Kieran spent many years watching the lich perform a variety of magic during the inheritance. However, he only realised a fatal flaw in his plan upon sitting down and attempting to craft his first magic circle.

"Watching isn't the same as doing! How do I even condense my mana? The lich made it look so easy. Now that I think about it, my Father used to watch cooking shows all the time, but he couldn't even microwave beans correctly!"

Kieran forced himself to calm down. He was a lich, a magical creature. So manipulating mana shouldn't be too tricky, right? Shaking his head, he sat down and meditated; he tried to feel the energy around him.

After a few minutes, he fell backwards in defeat, his bones clattering on the stone floor and scattering dust, "What even is mana? How can I feel something like that?"

<Notice. The mana density in this room is 0.1%>

Kieran glared at the floating text box. "You couldn't have told me earlier?"

<System already notified the user of the mana deficiency while you were in the coffin.>

"True..."

Kieran could only sigh in defeat and reevaluate his plan. "Just go through the door. You're immortal; what's the worst that can happen?" But unfortunately, self-confidence only went so far. There was an entire world out there that he had only seen through the eyes of a crazy mage that spent centuries powering up.

Kieran had seen first-hand how ruthless and powerful cultivators and mages could be, so the thought of leaving this safe tomb and braving the world with zero magical or cultivation capabilities scared him.

Checking that his black robe was tight, he approached the half-rotting wooden door with a deep sigh. "You can do this. What's the worst that can happen?"

Luckily a perk of being undead is dulled emotions. Kieran straightened his spine and mentally copied his Teacher's elegant movements. 'I need to appear noble, like the son of the sect master would... well, assuming I am related to the sect master and that he is still alive...'

Kieran put his left hand on the door and pushed. The door that appeared ordinary flashed with a red light, and lightning shot through his bones. The magic holding his bones together crumbled from the shock, and his left arm fell to his side.

Kieran just stared at his missing arm in astonishment.

"Okay, what the fuck just happened."

He took a cautious step back and eyed the door. He ran through his knowledge and came to a conclusion. "The lich had quite a few of these doors; they are heavily enchanted to block out anything other than a key holder."

Kieran looked at his remaining hand and saw the silver ring, "The Noctus family ring should let me pass any barrier within this sect, right? But before I try, I need my other arm back..."

Kieran bent down and felt a small tendril of mana escape his shoulder to seek out his missing bones. Quite conveniently, his body automatically sought out bones to repair itself.

Feeling whole again, Kieran placed his right hand with the silver ring on the door. After a second, it lit up with a pale green glow. Then, with an audible click, it stopped resisting and swung open, he felt a rush of mana surround his body, and he felt himself move.

"I don't know what I was expecting but not this..."

Kieran was standing upon a tall grass-covered hill. Surrounding him in all directions until the horizon was a sprawling medieval metropolis. Houses of various sizes flanked cobbled stone roads; some were constructed from crude stone, while others seemed hastily put together with wood and straw. Smoke from the city lazily rose and lightly obscured the many stars that looked like sparkling gems amongst a sea of darkness. Two massive moons dominated the view, one blood red and the other a shiny silver. 

Looking around, Kieran couldn't see anyone. No guards were rushing up to slay him, no pesky groundskeepers asking questions they shouldn't, no young masters demanding a duel... just a tomb standing upon a lonely hill. It was at this moment that Kieran realised something. For the first time in eight thousand years, he was free. Sure, there was an ominous floating box reminding him of his impending doom if he didn't fulfil the mission, but apart from that, he was standing on his own two legs; he could move his own head, see the things he wished to see, do the things he wished to do and go to places he wanted to go. 

Kieran could stare at this sky all he wanted. He no longer had to remain on his Teacher's shoulder as he spent centuries in slumber. It was all over, yet at the same time, it was just the beginning. 

Shaking his head, Kieran regained his focus, and anxiety washed away from his dull mind. He needed a plan, and he needed one now. 'But before that, I need at least one magic circle. System! What is the mana density?'

<30%>

"Good enough!" Kieran sat down and tried to feel mana again, and to his surprise, it didn't even take a second for him to notice the subtle, ethereal flow of energy around him. Of course, it was weak, and the Qi seemed to gnaw away and consume what little mana there was. But it was there, and he could feel it.

Unfortunately, visualising what to do with the mana was difficult, even for a magical being such as himself. It was like trying to grab at sand floating in a raging river. 

Little by little, he collected sand within himself, and his ribs began to glow softly. 'Right first step is to obtain a place to store mana. Teacher used the rib bones, so I shall do the same. Now, what did the magic circle look like again?'

He almost jolted in surprise when the knowledge conveniently popped into his head in perfect clarity, "It's like opening a file on a computer..." Kieran mumbled to himself, "System was that you?"

