Chapter 157: Can I Say I've Already Absorbed It?

Chapter 157: Can I Say I've Already Absorbed It?



Furthermore, under Rain's constant interference, the Flesh Tree Spirit was in extreme discomfort. The wound on its main body, caused by the high-level divine spell 'Sword of Judgment', had yet to fully heal.

If it were to heal at the previous rate, it should have completed self-regeneration five minutes ago.

But now, due to Rain's interference, the massive wound had only shrunk from the size of a washbasin to the size of a fist.

The root cause was that more than half of the tendrils that could have been used to heal the wound had been cut off by Rain, scattering onto the ground.

The Flesh Tree Spirit's intelligence was not low; it knew it couldn't continue like this.

If this went on, it might indeed be worn down to death by this little one before it.

The Flesh Tree Spirit stood up, and the small tendrils inside the wound on its body, which had been wriggling incessantly, suddenly retracted.

The next second, the Flesh Tree Spirit pounced and executed a deadly roll towards Rain! Rain's pupils constricted, and he quickly dodged with a sideways roll.

Just now, with a single strike, the Flesh Tree Spirit had swallowed a lightly injured Temple Knight whole.

Therefore, although the Flesh Tree Spirit had been using its tendrils to fight Rain, Rain had always been wary of this ultimate move.

If this attack hit directly, it could be said to be a deadly strike with almost no chance of survival!

Sure enough, the Flesh Tree Spirit unleashed it again.

The Flesh Tree Spirit's gaping mouth passed right by Rain, its massive body and swift movements creating a tremendous force.

In an instant, the nearly twenty-meter-long Flesh Tree Spirit shot through like a meteor, crashing into the thick white marble wall of the temple, creating a large hole.

Smoke and dust rose everywhere!

Additionally, Rain discovered that once the Flesh Tree Spirit's main body joined the attack, its self-healing stopped completely, possibly due to excessive energy consumption or the tearing of the wound during the attack.

No wonder it hadn't used its main body to attack earlier.

The Flesh Tree Spirit stood up again, shaking its massive body, seemingly dazed from the wall collision.

However, when it regained its senses and realized it hadn't hit Rain, it seemed to be enraged!

After confirming Rain's position, the Flesh Tree Spirit roared towards the sky.

The next second, the Flesh Tree Spirit inhaled a large mouthful of air, its body swelling twice, and then it spat out large clumps of blood-colored slime from its gaping mouth, spraying in all directions without any blind spots.

This volcanic eruption-like scene almost covered the entire temple hall, even reaching the corners where Rudolf and Machini were hiding.

Facing the Flesh Tree Spirit's attack, which resembled sorcery, Rudolf's face paled, regretting not taking measures sooner.

Even if he and Machini used their ultimate moves now, it would be too late!

Temple Knight Machini immediately raised his steel shield to protect Rudolf.

Ragle half-squatted, her lithe body tense, her beautiful eyes fixed on Rain, holding the Blood-Patterned Steel Shield in her left hand, her long and powerful legs taut, ready to pounce like a female leopard.

Ragle seemed to be planning to rush towards Rain immediately, using her shield to protect Rain from the Flesh Tree Spirit's spit attack.

But the next second, she froze!

The same situation occurred in the upper hall, where the black-haired elf, transformed into an eagle, was about to dive down to cast the 'Hurricane Spell' for rescue, but she too halted her dive.

The Flesh Tree Spirit's not-so-sturdy body, instead of retreating, advanced calmly, and from its embrace, the small tendrils that had been wriggling incessantly retracted.

"I was planning to keep this 'Frosty Gale' wizardry scroll as a backup for the ennoblement examination, but I didn't expect to use it here." Rain said regretfully as he infused a strand of mental power into the 'Frosty Gale' wizardry scroll, slightly controlling the direction of release.

Instantly, a stream of freezing air appeared out of thin air, blowing towards Rain's front, covering the massive Flesh Tree Spirit almost entirely.

