The Asshai's Bloodmage

 Inside the 5th underground floor of the Garden of Beasts, Omar was screaming and banging on the ground making as much noise as he could.

"HERE, COME AND GET ME!!!"

"PAH PAH"

As he screamed and hit a piece of metal, two giant wolves as black as night and with completely black pupils began to head towards him. As they were getting close to ambush him, a huge metal net fell from above, catching the two giant wolves at the same time. At that moment, Omar stepped forward and began to collect the golden grass that grew in the cell of these wolves. Rafael, who had thrown the net from above, also ran out and quickly helped collect all of them with Omar. It was only while they were collecting the grass that Omar shouted:

"Rafael, look, they had pups!"

"I'm going to get them, keep collecting the grass."

As soon as Rafael approached, he saw 4 wolf pups, all of them had black fur like their parents and their pupils were also black as night. These wolves were a breed similar to the giant wolves of Westeros, but a smaller and more exotic version of Asshai. At the time, they were in the middle of a mission to collect an ingredient in their cage, and finding these pups and taking them was a way to earn more points. In the case of the pups, they still had to be delivered to the tower. If any student wanted them to tame them, they would have to pay the necessary beast points.

I took out a cloth bag and put all 4 inside. When I came back, Omar had already finished the rest of the task alone. I approached, showing the pups and said:

"You should get one of these, you're the only one without an animal yet... Even the newbies already have one, despite being weaker versions of my raven. The little one helps a lot in simple tasks and in combat, it's also quite lethal despite its short lifespan."

Rafael said as he looked at the little crow on his shoulder. It had been 1 year and 6 months since they joined the Garden of Beasts and with only 3 classes in the first year and now 3 new classes this year I had many free days and was able to do many Alterations again. The disadvantage of the little crow on his shoulder was its short lifespan. It could live for a maximum of 3 years.

Its feathers were made of an extremely light metal similar to aluminum that had not yet been discovered in this world. Its beak was made of a new material that was still being tested, it was made of reinforced carbon as well as its extremely sharp claws. With muscles stronger and more intelligent than a 7 year old child he could memorize places and people. Identify items through voice or thought commands to grab these objects. His instincts to always attack the eyes of other animals remained and were now even more lethal when he did so. After much effort to convince Omar he said he would take one of the wolves, I also said I would help him with the Alterations and everything he needed.

"You know I still want a sea creature, a big one that helps me travel faster."

"Haha, I'll raise a water dragon for you, what do you think?"

"You always say that, but so far I haven't even seen a baby whale…"

"The fish of Asshai have unique structures and are similar to creatures that live without light in the depths of the sea. They are blind and their bodies have great physical capabilities to withstand great pressure. Which doesn't make sense... According to the books, the deepest part of the Ash River is at most 1000 meters deep and according to the Ash River Species Guide, there are thousands of species living there. Although the ones recorded are no more than hundreds. This deepest part must have whales and sharks, but it is not within Asshai's territory... You know that until we master at least 1 defense spell, we are advised not to explore the outside due to the dangers. And if we want truly powerful species of the sea, we would have to sail near Sothoryos or go even further west... I consider these places even more dangerous than the Land of Shadows due to the lack of information."

"I understand, I'll wait then... But isn't there something to speed this up? Maybe we can ask someone to capture these creatures?"

"If it's smaller species, maybe, but we're in a very isolated place, until someone brings some living species from the sea here, they would die due to the lack of means to keep them alive and if they were killed, they would also have no way to preserve their corpses. Stay calm, I'll master my defense spell faster than other people so I'll start doing tasks for the Tower outside unless our plans change. I also already had plans to go to the deepest part of the Ash River to do my own experiments... Of course, a dragon egg from the Shadow Land could be a good substitute to speed up our research a lot..."

While we were delivering the hatchlings and Omar was choosing one of the males due to the price in points of the only female being 3x higher, Zhang appeared.

"Rafa, we have a visitor in the tower, he's calling for the two of us."

I thought it was strange, since there weren't many people who knew Zhang and me, could it be that Henry had returned? But I would be warned by Salim first...

Leaving speculation aside, we went to the visitors' room, and when we got there I saw the figure, I recognized it right away. How could I forget someone who made such a strong impression on me? Besides, shouldn't he be dead? But I remembered the system messages and his peculiar name... Did Esmer have something to do with this person coming back to life? I opened the system notes and checked the post-Valyria prophecy. As soon as I entered the room I said:

"Immortal Master, you seem well... I think everything went well with your resurrection."

"It's a pleasure to see you young, even though we didn't meet in person last time. Allow me to thank you for delivering the message last time. Even though Esmer rewarded you, I know well how petty he usually is. The fact that he almost died in the Valyria disaster just for being petty with little Zaya's mother proves it hahaha."

I also respond with a smile and say: "I'd love to know more about that so I can make fun of him later…

This one next to me is Zhang, he's my friend, business partner and one of the founders of the Order of Sages. But I think you already know about him since you asked to come with me too."

"Yes… Young Zhang, it's nice to meet you, you don't know how happy I was to know that someone with a physique like mine had appeared in Asshai again. This time I came to meet such a talented young man and to see if they are taking care of such a talent properly."

"Nice to meet you, Immortal Master. I appreciate your concern for my well-being. I am happy to meet someone with a physique like mine and would like to know more about it. The Master of Beasts has always allowed me access to his highest-level library and so far his free and private knowledge has been sufficient for my current self."

