*SPLASH*

Drake didn't have time to cast a spell, and thus blocked the spell with his enchanted armour and enchanted shield.

[Beep! 8 degrees of negative energy received]

Drake coughed blood. Despite perfectly blocking the negative energy arrow, Drake was sent flying to the wall. It would have been a deadly hit, if it weren't for his 10.8 points of constitution.

"NO!", Drake shouted as 4 of his subordinates lost their lives.

Fortunately, Rey and the 4 shield bearers had reacted and protected the crossbowmen with their lives. But those who used great swords were unable to survive the 26-degrees-of-damage arrows, and ended up dying on the spot. Even though the shield bearers wore heavy armour sets and possessed enchanted shield, the arrows still wounded them critically.

Drake took a look at the others, and he was instantly met with a hint of despair: Arthur and Jack had died, unable to cast a barrier at time because of the lich's surprise attack, while 5 of the rank 1 acolytes died. Marianne was a rank 3 acolyte, and possessed a defensive magical artefact, and she used it to block the arrows targeting her and Jane.

As for the beastmen..they were already injured. They all died, except for their commander, who had a surprisingly high constitution as a half-grand knight. But since he had already lost a lot of blood, he was no longer conscious and if nothing was done to heal him, he was bound to bleed out.

"Kekeke..You dare trespass my domain! This is what you get for your arrogance!", the lich laughed awkwardly.

Marianne started to cast a spell, but a lich was an undead spellcaster who had unlimited supply of mana within its domain. The amount of shadow elemental particles in the laboratory was unusually high to begin with, and furthermore, a lich was a being that could live eternally. Their mastery of dark spells was something that exceeded humans' understanding.

Before she could finish constructing her spell matrix, the lich disrupted her by using a mental curse.

[Beep! The lich can cast a spell in 0.8 second. It probably possesses a magical artefact that decreases the casting time of mental curses!]

Drake's biochip analysed the lich in a fraction of a second.

[Name: Lich Age – More than 2000 years

Rank: Rank 3 Undead Being

Status: Weakened (Originally a magus-level being)

Attributes:

Strength – 1.9 | Dexterity – 0.4 | Constitution – 5.6 |

Spirit – 20.9 | Mana – 20.9 / 20.9

Perk: Bound to the laboratory

Skills: (?)

Possess at least 3 artefacts on its body]

As Marianne screamed, she suddenly took out a vial and drank it, dispelling the curse. She then rushed towards the beast half-grand knight and chanted a few words. What followed thoroughly shocked Drake.

The beastman commander suddenly rose despite its injury, while opening its eyes. There was no more intelligence in this beastman. Its red fur suddenly became white. Its muscles twitched and started to enlarge themselves. Its eyes turned into a vampiric red colour, and the creature began to drool.

'What the..'

However, the beastman then rushed towards the lich at a speed exceeding Drake's own dexterity, something that Drake had never witnessed in his life. Ever since he had successfully engraved the runes of a rank 2 death mantis on his chest, he could reach a speed that was unheard of. Even Grand Knights, who possessed higher attributes and the ability to ignite their internal life force to become momentarily stronger, faster and sturdier, could not rival him in terms of sheer speed.

But, the beastman commander, or more accurately, the creature it turned into, was moving at an unbelievable speed.

'how is that possible..?'

But Drake's could already guess the answer. The beastmen were the results of Magus Jackal's years of careful grooming and experiments. As a result, they were as strong as peak knights, but he had most likely implemented a way for them to unleash a power surpassing their realm at the cost of their lives.

Drake could sense that the beast's internal energy was being forcefully ignited, and in addition to this, Marianne had activated a mana spell in the back of his consciousness, which increased his attributes dramatically by circulating mana in its meridians. Since it hadn't awakened spirit, doing so was bound to be lethal, but for the moment, it granted the beast attributes surpassing a real Grand-Knight.

The beast charged the lich over and over again, and even though the lich managed to defend every single time with a wall of bones, it was being pushed back over time. Anyone could see that.

*CLANG*

*CLANG*

Of course, it wasn't like the lich was letting itself being pushed back without retaliating. However, because of the beast's speed, the lich always failed to connect its spells and curses on it.

*CLANG*

*CLANG*

The beast's diversion allowed Marianne to prepare a spell. It wasn't the [Thunderbolt spell]. It was something..much more potent. Drake could feel terror just by staying nearby, feeling the enormous power from the mana waves it released.

Drake cast [Wind Barrier] as a means to save himself from the incoming damage, while shouting his subordinates to escape. He ran. This level of strength had already far exceeded his acolyte realm, his real acolyte realm.

He was running for his life.

But..how could the lich possibly allow itself to be destroyed by Marianne?

After chanting a few words: [Khallan Drodur Poli KHAR]

Souls began to materialize, and form a wall of wailing faces in front of the lich.

