Three innate abilities, each exceptionally powerful, with boundless potential for development.
However, considering my circumstances, the third option must be excluded.
After all, I’m not part of the undead race, nor do I have any undead companions.
Maybe I could find undead allies in the future—
But right now, I’m being hunted. The priority is staying alive.
As for the first and second abilities,
They’re both incredibly useful.
The first allows me to gather information related to death at any time.
The second is practically equivalent to gaining an extra life.
So…
What is it that I desire most?
Shen Ye closed his eyes, and his thoughts became increasingly clear.
If I were to encounter another assassin, or a curse of some kind, I could evade it for five seconds.
Then what?
Wouldn’t I still end up in mortal danger?
What I need now is information—to uncover the identity of the person trying to kill me and settle the matter.
I need to know why they want me dead!
Who are they?
Where are they?
With that thought, Shen Ye extended his hand toward the first cluster of green light.
“You actually chose this?”
A surprised voice rang out.
It was the voice of the giant skeleton.
“Huh? You’re here too?” Shen Ye asked in surprise.
“Of course I’m here—those guys wanted to get this inheritance opportunity from me, which is why they didn’t kill me outright.”
“But they don’t know that I’ve already given the opportunity to you!”
“I gave this chance to a human!”
The giant skeleton spoke with a mix of madness and satisfaction.
Shen Ye shrugged and said, “I chose the first option. You seem surprised? Is there something wrong with it?”
“Not exactly, but it won’t quickly translate into combat power,” the giant skeleton replied.
“It’s an ability for gathering intelligence,” Shen Ye nodded in understanding.
“In my memory, past undead lords all chose the third option, with a very few selecting the second. No one has ever chosen this one,” the giant skeleton added.
Shen Ye spread his hands.
“Alright, I’ll accept this inherited ability.”
The frost crystal, emanating a green glow, instantly appeared in his hand.
“In combat, the second and third abilities are clearly stronger. Why did you choose this one?” the giant skeleton asked in confusion.
“There’s a saying in my hometown,” Shen Ye replied.
“What is it?” the giant skeleton asked.
Shen Ye placed the frost crystal atop his head. The crystal emitted endless green light, which streamed into the center of his brow.
“To get by in life, you’ve got to wear a little green on your head!” he exclaimed loudly.
In a flash, all the green light was absorbed.
The frost crystal vanished completely.
The surrounding illusions dissipated, and Shen Ye realized he was still standing in the classroom.
Instinctively, he walked to the northern window and gazed at the distant mountains.
In his memory, that was the direction of the funeral home.
—Vaguely, it seemed like he had gained a sense of something in that direction.
“Please tell me what exactly happened. This is important to me,” the giant skeleton asked again.
“Alright, I’ll tell you what happened,” Shen Ye said.
Through the windowpane, he recounted the events that occurred in the elven village.
However, he left out the part about seeing the evaluation tags above the elf leader’s head.
—The evaluation tags were a unique aspect of his “door” ability and were better kept a secret.
“The three undead were captured?”
The giant skeleton’s voice trembled as it asked.
“Yes, they were no match for the elven leader,” Shen Ye replied.
“Impossible! The leader of the elven village is a nature priestess, and her strength isn’t sufficient to deal with three Nightmare Knights!” the giant skeleton exclaimed.
Shen Ye was taken aback.
That’s strange…
“You must be mistaken. The elven leader is a male,” Shen Ye replied.
“A man? What does he look like?” the giant skeleton asked.
“Long golden hair, looks like all other elves—except he wears a luxurious purple robe adorned with multicolored gems and beads, with a dagger resembling a mirror hanging at his waist,” Shen Ye described.
The giant skeleton trembled all over and exclaimed:
“I know who he is—he’s the strongest high priest of the elven race!”
Shen Ye suddenly understood.
No wonder that guy had tags like “Spirit of Vansen, Heir of the Ancient Tree Throne, Master of Nature, Arcane Grandmaster, Guardian of the Nightmare Domain, Fifth Head of the World.”
The elves were allies of humans.
In this situation, revealing his identity as a human did give him a chance to survive.
If the giant skeleton had gone personally—
Once its undead identity was exposed, the elven high priest would undoubtedly kill it.
If it didn’t expose itself, it would still be monitored by those three “accomplices” and forced to find a way to assassinate the elven leader.
For it, this was truly an unsolvable dilemma.
“The elves are already aware of the undead invasion, right?” Shen Ye asked.
“Seems that way,” the giant skeleton replied.
“So you managed to save your own skin,” Shen Ye said.
“Hmph, mostly because those three Nightmare Knights were captured by the elves… They can no longer monitor or threaten me…”
“This is my only chance!”
The giant skeleton suddenly turned, walked swiftly to the other end of the corridor, opened a door, stepped inside, and disappeared from Shen Ye’s sight.
Shen Ye waited a few minutes, but it didn’t return. He shrugged and dissolved the “door.”
The deal was done.
There was no need to meddle in the skeleton’s private affairs.
After all, he was also facing an unknown assassin.
—What kind of evaluation entry would he get from this trip?
As this thought crossed his mind, faint light appeared in the surrounding void.
