Chapter 432: Lord Draugr (1/2)

Zac had no point of reference when it came to Soul Strengthening Manuals, but the one he held in his hand seemed to be pretty damn strong, even if he didn’t have his unique constitution. It wasn't quite as tailored to his situation as he first had thought though, and it wasn't strictly limited to people who walked the Path of Life and Death.

The method to train in the manual was to push one’s soul to the peak of life before plunging it to the depths of death, simulating a lifetime. After completing enough such revolutions one’s soul would undergo a rebirth, shedding some of its imperfections and growing in strength.

If one managed to complete all nine reincarnations they would possess what the manual called a ‘Nine-Samsara Soul’, and it would be so strong that he essentially wouldn’t even need mental protection skills like [Mental Fortress] to stay safe. His soul would turn even more monstrous than his nigh-indestructible body.

The number of revolutions one needed to complete a reincarnation wasn’t clear, but judging by the language in the crystal it would be a massive undertaking to just complete a few reincarnations, let alone all nine. But Zac hoped that his ability to swap between life and death would be able to expedite the process, though that would probably require some experimentation.

There were two problems with the manual though.

For one, only the method for the first four reincarnations were included in the crystal. He would have to somehow find the rest elsewhere if he wanted to continue practicing the skill, and Zac had no idea where he would even begin his search for the missing pieces of a manual like this. He couldn't just jump into a bunch of Mystic Realms hoping to be lucky.

The fact that the manual was split up could also be seen as a positive though. Zac only gaining the earliest stages of the manual meant that it was probably beneficial even in higher grades. It would have been a shame if he got one that was only useful in E-Grade, after which he would have to swap to a new one.

The second problem with the manual was a bit tricky as well.

Each of the reincarnations required specific environments to practice. The first reincarnation only required him to meditate within one of two specific arrays, one death attuned and the other life-attuned. Kenzie no doubt could help him build two chambers meeting the requirements since Zac had the schematic, but she probably wasn’t able to put them on Array Disks just yet.

Perhaps this is where his unique situation could come into play. If he could swap out the increasingly stringent requirements with simply swapping back and forth he would save an enormous amount of time and resources. It seemed unlikely that he would be able to practice the Manual inside the tower, though it wouldn't hurt to try it out.

Zac put away the crystal and looked over at the undead with some curiosity. This was the first time he had talked with a sapient undead, unless you counted his encounter with the Draugr woman in his vision.

“What race are you?” Zac suddenly asked, breaking the silence. “Oh, and what’s your name?”

“Ah?” the undead who walked alongside him started.

“Is your race ‘Zombie’? Or are you a Corspelord?” Zac asked with curiosity.

“A zombie is a derogatory term for those who still haven’t awakened,” the undead answered after some hesitation. “My name is Eldar and I am a Revenant, the most common Race of the undead.”

“Could you explain a bit more? What’s the Difference between a Corpselord and a Revenant?” Zac asked. “It seems we have the time.”

“Well…” Eldar said with clear conflict on his face.

Zac understood what was troubling the Revenant, and he immediately had an idea. There was something he could test which might make the group more talkative.

“Wait a minute,” Zac said as he stopped in his tracks.

The group of undead stopped and looked at Zac with confusion, and their eyes widened in shock as Zac’s skin turned deathly pale and he started to release a massive amount of miasma around him. His brown eyes quickly darkened until they were two black globes leading into the abyss.

“Wha- how?” the undead sputtered with confusion on his face.

“I am Draugr. I simply used a skill to look like a human,” Zac said as he turned his abyssal eyes toward the group. “I have been traveling among the living for all my life. This is the first time I actually stepped on death-attuned soil. I hope you can answer my questions and clear some points of confusion for me.”

“I- ah, of course!” he said. “I am sorry, Lord Draugr.”

Zac nodded in relief. This was one of the loopholes the trio had found during their climb, mostly thanks to Ogras’ predilection of talking far and wide at any tavern he could find. Their races were never made an issue, as though the System forced all the natives to be enlightened and look past race.

However, if you mentioned your race they would understand you, in contrast to mentioning the Tower of Eternity. They hadn’t found any use for that small feature though, until now. The revenants had already been respectful earlier when he was a powerful mercenary hired to help in the war, but now it was as though they looked upon an idol.

“I am sorry for the discourtesy just now,” Eldar said as he bowed deeply.

“It is fine. I understand that you’d be hesitant to discuss this matter with the living,” Zac said. “Now, about the races? I have traveled with my master my whole life, and he hasn’t explained all these things for me for reasons I cannot disclose. But now that I am returning to the Empire I need this information.”

It was a pretty horrible excuse, but judging by the attitudes of the group of Revenants they wouldn’t question him no matter what he said.

“Ah? Yes Certainly!” Eldar hurriedly said though he looked pretty confused. “May I ask which Empire you are referring to? Our kingdom of Zarvadar borders no force that can be considered an Empire as far as I can tell.”

Zac frowned in confusion for a second until he realized the problem. This world wasn’t actually part of the Undead Empire. How would it be? It was part of the Tower. The inhabitants of the worlds were never aware of anything larger than their planet, and higher grade beings were mentioned as things of legend.

That meant that he, unfortunately, couldn’t milk Eldar for information about the Undead Empire. Perhaps it wasn’t completely a loss though, since there were still a lot of things that he might know. There was only one undead force in the multiverse as far as Zac could tell, and this world should no doubt be based on the situation in the Undead Empire.