A red, demonic moon hung in the murky gray sky.
So this is the Netherworld. The creepy atmosphere really is maxed out. Other kids would probably be scared the first time they came here, Jason thought.
He was currently a ball of ghostfire.
This was the effect of the magic array: it wrapped part of a necromancer's soul in the power of death and, through a mechanism unique to the Netherworld, sent it there as a soul after death. Of course, the array also prevented the necromancer from being treated as a wandering soul and reincarnated as an undead creature.
Recalling the plot of the original work, Jason suspected that the cultivation process of human necromancers had something to do with the Heart of the Netherworld in the Sovereign of Death's possession. After all, that supreme treasure controlled the reincarnation of souls.
For now, though, his first priority was to find a suitable undead creature to contract.
The process of contracting an undead creature was similar to the Equal Contract between a human and a magical beast. A necromancer's soul gave off its aura, and nearby undead creatures drawn to that aura would willingly form a contract with the necromancer. The Death Sovereign had already infused the method of forming the contract into the soul fire of every undead creature.
The contract also occupied one of a human's magical beast contract slots. Humans could contract up to three magical beasts, while necromancers could contract at most two, unless they reached the Saint-level and dissolved the contract with their undead creature.
As he thought, Jason controlled his "new body" and moved forward.
Along the way, he gave off an aura of death, trying to draw the nearby undead to him.
But in truth, none of the undead paid Jason any attention. They were all busy fighting and devouring. It was an instinct of the undead: they instinctively devoured the soul fires of other undead in an attempt to grow stronger.
Once they reached the seventh rank, undead creatures would awaken rudimentary intelligence. The intelligence of ninth-rank undead was no different from that of humans.
After about an hour, Jason found a target he was quite pleased with.
Not far from Jason stood a skeleton holding a bone sword, absorbing three skeletons it had defeated.
Although undead creatures forgot the memories of their lives, they could retain some of their instincts after coming to the Netherworld. And judging by this undead creature, it had at least been a powerful fighter who had grown through battle in life. His combat skills were superb, and he probably still remembered some martial techniques.
Martial techniques were an important means for warriors to improve their strength before reaching the Saint-level. Although they were only low-level techniques for using power, not everyone could comprehend "Wielding Something Heavy as Though It Were Light," "force," or even the profound mysteries before reaching the Saint-level like Linley. Martial techniques were still very important.
This undead creature's martial techniques from life had already become combat instincts, an important factor affecting its strength before it reached the Saint-level and comprehended the profound mysteries.
Jason floated up to the skeleton and sent out a soul fluctuation inviting it to form a soul contract, which could improve his chances of success.
The skeleton, which was absorbing souls, was furious at being disturbed. It swung its bone sword and dispersed the ghostfire Jason had become.
Well, the exceptionally gifted undead creature hadn't taken a liking to Jason.
Jason sighed as his consciousness was forced back into his body. This outcome was perfectly normal. Low-level undead had little intelligence and were difficult to communicate with, so it was normal to need several attempts to establish a contract with an undead creature for the first time.
As for a necromancer's ghostfire being dispersed, it wouldn't injure the soul in the necromancer's body. Only a Saint-level undead creature or stronger could harm the soul within the ghostfire.
"It's normal to fail the first time. Recover a bit, then keep trying. A servant will bring you meals over the next few days." Seeing Jason wake up, Stutzman offered a few words of comfort.
Jason knew this teacher wasn't a bad person either, just eccentric. What's more, Stutzman belonged to the Rhine Clan, as Jason and the others did. As long as they didn't provoke him, things would be fine.
Under the Netherworld's red moon, the ghostfire Jason had become watched a third-rank undead creature not far away: a Dark Warrior.
This was his fourth time communicating with the Netherworld. On his second attempt, he had been transported straight into a group of mid-level zombies and immediately dispersed. On his third, he had failed to find a suitable undead creature for so long that his spiritual energy ran out, forcing him to return to his body.
A Dark Warrior was an evolved form of a skeleton.
Ordinary skeletons could evolve into Ironbone Skeletons specializing in close combat, or transform into Dark Warriors capable of cultivating both magic and combat. As Ironbone Skeletons grew stronger, they could evolve into skeletons with bronze, silver, and gold bones, all the way up to Saint-level skeletons with diamond bones. Dark Warriors, on the other hand, could cultivate all the way to the Saint-level without much change in form, or transform into Dark Knights, which lived in groups, upon breaking through to the seventh rank. Both Dark Knights and Dark Warriors cultivated magic and combat, and there was little difference in their talent.
The Dark Warrior before him had caught Jason's attention mainly because he had actually released both fire and earth battle-qi during his fight just now.
Generally speaking, only humanoid beings who had possessed relatively high magical affinity in life but had failed to become magicians for various reasons could evolve into Dark Warriors after becoming skeletons. The higher their affinity, the sooner they transformed into Dark Warriors. If their affinity was too low, skeletons had to wait until the sixth rank for a chance to become Dark Warriors.
The Dark Warrior Jason had encountered was only at the third rank, so his elemental affinities were probably both of the highest grade.
Incidentally, when human magicians other than necromancers died, they all transformed into zombies in the Netherworld, like the group Jason had encountered on his second visit. Zombies only gradually awakened their magic after reaching the seventh rank; before then, they could only fight in close combat.
Only living beings with an affinity for death could transform into Specters after death, their souls favored by the Netherworld. Specters could cast magic from the start and weaken physical attacks to a certain extent, and could even evolve into Liches later on.
Having dealt with undead creatures during his previous visits, Jason knew he must never disturb one while it was absorbing an enemy's soul. So, once the Dark Warrior had finished "eating," Jason floated to a spot not far from him, gradually conveyed his goodwill, and asked to form a soul contract with him.
As an evolved form of a skeleton, the Dark Warrior was a little more intelligent than skeletons of the same rank, despite being only at the third rank. After seeing Jason, the Dark Warrior seemed to actually be thinking.
Undead creatures couldn't absorb the ghostfire Jason had become, so it naturally wouldn't make them want to attack him. The times he had been dispersed before had been purely due to the instincts of the undead.
Jason's soul was currently only about as strong as a first-rank creature, weaker than the Dark Warrior before him. That would lower his chances of forming a contract, but having finally encountered such a gifted undead creature, Jason was prepared to take a chance.
The Dark Warrior didn't think for long before sending Jason a soul fluctuation agreeing to form the contract.
Naturally, Jason wouldn't refuse. The ghostfire moved forward and pressed against the Dark Warrior's head. A magic rune flashed, and the ghostfire Jason had become entered the Dark Warrior's head.
His view shifted, and Jason discovered that he could observe the outside world through the Dark Warrior's eyes and communicate with him through their souls.
Jason tried speaking to the Dark Warrior. "My name is Jason. What about you?"
The Dark Warrior thought for a long time before replying, "Lumba."