Somewhere in the city, rumbling sounds could be heard.

Orion was still stacking up his Revenger Ability by dying repeatedly from fighting against the Octopath Monster, who was under Gaap’s control.

Lux’s and Orion’s goal was to reach a certain threshold where the Jade Golem could one-shot-kill any Octopath Monster that they faced in the future.

Gaap had mentioned to Lux that Octopaths were really strong Abyssal Monsters that could overpower even creatures that had ranks higher than theirs.

Now that the old Halfling was Lux’s Master, the Half-Elf told him why he kept on sending his Jade Golem to his death.

Gaap couldn’t suppress his surprise after finding out about Orion’s peculiar ability. But once he knew about it, he finally understood why the Jade Golem was insistent on dying repeatedly at the tentacles of the Octopath Monster.

All of Lux’s Named Creatures had a cooldown time of five minutes. However, the cooldown would automatically start the moment his Named Creatures were summoned.

This was the reason why Lux could summon them again immediately after his Named Creatures died the first time. Their cooldown timers would have already finished by the time they met their end on the battlefield.

While the Jade Golem and the Octopath were duking it out, the Half-Elf was busy trying to control Hecatoncheires, which he had summoned to fight a Rank 5 Abyssal Wolf that had appeared in Zangrila.

Currently, the Half-Elf was having trouble making his new summon obey his will. Since the Hecatoncheires was made by combining all of the Skeleton Gangbangers and the Steel Golems to form one entity, its power was able to reach the Deimos Rank.

‘This is like Pokem*n,’ Lux thought. ‘Did I not get enough Gym Badges to control this thing? Is that the reason why it’s not listening to me?’

The red-headed teenager didn’t dare summon Hecatoncheires when there wasn’t a monster around. He was afraid that the Berserk Hundred-Armed Giant would attack him if it couldn’t see another creature in its immediate vicinity.

Also, there was one more thing that made the Half-Elf feel discomfort while he was fighting. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched by countless eyes.

At first, he thought that this was only a figment of his imagination. But after spending three days in Zangrila, he had a feeling that there was more than what meets the eye behind the discomfort he was experiencing at the moment.

Gaap, who was watching the Half-Elf in the distance, was smoking, blowing white circles with his pipe.

“You still have a long way to go, Lux,” Gaap muttered. “If you can’t even control your own Summon, then you will become the laughingstock of all True Necromancers in the world.”

Just thinking about the bastards who were part of Memento Mori looking down on his Disciple was enough to make Gaap’s teeth itch.

‘Still, there is one other thing that bothers me.’ Gaap frowned. ‘His senses as a Necromancer are still lacking. Although he can feel them, he’s still unable to understand what he is feeling.’

Ten minutes later, the Half-Elf forcefully unsummoned Hecatoncheires after the Rank 5 Abyssal Wolf was defeated. He didn’t dare let the Giant Abomination linger even a second longer, fearing that it might start a rampage inside the already ruined Capital City.

“Rest for a bit,” Gaap said as soon as Lux landed beside him. “We need to talk about something.”

Lux nodded and sat beside his Master, who was still holding the pipe in his hands.

“Master, I have a question. You said that the passage of time here is different from the rest of Elysium,” Lux stated. “Just what is the difference? You see, my friends are currently challenging a Dungeon, and they might need my help. If possible, I want to know if the time difference between this place and the Sacred Dungeon is the same or not.”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Gaap replied. “Zangrila is a special zone that borders the Void and Elysium. Because of this, time is distorted in this place. A week here is only a day in Elysium.

“Spending a few weeks here is not a problem. Besides, if my guess is right, clearing that Sacred Dungeon is not an easy thing. It is much better if you master the Necromantic Arts before you return.”

Lux understood that what his Master said was right. But he still couldn’t feel at ease knowing that he wasn’t able to talk to Cai and the others through the Guild Chat.

Gaap had already mentioned that Zangrila was a special place and that it had its own set of laws, making it impossible for him to contact anyone in the outside world.

In order to change the topic and distract the red-headed teenager from thinking about his friends, the old Halfling pointed at a wall that stood a few meters away from them.

“Look at that wall, Lux,” Gaap ordered. “What do you see?”

The Half-Elf glanced in the direction where his Master was looking and frowned. He was about to say that it was only a wall, but for some reason, his senses were vaguely picking up that there was something else there.

The Half-Elf narrowed his eyes and fixed them on a single spot. A moment later, the place he was looking at suddenly distorted. It was as if the air or space he was looking at trembled ever so slightly, making his eyes widen in surprise.

“Focus,” Gaap stated. “Don’t look at it with only your eyes. You are a Necromancer. Expand your senses to the fullest and see the other side of the world that cannot be seen by normal people.”

Lux closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Once he had regained his calm, he opened his eyes and, this time, he extended his senses and finally saw what was causing the distortion.

A little boy, whom he estimated to be at least ten to eleven years old, was hugging a little girl, whom Lux assumed to be at least four to five years old.

The little girl was crying silently as her body trembled while holding unto the older boy, who was holding her in a protective embrace.

Just a glance was enough to tell Lux that the two shared a very close relationship, making him think that the two children were brother and sister.

“There is a saying among those that can see the spirits of the dead—that those who have been killed by Abyssal Creatures are unable to pass onto the next life,” Gaap said softly. “After visiting many places in the world, I am inclined to believe that this saying is right.”

Lux subconsciously swallowed his saliva after hearing his Master’s words. Suddenly a realization came to his mind, which made his body shudder.

“Master, how long ago was this city destroyed by the Abyssal Creatures?” Lux asked.

“A few centuries,” Gaap replied. “Maybe two to three hundred years.”

“Master, are you saying that the two of them had been here for hundreds of years?”

“Yes. But you’re not entirely right. They are not the only ones that have been here in the city for hundreds of years.”

Just like the final piece of the puzzle falling into place, Lux finally understood where the countless gazes that were looking in his direction were coming from.

Although he couldn’t see them, the countless ghosts of Zangrila were all watching him as he battled against Abyssal Monsters in the very city where they were born.

“I mentioned before that I was waiting for someone, right?” Gaap asked. “I was planning to give that person a gift, and that gift is none other than the souls that have been trapped in this ruined city for the past hundreds of years.”

The old Half-Ling gave Lux a mischievous smile before emptying his pipe.

“Right now, there are millions of ghosts in this city,” Gaap explained. “Just think of it. A million ghosts and specters that you can add to your Undead Army, making you a powerhouse at such a young age. Isn’t this the best gift a Master can give to his Disciple?”

Gaap laughed heartily before looking at his Disciple, who was frozen in place.

However, instead of seeing happiness on Lux’s face for the gift he had prepared for him, all Gaap saw was a pained expression that made the old Halfling wonder if his Disciple was suffering from a bad case of constipation.

Important Announcement:

To give you a bit of background to this story, this is like Harry Potter. A teenage boy accidentally rode the wrong train, and entered a Magic Academy where he can *ahem* learn Magic the “special way”.