This Necromancer Just Wants to Plant Trees - Chapter 24 (Patreon)

"Shadow Strike" is a clever method of assassination. It allows for a short-distance teleportation using the enemy's shadow, resulting in devastating damage when striking from behind.

Matthew immediately conjured a magical dummy and had Peggy demonstrate it.

The results were quite astonishing.

"If you're hit by Peggy's Shadow Strike, forget about being a squishy. Even third-tier and lower, medium-armored melee units will shed some skin!"

What's even more deadly is that Shadow Strike is just the opening move in a series of combos for a Wanderer.

For example, after Shadow Strike, Peggy can immediately follow up with the "Dance of Death," a high-damage finishing move.

It's challenging for low-level professionals to withstand such sudden and relentless bursts of offense.

"As expected, when facing a Wanderer, avoiding close combat is the first rule."

Matthew didn't believe that Gacia's armor could last long if he got entangled with elite Wanderers. To him, magical armor was the last line of defense, and when you're forced to reveal it, your life is on borrowed time.

Of course, that didn't mean your last line of defense was unimportant.

...

Another blue keyword was "Poisoning."

This ability involves recognizing poisons, extracting toxins, making poison bottles, and applying poisons to weapons.

Due to his limited energy, Matthew knew very little about herbalism and toxicology.

Now, Peggy had strengthened this ability, which was a much-needed enhancement to his skill set.

"In the future, I can send Peggy to collect poisonous herbs and make poison bottles. He can use them himself, and my crossbow bolts will become even deadlier."

...

If Shadow Strike and Poisoning were within Matthew's understanding, the next two white keywords left him puzzled.

"What's 'Farming Skills'? Was Peggy a farmer in a past life? Or did he raise piglets or something? Was Peggy actually a girl in his past life, or is he a male with extensive experience in nurturing human infants?"

Matthew stared at Peggy with a perplexed expression.

The latter continued to respond with a blank look.

After a while, while Matthew shifted his gaze away, Peggy quietly took a seat in the corner.

Matthew felt somewhat helpless.

"I didn't expect that the gray keyword I just acquired would become active so soon!"

...

"Slacking (Gray): Your skeleton has learned passive slacking in non-combat situations."

...

Fortunately, this limitation only applied in non-combat situations. If it affected combat, Matthew would have to reconsider whether to continue enhancing this skill.

Looking past the gray keyword, there was some good news. The last two keywords were purple.

The bad news was that both of these keywords seemed rather unusual.

...

"Shadow Dance (Purple): Your skeleton can achieve pleasing and bewitching effects on targets by rapidly and intensely swaying its hips. Additionally, during the dance, some of its steps can traverse the shadow realm, allowing for accelerated approaches to targets."

...

"Rope Master (Purple): Your skeleton excels in the use of rope techniques, including combat rope skills. Requirement: Please prepare a sturdy magical rope before starting."

...

"So, what is a Dancer's profession supposed to teach?" Matthew was deeply puzzled.

He looked at Peggy again.

Peggy hesitated for a moment and then got up and swayed his hips toward Matthew.

The air seemed to ripple slightly.

Matthew's eyelids twitched.

In that moment, he felt a dizzying sensation in his mind.

"Stop!"

He grabbed Peggy's restless hips.

"I understand now. Shadow Dance does indeed have some ritual magic infused into it," Matthew said, rubbing his temples to clear his thoughts. "At this rate, I might start finding this skeleton charming. That's the bewitching effect. My willpower is strong, but even as Peggy's master, I can still be affected. Imagine what it could do to others..."

Matthew's heart suddenly held a touch of anticipation.

He carefully observed Peggy and noticed that the skeleton had changed significantly from when he initially selected him. His bones were fuller and sturdier, and a large number of silver light spots were settling inside him. Compared to other skeletons, he looked cleaner, almost pristine.

"Did you take a bath yourself?" Matthew asked, his thoughts deep.

Peggy hesitated, and after ten seconds, he uncertainly nodded.

Matthew couldn't help but feel exasperated. Peggy had many qualities, but his intelligence was lacking. This was a common issue among undead creatures. Even the mighty Bone Dragon, Little Boil, only had an intelligence score of four – and while intelligence didn't wholly represent one's IQ, low intelligence often didn't bode well for high IQ.

Right now, Peggy's mental capacity was roughly equivalent to that of a five-year-old child. With Matthew's guidance, he could manage, but if left to his own devices, he was nearly guaranteed to get into trouble.

"It seems that Peggy is truly exceptional, as expected from the one I found in the Golden Lands, even at great personal risk," Matthew reminisced, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.

However, his memories were soon interrupted.