These souls were screaming in agony, forcing Drake to kneel and cover his ears despite his high constitution and spirit. His subordinates were doing even worse, as they suddenly fainted upon hearing the words.

Marianne, however, seemed to be protected by her magical medallion providing her with a halo of light which neutralized the evil sounds, most likely a one-time use ability that would result in the destruction of the magical artefact, judging from the chaotic waves of mana it released.

Adding to that, Marianne was finishing her spell cast.

'Such instability..How is the medallion still in one piece?', Drake thought

After what seemed to be ten seconds of casting, a magical circle appeared between Marianne's palms, a mighty magical circle, from which a huge beam of electricity came out. The beam then targeted the Lich, and broke through the wall of souls as if it was mere paper. The Lich tried to survive by tearing a parchment that summoned a wall of Ice, but it didn't even succeed in slowing down the beam of electricity.

*BOOM*

The ground started to tremble, and the lich was no more. There wasn't even a pile of ash remaining. He had been thoroughly vaporized. Only two magical artefacts had remained intact, most likely well crafted.

*BOOM*

Marianne then walked towards Jane and used a transparent health potion to heal her.

"Eh..so you survived, huh", Marianne said upon seeing Drake with eyes full of terror

[Beep! [Beam of Electricity] enhanced spell recorded. Estimated amount of damage: 80 Degrees]

Drake had heard that rank 3 acolyte spells were usually limited to 60 degrees of damage. And yet, Marianne's spell had reached 80 points, something that only Magus-level individuals could unleash usually.

Drake checked on his subordinates.

'Damn it..', four of his subordinates had died, and all the others were unconscious. Even if they would recover, it would take months based on the injuries they had suffered from.

"Don't make such a face!", Marianne exclaimed, "Look at me. I lost an army, used all of my trump cards and two of my grandfather's disciples"

Drake looked at her: "Why are you smiling, then?"

"Everything in this room is ours to take! Magical artefacts, enchanted items, magus-level information. As long as we keep it a secret from my grandfather, we will be able to strike it rich!", Marianne said.

Jane then opened her eyes, and nodded.

"I..I didn't expect a lich to defend this place. I apologize, my information was wrong", Jane said in a low voice

"Don't worry. The lich was weakened, and only equal to a rank 3 acolyte in terms of fighting power", Marianne answered, "Just focus on dispelling the curses!"

Jane then bit her lips: "I..It looks like the curse vanished the moment you killed the lich, Marianne. A normal human being would be able to pick up the books and stay healthy.."

Marianne's eyes flashed with greed: "Then..tell me why I should keep you alive?"

Jane felt true terror at the moment: "You..you can't do that! We have written down a contract. You can't do me any harm!"

Drake felt goose bumps upon seeing Marianne's decisiveness

Marianne looked at Drake, titling her head towards Jane, who had suffered too mental fatigue to even lift a finger.

"It's indeed true that I am not bound by the contract", Drake said while standing up with difficulty. Had he been a rank 1 acolyte, he would have fainted like his subordinates, but he was a rank 2 acolyte. The recoil from the wail of the souls was much lighter.

"You can't do that!", Jane screamed, "I am Jane Elderwood! I..Don't you think that she will do the same thing with you?"

Drake then said: "I have my own uses. As long as I have a use for her, she won't kill me, or else I will turn into a 'failed investment', right?"

Marianne clapped her hands in joy: "You're smart! Really smart!"

Drake then proceeded to walk around the room, and approached the lich. Obviously, it wore the best magical artefacts. Unfortunately, only two out of three magical artefacts had remained intact:

[Minor Arcane Orb – Grade 3 Magical Artefact

Amplify all offensive spells with [Arcane Amplification], adding 6 degrees of magical damage.

Requirements: 8 points of Spirit]

[Lich Cape – Grade 2 Magical Artefact

Neutralize the mental curses received by the wearer by 20%, and improve the effectiveness of curses cast by the wearer by 6%.

Requirements: 4 points of spirit.

Note: The effects will likely decrease if the opponent is a Magus.]

As Drake was about to head towards the other 8 magical artefacts piled up on a wall behind sturdy glass, Marianne shouted, seemingly outraged at Drake's endless greed: "That's enough! Don't test my patience"

Drake shuddered slightly.

"Lady Marianne! Look at the big picture. I can see over 30 enchanted weapons, each one of them worth over 50 magic crystals. Of course, their research value is much higher than that, but let's say they are worth 50 Magic Crystals, it would still be enough for you to call this expedition a success!", Drake negotiated, "Let's make a deal, alright? I appraise the other magic artefacts free of charge, as well as the enchanted items. In exchange, I get one more magical artefact. Or I can just stop and you will be forced to share a portion of your earnings to your fellow disciple because of the contract you signed. Or you can kill me, but you won't have a way to get access to-"

Marianne grumbled, but said: "Fine!".

