Chapter Sixty-Five: Liu Chun's Ambition (Bonus Chapter for Ten Thousand Donations)

Over the next two days, Liu Zong continued fulfilling the duties of a temporary Soul Collector—not out of choice, but necessity, for he had no way to attempt any other quests. Every assignment besides Soul Collection required at least Level 1, and each was fraught with peril. With his current capabilities, all Liu Zong could do was gather souls, search corpses, and hope to find something valuable left behind.

Fortunately, Liu Chun soon welcomed a new arrival to the Safe Zone. Having handed off his responsibilities and taken a day’s rest, he came to find Liu Zong, announcing that he was now free to accompany him to the Employment Office.

Seeing Liu Chun ready, Liu Zong hurried to hand in his completed tasks, receiving some reputation in return. Though he fell short of the requirements, at least he now knew the locations of several supply points run by the Hela Guard within this secret realm.

Following Liu Chun southeast toward the Abyss of Helheim, Liu Zong listened as his companion explained the nature of this place. The Abyss of Helheim belonged to Hela, the death goddess of the Vikur. Every creature slain by the Vikur would end up here, given a single chance to escape. Should they fail, they would become a permanent part of this domain; succeed, and they would be granted resurrection.

As for the Vikur themselves, those who died and refused to rest in the Hall of the Glorious Dead would come here to serve as Hela’s Guard. These individuals were stronger and more violent than even typical Vikur. They relished watching the souls of those they had slain linger eternally before them—thus, they were the most formidable wardens of this abyss.

The corpses strewn across the ground were, for the most part, not warriors fallen in single combat, but ordinary folk slain indiscriminately by Vikur pirates. The Vikur paid them little heed; after forty or fifty years, their souls would be cleared away, but their bodies would remain, untouched and unclaimed. Not even scavengers roamed these lands. Consequently, necromancers sought this place out to harvest corpses, and some claimed to have unearthed ancient remains here.

According to Liu Chun, Hela originally intended to divide her secret realm into regions. However, the inebriated Vikur who followed her paid no mind to such order, and so the abyss became what it is now. Still, if one searched according to the initial divisions, one might find treasures worth seeking.

This time, Liu Chun had a clear goal: the corpse of a two-headed giant.

He explained that he had purchased information on this corpse from one of the informant brokers. The giant in question had been a level-three juvenile with two heads; for reasons unknown, it provoked the Vikur, and found itself slain and discarded here. Judging by the state of decay, the body had lain undisturbed for three to five centuries.

This meant the corpse still held potential for growth and, after so long steeped in negative energy, was now highly attuned to the powers of shadow—making it ideal material for Liu Chun’s creation of a Soulbound Demon.

The broker had warned Liu Chun that his exclusive claim on this information would last no more than fifteen days. If he failed to secure the corpse within that time, they would resell the news to others.

Curious, Liu Zong inquired further about these brokers. Liu Chun explained that they acted as intermediaries; rather than seeking out information themselves, they simply opened shop and waited for others to bring them news, which they then resold.

Hearing this, Liu Zong considered whether he should visit one of these brokers himself. Money was not his immediate concern—his real problem was not knowing where to find the materials he needed.

While they conversed, the two men entered a new region of the Abyss. The nature of the corpses changed: where once the ground was littered with the bodies of ordinary humans and animals, now there lay sea giants, cyclopes, two-headed giants, and monstrous beasts—great bears, saber-toothed tigers, mammoths, even abyssal octopuses.

Liu Chun grew even more cautious here, checking his map every few steps and surveying their surroundings with care.

Advancing slowly, they encountered no real danger. If they spotted a Hela Guard or a corpse reanimated by negative energy, they evaded it well in advance. The only real peril came when they happened to cross over a corpse and, perhaps due to the weight or because of the dark energies suffusing this place, the corpse abruptly sprang to life and chased them across half the map—nearly driving them into an even more dangerous area.

After many such tribulations, Liu Zong finally laid eyes on the corpse Liu Chun had described.

It was the body of a juvenile two-headed giant. Smaller than its adult kin, it stood barely four meters tall. The two heads, unlike those of a two-headed ogre, were not mutated with singular eyes or horns. One head, brutish and thick with muscle, seemed made for violence. The other, though slightly more refined, was marred by a set of sharp fangs—suggesting that, had it survived, this head would have followed the path of a bloodthirsty shaman.

The giant’s clothing had long since rotted away. Even its flesh and muscle had mostly decayed, leaving bare ribs and a glimpse of the ruined organs within its chest.