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Eventually reaching the barracks, the undead were not given individual rooms. Kept in that area, they were instructed to begin honing their weapon skills.
"Most of you are either brainless or have rotting brains, so I’ll go out of my way to explain what you must do here!" said the leader. "You will choose a weapon and learn to wield it. By practicing relentlessly, you may eventually acquire a Skill related to it! You have one month to learn a Skill. If you fail, you’re deemed talentless, and your souls and corpses will be grounded into Ghostly Yin Pills to feed those more talented than you! So work hard!"
"Uuhh... What about rooms to rest?" a ghostly figure asked, one of the few capable of speech.
"What?! A room?! Hah! You don’t have such privileges. You’re lowly walking corpses!" the general laughed. "You haven’t even forged a Nether Core, and you think you deserve a room? As Undead, with ample Nether in the air, you can work tirelessly! Sleeping isn’t in our vocabulary."
"Uuh..." the ghostly figure sighed, looking down.
"Those who manage to acquire a weapon skill early will receive rewards for their talent!" the general continued. "Learn a Weapon Skill within three weeks, and you’ll receive a Curse Rune of your choice. Two weeks, you get two Curse Runes. If any of you somehow master the skill in a single week, you’ll earn three Curse Runes and a few Ghostly Yin Pills, which can help you reach the First Stage of Nether Gathering. Now hurry and move your bones. Choose your weapon! Once chosen, there’s no turning back!"
Every Undead was required to select a weapon. Elayne waited nearly a day until her turn arrived. She gazed silently at the weapons for a moment.
The selection included rusty swords, spears, axes, small hammers, and a limited number of bows and arrows.
There were no farming tools.
"..."
"Hey, pretty face, are you choosing or what?"
"..."
Elayne ignored the instructor’s words and continued staring.
A few strands of thought coalesced as her gaze settled on a sword.
Her skeletal hand reached for the rusty blade, touching it.
And then...
BZZZTT!
A glitched system window appeared before her face, displaying something indecipherable.
No other weapon triggered this reaction, so she chose the sword.
"The sword, huh? Don’t cut that pretty face of yours with it, lass! Gyahahaha!"
"..."
As Elayne gripped the sword, she thought she might access her swordsmanship skill.
But no such skill surged within her as she moved the blade.
Yet, it didn’t feel like she had nothing.
Though her system was glitched and broken, certain fragments lingered...
By slowly recalling those fragments, Elayne began to swing her blade with deliberate, measured movements.
Eventually, a familiar skeleton approached her, also wielding a sword.
"Ela... yn..."
"Ma... k..."
Elayne smiled faintly, grasping Mark’s skeletal hand as they swung their swords together.
It was all they could do now.
Despite everything, deep down, they were grateful to be together even in this state.
They knew the only way to progress in this world, to understand its nature and find a way out, was to adapt.
And to overcome this challenge...
Even as their minds eroded and fragmented... strands of hope persisted, intertwining with their sword movements.
Day after day, night after night...
Relentlessly, they swung their swords up and down, vertically and horizontally, without pause.
As they did, Elayne gradually gathered her thoughts, striving with each sword swing to collect her memories and recall who she was.
Slowly, memories of what had happened resurfaced within her consciousness.
She had saved her daughter and the children.
Her little son too.
But the others... she didn’t know what had become of them.
Oberon was likely still in Avalon, spreading miasma and causing chaos.
Those she left behind... she worried deeply about them, and the more she worried, the stronger her resolve grew.
As she swung her blade, memories of those she loved began to blossom, undeterred by the unrelenting cold.
She glanced at her chest, noticing a large hole where her Spiritual Heart and Magic Circle had once been. They were gone.
Her Spiritual Heart Beasts... could they be gone too?
"..."
Her Physique was shattered, and after her death, she had lost nearly all connection to her Avatar.
Yet, the System somehow endured, recognizing her soul as its owner, though it was now glitched and chaotic.
She had lost almost everything.
"No... not everything..."
