A Necromancer Who Just Wants to Plant Trees

Chapter 304: The Lich who only knows Fireball

 …

The Demon Realm of Ravenloft?

Oluolin?

 Are you here again?

 Matthew was greatly surprised.

 He had originally wanted to visit this place again, but he was unable to enter when he was exploring the tomb realm last time.

 On the contrary, it was when I entered the soul realm this time.

This shows that the narrow tomb in front of us involves both the realm of the tomb and the realm of the soul.

 Considering that this tomb is located in the large tombs in the Demon Realm of Ravenloft.

 And there is precisely the location of the secret of life.

 Matthew felt that it was not that simple here.

At this moment, he flew up gently and arrived at the coffin in the center.

His spirit body passed through the coffin board and heard a familiar voice saying in surprise:

"ha!"

 “I knew it must be you!”

As before, it was pitch dark inside the coffin. Theoretically, Matthew could only see the outline and few details of the other party with the help of his spiritual instinct.

But this time it seems a little different.

 After Matthew went in, he found that he could see clearly what Eurolin looked like!

That was a handsome little guy with a thin face.

There is an obvious scar on his neck. His expression is a little melancholy, but his voice is very optimistic:

 “Come and help me see what’s going on!”

 Matthew noticed.

At this time, Olorin was leaning against the coffin board, as if lying on the coffin lid.

 There seemed to be a force pushing his body upwards.

Oluolin was lifted up by that force at times faster and slower.

 Sometimes softer and slower.

Sometimes it happens so suddenly that it can even open the coffin board!

 He himself looked very uncomfortable.

 This is also different from what Matthew saw before.

"what happens?"

Matthew asked softly.

Oluolin shook his head:

“I don’t know, not after you left. I took a nap and when I woke up, I found myself pressed against the ceiling!”

“At that time, a voice asked me: I have been trapped for so long, do you want to get out?”

“I told him I didn’t think about it at all and it was very comfortable lying down.”

“The voice tried to convince me at first, but after I listed the many benefits of lying in a coffin, he was speechless.”

“After that, I had a quiet day, but not long after, the voice sounded again. He told me that I couldn’t lie here forever. After that, this abnormal power appeared—

 My body seems to be under anti-gravity magic.

No matter what action you take.

 The final target we are led to is this coffin board!

This makes it impossible for me to sleep well at all!

How can anyone sleep on the coffin lid upside down? "

 O'Loughlin complained loudly.

Matthew carefully observed the situation. Since he was in a spiritual state now, he could move in and out of the coffin freely.

 He did detect an arcane power in Olorin.

 It's just that the other party's attainments in magic are obviously higher than his own, and he is not in full strength. He is just a ray of consciousness in the field, so naturally there is no way to decipher more information.

“Oluolin shouldn’t be lying, that voice should be real, which means there may be a third person nearby!”

Matthew was secretly alert.

However, he is not worried. After being in and out of various major fields for so long, Matthew has gradually learned that this state of wandering in the field is relatively safe.

Although his current body is a spirit body, the periphery of the spirit body is protected by a circle of powerful domain light.

 As long as the realm in which he wanders is not destroyed, Matthew will be able to escape unscathed.

 So when you are in the realm of fugue.

 Matthew can definitely be a little more playful than usual.

certainly.

 He won’t do that.

"I can only detect the magic on you, but I can't find any other abnormalities."

Matthew looked at the uncomfortable Olorin with some sympathy.

“Can you turn the coffin over?”

Oluolin suddenly had an idea:

“Maybe then I can lie down and sleep.”

Matthew smiled and shook his head and said:

“If it’s anti-gravity magic, even if you turn the coffin over, you will still be sucked to the top.”

"And I'm just a spirit now. Although it's easy to get in and out, I can't turn the coffin for you. It's too heavy for me."

 Spirit bodies can usually only pick up items weighing 2 to 3 kilograms.

 O'Loughlin's request was obviously a fantasy to Matthew.

 “Damn, why is it so hard to get a good night’s sleep?”

Oluolin sighed.

Matthew pondered and said:

“If that voice cast anti-gravity magic on you, then the other party’s purpose is most likely to force you out. Do you want to try to leave this coffin?”

Oluolin said helplessly:

 “I can’t get out!”

“I’ve tried it, but even if I try my best to lift the coffin board, I still can’t get it out!”

