Gallo's grab shattered the illusion before him.
Ripples surged through the void like waves, rapidly churning.
The pig-headed devil turned into a wisp of smoke that drifted around him.
"I've delivered the message. Consider this gift a token of our first meeting."
Then he fled in a panic.
Gallo's expression grew grave as he turned his gaze toward the table.
At some point, a jet-black bead the size of a walnut had appeared there, gleaming like jade.
It held an aura that struck Gallo as powerful yet sinister, with a faint trace of something akin to souls.
He carefully extended a few strands of his mental power into it and discovered that it actually contained many souls. They wailed and screamed in agony, as though they had fallen into Hell.
Although he did not know the treasure's name, he immediately understood that it was an object related to souls.
The lich Rain had obtained all these souls from somewhere and given them to him.
This thing...
Gallo hesitated.
There had to be at least three to five hundred souls inside, a resource that could only have been gathered by slaughtering thousands upon thousands of people.
It was not particularly precious, but collecting it took time and effort, much like a cultist secretly preparing offerings for a sacrificial ritual.
If he converted them all with the Soul-Stealing Art, his Source of Magic and soul power would surely soar to an unimaginable level, multiplying his chances of becoming a Grand Mage many times over.
This was no mere introductory gift. It was the hope of advancement!
He's giving me something like this for nothing? That lich Rain must be after something enormous...
And there might be some hidden trick inside this thing.
*This is a trap laid jointly by a lich and