Chapter 122 - Going For The Soul

While Gisle and the other members of Last Light were busy usurping new territories, Wain climbed up one of the towers and took a bird's eye view of the city.

He smoked and, exhaling a puff of smoke, muttered, "Because of the monster invasion, about a third of the surviving city has been destroyed. At this point, there are hardly any buildings left intact or not seriously damaged. I should be on my guard. That white ray could be dangerous."

Wain then looked toward the eastern part of the city. He could see the canyon separating the two sides and just as long a bridge that Clovis had built in a few hours.

"I hope the fire goblins are all right. Also, there is most likely a man with a craftsman's soul as a builder in Black Pearl. Given the city's current state, he and Clovis are a hundred times more valuable than gold and most other people. Frankly, at this point, even I'm not as important to the organization as these two." Wain muttered.

At different times, different people and abilities were valuable. During battles, men like Wain and Zero were indispensable and were the main force of an entire army. They could change the outcome of a major battle with their actions.

However, at this point, all organizations needed people with craft souls. Since they needed to recover quickly from the monster invasion, no one was prepared for this sudden catastrophe.

Of course, people like Gisle, who were leaders, were always important in all situations. However, in most cases, the organization's head was not capable of solving any problems by his own efforts.

Gisle was an excellent leader, but he could not build more than a hundred meters long wooden bridge in a few hours like Clovis. Also, Gisle was quite strong, but not as strong as Wain or Zero.

Gisle could be called the organization's brain, while the other men were his arms, shields, and swords. Sure, Gisle was capable of standing up for himself, but leading an organization that included hundreds of people was a priority.

'Hmm, for the next month, I probably won't have any contact with Gisle. He will be as busy developing the organization as Elsa is. The fire goblins are under her protection. Soon these creatures will be the main forge in Overion, led by Lea.' Thought Wain blowing out a puff of smoke.

'I must use this month to the best of my ability. Moreover, in three months, a huge island will appear somewhere. I'm sure something incredible and dangerous will happen then as well. I need to be prepared for anything.' Mumbled Wain to himself.

Wain was going to go to this island as well as all those who knew about it. However, he only knew what the island looked like and when it would appear.

'Hopefully, in the next three months, Gisle or I will be able to find other parts of the map. Hmm, Harald came from the eastern part. Perhaps there are more pieces of the map there? I'll have to go there, but a little later.' Wain thought.

Then he closed his eyes, and his aura began to intensify. He was about to determine the exact location of the Sorcerer's Soul. From the moment Wain opened his second form, he became much stronger. Now he was ready to see what the third form was capable of.

Whooosh.

The Seal of Darkness glowed brightly, and Wain's mind drifted into the distance. He looked at the location of the necessary soul as if through a blurred camera lens.

Then Wain turned his head to the left and muttered, "There."

He could feel the aura of the soul he needed emanating from there. Also, when Wain closed his eyes, he saw several bookcases, a spacious room, and hundreds of books scattered on the floor.

"Apparently, the soul to unlock the third form is in the library. Hmm, considering I need the Sorcerer's Soul, that seems about right." Mumbled Wain, and there was a phone in his hand the next moment.

To the side he was looking at was just one small library. Wain nodded. Now he had a target.

...

After a few hours, when Wain had eaten, gained his strength, and fully recovered, he decided to head towards the library.

During this time, everyone in the city's north had learned about the change in power. Gisle was now the rightful owner of these lands and controlled half of Overion.

Wain went out the main entrance and jumped onto the nearest buildings a few seconds later. As he had time to figure out, this was the most efficient method of getting around the city.

At this point, Wain had no desire to waste his time fighting ordinary monsters. 

After he would get the Sorcerer's Soul, he would go to Dungeons, explored and unexplored. Only there, and in the Nests, would he find serious opponents and valuable items.

'Hmm, now all the north is in Gisle's domain, which means all the Dungeons and Nests as well. I shall have to find out more about these places from him. I might be able to find the monsters I want there.' Wain thought, jumping from building to building.

At the beginning of the apocalypse, finding the right soul to improve a skill or another soul was quite difficult. However, the more time passed after the apocalypse began, the easier it became to find the right soul.

Of course, if a person was not strong enough, even knowing the exact location would not allow them to get a soul. But, sometimes, there were cases where the search was much harder and longer than the actual soul extraction.

For strong people like Wain, finding the right monster and gathering the right amount of Soul Essence was the biggest problem. Wain doubted that he could encounter an opponent more powerful than Forgotten in any Dungeon.

'However, perhaps I am overconfident. Imp Leader was able to inflict some serious wounds on me. This monster was probably not the strongest of all the First Chronicle monsters in existence.' Wain pondered.

When Wain first improved one of his skills, he created the necessary monster himself. He used zombies and large amounts of electricity to further obtain a soul with the lightning attribute.

Wain would have liked to experiment and evolve in this direction like a scientist, but at the moment, it was impossible. He didn't have enough time and conditions.

He needed a real laboratory, test monsters, and many different substances and reagents. He could not allow himself to relax and waste time on experiments when he could grow stronger and take a step forward every day.

Of course, it would become harder for people to get stronger over time. The same principle worked here as in computer games: the higher the level, the harder it was to get even higher. 

However, this rule worked in the real world and was simply borrowed and adapted by the game creators.

If now Wain could go into the Dungeon and kill every monster and raise one or even two levels in the meantime, the situation would change dramatically after a while. He might have to spend several weeks just to make another step forward.

'Hmm, it's been two months since the apocalypse began, and already organizations are starting to develop, take over resource points, and even organization leaders are making plans to start wars.' Thought Wain was running forward.

Going to Dungeon and Nest was the easiest way to find the right soul to improve the skill. Since these places were under the rule of some organizations, they had information about each of these spaces. 

Various monsters also lived in normal locations such as forests, fields, deserts, and so on. All of this was valuable information and territories.

This data could be sold to strangers and distributed for free to organization members. Even now, some organizations were charging for entry into Dungeon or Nest in the form of a few weak souls or cheap gear.

This area was just developing, so the prices were almost symbolic. Since Wain was on good terms with Gisle, he would have no problem getting all the needed information.

'Huh, on some level, it's like the emergence of a new civilization, spheres of activity and business.'

He was sure that in the future when cities once again had electricity and internet everywhere, anyone would be able to find out in which Dungeon, which monsters lived. It would be as easy as ordering food from a restaurant.

People would prepare for this event, work to get a few souls, and buy equipment with them. After that, they would go to their first Dungeon. It sounds like a bright future, and it would surely come someday.

However, while such people would no longer have to worry about being attacked by a monster at any time, they would have other problems. It would be complicated for them to climb to the top. It would be an almost impossible task.

They would have better starting conditions and ordinary life. But if any human wants to become as strong as Zero or Agnes, they would have to do an unimaginable amount of work.

'Gradually, people will get civilization back on track, but it will be adapted to current realities.' Thought Wain. He smiled and muttered, "What a good thing this world will gradually change, otherwise at some point, it would become too boring here, as if it were mine."

Then Wain stopped and opened the skills improvement menu. When he was in the lava fields, he got a huge amount of Soul Essence.. Wain was sure it was enough to improve some skill.