"Meridin, what have you done, Meridin." I heard the tower spirit's voice. I tried to answer him, but my throat was dry and I decided to just nod my head.

The vital energy I used to heal my body while absorbing the energies of the dead, was gone from the battlefield. However, I didn't stop my activities throughout the night and was now barely holding on to consciousness. My body was also barely supporting itself and needed some serious work.

"Meridin, I thought you were going to develop your ability as a vampire or something. I didn't expect you to go into the dark arts."

"What-" I started then coughed and continued in a weak voice. "What are the dark arts?"

"On many worlds, the art of using the energy of the dead, or worse, their souls, is either outlawed or seriously frowned upon."

"You are probably right." I said as I tried to slowly gather my strength.

"Please Meridin, promise me you won't try to take over your beautiful planet and turn it into one of those dead graveyard worlds."

"I... "

Here I remembered the taste of the souls I had eaten and the enormous energies I used, the speed with which I could gather power. Then I thought about myself and my goals…

"I don't know what graveyard worlds are. But I am sure that I want my planet to prosper. I know you're here to guide us down the path of mana and magic, but I love the new technologies that changed our lives in the past two centuries. I also want my race to uncover the many hidden secrets of the universe and use that knowledge in a similar way."

"There are many kinds of knowledge and secrets, my friend. I guarantee you would be much better off starting with the secrets of mana. But let's not waste time. I'm here to ask you one time. Which path do you want to take? That of the warriors, who absorb a multitude of energies from their living and dead opponents, or that of the sorcerers, wielding the dark forces of life and death."

At that moment, several packets of information, that I immediately understood on an intuitive level, unpacked in my head . My mind could not comprehend most of the arcane information I was receiving, but my intuition began to give me its answers in the form of feelings and emotions.

I hesitated for a moment as I tried to better understand these new feelings. But soon I was certain. I had tapped into the immense power of the so-called dark arts... And nothing in me would ever be the same. The idea of contenting myself with only taking small amounts of energy from my opponents, like a mere vampire, seemed absurd to me. I could be so much more!

"Spirit..." I said with great difficulty and a hoarse throat.. "please tell me... " here I coughed and continued in a shaky voice. "What is the cost and what are the risks?"

The spirit was silent for a long time and finally answered slowly.

"The risks are not only related to the body and the changes that will occur in it. Usually the skills that can be obtained in the game are perfectly safe... but the temptations and the way you think, the evaluation you will get as a person and how it can affect your whole race... The way others will look at you... The price can be both infinitely high or perhaps very low. Consider my words well Meridin, for this choice is especially important to you."

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"The price can be both infinitely high or very low."... My slow working brain and the fog creeping into my mind made my thoughts heavy and sluggish. I couldn't focus well. "The price may be high if I choose to move along a path where the dark arts will be an obstacle. And the price may not be as high if I go in another, less obsessive direction...But could I see that far into my future? All I can see now are simply the depths of my soul."

On the other hand, a little voice inside me was whispering - "So what if others could make me pay a price. Be it at high cost or even no cost at all. Why should their opinions matter to me?"

For some time, while hunting in these mystical towers, I had subtly made a decision: to try to gather as much power as I could. To reach the heights of what was possible here in the towers.

I wanted when I came out of the towers to be among the strongest humans, or even among the strongest of all the new races that were going to get their citizenship in the allied galaxy.

So what if I was going to pay a high price? So what if there were multiple barriers in front of me. I wanted above all to have the strength to face them. Not to be a helpless pawn in this time of tumultuous change.

"So what, I'll definitely be careful as the tower spirit warned me" I thought. "Besides, one thing is for sure - my life will definitely become more interesting".

And so I gathered my strength and said:

"I choose to continue to uncover the mysteries of life and death. I choose to learn the secrets of the souls. I choose to tap into this greater and mystical power and help humanity in this hour of need."

"Yeah yeah, you don't need to make speeches Meridin. I was going to put in a good word for you anyway." the tower spirit winked at me.

"Thanks." I said, giving a slight nod of my head.

At that moment the world spun around me, I heard the tower spirit's muffled voice. "Be very careful Meridin, do not give in to temptation."

***

I appeared in the piercingly cold and damp swamps of necromancy instructor Mandro.

"Greetings player." The instructor greeted me in a drawling voice. "My name is Mandro and I will be your necromancy instructor for the next three weeks. With my help, we'll finish the transformation of your ability to absorb life and magical energy from the living and the dead opponents and turn it into something much more."

I didn't know what to say and just nodded my head weakly. My body was barely holding on and I staggered for a moment.

"I can see that you're barely hanging on, but I can also see how your body is filled to the brim with sweet necrotic energies. It's a good thing you chose to come to me, or it would have taken many days or even weeks for you to assimilate it all. Follow me."

With these words Mandro started to walk slowly, and I followed him with a tremendous effort of body and will. Immediately a dense fog formed around us, and after only a few steps it cleared, and an involuntary exclamation escaped my lips.

Mandro grinned and beckoned me to the complex formation in the middle of the small marsh island we had unknowingly ended up on. I slowly stepped forward and with great effort sat down in the middle of the formation.

What followed was a long and complex ritual in which I used every drop of will that was left in me to guide the changes in my body. Mandro's voice continually guided me through the labyrinths of this strange change, and the thick fog of the island permeated through the walls of the formation providing me with strength at the appropriate key moments. Still, things were moving slowly and I lost consciousness several times.

Under the expert guidance of the experienced necromancer, supported by the strange mists of this special training place, and mostly thanks to the powerful formation that provided me with life energy, mana, and most importantly stabilized my magical core, I began to slowly grow my magical channels in a new way.

First I had to make them significantly wider, and then strengthen them using the necrotic energies and life forces around me. The process was slow and extremely painful, but I persisted and kept going.

If I hadn't done most of the work of building my energy channels, since coming to this island, I wouldn't have been able to do this! I was very grateful for the long hours of magical training I put myself through every day, my daily zombie hunt, the magical elixirs from the shop and my training with various instructors.