The next second, the freezing air clashed head-on with the blood-colored slime.

The power of this cold air far exceeded Rain's expectations; the blood-colored slime froze upon contact and quickly fell like a large clump, shattering with a 'crack'.

But it didn't end there; after freezing the blood-colored slime, the freezing air still had the strength to rush towards the Flesh Tree Spirit's main body.

The previous spit attack had been extremely energy-consuming for the Flesh Tree Spirit.

It was gasping for breath, and the wound piercing its body expanded again, with only a few large tendrils remaining, while the others had fallen off.

Facing the freezing air, the Flesh Tree Spirit was unable to react in time with effective evasion or defense.

Soon, the Flesh Tree Spirit's tendrils and even its main body were covered in thick white frost and crystals, and its movement and attack speed greatly decreased, as if it had transformed from a nimble monkey into an elderly, tottering old woman.

Additionally, due to the extreme temperature difference in the air, the temple hall was filled with dense white mist, obscuring even the abnormally large Flesh Tree Spirit.

At this moment, Rain stomped his right foot, brandished the great sword in his hand, and shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring, swiftly heading towards the Flesh Tree Spirit's main body.

Along the way, the sound of 'crack' filled the air as the white tendrils fell to the ground.

Under the influence of the low temperature, these originally resilient tendrils had become extremely fragile.

In an instant, dozens of white tendrils were cleared by Rain, revealing a long, direct path to the Flesh Tree Spirit's trunk!

Rain shook the radiant great sword in his hand and, in the next second, arrived at the Flesh Tree Spirit's trunk.

As Rain's left hand pressed against the rough surface of the Flesh Tree Spirit, a deep incantation resonated from his lips.

Indeed, Rain was casting the Level 2 Sorcery 'Scorching Touch' that he had mastered. After a brief two-second chant, a red glow emerged from Rain's palm and swiftly penetrated beneath the rough exterior of the Flesh Tree Spirit.

With 22 points of Mental Power, Rain's Scorching Touch gained a significant boost in power.

Although the exact increase was yet to be determined, it was undoubtedly much higher than before.

Hmm?

For a moment, Rain felt as if he had ignited a barrel of gunpowder!

It seemed that the Flesh Tree Spirit's body was filled with gasoline, just lacking a fuse.

And his 'Scorching Touch' was that matchstick.

Rain's expression changed drastically, and he quickly retreated.

The next second—

"Boom!!!"

The Flesh Tree Spirit let out a miserable scream. The area where Rain had just touched exploded, creating a half-man-high cavity, and the raging flames continued to burn the Flesh Tree Spirit's body at the wound.

The surrounding tendrils desperately tried to extinguish the flames, but due to the effects of the Wizardry Scroll 'Frosty Gale', their movements were slowed, making their efforts to put out the fire ineffective.

This caused the fire to spread and intensify.

Rain was overjoyed!

Apparently, his previous judgment was accurate.

This Flesh Tree Spirit, whose name included the character 'tree', was indeed afraid of fire.

Rain felt he should thank the person who had named the Flesh Tree Spirit.

The precise naming contained the key to defeating it.

Without hesitation, Rain decided to relentlessly attack the Flesh Tree Spirit. Borrowing a great man's words, 'It is better to fight to the end than to seek a false reputation.'

Rain quickly gathered his strength and flew around the Flesh Tree Spirit, attacking it. Whenever he found a suitable opportunity, he would release the Sorcery 'Scorching Touch' on other parts of the Flesh Tree Spirit.

Although the Flesh Tree Spirit instinctively tried to avoid Rain's attacks, its body, including the tendrils, moved much slower after being affected by the 'Frosty Gale' Sorcery, making it impossible to dodge Rain's attacks or get close to him.

In just over ten seconds, multiple parts of the Flesh Tree Spirit's body were set ablaze by Rain!

As the explosions continued in various parts, it seemed to trigger a chain reaction!

