Chapter 37: The Hands That Steal, The Hands That Heal
Adam stared at his skeletal hand, the faint traces of lifeforce still swirling around his fingertips like glowing embers caught in a windless space. Over two thousand years... That was the lifespan of the ancient tree he had just reduced to nothing but a withered husk.
"Two thousand seven hundred and thirty-one years... from a single touch."
Adam said, his tone no higher than a common whisper to the ear, his voice having an obvious mixture of both awe and unease. It was one thing to learn about necromantic spells in the Codex Space, but another thing entirely to feel the power firsthand...both literally and figuratively.
"I know Typhon was overpowered based on the information the System got for me after looking through her Archive, but bro... this spell is still in the section where the weakest of abilities are."
Adam said to himself, not that he was complaining of course, but still, it was insane to think about, given how overpowered this basic necromantic spell of Typhon truly is.
"Hmm... the Negative Touch spel truly is busted, given how quickly I drain this tree... I wonder if the same effect would apply to a real person, damn... now I want to go and hunt for something to experiment my magic on."
He said in a curious tone, completely forgetting he was bleeding out, at the mere mention of the topic of magic, a subject he has taken great interest in.
And seeing Negative Touch in action for the first time, the spell was quite the spectacle to witness indeed.
It was a spell that allowed him to transform his arm into that of a High Lich, an undead-type monster with the ability to drain life with a mere touch. It was like an executioner’s tool, a power designed solely to take, to reap, to reduce living things to mere fuel.
But then... Adam curled his skeletal fingers inward.
The power to take life was one thing, but true mastery of necromancy lay in understanding the deeper order of existence itself. The tome describes primordial necromancy as a cycle between life and death, with neither being greater than the other, rather equal in scope, power, and importance.