Watching the two apprentices walk towards him Savani subtly commanded the undead to get closer. Even though he couldn't yet abandon those he saw in trouble that didn't mean he was so foolish as to trust random strangers. There were plenty of people both among apprentices and mortals that would easily stab a savior in the back if it meant more benefits.

Seeing Savani's warriness towards them the female apprentice stopped the other one and said "Thank you senior for helping us. My name is Myra and my compatriot is Arren. We along with our other friend all came from the same region during the apprentice recruitment. After all three of us managed to master our beginner spells we decided to come out and explore. Who knew that one of those Giant Alligators would be so close to shore and surprise attack us!"

Making sure to keep an eye one both of them Savani replied "I was just passing by when I heard the commotion. I saw you two were having some trouble and decided to help."

Myra bowed her head a bit. "Thank you. If it weren't for you the two of us might have ended up like Jake." Myra then looked over at the body that was left by the shore. " Poor Jake. Just on the walk down here he was going on about how he was going to be a great Sage. Sadly this world doesn't care about wishes."

Savani nodded at that statement. The world truely was a cruel place. "Well I must be on my way back to the tower. I'll leave the body for you two since it was origionally your hunt. I am sorry about your friend."

Hearing that he was leaving Myra quickly replied "Could you stay with us? You don't have to do anything, we just want some protection while we bury our friend. You can have the Giant Alligator and the two of us will even help you bring it back."

Hearing that Myra was offering the Giant Alligator to Savani, the boy Arren couldn't help but frown. True Savani had saved them but he and Myra had also wounded the creature. Arren was sure between the two of them the Giant Alligator would have died either way. Seeing Arrens scowl Savani replied "Im sorry but I do have important things to get done back at the tower. But I wish you luck burying your friend. Hopefully he won't come back and be a problem."

With that reminder Savani quickly headed off towards the road to catch up to his undead minion. As they watched him disapear Arren couldn't help but ask Myra "Why did you try to keep him here? Wouldn't it have been a problem if he noticed anything?"

Myra looked over at Arren, her face now cold and aloof. "Don't worry. Judging from how paranoid he was I figured there was a good chance he wouldn't stay. Besides if he didn't notice anything this was a good chance to get in touch with someone powerful. You may not have recognized him but he was in the same recruitment group as us. Its only been a few weeks since we learned our spells and he is already able to take down a Giant Alligator. With that level of talent theres an almost guarantee that he will become a Peak apprentice. Maybe even another Pseudo-Sage!"

Hearing Myras strong appraisal of Savani, Arren was shocked. "Isn't that a bit over exaggerating? Most apprentices can only ever make it to Peak apprentice in their entire lives. Becoming a Pseudo-Sage takes a lot more than mere meditation."

Myra couldn't help but roll her eyes at her foolish companion. "Even if he made only to Peak apprentice that would still be a powerful ally. Either way hopefully we left a good impression on him. Now quickly we have to dispose of this body and begin dragging this thing back to the tower. Im sure we could get some points for it from someone!"

As the two apprentices went back about there buisness Savani had the chip go over its scan of the situation. Ever since he emerged from the trees he had the chip scanning everything around him to get as much information as possible.

[Apprentice name: Myra

Race: Human (beginner apprentice)

Affinities: Wind

Attributes: Strength: 2.43 Physique: 2.52 Vitality: 2.64 Agility: 4.16 Spirit: 6.27]

[Apprentice name: Arren

Race: Human (beginner apprentice)

Affinities: Water

Attributes: Strength: 3.16 Physique: 3.22 Vitality: 2.29 Agility: 2.60 Spirit: 6.04]

Glancing at the information the chip was able to gather on the two apprentices Savani noticed something "Chip were you unable to gather the spells they were using?"

[Databank does not have either spell module used or have any information on the two elemental affinities. Therefore a list of spells was unable to be generated.]

Stolen novel; please report.

Hearing that Savani scowled. It looks like unless he managed to get information on the other elemental systems the chip wouldn't be able to give him a list of spells of a target. This simply increased the number of contribution points he would have to earn in the future. However Savani refused to spend points on such knoweldge until after he broke through to an Adept level apprentice.

Savani managed to catch up to his undead just a few minutes before they got to the road. This time on the way back Savani got a lot more stares as he had an undead goblin covered in various bags following him. These stares followed him all the way back to the registration counter where Savani turned in all the frogs he had collected.

