Chapter 354: Improvements and Upgrades

Chapter 354: Improvements and Upgrades



"In that case, I'll leave the Frostwolf Knights with you." Knowing Lei En's upcoming trip to Howling Gorge to seek a Metal Arcane Spell, Lagrelle offered to leave the knights with him, anticipating the potential need for additional support.

Lei En waved his hand dismissively, "No need. I'd rather have you return with the twenty Frostwolf Knights for added security."

Noticing Lagrelle's intention to speak further, Lei En teased, "Don't forget, I'm now the King of Bear Beasts. If I need more men, I can mobilize far more than just twenty."

This remark elicited laughter from Lagrelle and the others.

"You're right. I forgot that you're now the King of Bear Beasts," Lagrelle smiled and agreed.

Not long after, Lagrelle and the twenty elite barbarians who had just arrived on Frostwolves set off, leaving the Primordial Dragon's lair and returning to the Norton Tribe's new settlement in Gikar Stream Valley.

At this moment, Luther seemed to recall something, his expression turning solemn. "Lord Lei En, are you heading to Howling Gorge? The situation there is rather unstable lately!"

"Oh? Could you elaborate, Lord Luther?" Lei En raised an eyebrow.

"Of course."

"Recently, there have been signs of the Sea God Sect's activities in the area. The Thick-Shelled Lobster Men tribe has already been subdued by them, and there have been numerous small-scale skirmishes with the gorge's garrison."

"So, if you're planning to go to Howling Gorge, there's a high chance you'll encounter the Sea God Sect's heretics directly."

As a member of the Maen Province's governing family, Luther was exceptionally well-informed.

"Lord Luther, if we ride our flying mounts directly to our destination and exercise caution, won't we avoid detection?" Anna couldn't help but ask.

"Miss Anna, you might not be aware that many of the Sea God Sect's heretics keep sea eagles as messengers, which also serve as an early warning system. Even if you and Lord Lei En travel on a Horned Eagle, there's a high probability of being discovered before reaching your destination."

"Even if you're lucky enough to remain undetected, if you linger for too long, they'll likely gather like wolves sensing blood, ready to pounce."

"I'm not concerned about Lord Lei En's strength, but the Sea God Sect has formidable experts with peculiar and diverse methods. It's best to be cautious." Luther patiently explained.

"I see," Anna nodded.

"Oh, Lord Lei En, I'm so sorry. I didn't expect this situation," Melita said, feeling the most anxious and apologetic after hearing the news.

Although she hadn't known about this situation when she made the arrangement with Lei En, it was understandable given that she had been away from Winterfort Academy for quite some time.

Additionally, Melita had already given Lei En the scroll before he came to Koraxus's lair.

Lei En contemplated the situation.

According to the map of the Empire's territories provided by Olena, Howling Gorge was adjacent to the Summer Sea, bordering the Munster Province's Rosby County, separated by seven or eight provinces.

From the coverage, the opponent's strength might even surpass that of the Black Flame Cult.

Furthermore, this situation confirmed the turmoil the Empire faced, as described by Admiral Reinhardt and Bishop Sheen. Even in the most optimistic scenario, this unrest would persist for a considerable duration.

This realization heightened Lei En's sense of urgency.

The joy of defeating the Primordial Dragon Koraxus was somewhat dampened.

However, it wasn't that Lei En sought danger; he had a compelling reason to go.

Offensive Metal Arcane Spells were already rare, and this was Lei En's first encounter with one. If he didn't retrieve it, he might feel a lingering sense of regret for a long time.

"When I was in Munster, I didn't have a direct confrontation with the Sea God Sect. I didn't expect to have this opportunity in the Frost Tundra," Lei En mused.

"Melita, what's between you and Lord Lei En is none of my business. But this time, you've clearly caused him inconvenience."

"Lord Lei En, if it's not a secret, may I ask where you're heading in Howling Gorge?" Bartalov scolded Melita before turning to Lei En for an answer.

Aside from Anna, the group consisted of Winterfort Academy's upper echelon, including Luther and Bartalov, were present, and with gold as their common bond, they shared a certain level of mutual interest.

