Chapter 24: Necrotic Dust
Chapter 24: Necrotic Dust
Necrotic Dust?
In Black City, it's known as Soul Powder.
The name doesn't matter; one look at Sebel's expression is enough to guess that this substance holds great value in the eyes of wizards.
Karl's spirit trembled.
It was worth crossing over to gather so many things, and finally, he had found something useful.
"Necrotic Dust usually appears on undead creatures. When mixed with honey, purple lotuses, and crystal fragments, it becomes a potion that enhances one's mental power."
Sebel's beautiful eyes sparkled.
"Do you have any more Necrotic Dust at home?"
"Um..." Karl hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding.
"Yes."
"How much?"
"Twice as much as what's here?"
He wasn't sure; he had grabbed a handful casually when he came, and didn't remember the exact amount.
"Twice as much?"
Sebel stood up, her voice filled with excitement.
"Sell it all to me, and I won't charge you for today's lesson or the identification fee. What do you think?"
"Senior Sister," Karl didn't decide immediately but asked instead.
"Is this important to you?"
"Well..." Sebel's voice paused slightly before she nodded.
"Potions that can increase mental power are important to every wizard apprentice, and I'm no exception."
"Due to the existence of the Theocracy, undead creatures rarely appear in this world, and Necrotic Dust is also scarce. That's why I was a bit excited."
She wasn't lying.
Nor did she need to lie. These were all basic knowledge of the wizarding world, and Karl would eventually learn them.
"Sister," Karl said.
"I'll give you the items, but I don't want to deduct the lesson fee."
"Oh!" Sebel's beautiful eyes lit up.
"Then what do you want?"
"Well..." Karl ventured.
"Spells?"
"Impossible," Sebel shook her head.
"Not to mention that your meditation technique hasn't even reached the entry level, so you can't learn spells. These Necrotic Dusts aren't worth that price, either."
"Hmm..."
"There is a minor spell that I'm not sure you'd be interested in."
"A minor spell?" Karl straightened his back.
"What is a minor spell?"
"You can think of it as a simpler zero-circle spell. The minor spell I can teach you is called Light Spell."
Sebel lowered her voice and extended her index finger, gently pointing forward.
Her finger was slender and white, like a piece of jade shoot, a perfect work of art. But what drew even more attention was her fingertip.
A glimmer of light gathered at her fingertip and suddenly burst open, emitting a blinding white light that caused Karl to instinctively close his eyes.
It was just a fleeting moment.
Everything returned to normal.
"This is the Light Spell," Sebel explained.
"Without preparation, your vision will be affected, and it also has a certain weakening effect on shadow creatures. If controlled stably, it can continuously illuminate the darkness."
Light Spell? Karl stroked his chin.
This minor spell wasn't very powerful; in a confrontation, it could be considered useless if the opponent was prepared. But encountering it suddenly could still be quite startling.
Moreover...
It seemed quite suitable for the dark environment of Black City. He clapped his hands lightly.
"Deal!"
Sebel smiled, biting her lip.
The Light Spell held no value to her, but being able to exchange it for key materials to increase mental power potions was equally profitable.
"Sister," Karl spoke again.
"Can I learn to refine potions?"
"Of course, there's no problem," Sebel replied affirmatively.
"The master specializes in potionology, so how could his students not understand the knowledge of potions?"
"But..."
"You know."
Karl gave a dry laugh.
Of course, he understood.
Knowledge comes at a price.
However, he hadn't expected that learning potions in the wizarding world would be so expensive and even more complex than learning lesser force fields.
'Botanical Knowledge', 'Comprehensive Guide to Low-Level Enchanted Medicines', 'Detailed Analysis of Organisms', and even 'Anatomy'...
These were essential books for beginners in potionology, and each one was as thick as a dictionary and not cheap, requiring several gold coins or more.
And for the lessons, one had to pay extra.
By the time Karl left the manor, his pockets were empty. The wealth he had acquired from his previous trip to the other world had been spent, and he even had to owe the carriage fare.
His expression turned extremely unpleasant.
Just like the lesser force field, learning the light spell required fulfilling certain prerequisites.
After studying Fundamentals of Light and The Eight Elements of Stable Light Sources, he could save some time as he had already covered the principles of arcane magic.
"Many principles of spells are universal, so learning one spell often makes it easier to learn others," he thought.
Karl put down the book and picked up a crystal ball that was lying next to him.
He had purchased this enchanted item from Sebel, and it cost him half of his savings.
It was already a bargain for an enchanted item.
It could be used three times.
After that, it would automatically become useless.
There were also crystal balls that could be used almost indefinitely, like the one Sebel had, but they could not be bought with a few gold coins. Instead, they required mana stones as a form of currency.
The spell imbued within the crystal ball was Scrying, which could help the user gain a deeper understanding of their own situation.
The human-sized crystal ball wasn't heavy, and it seemed to contain something other than a solid object. Inside, one could see ripples like waves on water.
"Scrying?"
Karl took a deep breath and, following Sebel's instructions, focused his mind. He placed his hands on the crystal ball.
He uttered strange syllables:
"Lai...Eu..."
The next moment, Karl's body trembled as he felt a faint warm current emerging from the crystal ball and flowing towards his limbs and bones.
The warm current came and went in the blink of an eye, retreating back into the crystal ball. Simultaneously, the inside of the crystal ball changed; the originally clear and transparent water now displayed various colors, undulating incessantly.
Based on the different colors, corresponding data could be analyzed.
"Constitution Level 1, Mental Power Level 1.5, Talent Level 4..."
"Hmm."
After some thought, Karl held the crystal ball and went to the Divine Realm.
He was curious; if he used Scrying here, would the results be different?
"Lai...Eu..."
On the ancient and mysterious throne, Karl uttered the syllables. Before the crystal ball could show any results, a vague feeling arose within him.
It seemed...
In this Divine Realm, he inherently possessed the ability to scry. His eyes flickered, and he gently raised his hand, following an instinct hidden deep within his heart. He waved it lightly.
"Hua!"
The starlight before him converged, forming a subtitle.
Name: Karl (Fragment Master of the Divine Realm)
Constitution: 0.77
Mental Power: 0.96
Source Essence: 0
Occupation: Knight Attendant, Apprentice Wizard (Uninitiated)
"This is amazing!"
He received a response, and compared to the vague classifications from the crystal ball's scrying, the Divine Realm provided clearer and more understandable data, along with additional information.
However, there was no talent level, and instead, there was an unfamiliar term called Source Essence.
"Fragment Master of the Divine Realm?"
In this realm, Karl's emotions remained calm and unperturbed, leaving no room for excitement or agitation. He maintained absolute rationality, calmly analyzing the situation:
"This means that this place is a fragment of the Divine Realm, and since it's a fragment, there must have been a time when it was whole."
"I am the Fragment Master..."
"If I could obtain other fragments, could I become the Master of the Divine Realm?"
"What exactly is the Divine Realm? Is the Master of the Divine Realm a deity? Or is there some other connection to the deities?"
Many questions remained unanswered, so he decided not to dwell on them. However, he could be certain that the Divine Realm fragment must have other undiscovered abilities.
Like this time.
If he hadn't been holding the crystal ball, Karl might never have known that within this fragment of the Divine Realm, his abilities could be presented to him in such a clear and concise manner.
Simple and clear, everything was laid out before him.
...
Back in the real world, Karl suppressed his fluctuating emotions and, as was his habit before sleep, attempted to practice the Observation Meditation once more.
This time, he wasn't sure if it was due to accumulated practice or the right timing, but he successfully entered the realm of Observation Meditation!
Observation Meditation, Initiated!
(End of Chapter)
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