"Although this thing is made of wood, I don't know why it is so heavy. It may also be because I am not a zombie. I heard that zombies are extremely powerful. Not to mention this kind of wooden coffin, even a stone coffin can be lifted up. !”

 Matthew looked around.

 Suddenly his eyes lit up.

  “Have it.”

The tomb was indeed empty, with nothing at all.

Standing in the narrow tomb passage leading to the outside world, Matthew found a large pile of bones.

I don’t know what year these bones are from, but they haven’t turned into bone powder yet!

 And the quality doesn’t look low.

 “I’ll try and see if I can help you get it out!”

Matthew controlled the spirit body to float to the edge of the tomb passage.

  got closer.

Only then did Matthew realize that there were an astonishing number of bones here. The entire tomb passage was piled with similar bones on both sides, and some bones even shone with a golden sheen!

This is…

 Sacred bones!

Matthew’s eyes straightened instantly!

 “Don’t be like this, the look in your eyes scares me, just like a dog seeing a bone.”

Eurolin's faint voice came from the coffin.

 “Can you see the look in my eyes?”

Matthew asked curiously.

“You can’t see it, but you can feel it. Did you find something valuable?”

Oluolin's voice was a little uneasy.

 Matthew nodded slightly:

"I found some bones of gods or angels. I can try to use them to summon some undead, and then open your coffin."

Oluolin was afraid and said:

 “You don’t want to turn me into a zombie, do you?”

Matthew smiled:

 “Don’t worry, it won’t happen.”

Oluolin breathed a sigh of relief:

 “Then do it.”

“It’s not a problem if I continue like this. I’m sucked on the coffin lid all day long. Sometimes I feel like a gecko...”

 When Oralin was nagging.

Matthew has already chanted the incantation to summon the undead.

He is currently in a restricted spiritual state and does not have much mana to mobilize. Fortunately, summoning skeletons is the most basic spell and consumes very little.

 In a short while.

 Eight decent-looking skeletons crawled out from the pile of bones.

 Matthew looked at the data column.

 …

 Hint: You have obtained the new undead "Divine Bone Skeleton" (LV14).

Your summoning of the undead has been updated with a new target: Divine Bone Skeleton.

 Summoning a divine bone skeleton requires the prerequisite "at least one divine bone".

 You have retrieved the divine bones*23…”

 …

 In fact.

According to Matthew's estimation, there must be more than 23 sacred bones in the tomb passage.

 It's just that his field of vision was limited and he only saw 23.

“Next time I have a chance, I have to take all these divine bones away. They can be used to arm Xiao Fei and Peggy, or they can be used to summon divine bone creatures alone.”

Matthew thought so in his mind.

 Although divine bones do not have divinity, due to their excellent basic attributes, divine bone skeletons naturally have stronger resistance and combat power than ordinary skeletons.

And if a skeleton-type undead is completely made of divine bones, then its threat will increase exponentially.

Matthew doesn’t know exactly how far it can go.

 Because he has never used such rich materials before!

 “Wait a minute, I’ll get it out for you right away.”

At this moment, Matthew controlled eight skeletons and came to the coffin.

This coffin actually had no nails, and a dark gas filled the connection between the coffin lid and the box.

 Matthew made eight skeletons exert force at the same time.

 Then he came to the connection, bent down, sniffed, and then inhaled hard.

 Suddenly.

 All the black gas was completely absorbed by Matthew's spirit body.

 …

“Tips: You have absorbed a certain amount of “breath of death”, and your soul strength has increased by 30%!

 Your mental strength and concentration are also increased by 30% and 10% respectively.

 Under the stimulation of the breath of death.

 You gain the new ability "Soul Trick"

 Soul Trick: When your soul is out of the body or in a spirit state, you can transform into a spirit body of any shape or race, and initially possess the attributes and characteristics of that spirit body. "

 …

Before Matthew could take a closer look at this unexpected surprise.

Suddenly there was a soft bang in my ear.

 The coffin lid was lifted.

The skeletons honestly carried the coffin lid and moved it sideways.

 The result will be the next second.

 A figure suddenly ejected from the coffin, and then hit the ceiling hard!

 “Oh my God!”

Oluolin was hit by the ceiling so hard that stars appeared in his eyes, and then he fell to the ground in a very embarrassed state.