Suddenly, the nearly twenty-meter-long body of the Flesh Tree Spirit stopped moving. Instead of dodging Rain's attacks, it began to tremble slightly.

The next moment, the Flesh Tree Spirit's massive body abruptly swelled, and its entire body glowed with a fiery red color.

At this moment, it seemed as if its body was filled with lava, resembling a volcano about to erupt.

Rain was startled and quickly retreated.

He was still concerned that the Flesh Tree Spirit might have other killer moves or desperate attacks.

But in the next second, as Rain watched, the Flesh Tree Spirit's massive body suddenly contracted and quickly withered, releasing a large amount of pungent and foul-smelling black smoke.

The dense tendrils on its body seemed to lose all vitality, hanging limply and motionless.

It seemed that the sudden expansion and contraction had released all the energy within the Flesh Tree Spirit in an instant.

For a while, the Flesh Tree Spirit became silent.

At this moment, the system notification sounded:

[Your skill 'Grizzly Sword Technique' has improved. Experience +1291]



[Your skill 'Scorching Touch' has improved. Experience +35]



[You have experienced a battle. Knight (Extraordinary) experience +271, Sorcerer Apprentice (Extraordinary) experience +112]



Rain breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, although this Flesh Tree Spirit was powerful, it did not have any second phase or transformation.

It was now truly dead.

Hmm?

What's this?

Rain's keen senses noticed a faint, unique aura beneath the remains of the Flesh Tree Spirit. It felt full of vitality, grandeur, and spirituality, with a hint of indescribable evil.

Immediately, Rain quickly sliced open the bottom of the Flesh Tree Spirit.

A walnut-sized crystal and a fist-sized, transparent membrane-wrapped, pale golden tree appeared before Rain's eyes.

Hiss!

This was the aura he had sensed earlier, emanating from the pale golden tree. The tree was pale golden, resembling a divine object, but Rain's sharp eyes could detect a hint of black energy swirling beneath its pale golden exterior.

The aura of the crystal was similar to the Malevolent Energy Crystal dropped by the Malevolent Knight, but it was much denser and more intense.

Rain quickly grabbed the crystal, and the system notification sounded:

[Ding! Detected unknown absorbable energy. Absorb? (Note: Can be converted into designated profession experience points.)]



As expected!

This should be a more advanced form of energy than the Malevolent Energy Crystal.

After such a long struggle, it was finally time to reap the rewards.

Rain's heart rejoiced, and he chose 'Yes' without hesitation.

The next second, the dense black energy swirling within the walnut-sized crystal instantly surged through Rain's arm and into his body.

Just like the previous time, Rain did not feel any discomfort, and the absorption and conversion process was complete.

[Ding! Converted 1536 experience points. Please choose to improve Knight (Extraordinary), Sorcerer Apprentice (Extraordinary), or Beastmaster (Extraordinary).]



Tsk tsk!

The Flesh Tree Spirit was indeed powerful!

Rain realized that he had grown fond of the Mother Tree Cult's demons.

The rewards were too generous!

After some thought, Rain decided to continue allocating points to Beastmaster (Extraordinary).

The reason was simple; the experience of a knight or wizard apprentice could be accumulated through battles, but the same wasn't true for a beastmaster.

Additionally, he was currently a Beastmaster (Extraordinary) lv3 (12/500), and by choosing to allocate points to Beastmaster, he could immediately level up twice.

However, if he chose to allocate points to Knight or Wizard Apprentice, he could only level up once.

As for the reason why the system didn't prompt him about the blacksmith, it was because, in Rain's opinion, blacksmithing wasn't an extraordinary profession, and the difficulty of leveling it up wasn't as significant.

As Rain silently recited 'Beastmaster!' in his mind, two consecutive system notifications appeared:

[Congratulations, your Beastmaster (Extraordinary) profession level has increased!]



[Congratulations, your Beastmaster (Extraordinary) profession level has increased!]



