Standing before the mirror in the room, Lance carefully examined his appearance.
To his surprise, the ‘Ghoul’ in the mirror did not have the disgusting appearance he expected — no festering sores or rotting flesh.
The Ghoul in the mirror looked seventy to eighty percent like he did when he was alive, with a high bridge to his nose and a face as sharp as if carved by a blade.
However, his skin was dull, his eyes were a deep crimson, and his brow was clouded with a hint of gloom.
There was even a faint trace of sinister darkness in his expression.
“Master, is it normal for a Ghoul to look this… normal?”
Doubts immediately rose in his heart. This did not align with Lance’s general knowledge.
At the very least, during his years exploring the shallow levels of the Maze, he had never seen a Ghoul as human-like as the one in the mirror.
Hearing Lance ask the question so nonchalantly, Falia puffed out her cheeks and knitted her brows.
Yet, she felt she had no reason to be angry. It wasn’t like he was doing it on purpose.
She had to forcibly suppress her dissatisfaction and spoke slowly.
“What’s abnormal about it? Ghouls are originally converted from corpses.”
“Everyone looks different in death; some are in good condition, others bad. Some are fresh, others old. You currently belong to the type that died not long ago and was well-preserved.”
Lance nodded repeatedly.
He tried to control his facial muscles to smile, but he found them almost impossible to manipulate.
Even after putting in his best effort, he could only squeeze out a stiff grin — the kind that didn’t reach the eyes.
‘Will this scare Noren?’
After realizing he couldn’t smile, Lance let out a soft sigh.
He had always comforted and encouraged his younger sister with a smile.
If he went back with this face, he didn’t know if Noren would be able to adapt.
Setting those thoughts aside for a moment, Lance began to check his physical condition.
What mattered most to Lance was his Force! Could he use Force now?
While alive, he was an extremely rare ‘three-power’ holder — someone who could use Force, Mana, and Holy Power.
After turning into a Skeleton, Lance could still use Mana and even Holy Power, but the most common one, Force, had completely vanished.
This significantly impacted Lance’s combat ability.
When he was alive, he was a swordsman, and his primary focus had naturally been Force.
As for Holy Power and Mana, his mastery over them was actually quite weak.
After all, he had been severely injured when he defected from the Restoration Army, and his Mana and Holy Power were nearly drained.
Even if Lance wanted to deepen his mastery, he couldn’t.
He lightly clenched his fist. Strands of power surged along with the flow of his blood.
With a casual wave of his hand, the resulting gust of wind actually knocked over a ceramic pot several yards away.
With a crisp crack, the pot fell from the table and shattered into pieces on the floor.
Lance was stunned!
After a moment of shock, Lance was overjoyed.
His Force had returned! His combat strength as a High-Rank Swordsman had fully recovered!
Joy surged like a tide. Influenced by the shared perception of the Master-Disciple Contract, waves of happiness also pulsed through Falia’s chest and stomach.
This caused Falia’s originally pouting lips to curl up slightly. Truly feeling what he felt, she couldn’t help but ‘mock’ him.
“Mana and Holy Power are what the world lacks, yet here you are, treasuring this most ordinary Force.”
Hearing this, Lance felt a bit embarrassed. People on the North Continent had always looked down on Force, while holding Mana and Holy Power in high esteem.
The nobles had always viewed those who could only use Force as mere brutes or commoners.
But what choice did he have?
His family had fallen into ruin so early that he never had the chance to receive a systematic magic education, let alone further his studies in Holy Power!
Not expecting her words to strike such a chord in Lance’s heart, Falia immediately felt a bit flustered.
She wanted to offer a few words of comfort, but wouldn’t that just hurt Lance’s feelings more?
She quickly suppressed the comforting words at the tip of her tongue and said instead:
“But… your foundation is indeed quite good. Once your Master teaches you magic, you’ll be much stronger than you are now. You don’t need to worry about it.”
Learn magic?
Lance’s spirits lifted, and he instantly tossed his previous embarrassment to the back of his mind.
“You’re willing to teach me magic?”
There was a clear note of uncertainty in Lance’s voice.
One had to understand that the cost of a magic education was extremely high.
To receive systematic magic training, one usually had to travel to the City of Wisdom and pay exorbitant fees to the various magic academies under the Academy of Sages.
The total cost for these academies would be an astronomical figure.
Even children from noble families would often only specialize in a few branches of magic they liked.
However, hearing Lance speak like this, Falia’s brow, which had relaxed in joy, furrowed again.
‘Is he doubting me?’
Puffing out her small mouth, the Witch immediately became annoyed.
‘What exactly does this Lance take me for?!’
Wasn’t it written clearly in the contract? She was his Master! Wasn’t it only natural for her to teach him some magic?
But after thinking about it, Falia felt discouraged again.
It was true that she hadn’t taught Lance anything yet… anything she said would sound hollow…
But this environment wasn’t exactly suitable for lessons! Falia had her standards! How could she conduct classes in the middle of nowhere like this?
“I’ll teach you once you go back and settle down. There’s no rush. The world of magic is as vast as the sea; it’s not something that can be achieved overnight.”
Having received a definitive answer, Lance was naturally delighted.
But then, as if thinking of something, he asked tentatively:
“Can my sister learn too?”
The moment he said those words, it felt as though Lance’s newly grown heart was being gripped by someone’s hand.
An icy chill seemed to freeze him completely!
A line of golden text appeared before Lance’s eyes:
[Lance Fallos must maintain absolute secrecy regarding Falia’s existence. He shall not reveal Falia’s existence or her status to outsiders by any means.]
Then, the Witch’s ethereal voice reached his ears:
“What do you think?”
Lance immediately begged for mercy without any hesitation, instantly dropping the idea.
‘I should just focus on earning money to send Noren to school… the Witch is just too difficult to deal with…’
Just then, there was a noise at the door. Lance turned around to look, and the door was pushed open by an Elf Girl with deep golden hair and pointed ears.
“Lance, I…”
The moment she pushed the door open, Astrid’s emerald eyes widened. Standing in the room was a black-haired young man with dull skin and barely any clothes.
Where was Lance?
Astrid scanned the room and spotted the armor lying discarded to the side.
The Elf Girl’s pupils constricted. Her first thought was that Lance had been purified by someone again.
She unconsciously summoned her Magic Power Greatsword and took a thrusting stance.
However, remembering what had happened before, Astrid suddenly checked her stance.
She stared coldly at the young man before her and asked:
“Who are you?”
Lance was startled and hurriedly covered his vital areas, looking panicked.
“Miss Astrid! It’s me, Lance Fallos!”
The Elf did not respond, though she believed him seventy to eighty percent in her heart.
She looked Lance up and down, seemingly trying to find similarities between Lance and this man.
But when her gaze drifted downward, she suddenly snapped it back up.
The tips of her ears turned an unnatural shade of crimson, and she looked away.
“How can you prove it?”
“Huh?”
Lance was stunned. Prove that he was himself? How was he supposed to prove that!
But seeing the Elf’s growing impatience, Lance blurted out in a hurry:
“I… I said earlier that I would never leave you!”
With a whoosh, the Elf Girl’s fair face was instantly covered in a deep blush.