"Master, master!" Bloodman Barrow's voice sounded urgent.
This slightly irritated Jack, who was busy tossing various odd items out of his pocket; snake teeth, rat tails, cat ears.
"What is it, Barrow! Ah, right, I should stay calm and collected. Apologies, I've been a bit tense lately, a bit too excited," Jack said as he massaged his temples.
"Master, I think we need to complete the refining process quickly. You know, if dawn breaks, we might be done for," Barrow's gaze flickered a bit.
"Yes, I am well aware. Though it was you who killed him, I won't throw you under the bus, you have to believe me. Alright, I have a lead now, I need the blood of a giant."
Jack had memorized Count Dracula's "How to Refine a Perfect Undead" inside out. Of course, Jack never rigidly adheres to instructions.
He liked to innovate!
If it was up to those guys, they would probably sprinkle the ash of a skull into the corpse, wouldn't they? Such an outdated method would only harm a complete soul.
Such a zombie, despite retaining its appearance, would likely have the intelligence equivalent to a three-year-old.
The slightly more capable might choose the essence of a woman's blood, which is a wonderful thing. It possesses the power of certain taboos and curses.
But! It's suitable for, nobler, more mysterious liches.
Not zombies! The thought alone made Jack's hands tremble. How he wished to possess a high-level undead, or even a mid-level would suffice.
But for now, his focus returned to Frank's corpse.
"Blood coagulation," Jack muttered, touching his nose. If left unchecked, the smell of blood would soon escape his room.
Then, turning to Bloodman Barrow, Jack said, "Let's go out, to find that giant's descendant, the big guy, Hagrid!"
However, Barrow blocked Jack's way, "Master, the nights at Hogwarts are extremely dangerous, and giants, such evil creatures..."
"Merlin's beard, I was just joking. Don't be so tense, buddy! Nana, it's your turn to shine." Jack grabbed the fluttering vampire bat from the air, slowly stroking its back with his slender fingers.
Understanding his command, the bat took off.
Was Jack nervous inside? Certainly. He wasn't sure if he could fool Dumbledore.
But he was confident that Dumbledore wouldn't kill him over this; he's still a child, isn't he?
Jack was aware of the Ministry of Magic's "Underage Wizard Protection Act."
Crouching down, Jack paused his hand over Frank's chest for a moment, revealing a shallow smile.
"Good, the soul is still intact," Jack spoke.
After death, a soul can linger for six hours. Of course, with the use of soul-binding spells, it can be preserved even longer.
Half an hour later, the vampire bat returned triumphantly.
"Was it tasty? The blood of a giant? Is it green as the legends say, boiling when ingested?" Jack brought out a test tube, allowing the bat to drip the extracted blood into it.
Indeed, it was green.
Jack smiled and praised, "Not bad, truly a good pet."
In truth, as long as Jack wasn't starting an experiment, he was generally a refined gentleman.
Bloodman Barrow and the vampire bat stepped aside, watching Jack direct the green blood from the test tube into Frank's mouth.
Of course, Barrow had to pry open Frank's mouth for this.
"Master, maybe in the future, you could use a syringe for injections. I once saw it in Professor Snape's class," Barrow suggested.
"Syringe? Sounds like a precise instrument, I will try it. Now, let's wait and see," Jack said, quietly observing Frank lying in the hexagram.
Frank's corpse finally twitched, just as Jack felt a spark of hope, it stopped again.
"Failed? Impossible!" Jack suddenly threw the test tube onto the ground, the remnants of giant's blood emitting a foul smell upon contacting the floor.
"Wait! His eyes, oh, I knew it, how could I possibly fail!" Fire danced in Jack's eyes!
Frank's previously closed eyes finally opened, his pupils now green.
"Now, it's my time to shine," the voice became calm again.
Jack pulled a dagger from his pocket, straddled over Frank's torso, and drew a cross on Frank's chest with the blade.
"Soul Depart!"
From Jack's fingertips flowed a blue light, softly entering Frank's chest.
Slowly, a white soul climbed up the blue light. It struggled, it resisted, Jack's expression turned ugly.
The vampire bat fluttered its wings, seemingly wanting to help.
But was stopped by Bloodman Barrow. "We can't help now. I didn't understand the principle either when our master was refining me."
"The initial material is for guidance, only the right materials can lure out a soul. You might not understand, humans are greedy by nature. Why would they willingly offer their soul without any benefit!"
"Next, is soul contamination. This process can only be completed by a necromancer alone."
Nana seemed to understand and settled on Barrow's shoulder.
"Foolish Frank! What you need to learn is submission!" Jack spoke dominantly but actually winced as he took out a bag of powder from his pocket and sprinkled it.
"Oh, Soul Stabilizing Powder!" Barrow couldn't help but exclaim, suddenly realizing that his master seemed much weaker in this world.
Even a zombie that could retain its original appearance was just a zombie, a lower level of undead being compared to his spectral form.
To think they resorted to using Soul Stabilizing Powder.
This was a rare alchemical product in Jack's world, its required materials are common but very exacting.
Dew at 3 a.m.
Frog eggs at half-moon.
A tulip about to wither.
Jack had volunteered to tend the garden just to collect these materials.
When Madame Ludovika heard about it, she was shocked.
"My dear son! Have you lost your mind?"
When Frank's soul came into contact with the Soul Stabilizing Powder, a white fog rose…
Since there is no contract, 120 chapters have been updated and posted on linktr.ee/freereadingus