The Immortal then chatted a little with Zhang, giving him small tips and common-standard teachings about special physiques beyond the body and soul. I took advantage of a pause and said:

"Immortal Master, why have you come to see us today? I know you are a busy man and we would not like to waste your precious time. If there is something we can do, do not be modest." He then burst out laughing and said:

"Hahaha, the young people really have a sharp mind, I can't play tricks on you... You lost your totem that day, didn't you? The faceless men are cruel enough to destroy everything like that... I said I came to thank you for the message you delivered to Esmer, didn't I? Here, take this. I spent a long time in that cave and had time to collect a lot of ingredients, so I have some left to help you."

I picked up the small bag of darkness he threw in my direction and looked inside. It had some scales, bones, and some glass jars with 5 liters of blood. It took me a while to understand when he said it was in the cave... DRAGON! There was a dragon in the cave where the Immortal and the Countess were, are these ingredients collected from it? I almost started to smile like an idiot, we were inside the tower and I wasn't wearing a mask at the time. After controlling myself, I remembered that there were 2 ingredients for the fire totem that I couldn't find no matter how much money I had. But now the two rare ingredients have fallen into my hands so easily, is this what you call good karma? I thanked him for his generosity before putting everything away in my inventory. He then turned to Zhang and said:

"Little Zhang, why don't you become my student? I'm not doubting the Master of Beasts' abilities, but with your talent I can increase your power very quickly using the methods I've used in the past… Also, the Eternal King wants to ask a favor of you, as long as you agree to help him with this favor, he can give you whatever you want, things like totems would only be a minor item when it comes to that rich old man."

'The Eternal King! So he was still alive? What do they want with Zhang? Would his life be in danger?'

I then asked him: If Zhang accepted to become his student, would he still remain in Asshai?

"The best and strongest Necromancers are in Stygai, those in Asshai are just new Masters who haven't fully mastered their powers yet."

"I read that Corpse City is dangerous... Can't I just stay here and teach me when you can?" Zhang asked, a little scared.

I smiled at Zhang's statement... 'If he were from my world, would he ask for distance learning? Hehe...' Of course, the Immortal was irritated by the stupid question.

"What nonsense are you talking about? In Stygai, there are so many souls that you don't need to make a single sacrifice to collect energy, the towers are full of corpses too. Not to mention that the city's environment forces your soul to grow faster. And there are unique dungeons there. Why would you choose to stay in Asshai? In that regard, it wouldn't be much different from continuing to learn in the Garden of Beasts."

"Immortal Master, Zhang is just worried that he might lose his life in such a dangerous place. He hasn't mastered any spells yet." I spoke to the Immortal and then turned to my friend: "Zhang, you don't need to worry if Master Immortal has called you to go live with him there, he will definitely not let anything bad happen to you."

"Of course, that goes without saying. Besides, you can prepare yourself and take care of any matters, I will only return to Stygai after 1 month."

"Disciple Zhang pays respects to Master..."

After the formalities between master and disciple, Immortal took his leave, leaving Zhang an Arboreal Bag. I approached curious to know the contents, and Zhang said he had some magic books and a lot of gold and soul stones to buy what he needed before leaving the city. I remember him getting his hands on some sacred and light-elemental items to protect himself. After that, we discussed the Eternal King and the Calamity of Souls. All the members are aware of the Calamities after I made the book I read a mandatory reading for everyone.

"What about our dungeon exploration then? If I go to Stygai, I won't be able to help you."

Zhang is right, recently when we were investigating which dungeon would be best for the Order of Sages to clear, we couldn't find a suitable target. The low-level dungeons have all been cleared, and even if there were some, they wouldn't be that dangerous, since few powerful mages would have made their labs in small towers. The mid-level ones are too risky for our current group, even though we now have a good amount of artifacts, we lack proper spells.

I've never felt so frustrated with my own inability before… As for the high-level dungeons, without a Master to contain the dangerous threats, we could kill everyone in the exploration team. With no other choice, I tell Zhang the only option: "Unfortunately, we'll have to wait longer. There's going to be a big auction in 9 years and with luck, we can get some Relics from it.

Until then, try to return to Asshai temporarily. Not only can we clear a mid-level dungeon, but we can also take a chance and go to a high-level one with the help of the two new Pentos Masters. They haven't visited the headquarters yet, because I don't want to show them our weakness, I'll postpone their visit until the auction date... So I decide to guide Zhang on the Eternal King's matter:

"Remember Zhang, as soon as you find out what the Eternal King wants, ask for time to think about it and let me know. If you can't let me know or agree to his request, follow these instructions. The first thing you need to ask for is an advance payment, ask for some materials to make totems for you, delay for as many years as you can depending on the dangers involved and if you are not confident in doing the favor... And if there are benefits to be gained from your help, ensure that you get a share no less than 1/4 or 1/5 counting on the fact that the others who will participate in the division would be the Eternal King and the Immortal. Lastly, guarantee something valuable to the Order, say that as the founder you need to protect us in case something goes wrong, especially the recipes for the totems of our founding members. If that's not possible, secure the recipes for the earth, water, and light totems for me and Omar."

Zhang nodded seriously, and I concluded by saying that if he wasn't confident, he didn't need to be afraid to say no, because our group would protect him. After discussing the details of Zhang's move to Stygai, I gave him half of the purified soul stones. I hadn't found anything about these items even within the tower's private knowledge. So I gave half of them to Zhang and gave him the mission to find out what they were, but I told him to be careful because they could be very valuable.

Speaking of private knowledge, the totem recipes are available in the Beast Garden, but one would have to save up for almost 10 years before purchasing a single totem recipe. This shows why students don't leave the tower easily, even after the 5-year contract. Without much choice of what to do at the moment, I had only one goal left, which was to join a group that was exploring some dungeon to gain more experience in preparation for our own exploration. After thinking for a while I left the tower and headed in a certain direction of the city, the place I was going to was one of the oldest organizations in Asshai; the Adventurers' Alliance…

***

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