Undead Mage: I Have a Skeleton Clone-Chapter 459 - 336: Choosing a Professional Specialty, Mutation in the Forest of Nature!

"This specialization can significantly increase the passive recovery speed of Spiritual Power and Mana. For any Magic Professional, ’Magic Conductor’ is a fundamental yet practical choice. It allows you to continuously cast spells in battle without worrying about running out of Mana."

Fang Zhou nodded and then looked at Instructor Su Xinyan and Instructor Shen Hongyu.

Instructor Shen Hongyu shook her head slightly. "My situation is different from yours. When I was at the Black Iron Tier, I chose the Flame Mage’s exclusive specialization, ’Bursting Fire.’ It can greatly increase the power of my Flame Magic, but this might not be suitable for you. However, when I was at the Bronze Tier, I mastered a general profession specialization called ’Wisdom Incarnation.’ This specialization can comprehensively enhance all of a Magic Professional’s skill effects, improving both the casting success rate and the effects of their spells. I believe this is a very important specialization for any Professional seeking to reach higher realms."

At this moment, Instructor Su Xinyan raised a slender finger and gently touched her red lips. "When I reached the Black Iron Tier, the first profession specialization I chose was the Undead Mage exclusive, ’Strong Undead Summoning.’ This specialization, as its name implies, greatly increases both the quantity and quality of summoned Undead Creatures. Among all Undead Mage specializations, ’Strong Undead Summoning’ is definitely one of the most powerful. It is almost a necessity for a talented Undead Mage like you, who has such a high affinity. Even without any bonuses, the number of skeletons you call forth with the ’Summon Skeleton’ skill already far exceeds that of an ordinary Undead Mage. If you combine that with contract affixes and the dual bonuses from the ’Strong Undead Summoning’ specialization, the number of Undead Creatures you summon will double. Your combat power will undoubtedly experience a qualitative leap."

Fang Zhou’s eyes lit up slightly upon hearing her words. Instructor Su Xinyan’s suggestion greatly intrigued him.

However, just then, Instructor Shen Hongyu offered a different opinion. She looked at Fang Zhou and said solemnly, "I have a suggestion. For you, ’Wisdom Incarnation,’ ’Magic Conductor,’ and ’Strong Undead Summoning’ are all useful specializations. But I think you need to make your choice based on what you plan to focus on in your cultivation next. The recruit contest is over, and during the Apprentice Stage, you probably won’t have any overly intense or dangerous combat missions for a while. Although ’Strong Undead Summoning’ would maximize your combat power, you might not be able to take full advantage of it while you’re still at the upper Apprentice Tier.

"’Wisdom Incarnation’ presents a similar situation. It’s a very powerful and versatile specialization that can enhance all of your skill effects. However, since you’re now in the military academy with few opportunities for combat, it would be difficult to fully leverage it."

Instructor Shen Hongyu paused before continuing, "In contrast, the strength of the ’Magic Conductor’ specialization lies in its passive effect. It has a tremendous impact, whether in prolonged battles or during daily cultivation. This specialization not only helps maintain a continuous supply of Mana in battle, allowing you to cast spells uninterruptedly, but it also passively accelerates your Spiritual Power recovery during normal training, ensuring the steady enhancement of your overall strength.

"Fang Zhou, based on your current Spiritual Power fluctuations, you shouldn’t be far from breaking through the bottleneck and advancing to the Black Iron Tier. Furthermore, the champion’s rewards for the recruit contest include a Nether Amber, which is the resource you need most urgently. If you can successfully absorb this Nether Amber, further enhancing your affinity for Undead Attribute energy and consolidating your foundation, you might advance to the Black Iron Tier faster than expected. In that case, you’ll soon have the opportunity to choose a second profession specialization. Therefore, during the Apprentice Stage, I suggest you prioritize specializations that offer the most immediate effectiveness, like ’Magic Conductor.’ This will help you quickly raise the proficiency of the Skeleton Series skill tree you deduced during the Apprentice Stage to an instinctual level."

She elaborated further, "Although the Undead Mage skills you currently have are powerful, most are just apprentice-level innovative skills. Once you break through the bottleneck and advance to the Black Iron Tier, your most critical task will be to deduce these apprentice-level skills to the Black Iron Tier. The higher a skill’s proficiency, the less difficult it is to deduce it to a higher tier. From this perspective, ’Magic Conductor’ is undoubtedly the best choice."

Beside her, Instructor Su Xinyan and Instructor Huang Qiuyue both showed thoughtful expressions and nodded slightly, clearly convinced by Instructor Shen Hongyu’s analysis.

Fang Zhou had been deeply drawn to the ’Strong Undead Summoning’ specialization, but after Instructor Shen Hongyu’s explanation, he felt himself wavering. He thought for a moment and looked up to ask, "Instructor Qiuyue, you mentioned earlier that there might not be many combat missions during the Apprentice Stage. But I heard from a second-year senior that there’s a newly merged spatial fragment near the Sea City Military Academy called the ’Forest of Nature.’ Very rare Flower Elves dwell in this spatial fragment, and the energy concentration limit only allows Professionals at the Apprentice Tier to enter freely. I heard there are several spatial rifts there leading to the Mythical World, from which some low-level Demons from the Abyss emerge. I was thinking of going to the ’Forest of Nature’ to broaden my horizons while I’m at the upper Apprentice Tier."

Hearing this, Instructor Su Xinyan smiled gently and waved her hand. "If that’s why you don’t want to give up ’Strong Undead Summoning,’ the specialization that maximizes combat power, then you have nothing to worry about. While you all were participating in the recruit contest, the energy observation station at Sea City Military Academy discovered that the energy concentration in the ’Forest of Nature’ spatial fragment had risen sharply, completing a minor tier elevation. According to the experts’ predictions, once this energy concentration stabilizes, the ’Forest of Nature’ should permit free passage for Professionals at the lower Black Iron Tier. Consequently, the Abyssal Demons emerging from the spatial rifts will also be raised to the lower Black Iron Tier. For someone like you, still at the upper Apprentice Tier, that place has obviously become much more dangerous. The academy certainly won’t approve your application to train in the ’Forest of Nature.’"

Fang Zhou was rather surprised to hear this. Previously, the second-year student, Zhang Wu, had explicitly told him that the energy concentration in the ’Forest of Nature’ was thin and stable, and for the foreseeable future, it could only accommodate Professionals up to the upper Apprentice Tier at most. He hadn’t expected it to change, a development that undoubtedly disrupted his original cultivation plan.

He had even received a detailed map of the ’Forest of Nature’ from Zhang Wu, along with a plea for aid from the Flower Elf Queen. His original plan was to familiarize himself with and adapt to his power at the upper Apprentice Tier after the recruit contest, then find some reliable teammates to go on an expedition into the ’Forest of Nature’ spatial fragment. Fang Zhou was confident that, with his strength, he would face no danger against Demons of the same tier. He even hoped to use the opportunity to help the Flower Elves eliminate some Demons and, in return, trade for some soul-nourishing water from the Moonlight Spring. However, the energy concentration of the ’Forest of Nature’ had now risen to the lower Black Iron Tier. Given Fang Zhou’s habitually cautious and conservative nature, he certainly wouldn’t venture in so rashly. This meant his original plan needed to be completely revised. He would likely have to wait until he advanced to the Black Iron Tier before even considering entering the ’Forest of Nature’ for training. Fang Zhou had no desire to challenge those above his tier unless it was absolutely necessary.