Chapter 11: Level Up

Ethan was already on the east grounds before the sun had fully risen.

Most of the academy was still waking up, some were still asleep. Nonetheless, that suited him. Fewer people meant more space to work.

He opened the system the moment he found a suitable corpse.

```

[Name: Ethan Shaw]

[Age: 19]

[Awakened Class: Necromancer]

[Rank: F]

[Level: 1]

[EXP: 45 / 100]

[Death Energy: 50/50]

[Control Capacity: 8]

```

Forty-five....

His Exp was at forty five now. He was so close to leveling up...

He placed two fingers on the bird and pushed Death Energy into it.

```

[Ding!]

[Raise Undead (Basic) activated]

[Corpse Quality: Poor]

[Energy Cost: 6]

[Result: Basic Undead (Avian)]

[Control Capacity: 1/ 8]

[Death Energy: 44/50]

[EXP +6]

```

The bird stood cleaner than the ones from the day before.

Though it was stil a little stiff, the lag between command and movement had shortened. Ethan ran it through the usual sequence then dismissed it.

He repeated the process with another bird, a rat, then a second rat. Each raise was more controlled than the last. He had turned the irritation from Marcus’ into determination overnight.

Why?

Because he simply refused to stay at the same level any longer than necessary.

By the time the first students began appearing on the distant fields, his EXP sat at seventy-one.

Lila arrived not long after, two drinks in hand, and smiling as she tossed one toward him.

He caught it without looking up...

"You’re early," she said.

"Earlier than you think actually..."

A pause. "Felt like getting a head start." He finished the next raise and dismissed it. "Fewer people means fewer opinions."

Lila sipped her drink and watched as he continued. Though she didn’t know just how early Ethan woke to be here, or how long he had been practicing, she could see the results. The undead were moving better than yesterday.

"You’re improving fast," she noted, sipping her drink.

"I’m taking it seriously," Ethan replied.

He kept the raises steady. The bar steadily filled as he was reaching closer and closer to his Exp limit for that level.

Eighty-three.

Ninety-one....

When the final raise pushed him over the threshold, the system flared brightly in front of his eyes.

```

[Ding!]

[Level Up]

Level 1 → Level 2

```

A new screwn appeared as the other one closed, and he checked it.

```

[Name: Ethan Shaw]

[Age: 19]

[Awakened Class: Necromancer]

[Rank: F]

[Level: 2]

[EXP: 0 / 200]

[Death Energy: 80/80]

[Control Capacity: 12]

```

New numbers settled into place, and Ethan felt a smile form on his face.

His Death Energy pool jumped to eighty, Control Capacity rose to twelve.

He focused on his skills...

```

[Skills:]

[Raise Undead (Basic) → Efficiency improved]

[Death Sense (Passive)]

[Command Undead (Basic) → Minor complexity increase]

```

He saw the contents, he could already tell the next corpse would cost less.

Lila seemed to pick up the change in mood...

"Oh? Why the smile?"

Ethan turned. "I’ve leveled up."

Lila smiled brightly at that, something that caught Ethan off guard. "That’s great! I’m happy for you. You’re hard work seems to be paying off..."

"So? What changed?" She asked, "feeling any different?"

He stood still for a moment and reached for another corpse to test the changes.

The raise cost five Death Energy.

Five.... Just five ..

The undead rose with noticeably less lag. A slightly more complex order (walking in an arc) held instead of freezing up.

Though, it was still a bit rough, it was clearly better.

He dismissed it, then raised three more in succession, testing the higher Control Capacity.

Holding three at once produced only mild pressure, something that he could handle just fine.

Lila’s eyebrows rose in surprise. "Okay. That last one moved better. What changed?"

Ethan flexed his fingers, feeling the energy move through him...

"i just paid closer attention to what the system was telling me," he said. "Adjusted a few things, and it responded."

"Huh." She circled one of the remaining undead as he ran it through basic commands. "Whatever you did, it’s working. These don’t look as sad as the first ones I saw."

"I’ll take that as a compliment."

She nodded, feeling a bit too proud of herself. "You better."

They spent another hour testing the new limits. Energy costs on poor corpses now sat at five, on a slightly fresher body, it dropped to four. Ethan pushed the Control Capacity further, learning where the strain started, and he noted that he would start feeling strain at around twelve corpses.

The system recorded the gains quietly, noting that his efforts were yielding results.

By the time they stopped, a few students had noticed the repeated raises and were watching from a distance. But Ethan ignored them.

As they walked back toward campus, Lila kicked a small stone along the path.

"You thinking about the Dungeon?"

"Yeah." Ethan replied, his voice light. "Better control means better results when the corpses aren’t rats and birds. I’m planning to use that."

"And if the instructors keep tight restrictions on you because of your class?"

"Then I work with whatever they allow until I don’t have to anymore."

Lila glanced at him, amusement still present on her face but she couldn’t deny. She was starting to feel a bit of respect towards him.

"You’re going to be really annoying when you start catching up to people who awakened higher than you."

Ethan smirked. "You better believe it."