The formation of a new bond with between a sorcerer and an undead was a very simple process. All Kaylee had to do was offer her mana, and all Sage had to do was accept it.
The effect was immediate. Sage's blurring form instantly became concrete, the pull she felt from the Deadlands vanished and she relaxed.
She would be staying in this realm a little longer.
"Okay, we're done here," the half-elf said unhappily before she could rejoice. "Now leave."
Sage took one look at her expression and sighed. In her previous life she had encountered so many people that she was no stranger to various expressions. At this point the half-elf's thoughts were practically transparent to her. Kaylee had no intention of truly bonding with her. She was only doing it to buy time until her friends woke up. After that she would break the contract.
"Thanks," Sage said, performing a sincere bow which only seemed to upset the half-elf further. "I'll be going now. See you soon."
In all honesty, she was not worried about Kaylee dissolving their connection.
The words she said about the mercenary having no potential left were true. On Aran the only way to become stronger was to obtain a powerful weapon, improve one's skill, strengthen one's physique or ascend the magic Orders. Each of these was extremely difficult to achieve.
Powerful weapons were very rare and expensive. Even if, by some miracle, Kaylee managed to get her hands on one she would have a hard time wielding it since these kinds of items usually had physique or mana requirements. The risks of a person handling a weapon they did not meet the requirements to wield could range from crippling all the way to death. It was not wise to try it.
As for improving skill, it was a good way to increase one's strength. The risk was minimal as well, the only investment required being hard work and time. Unfortunately, Kaylee had reached the limit of her skill. There was no way she could improve further unless she strengthened her body.
This was something Sage was unfamiliar with. From what she read, it included some type of herbs and the meat of high Grade beasts as well as some very targeted strenuous exercises. The problem with this was that humans lived in this world too and- knowing them as well as she did- it was no surprise the ruling fucks hogged the herbs and imposed restrictions the sharing of cultivation techniques via magical contracts. Those who tempered their physique to a high grade were not allowed to share their methods with who were not related by blood.
Even so, it was apparently hard to push one's self past the limit and obtain a new physique grade.
As for the last method, unfortunately increasing one's Order was limited by the amount of mana they possessed. This capacity was not something that could be changed without incredibly rare resources or powerful rituals. Under normal circumstances this was far harder than improving physique; which was why Sage believed that once Kaylee feels her aptitude increase she would cast aside any idea of breaking off their contract.
If she went ahead and did it anyway then she would be a complete moron.
It took Sage about half an hour to return to the tower clearing.
The place was a complete mess. The debris of what used to be the tower was scattered everywhere. The pit fire she had erected the previous morning to roast her boar was still smoking, but the skeletons that had once stood there aimlessly were gone, replaced by two small mounds of ash. They had probably died the moment the giant beam fell upon tower. After all, she had felt the spell's intense burn. For undead as weak as them, even a graze from such a high level Light spell would reduce them to dust.
As for the remaining Grade 4 undead, it probably perished when the tower came down; along with the little washer skeleton.
This was just only her assumption though. Another likely reason they had perished could have been because their creator had died. But, considering the fact that she did not recall seeing any of the skeletons while she was battling the elemental, her conjecture seemed more likely.
Who cast that spell?
That was what she had been wondering since the fight ended. The bastard of a Guard Captain could be eliminated as a suspect. He was in the 6th Order while the spell was clearly 7th Order at worst. Whoever had targeted them was a senior mage.
But who was the target? Was it Bori or her?
I'll definitely find the one responsible for this, she thought with gritted teeth.
In her mind she placed the unknown culprit on her must-kill list above the Guard Captain. Although that bastard had caused her quite a lot of grief and suffering, he had not caused as much damage as the mysterious caster. This person succeeded where the bastard failed, causing her to nearly fall back into that empty realm and leaving her with no choice but to run and almost beg someone she had robbed to contract her.
It was a serious blow to her ego and to sooth it, she would definitely find the fucker and make them pay.
With that in mind she took a bunch of papers out of her pockets and stared at them seriously. They were the notes Bori had been attempting to decipher in order to learn [Summon Undead]. She had made up her mind to do so as well.
The reason she had been so hesitant previously was because she had not wanted to waste her spell slots on spells she was not going to frequently use; that was what she had thought about the spell until her fight with the elemental.
Honestly, the reason she had won that fight was because she had been able to buy enough time to cast [Forbidden Zone]. If not for that, then the fight could have gone either way. Next time, if she got into a similar situation, she might not get the same opportunity, which would lead to an unfortunately fate. This was why she was now adamant to learn the spell. If she wanted to rely on [Forbidden Zone] again she would need the ability to summon a minion who could take the heat off her to buy her those precious seconds to cast it.
And so, in the light of the stars she found a big enough debris piece to sit on and began to study and memorise the pattern of the spell.
