"You use these dusts in a ritual to strengthen soul-type creatures… The more high-level dusts you use, the faster the soul will strengthen, the greater the chance of the soul acquiring special abilities, and the greater the chance of evolving…"
Zhang's eyes finally understood why his master had brought him here…
"Can't the Gray and Blue Ghost Dust be used?"
"You can use them, but forget about effect number three in advanced stages; the rare chance of the soul evolving…"
"If it evolves, can it recover its memories, and can it speak again?" Zhang asked expectantly…
"There is no data from the Guardian Soul records to confirm the evolution scale of such unique beings… So we don't know… All we can do is use the best ingredient and hope for the best…"
"And how much does a Golden Ghost Dust cost?"
"Around 4,000 to 8,000 soul stones… It depends on whether anyone else is buying it; in that case, there might even be a small auction. Some use these dusts in rituals to learn spells faster or strengthen their souls. But since they are rare, we'll be lucky to get even 1 or 2 this time…"
"And where could I get more?"
"Well, we're in Stygai, right? There are many Dungeons that generate a lot of souls daily… And I have some of those under my control. Once we get back, you can go there whenever you want and try to obtain them yourself…"
As soon as Immortal finished speaking, he and Zhang wandered around for a while longer, looking at the shops and bazaars, until Styge came back with a small vial in his hand…
"Lord Immortal, we only have 1 unit for sale this time. I managed to reduce the price of the Dust to 6100 soul stones… Will you accept it?"
Zhang went to take out his soul stones to pay, but was interrupted by his master.
"Let me pay for you this time, consider it a gift from me to your mother…"
"Thank you, master!" Zhang bowed in gratitude…
It was only when Zhang left the Bizarre Bazaar that he finally saw that his portal was next to hundreds of others… All of them had a dull, dark color, except for his, which was bright blue.
Returning to the Necro Tower, Zhang immediately began the ritual, strengthening his mother's soul with the Golden Ghost Dust. But despite the rarity of the material. Nothing changed in Lyrielle's soul…
Frustrated, but knowing how he could help her, from that day on, he began to go daily to the Corrupted Dungeon, a dungeon that generated several souls daily at a very high rate. The reason this place had not been transformed into a soul stone farm was that the souls were too scattered between the floors, and the dungeon caused a Fatigue debuff (Medium) to the living who remained here for too long.
But for Zhang, who had his body affinity as an advantage, and the various Alterations that Rafael had made, made him completely comfortable in this place… Leaving his Valyrian Steel axe with his Undead Knight, and using his new spell "Purge Soul", Zhang's daily hunt was proceeding at a good pace… Sometimes he would only go to the dungeon after lunch, only returning early the next day when his training and classes were taking place…
The Gray Ghost Dusts that he obtained were piling up in his bag daily, still without a use for them, as he had no other soul-type subordinates. But the Blue Ghost Dusts began to be used by him to speed up the learning of his spells…
And today, Zhang's luck seemed to be good as well, after killing 300 souls in this new dungeon, he finally obtained his first Golden Ghost Dust, and not only that, when he went down the stairs of the next floor, he also met someone he hadn't seen for a few months…
"Hey Anita!"
Zhang shouted as he ran up to the only girl he had met in Stygai…
"Zhang? What are you doing here?"
"I'm collecting Ghost Dust, what about you?"
"I'm studying the environment of this tower… Did you know that even if you exterminate a soul here, it can still come back into existence again within just 24 hours?"
"Yes. My teacher explained this process to me, which is why I chose this place… It seems that this is due to some kind of experiment that went wrong in the Cemetery of Souls here…"
"I found out that there's something in the soil here, but I can never investigate it properly because I'm always attacked by souls while I'm here."
"Why don't we explore the place together? That way, while I kill the souls, you can do your research…"
"Seriously, you'd protect me while I do my research?" the girl asked with excited eyes.
"Sure, it would be nice to have company while I do my daily hunting… I will stay in this place for many years to come…" Zhang said with a look of determination.
"Great, thank you very much, Zhang!"
The girl walked over to him excitedly, and was about to hug him, but her cheeks turned red and she hid it, bending down to pick up more soil from inside the tower and going back to analyzing him…
Although Zhang was a little shy, he was already experienced with women, and quickly realized what had happened. With a smile on the corner of his mouth, he pretended not to notice and continued hunting the souls in the surroundings, letting Anita do her research…
Now accompanied by a young beauty, Zhang's repetitive task soon became less tedious; he also learned a lot more about this young woman and her origins…
One of the reasons Anita studied this dungeon was that, like him, she had lost her father, and wanted to find a way to bring him back to life; this made them both feel even closer as they sought necromancy as a way to bring their loved ones back to life. Zhang had already studied about Purified Soul Stones, and although the process of rebuilding a body for the soul was costly, one would never fully recover their memories, especially if they were an ordinary person who had never meditated…
Among the three magical professions, Zhang had become a Necromancer due to his special physique, despite his interest in magic since childhood, due to his fascination with Valyrian mages, dragons, and the power that came with all of that. But ever since he found out about his mother's situation, his only goal now was to help her, and everything else became secondary.
Thanks to this coincidence, Zhang felt that he and Anita now had something in common, and as the months and even years passed, their relationship grew closer and closer…
Continuing his training during this time, Zhang mastered another offensive spell and also successfully created his first Lesser Lich. With the help of his new servant, the task of hunting these souls daily became even easier.
But Zhang's relaxed time was coming to an end, because after 6 years of living in Stygai, it was time to begin the final preparations for his training and also the time to finally meet the Eternal King…
****
Special thanks to the Patreons:
Sage's Supporter: Jan, Vinnie, frimorigo, Leery Falcon, Parsa, Scott Robertson, and Pato Senalima!
Magic Apprentice: Axel Bour, Gabriele Sulpizio, Takatchi, mandeep singh, Austin, Kobe Robertson, Paul Gaslac, Niteo akuma, and 704Corleon!
Senior Magic Apprentice: Cole Bromley and Avacus!