This Lich Requests More Remuneration

Within the gloomy ancient castle, candlelight flickered dimly.

Amberser used his skeleton-like fingers to open the envelope, breaking the crimson wax seal with a crisp sound that also shattered the magical seal on the envelope.

As he unfolded the parchment inside, the pale blue ghostfire in Amberser's eye sockets flickered a few times.

"Dear Master Amberser, after review by our editors at 'Legendary Spells' publishing house, we regret to inform you that your research paper 'Research on the Non-Humanoid Form Modification of Undead Creatures' is not suitable for publication in the 'Legendary Spells' monthly magazine. We suggest submitting to a magical academic journal with less stringent review requirements."

A surge of pale blue flame burst from Amberser's fingertips, turning the letter of rejection into ash, and he said with great reluctance, "My paper is detailed with data and innovative in perspective. How could it possibly fail to meet the standards? Is it just discrimination toward Liches, discrimination against Undead Magic?"

'Legendary Spells' is the world's highest standard magical monthly magazine founded by the Nine Great Kingdoms and thirteen Legendary Mages, open to spellcasters of any race and nationality to publish their magical theories.

Since its inception, 'Legendary Spells' has made significant contributions to the development of magic in the world, with the foundational theories for over twenty Legendary Magic Curses appearing in this publication.

All spellcasters take pride in having their papers published in 'Legendary Spells', with court mages of the Nine Great Kingdoms even using the number of published papers as a standard for eligibility, lacking the chance even for an interview if they have fewer than three.

However, Amberser, a scholar famous for successful submissions many times before, had been rejected three times in the last two years.

Amberser believed the reason was simple; he had recently reincarnated as a Lich. And the new editor-in-chief of 'Legendary Spells' was a staunch Light Priest with an extreme bias against Undead Creatures.

"What's wrong with choosing to reincarnate as a Lich when there are so many ways to achieve immortality?"

Dissatisfied, Amberser waved his hand to sweep the ashes from the table to the floor. A bizarrely shaped skeleton crawled over and swiftly swept the ashes away.

This skeleton's design was quite bizarre—only the upper body resembled a normal human skeleton while the lower half bore eight spider-like bone legs, crawling with great speed. However, its arms seemed to have their joints fixed, allowing only limited movement, which appeared stiff, but its cleaning motions were extremely precise and swift.

Compact enough to climb walls and crawl under tables, it was clear that this "special type" skeleton had been specially designed to clean.

This was Amberser's "Non-Humanoid Form Modification of Undead Creatures", a specialized Alien Skeleton which was more efficient than the ungainly, clumsy bipedal type.

However, such modifications weren't cheap, and just the initial experiments had emptied his wallet; Amberser was now somewhat regretting his reincarnation as a Lich.

But the Youth Magic Potion was simply too expensive, and with Silvermoon Tribunal's recent ban on the export of two of its main ingredients, the price of the potion had skyrocketed even further.

Even Legendary Mages weren't sitting on surplus resources, and the Legendary Grace Amberser received when he advanced to Legendary was the "Pseudo-Soul;" he could create something akin to a soul with some simple materials, which looked similar and wasn't much different in use.

This talent was too good not to use as a Lich.

Hence, when the price of the Youth Magic Potion rose to five hundred thousand Gold Coins a bottle, Amberser decisively chose to reincarnate as a Lich.

To hell with the Silver Moon High Elves and their monopoly over longevity—relying on their long lifespans. Amberser swore that once he had enough money, he would short sell the Youth Magic Potion, driving those sprouts into bankruptcy.

But now the problem returned to the matter of the rejection. As a Legendary Mage who rarely went out, the majority of Amberser's income came from the publication fees of 'Legendary Spells', and after consecutive rejections, he began to run short on money.

Although a Lich doesn't need food or drink, conducting Undead Magic experiments required money, maintaining the ancient castle required money, even the upkeep of his Life Casket was all about money!

Amberser needed to find a way to make some money now, or he'd truly become so poor he wouldn't be able to afford to replace a torn robe.