Lei En smiled and said, "There's no secret here. Melita, you know the situation best, so why don't you explain it to everyone?"

Melita, who had just been scolded by her mentor, looked at Lei En with even more gratitude, her head hanging low.

She quickly composed herself and began to explain:

"Mentor, Lord Luther, and Vice-Dean Velty, here's the situation..."

"I should've realized that Lord Lei En was seeking the Level 2 Liquidation Wizard known as 'The Cutsman.' His real name is Otakar Frey, and he became famous in the North just thirty years before me. He's a rare Metal Wizard, but unfortunately, he failed in his attempt to become a Level 3 Crystallization Wizard."

Bartalov reminisced, "However, his old residence might present an extremely troublesome situation." Bartalov furrowed his brows, as if a thought had occurred to him.

"Oh?"

The group couldn't help but look at Bartalov with curiosity.

"Actually, besides the 'Cutting Web,' the opponent's renowned killer move, there's another lesser-known aspect. Otokar has a group of four-eyed moths, or perhaps you're more familiar with their other name—Soul Devourer Moths."

"Soul Devourer Moths? The kind that feeds on spiritual bodies?" Luther frowned.

"That's right! It seems Lord Luther has heard of them too," Bartalov nodded.

"Of course, these Soul Devourer Moths are almost like nightmares for knights. They're immune to physical damage, and I've also heard that even arcane damage doesn't affect them much."

"Yes, Soul Devourer Moths are peculiar beings akin to semi-spiritual entities, immune to physical harm, and highly resistant to various arcane damage. Unless you can cast a spell that directly targets their souls, defeating them becomes relatively easier." Bartalov nodded in approval.

"But where can one easily acquire a soul-striking spell? Even in the realm of black magic, such spells are among the most precious and rare. At least, I've hardly heard of them." The beautiful woman, Velty, sighed.

"Indeed," the others nodded in agreement.

Soul Devourer Moths?

Requiring a soul-striking spell?

That's precisely what 'Soul Shattering Strike' is tailored for.

At this thought, Rain couldn't help but smile inwardly.

At that moment, Bartalov, Luther, and a few others turned their gaze towards Rain.

Although they had witnessed Rain's formidable close-quarters combat prowess in the recent battle, they all believed that Rain primarily excelled in the path of knighthood, with wizardry as a supplementary skill.

When faced with Soul Devourer Moths immune to physical damage, Rain might be in for a tough challenge.

"Lord Rain, why don't you wait for a while? Once my injuries heal, I'll accompany you," Bartalov suggested after some thought.

"Hmm, Lord Rain, I might not be able to handle the Soul Devourer Moths, but I can assist by holding off the Sea God Sect on the side," Luther quickly added.

Rain pondered for a moment and shook his head. "No need, Dean Bartalov, Lord Luther. I believe I can solve this problem."

"However, I might need more detailed information about the Soul Devourer Moths from you, Dean Bartalov."

"Hmm?" The others looked at each other in surprise, momentarily puzzled.

As this pertained to Rain's signature move, he naturally wouldn't elaborate on it in detail.

"Of course, no problem, Lord Rain. But this might require a trip back to Winterfort Academy, as the relevant information is in the academy's library," Bartalov promptly agreed after regaining his composure.

"Thank you, Dean Bartalov," Rain acknowledged with a slight bow.

Due to the handling of the dragon corpse and gold mine matters, Rain and his companions stayed in the lair for several more hours before departing for Winterfort Academy.

Before leaving, Rain gave instructions regarding the dragon corpse and left his contact information.

Several hours later, the group arrived at Winterfort Academy.

Initially, Bartalov had arranged a standard guest room for Rain, not knowing his true strength and identity.

However, this time, Winterfort Academy offered one of the two luxurious suites for reception, accommodating Rain and Anna.

The suite featured a bedroom, living room, bathroom, and a small training room, fully equipped.

In the suite, Rain finally had time to examine some of his changes.

The mutated dragon bloodline concentration had reached the 'Rich' tier, granting him the top-tier talent of 'Rapid Regeneration.'

