Chapter 91: High Level Magic [Bone Fortress]

The most iconic spells of the necromancy school were, of course, the high-level spell [Death Finger] and the forbidden curse [Undead Cataclysm].

These two spells represented the two defining sides of the necromancy discipline.

In fact, if not for the inherent disadvantage of being countered by holy magic—and the fact that ascending to Sage rank required one to change race—then purely from the standpoint of magical completeness, the necromancy school was actually a very well-rounded system.

The [Death Finger] typified the school’s brutal and straightforward magic condensation techniques—pure offensive power amplified by the instant-death properties of death energy.

Meanwhile, [Undead Cataclysm] showcased necromancy’s versatility as a quasi-summoning discipline.

Although necromancy itself lacked much functional utility, its summoned undead could easily compensate for that weakness.

That said, among the six great magical schools of witches, every school was comprehensive in its own way. Over countless ages of exploration and conquest, the accumulated brilliance of countless magical civilizations had been integrated into the witches’ systems—
creating the immensely prosperous Witch Civilization.

And the essence—the true defining trait—of necromancy…

A black-haired, red-eyed girl extended her pale hand.
A swirl of faint black mana spun quietly in her palm, like a miniature nebula.
Within that rotating “nebula,” fragments of white light drifted, orbiting like tiny planets.

“Why can death mana summon bones for a Bone Shield? Isn’t creating matter supposed to be the realm of the Creation school?”

Jiang Cha was studying [Bone Shield].
The spell itself wasn’t difficult—its magical inscriptions were quite simple. She fully analyzed the spell after a single reading.

But that clarity only raised her doubts.

The three glyphs forming the spell’s inscription only represented [Bone Hardness] and [Rotation].
As for how the bones were generated?

No clue. Probably… “magic does it.”

“Magic can explain everything, huh?”

Flipping to the analytical section of the spellbook, Jiang Cha found that very sentence written there—and muttered irritably.

“Fine, fine. Mana really is omnipotent.”

But she wasn’t satisfied with that answer.
This was only a beginner spellbook, meant for witches new to necromancy. It wouldn’t contain any deep theories—so as not to mentally corrupt its readers.

The [Bone Spike] spellbook didn’t help either; its theory was nearly identical.

“Bone Shield…”

As for intermediate-level spells, there wasn’t really anything structurally similar to it.

She’d checked [White Bone Summoning], but that was a summoning spell—the bones were pulled from Hell, not created from nothing.

“So… I guess I’ll have to look at this one next?”

Her slender fingers brushed across the cover of a spellbook that looked disturbingly like human skin.

Necromancy books were easy to identify by level—
ordinary mana paper meant low-level;
treated leather meant mid-level;
and that skin-like texture meant high-level…

Well, not actually human skin. Humans were non-magical; their skin couldn’t channel the mana needed to perform high-tier spells.

Obviously, it was elf skin.

“No wonder necromancy has so few practitioners—its materials are downright cursed.”

Jiang Cha complained under her breath, but still opened the book without hesitation.

Human morals had no place among witches.
She’d long accepted that—so she didn’t care anymore.

It was a Level 8 High-Tier Necromancy Spell: [Bone Bastion], a powerful field-type spell.

When successfully cast, it would spread over at least a one-kilometer radius, forming a domain of skeletal hell shaped by the caster’s mana output.

Every skeleton within could independently revive as an undead, while enemies caught inside would be endlessly assaulted by bone spikes—far more lethal than the ordinary [Bone Spike] spell.

Depending on the caster’s intent, the field could:
– serve as a resource field for endless undead summoning,
– function as a mana conduit, absorbing planetary mana to supply the caster,
– or most commonly, unleash a rain of bone spikes as a devastating offensive barrage.

It was a tremendously powerful necromantic field spell.
However, since Grand Witches had [Undead Cataclysm] as a superior alternative, and few lesser witches specialized deeply enough in necromancy to reach this level, the spell was rarely used.

But “rarely used” didn’t mean “weak.”
After all, [Time Stop] from the Time School wasn’t used often either—yet no one dared to call that spell weak.

For Jiang Cha, though, what mattered most was the theoretical commentary written by her predecessors.

And then—

The book suddenly felt hot in her hands.

Because right there, at the start of the theoretical section, the author’s name was printed in bright, unmistakable letters:

The Primordial Great Sage, Jane Pell.

“Welp… that’s one hell of a favor I just took on.”

The bewildered girl set the book down with a sigh of resignation.

She was such an idiot.

She’d only thought of how generous little rich girl Violet was—but how could she forget?

A magic book for the daughter of the Great Sage wouldn’t possibly be an ordinary one!

This was obviously something the Primordial Great Sage had written specifically for her daughter!

“Forget it. Might as well learn from it.”

Now that she’d taken it, there was no way she could ask Mephisto to swap it for something less valuable.
All she could do was accept the favor and study hard.

As the only necromancer among the Great Sages, Jane Pell’s understanding of necromantic theory was far beyond anything Jiang Cha had ever imagined.

And the higher-level theories explained in [Bone Bastion] nearly pushed her mind past its limits.

“The ultimate reason death mana can create bone… is faith.
Faith in Hell, in the God of Death, in Death itself—
such faith grants necromancy a fragment of the Creator’s authority…”

After reading that passage, ninety-six of Jiang Cha’s ninety-eight mental circuits crashed,
and the remaining two were just stuck in a loop muttering nonsense.

But her spirit—her spirit remained free.

Within her soul, she faced the vast sea of knowledge and began to quietly organize it—
piece by piece, sorting, categorizing,
turning it into her own understanding, storing it carefully in the mental archives of her memory palace.

“Tea-bao!!! Did you overwork yourself into another near-death trance again!?”

Hearing the alarm, Lina efficiently requested access clearance, kicked open the door, and yelled at the girl, who was sitting there with glassy eyes, muttering gibberish.

Meanwhile, Jiang Cha—her body operating purely on instinct while all her mental capacity was consumed by parsing knowledge—subconsciously channeled her mana,
tracing the inscriptions in the exact sequence her mind was processing them.

And then—

High-Tier Necromancy Spell [Bone Bastion]
—Cast Successfully!