The Covenant of Souls originated from the God of Death. This powerful divine was the most feared in the entire world of Glory. He was the master of the three powerful divinity, death, souls, and destruction.
The Covenant of Souls was one of the God of Death’s proudest work.
The Covenant of Souls was divided into the main contract and the subcontract. The sub-contract would give a shred of their souls, and once the covenant was formed, the life or death of the sub-contractor would be in the hands of the person holding the main contract.
The power of this covenant lay with that as long as one mutters the spell of the God of Death, even a powerless farmer could form the covenant.
Should the main contract holder crushes the soul of the sub-contractor in the spiritual sea, no matter where the sub-contractor was, their souls would be pulled by the God of Death into his divine domain and become a delicacy for the God of Death.
Therefore, the Covenant of Souls was also known as the Murmurs of the God of Death. In the main plane of Glory, no one would dare to sign it willy nilly.
Looking at the drastically changed expressions of his apprentice mages, Reed did not say anything. He had never regarded this world as a game, and it was impossible for the complex-minded humans to be absolutely loyal to him like vampires.
Do not look at his apprentices being all respectful and reverent toward him. Should they find out that their master was a vampire, would they maintain their current attitude?
Reed could not afford to take that bet, if his identity was exposed, he would be hunted by the entirety of Grimm, and even the human kingdoms.
He was not willing to nurture a large number of potential enemies by himself.
“You don’t have to rush to give me an answer. Your future is in your hands. I will still nurture you even without signing the covenant, as long as you show enough talent, like Viena.”
After he said that, Reed left the apprentice mages with thoughtful faces.
“What does Master Reed mean? That’s the Murmur of the God of Death. It’s terrifying.”
“A full-fledged Mage, the magic potion Viena got must be very precious, otherwise Master Reed would not have asked for that.”
“I’m really envious of Viena. How nice would it be if I were a girl…”
The preciousness of the magic point could not be clearer to the apprentice mages, but the Murmur of the God of Death had them terrified.
Once the covenant was established, their life and death were no longer theirs.
The desire for power and the fear of death had them extremely tortured.
Among the crowd, Cain and Karl, whose magic talents were similar to Viena looked at each other with a complicated look in their eyes.
Cain seemed to have noticed something as he tugged Karl’s clothes as the two moved a little bit away from the rest of the apprentices.
“Karl, what do you think?”
Karl gave Cain, who had short blond hair and a very handsome face, a deep look.
“Cain, if Master Reed wanted you to do something that is life-threatening, like hunting a Cyclops in the Farmountains, can you refuse?”
Cain froze for a moment and wore a bitter smile after pondering for a bit.
“No, none of us can refuse Master Reed’s order.”
Karl smiled before patting Cain on the shoulder.
“In the Vermillion Tower, you, me, and Viena are the three with the best talents. But Viena is Master Reed’s maid, so she will always get most of the goodies first. There’s no need for her to line up like the rest of us.”
Cain looked at Karl blankly, not understanding what he meant by this.
“Even a Transcendent Mage would not necessarily own such a precious magic potion. Master Reed must have paid a huge price to make it.” A complicated look appeared in Karl’s black pupils.
“Cain, you are born of nobility. There are many things only we, the common folk understand. If it weren’t for Master Reed taking me in, I would have long died in the sewers of Grimm now. If there is a chance to be a Mage, forget signing the Covenant of Souls, even if someone were to only be able to live ten years after drinking the potion, countless of common folk will be willing to do it.”
“For this world, power means everything.”
Cain stared blankly back at the short lad with messy black hair and a pair of beautiful black eyes.
He was deeply shocked by his words.
He was born into a noble house and had a good material foundation since young. In the past, he could hardly understand the mindset of the common folk, but now he suddenly understood.
“Since we cannot escape danger, what’s a Covenant of Souls?”
“This is also the screening done by the Vermillion Tower. Apprentice mages who have signed the Covenant of Souls will definitely get the best teaching from Master Reed.”
“Did you not see the recent changes in Master Reed? If a High Mage above Level 10 were to teach us diligently, how long would it take for us to be full-fledged mages? And how long will it take for us to reach the level of an intermediate mage?”
Karl went upstairs after he finished speaking, leaving the handsome Cain looked down deep in thought.
Reed sat in the study on the third floor and slowly flipped through his collection of books.
In the memory of the Progenitor Vampire, he had already read all thousands of these books. For a long-lived race, their accumulation of knowledge was something far beyond any human.
When Karl knocked on the door and told him his decision, Reed was still very satisfied.
It seemed like there were indeed a few smart ones in this group of apprentice mages.
“Master Reed, if you had not taken me in, I would still probably be a beggar on the streets, and I would probably be kicked down the sewer by a passing nobleman. I am willing to give you everything I have, even if it meant my soul.”
Looking at those black eyes filled with determination, Reed’s felt a tinge of cordiality in his heart, as he nodded in satisfaction.
“Very well, your intellect had won you your future.”
He then took out another crystal bottle filled with Manablood.
He had brought out a total of five bottles, and two of them he wanted to keep for observation as he wanted to confirm how long the Manablood could maintain its effect after being away from the Divine Spirit.
The remaining three bottles were part of his plan to be given to his apprentices, but he did not expect the effect of the Manablood to be so strong that it could directly help the apprentice mages to be promoted to a full-fledged mage, and that give him other thoughts.
“This is the Manablood that I have created at a huge cost. You can form the magic model immediately after drinking it. If everything goes well, you should be able to become a mage as Viena did.”
As he took the vial of Manablood, the surprise on Karl’s face could not be concealed.
“Understood, Master Reed.”
After that, Karl knelt on one knee as he placed his hand on his chest, and began to recite a long, tongue-twisting chant.
“Oi…pf….ng…. the great lord who controls death and souls, I am your loyal servant, I am your most devout adherent. I am willing to call upon your power to sign a Covenant of Souls with my master. If this covenant is broken, I shall give my soul, in eternal service to you, oh great God of Death.”
As the last of the words left his mouth, Reed felt through his mind that a majestic and powerful force seemed to be watching him from a corner of the world.
There was also a trace of a soul in his spiritual sea. The spiritual sea was a person’s most essential and secret place, and it was difficult for any foreign objects to enter.
But at this moment, the soul was not rejected after entering his spiritual sea, but instead settled within it very harmoniously.
Reed used his mental power to touch the wisp of soul, and could faintly feel its master’s thoughts.
Karl, at the moment, had fear, reverence, respect, and joy for Reed. It was a complicated mix of emotions.
He could feel that as long as he tore this wisp of soul apart with his mind, the latter would die in an instant, and his soul would become the spoils of the God of Death as pledged.