This time after he turned in his quest the apprentice behind the desk asked him to wait a moment. Shortly after another apprentice came running towards the desk before reaching out and examining the cages Savani brought. After inspecting the frogs the apprentice turned towards Savani. "You're the one who brought these in?"

Seeing Savani nod the apprentice continued "My name is Nick. I'm the Alchemist who asked for them. Since you brought me 30 frogs you can ask for either 30 contribution points or up to two beginner level potions. Each potion will reduce the total points by 10 so its up to you how you want to split them."

Hearing he could ask for two potions Savani asked "Do you have any potions that can be used for Body Refining? For instance if someone was using either acid or poison to refine their bodies?"

Listening to Savani's question Nick began to think. "If it's using poison or acid baths then you would want a Plague Draft potion. If you drink it before immersing yourself in the bath it'll help protect your body from being destroyed while helping it refine the bath. It's not the strongest Body Refinement potion though so it'll only be useful up to a Physique of 5 or 6."

Hearing that Savani asked for two such potions bringing his reward to two Plague Drafts and 10 contribution points. Once he turned over the frogs Savani went back to his room and began to store the various herbs he collected in his desk. Looking around at how small his room was as well as the lack of furniture Savani thought soon it would be time to upgrade his abode. In fact it cost 10 contribution points to rent a better room for a month.

Seeing how he didn't even have room for a bath to cultivate in Savani controlled both his undead and packed all his belongings, luckily there wasn't much beyond some sheets, books, and some writing supplies, onto the two goblins before heading over to an obsidian tower to rent a better room. Browsing through the selection Savani came across one that was closer to the library. Renting it Savani quickly gained the rights to the room through his badge before taking all his belongings to his new abode.

Stepping in Savani saw that the room was easily 5 times larger than his last room. Inside it besided a desk and a bed was also several bookshelves and a bathroom. No more would Savani have to use the communal rest room when he had to go. Besides these ammenities there was also lots of room for Savani to bring in his own furniture.

Savani quickly put away his belongings as well as organized the numerous herbs he gathered on his trip to the swamp. Grabbing a few of the more valuable herbs Savani went back to the market and began looking for a tub he could use that was acid proof. Searching around a while Savani came across a large barrel that could handle powerful acids. After haggling Savani traded away one of his magical herbs for the barrel and had his two undead bring it back to his new room. He also managed to get several buckets while he was there to fill the barrel.

Once the barrel was situated neatly in a corner Savani had the undead fill it with water. Once that was done Savani put his hand inside and cast Water Corruption. Quickly the water near his hand went from a clear color to a strange light greenish purple. This color began to spread until the entire barrel was filled with this strangly colored liquid. Looking at it Savani couldn't help but ask "Chip are you sure that this is safe?"

[Afirmitive. Spell cast only used 1 Spirit from host. At this level, the mixture of poison and acid should be at the level described in the book for Body Refinement. What's more the mixture of both acid and poison will bring about increased benifits than if the host used only one or the other, though pain host must go through has been increased as a byproduct.]

Listening to the chip Savani couldn't help but swallow. He had never been a fan of pain. In fact he actively avoided it if he could. Sadly, judging from what the chip told him he would have to experience an immense amount of pain while refining himself. It took Savani several minutes to gather the courage needed to strip off hsi clothes before downing one of the Plague Draughts.

As the potion slid down his throat Savani couldn't help but gag. The potion had the consistency of mucus and burned in a way Savani couldn't begin to describe. In fact this burning sensation began to spread through his body the longer time went on. Once this burning sensation covered him completely Savani quickly jumped into the barrel. Once inside he couldn't help but scream.

The burning sensation mixed with the feeling of the acid eating him from the outside in along with the poison agitating his nerves almost caused Savani to black out. Savani had no idea how long he spent in the bathtub all he knew was that he was in hell. His own body was being destroyed and forcefully regrown over and over. The origional green and purple liquid was quickly being dyed red from his disolved flesh and blood.

After who knows how long Savani heard the chip send him a notification to get out. Mustering up the last of his energy Savani dragged himself out of the barrel before lying on the flood. Once he made sure that nothing had been destroyed on his body he quickly passed out welcoming sweet oblivion.