During the transition from the Harvest Month to the Month of War, Rei spent quite some time studying Death Spells.
Every Death Spell required souls to cast.
However, the requirements for souls differed depending on the spell.
The soul consumption condition for Death Substitute was:
Consume a soul equal to or stronger than one's own spiritual essence.
The soul consumption condition for Soul Burst was:
Consume any soul, but the power varied according to the soul's strength.
The soul consumption conditions for Wretched Soul Curse and Malicious Binding Curse were:
Souls of low spiritual quality.
Rei had no idea exactly what level qualified as "low spiritual quality."
All he knew was that among the monster souls he currently possessed, unless the Noble Soul condition was triggered, nearly all of them were classified as Trivial Spirituality.
Well… whatever.
For Rei, these casting conditions all essentially boiled down to consuming any soul.
During this period of contemplating the Origin, Rei also managed to create a new Death Spell.
[Frozen Bone Preservation (First-Tier Death Spell) (LV:201)]
Cost:1 dead soul of the same tier as the corpse0.05 mana
Effect:Perfectly preserves a corpse, maintaining it exactly in the state it was at the moment of death, unaffected by the passage of time.
This spell was created by Rei through associating Death Magic with Ice Magic.
Although the effect was simple, it represented a small step forward in creating spells that combined the abilities of two professions.
Unlike the other spells he had created through sudden flashes of inspiration…
This Death Spell had taken Rei an entire night of thought, even with Iz's hints guiding him.
When the spell was finally born, Rei had a clear feeling—
He had taken another step closer to the Origin.
And after realizing what this spell could do, the person who became the most excited was Kumironi.
Because the spell was special.
It didn't merely preserve the corpse's physical condition.
More importantly—
It sealed the moment of death itself.
That meant it could work together with her Life Resurrection magic.
If someone died and couldn't be revived immediately, their body could be preserved first.
Then, whether the next day—or even much later—there would still be a chance to bring them back to life.
They would be able to save more people.
Seeing Kumironi's happiness, Rei couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Power itself wasn't frightening.
As long as it was used in the right place, even a Death Priest could be a good person.
When the Harvest Month passed, the legendary Yakaticto, who was rumored to sometimes descend during that month, never appeared.
As expected—
Gods weren't that easy to meet.
Perhaps that was a good thing.
Who knew what would happen if a god actually descended?
Would they come with goodwill… or malice?
Things beyond Rei's ability to control were not something he wanted to interact with lightly.
Early in the morning, the sky was dyed a dim crimson.
Across the heavens, countless streams of fire dragged long flaming tails as they streaked through the sky like a burning tapestry.
[Month of War and Fire — Lunar Sign: Bani]
[Celestial Phenomenon: Falling Fire]
During the Month of War and Fire, warfare yielded greater rewards.
At the same time, all matter became far more flammable.
Everything grew dry.
Fire-element magic, enchantments, and combat techniques received a significant boost in power.
Correspondingly:
All water-based abilities were weakened to varying degrees.
Lakes became more prone to drying up.
Temperatures rose to some extent.
For nations already suffering from water shortages, this month was extremely unpleasant.
However—
If a city or nation was actively engaged in war, conditions would instead become favorable for survival.
Cities and nations that initiated war would become less flammable, and their water resources would not be significantly affected.
At the same time, they would receive additional bonuses related to fire-based abilities.
In short—
It was a month that strongly encouraged warfare.
For smaller cities or nations, sometimes launching symbolic wars during this month could actually be beneficial for both sides.
Of course…
War was something for cities and nations.
For Rei…
Those matters were still far too distant.
Well…
Perhaps.
That morning, when Rei woke up in the forest, aside from the crimson sky—
He also saw that raging flames had completely surrounded him.
Fortunately, because Obardes had established a protective perimeter around their campsite, the flames couldn't reach them.
The temperature hadn't changed at all either.
Still—
Seeing a ring of fire completely encircling him was somewhat terrifying.
Rei shook Iz awake.
"Iz… the forest is on fire."
"We're about to become roasted skewers."
After waking up, Iz yawned and stretched lazily.
Then he casually released a water spell.
A massive wall of water—about ten stories high—surged forward like a crushing wave.
It looked like a Fourth-Tier spell.
Tsunami.
Just like that, the forest fire was extinguished.
As expected…
A Level 6 Archmage was truly powerful.
Rei had heard that Level 6 Archmages possessed terrifying strength—enough to exert immense deterrence across the entire continent.
Many kingdoms could be wiped out effortlessly by someone at that level.
Akasei also woke up, scratching his head.
Looking at the blackened forest around them, he muttered,
"This month is really troublesome. Fires start everywhere if you're not careful."
Obardes nodded in agreement.
Everyone seemed completely used to sudden fires like this.
Only Rei still felt shocked by the flames from earlier.
The influence of different months on the world was truly enormous.
Fortunately, there wasn't much distance left before they would exit the forest.
Half a day later, they finally emerged from the great woods.
[The City of the Inner Circle]
Rei had heard that this was one of the five great cities of the Kingdom of Loren, aside from the capital.
It was also said to be the city with the strongest passion for combat.
This was Rei's first time visiting a major city in this world.
The city walls were far thicker and sturdier than those of Rain Town.
They were massive and imposing.
Visually estimating, they stood at roughly fifty meters high.
The walls were smooth and bright white—clearly built from high-grade stone, not ordinary bricks.
Compared to Rain Town's thin ten-meter walls, this place looked far more magnificent.
Rows of soldiers stood guard atop the walls.
At the city gates, more troops were stationed.
A line of travelers stretched out ahead of them.
Clearly, this was not a city one could simply walk into freely.
Iz and the others joined the line.
But before it was even their turn, a soldier dressed like a commanding officer hurried over.
"My apologies! Lord Iz! I didn't recognize you immediately!"
"There's no need for you to queue. Please enter the city with us!"
"Lady Kumironi, Lord Akasei, Lord Obardes as well."
Oh~
The name Iz Parut really did carry weight.
Though among those names…
There was clearly no Lord Rei.
Of course, Rei didn't mind.
After all, he had only participated in the battle at Rain Town. Most people probably didn't even know what he looked like.
Just like how Rei himself didn't recognize most of the other famous figures besides Iz.
Rei followed behind Iz and the others as they entered.
After walking a short distance, the city defense officer finally noticed him.
"Lord Iz… and this young one is…?"
"Iz's illegitimate son," Akasei answered instantly.
In an instant, the atmosphere became extremely awkward.
Iz threw a fireball straight at Akasei's face.
Then he sighed and explained,
"No. He's simply a child we happened to encounter."
"His homeland seems to have been destroyed by monsters…"
The officer snapped out of the awkwardness and nodded in understanding.
"Oh… I see."
Then he quickly put on a smile and said,
"As expected, Lord Iz is just as kind as the rumors say."
But then something seemed to occur to him.
"Could he be…?"
Iz nodded.
"Yes. This is Rei."
"He has exceptional talent in magic."
Oh~
So his name had already spread this far.
With someone guiding them, entering the city posed no further obstacles.
Once inside the gates, the first thing Rei saw was a massive tower rising into the clouds in the distance.
Iz said,
"The enchanter we're looking for lives in this city."
"He can craft the Void Spirit Starwood into the magic staff you want."
"My staff was also made by him."