Matthew quickly looked over and let a skeleton help him up.

 After leaving the coffin.

 Matthew was able to see Eurolin's face clearly.

This guy looks even more handsome than in the coffin, and his charm is definitely on par with Matthew himself!

 The opponent's condition is maintained quite well.

If you don’t look carefully, you might even mistake Orolin for an ordinary human being!

"Huh?"

 “Is the anti-gravity magic on me really gone?!”

Oluolin touched himself up and down for a while, and then showed an ecstatic expression.

 Even though he grabbed Matthew's hand hard:

"Thank you!"

"Thank you so much!"

 “Um, I don’t know your name yet?”

Matthew smiled:

 “Just call me Matthew.”

 He noticed that Olorin could grasp his hands and that he was now a spirit!

 “This guy is really not that simple...”

 Even on the data column.

Matthew also has no information or attributes about Orolin at all.

"But his previous performance doesn't seem to be staged. It's possible that he, like Carmela, is a very special ancient person."

Matthew made up his mind to gradually learn about the origins of Olorin in the future.

However, what surprised him was.

 The two of them had just chatted for a few words when Oluolin couldn't wait to jump back into the coffin!

“Excuse me, please close the lid of my coffin again!”

 “I’m going to go back to sleep!”

 His voice was filled with unadulterated happiness.

Matthew said in astonishment:

 “Aren’t you going to go out and have a look?”

Oluolin straightened up and completely lay back in the coffin:

 “What’s there to see outside?”

“There is nothing new under the sun, so why not lie down and sleep? It will be so comfortable.”

 “No one can stop me from sleeping…”

Matthew saw this.

 He had no choice but to continue to order the skeletons to cover Brother Olorin’s coffin.

However, at the moment when the coffin board touched the box.

 A huge amount of energy burst out from Orolin's body——

 There was a muffled sound.

 Several waves of air rolled outwards in the small tomb room.

 Several skeletons disintegrated on the spot.

Even Matthew was pushed and staggered.

 After the dust has settled.

Matthew was surprised to find that only messy coffin fragments were left on the ground.

Oluolin sat transfixed on the fragments.

quickly.

He put his head in his hands and howled bitterly:

 “I have no home!”

 “Woo woo woo…”

 He cried like a helpless child.

Matthew was floating beside him, not knowing how to comfort him.

 “At least you’re alive.”

Matthew said.

O'Loughlin kept wiping his tears, but Matthew found that his tears turned into diamond-like things when they fell to the ground!

 “Don’t lie to me Matthew…”

“How can anyone live so long?”

"I have known that I am a dead person for a long time, and I don't want to live. I just want to get the rest that a dead person deserves."

Oluolin sobbed softly:

“When I was alive, the old people always lied to me and said that I can rest after death.”

“But I didn’t rest long after I died…”

 Matthew coughed:

“At least you weren’t turned into a zombie by the Necromancer.”

This topic is obviously quite sensitive for O'Loughlin.

 He stopped crying immediately.

 And all of a sudden he stood up from the ground:

 “You’re not going to do this, are you?”

Matthew said with a smile:

“First of all, my current state is not convenient for controlling a zombie.”

“Secondly, as a spiritual dead person like you, there is no way I can turn you into a zombie without your consent.”

"Third, I can feel that your situation is very special. Even if you become an undead, you still need to sign a separate contract. Can't you just stop signing a contract with me?"

What Matthew said was reasonable and his attitude was more sincere.

Oluolin finally believed it.

 He was a little embarrassed and said to Matthew:

 “Sorry, I have some stereotypes about necromancers.”

Matthew waved his hand nonchalantly:

 “It’s okay, it should be.”

While O'Loughlin's attention was diverted, Matthew pointed to the bones beside the tomb passage and asked:

 “Do you know the origin of these bones?”

Oluolin shook his head:

"I don't know. I have been in the coffin since I woke up. After that, I never left the coffin, whether I woke up or slept."

“So after the coffin was broken, I felt very sad, as if something important was gone from me forever…”

 At this very moment.

Matthew’s attention was suddenly attracted by the coffin fragments.

 He flew over, bent down on the ground, and looked at each piece carefully.

 “I wish I could take these things with me.”

Matthew murmured.

Oluolin came over curiously:

 “So my stereotype is at least partially correct?”

