Entering the tower, Zhang looked around curiously. But what he saw was an interior quite similar to that of the large towers of Asshai. According to his master, the name of this tower was Necro Tower. The Necro Tower had belonged to the Immortal for at least 2000 years, and he had been the sole owner since the dangerous tower was conquered.
As we walked through the ground floor of the tower, my master didn't give many details about his tower, nor what kind of resources or dangers it had. Before we could change floors, a corpse dressed in noble clothes approached us and bowed.
"Welcome back, master. Would this be your new student?"
"Zha'Thik, give my student a short tour of the tower and show him his quarters. I will begin his lessons tomorrow morning. Zhang followed all of Zha'Thik's instructions. He is a Senior Lich under my command, and also the administrator of the Necro Tower."
"It would be my honor, master!" the Lich said, bowing.
"Yes, master, I'll see you tomorrow then."
Zhang said goodbye to the gray-haired necromancer.
"This way, Lord Zhang…"
"Oh, you don't have to call me Lord, just Zhang is enough…"
"I can't do that, you're not just any student of the Immortal master, but his true disciple. That puts you at the top of the hierarchy within the Necro Tower. Now come, Lord Zhang, I'll explain how the tower works…"
Shaking his head at the Senior Lich's refusal, Zhang just continued listening to him:
"Nothing is interesting on the ground floor of the tower, besides a reading room, the reception we're currently in, and the party hall. We have a few other empty rooms, if you're interested in doing something in them, let me know and I'll arrange it."
The Senior Lich continued, "On the first floor, we have a dining hall. We serve whatever food you want there. Madam Numma will cook whatever you want, just tell her your preferences. We grow everything on the first underground floor, and we have some livestock in other towers, so we're confident that we can make whatever you want to eat. Just avoid staying in the kitchen for too long, Madam Numma isn't very friendly, and her slaves tend to be quite aggressive… I don't remember their names either since they change quite often…"
Zhang quickly took out papers and a quill pen and went back to writing down several notes, while swallowing hard. The tower had barely begun to be introduced, and there was already someone he should avoid…
"The third and fourth floors are living quarters. We have no visitors, students, or other slaves, so most of them are empty. The fifth floor is where I usually stay. I have my laboratories and everything I need on that floor. The sixth floor has been prepared for you. It has everything an apprentice or Master will need. If you feel like something is missing, let me know.
The seventh and eighth floors are the classrooms, libraries, and training rooms. We have some extra laboratories there as well. If your experiment is too dangerous, you can use the third underground floor, which is empty and has been prepared for you. Do not visit the second underground floor, it is being used by the Immortal master's friend, a powerful Bloodmage. So the entire floor has been sealed for the safety of everyone in the tower."
"Would that be Lord Esmer?"
"Oh, you know him?"
"Yes, we traveled together from Valyria to Asshai, and your daughter and apprentice are my friends…"
"I see, maybe in a few dozen years we can see him again, but don't bother him during his experiments…"
'Dozens of years?' Zhang thought, while finding it exaggerated that an experiment would last so long…
"Oh yes, Mr. Zha'Thik, you said the library is on the seventh and eighth floors. I need to copy some books and scrolls for my friends and subordinates who stayed in Asshai. Can I do that today for the rest of the day? And how can I send something to Asshai? I heard that most traditional methods don't work here in Stygai…"
"Oh yes, I forgot to mention that, there is a messenger on your floor, you will see him as soon as you enter there. He also works to send messages within the tower. If you need me or want to talk to your master, just send a message through him. Since the upper floors 9-12 are off limits, that is where our master lives. And the floors 4-12 underground, you will only go there with me or your master during classes…"
"Hm? Are you going to teach me, too, Lord Zha'Thik?"
The corpse placed one of his barely fleshy hands on his chin and gave a sinister smile as he spoke:
"Of course, Master Immortal doesn't have time to teach you the basics. Every lesson from him will be valuable, but I will be the one teaching you daily… Remember to be punctual, I don't like people who are late for my lessons."
Thanking the Senior Lich and listening to his last instructions, Zhang went to one of the libraries and was fascinated by the amount of soul-type spells that were here; there were hundreds of them with many variations, there were also many rituals, recipes, and much other necromantic knowledge.
After taking everything that Rafael had asked for and making several copies in a strange crystal that he had never seen before, he went straight to his quarters to send the message and meet the mysterious messenger. But before leaving the huge library, he saw something that caught his attention.
In a secluded corner, with little lighting, there was a young girl of about 16-18 years old, she wore a beautiful white-gray apprentice robe, and had many Asshai'i features; her eyes and long hair were black, pale white skin and a charming face, she had a stack of books in front of her and was leafing through one of them with great concentration. Realizing that she was being watched, she turned her eyes looking directly at Zhang, who was now inside the tower, no longer wearing the helmet of his armor.
"Tut"
The girl made a sound of contempt as she looked at him and turned her face away, returning to her book. Zhang's cheeks turned slightly red at the girl's contempt upon seeing him, but since it was already late, he just smiled and quickly went to his new room, thus ending his first day in Corpse City…
****
Special thanks to the Patreons:
Sage's Supporter: Jan, Vinnie, frimorigo, Leery Falcon, Parsa, Scott Robertson, and Pato Senalima!
Magic Apprentice: Axel Bour, Gabriele Sulpizio, Takatchi, mandeep singh, Austin, Kobe Robertson, Paul Gaslac, Niteo akuma, and 704Corleon!
Senior Magic Apprentice: Cole Bromley and Avacus!