“Can we infuse the soul into an armor set now?”
Baiyi had just received good news from the Lich Walker. The Lich Walker’s team, which had been tasked with conducting researches on souls, had made headway in their task. Although Baiyi had included “infuse” in his question, it did not mean that the soul — when it is completed — would be merged with the armor set. The Voidwalkers would have to be able to separate the soul from the armor set at their convenience, allowing for flexibility of usage.
As soon as Baiyi received the news from the Lich Walker, he shut himself inside his Magus Lab and spent the entire day repeating experiments. Finally, after utilizing his very own Pseudo-Descent Spell, which was just revised a few days ago, his old militia plate armor set — the very set he used when he was first summoned into this world — finally moved as Baiyi willed it to.
Therefore, if he decided to yield control over that piece of his consciousness — which he had now placed within the militia armor via his own Pseudo-Descent spell — to a Voidwalker in the Void, that Voidwalker would finally be able to descend into the real world and become the second Voidwalker to return to the world.
There would be a difference between the Voidwalkers’ possession of the hammerhead shark plushie and this old militia armor. Unlike the plushie, which the Voidwalkers could only make move around and speak, the Pseudo-Descent spell would allow the Voidwalker in the militia armor to actually have access to bodily senses, complete control over all four limbs, and normal bodily functions. It would be as though they really were in the world — even though their essential body would still be stuck in the Void.
“Today is a joyous day that must be remembered, for it is the day when another one of us can be free. Although it will be temporary and incomplete, having a chance to see the light again is, in and of itself, a cause worthy of celebrating! Only one matter remains, though,” the Archmage cheered, but eventually became serious as he reached the crux of his concern. “Who among us should be the second one to Descend?”
The previous cheerful mood vanished; it was instantly replaced with anticipation.
As one of the major developers on this project, the Lich walker directly volunteered. “As you Earthlings would surely agree, the first significant test should be carried out by the lead engineer, me!”
The Archmage, however, was quick to challenge the claim. “Without my Six Realms Five Planes, the Divine Figure of Kurikara, your team would have had nothing to work on. Thus, I should the first one to test this. This is also going to help me tremendously in the final adjustment of my secret technique.”
“What a coincidence. My specialized necromancy spell was just dying for some procedural adjustment,” the Lich snapped.
These two Voidwalkers were not the only ones vying for the opportunity. Others, like the Cleric Walker, were just as eager; even when explaining why he should be picked, the Cleric Walker still uttered his trademark shameless words. “This test is, in itself, a very dangerous experiment, with downsides that we have yet to predict. At this moment, only naturally altruistic priests, such as myself, should make the sacrifice. Oh, and just to be sure… the new body would come with a tongue, right? 1 ”
‘Tell me what the hell you would even need a tongue for?’
Baiyi shook his head at the chaos that had broken out in the Void. He knew that the only qualified candidates were the Lich Walker and the Archmage; however, he could not ignore the clamoring of the others. Even the two Voidwalkers who were famous for their consistent huffing and puffing could not stop poking him in the Void, albeit quietly.
‘So what’s with the two of you poking me rhythmically, huh? What has this great breakthrough got to do with the two of you?’
The Warrior Walker was a little more self-aware than her counterpart. It only took two unanswered pokes for her to realize that it was perhaps not her time, yet. However, the Assassin Walker was a lot more determined; she proceeded to whisper, “Let me go first! If it works, I… I will…. I’ll let you hug me! How about that? It is a pretty sweet deal, right?”
‘What deal? It’s not attractive at all!’
“Not attractive? Excuse you! My figure is… small and body is very soft…” The Assassin Walker retorted.
‘But the body you would have when you descend into this world will still be a common militia armor. Do you know that?’
“You’re the worst!” She cried, and then she jabbed him hard with her consciousness before going silent.
Both Voidwalkers, who Baiyi had long since decided to call “The piggies”, had become quiet. Just when Baiyi thought that he had earned some quiet time, the Archmage came and dropped a figurative bomb on the Fifth Walker. “My student, perhaps you should the one to decide! I have faith in your judgment because you’re my apprentice, my heir, and the next emperor of the Rohlserlian Empire. You are more than capable of making a reasonable choice.”
The emphasis on the word “student” was a dead giveaway as to his intentions.
“Oh, but judgment is more than mere reason. There must also be… impartiality. This does not mean that I do not have faith in Sir Hope, the Void’s chosen agent. He is the strongest and wisest of us all, isn’t he? He would make the best choice.” The Lich Walker also flattered Baiyi; a move that stopped Baiyi from directly picking his teacher over the Lich Walker.
“Er, well…. Both of you contributed tremendously to this project, so I can’t really decide like this. How about we change the way the decision is made? For example, we could—”
“Flip a coin? Wise and fair! Let fortune smile at the fated one!” The Archmage interrupted Baiyi and said, with a tone filled with conviction.
