Three weeks ago...

"Vivi, what kind of element is this?" I asked, touching the blue head of the sledgehammer.

"Analysing the material..."

"Material analysed!"

"The material is made by mixing the saturated blue flame with cold iron. It can be used to extract Soul stones."

"Vivi, can I use this material to temper the gate's magic circle in Mine Number 10?"

"No, the blue flame inside the hammer head is too saturated to be used as source material."

"Huff, so it can't be done," I sighed, laying back on the stone bed.

"Blue flame... blue flame," I murmured. "Is it the same blue flame I saw in the furnace at the entrance of the metal gate from which I entered?"

"Yes it is!"

"Oh, but if I try to go outside to claim it, I will be burnt to ashes."

"No you won't. When the Host was imprinted by the branding, Vivi removed all the restrictions from the Host's body so you may freely travel through that gate."

I immediately rose to a sitting position and exclaimed, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Without wasting a second, I activated Vyaghra's blessing and reached the metal gate at the border of the village.

"Vivi, if I die here, I will forever hunt you as a ghost," I gulped, extending my hand toward the gate.

Fortunately, my body passed through the gate as if it wasn't there at all.

On the other side, the two bald men who had branded my back were still there. The furnace was placed beside one of them in which the blue flame burned intensely.

"Vivi, how am I supposed to claim this flame?" I asked.

"If you intend to only use it as a source, then put a Soul stone inside the furnace and let the flames ignite it."

"Alright then, let's do it," I declared inwardly. "But before that, I should take care of these baldies."

From the moment my eyes fell on their blinding smooth heads, I had been holding back. But not anymore. I raised both my arms, leapt upward cancelling Vyaghra's blessing, and slapped the hell out of them, imprinting my palms on their egg-shaped heads. The poor baldies fell unconscious, not even knowing what hit them.

"Haha, it feels so good," I smugged, blowing on my palms.

As Vivi guided me, I put a Soul stone inside the furnace and took it out after waiting a couple of minutes.

Ding...

"You have obtained a new item: Dead Soul Stone.

Description: Made by burning inside the blue flame, this Soul stone doesn't contain any Soulforce and can only be used to create spells using blue flame as the source."

"All the pieces are completed now," I stated, activated Vyaghra's blessing again, and went inside Mine Number 10. After that, it didn't take me much effort to change the spells on the gate in the tunnel using Eyes of the Fallen.

Beyond the gate there was a huge black underground castle gleaming under the Soul stone lights embedded in the roof. Its structure was no less than that of a royal castle I had seen in the movies. Obsidian walls swallowed the darkness around it; tall narrow windows shimmered with silver boundaries. The main keep was crowned with a majestic onyx crown, boasting its grand appearance.

"The bastard sure lives like an emperor," I scoffed, gazing at the awe-struck building.

I spent the next six days scouring every corner of the castle, following guards, servants and even Victor to find the location of the Sacrifice.

There were three critical bits of intel I managed to find.

First, the Sacrifice was kept in the basement of the castle.

Second, the Sacrifice was being tortured continuously to wear him down so he wouldn't pose even the slightest danger to Victor in the festival.

Third, the Sacrifice was a vicious fiend who was addicted to the blood of children.

During my investigation, there were countless chances where I could have assassinated Victor with no resistance. However, killing him wasn't my main goal.

My aim was to rule over the Forlorn City mines and for that I needed an army as strong as Victor's.

The people I chose for this army were none other than the slaves forced to work here until death. The Grade 3 mine slaves were ready to throw their lives away on my mere order; however, there were still many slaves in higher-grade mines that I needed for this revolution.

To remove the fear that had taken root in the slaves of Grade 1 and Grade 2 mines, I had decided to kill Victor in front of everyone during the Rite of the Red Harvest.

I entered the basement where the Sacrifice was kept inside a cage, his limbs chained to the bars and his body covered with deep cuts and wounds testifying to the torture he had suffered.

"Vivi, can I keep a human body inside the inventory?"

"As long as the human is dead, he can be kept inside the inventory."

"No problem, since the body I will send there is definitely going to be dead."

At first I thought of helping the Sacrifice escape, but after learning about the atrocities he had committed, that thought was already out of the window.

"Let me free you from your agony," I declared as my sword decapitated him in one smooth motion.

"Oh right, I should send Vyaghra and Jambavan their orders," I murmured, putting the dead body of the Sacrifice inside the inventory after wearing his pants.

I took out a dark black paper from the inventory that Vyaghra had given me to share intel and orders.

It was very easy to use; all I had to do was grab it in my fist and think about the content I wanted to write inside it.

The moment I laid my orders, it succumbed to the shadows and vanished.

"Vivi, can you temporarily weaken my body to the state of a regular Spirit Realm Awakener?"

"Yes, it can be done by continuously striking the Host's body with the lightning attribute of the Host.

Would you like Vivi to do it?

[Yes] [No]

Note: This method will cause constant, unbearable pain to the Host."

"Just do it," I sighed. "I am already used to this unbearable pain, whether it's physical or emotional!"

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