A/N : Bonus chap for 50+ golden tickets.

Next bonus chap on 100+ golden tickets or any big gift.

***

The spear hit the ground just behind Mike, blasting dirt and leaves into the air. Mike barely rolled away in time.

"Okay, okay! Truce!" he shouted, raising both hands while still jogging.

Lily ignored him and hurled the spear anyway.

Well, this is going to hurt, Mike thought. He didn't dodge, letting the spear hit him. Part of it was to let Lily vent, and part of it was to test whether he could defend against her attack.

The spear slammed into him. It didn't pierce his armor, but the force was massive. He was sent flying backward, crashing through several trees before slamming into the ground and carving a deep trench.

"F— are you seriously trying to kill me?" Mike shouted from inside the hole.

"Hmph. You're wearing that Unique-grade set, don't lie about getting hurt," Lily said, snorting.

Mike climbed out of the trench. He wasn't hurt at all—only annoyed. The armor was intact, without even a scratch.

"Yeah," he muttered. "Didn't hurt. Just… the force sent me flying."

"Anyway, let's continue hunting," he added, glancing at his watch. "We only have about two and a half hours left of our remaining time in the dungeon."

Lily nodded.

"Let's split up for now," Mike said. "I'll take the Skeleton Archmage with me. You take the Unique Skeleton Knight with you."

He pointed deeper into the forest.

"We'll meet back at the same spot after two hour. Then we'll use the last half hour to create more undead and upgrade them."

Lily nodded again.

"Yeah. Sounds good."

With that, they turned and headed in different directions, disappearing into the forest to begin their hunt.

Mike moved quickly through the trees, the Skeleton Archmage floating silently behind him. Its presence alone made the surrounding mana feel heavy.

A group of goblins appeared ahead, arguing loudly near a broken cart.

Mike raised his sword.

"Archmage. One spell. Don't overdo it."

The Archmage lifted its staff.

A dark mana circle formed, then collapsed inward.

Boom.

The goblins were erased instantly. No bodies remained—only scorched ground and drifting mana.

Mike sighed.

"…Right. No corpses from you."

The Archmage tilted its skull slightly, as if confused.

"Fine. Support only," Mike said. "Debuffs and control."

The Archmage nodded.

On the other side of the forest, Lily walked calmly with the Unique Skeleton Knight behind her. Orc patrols noticed her and charged.

The Skeleton Knight stepped forward without waiting for orders.

One swing.

An orc was split in half.

Second swing.

Another orc was crushed into the ground.

Lily raised her staff and finished the rest with spells, making sure the bodies stayed intact.

She looked at the pile.

"Good. These will work."

She stored the corpses and continued forward, expression focused.

Two hours later, they returned to the same spot.

They dumped all the collected corpses into one place.

The pile grew quickly, forming a small hill of bodies. The smell hit them immediately.

Lily covered her nose.

"…I might vomit."

Mike stepped to the side.

"Just do it fast, turn them into undead" he said.

"The smell will then go away after they turn into undead." he added.

Lily nodded and then holding her staff she pointed at on hill of corpse.

"Skeleton Knight Creation."

Mana spread through the pile.

Flesh began to melt. Fur, skin, and muscle dissolved together as bones pulled inward. Goblins, wolves, and orcs fused into heavy skeletal frames.

One by one, Skeleton Knights rose from the ground.

Five… eight… twelve…

In the end, seventeen Skeleton Knights stood in a rough formation, weapons and armor formed from condensed bone and mana.

Lily took a breath.

"…That's a lot."

She moved to the remaining corpses and raised her staff again.

"Skeleton Grand Mage Creation."

Mana surged once more.

The other small hill of bodies collapsed inward, their bones refining into thinner, more complex structures. Staffs formed in their hands, and dark mana gathered around their skulls.

One after another, twelve Skeleton Grand Mages rose.

Mike whistled softly.

"That's way more than I expected."

He stepped forward and began upgrading them.

Golden light flashed as he touched each undead.

One upgrade.

Then another.

After every two upgrades, he stopped and drank a mana potion, breathing heavily before continuing.

Sweat ran down his face as he pushed through the process.

Finally, the last undead was upgraded.

The golden light faded.

Mike took two steps back, then dropped onto the ground, lying flat on his back.

"…Damn," he said, panting. "I feel like I got beaten up."

Lily looked at the army of undead, then back at him.

She crouched beside him and patted his chest. "Don't worry. There's an old saying: 'The path to strength is difficult and full of sweat and blood,'" she said, as Mike nodded.

"Yeah… and I'm definitely feeling that sweat and exhaustion," he said, panting and taking deep breaths after each word.

[Due to constant exhaustion and mana replenishment]

[Your mana has increased by 20% of its total amount permanently]

[You unlocked a new title]

[Crazy Trainer]

[Crazy Trainer: 'You don't care about your body and just train madly.']

[Effect: Injuries from training heal 50% faster]

"Great… even the system thinks I'm crazy," Mike muttered, rolling his eyes at the notification.

"Did something happen?" Lily asked.

Mike nodded. "Yeah, I unlocked the Crazy Trainer title," he said. Lily looked at him and burst out laughing.

The system had been around for a long time, and many had shared the conditions to unlock various titles. One of them was the Crazy Trainer title. Its unlock condition required self-endangering training, so it wasn't something anyone aimed for—except those truly obsessed with training.

"Can you stop laughing and give me a healing potion? 'Cause now that I have this title, it means I have some internal injuries," he said.

Lily nodded and placed her hand on his chest. "Aqua Heal," she said.

A gentle greenish water spread around Mike, and he felt his body grow light and the pain ease with each breath.

"You also have healing magic?" he asked.

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