Minutes passed and the dark gave way to dawn. As expected, she was still here, her anchor as strong as ever. By now Kaylee must have discovered that her aptitude had gone up. The half-elf must be reluctant to break their contract now. Relieved about this matter, Sage returned to studying the spell.
It was about half a dozen minutes later that she finally decrypted how to cast it.
After this she leaned back and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and releasing it. Then she repeated the process.
The aim was to calm herself down and get rid of her hesitation.
She really did not want to do it. Just a couple of hours ago she had gone through the intense hell that was advancing to the 6th Order, now she was going to advance to the 7th?
Considering she would be moving into the senior ranks, what she would experience during her mana transformation would be a completely different level of agony. The pain she would experience would definitely outstrip everything she had endured before. Sage did not know if she was ready for that.
She frowned and released a ragged breath through her nose.
Unfortunately, this was something that must be done. As one who had recently been targeted by a senior sorcerer, the only way to ensure she would be safe in the future was if she became strong enough to fend of suck attacks. Also, it would make her journey into the world way easier.
And so, before she could have any more second thoughts, she cast the spell.
In front of her, a crack appeared and ripped the space apart, causing an armoured undead to jump through it. Its status was clear to her the moment she saw it.
Race: Dread Zombie (Undead- Ghoul)
Physique: Grade 2
Mana: G (White)
This was all she saw before she tumbled to the ground clutching her head.
She had been right. The experience of her mana transformation at this moment was on a completely different level. This time it felt like her entire body was in a furnace, her blood was boiling and it felt needles were inserted into every pore on her skin one by one, slowly and painfully before taking her out of the furnace and striking every part of her body with a hammer like she was a piece of iron.
She screamed far louder than she had ever before.
Holy shit it was hell.
She rolled around and screamed, not caring about anything else. Even if someone attacked her at this moment she would not give a damn. All she wanted right now was for the pain to end.
However, there seemed to be no sign of it stopping anytime soon. Her screams became louder in her ears. The voice coming from her throat was so shrill she felt the strain she put on her voice box. If she were still alive then the next couple of days would have been painful for her every time she ate or spoke.
After a long time of screaming and rolling the pain finally subsided, leaving her a panting, ragged mess on the ground.
Fuck whoever made this shit procedure, she cursed tiredly, closing her eyes and checking her status.
With the {Index}, she saw that her mana was cyan like the light elemental's. However, instead of rejoicing she felt more like cursing the arsehole who created the advancement system. Only a real sadist could have come up with something so fucked up.
It was after- she did not know how long- that she finally got up. Then she dusted herself off and looked around with a deep frown etched onto her face.
The zombie she had summoned had long vanished, an indication of just how much time had passed while she had been rolling on the ground. Sage frowned at this fact.
Although she had not gotten a good look at it, the undead had looked really strong. Something of that level would definitely be useful in her future endeavours. The only unfortunate thing was that it was like the skeletons the old man had created, a mindless puppet. This was the main reason she had been so reluctant to learn this spell, among other things.
"Nyx!" she called.
Not even a moment later and the cat popped out of her shadow. When it met her gaze it shrank backwards, its ears drooped and its tail curled between its legs. This had been its posture ever since her angry outburst.
Seeing it, she could not help but sigh.
"It's okay," she said. "You don't have to look so scared. I won't do anything."
Nyx looked at her with deep shimmering eyes.
"Really?" he asked. It did not seem like he believed her.
"As long as you don't activate {Misfortune} without my permission then yes, really," she responded.
"Yes, Master!" Nyx exclaimed. Then his mood turned a complete one-eighty as his ears rose. "I promise to never use {Misfortune} ever again!"
With Sage's rise in Order her familiar had improved as well. Nyx's mana was cyan like hers and his abilities had improved once more. The weight limit for {Void Space} seemed to have gone from two tonnes straight to three and a half, {Shadow Travel} allowed for even further movement into the shadows, {Devour} could now be used on Grade 2 carcases and {Misfortune}… she did not want to know. That ability would be sealed for as long as she deemed fit.
"Did you get all the undamaged books and valuables under the rubble?" she asked.
"Yes Master," the cat said, nodding vigorously.
"Good," she said, turning around.
They were done here. There was no reason to stay anymore.
Bori's corpse, instead of burying it she had dumped it in Nyx {Void Space}. She had plans on what to do with it in the future.
Taking a deep breath, she looked at the debris of the tower she had temporarily called home. The first place she had ever come to on Aran was nothing more than a pile of garbage now.
The month she had spent here felt like aeons, which must be why she felt so upset to see it reduced to such state. It was a pity that she would never be able to rest in the study's armchair and read books anymore. She would definitely be sure to pay back the arsehole who caused its destruction.
However, that would have to wait for a while.
First, she would have to chase down the Elixir of Rejuvenation.
Sighing as she turned from the rubble, she muttered to the cat, "Let's go."
From this day forth she would be embarking on a new journey.