Seeing the Beastmaster (Extraordinary) level on the panel increase from lv3 (12/500) to lv5 (48/2000), a brilliant smile appeared on Rain's face.

He continued to look down.

At the bottom of the panel, there was a prompt for the remaining attribute points: 3, and remaining skill points: 5.

The remaining attribute points had been restored to three, and the remaining skill points had reached an astonishing five.

This made Rain feel like he was getting richer and stronger the more he fought!

Since there was still a pale golden little tree to check, Rain didn't immerse himself in the excitement of leveling up. Instead, he quickly took out the fist-sized pale golden little tree from the Flesh Tree Spirit's body.

At this moment, the system notification sounded again:

[Ding! Host detected to have obtained a Mother Tree Seed, triggering a class change - Mother Tree Priest (Extraordinary)!]



[The prerequisites for changing to Mother Tree Priest are: 1. Knight (Extraordinary) lv3 or higher, Sorcerer Apprentice (Extraordinary) lv3 or higher; 2. Constitution 15 points or higher, Spirit 18 points or higher; 3. Faith in the Mother Tree or use of the Mother Tree Seed. Current conditions met, yes/no to change to Mother Tree Priest (Extraordinary)?]



Hiss!

Looking at the system's class change information, Rain's eyes widened in surprise!

This was the first time he had seen such high prerequisites for a class change.

It required both Knight and Wizard Apprentice to reach lv3 or higher.

Rain's brain raced, and after a few seconds, he resolutely clicked "No!"

The reason was simple; the Mother Tree Cult had been labeled as a heretical cult by the Empire. If he changed to Mother Tree Priest (Extraordinary), he would naturally stand in opposition to the Empire. Rain didn't believe that the Mother Tree Priest profession, an extraordinary one, could bring him benefits that matched the enormous risks!

[Ding! Host detected to have obtained a Mother Tree Seed, triggering a class change - Mother Tree Priest (Extraordinary)!]



[The prerequisites for changing to Mother Tree Priest are: 1. Knight (Extraordinary) lv3 or higher, Sorcerer Apprentice (Extraordinary) lv3 or higher; 2. Constitution 15 points or higher, Spirit 18 points or higher; 3. Faith in the Mother Tree or use of the Mother Tree Seed. Current conditions met, yes/no to change to Mother Tree Priest (Extraordinary)?]



Huh?

Could it be like this?

After a moment's thought, Rain chose "Yes!"

Since he wasn't changing professions, he would naturally use it for absorption, at least for his own benefit.

Instantly, a warm current that made Rain feel indescribably refreshed came from the pale golden Mother Tree Seed, a feeling that couldn't be described as one-tenth of the sensation of floating in the clouds!

At this moment, four system notifications quietly arrived:

[Congratulations! Your Constitution attribute has increased!]



[Congratulations! Your Strength attribute has increased!]



[Congratulations! Your Agility attribute has increased!]



[Congratulations! Your Spirit attribute has increased!]



This...

All attributes increased by 1!

The Mother Tree Seed was amazing!

Rain, who had regained his composure, was truly surprised to see four system notifications appear one after another!

At this moment, the white mist also began to gradually dissipate.

In the corner of the hall, Rudolf, Ragle, and Lein were looking at the Flesh Tree Spirit, which was clearly dead, and Rain, who was standing with his sword drawn.

For a moment, the three of them didn't know what to say!

The situation changed so quickly!

In half a minute, the Flesh Tree Spirit, which had just been dominant, was now lying motionless at Rain's feet.

At this moment, Rain stood tall in the hall, bathed in a faint golden light, appearing particularly majestic.

The once mountain-like Flesh Tree Spirit was now completely charred black, emitting wisps of black smoke, reduced to a mere backdrop for the golden light.

At this point, Rudolf also realized what was happening, his eyebrows furrowed, and he walked up to examine Rain carefully. Then, he slowly asked, "Rain, the large-scale frost attack you just used, was it a spell?"

