Chapter 2: Death touch

Abyssal Lord of the Magi World

"A.I. Chip scan me."

[Bip... Analyzing the host...

Strength: 1.2

Physique: 1.4

Speed: 1.2

Spirit Force: 4

Serious injuries all over the body, vital organs are failing. The host must find a way to heal soon.]

Although he was in danger of death, Zatiel remains calm and he was thinking about the possible ways out of this situation.

"Spirit force? That is new, but it is to be expected. After all, humans and demons are different lifeforms and the laws and natural energies of the Abyss and this world are not the same."

Luckily, before awakening his previous memories, he was a typical bookworm who learned everything he could in the Magic Tower.

Spirit Force is an inferior form of energy that comes from the soul of every being. To increase it, there are several ways. The most common being the use of meditation techniques that take the natural energies of the world in the body and increases the amount of spirit.

"My spirit force has reached the level of a Rank 2 apprentice magus, giving me the ability to use Rank 0 magic."

Magi are supernatural beings with amazing abilities. They can fly and throw meteorites or blizzards with their hand, they can even resurrect the dead and alter fate. They are powerful life forms that can change the world at their command.

Apprentice magus is the transitional stage that a human has to go through if they want to become a Rank 1 Magus.

Generally, all humans can become an apprentice magus, but the speed at which the spirit force grows depends on the potential of the person. A rank 1 apprentice is just someone with a stronger spirit force than a regular person and he or she can manipulate and store the energies of the world into their bodies. 

When someone reaches a spirit force of 4, one has become a rank 2 apprentice magus and can start learning rank 0 spells. Although they are stronger than normal people and can use mysterious spells, if a large enough group of mortal soldiers attack them, without care for their lives, they can be killed. 

A rank 3 apprentice magus is much stronger, having an immense spirit force. Being the final stage before a Rank 1 Magus, they have a deeper understanding of spells and their use in combat. They can instantly cast a spell if certain conditions are met, although they are not undefeatable against mortals, being able to escape with their life is very easy.

"A.I. chip, give a list of the ways to heal myself that I can use with my current abilities".

A list of options appeared. Unfortunately, almost every option was of no use at this moment. In the first level of memories, there is mostly general information about his previous life and the rituals that will be needed for his plan. 

There were some spells, but all of them use abyss force, a power belonging to demons and he could not use them for the time being. After a moment he finally found something that was of use in this situation.

[Death touch: rank 0 spell that uses negative energy to absorb life force. It needs to be in contact with the target to be used and the caster cannot move during casting which makes it not suitable for battle. Spirit Force consumption: 1]

This was the only spell Zatiel was able to buy after an entire year in the magic tower.

To learn a spell you need to know the spell rune corresponding to it. You have to inscribe the rune spell in your consciousness using your spirit and once it is completed, you need to use your spirit force to activate it and use it.

In the process of inscribing the rune in your consciousness, if there is a mistake, there will be a backlash that will harm your spirit and you will have to wait a week before you try again. 

Luckily for Zatiel, the A.I. Chip can act as an intermediary and help him in guiding his spirit force to inscribe the rune. Even though Death Touch was one of the most basic spells there is, it still took him almost 1 hour to learn it even with the help of the A.I. Chip.

Zatiel closes his eyes and concentrates to begin inscribing the rune.

"Success!" 

Zatiel couldn't help but make a smile, after all, if he had failed just now, that would probably mean his death. 

Concentrating his magic force toward the rune he started channeling the negative force that makes a dark glow appear on his hand.

"Death touch"

The first target of the spell was the huge tree next to Zatiel, the moment his hand touched the bark, it started to rot and his injuries began healing.

Now that his wound was no longer an urgent concern, Zatiel starts to wonder about the chip and his memories.

"Why did the A.I. Chip activate at this moment, and the upload of memories only occurred now?"

Zatiel knows that the world is not a fairy tale where something always happens that saves the protagonist when he is in his last breath. Luckily he now has the A.I. Chip which can give him an answer.

[Host's near-death state caused a burst of potential in the body that increased spirit by 0.2, reaching the spirit force requirement of a rank 2 apprentice magus and achieving the spirit threshold for the safe activation of the A.I. Chip.]

" The A.I. Chip is connected to my True Soul. Its initial activation will generate a burst of memories in my consciousness that will severely damage my spirit if it is too low, and the division of my memories into levels was for safety reasons. After all, just the first level hurt so much that it almost destroyed my consciousness".

Zatiel looks at his surroundings as he remembers the information that he researched before the mission. He was in the Grey Swamp, a danger zone close to a human kingdom under the jurisdiction of the Zanabi Magic tower. In this place, it is very common to find special herbs and magical creatures. This place was also the hideout of several bandit groups.

"The bandit's groups should be my first target. They are the perfect materials for the ritual." 

Zatiel's eyes were cold as he pictured the future of his target.