Chapter 128- Back to the Guild.

Chapter 128: Chapter 128- Back to the Guild.

"Okay, that’s enough. Go back," the guardian said.

The manifestation broke apart at once, it’s scattered energies dissolving into the surrounding air.

Yumi stood there for a moment, blank-faced.

The guardian offered a brief explanation. "You already have a suitable path laid out ahead of you. You simply don’t carry affinity for the undead."

Yumi nodded in understanding and made her way back to the group. She had half expected something like that.

Only one person remained untested. Elona glanced back and caught the eye of her executive assistant.

"Go ahead. Give it a try."

Min-seo nodded and approached the formation somewhat hesitantly. She wasn’t a fighter by nature, nor a crafter. She wasn’t quite a mage either. She was a Scribe — a rare, unique class she’d stumbled into by pure coincidence, one that wasn’t even offered as a selectable option back in the beginner village.

She stepped up to the formation and placed her hands against the stele, just as everyone before her had done.

Once again, nothing seemed to happen at first, the mana well giving no visible reaction.

Just as she started to pull her hands away, a tiny point of light flickered into being deep within the dark mana well. It looked like a dying flame, small and fragile, seemingly moments from guttering out entirely.

The flame flickered once, twice, and began fading fast.

Without quite meaning to, Min-seo reached out toward it. She couldn’t explain why — her hand simply moved on its own. The moment her fingers stopped just short of the dying flame, it stabilized instantly.

After a moment, it even began to grow.

[Ding~]

[Resonance Detected.]

[Preservation Resonance — Strong.]

[Spiritual Continuity — Strong.]

[Undead Affinity — Compatible.]

[Path Resonance — Forming.]

The flame continued growing larger, and soon began reshaping itself entirely.

By the time the transformation finished, it had become a small lantern, hanging beside an ancient grave that had manifested alongside it.

The image hovered above the mana well, solemn and dignified, carrying the weight of something like an emperor’s burial site. In the darkness surrounding the grave, only the lantern’s single point of light remained lit.

The guardian looked on, genuinely startled by what she was witnessing.

Min-seo studied the grave for a moment, then turned to the guardian. "Is this necromancy? I don’t don’t think I know any necromancy."

The guardian shook her head. "You’ve misunderstood, child. This isn’t necromancy at all."

She gestured toward the small lantern as she explained further. "Death isn’t only about destruction, and the undead path isn’t only about raising the dead. Sometimes, it’s about what’s left behind. You preserve who someone was while they lived. You hold onto records that others would otherwise forget, protecting them from being lost entirely. Preserving the path someone walked, so others might still be able to follow it after them."

Given that she’d spent her entire career keeping records and managing staff, Min-seo found the class fit her remarkably well.

[Ding~]

[Compatible Path Identified.]

[Rare Undead Path — Gravekeeper.]

[Path Formation — Available.]

"Gravekeeper? Why does that sound so unsettling?"

"It is what it is," the guardian said simply.

Min-seo thought it over for a moment before nodding. "I’ll take it."

The guardian nodded approvingly. "Good. Now head to the temple to formally receive your class."

Min-seo nodded, then glanced toward Elona and Leo, already anticipating the gold requirement she knew was coming. As she started toward the temple, Elona caught on immediately and made her way over to Leo.

"So, how much is her gold requirement going to be?" Elona asked.

Leo blinked, caught off guard by the question. "I don’t actually know yet. We’ll have to wait and see."

Elona nodded and settled in to wait beside him patiently.

Min-seo stepped inside the temple and made her way to the altar at its heart.

"Place your hands on the crystal, and you’ll be able to change your class," the guardian’s voice resonated directly in her ears.

She nodded and stepped forward, approaching the dark purple crystal hovering above the altar.

The moment she touched it, a system panel cascaded across her vision.

[Ding~]

[Undead Legacy Temple — Activated.]

[Undead Affinity — Compatible.]

[Preservation Resonance — Strong.]

[Spiritual Continuity — Strong.]

[Class Compatibility — High.]

[Available Class]

[Gravekeeper]

[Rank — Rare]

[Classification — Undead Support Class]

[Primary Foundation — Preservation]

[Secondary Foundation — Spiritual Continuity]

[Compatible Energy — Death Qi]

[Class Conversion Available. Do you want to begin?]

Min-seo read through it carefully and selected yes.

[Ding~]

[Required: 90 Gold Coins for the Undead Essence needed for class conversion.]

[Proceed with Class Conversion?]