Matthew raised his head without knowing why:

"Um?"

O'Loughlin pointed to the fragments and said:

“The Necromancer will definitely not let go of any coffin board.”

 Matthew laughed at himself.

 Then he picked up a fragment, pointed to the words on it and said:

 “Do you recognize these words?”

Oluolin nodded and shook his head:

 “I know them, but they don’t make sense together.”

 Matthew nodded slightly.

 He quickly checked the other fragments and confirmed that the words written inside the coffin were exactly the same as the writing on the Macalon tablet given to him by Viscount Fan!

 Mebaron is the second son of the God of Death.

His every move represents the will of Death in many cases.

 “Oluolin is indeed the one who attracts the attention of the God of Death.”

"Perhaps the reason why the soul realm of the tomb realm guided me here is not because this tomb is so special, but because the people or coffins in the tomb are most likely a projection of the realm of death." Matthew pointed to those on the ground. Fragment said:

“Can you collect them first and wait until I come to pick them up next time?”

Oluolin nodded readily and said:

"sure!"

 “You have helped me so much, and I don’t know how to thank you!”

As he spoke, he patiently bent down and stacked all the fragments in the corner of the tomb for later use.

 Have done all this.

Matthew invited Orolin to the exit of the tomb:

 “Go for a walk?”

O'Loughlin glanced at Matthew:

 “Are you likely to leave at any time?”

Matthew admitted:

"Yes."

Oluolin immediately shook his head like a wave:

 “Then I won’t go.”

 “What if there’s a monster outside?”

“When the time comes, you just slap your **** and leave, leaving me alone. Wouldn’t it be like a sheep entering a tiger’s mouth?”

 Matthew, it’s not unreasonable to think about it.

If you want to convince Olorin to explore the large tomb complex where the tomb is located with you, you must at least ensure the other person's safety.

 You can get here by entering the realm of fugue.

 It’s not just Matthew’s strength that cannot be brought into play.

His stay here was also quite unstable.

 You may leave at any time.

“We have to find a way to build a portal here, but the portal in the underworld is easily blocked, and will also be targeted by messengers from the underworld or other underworld creatures. At least multiple springboards are needed as buffers...”

Matthew thought secretly.

Oluolin walked to another corner, crossed his arms and squatted down slowly.

 “What are your plans next?”

Matthew asked with concern.

 “Just keep sleeping.”

Oluolin stretched indifferently.

His movements looked quite flexible, and Matthew even suspected that he was a living person!

“Sleeping in a coffin is still sleeping, and sleeping outside is still sleeping. As long as I am adaptable enough, I can use this tomb as a larger coffin to sleep in!”

Oluolin said with a yawn.

Matthew looked at him sideways.

I have to admit that this old man is indeed happy-go-lucky.

“By the way, next time you come to pick up the coffin fragments, wouldn’t it be convenient for you to bring me a new coffin?”

 O'Loughlin asked.

See Matthew's face looking thoughtful.

O'Loughlin immediately took off a large bunch of gold necklaces from his body and handed them over:

"Don't worry, I didn't take it from you for nothing. Don't look at this necklace. It's dark. It's because it's got a bit of popularity from sleeping with me for a long time. Maybe you can roast it on the fire when you go back. It's all in it. Pure gold..."

Matthew waved his hand to express his refusal:

 “No need, I’m just thinking about how to bring things here…”

His voice suddenly stopped.

　　followed by.

Matthew asked seriously:

“Did you hear footsteps just now?”

 He heard it.

 It’s subtle but real.

 It came from the end of the tomb passage!

Oluolin’s nerves also became tense!

 “I seem to have heard it too…”

 The two of them came to the tomb passage.

Matthew put his ear to the wall, and Olorin followed suit, and the faint sound became clearer.

 In addition to the footsteps, there was actually a conversation—

“Fisher, are you sure this is the tomb where the Death Prophet sleeps?”

　　This is a young female voice.

"It's absolutely true. I heard that he is an extremely terrifying lich with a very bad temper. He is ready to peel off human skin and make a human skin kite! We must be careful what we say when we see him later..."

 The voice that answered was a relatively calm middle-aged man.

Oluolin immediately looked at Matthew worriedly and said:

 “Did you hear what they said?”

 “What’s wrong, there’s a bad-tempered lich living here!”

