Chapter Thirteen: The Strongest

“Troublesome!”
At this moment, Lando, who had just returned with the main force to Snowfield City for rest, stared at his system panel, feeling utterly helpless.

Soul: Blue (100%)

Back in the relative safety of Snowfield City, Lando eagerly used his soul essence, hoping to elevate his soul to new heights, only to be gravely disappointed. Upon reaching Blue (100%), his soul did not naturally advance to a new color, but remained stagnant. The reason was straightforward—the system prompted him that the next leap required a Soul Essence Crystal (Purple), with at least one, and up to ten needed.

Because the Purple soul transcends the ordinary, even forming unique talents, advancing further was no easy matter. And as far as he knew, the only way to obtain a Soul Essence Crystal (Purple) was by dismantling a purple soul.

“Such a crucial resource can’t be self-produced. What a lousy system!”

Reluctantly, Lando glanced at the Remnant Soul (Purple) in his system. “Well, since I’ve already decided not to repair it, keeping it would only bring trouble. Breaking it down is like opening a treasure chest.”

He dismantled the Remnant Soul (Purple).

Instantly, Lando heard a thunderous roar and the sound of shattering from deep within his soul. In soul-vision, the Remnant Soul (Purple) had appeared as a sphere; as it decomposed, the sphere’s edges crumbled and vanished, until only five points of starlight remained—four purple, one blue.

Suddenly, three of the purple starlights flickered and vanished, unable to maintain their form. Instinctively, Lando understood that these five points represented the talents the Remnant Soul once possessed, but because he hadn’t repaired it, three purple talents were incomplete and failed to manifest.

“So that’s what ‘decomposition can record complete talents’ means!”

Soul essence gained: 12,000...

Soul Essence Crystal (Purple) ×3 acquired...

Talent recorded: [Nourishing the Dead (Purple)]...

Talent recorded: [Elemental Affinity (Blue)]...

Lando skipped over the soul essence harvest and first examined the Soul Essence Crystals (Purple).

Soul Essence Crystal (Purple): A rare and precious crystal formed by combining copious soul essence with purple soul elements. Dismantling yields 10,000 soul essence.

“This explanation feels like saying nothing at all.”

He then looked at the newly recorded talents.

Nourishing the Dead (Purple): Undead creatures awakened and summoned by you can break through the limits of their own race, continually growing stronger.

Elemental Affinity (Blue): Elements will be your companions. You can control them more easily and are less likely to be harmed by them.

[Nourishing the Dead (Purple)] requires 20,000; [Elemental Affinity (Blue)] requires 9,000.

“As expected of a purple talent. If a necromancer got [Nourishing the Dead (Purple)], wouldn’t he ascend right then and there? [Elemental Affinity (Blue)] is impressive too—although only blue, it needs 9,000, so it’s probably one of the top blue talents. Perhaps I can make use of it.”

Reality isn’t a game. Lando wasn’t one to let a fitting talent sit idle, waiting for the best possible option.

“Next, I must meet the mysterious Mr. Carter!”

…

Barony of Moria, Carter’s study.

After explaining his reasons to the baron, Lando abandoned waiting for the kingdom’s commendation and hurried back to the castle to meet Carter.

“I thought you’d wait a bit longer before coming. Rumor has it the kingdom’s commendation for you is happening soon,” Carter said, chuckling warmly.

“That means nothing to me,” Lando replied, his gaze unwavering as he stared at Carter.

“…Alright, enough with that look. My interests are broad, but still within the bounds of normalcy. Well, you are indeed…” Carter studied the youth, who, after more than a year of tempering, was no longer the naïve boy he first met. With star-like brows and sharp eyes, Lando had grown not only more handsome but also more resolute and heroic—exceptional in every way.

“Hey, what’s with you? You’re staring,” Lando asked suspiciously.

“Ah, haha, sorry. Seeing you now always reminds me of those celebrities with beauty filters!”

Beauty filters? Celebrities? Lando’s eye twitched. He feigned confusion and asked, “Celebrities? What are those?”

“A local specialty where I come from. Quite interesting. If you get the chance, I’ll show you.” Carter answered carelessly.

“Alright, jokes aside. Before you ask what you want to know, I need you to answer one question seriously,” Carter said, his tone turning solemn.

“Please, go ahead!” Lando replied without hesitation.

“If you were given the chance to truly touch the world’s reality, but the price was abandoning your current life, you…”

“I’m willing!”

“…!” Carter was stunned by the interruption, looking at Lando’s determined face. “You needn’t answer so hastily. It’s a life-changing decision—you should think it over carefully.”

Carter and Alice were not people of this world; Lando had long suspected as much. He’d also guessed the reason for their interest in him—likely for recruiting talent into some organization. Thus, he answered without hesitation.

Many faces flashed through Lando’s mind: Kark, Mar, Meyer, Uncle Riley, Knight Mike, Baron Moria…

Finally, his thoughts settled on a haggard face—gravely ill, with little time left, yet still gazing at him, full of worry.

“Mother…”

Lando slowly opened his eyes and declared, “I have no attachments left in this world. Now I have but one goal—to find the necromancer who spread the plague and kill him.”

Only then could he truly settle the debts of this body.

“Very well. Since you’ve decided, let me tell you about us.”

“Do you know how this world is structured?”

Without waiting for Lando’s answer, Carter explained, “The world we live in stems from a vast universe. This universe is like a giant honeycomb, each cell representing a complete world.”

“The nation I hail from is called—the Arcane Empire. It spans countless worlds and is the most powerful force in the universe we’ve explored so far. The necromancer cults come from a newly risen power in the past few centuries. To the Arcane Empire, they’re little more than trash, but it’s best to be cautious when encountering them abroad.”

“The Arcane Empire’s power is organized around various schools. My school is called—the Silver Tower, descended from the Seventh Arcane Emperor, boasting two Grand Arcanists and more than ten Legendary Arcanists.”

“The reason I’m here is because I’m currently on a journey, and I happened to take on a task to locate the world’s temporal node. Thanks to those skeletons, I can finish my assignment ahead of schedule.”

“From my observations, your talents are promising—you may have the potential to become an Arcanist. But I lack the proper testing instruments; we’ll need to go to the Royal Academy in the capital for that.”

“I insisted you break the magic array for two reasons: first, as a test. Your actions and choices are recorded and will serve as important references in the future. More importantly, the second reason—world consciousness may reward natives who save their own world, potentially enhancing your aptitude. Like a lottery—what if you win? If your innate talent was just shy of qualifying as an Arcanist, this could change your fate. After all…”

“…Arcanists are the most powerful profession in the universe!!!”