.
"No…!"
"I don't want to stay here!"
"I want to go back!"
One girl, delicate as a porcelain doll, stared in horror as her once flawless pale skin gradually dried, cracked, and developed corpse-like discoloration.
Her psychological defenses finally collapsed.
She dropped to the ground and burst into uncontrollable sobs, refusing to move another step.
Back in the kingdom, she could have lived as a treasured jewel admired by countless people.
Why had she come to this hellish place?
Wizards.
Magic.
Supernatural power.
None of it mattered anymore.
If she stayed here…
She felt certain she would die.
The gray-robed wizard Morris merely glanced at her indifferently before muttering a short incantation.
The girl instantly went silent.
Her eyes became empty and lifeless, like a puppet whose soul had been hollowed out.
Then, without resistance, she slowly rose to her feet and mechanically followed the group like a walking corpse.
Morris's insect-like compound eyes swept across the terrified apprentices.
Then his dry, hoarse voice shattered the oppressive silence.
"Welcome… to the real world."
"Do not fear, little ones. Your new lives here will be… wonderful."
"Now."
"Follow me off the ship."
At last, the Netherbone came to a complete stop.
Wizard Morris was the first to disembark.
The tentacle-like appendages replacing his left leg dragged across the enormous skull dock, leaving behind a trail of glistening slime.
Turning around, his compound eyes swept across the pale, trembling apprentices.
"Keep up," he rasped.
"Do not wander off."
"This place is filled with undead creatures and strange constructs."
"If you get lost…"
No one dared speak.
The apprentices silently followed behind him, stepping onto the legendary land of Bone Spire Academy for the very first time.
If the ground beneath them could even be called land.
The surface was composed of compacted bone dust mixed with hardened dark-red organic matter, giving the sensation of walking atop dried flesh and crushed skeletons.
Slade quietly suppressed the instinctive discomfort rising from his spirit.
Adjusting his breathing, he began circulating the Soul Whisper Meditation Technique, transforming the oppressive necrotic atmosphere into a subtle tempering force for his magical power.
In this environment, the activity within his Mental Core grew increasingly intense.
The group advanced in uneasy silence.
They passed through a narrow corridor formed from writhing living vines, then walked alongside towering walls of flesh and blood whose surfaces constantly shifted with agonized human faces.
Low groans echoed endlessly from within the walls, as though countless souls were trapped inside.
Far away, from the pale green mist blanketing the land, the roars of unknown creatures drifted through the air, sending chills down the apprentices' spines.
A creeping fear gradually spread through the crowd.
Was this truly where they would live from now on?
This place was horrifying.
At last, the apprentices arrived before an enormous hall located at the base of the Bone Spire itself.
Countless gigantic ribs curved upward to support the structure, giving the impression that the hall had been built inside the chest cavity of some ancient colossal beast.
The Hall of Bones.
This was the place where they would choose mentors,
Or perhaps more accurately…
Be selected like merchandise.
Inside the hall stood numerous official wizards radiating strange and unsettling auras.
Some were surrounded by drifting soul flames.
Others carried the stench of blood and decay.
A few looked almost human, while others had clearly abandoned ordinary flesh long ago.
Their gazes swept across the new apprentices without restraint.
Greedy.
Curious.
Indifferent.
Evaluating.
Slade felt his heart tighten slightly.
This atmosphere felt disturbingly similar to livestock being inspected before slaughter.
If he chose the wrong mentor…
Wouldn't he simply be delivering himself directly into a monster's mouth?
No. He absolutely could not make this decision carelessly.
After bringing the apprentices to the designated area, Morris turned as though preparing to leave.
"Mentor Morris, please wait."
Slade immediately stepped forward and lowered his voice respectfully.
"I have something I wish to ask."
Morris paused.
His insect-like compound eyes shifted toward Slade.
"Speak."
"It concerns the matter of choosing a mentor."
Slade maintained an extremely humble attitude.
"I know very little about the academy and would sincerely appreciate your guidance."
On the ship, Morris had sold him the Soul Whisper Meditation Technique at an exceptionally low price.
That alone had already shown a certain degree of goodwill.
And since Morris had willingly invested in him…
Surely he wasn't hoping to see Slade die young.