Sanctuary: Safe Haven

Canna sheepishly smiled, feeling a bit embarrassed to say all that to a dragon who could read his mind like an open book. Nevertheless, he turned his attention to the scroll floating before him, grabbed it, and opened it.

Immediately, a searing pain surged through his body. Canna was rendered utterly helpless, thrashing on the ground and wailing like a dying beast. He didn't know how much time had passed, but every second felt like an eternity in hell. When the process was finally over, he panted like a madman who had run a marathon without any preparation and passed out cold on the ground.

Canna's unconscious mind drifted into a haze of memories. He saw fleeting images of his past life, moments of happiness with his family, the warmth of his mother's embrace, the playful laughter of his sister. He felt a pang of sadness, realizing how much he missed them.

Then the memories shifted to his training, the relentless drills, and the lessons instilled by his parents about protecting and preserving life. He remembered their words vividly, urging him to be strong, not for himself but for those who couldn't defend themselves. The scenes played out like a fragmented dream, a mix of joy and sorrow, strength and vulnerability.

When Canna came to, he saw a pile of metal in the distance. He wanted to berate Tonitrum for subjecting him to such excruciating pain without warning, but he was too slow to speak.

"Idiot, that was necessary for your growth. The only reason you had to suffer is that the scroll is of a higher tier than you are; you are only a D rank, while the skill you inherited is for a Mid Transcendent."

Seeing the confusion on Canna's face, Tonitrum elaborated.

"It's the power ranking of people in this world. It's a lengthy explanation, and I don't want to be bothered to explain such trivial matters; you'll have to summon someone to teach you."

Canna wasn't sure, but he could tell the dragon in front of him was smiling sinisterly. He didn't know why or how, but he could feel it.

Soon, a red whirling portal was summoned. Canna peeked and saw mountains of gold and strange-looking equipment.

Slowly, a red ring floated out of the portal and gently landed in front of Tonitrum.

"There was once a necromancer I fought; he was strong and had high mastery of his skills. He would still be wandering this world if he wasn't cocky enough. The fool thought he could make me one of his underlings. He did drop a good amount of equipment; one of those pieces is this bloody ring."

Canna picked up the crimson ring, and suddenly a notification appeared.

[Bahamuth's Bloody Ring]

Rank: Legendary

Item Description: Made with the hardened blood of a great demon and bones from 4 ancient necromancers.

This item is soul-bound, cannot be transferred to a different user, and can only be unequipped if the user dies.

Passive Skill:

When a target is killed, there is a 50% chance of restoring the wearer's mana by 2%.

User can use the highest three necromancer skills: Corpse Explosion, Create Elder Undead, Army of the Undead.

Active Skills:

Corpse Explosion: Fills a corpse with energy, causing it to explode violently.

Cost: 50 Mana

Create Elder Undead: This spell functions like Create Undead, except the user can create apex-powerful, intelligent undead. The type or types of undead created are based on the user's offerings.

Limit of Summoning: 4

Cost: 1000 Mana

Army of the Undead: Raises a massive undead army to march for you, eradicating everything in your path, and bringing death to whoever is foolish enough to stand against you.

100 Skeleton Warriors

100 Skeleton Mages

100 Skeleton Archers

100 Skeleton Riders

50 Death Knights

50 Death Priests

50 Death Warriors

10 Doom Knights

10 Doom Liches

1 Corpse Collector

Cost: 1000 Mana - 70% of Health - 50% Stamina

"Wow, that's a lot of words I don't understand at all." Anyone who heard Canna's nonchalant remark about getting a legendary ring would have been shocked.

Tonitrum's face was blank. A ring like that wouldn't aid him in any way. It was just a part of his treasure hoard, but he could confidently say that it was a ring kingdoms would fight over.

Nevertheless, he explained to Canna what he wanted to happen.

"There's a skill there that will let you create an elder undead. Summon one and let him teach you instead."

Canna looked at the ring curiously. "Although I don't know much about this ring, I can tell it's important, and you're giving it to me because you don't feel like teaching me. Is that all?" Although Canna phrased it that way, in his mind, it sounded like, 'You gave me a shiny toy because you're too lazy to teach me, aren't you?'

Tonitrum only stared at him. In a way, Canna was right, but he would rather die than admit being criticized by a kid.

"That scroll seems to be working already. Summon your status," Tonitrum directed.

"Status page? How do you even—" Canna couldn't finish his sentence as another page appeared.

[Name: Canna Yakane]

Level: 3

Rank: D Ranker

Class: Beast Taming

HP: 12/15

MP: 30/30

Strength: 10

Speed: 10

Defense: 10

Intelligence: 25

Agility: 25

Stamina: 10

Vitality: 10

Charm: 3

Attribute Points: 15

Affinity: Thunder

Titles: None

Skills: Loved by Beasts (Passive)

There's a 50% chance that low-ranking beasts will offer to help you. There's a 20% chance that medium-ranking beasts will leave you alone. There's a 5% chance that higher-ranking beasts won't outright kill you.

Enhance Learning (Passive) (New)

Grants the user a 500% permanent increase in information processing and absorption. Allows the user to learn more quickly and efficiently. The user has free rein on which information will be kept or discarded.

"Your puny mana wouldn't be enough to use the create elder undead skill, but with the help of this potion, it will be."

An ominous vial with yellow and reddish liquid floated before Canna. When he held it, a notification popped up.

[Limit Breaker Vial]

Rank: Legendary

Item Description: Allows the user to break his limits for a specific time.

Increase stats by 1000% for 15 seconds.

Remark: Severe backlash after potion usage.

Fear reflected in Canna's eyes. He remembered the pain he suffered when he used the enhanced learning scroll; he wanted to avoid that misery again if possible.