NEC Chapter 1: White Thighs and Tea Sister

The spring breeze of the Starry Continent couldn’t melt the snow piled high in the Gloomy Forest, and the setting sun over Black Crow Castle

The spring breeze of the Starry Continent couldn’t melt the snow piled high in the Gloomy Forest, and the setting sun over Black Crow Castle failed to pierce the haze lurking in its underground depths.

As a transmigrator, Chen Mo hunched over in the dank cellar of this dark castle, diligently rubbing a pair of slender, snow-white thighs.

He worked with such gentle care, as if caressing a long-lost lover.

After finishing one side, Chen Mo gave a light pat to the shapely pelvis, and the thigh’s owner obediently flipped over, presenting a gleaming white shinbone.

Alright, fine, the owner of these slender, snow-white thighs was a skeleton.

Say what you will, those bones were white as snow and delicate as could be! But who ever heard of a summoner mage spending their days cleaning skeletons?

This blasted otherworld!

Back in modern Xia Country, Chen Mo was a young, promising university student, though his promise wasn’t exactly dazzling. He’d saved up from tutoring gigs to treat himself to a trip, only to spot a child swept away by waves at the beach due to a parent’s negligence.

Several people around shouted, “Save them! Save them!” and rushed into the water. Caught up in the moment, Chen Mo dove in too.

Problem was, the others grew up by the sea and swam like fish. Chen Mo? His experience was limited to a pool, twenty-five meters max, one way.

At the beach, with waves crashing one after another, they saved the kid, then turned to save him.

They didn’t make it in time.

When Chen Mo opened his eyes again, washed up on the shore, a skeleton’s grinning face loomed over him, its white teeth bared in what seemed like a smile.

He fainted again.

The ones who fished him out were guards from the castle of the Black Crow Lord, a grand necromancer.

And just like that, Chen Mo inexplicably became a servant in the castle.

This place was Black Crow Castle, perched at the edge of the Gloomy Forest on the Starry Continent, the private domain of the Black Crow Lord. It housed the grand necromancer, his three vassal mages, dozens of guards, and hundreds of servants.

Luckily, thanks to his modern education, Chen Mo had a decent cultural foundation. He quickly stood out among the servants and became one of the grand mage’s apprentice candidates.

The first time he summoned an undead from the altar using magical materials, Chen Mo was so thrilled he didn’t sleep all night.

A mage! Summoning! Skeleton armies! Death knights! The dream of countless boys and men!

Then reality gave him a brutal wake-up call.

The Black Crow Lord’s assistant, a cold-faced mage named Dove Tail, who taught spellcraft, bluntly told the young apprentices, “You lot are nothing but trash.”

The castle had twelve formal apprentices and sixty-six apprentice candidates, the latter counted in the same units as skeletons: one “unit” per head.

At this level, the castle lost a few, sometimes a dozen, of these “units” every year.

An apprentice candidate’s status was slightly above a skeleton spearman but below a dim-witted zombie axeman.

Chen Mo wisened up and threw himself into training.

At dawn, he’d receive a rock-hard food lump, tough enough to crack his skeleton’s bones. That was a candidate’s daily ration.

He’d have his skeleton painstakingly grind the lump into powder with its spear tip, then choke it down with stagnant water from a pit.

Mornings were spent cleaning the castle, covered in grime.

Afternoons, he cleaned his summoned skeleton.

Evenings, he scrubbed the summons of senior candidates and formal apprentices.

No days off, a life even more miserable than the 996 grind back in Xia Country.

Worse still, there was no pay.

Apprentice candidates and their summoned skeletons: the ultimate unpaid laborers.

Chen Mo spent most of his day cleaning undead, not because the Black Crow Lord was a neat freak, but because this world’s rules were brutally realistic.

Why were most beginners’ summons undead? Because creatures from the underworld didn’t need food, water, or bathroom breaks, sparing mages extra costs. No need to worry about logistics during missions.

They were the destined partners of poor mages and a fine stepping stone for rich ones.