She closed her eyes, focusing deeply as the days passed, delving into her soul.
There, she sensed something...
Deep within her ghostly soul, she saw a bubble.
"...!"
A bubble of spirit and soul energy, preserving everything.
This bubble contained many things.
A tiny fragment of her original Spiritual Heart.
Distorted Runes of her original Magic Circle.
And...
"Gardenia...? Ignis...!"
Both were in a state of slumber, unable to muster strength without Spirit Energy.
But that wasn’t all. She also saw three cocoons, likely her Spiritual Heart Beasts, which had retreated into the depths of her soul.
And...
There was something more.
Another "soul" within her.
This faint, spiritual soul had a distinct shape.
"I-Irene...?"
It was the soul of her destroyed weapon.
She smiled silently.
There was nothing she could do about them now.
She lacked the strength.
But perhaps... her foundation in this world of death, decay, ghosts, and curses...
It wasn’t as dire as she had imagined.
Mark might be in a similar state.
And wherever Rita, Lily, and Jenny were... she vowed to find them.
"Belle and Silver too..."
By recalling those she loved, these bonds strengthened Elayne’s mind, and the endless exhaustion felt less overwhelming.
Unknowingly, she was cultivating her own Consciousness.
"Elena... please... be well... Mama is going to be okay... please... don’t worry about me..."
As she shed black tears, Elayne continued swinging her sword tirelessly with Mark.
And...
After a whole week, a strange system window appeared before her.
[Congratulations, you have learned the Skill: [ERROR_INPUT Arts: Lv?/X]!]
Her sword glowed with a mysterious, bizarre light. Strange colors swirled around it, forming distorted, digital patterns.
Mark, too, had grasped something else. His sword was enveloped in ghostly blue flames.
"Ohooo?! What do we have here?! Two recruits mastered it in just one week! Well done! I underestimated you two foolish bags of rotten meat, but perhaps I was wrong...!" the general laughed. "You definitely have talent! Come with me!"
The general, delighted by their progress, led them deeper into the fortress to a large room where a shadowy, ghostly being wielded a cursed needle.
"Hey, Cursed Needle, I’ve brought two talented ones! Imprint three Curse Runes on them!" the general said, nudging Elayne and Mark forward.
"Hmmm... a sword skill in one week?" the shadowy being mused. "You were perhaps great swordsmen in life... very well, huhuh... Here, choose three Curse Runes to inscribe upon your Corpse Bodies! They will enhance your abilities beyond imagination."
The "Cursed Needle" presented ten black, mummified fingers, each inscribed with a different cursed rune.
Curse Rune of Decay.
Curse Rune of Ghosts.
Curse Rune of Agony.
Curse Rune of Pain.
Curse Rune of Resentment.
Curse Rune of Madness.
Curse Rune of Bones.
Curse Rune of Rot.
Curse Rune of Flesh.
Curse Rune of Nether.
Each Rune granted a unique ability to an Undead’s Corpse Body.
"Do you want an explanation? I’ll explain them only once, so listen carefully," the Cursed Needle Shadow said.
"The Rune of Decay amplifies your decaying power, strengthening your presence.
The Rune of Ghosts enhances your soul’s ghostly essence, allowing you to project it beyond your Corpse Body.
The Rune of Agony grows stronger as you suffer, giving you resistance to Dark Magic.
The Rune of Pain is similar but builds permanent strength over time through prolonged suffering.
The Rune of Resentment increases magical power based on your resentment, boosting your potential for Curse Magic.
The Rune of Madness drives you berserk, granting momentary bursts of power.
The Rune of Bones strengthens your bones, if you have any.
The Rune of Rot improves your ability to regenerate rotten flesh.
The Rune of Flesh makes your flesh tougher, if you have any.
Lastly, the Rune of Nether enhances your ability to gather and manipulate Nether. Now choose."
"...!"
"...?"
Elayne and Mark hesitated, reflecting on what they’d heard.
After some thought, their choices were made.
-----
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