Level 16! (2)

Upon hearing this, Heidi was startled. She sighed and said, "Such a forbidden technique... No wonder you progressed so quickly. In this world, everything operates on Equivalent Exchange. Every gift from fate has already been secretly priced... Oh, and Fred, I forgot to mention, there's no longer an Emerald Kingdom in the human realm. It's now the Peacock Kingdom. I'm not sure if your family's castle is still standing... Fryer?"

Heidi glanced at the elderly man resting against the wall.

He had passed away, looking peaceful.

She gently closed his eyes and placed his body into his storage bags.

"Rest well." She returned to the makeshift shelter carved into the cliff and set up the array.

Her expression hesitated, conflicted. Eventually, she opened Fryer's storage bags and retrieved a yellowed black ancient tome. The musty, decaying smell wafted out.

"The Necromancer's Codex..."