【Mutated Dragon Bloodline (Rich) Effects: Significantly increased affinity with water, fire, and earth elements. Possesses top-tier talents: Rapid Regeneration, Danger Sense, Darkvision, Weapon Proficiency, Extraordinary Comprehension, Herculean Strength, Steel Body, and Dragon Roar. Able to transform into the first and second forms of the Mutated Draconic Human.】

【Mutated Draconic Human First Form (Warrior Form)】

【Mutated Draconic Human Second Form (General Form)】

"However, 'Rich' doesn't seem to be the focus of the bloodline."

"Moreover, the increase in bloodline concentration significantly boosts one's strength."

"It seems that we can still enhance and elevate the bloodline concentration by absorbing the genes of other dragons or dragon descendants."

"Although it becomes more challenging to leap forward with each increase in bloodline concentration, this path doesn't seem to have an end yet. I can keep an eye out for news about dragons or dragon-related beings."

Rain clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within, and thought to himself.

Immediately, Rain reviewed the previous battle prompts:

【Congratulations! You've defeated a formidable foe, gaining 19 Golden Skill Points!】

【Congratulations! Your Willpower (Hidden) Attribute has increased!】

【Congratulations! Your Thousand Blade King (Epic) profession level has advanced!】

With this battle against Koraxus, the Thousand Blade King (Epic) profession level smoothly reached lv10, earning Rain an additional 19 Golden Skill Points, resulting in a new high of 56 points.

Seeing so many Golden Skill Points, Rain fell into deep thought.

"So many Golden Skill Points..."

"Previously, when breaking through Extraordinary Battle Technique levels, Golden Skill Points were required. Besides that..."

"That's right! When merging different types of Extraordinary Battle Techniques, Golden Skill Points were also used in large quantities. For example, the fusion of Great Bear Swordsmanship and Arcadia Swordsmanship, the integration of Knight Breath Technique, and so on."

"Could it be that when applied to arcane spells, they can only be used for advancement?"

After some thought, Rain decided to test again to see if there were any trigger conditions for other options.

He focused his attention on the 'Sharpening Technique,' intending to test it again with a Golden Skill Point.

As Rain allocated a Golden Skill Point to the arcane spell 'Sharpening Technique,' it smoothly advanced to lv21.

Suddenly, a system prompt appeared:

【Host's mastery of the arcane spell 'Sharpening Technique' has reached lv21, unlocking the spell's improvement restriction. Do you wish to improve this spell? Improvement requires 7 Golden Skill Points.】

"Hiss~"

"I didn't expect that it would require a specific trigger condition to unlock!"

Rain felt like he had hit the jackpot!

"After the improvement, will there be an increase in power, range, or other aspects?"

"That's great!"

Rain's heart was filled with joy.

He was no longer the novice he was half a year ago, and he understood the difficulty of enhancing the power of spells.

Without hesitation, Rain immediately chose 'Yes'. Simultaneously, a vast amount of information about the improvement process of the spell 'Sharpening' began to flood into Rain's mind.

For a few seconds, Rain experienced a process as if he had spent over a hundred years in a mysterious space, fine-tuning his spellcasting habits, physical condition, and other factors to improve the 'Sharpening' spell, making it more suitable for himself.

During this process, Rain failed countless times and attempted numerous improvements. After absorbing this memory, the system prompt appeared again:

[Ding! Host's spell 'Sharpening' improvement complete. New spell model adjustment successful. Spell power increased by 17%.]



"17%?!" Rain's eyes lit up.

"This increase is not a small amount!"

"It's equivalent to a 34% increase in mental energy vaporization."

This made Rain's gaze at the Level 1 spell 'Metal Barrier' even more intense.

"If the improvement of 'Sharpening', a Level 0 spell, can result in a 17% increase, what about a Level 1 spell?"

Rain didn't need to guess; he currently had enough gold skill points to test this directly.

After Rain added 1 gold skill point to the Level 20 spell 'Metal Barrier', the system prompt appeared again:

[Detected host's spell 'Metal Barrier' has reached Level 21. Unlock the improvement restriction for this spell. Improve/Not improve this spell? This improvement requires 13 gold skill points.]