"How can I make money?" Amberser couldn't help but fall into deep thought. Ordinary mages could find work as magic consultants for nobles, earning a handsome salary. But at the Legendary level, one would need to seek employment at the royal court—average nobles couldn't afford to hire a Legendary Mage, and the same went for a Legendary Lich.

It's just that within the Nine Great Kingdoms, there were only two that would willingly accept a Lich, and they were far from Amberser's location. As a newly minted Lich and a seasoned Legendary Mage, Amberser fully understood that sometimes the difference between one Legendary and another could be even greater than the divide between a mortal and a Legendary.

His mastery of Undead Magic was mediocre, so getting hired wasn't guaranteed, and the cost of opening a continental portal if he failed was a crippling loss. Damn Silvermoon Tribunal! Those sprout-like elves were the ones who drove up the cost of the continental portals!

Besides, being far from home meant not only facing the possibility of a loss in travel expenses, but there was also the risk of one's very being at stake. Even the weakest Legendary is still a Legendary, and no one would refuse the opportunity to enslave a Legendary Lich.

Amberser had contemplated whether he could make money from his "Pseudo-Soul," but his peers would argue, why spend three times the price for your fake when a human slave costs a few dozen copper coins and comes with a genuine soul?

This left Amberser speechless and made him feel his "Pseudo-Soul" Legendary Grace was nothing but a waste of a skill.

"I need to consult some money-making methods for Liches."

With a flick of his finger, a thick tome of magic flew out from beside the desk. The cover was inlaid with a delicate skeleton relief—this was the Necromancy Codex that the Elegy Poetry Society had sent to Amberser after he reincarnated as a Lich. It contained many fundamental pieces of knowledge about Liches, including the most important "One Hundred Taboos after Reincarnating as a Lich."

Reminders such as not habitually opening the curtains first thing upon waking, not using the Daylight Spell as a candle substitute, and not keeping dogs were indeed very helpful for Amberser.

But now, Amberser wasn't looking to review common knowledge. Instead, he flipped to the last page of the book and with a convergence of magic energy at his fingertip, wrote the following: "Friends, may your Soul Fires burn eternally. I'm a bit short on Gold Coins lately. Could anyone advise on how a Lich is supposed to make money?"

The magical text congealed and remained clear, rippling on the page like light waves.

Moments later, new writing appeared.

[Withered Rose: Don't you earn a lot from your manuscript fees? After turning into a Lich, you should be saving money—undead experiments are the cheapest.]

This Withered Rose was a senior Lich and a core member of the Elegy Poetry Society.

The Elegy Poetry Society was mysterious; every Lich newly turned would receive the mysterious Necromancy Codex from the Society's Guild Leader—a figure unknown to Amberser even now. At the time, he couldn't even sense who'd placed the codex next to his corpse.

The process of reincarnation was when a Lich was the most vulnerable. Had the Guild Leader held even the slightest malice, Amberser would have already become his puppet.

The members of the Elegy Poetry Society were few, mainly staying in touch through the Necromancy Codex, and they all used codenames to refer to each other.

Amberser's alias within the Society was Diga Ultraman.

[Diga Ultraman: "Don't even mention it. The new editor of 'Legendary Spells' has rejected my submissions three times; that racist bastard has pushed me to the brink of bankruptcy. Lady Rose, how do you make money usually? Could you share some tips?"]

[Withered Rose: Oh, I heard their new editor is a Light Priest, so they've started discriminating against the undead openly, huh? Such outrageous humans. In Gloomyland, I usually dig for benefits from the Drow Elves— they are the best Gold Mines, whether it's their spiders, collections, or even their corpses.]

Amberser helplessly replied, "Lady Rose, while there are racial conflicts within this Kingdom I'm in, the Council of Alchemy Magicians would not allow large-scale capture of other Races for experimental materials."

Withered Rose hadn't yet come up with a new suggestion when another member of the Elegy Poetry Society chimed in on the page.

[Headless Knight's Crown: Brother Diga, I urgently need a bottle of Living Mercury Solution. If you could help me get one from Alchemy City, I'm willing to buy it at a high price.]