"The Dilemma of Choosing Between a Magic Guild and a Zombie Crypt"

"How can we help you, Brother Alex?" the old one-eyed man asked eagerly. "If you have an idea, I can have Old Fluffy bring something over for you right away." Alex nodded and said, "If I really need it, I'll be sure to give a fair price for it." The old one-eyed man chuckled and called for a young man to bring Old Fluffy, who arrived within half an hour with a wine bottle in hand. Old Fluffy was a slightly hunched, old man with cloudy eyes and a wrinkled face, quite different from his former self as a peak apprentice knight in the Kingdom Knights. Alcohol and illness had taken their toll on him. "Old Fluffy, this is Mr. Alex GOLDERT, a generous and honourable sir," the old one-eyed man introduced him.

Old One-Eyed quickly embraced Fluffy, winked secretly, and introduced himself. Old Fluffy, an old alcoholic, had just learned Alex's identity from a thin young man and was trying to be friendly. He opened a worn-out old suitcase that was meant for lower-ranked knights, revealing a collection of debris including metal and ceramic fragments. Alex was not interested in making friends with Fluffy, but rather focused on the contents of the suitcase. He found a total of twenty-four fragments, with one-third containing psychic energy. One broken metal disc in particular contained a significant amount of psychic energy, causing Alex to feel a slight electric shock when touching it. Alex was delighted by the strong spiritual energy contained in the fragments and expressed interest in purchasing them from Fluffy.

Old Fluffy was unsure how to respond when he was asked about the value of the tattered box. He knew that it was useless to him, but Old One Eye had informed him that it would be useful to Alex. However, he was afraid that the price would be too high and frighten Alex away, as there were no other buyers. After a moment of hesitation, he tentatively told Alex, "I do not know what these things are worth to you, but I trust in your noble personality. If you can quote a price, I will consider it." Alex thought to himself that the old alcoholic was cunning and had put a high price on the items, but he could not make the offer too low or risk making the old one-eyed middleman angry. He considered for a moment before saying, "I will offer fifty gold pounds for the tattered box and the suitcase." Old Fluffy's eyes lit up with excitement at the offer and he looked at Old One Eye, who nodded in agreement.

The old one-eyed man is aware that Alex paid a high price to preserve their relationship and has a small amount of affection towards Alex as a result. However, this affection will not influence his future business decisions. Later, Alex returned to GOLDERT Castle with a suitcase and could not wait to use the psychic energy he had acquired. There were eight fragments in total, containing nearly 1,110 psychic powers, with the broken metal disc holding 500 of them alone. The total amount of remaining psychic energy, 1,095, excited and overwhelmed Alex as he had to decide how to use it. He had the option to upgrade the town hall, build a magic guild, or build a zombie crypt. However, the cost of upgrading the town hall, 2,000 psychic energies, caused him to reconsider his choices and he ultimately chose to either build a magic guild or a zombie crypt.

If you construct a guild for magic, you will likely acquire new magic and potentially obtain the meditation that Grimm desperately requires. The advantages of cultivating zombie crypts are also not inferior. The second-level arm zombie and zombie variant ghoul possess a combat power of [6.8] at the start, which surpasses that of the upgraded gun skeleton soldier. Soldiers fight together. Alex could not make a decision until the carriage returned to GOLDERT Castle. In reality, he still prefers the latter option. Although meditation is crucial, it is a long-term process and building the [Zombie Crypt] can actually enhance the current strength. As Alex was about to go back and think more, he saw a servant running towards him as soon as he got off the carriage. The valet quickly replied that a lady had come to visit an hour ago, saying that she had made an appointment and brought something for Alex. Alex immediately thought of Kelly Foster and asked if she was still present.

Alex's heart was filled with emotion as he entered the reception room. If Kelly had truly come to deliver the meditation technique, he would no longer need to worry. Instead, he had given up on the magic guild and decided to build a zombie crypt. However, the person waiting for him in the room was not Kelly, but a mature woman in her early thirties. Despite her beauty and alluring appearance, Alex sensed a powerful and deadly presence emanating from her. As the owner of GOLDERT Castle, the butler Edger accompanied the woman in the room. Once Alex arrived, Edger excused himself, leaving Alex alone with the mysterious woman.

Alex greeted the woman, Cindy, and introduced himself as Alex GOLDERT. She responded politely and presented him with a small wooden box from her leather handbag. Inside was a crystal pendant, which Alex recognized as a magic crystal. When he activated it with his magic power, the crystal projected an ancient book in front of him. The book contained the "Gelfice Meditation Third Edition."

Alex withdrew his magic and the ancient book projection disappeared. He turned to Cindy and asked if there were any other orders. Cindy responded that Ms Foster had mentioned that Alex's soul was very interesting and had a unique colour that she had never seen before. She hoped to see him again and wished him good luck. Alex was worried that Ms Foster might be able to see through his soul and suspect that he was a transmigrator. However, he reasoned that this world did not have the concept of transmigration and Ms Foster did not seem to have any malicious intent. Despite this, Alex remained cautious, as he did not want to be caught off guard by a potential great magician. He also dismissed the idea that Ms Foster was attracted to him, as he had just been transformed into a half lich.

Instead, he suspected that Ms Foster was planning to reap benefits from their interaction in the future. Alex had a feeling that whatever she invested in him now would be returned to her tenfold in the future.

Alex's thoughts turned to the legendary existence of the devil. He knew that demons did exist in this world, but he did not believe that they were all greedy, sinister, and vicious. According to legend, demons lived in purgatory and tempted humans to commit unforgivable crimes in order to harvest their sinful souls. However, Alex thought that these descriptions of demons were not necessarily true and that most of the incarnations of evil were deceitful. He believed that demons were a chaotic and evil extraordinary race.

Cindy noticed that Alex was frowning and smiled mysteriously before getting up and saying goodbye. Alex did not ask any questions, as he sensed that this woman was not simple and any questions, he had would likely go unanswered. Instead, he focused on developing his own abilities as a necromancer and reading the "Gelfice Meditation 3rd Edition."