"If we bump into him, we won't be turned into human skin kites, right? Even though I'm dead, it's still hard to accept the thought of being skinned!"

 Matthew’s expression was a little complicated.

Faced with Oluolin's concerns, he did not say anything, but chose to continue listening.

 The female voice from before said again:

“I heard that the Death Prophet took away the power of Death and held a strange ceremony at the place where Death fell, at the cost of his own eternal sleep.”

 “Because of that ceremony, this area becomes very special.”

“Because of this, this area has become the only area in the Demonic Realm of Ravenloft that is not controlled by Viscount Fan...”

 The middle-aged man interrupted her:

 “Don’t mention that name!”

 “Be careful, that guy is very skillful!”

“Remember everything clearly, our target this time is only the Death Prophet, don’t provoke other people, there are many unknown undead creatures here, and none of them are easy to mess with, so don’t cause any trouble!”

 Hear this.

Oluolin breathed a sigh of relief:

"so far so good!"

 “They didn’t intend to cause trouble!”

 Matthew's expression became even weirder.

 At this time.

The footsteps in the tomb passage became clearer and louder.

Oluolin was shocked:

“Why are the footsteps getting closer and closer? Could it be that the prophet of death they call lives next door to me?”

The voice fell.

Matthew pointed to the end of the aisle.

 The light of the torch has already shone through.

 A group of sneaky figures appeared in their field of vision.

Oluolin was startled.

 The reaction from the other side was even more exaggerated. They all pulled out their swords and took many steps back.

 But after a while, he very cautiously took a few steps forward.

 “You are in the wrong place.”

Oluolin said bravely.

 The people on the other side looked at each other in confusion, and one of them, a middle-aged man, came to the front.

He held the torch high and looked at Orolin and Matthew:

 “I guess we’re not in the wrong place.”

 “This is where the Death Prophet lives.”

“Which one of you is the Death Prophet?”

O'Loughlin and Matthew looked at each other.

Oluolin exclaimed as if he suddenly thought of something:

 “So you are the Death Prophet?”

Matthew helplessly spread his hands:

 “Obviously, I don’t live here.”

The voice fell.

Matthew’s figure disappeared from the spot.

Oluolin was left alone, dumbfounded.

“Then the death prophet can’t be me, right?”

 He looked at the group of people opposite with a dry smile.

The middle-aged man quickly took out a scepter that exuded the breath of ice and handed it over:

“We follow God’s guidance and hereby invite the Death Prophet to join our Hades Cult!”

“God tells us that as long as you grab this scepter, as the prophet of death, you will recall everything in the past!”

 As he spoke, he knelt down on his knees.

 Climbed over step by step.

 He knelt before Orolin and raised his hands above his head:

"please!"

The rest of the people also knelt down and pleaded loudly:

"please!"

However, Oluolin crossed his arms and backed away:

 “Hmph, I don’t want it!”

 …

“Tip: In return for setting foot in the soul realm, you will gain one of the following three abilities—

-

Soul Carapace (your soul will be wrapped in a powerful shell that can resist soul-killing weapons or other soul-level attacks)

-

Soul splitting (you can split up to seven soul seeds, and then parasitize them on different targets to monitor or control them) -

 Super sleep (your soul control ability has been greatly improved. After obtaining this ability, you only need to sleep for 2 hours a day to get the eight hours of sleep under normal circumstances

 …

 Matthew looked at it.

 Want them all.

 It’s a pity that you can only choose one of the three.

 In the end, he hesitated slightly and chose "Super Sleep".

 It is common for mages to stay up late.

Especially since he has been taking supplements recently, Matthew often feels slightly unwell, which may be a sign of lack of sleep and excessive overdraft.

 With this ability.

 Matthew can then stay up all night openly.

 There was also a lot more time left for him to study.

 This is more important to him than anything else as a wild mage.

 Come back to your senses.

 “So Olorin is what they call the prophet of death?”

 “A lich who has done many great things?”

 Matthew found it incredible.

 Until now, he has not been able to associate the word lich with Orolin, who advocates lying down and having a delicate appearance.

And his body is so un-lichish!

“Perhaps there is something hidden, but it’s a pity that the time for wandering has come. I don’t know when we will see each other next time…”

 Matthew's heart was filled with regret.

Thoughts change quickly.

 The movements under his hands did not stop.