But there was a catch: low-tier undead were notoriously dim.

They had no concept of self-care, skeletons being the prime example.

If a necromancer didn’t maintain them, grit, pebbles, or debris from battle could lodge in their unprotected joints, wearing them down and causing damage.

Undead didn’t feel pain, a strength and a weakness, as they couldn’t sense their own issues.

Chen Mo once saw a skeleton spearman charge into battle, only for its knee to buckle, sending it crashing. The enemy dismantled it into seventeen or eighteen pieces.

Afterward, the mage examined it and found a pebble wedged between the meniscus and patella.

Talk about science sneaking into a fantasy world!

So, Chen Mo dutifully cleaned his skeleton and those of senior apprentices daily, oiling their joints for good measure.

In his spare moments, he trained his meager mental strength and mana.

If life went on like this for three, five, or even seven years, Chen Mo might grind his way to becoming a proper necromancer. But fate had other plans.

In two days, the Black Crow Lord’s annual birthday celebration would arrive, and every apprentice had to present a gift to their esteemed mentor.

Five years as an apprentice, four years of service, offerings for three festivals and two birthdays, that was the deal.

Wealthy apprentices could get creative with their gifts. Poor ones? They got assigned tasks.

Chen Mo’s orders were to join a small team to venture deep into the Gloomy Forest and kill a dark magic tree.

The high-ranking apprentice leading the team, a young master, was strong enough to guarantee the tree’s demise.

And, it seemed, Chen Mo’s too.

The team leader’s gaze held the same cold indifference one might spare a dead man.

Chen Mo, with his modern sensibilities honed in the cutthroat social circles of school, could read the malice in those eyes.

After some observation, he realized this was a tragedy sparked by a girl.

Her name was Ellie, a merchant’s daughter and fellow apprentice candidate. She was strikingly pretty, with big, expressive eyes that shimmered like clear waves, utterly captivating.

In the male-dominated, dreary Black Crow Castle, she was the brightest beacon, the boys’ unattainable white moonlight.

Ellie also knew how to play the game.

Some beautiful girls have a natural gift for navigating men, making every admirer feel special, eager to offer her their labor, materials, or even a silver coin.

Polishing her summons could leave these boys so thrilled they wouldn’t wash their hands for days.

Chen Mo wasn’t bad-looking, with a certain charm, and in just a month, he’d risen from servant to summoning his first skeleton spearman.

He wasn’t top-tier, but his potential was clear.

So, Ellie’s tone with him was always a touch softer.

Among dozens of apprentices, only a few boys got this special treatment. The best part? Ellie made each one feel uniquely favored, like he was the only one.

A true master of subtle charm!

With his modern perspective, Chen Mo wasn’t shy. He’d occasionally tease her, making her blush.

Having had a relationship before, he figured Ellie saw him as a solid backup option.

She aimed to climb the social ladder but knew the odds of a noble marrying her were slim.

So, she played coy with the elite while keeping possibilities open with promising types like Chen Mo.

He understood her approach. She wasn’t malicious, just trying to survive in this harsh world.

Besides, in a place like the necromancer’s castle, who was really above anyone else?

But Ellie’s delicate balancing act was unbearable to some noble apprentices who saw her as their prize.

Not long ago, during a sparring match, two apprentice candidates died, and the formal apprentice responsible was fined heavily.

Four gold coins, three scoldings, two lives, case closed!

Chen Mo was stunned. Sheltered by modern life, he wasn’t fully adjusted to this brutal world.

Determined not to die for such an absurd reason, he tried to save himself.

In front of several apprentices, he approached Ellie and tactfully declared his intentions.

Study hard, improve daily, focus on training, no time for romance!

Ellie’s big, watery eyes fluttered, her voice soft and melodic: “You’re amazing, big brother! Keep it up, I know you’ll become the best summoner one day!”

A chill ran down Chen Mo’s spine. Without turning, he could feel the noble’s gaze stabbing like a knife.

He sighed inwardly.

This life was unbearable!

So, he decided, it was time to stop living it.

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