She was probably taken aback by the events. She never expected all the acolytes she had hired to be killed alongside the beastmen and Jack and Arthur, who were praised by Magus Jackal as real talent. Although they had yet to fully exploit their potential, they would have reached the rank 3 acolyte realm in less than twenty years. They were proper grade 4 talents.

As Drake was resuming his actions, Jane was spouting nonsensical words: "I..can give you the secret of Reincarnation! You may not believe me, but I have..memories of an alternate future! That's why I am so strong despite having a shitty talent! I can do a lot of things! My family will reward you generously!"

Seeing that Drake didn't even frown an eyebrow, she continued to beg: "You can enslave me if you want! I am a peak rank 2 acolyte! I will be extraordinarily useful to you if you let me stay alive!"

But Drake wasn't a hero. He was someone with goals, and his most profitable course of action was to get advantage of Marianne's contract that bounded her. Drake's suspicions were also confirmed. Marianne was evil, and as he figured it out, she had probably planned his assassination before even signing the contract. She was that much of an evil personality. But it was yet another reason to get stronger.

Drake didn't mind colluding with Marianne herself. As long as he didn't 'go against her', as indicated in the contract, her success wouldn't threaten him. But it's not like there are not any holes in the contract. She could not even hint someone to kill him, because of the contract.

Since he didn't know when he would be attacked and who would be the opponent, the easiest way to solve his existential crisis was to get stronger. In his situation, the quickest way was to get a hold of magical artefacts, something that was nearly impossible to purchase with magic crystals solely with his lack of network and access to high-circle auctions.

Drake scanned the artefacts.

[Hell Crown – Grade 3 Magical Artefact

Increase Shadow elemental spells' effectiveness by 16%

Requirements: Shadow Affinity (Grade 4 Talent)]

[Mechanical gauntlet – Grade 2 Magical Artefact

Can be used to cast [Mechanical Blast], a rank 2 acolyte-level offensive spell, once a day, free of mana cost.

Requirement: 6 points of spirit.]

..

Although the majority of the artefacts didn't suit him, there was one that matched his close combat fighting style, most likely something that:

[Ghost Pendant – Grade 2 Magical Artefact

Can be used to capture enemies' souls. By consuming a soul, you can heal your wounds. The more powerful the enemy before dying, the more effective the healing will be. If the enemy is very strong, then his soul will only enter a state of weakness before being able to be used again.

Souls stored: 4 875

Requirements: 8 points of spirit]

As Drake approached Jane, he scanned Marianne and hesitated for a while. She was in a weakened state, and taking care of her right now would lighten his burden in the future by a huge margin. But..then he remembered that there was a fearsome magus backing her and being her closest family kin.

Drake unsheathed his sword, and beheaded Jane despite her begging and crying. He used to be honourable, when he was still a knight. His father tried to raise him as a honourable knight. And he did succeed at some point. It looked like a year in Helios had changed his mindset. He only sought strength now. Because the weak were getting killed. Really fast.

And if he didn't take advantage of the opportunity in front of him, only death awaited him. Marianne successfully plotted Jane's death by herself, without lifting a finger. And Jane was someone who was a disciple to a Magus, who stood at the peak of the rank 2 acolyte realm, someone whose buffs changed the tides of the battle a few minutes ago.

Even though Marianne was strong, she would have never survived the lich's encounter if it weren't for Jane. She would have been thoroughly exhausted after dealing with the ghouls and skeleton warriors.

But instead of showing Jane any gratitude, she plotted her death, hinting at Drake to kill her. Because of the contract, she could not say a word about it, or even write a piece of paper explaining the situation. And yet, she managed to hint Drake to kill Jane.

*SPLASH*

Three magical artefacts and privacy about the magus-level information. Even a saint would have been tempted. Magic artefacts allowed rank 1 acolytes to display a fighting power equal to that of rank 2 acolytes, sometimes even greater. In a war, magical artefacts could be stacked, with their effects becoming more and more evident as their number increased. Even Magi would often wear several grades 2 or grade 3 magical equipment to strengthen themselves, even though their effect was diminished on Magus individuals.

This showed how valuable magical artefacts were.

Drake noticed Marianne take out a dark-coloured gem. Sensing Drake's curiosity, she exclaimed: "What? Did you think I would let her die before she revealed her secrets of reincarnation? She was a magus once, yet she managed to reincarnate. Obviously, the side effects are pretty huge considering that she didn't sense us coming, and there is also the problem of incomplete memories. But she still is a Magus! I will be damned if I don't learn all of her secrets!"

This dark-coloured gem was none other than a soul-capturing gem.

Marianne truly was evil-minded. She probably planned on torturing Jane's soul.