‘Where in the world could have gotten this much confidence? Why do you even speak as if you’re chock-full of luck?! I mean, who had to use up five thousand Saint Quartz to draw a single Super-Super-Rare card in our Card Simulator game? Furthermore, you only succeeded because you raised the availability of SSR cards to 20%! Seriously, you are the only one who could invent the most epic ways to suck in games of chance! And now you’ve already forgotten all about that humiliation?’
Although Baiyi, in his mind, fired off shot after shot of savage lines at his teacher, he still forced himself to help his teacher out a bit. “Um… Something this important should not be dealt with in such a trivial way, so I think we should…”
“Duke it out with a game? No problem; bring it on. I have nothing to fear!” The Lich Walker boomed, brimming with confidence; it was as if he had already won the game.
Judging from the Archmage’s gaming skills, Baiyi thought that the Lich Walker might actually be right.
“Cough, cough! Games are, er… not appropriate right now either, right? Plus, I can’t think of any genre that would be perfect for this, so… how about this? I’ll expend a little more power and create a stage, where you both will have a simulated duel, alright?” Baiyi offered, attempting to silently help the Archmage by pushing for the only thing he was good at.
A simulated duel was a game the Voidwalkers played, where two Voidwalkers would be pitted against each other. Baiyi would grant both opponents all the powers they had in their prime; this was so that the duel would be as realistic as possible.
This was one of the very first games the Voidwalkers played in the Void; back then, they had been ‘dying’ of boredom, and bragging did not satisfy their ego. Therefore, to relieve the urge to do battle with each under, Baiyi made this game.
However, this was only a simulation; there were things that could happen in a simulated duel that could not happen in a real battle. The simulated duels often did nothing to pacify the opposing sides, and they would end up throwing shades at each other for days after the fight. The Voidwalkers did not want to live under this atmosphere, and the game was taxing on Baiyi; so it grew out of favor and was soon scrapped. In its place, games that emphasized less on personal victories were introduced.
This time, however, the Archmage and the Lich Walker instantly agreed to play.
“Very good. I’m up against the Demigod Lich? Interesting opponent.”
“Oh ho ho. The Sage-Emperor of the Magi, as coined in legends. I’ve been waiting to challenge you.”
Since they had both agreed to it, no more words were needed. After the kids went to bed, Baiyi locked himself up in the lab again, leaving his body with enough consciousness only to do the most basic of functions.
The rest of his consciousness was used to construct a battlefield that was as realistic as possible. This was so that he could provide a stage worthy for these two powerhouses who were to duel, with all the powers they had in their prime.
The stage was a wide and endless desert; there was nothing there that would get in the way of their fight or their elemental magic. The world had, literally, become their sandbox.
“Hmm? Oh, this familiar feeling… How I have missed it.”
The Archmage, who had been restored to his former glory, was the first to appear in the desert. He had the appearance of a 40-year-old adult, with piercing eyes that were as deep as his countenance was royal. He had an aura that commanded respect from people.
On his body was the royal magus robe of the Ancient Rohserlian Emperor, and complementing his opulent gabardine was a gilded crown, which had a variety of magical gems embedded on it. The Archmage also wore a variety of enhancement gears: a ring, pendant, belt and more. These were enchantment gears he really did possess back when he was alive; they were all priceless.
However, none of his gears could ever compete with the object that was floating next to him — a book; its pages kept flipping all on their own. As the pages turned, formations appeared in the air and vanished just as quickly as they had appeared. These formations displaced each other rapidly.
Although that was all the book seemed to do, a keen observer would know that all the formations that momentarily appeared were all forbidden spells!
“The Book of Servitude! A sorcerer’s ultimate regalia and one of the most important legacies of the Ancient Rohlserlian Empire. This was a treasure that had enticed many righteous powerhouses, and those lot turned over an uncountable number of graves just to find it; but alas, the book remained lost to time,” the Explorer Walker muttered quietly. “This weapon is just as mighty as a Divine Regalia. Numbers would mean nothing to it, even the Demigod Lich’s most powerful undead army. So… what could he, the Demigod Lich, possibly have that could combat that ruthless book?”
The Lich Walker suddenly appeared on the far side of the desert. Although the Lich Walker had appeared so far away that no normal human could spot him, the Archmage still turned to face the Lich Walker’s direction, saying, “Why is he alone?”
The Lich Walker really had come alone; his lone figure could be seen standing upright atop the endless sands of the desert. Although Baiyi had made sure to prepare his best undead army, the Lich Walker appeared without them by his side.
Although he had emerged alone, one would be a fool to dismiss him. His outfit was only a nondescript lich robe, yet powerful magical pulses emanated from him. Underneath that robe were gears that could give the Archmage’s gears a run of their money. The gears were all loot he had plundered from the fallen heroes he had met while still alive.
In the Demigod Lich’s hand was a jade-green staff, which looked normal. However, at the very top of the staff, souls could be seen orbiting and howling in pain.
“The Souls of the Enslaved! The most profane of all weapons in this realm…” The Cleric Walker said, through gritted teeth.
The battle between the Sage-Emperor of the Magi and the Demigod Lich of legends… was about to start.