<Affirmative. All your magical knowledge has been saved and stored and can be accessed anytime. This is also true for Earth knowledge.>

"What about the name of my family members?"

<...The System never saved such knowledge, but neither was it removed. You simply... forgot.>

"Hmmm, you couldn't have saved it? Surely you have the space?"

<...>

The System remained silent, and Kieran felt he shouldn't trust the System so much from now on. Deciding now was not the best time for such thoughts, he reviewed the magic circle diagram that had conveniently popped into his head...

With great effort, he directed the small amount of mana he had accumulated within his control and forcefully engraved it onto one of his rib bones. The 'operation' was quick as his body offered little resistance, 'Shame it becomes harder and harder to engrave magic circles as I accumulate them... otherwise, I could reach 200 circles tonight! But, alas, the path to greatness is never easy, even for a protagonist like me... But, wait. Am I the protagonist or a cannon fodder villain? Useless thoughts... useless thoughts... Focus!' 

One of the rib bones on his right side was now covered in the blue lines of an intricate mana gathering formation. The raging rivers of mana around him seemed to calm slightly and gravitate towards his new magic circle. Like a funnel, it redirected the sparse sand and forced it into a small clump within the rib bone to be used later like a battery.

Over the next hour, Kieran continued the process for his skull, a spine disc, his left index finger and one of his leg bones.

"Status!"

[Name: Victor de Koschei Noctus]

[Race: Lich]

[Position: Deceased Grand Elder of the Noctus sect (350 years ago)]

[Cultivation: Peasant (0/100)]

[Spiritual roots: None]

[Dao: None]

// Mana Pool: Very Small //

// Magic Circles: 5 //

[Head] // Spell Visualization: 1/29 //

[Spine] // Spell Restraints: 1/26 //

[Hands] // Spell Formation: 1/64 //

[Chest] // Mana Pool: 1/25 //

[Legs] // Casting Speed: 1/60 //

// Theoretical Knowledge: Extremely High //

// Practical Knowledge: Almost None//

"Okay, so my mana pool went from Extremely Small to Very Small, I am now a fifth circle mage, and my practical knowledge went from None to Almost None. All in all, not too shabby if I do say so myself."

Kieran stood up from his sitting position and stretched. "A habit remains from when I was human? How curious..." He, of course, felt no stiffness as he had no muscles, "Actually, shouldn't I act human?" This was the big question for Kieran. Should he try to blend in with the population or own his Lichness? Would he be killed on sight or welcomed by his peers? Does his Father still live, and would he be enraged to see his dead son walking around... Kieran nervously chuckled as he realised how bad an idea exposing himself would be, "Covert operation while I gather intel and power seems like the best course of action."

"System! Which way should I go?"

<You are currently within the Noctus sect grounds. Leaving without arousing suspicion is unlikely to be possible with your current power level...>

Kieran looked into the distance and could see the gigantic walls separating the stone-built section of the city from the crude wooden houses. 'So sect land is like a noble district in medieval times. Those walls are at least twenty meters high.'

<...Towards the north is the main sect grounds, this is also where a Nexus crystal is located. The mana density in that area is 50% and would be ideal for your pursuit of power.>

"Isn't that where the core disciples and my Father is likely to be?"

<Correct.>

Kieran grumbled to himself. "Covert operation... covert operation... just sneak in, find a safe place, not a problem..." His skull began glowing as he visualised an illusion spell; he needed to cover his face somehow as a shiny white skull was a dead giveaway. "Creating an entire face is eighth circle territory, but that might take me a day or two to achieve at my current rate, and I don't know how long this hill will remain vacant."

After the spell finished visualising, his other magic circles lit up under his black robes as blue rings spun around his face. Finally, the three rings circling his skull at different speeds disappeared and left behind a blue mist that somewhat obscured his features. "It will have to do for now... If I die, I will just resurrect anyway. Intel is what I need the most right now. Actually, System, can you tell me more?"

<Only fundamental knowledge; the planet's Qi heavily interferes with my long-range scanners. You are currently in the southern area of the Noctus sect, one of the four major powers in Eden.>

"Eden?"

<Yes. Eden is the name of this massive city. In the north is the Noctus sect. In the east is the Avington sect, the west is the Magica sect, and in the south is the current weakest, The Rising Dawn sect.>

Kieran's mouth hung open in shock. Avington was the last name of Maximillian Avington, the man who killed his Teacher, and The Rising Dawn sect was the one that his Teacher wiped out 1300 years ago! 

<Also, the Noctus sect is a demonic sect meaning they practice both cultivation and magic simultaneously and are hated by all the other sects in the city...>

Kieran looked towards the north with a heavy heart. 'It appears I am the cannon fodder villain then. Stupid S rank difficulty...'

With his mediocre preparations complete, he took one step after another towards the inner section of the sect. "Gotta start somewhere, lazy bones!"