A purple Skill Book floated in front of Wain. He didn't expect to gain any skill since this was his third Skill Book of all time. Whole Souls was hard to get, as one could get something of value for crushing these souls.

Wain wanted to put his palm to the book and get his skill, but suddenly he threw up a mouthful of blood. His wound began to bleed at a new rate, and he fell to the ground.

"Damn..." Wain whispered as he watched the snow and sand flood with his blood.

Because of receiving such a valuable soul and so much Soul Essence, Wain had forgotten that he had just experienced a series of incredible events. He fought some serious battles and was mortally wounded by Purple Pilgrim.

Although Wain absorbed the energy of Soul Pearl, his wounds have not healed. A massive cut on his chest remained, and he was bleeding.

Beyond was undone, and Wain could hardly remain conscious. Everything in front of his eyes blurred and gradually went dark. Wain tried to resist, but even he had limits. His body and mind were on edge, and after a few seconds, he lost consciousness.

Wain urgently needed medical attention, or he would die of blood loss and body overload.

...

His body was gradually covered with sand as his life slowly came to its end.

Most monsters saw his battle with Purple Pilgrim from afar, including the Ice Knight. So when the black tornado calmed down and the fighting ended, the Ice Knight decided to head in the direction of where Wain was.

This place was quite far away, so it took the Ice Knight a few minutes to get to the final point of the battle. It was quick, but every second was as valuable as gold at that moment.

Everything under the Ice Knight's feet turned to ice, creating a frozen trail stretching out of the Ice Caves behind him.

When he reached Wain, he saw that he was almost completely covered in snow and sand. Only his head was looking out. The Ice Knight panicked as Wain's condition was critical.

The monster didn't hesitate and quickly lifted Wain onto his back before running towards the Ice Caves. Unfortunately, the Ice Knight didn't have any healing abilities, but he hoped that one of the monsters could heal Wain.

After a few minutes, the Ice Knight returned to the Ice Caves, where the process of raising the Rank Zone was still going on. Many monsters were surprised to see Wain practically dead, but none tried to kill him. There was no point in that.

Even if one of the monsters attacked Wain now, the Ice Knight would protect him. Moreover, according to most of the monsters, Wain was the best leader possible.

He gave them energy crystals and created the right conditions for their rapid progress. The bonuses that monsters received because Wain was the owner of Ice Caves were also impressive.

The Ice Knight didn't ask the monsters about their healing skills. Instead, he headed towards the lake. The Ice Knight's idea was that the cold liquid in the lake would slow the bleeding and stop increasing other wounds. He would then have more time to find a way to heal Wain.

Normal water freezes when the temperature drops to zero, but the water in this lake does not freeze even though its temperature is below thirty degrees. Such a temperature without special clothes and equipment was deadly for a normal person, but it was an average point for Wain.

The Ice Knight knew this, so he plunged Wain into the water. The Knight was horrified to look at Wain's wounds as he could see the bones through them. Wain was lucky that Purple Pilgrim had not destroyed any vital organs, otherwise, he would have died.

After the Ice Knight left Wain in the lake, he searched for monsters that could heal Wain. At this time, Wain's body cooled and was covered in a thin layer of ice. His whole body was saturated with frosty energy, and his skin was gradually turning blue due to the low temperature.

Wain was unconscious, but at that moment, a strange change was happening in his Soul Altar. The icy energy soaking his body channeled into the Soul Altar because Wain could not absorb this energy like monsters or other creatures. This was a fatal flaw in all humanity.

...

In the dark castle, a black crown floated in the middle of the gray platform in the main hall. It was the symbol of Wain's and his Beyond. On the platform as before were three silhouettes, each signifying some form.

The icy energy was headed toward the man in the massive torn cloak. He was surprised by what was happening but did not resist.

"Huh, looks like one of us is about to get stronger." Said the man in the black and white armor upside down, hovering in the air in a lotus pose.

Cursed Swordsman nodded, "Yes, because of him, we can move forward as well."

Blind Sorcerer smiled, "That's not exactly true, we are him. Right now, it's not you that's getting stronger, it's him, we're one."

Cursed Swordsman said nothing. He observed the energy headed toward the chains on his left arm.

There were seven chains in all, and now one of them was slowly beginning to glow blue. It shattered into hundreds of pieces when the chain became as bright as a neutron star.

At that moment, an enormous amount of icy energy burst out of the Cursed Swordsman, consuming the entire castle. The ice turned it into a massive glacier, and then the eye on the crown opened.

The next moment, toothy jaws appeared on the castle's walls, which quickly absorbed all the ice and returned the castle to its former appearance.

The Cursed Swordsman smiled, which happened very rarely.

"Great, six more to go."

...

The Ice Knight returned to the lake with several monsters a few hours later. Two of them had healing powers and could help Wain. One of the monsters was a girl who looked like an ice mermaid. The other was a short goblin with a wooden staff in his hand.

