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For the rest of the day, Rino did not have much to do. He still had no idea what a potato was, and that plant growing experiment ended up in a complete disaster. Apart from growing too big, the potato plant was really useless.

Ping!

Rino blinked at the new notification as he considered how many hours of sleep he wanted to withdraw. The side quest window updated itself, and Rino checked it out quickly.

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Side Quest #10

Objective: Discover the speed of darkness.

Reward: Master the teleporting skill.

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While the lich had no idea what the speed of darkness was, he didn't really care. All he knew after looking at this quest was how badly he needed that reward. Teleporting was a skill that Rino always envied about dark mages. Sure, the ability to fly was also very useful, but nothing beats the power of teleporting. That surprise and ambush factor from teleporting could be handy in so many ways.

Blame it on his childhood upbringing, but Rino preferred to start with an upper hand in any situation. The element of surprise was always a good thing to have. It was why Rino loved air and fire magic. He could corner his prey with fire and distract them from knowing where he actually was. Having a bird's eye view was fun as well. He enjoyed watching them walk into his traps.

Back to the question about the speed of darkness, Rino retreated from the forest to his farmhouse. His mind worked better when he felt alone. There were too many things going on outside, and Rino needed to think.

Inside the farmhouse, Rino decided to put out all the candles and draw all the curtains closed. To find the speed of light, people measured how long it took to be detected over a distance. The speed of sound was measured similarly, and Rino discovered it while travelling through the air using wind magic. He found out that he was flying faster than the magician tower could send him messages with voice projection. It was an accidental discovery that broke many new barriers.

In the dark interior of his farmhouse, Rino attempted to become one with darkness to no avail. It was simply too noisy within his shadows, and the lich wondered if there was a way to stop listening to the souls he now owned. The terrible memories did not affect him mentally, but they were still very distracting for Rino, who wanted nothing more than to meditate and discover a new law of this world.

As Rino's irritation at the inefficient system grew, the shadow beneath him became darker in the darkness. The noises became more than just background noise without Rino realising, but all hopes of a peaceful meditation session went out of the window.

Thrilled by Rino's progress as his irritation broke through the roof, Ace watched and wondered if the lich would cave to his annoyance. The key to finding out the true speed of darkness was to submerge fully into it and swim in the shadows. It wasn't simply living in a place without light. It was understanding how to be dragged along by the shadows but not losing sight of the light.

Rino felt something strange developing as his annoyance climbed. He was tempted to tell his slaves to pause, but the magician in him became thrilled as mana built up from his core. The lich might not have blood now, but he could feel this energy circulation strongly in his bones. There was no mistaking this sensation. It was the kind of feeling he had whenever he was building up a chantless spell.

The only difference between this experience and the mana build up before a chantless spell was the intensity. For a regular chantless spell, Rino used the triggers such as a focal point where he wanted the spell to go and channelled all this energy within him to the direction he wanted it to go.

As the shadow grew bigger and darker, it started to take a form. Rino had only witnessed this happening when he was making an offering prayer for a holy spell's divine blessing. This phenomenon was said to be the work of the Gods and outside of the sphere of magic. Rino did not think that dark magic would be similar. He was unable to control this strange shape that took over, but there was no fear. He was now one of them.

The rate that Rino allowed the shadows to grow was slow, but the progression and understanding were steady. Many magicians with poor control would find themselves getting swept away by the sea of darkness. The creatures of the dark loved to prey on the weak-willed. It was the reason why there were many sacrifices used in dark magic. Ace was concerned about RIino learning how to teleport using dark magic without proper guidance. This spell wasn't as simple as wrapping shadow tendrils around his body or projecting them. It required the caster to fully lose themselves to the feeling of darkness, allowing shadows to temporarily claim ownership of their bodies.

In a way, dark magic still required a sacrifice. If Rino could relinquish control of his body to allow the shadows to bring him to a different realm, he would be able to move with a slower time flow in that shadow realm to reach a place in the material world with much less time. Of course, the price of this power was one's control and sanity on top of mana.

Rino could almost feel it. These shadows were trying to consume him the same way they consumed the souls of his summons. The goblins were weak-willed and bent according to his wishes that the shadow conveyed. However, when Rino was no longer in command of the shadows, they tried to command him.

As a proud lich, Rino refused to give in to the temptation of these shadows. They battled long and hard for direction in darkness, with the shadow losing. Eventually, Rino felt something similar to the taming of a high-grade fire spirit. The shadows that tried to consume him earlier now wrapped around him like satin sheets.

It was at this moment that Rino understood what it was. He consumed the shadows, and now, they were one. This part of the darkness that his summons once owned now completely belonged to him. The voices stopped, and Rino looked up at a strange monochrome mirrored world.

Where was he?