Beside a remote forest, a three-story building stood alone.
The building looked quite ordinary, but all the plants around it had withered.
It was as if a strange force near the building was corroding these plants.
In front of the building’s main entrance, Edmond was curiously observing the surroundings.
“Come in.”
Just then, a hoarse voice came from inside the door.
Edmond turned his head to look.
He saw a Man in the Black Robe standing inside the door, speaking to him.
This person was wrapped tightly in a black robe, revealing only his face.
But that face was extremely terrifying; the flesh on it had almost vanished, leaving only a thin layer of skin covering the skull.
Although this face was horrifying, Edmond did not hesitate at all and stepped right inside.
As soon as he entered the door, a chilling aura enveloped him.
Edmond subconsciously wrapped his thin clothes tighter around himself, but he still felt very uncomfortable.
The Man in the Black Robe witnessed this scene but didn’t say much.
“Follow me.”
He left behind this sentence and then turned to walk upstairs.
Edmond followed.
As soon as he stepped onto the second floor, two skeletons caught his eye.
These two skeletons were guarding the stairwell, with blue flames burning in their eye sockets, looking extremely frightening.
Upon seeing these two skeletons, Edmond only paused for a moment before continuing to walk forward.
The Man in the Black Robe in front turned his head, observing Edmond with those eyes sunken deep in their sockets, and asked with some confusion:
“Are you not afraid?”
Edmond was taken aback, then shook his head.
Seeing this, the Man in the Black Robe didn’t say anything more and continued to lead Edmond forward.
Soon, the two arrived in a room on the second floor.
On the way, Edmond saw five more skeletons, all standing motionless in place.
After entering the room, the Man in the Black Robe rummaged through a table in the corner of the room and finally walked up to Edmond with a thin book in his hand.
“Can you read?”
The Man in the Black Robe wiped away non-existent dust from the book and asked casually.
“I can.”
Edmond nodded.
“You can read?”
Hearing this, the Man in the Black Robe raised his head and asked again.
After receiving another affirmative answer, he looked at the boy in front of him with some disbelief.
Due to long-term malnutrition, Edmond’s body was extremely thin, compounded by the simple and thin clothes on his body.
This was clearly a child from the poorest family at the very bottom of the village.
Yet he actually said he could read?
Facing the other’s scrutinizing gaze, although Edmond looked very calm, he was still a little nervous inside.
In fact, he was not entirely from this world; just a few days ago, when he had just turned thirteen, he awakened the memories of his past life.
Having awakened his memories, he quickly understood his current situation.
This world was similar to medieval Europe in his past life, and the language used by the people was also different from any language in his past life.
But strangely, after awakening his memories, he was suddenly able to understand the text of this world.
And he was extremely proficient at it.
Although he didn’t know why, this was a good thing for Edmond.
After all, in this world with a low literacy rate, being able to read was a very good skill.
Originally, he wanted to rely on this skill to make a living, as his parents had recently died of a serious illness, forcing thirteen-year-old him to become self-reliant early.
But who would have thought that while wandering near the village, he would suddenly encounter the Man in the Black Robe before him.
And this person’s identity made Edmond feel both excited and fearful.
A Necromancer.
That’s right, the Man in the Black Robe in front of him was exactly the kind of Necromancer from stories who could control life and death.
After observing for a while, the Man in the Black Robe withdrew his gaze.
Why Edmond could read was not something he needed to care about; in fact, being literate was even better, saving him some trouble.
Thinking this way, he handed the book to Edmond and said:
“Since you can read, try it out according to the content in the book.
You can ask me anytime if there is anything you don’t understand.”
Taking the book from that hand, which also showed no sign of flesh, Edmond asked:
“Should I try it here?”
The Man in the Black Robe nodded, then brought over two chairs, letting Edmond and himself sit down.
Edmond didn’t say much either, sat down directly, and flipped through the book in his hand.
Sure enough, he recognized all the characters in the book.
Subsequently, Edmond devoted his entire mind to it and began to read carefully.
In front of him, the Man in the Black Robe just watched Edmond, who was reading the book carefully, without making any moves.
…
There wasn’t much content in the book, so after ten minutes or so, Edmond finished reading it all.
Closing the book, Edmond’s eyes were full of excitement.
The content recorded in the book was the method of Meditation and various techniques.
Meditation was about using Mental Power to perceive and resonate with the magic in the surrounding environment.
This could not only exercise one’s mind but also accelerate the absorption of surrounding magic.
At this moment, the Man in the Black Robe saw Edmond close the book and asked in confusion:
“You finished reading it?”
Edmond nodded.
“I finished it.”
The Man in the Black Robe immediately fell silent; he still remembered that it took him a full seven days to finish reading this book back then.
This wasn’t because he was stupid, but because he was illiterate before becoming a mage; he could only learn to read while reading.
“Click~ click~”
Just as the Man in the Black Robe was silent, a sound of bones colliding suddenly came from outside the door.
Immediately after, a skeleton walked in carrying a cup of hot water and handed it to Edmond.
“Drink some water and rest for a bit first; we will try again later.”
The Man in the Black Robe said at this time, signaling Edmond to drink the water.
Looking at the skeleton within arm’s reach, Edmond first observed it curiously for a few moments, then took the water cup and began to sip it slowly.
The hot water entered his stomach, causing the chilling feeling on Edmond’s body to dissipate a little.
After resting for a while, Edmond, under the guidance of the Man in the Black Robe, began to attempt Meditation.
Meditation was actually not difficult; it only had one requirement for the user, which was the need for sufficiently strong Mental Power.
As long as the Mental Power was sufficient, one could succeed in Meditation quickly.
He himself had only spent about ten minutes to succeed back then.
The Man in the Black Robe thought to himself, then looked at Edmond, who had closed his eyes and was attempting Meditation in front of him.