Tristan opened his eyes and his gaze instantly locked onto the pills on the alchemist's hand. A look of fervor appeared on his face and he quickly leaped out of the sofa, standing in front of the alchemist in a second.
"Oh, Engo is here." It was clear from his words that he only now noticed the alchemist.
Master Engo gave a strained laugh, apparently not minding the indifference. He even seemed as if he was used to this. He directly offered the pills and bowed. "Greetings, Elder Tristan. These are less potent pills. I will start working on a fresh batch right away."
"Mmm…" Tristan rolled the pills on his hand and gave a nod in response before starting to walk away from the room in deep thought. He completely forgot about Liam and everyone else in the room as he simply left the room and disappeared into the corridor.
"Ah. We will see each other soon, Master Engo. Good luck with the pill concoction." Seraphine awkwardly cleared her throat before excusing herself and running behind the man.
Liam then saw the alchemist's face visibly darken. On the outside, he seemed as if he was used to and did not mind at all the way in which he was treated but his mood had definitely shifted. "Come. Let's leave. We have work to do." He barked at his attendant and quickly left the room.
Only Liam was now left in the chamber as none bothered to spare him another glance.
"That was…" Liam had a grim expression on his face. He almost made his way into the eternal sword palace but at the last minute, his opportunity was wrestled away from him. He clenched his fist and then headed back to the inn. He immediately vacated his room there and headed to the system shop tower. He might have lost the opportunity with the eternal sword palace but he had gained a lot more than those black ice rocks back in the frozen world. To know exactly what he was dealing with, he needed to talk to the dead.
Liam walked into the system shop and headed for the elevator. This time he did not go for the teleportation portals. Instead, he booked one of the secure rooms available in the system shop.
These secure rooms allowed one to perform their task without the prying eyes of the outsiders. Since it was vouched for by the system one could somewhat guarantee the safety. Sure, these rooms were expensive, but the alternative was teleporting all the way back to earth and that was way more expensive.
Liam entered the room and immediately summoned the first soul he had grabbed on his way out of that deadly chaos, the soul of the orc Grakk. He quickly sat down in a meditative pose and steadied himself, already feeling the soul struggle in his grasp.
Liam flinched in pain as an enormous amount of dark energy surged through his body, emanating from the soul he had captured. The intensity of the force threatened to overwhelm him, but he steadied himself, focusing his mind and channeling his own soul energy to contain it.
However, it was not that easy. The soul he had summoned was powerful—far more potent than he had anticipated. It writhed and struggled, its essence filled with anger and despair. Liam took a deep breath, drawing upon his soul strength to create a barrier around the soul, stabilizing its turbulent energy.
"Who dares to bind me?" a haunting voice echoed within his mind. "A pitiful awakener wants to harvest my soul? This Grakk will not allow you. Die. Die."
The next second Liam's surroundings blurred and twisted and he found himself standing on top of a mountain. The orc stood in front of him, like a mountain on top of the mountain. In front of his huge stature, Liam was nothing.
The next second, the world turned red and the orc raised his hand. Black smoke billowed out of his hand forming a massive black spear that crackled with energy. The orc's eyes burned with fury as he hurled the spear directly at Liam.
Liam only had an instant to dodge the attack but his being was at an extreme pressure, making him feel frozen on the spot. He summoned the strength of his dao seeds instinctively to erect barriers but it was simply not enough.
The black spear came at him like an unstoppable force. It slammed on him, sending him hurtling across the ethereal landscape. Pain surged through Liam's body as he crashed into a jagged outcropping, the impact fracturing the ground beneath him. Gasping for breath, he struggled to stand, his vision blurred and ears ringing.
"Is that all you've got?" Grakk's voice boomed, dripping with contempt. The orc loomed over him like a dark titan, the red sky casting ominous shadows across his fierce visage. "Pathetic."
Liam trembled, enormous pain assaulting him but his eyes widened at the sight of his current condition. He was severely wounded and yet no blood seeped out of him.
Liam was in a trance for a moment before he snapped out of it. Realization flooded his mind: this wasn't the physical world—it was a battle within his own consciousness. The absence of blood from his wounds confirmed it. Despite the pain feeling incredibly real, his injuries didn't behave as they should.
This was a confrontation of souls, a clash of wills.
He would have realized it sooner but the opponent's soul this time was so much more powerful than his. He had grossly miscalculated the aftermath of trying to subdue a powerful soul. But now that he had better control of the situation…
Liam cracked his neck and stood up. He was not about to go down without a fight, considering that they were currently standing on his home ground, his soul space.
Grakk misinterpreted Liam's sudden stillness as surrender. "Have you finally accepted your fate?" the orc sneered, taking a menacing step forward. The ground trembled beneath his massive feet.