Gabriel's body was submerged in the water. Before he could even react, his head was also pulled inside the water, making him unable to breathe.
Deep in the water, he heard some whispers as his body kept getting pulled to realms unknown.
After being unable to resist, he chose his last resort, raising his right hand. He didn't know if the book could help him here or not, but that was his only option here.
The Forbidden Book of Necromancy once again made an appearance amidst the screaming noises.
As soon as the book of Forbidden Necromancy appeared, it was as if the Spirits went crazy. They screeched in fear and pain as they freed Gabriel and went to the depths of the pond, far away from him.
Gabriel held the Forbidden Book and started swimming up.
His head came out of the cold water, finally giving him a chance to breathe.
Gabriel's heart raced, thinking about what could've happened if he didn't have the book. This water... This was certainly something scary. He didn't want to stay here longer than he needed to. He gazed at the object of his affection which was floating in the center of the pond.
The Object... It was something he wanted as soon as he had discovered the Forbidden Book of Necromancy. As a Mage, he needed a staff to control and boost his spells. Unfortunately, it was really hard to get the Staff with the Element of Darkness as they were banned by the Holy Church of Light and others.
Moreover, it was only now that he realized that even if he had a staff that supported the Element of Darkness, it was going to be useless for him. He didn't have the Element of Darkness as he assumed before. He had something never seen before!
For this, he needed a staff with a similar element which should've been impossible to find. Fortunately, that's what he saw before him at the moment.
A beautiful wooden staff was floating in the middle of the pond. As for the staff, it appeared to be the exact one that was in the hands of the broken statue, based on the shape of the staff.
The staff appeared to have the shape of a question mark, with the top being curved to some extent. Some mysterious characters were also carved on the staff that was shining very weakly.
On the top of the staff, there it was... A small Crystal... The Crystal of his Element.
Gabriel sent the Book of Necromancy back to the ring form before he reached out his hand to touch the Staff. He made sure not to use his left hand that had the Element of Light.
He knew that he wasn't reaching out his hand toward a Magical Staff... He was reaching out his hand toward his future...
His hand finally touched the Staff. As soon as his hand touched them, the mysterious characters that were shining weakly until recently started shining so bright that Gabriel was forced to close his eyes.
As he closed his eyes, he felt something change around him.
The mysterious light of the Staff surrounded his entire body as if giving him some kind of protection. That wasn't all though. The light started materializing itself into the form of clothes.
Gabriel was standing topless. His pants were also torn in places. However, a new set of clothes appeared around his body.
Two black gloves appeared on each of his hands, hiding the two marks of his. His pants healed and changed color as well, turning a beautiful shade of black.
A shirt also appeared on the top, making Gabriel seem like he was a Prince from some powerful Empire. A golden robe also appeared on the top of the shirt, which covered his shoulders.
Two beautiful golden wristbands appeared around his wrist with the exact same markings as on the staff, along with a charming golden necklace.
Gabriel also felt his surroundings change. He was in the pond before, but he could feel warm grass under his feet now. The chirping of birds also fell in his ears as gentle winds brushed against his skin, making him open his eyes.
He slowly opened his eyes, only to be amazed. He wasn't in the small room anymore, and that dark pond was nowhere to be found.
He stood on the beautiful green grass in what appeared to be a forest. He raised his head to notice the beautiful sky. He was standing under the shade of one of the trees. Moreover, the tree wasn't any ordinary tree.
It was as if the Staff had listened to his wishes and brought him here. He was really hungry, and now he was standing under an apple tree that had tons of apples.
The majestic staff was still in his hands. Lowering his head, he observed his clothes.
"These clothes... Aren't they too attention-grabbing? Then again, at least they aren't all black in color. Moreover, it's better than being naked. And I finally have the Staff of this Element as well."
" I don't know what this Element is called, but since its Holy Grimoire is the Forbidden Book of Necromancy, it would be fair to assume it's the Element of Necromancy... An element that never appeared before. Even if it appeared before, it was kept a secret from everyone."
After a long time, he got a Staff and a book of spells. Even though these weren't from the Element of Light as he had wanted, it was still an Element never seen before. He wasn't even sure if he was the only person in the world with this Element, but it seemed highly likely.
Gabriel plucked an apple from the tree with his left hand and started eating it as he observed the staff even more carefully.
"I wonder how strong the spells will be with the staff."
He called forth the Forbidden Book of Necromancy to test.
The Forbidden Book appeared before Gabriel and opened the page of First Spell. Since he wanted to compare the boost, he could only compare it with the spell he had used before without the staff.
"Shield of Undead!" Gabriel chanted the spell.
As soon as he chanted the spell, the winds fastened. The sky turned dark once again. Multiple dark spirits came out of the Forbidden Book of Necromancy.
The spirits were still in the thousands like before as they formed the Shield of Undead against all expectations of Gabriel.
He thought now that he had a staff, the Evil Spirits that appeared were going to her much more than before, but it was exactly the same as before.
"Wait, no... This isn't the same..." After some time, he finally realized that there was a difference.
The Evil Spirits that came this time appeared to be stronger and louder. They were also sucking energy from nature itself to become even stronger.
The spell... It was more about the quality than the quantity, and the quality was superior this time... Much superior.
Gabriel was pleased with the demonstration of the skill.
Clap~
Clap~
He was just about to stop the spell when he heard clapping coming from the back.
"Not bad. Honestly, I didn't expect to find you so soon. You need to work on that stealth when using your spell."
Stunned, Gabriel hastily turned back. He could see a dark-haired woman standing in the back.
She didn't have any book or any staff in her hands, but she did have a black mark that she made no effort to hide.
"A Dark Mage?" Gabriel exclaimed, taking a step back and tightening his grip on his staff.