"Knife, knife, I... I want... a knife!"

Intermittent thoughts came through the undead contract from Peggy's soul fire.

Matthew thought for a moment and then asked, "You want a good short knife, right?"

Ten seconds later, Peggy responded, "Two... two..."

Matthew nodded, "I understand. I will craft two suitable short knives for you as soon as possible."

"Thank you, master," Peggy replied, this time taking only three seconds to respond.

...

"In response to your promise, Peggy's (the skeleton) loyalty to you has increased to 99!"

...

"It seems that cultivating your own has more loyalty," Matthew sighed.

...

After a modest dinner in the small cabin, the outside world had fallen into the deep black of night.

Matthew stepped outside.

In the nearby oak forest, faint white lights twinkled.

The oak tree fairies, hidden in the shadows during the day, were now coming out in full force.

Except for Princess Lulu, almost all the fairies were dancing around the owl, Elara.

Elara stood on the treetop of an oak tree.

Her eyes were closed, and she chanted softly.

Subtle magical ripples spread out like ripples on water.

Matthew walked through the forest.

The feeling of being watched by friendly eyes had returned.

She was enlightening the oak forest.

As a natural soul favored by the Moon Goddess, Elara had much greater proficiency in the realm of nature than Lulu.

Through this ritual of "enlightenment," she could infuse the oak forest with more wisdom and vitality.

The oaks became healthier as a result.

And during their long growth process, if someone continued to enlighten them, there was a higher chance of giving birth to tree spirits, also known as tree wardens.

With luck, one or two tree shepherds could even be born.

This was highly beneficial for the forest's development.

However, it also meant significant consumption for the enlightener.

Perhaps, to prevent Matthew from refusing to remove pests, Elara had decided to fulfill his previous request in advance.

...

"Hint: Your natural companion, Elara, has completed an enlightenment ceremony for your Oak Forest.

Your 'Domain: Oak' has received a slight enhancement!"

...

Such benefits existed as well?

Matthew was pleasantly surprised.

Enlightenment not only benefited the oak trees but also enhanced his domain power?

"It seems that I'll have to find a way to invite Elara over more often after the three-year period."

That's what Matthew thought.

The only uncertain factor was Lulu.

Both being natural souls, Lulu clearly saw the oak forest as her habitat.

She could tolerate Elara following Matthew's will for short-term enlightenment, but if it continued for too long, she would surely be unable to bear it.

Because it would be encroaching on her territory.

"Perhaps Lulu will develop similar abilities in the future?"

In his thoughts, the white light in the forest had already receded.

The oak tree fairies had vanished.

Only Elara remained, dragging her weary body to Matthew.

"Hey, Matthew, didn't I do a good job?" Elara asked with a drooping head.

Matthew nodded, feeling the joy of the oak trees.

Elara had clearly not been slacking.

His attitude naturally became more gentle:

"Well done, Elara. You did great."

Elara happily said:

"Can we remove the pests now?"

However, Matthew still shook his head.

In Elara's puzzled gaze, he asked:

"Can you hasten germination?"

Elara seemed to guess what was going on and nodded vigorously:

"I can, I can, Matthew! That's a basic skill of a natural soul! I guessed why you want me to do this. You said your main job is tree planting. I see you carrying tree saplings back and forth every day. So, did the saplings run out?"

Matthew agreed:

"You're very smart. I indeed don't have enough saplings on hand. However, I have a small greenhouse, and I'm currently cultivating some oak tree seeds. But if they germinate naturally, it's too slow. So, I want you to help with hastening germination. We don't need to do it all at once; we can do it in batches. The specifics will depend on your stamina."

"Since you just finished an enlightenment, your energy consumption must be considerable."

Elara eagerly said:

"Take me there! There's no need to do it in batches; I'll help you germinate all of them tonight!"

Matthew hesitated for a moment:

"Is that okay? Your body..."

Elara confidently said:

"Don't underestimate the perseverance of a natural soul, Matthew!"

"It's just a small greenhouse, I can handle it!"

...

Twenty minutes later.

In Matthew's home in Rolling Stone Town.

In the eastern greenhouse.

Peggy looked with great interest at Elara, who was standing in astonishment.

"Is this the 'small greenhouse' you mentioned?" Miss Owl trembled.

She looked at the seemingly endless mini-greenhouses before her.

Her vision darkened, and she nearly fainted.

"Ex-owner of this house left behind a space folding ritual here, but my magical power is insufficient. I can only activate a small part of it. Currently, it covers an area of less than 15 acres."

Matthew explained with a cheerful tone:

"Do you need a detailed introduction to your work environment?"

Chapter 25 >>

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