(Note: The improved spell will be more suitable for the host's casting, with an increase in power, range, or other aspects.)



(Note: .)



With his previous experience, Rain immediately chose 'Yes'. Instantly, a vast amount of information about the improvement process of the defensive spell 'Metal Barrier' began to flood into Rain's mind.

After a few seconds, the system prompt appeared again:

[Ding! Host's spell 'Metal Barrier' improvement complete. New spell model adjustment successful. Spell power increased by 18%, spell range increased by 25%.]



"The power increase is not much different, 17% last time and 18% this time."

"That's normal. After all, it's just an improvement tailored to my situation."

"If the increase were 40 or 50%, that would be abnormal!"

"Hmm, the range increased?" Rain's eyes lit up.

This made Rain understand the note—'power, range, or other aspects will be enhanced'—even more profoundly.

After a moment of thought, Rain focused on the description of the spell 'Metal Barrier' in the War Hammer Wizard's profession panel:

Metal Barrier Level 21 Effect: Consume a certain amount of mental energy to drive a certain amount of metal pieces to float around the caster within a range of two meters and five meters, blocking any attacks intended to harm the caster.

"As expected, the previous description had a range of two meters, and now it's two meters and five meters, a 25% increase!"

The improvement effect of Metal Barrier surprised Rain. He immediately decided to test it in the small training room of his suite.

As Rain's mind moved, a triangular shield slightly larger than before appeared around him.

The most noticeable change was the increased distance, from two meters to two meters and five meters, giving him more space to wield his weapon.

"Is it possible to improve other spells as well?"

"No, the improvements of these two spells have already cost 22 gold skill points."

"I thought I could use them freely, but I still need to plan carefully."

"Then, let's pause the improvements for now."

"Knock knock knock!" At this moment, a knocking sound suddenly echoed.

"Come in!"

"Rain, I apologize for the disturbance."

To Rain's surprise, the visitor was Vice-Chancellor Velty of Winterfort Academy.

"Chancellor Velty, please come in."

After some pleasantries, the beautiful Vice-Chancellor Velty smiled and stated her purpose: "Rain, during the battle against the Primordial Dragon Korauxis, we greatly appreciate your assistance."

"I heard from Melita that you have a pact with our academy. So, Winterfort Academy doesn't need to specially thank you for defeating Korauxis."

Vice-Chancellor Velty smiled and placed a small dark brown wooden box on the coffee table.

"This is too precious."

"Actually, I have an agreement with your academy's Melita. So, Winterfort Academy doesn't need to thank me specifically for defeating Korauxis." Rain waved his hand in refusal.

"But, I and Chancellor Bartalof believe that without your help, our academy would have suffered heavy casualties. This is also our consistent opinion, so please accept this as our gratitude."

Vice-Chancellor Velty insisted.

"Alright, then I'll accept it."

"Rain, I won't disturb you further." Vice-Chancellor Velty smiled and stood up to leave.

After she left, Rain opened the small wooden box and found five Soul Energy Crystals lying inside.

"As expected, wizards are indeed generous."

For a wizard school like Winterfort Academy, Soul Energy Crystals were also in high demand. The fact that they gifted Rain five crystals was considered very generous.

Previously, the Norton Tribe had struggled to gather three crystals, which was not an easy feat. If each crystal increased vaporization by 4%, Rain could potentially boost his vaporization progress by 20%, which was quite beneficial.

Rain's lips curled up in a smile. After some thought, he decided to absorb the five Soul Energy Crystals.

After all, he only needed to fulfill the last condition to transition to a Dragon Vein Wizard: becoming a Level 2 Liquidation Wizard.

Rain held the five Soul Energy Crystals in his hand and quickly activated the advanced meditation technique 'Iron Heart'. The system prompt appeared:

[Detected Soul Energy Crystals that can increase mental energy vaporization. Improve mental energy vaporization? (Note: System absorption can remove impurities and complete the process in one go.)]

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end