  Swish.

Matthew controlled Ali’s remaining soul and injected it into the black box at hand.

 The box contains black nephrite.

 This is the sublimated and solidified version of the dark divine oil.

 Through the processing of special temperature and magic, the highly condensed dark oil became a semi-liquid state, and then fixed with transformation spells, which turned into a high-level material that can be used to nourish the soul—

Black nephrite.

Black nephrite not only has the effect of nourishment, but also has the function of imprisonment. It is the carrier of the remaining soul when signing a deep contract.

 After the remaining souls are collected.

Matthew closed the box and sealed thirteen incantations on it.

 Then he took the silver dagger.

　　Tied to the box with a red rope.

 This dagger is a sanctioning object.

 It is specially enchanted and is the nemesis of any spirit.

If Matthew wanted to kill Ali one day, he could control the dagger to pierce the box through his mental power with just a thought.

 After Ali’s remnant soul was destroyed.

 He himself will be instantly wiped out.

 This is the dominance of deep contracts.

If not, Matthew would not have moved out the ghost archon as a promise.

 After the binding is completed.

Matthew started writing the contract because he had already written the template before, and he could write it smoothly after it was officially implemented.

 In a short while.

 The deep contract was successfully completed with the blessing of Matthew's contract field.

 Although he has the ability of Overlord Contract.

 But Matthew did not tamper with the contract.

 He gave the contract to Ali for inspection.

 After the latter chooses to agree.

 The deep contract will be successfully bound!

 …

 Hint: You have obtained the first deep contract partner!

 According to the deep contract agreement, you can interact with him more...

 Injecting a lot of XP into Ghost Ali?

 Injection successful!

 Ali’s level has been raised to LV20!

 Ali’s template has been upgraded to “White Ghost”! "

 …

  Comes with a massive infusion of XP.

 Ali's body lit up with white lights.

He looked at Matthew in surprise and joy. He never expected that Matthew would give him such a generous experience gift package just after the contract was signed!

 Ali’s original level was LV16.

 And Matthew directly pushed him to the quasi-legendary realm of level 20!

This is the beauty of having a lot of XP.

Ali was grateful for this.

Matthew didn’t care at all.

 His experience has actually overflowed greatly.

 Since large-scale planting.

Each tree planted by Zombie Boy will provide him with XP.

 What’s more, the growth and breathing of the forest itself will generate XP.

 Although the number is not large.

 But it is not a small sum accumulated over many years.

 According to Matthew's own estimate.

 The XP he now possesses is enough to support three people to attack the legend!

certainly.

 It’s hard to say when it comes to legend.

 That is a higher realm and requires a lot of XP.

 But Matthew is confident.

 I definitely won’t worry about XP.

 “Do a good job and don’t let me down!”

He encouraged Ali who was overly excited.

 Matthew stood up and left the workroom.

 He came to bring the surface of the earth.

 Find a hole in the ground where many animals gather, and randomly select a small animal to harass—

no.

  It is conversation.

 This is one of Matthew’s daily routines:

 “Animal talk”.

 Unknowingly, the animals that Matthew had communicated with had reached the 298th place.

 Just one step away from completing the mission.

 Matthew simply drew one more lucky person.

After finishing the conversation with a honey badger widow and two frogs who were awakened from hibernation.

 The task of talking to animals has finally come to an end!

 …

 Hint: You’ve finished talking to animals!

 You get rewards: a lot of XP & undead summons (lich). "

 …

 The next second.

  A portal appeared in front of Matthew.

 He looked in the direction of the portal expectantly.

　　followed by.

 A somewhat familiar figure slowly appeared from the portal.

"you…"

 Matthew's voice was full of surprise.

The other party folded his arms and shouted impatiently:

 “I told you I don’t want it!”

at this time.

Lumiere and Bobo's figures appeared in the woods.

 Hear this sound.

 The two of them looked at each other.

He quietly stepped back.

Matthew looked at the information on the data column without saying a word.

 …

“Tip: You have obtained a newly signed undead—"Death Prophet Orolin" (legendary lich/mystery template)

Oluolin details:? ? ?

 Spells Olorin masters: Fireball (only). "

 …

 A lich who only knows fireball?

Matthew looked at Eurolin and tilted his head. For a moment, he didn’t know where to start.

 …

 (End of this chapter)