Chapter 13

"Welfare club?" I repeated, feeling a bit dumbfounded.

"Yes, it's a club established by third-rank wizard apprentices," Ebel said proudly. "There, we can ask for help from others, deal with important materials or potions, and get advice from seniors."

"Then there must be some conditions, right?" I asked.

"Nothing too difficult," Ebel replied. "You just have to sign a contract not to reveal any secret information and not to betray any member of our group for any reason."

"Um... Uh, I'll think about it," I said, feigning hesitation.

"Okay, you have a day to decide. If you want to join, come to 'Selphira Restaurant' in the black market between 4-6 PM. Our group members will be there at that time," he said confidently, as if he was sure I would agree.

After saying this, Ebel got up and walked away.

While heading back to my house, I considered whether I should join their group. But after thinking for a while, I decided not to. The reason was simple: with Ruit by my side, I didn't need others' help. Moreover, the conditions they provided were too simple. We are black wizards, who would definitely betray others for our own profit rather than having senseless kindness for others. Even white wizards who present themselves as kind may not be this good.

As I finished my thoughts, I had almost reached my house.

Once inside, I sat on my bed and started to embed runes in my mental space.

After about two hours, my first rune was finally embedded. Looking at the dark and twisted rune, instead of feeling uncomfortable and disgusted, I felt pure happiness and relief.

Checking my stats, I found that my spiritual energy had increased from 9 to 9.5, and the total spiritual energy needed to be promoted to a first-rank wizard was about 15. Additionally, I noticed that the cooldown had changed from 0 to 25 days.

Not dwelling on it much, I decided to check what the so-called innate spell that came with the meditation was.

Focusing on it, new information appeared in front of me.

[The Servant of Abyss: This spell lets you sign a master-slave contract with a 'Xemorph,' a being residing in the deepest part of the dark abyss. Although it has no emotions, it will fulfill all the conditions of its host. Its power is equal to that of the host.]

The information about this spell was very exciting. Having a helper with the same strength as myself would be like having an extra trump card in case of emergencies. Even if it doesn't help me now, in the future, if I become a powerful wizard, having it may solve many problems.

Focusing on the spell, I got the conditions needed to summon the 'Xemorph.' There were no major conditions except having practiced the 'Dark Abyss Meditation Method' and having a source of energy compatible with management crystals.

Although it seemed easy, I could only contact it once in my life, and if it died, there would be no way to replace it.

Taking out a mana stone, I placed it on the ground and used my sword to cut a wound on my hand. Using my blood, I drew a circle with different patterns, taking the mana stone as the center.

After finishing the magic circle, I used the talent given by Ruit to make the presence of the ritual almost impossible for anyone to detect.

"#$$+$+$+ jahhd #++$+$ +#+$ hbsb. +!$;3; jbd ejdb +3+$;3+$ jsbejd 73++$;+2$; jzhhsbs hebbdds ...." I began the final step, chanting the spell needed to complete the ritual.

"..... +-_$+uedb!!" As I finished the spell, a flash of light appeared, and a mass of dark substance began to emerge from the magic circle, taking the shape of a slender, humanoid creature about 3 meters tall, with nothing on its face except pure darkness.

Just as I was about to check its status, I felt a tingling sensation, and Ruit emerged from the back of my hand. A ray of colorful light escaped from it and merged into the 'Xemorph's' body.

At first, there was no reaction, but then the 'Xemorph' began to shake, and a colorful cocoon soon enveloped it.

Watching the whole scene, I was the only one who didn't know what was going on.

Looking at Ruit still on the back of my hand, I tried to ask, "What are you doing?" But instead of responding, it simply disappeared.

There was nothing I could do, so I tried to check the status of the 'Xemorph.'

[CANNOT CHECK STATUS, THE OBJECT IS UNDER EVOLUTION]

[CANNOT CHECK STATUS, THE OBJECT IS UNDER EVOLUTION]

[CANNOT CHECK STATUS, THE OBJECT IS UNDER EVOLUTION]

Seeing these notifications, I realized that whatever Ruit had done might be beneficial for me. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't do anything at the moment.

Having nothing else to do, I resumed embedding the runes in my mental space.

After about an hour, I had made only some progress. Just as I was lamenting the difficulty, I heard a cracking sound.

Opening my eyes instantly, I grabbed my sword, ready for any attack. But after thoroughly checking my surroundings and seeing nothing, I relaxed a bit.

Now searching for the source of the sound, I saw a small crack appearing on the cocoon. Seeing it, I knew the evolution was about to be completed.

After about five minutes, the cocoon was completely covered with deep cracks and seemed like it might break at any moment.

As the cocoon started to shake, looking like something was about to emerge from inside, I couldn't help but wonder what color the butterfl..... ahem, the 'Xemorph' would look like.

Although others might think that something emerging from a colorful cocoon would be colorful or white, this thought was quickly dispelled when a hand tore through the cocoon, revealing a creature covered in pitch-black darkness.

The new 'Xemorph' before me had the same body as before, but now it wore a pale-colored mask with an eerie, cracked smile and two holes for eyes, filled with darkness.

"F-..F...FATHER," a cracked, rusty voice said from the being in front of me.

Hearing it call me "father" left me dumbfounded. Being a father at only 11 years old was indescribable.

Not thinking much about it, I decided to check the status of this being.

[Name: .....]