The light gathered into lines of small text:
“Evaluation entry obtained from this door opening:”
“Comrade.”
“Green entry (Excellent).”
“Evaluation: As an ordinary human, the highest tag you can obtain is white. But in an environment where you are outmatched, you leveraged external forces to resolve the crisis and escape unharmed. This is the reason you earned this exceptional tag.”
“Equipping this entry grants the following effects:”
“When you say, ‘Hey, we’re on the same side!’ to a target, they will perceive you as an ally.”
“This effect lasts for ten seconds, after which the target will forget everything that happened.”
“This ability can only be used once a day.”
“If the target’s total attributes are more than twice yours, they may resist the effect.”
“You can keep this evaluation entry for future upgrades or consume it to gain basic attribute points.”
Shen Ye suddenly felt conflicted.
He had risked his life this time to consume entry and gain attribute points to enhance his strength.
But this entry seemed worth keeping!
At the very least, he wanted to test its power.
Suddenly.
Lines of glowing text appeared in the air once again:
“Your mental power has increased by 0.1.”
“Current mental power: 0.8.”
“Please continue wearing this bracelet.”
“Nature’s Blessing Bracelet:”
“Accessory, Green (Excellent) Quality, Rare.”
“Wearing this bracelet continuously can slowly enhance your mental power.”
A bracelet?
Shen Ye reached into his pocket and pulled out a bracelet woven from vibrant wild grasses.
This was a gift from the elf Lanny in exchange for the magic show!
Mental power was notoriously difficult to enhance.
Just by carrying this bracelet, his mental power could grow?
What a treasure!
Without hesitation, Shen Ye wore the bracelet, tightened it, and concealed it within his sleeve.
So, this trip yielded three gains:
- A short scouting sword named “Nightshade.”
- A green evaluation entry.
- The green Nature’s Blessing Bracelet.
Not bad at all.
As for attribute points, he’d have to wait for the next evaluation entry tomorrow.
Shen Ye pushed open the classroom door, descended the stairs, and quickly returned to the playground.
Most of the students had completed the simulated test by now.
“Chen Haoyu.”
The teacher overseeing the test called out a name.
Chen Haoyu stepped forward nervously, taking his place in the center of the field.
“A total of thirty-six attacks. Avoid them all for a perfect score. Begin!” the teacher announced.
The testing area was roughly 200 square meters, filled with small holes in the ground. Each hole could spray out water mixed with paint.
The less paint that landed on you in three minutes, the higher your score.
This mock test mirrored the real entrance exam, testing both footwork and agility.
“Start!”
The teacher’s voice rang out.
A jet of dark green water shot up from a hole near Chen Haoyu’s feet.
He hurriedly dodged left, only to encounter three consecutive jets of red water from nearby holes.
“Oh no!”
Chen Haoyu yelped, stumbling as he tried to adjust his footing.
Then, a gust of wind blew the water mist toward him, forcing him to sprint several meters forward, narrowly escaping a wide-area spray.
When he steadied himself, he noticed a splotch of red paint on his clothes.
“Stay calm! You’ve got this!” Shen Ye shouted encouragement from afar.
“Thanks, Brother Ye! Don’t worry about me—I can handle this!” Chen Haoyu grinned as he replied.
A sudden jet of water splashed directly onto his face, dyeing it bright yellow.
Laughter erupted from the onlookers.
Shen Ye couldn’t help but rub his forehead in exasperation.
Minutes later, Chen Haoyu walked off the field in defeat as the area began its automatic cleanup.
“Go wash up, Chen Haoyu—you should be glad this isn’t the real exam,” the teacher said, raising a scorecard.
71 points.
It wasn’t a great score.
“You’re just too easily distracted. Stay focused during the actual test, and you should score at least 80,” Shen Ye advised.
“Got it. I’ll go clean up,” Chen Haoyu muttered, dejected.
“Next, Shen Ye,” the teacher called.
“Present!” Shen Ye responded.
He stepped onto the testing field and stood ready.
The students all turned their attention toward him.
Even Chen Haoyu paused on his way out to watch.
“Shen Ye, how’s your recovery going?” the teacher asked.
“Much better. Thanks for asking.”
“Shall we begin?”
“Whenever you’re ready.”
“Three, two, one—begin!”
A jet of green water shot up from the ground.
Shen Ye sidestepped three meters in an instant.
A series of multicolored water streams erupted in rapid succession.
Shen Ye, however, had already reached the far side of the field.
The water jets seemed like eager children chasing an adult—no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t catch him.
Hands behind his back, Shen Ye moved with ease, gliding gracefully like he was skating on ice, calmly evading every attack with an elegant, unhurried demeanor.
Not a single drop of water touched him.
The watching students and teachers were entranced by the sight, feeling an almost soothing sense of peacefulness.
Shen Ye accomplished all this without even applying his attribute points—relying solely on his natural agility and his newly mastered elf footwork.
“Time’s up!”
The teacher called out, shaking his head with a sigh. “If only you hadn’t missed one test…”
He held up a scorecard displaying the morning’s highest score:
100 points.
“Thank you, teacher. I haven’t given up on entering high school yet,” Shen Ye replied with a smile.