Her eyes went wide, and she quickly sent Elona a message about it.

Elona wasted no time transferring the required gold over to Leo.

Leo could only sigh at that, remembering that Elona had also covered Yuna’s earlier class-change fee the exact same way. "I’m the guild leader, you know," he muttered to himself, paying the ninety gold after receiving the equivalent sum from Elona a moment earlier.

[Ding~]

[Gold Payment Confirmed.]

[Conversion Process Initiated.]

The crystal pulsed once, and dark energy surged out from it, flooding the temple and wrapping around Min-seo forming a cocoon. The lantern image from the mana well reappeared, hovering above her head like a beacon of light.

[Ding~]

[Undead Essence — Absorbing.]

[Preservation Trait — Integrating.]

[Spiritual Continuity — Aligning.]

The lantern burned brighter and brighter within the temple. Unlike some of the others, Min-seo felt no pain at all during the process. Instead, it felt oddly like finding the exact key to a lock she hadn’t even realized she’d been carrying.

[Ding~]

[Class Conversion Complete.]

[New Class Established.]

[Name — Gravekeeper.]

[Current Grade — Rare.]

[Classification — Undead Support Class.]

[Primary Trait — Preservation.]

[Secondary Trait — Spiritual Continuity.]

[Special Ability — Soul Lantern: The user may preserve and protect spiritual essence from degradation.]

The purple light faded, and Min-seo finally opened her eyes and looked at the notifications. Her expression remained calm and composed throughout, giving away little. But, a small, quiet smile still managed to cross her face as she made her way back to the group.

No one offered a single sarcastic remark this time. Min-seo was one of the most genuinely respected members of the group, someone who’d always been quietly supportive of everyone around her.

With everyone’s affinity finally tested, the guardian stepped forward once more.

She looked at the group. "The affinity evaluation has now concluded. I hope all of you will do what you can to seek out more people carrying undead affinity, and help us find the true successor to my master’s...., the Death Sovereign’s legacy."

She waved a hand, and the current results displayed on the screen hovering above the well.

[Ding~]

[Undead Legacy Evaluation — Current Results.]

[Complete Path Resonance — 2.]

[Candidate — Tina.]

[Path — Necrotic Qi Swordsman.]

[Candidate — Min-seo.]

[Path — Gravekeeper.]

[Other Compatible Resonances — Detected.]

[Legendary Path Formation — None.]

[Mythic Successor — None.]

Everyone nodded at the summary.

An additional notification lit up simultaneously across everyone’s individual panels.

[Ding~]

[Quest Issued: Find more qualified undead-affinity individuals.]

[Rewards: Chance to upgrade current undead affinity. Reward scales with talent and number of individuals brought in for testing.]

[Time Limit: None.]

[Penalty for Failure: None.]

Everyone perked up visibly at the quest notification. The lightning legacy hadn’t offered anything comparable — but this one had.

They each thanked the guardian in turn and said their goodbyes before making their way out of the hall. The group moved back through the fortress in near-total silence, the path around them still dark and cold as ever.

Shen kept glancing back toward the chamber every so often, reluctant to leave it fully behind. He’d already resolved to seek out more undead-affinity candidates himself, specifically so he’d have an excuse to come back and study the formations further as his reward. Everyone had been handed a small dark stone capable of detecting undead affinity in others before they left.

Eventually they made their way out of the tunnel and emerged right at the guild’s entrance. They entered the guild hall together. Everyone found somewhere to collapse and rest. Yuna glanced up from where she’d been sitting, while Ben looked over something on his status panel nearby. Cindy had fallen asleep on a bench, Ash curled up beside her.

Cindy startled awake at the sound of everyone arriving. "Gramps! You guys are finally back!"

Rook smiled warmly and reached over to stroke her hair fondly.

Everyone was thoroughly exhausted and started claiming whatever spot they could find — some took the sofa, some sat straight on the floor, others pulled up chairs at the tables.

Elona clapped her hands together to get everyone’s attention.

"Now that all the guild members are gathered, could I have everyone’s attention, please?"

"Let’s move this to the meeting hall."

Everyone dragged themselves, one by one, toward the meeting hall.

Leo took the head seat, with Elona settling directly across from him. Hugh claimed the seat beside Elona. Rook sat on the opposite side of the table, right next to Leo.

Once everyone had finally settled in, Elona turned to Leo. "Guild Leader Leo — what plans do you have for the guild going forward?"

Every eye in the room turned toward him.

Leo froze...