His vision had been blocked by Lein, so he didn't see Rain take out the witchcraft scroll.

Rain looked up and saw that Rudolf's expression was both joyful and slightly concerned. He immediately answered, "Yes, Rudolf, I just used a spell called 'Frosty Gale' from a captured witchcraft scroll obtained from a sorcerer apprentice."

Rudolf was relieved to hear that it was from captured loot, and his expression relaxed. He nodded and said, "That's good. Although spells have great power, the learning process can be unpredictable and dangerous."

After a pause, Rudolf continued, "Divine spells, on the other hand, not only have greater power but are also safer. Rain, I hope you understand this."

Rain naturally wouldn't argue with Rudolf about this at this moment. He smiled slightly, but then suddenly looked around in confusion. After killing the Flesh Tree Spirit, he had felt a subtle sense of being watched.

This sense of being watched was very weak, so Rain looked up again and saw a few flying birds leaving the top of the hall. He shook his head slightly, thinking to himself, "Maybe I'm being too sensitive, mistaking the curious gaze of some animals for that of intelligent beings."

"At that moment, Rain heard Rudolf say something that made his heart skip a beat.

Rudolf mumbled to himself in confusion, "That's not right! When a Flesh Tree Spirit of this level dies, it should at least leave behind large chunks of Malevolent Energy Crystals."

"In fact, normally, it should leave behind fragments of Malevolent Energy. How is it possible that nothing was left behind?"

"Rain, did you see any crystals similar to the ones dropped by the Malevolent Knights after they died?" Rudolf turned to ask.

"Haha, not really. By the way, High Priest Rudolf, could it be because the High-Grade Divine Scroll 'Sword of Judgment' you just released was too powerful?" Rain laughed.

Sorry!

High Priest Rudolf, this thing exists, but I've already absorbed it.

I can't spit it out for you either.

"That's possible," Rudolf furrowed his brows in thought for a moment, then nodded, seemingly agreeing with Rain's suggestion.

"High Priest, let's retreat now," Rain said hastily, feeling a little guilty.

After all, the High-Grade Divine Scroll 'Sword of Judgment' had been used to kill the Flesh Tree Spirit, and Rain had 'monopolized' all the benefits.

"Wait, there should be something here that the Mother Tree Cult needs to be guarded by the Flesh Tree Spirit."

"Or, there must be something here that is very important to the Mother Tree Cult, otherwise, it wouldn't have given birth to the Flesh Tree Spirit and the Malevolent Knight."

"Hmm"

It couldn't be that thumb-sized pale golden sapling, could it?

High Priest, can I say that it's been absorbed by me too?

Rain glanced at High Priest Rudolf, who was searching around, feeling even more guilty.

But at this moment, he could only remain silent, following High Priest Rudolf.

As Rain and his group left the temple hall, the eagle on top of the hall flapped its wings and descended.

Just before landing, the eagle suddenly transformed into a black-haired elf, and a tall, slender figure walked calmly to the remains of the Flesh Tree Spirit.

"Strange, the Wizard Scroll that the human knight just tore open was clearly an ice-type, but the Flesh Tree Spirit obviously died from a fire-type spell," the black-haired elf said, puzzled.

She had witnessed the entire battle, but soon after Rain tore open the Wizard Scroll 'Frostwind Tundra', the hall became filled with thick fog.

At that moment, only Rain himself could see what he was doing.

So, it wasn't surprising that the black-haired elf was confused.

"Could it be that the human knight just cast a fire spell?"

The black-haired elf quickly thought of a possibility.

"Perhaps, the opponent had a fire-type spell scroll with them."

"Hmm? This aura is..."

The black-haired elf's beautiful eyes widened, and her cherry-red lips parted in disbelief.

She had just sensed a faint trace of Elven Mother Tree Seed aura.

This aura was something she was very familiar with, almost identical.

"No, this should be the aura of the Dark Mother Tree Seed that the Mother Tree Cult worships!"

The next second, the black-haired elf realized.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end