Chapter 13: A Big Step for Abyss
Flora, clad in a moon-white Healing School mage robe, was twisting and turning, carefully examining herself. Mage robes were generally loose-fitting, lacking the shoulder pads and corsetry that Flora had worn all her life. The fabric was incredibly soft and smooth, even more comfortable than the commoner’s dress she had worn before, making her reluctant to take it off.
When she was a Saint, both her everyday clothes and formal attire for public appearances were ordered directly by the Church from specialized tailors. No one cared about Flora’s own preferences. The Saint was an important public figure for the Church, so they had full control over her wardrobe, ensuring it was appropriate for every occasion, devoid of any personal touch.
This time, Abyss took Flora to a newly opened high-end clothing store in the city and let her choose whatever she wanted, lifting her spirits slightly after the encounter with the rude Holy Knights.
“It seems you really like white clothes,” Abyss said, arms crossed, observing Flora with satisfaction. “The first time I saw you, you were wearing a black dress with gold trim. I thought that was your style.”
“Of course I didn’t choose that dress myself,” Flora said grumpily.
Abyss pondered for a moment, finger in his mouth. Indeed, not many people had the opportunity to choose their own burial attire.
“This mage robe suits your wife’s temperament very well,” the shopkeeper said, approaching them with a smile. “It’s made with the finest materials, specifically for female mages. Not only is the fabric good for the skin, but it also has three built-in magic circles. With just a little bit of mana, it can be dust-proof, shock-resistant, and heat-retaining. It’s very practical. I’m sure you won’t regret buying it.” His voice was raspy, as if he had phlegm in his throat.
“Not wife! Not wife!” Flora waved her hands frantically, her face flushed.
“Oh, so it’s your fiancée? My apologies,” the shopkeeper bowed impeccably.
Flora stammered, trying to explain further, but Abyss interrupted, “How much? I’ll take this robe.”
“This robe sells for ten thousand imperial coins, but since you two are the first customers of the day and this beautiful young lady is a mage, I can offer a discount. Eight thousand five hundred imperial coins,” the shopkeeper’s smile remained unchanged, clearly practiced over many years. “What do you say?”
“Eight thousand five hundred imperial coins?” Flora quickly calculated after hearing the price. The large sum she and Abyss had received from the guild yesterday was less than twenty thousand. This single robe would cost almost half. Although she didn’t have much concept of money, she could vaguely sense that this was what people called extravagance. “That’s too expensive!”
“It is indeed too expensive. Not worth it,” Abyss agreed, shaking his head.
The shopkeeper maintained his smile, but it seemed less enthusiastic. He cleared his throat. “Ahem, then I can show you some mage robes without built-in magic circles. They’re much cheaper, only a few hundred imperial coins each.”
“No, thank you,” Abyss said dismissively, waving his hand.
“This…” the shopkeeper looked troubled. “What are you planning to do, sir?”
“If she likes it, how could I not buy it for her? As long as you give her a complete set of undergarments that match this robe, including the chemise and trousers to wear underneath,” Abyss said.
The shopkeeper’s eyes lit up. “Ah, I misunderstood. So that’s it. Since you’re sincere about wanting this robe, I’ll bite the bullet and make a loss to gain a friend!” He walked towards the lingerie section, winking at Abyss as he passed. “Do you prefer something wild or something sweet for the lingerie?”
“Something wild,” Abyss nodded, closing his eyes.
“Just something normal!” Flora shouted, flustered.
As the shopkeeper went to find the accompanying undergarments, Flora was admiring herself in the mirror, wearing her first self-chosen new clothes. Seeing that neither of them was paying attention, Abyss discreetly extended a finger towards the shopkeeper and whispered a prayer.
A golden light flashed at his fingertip, and the shopkeeper, who was rummaging through the clothes, suddenly froze for a moment before continuing, bringing over a set of undergarments and lingerie that perfectly matched the mage robe, his expression slightly unnatural.
“What’s wrong, shopkeeper?” Abyss asked, feigning concern, a faint smile playing on his lips.
“Well… my chronic pharyngitis, which always flares up in winter, suddenly feels much better…” the shopkeeper’s voice was suddenly clear. “It’s a bit strange…”
“Chronic illnesses are like that. They just get better inexplicably,” Abyss said smugly, wiping his fingertips on his palm, like a gentleman playing billiards.
At first glance, the shopkeeper thought it made sense, but upon closer inspection, he realized the guy was just talking nonsense!
Abyss hadn’t done anything bad. He was just experimenting with using Divine Arts. In his conversations with the Divine Arts user’s soul, he had learned a lot, memorizing all sorts of Divine Arts incantations. However, since Abyss hadn’t been baptized by the Church and didn’t believe in any gods, even if he recited the incantations, no miracles would occur. From the beginning, Abyss didn’t think he needed to worship any gods, even if they could perform miracles. Moreover, he had personally visited the Divine Realm and discovered that the gods were just a bunch of miserable wage slaves.
The spell he had just used was the intermediate Divine Art, Disease Dispelling, which could directly cure minor ailments. The price was that the illness would be transferred to the caster—but Abyss was a necromancer. Although he was still alive, his body was not much different from a corpse, so he wasn’t worried about getting sick.
This spell wasn’t really necessary, but Abyss’s goal wasn’t to cure the shopkeeper. He just wanted to see if Flora, as his follower, would truly transfer her power to him. And the answer was clear. With Flora developing her first feelings of goodwill towards him, Abyss had indeed gained access to her power. Although this power was still insignificant and seemingly useless, it was of great significance to Abyss.
The replica of the Creator God’s power, which had guided Flora’s ancestor to become the greatest Holy Knight in the Church’s history as the “Super Holy Knight System” and had awakened in Flora as an extraordinary talent for Divine Arts, had now, after two transfers, finally fallen partially into Abyss’s hands.
Acquiring the power of a follower couldn’t be considered stealing… A follower!… Could anything a necromancer did be considered stealing?
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