The Ice Knight gave the sign, and the monsters began to act. Other monsters came except the mermaid and the goblin, but they had no healing abilities. Their task would be to help the mermaid and the goblin with ice crystals and their powers.historical

Before that, the goblin and the mermaid looked at Wain's condition and realized they could not cope without help. They needed to perform a ritual that the goblin knew well to heal him.

The mermaid jumped into the freezing water, and the goblin bit his hand and began to draw a circle with various symbols and signs on the ice.

The monsters got up around the circle and put large amounts of energy crystals on the ground. They also set their paws to the outline of the circle. The Ice Knight, as the strongest monster, stood in the center. He was the core of this ritual.

The goblin gave the signal when everything was ready, and the mermaid headed toward Wain. She was to begin healing, and the goblin would use the energy from the ritual to maintain the mermaid's power reserves. The ritual would also increase Wain's regeneration rate, which would help the mermaid heal him faster.

The mermaid swam up to Wain and gently touched his face and kissed him, but that was only the first step. Then energy began to emanate from her body, transforming into musical notes.

They began to vibrate, and at that moment, everyone heard a pleasant sound, like a divine orchestra. It was a beautiful sound that everyone wanted to hear forever, but they had a more important task.

As all the monsters in this hall, the mermaid was a First Chronicle creature, but her powers were not enough to heal Wain's terrible wounds.

The goblin nodded and tapped his wooden staff on the ice, and the bloody circle glowed. At that moment, energy from the crystals began to flow to the Ice Knight as he stood in the center of the circle.

The Ice Knight then redirected the energy to the mermaid. Of course, they could have put Wain in the center of the circle, but the Ice Knight was afraid that any extra movement might be critical.

The mermaid was already beginning to tire, but when she received a boost of energy from the Ice Knight, her energy reserves were fully restored.

The music continued to play, and Wain's wounds gradually healed. The mermaid would not heal Wain completely, but she could make sure that his life was no longer in danger. This was their main goal, for they had to save their leader.

Ten hours later, the monsters had used over a thousand crystals. To their surprise, it took much more energy to heal Wain than they had initially planned.

However, they succeeded. Wain slowly opened his eyes, and the first thing he felt was a chill on his lips. He looked in surprise at the mermaid, who swam away as soon as Wain awoke.

Wain emerged from the lake and looked at the dozens of tired monsters. They were tired but happy with their result. For now, Wain was in no danger.

'Huh, I must admit that despite my dislike of teamwork, I would have died this time without the help of others. Sometimes, though, cooperation and the role of the head brings not only problems but also benefits.' Thought Wain.

He was a loner, but he understood that the help of others in certain situations was necessary.

"You did a good job." Wain said with a slight smile on his face and headed for the exit. At that moment, he touched the Ice Knight's shoulder as if to express his personal gratitude.

It wasn't hard for Wain to guess that the Ice Knight was the one who found him and brought him here. Wain would have been buried forever under the dunes if not for him.

Wain walked through the icy tunnel and muttered, "They cured me, but not completely. My whole body hurts, and my internal organs are damaged. It looks like I have to stay in this place for a while before I go any farther. It's too dangerous to fight with these wounds."

Then Wain went into his inventory, and a violet book appeared in his hands. Wain had not been able to open it before since he was unconscious, but now the time had come.

Wain put his hand on the book, and it turned into hundreds of symbols that headed for his glabella. Then Wain saw a description of a new skill in front of him.

[Ghost Healing Threads (First Chronicle Passive Skill, Heroic Rating)

Ghostly threads and needles will appear around the wound and heal you when you are wounded. Ghost Threads can heal anything from minor scratches to deep cuts and torn organs. However, the threads cannot remove poison, various toxins, or treat curses.

Thanks to the effect of ghost threads, your overall regeneration is increased by 50%.

Also, this skill has one feature. It is partly also an active skill. Once a month, you can use Ghost Healing Threads to heal a particularly severe wound.

You can even regrow a lost limb or regrow an organ, but there are exceptions. You can't regenerate your brain and heart, even if you somehow survive the loss of those organs]

"Hell, if I had touched the book then, this ritual might not have been necessary. Still, it's a great skill, especially the active part. To regenerate a limb or some organ is an incredible opportunity..." Wain muttered.

Wain closed the description of the skill, and he felt his body begin to recover the next moment. Invisible threads appeared around his damaged organs, gradually healing him.

'Great, at this rate, I'll be fine in one or two days, that's pretty fast. Moreover, after defeating Purple Pilgrim, I got a large amount of Soul Essence, that's a big jump in my development. I have six levels left, after which I will know the conditions to evolve a second time.' Thought Wain was walking slowly on the tunnel.

After a few steps, Wain realized that he had forgotten something important. He opened the menu of Voids management and saw many messages in front of him. While he was healing, the zone's Rank development was over.