Chapter 505: The Secret of the Ruins
Chapter 505: The Secret of the Ruins
"Clang!!!"
After another intense clash, the two immediately pulled apart, creating a distance of over ten meters.
Mistclaw's hind claws dug into the metal floor, sparks flying as they left deep grooves, quickly dissipating the force of the collision.
Rayne, on the other hand, took a couple of steps back, readjusting his stance.
His three pairs of dragon eyes scanned the opponent, trying to find any weaknesses.
But unfortunately, it was to no avail!
From their previous exchanges, it was clear that this Mistclaw surpassed all the savage beasts and dragonkin Rayne had ever encountered in terms of strength, speed, and physical resilience.
Additionally, the creature could unleash a roar that interfered with the mind and a black mist breath similar to a dragon's.
In other words, it was capable of both close combat and ranged attacks, with virtually no weaknesses.
As for its resistance to different types of magic?
Rayne had yet to conduct a comprehensive test.
However, the power of fire seemed to have a slight suppressive effect on the creature.
When Rayne used two types of breath attacks, the Flame Breath appeared to be more effective than the Void Breath.
This suggested that high-level fire magic might have a significant impact on the enemy.
"Vulnerable to fire, huh?"
The problem was that Rayne was not particularly skilled in fire magic. He had not mastered any high-level fire spells, and casting first or second-tier fire spells would be meaningless in the current battle.
"Since that's the case, it's a good time to try out my new form."
At this moment, Rayne felt no fear; instead, his dragon eyes revealed a hint of excitement. He had never used his sixth form since gaining it through bloodline concentration.
The space in the corridor was insufficient for him to transform into his full dragon form.
However, he could partially transform his body into that of an ancient dragon.
"Sixth form!"
With a roar, Rayne's dragon scales began to turn a deeper shade of black, almost matching the color of Mistclaw.
His dragon claws grew larger and sharper, each one extending several centimeters and gleaming with a cold, menacing light.
The surface of his partially transformed body swelled as veins like writhing worms bulged and muscles bulged even further.
"Is this the effect of a thirty percent increase in strength and agility?"
Rayne felt an explosive surge of power coursing through his transformed body.
"Smash!"
One stomp on the metal floor, which had been permanently hardened, created a crater about a meter in diameter, the rapid friction causing a plume of scorching smoke to rise.
Propelled by the immense force, Rayne charged at the opponent with incredible speed.
The narrow corridor echoed with the whistling sound of the air rushing past.
Mistclaw clearly did not expect Rayne's speed to increase so dramatically. Before it could react, a massive claw slashed down from above, cleaving through the air.
"Zing!"
A shower of sparks flew!
This time, Mistclaw's two scythe-like limbs on its right ribcage were severed by Rayne's dragon-enhanced claw, and its body was sent flying.
But Rayne's attack was not over.
"Roar!"
Rayne's red dragon head aimed at the airborne Mistclaw and unleashed a Flame Breath.
A fiery blast the size of a bowl rapidly expanded into a cone several meters wide, engulfing the creature's entire body.
"Hisss!"
In mid-air, Mistclaw let out a painful screech as the Flame Breath hit it head-on.
The fiery blast sent it crashing into the ceiling of the corridor, and as the flames dissipated, it fell heavily to the ground.
Rayne could see that the black surface of Mistclaw's body had turned into a liquid-like substance, appearing to have softened, and was emitting a foul, black smoke.
Moreover, it seemed to have shrunk in size, likely due to the fire damage.
"Looks like it's working!"
"Finish him off while he's down!"
Rayne never gave his opponents a chance to recover.
In a flash, he charged at the creature again.
But Mistclaw also sprang up from the ground, clearly indicating that while Rayne's attack had been effective, it was not fatal.
"Clang! Clang! Zing!"
Two black shadows, one large and one small, moved rapidly through the corridor, sparks flying as dragon claws clashed with each other and scraped against the metal floor and walls.
The piercing sounds of their collisions echoed continuously.
Rayne was certain that even Sword Saint Tirion or Dawn Wizard Hernandez would have no chance against this monster.
At that moment, the opponent's form changed once again. Its waist became even slimmer, but its shoulders, which wielded the scythes, grew wider. Correspondingly, its strength and speed had noticeably increased.
Although the increase was not significant, only about ten percent, it was clear that the opponent was trying to adjust its body structure to counter his enhanced attacks.
However, it seemed that his own power boost had reached a certain limit for the opponent. Even with the slight increase in strength and speed, the opponent was still clearly at a disadvantage.
Rayne could see that under his consecutive powerful slashes, the opponent's two hard, dark scythes were trembling, showing signs of cracking.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, Rayne unexpectedly kicked the opponent into the air with a lightning-fast move. Immediately after, the Red Dragon Head unleashed another Flame Breath.
"Hisss~"
The opponent thrashed its scythes and howled in pain in mid-air, but it seemed powerless against the scorching, invisible flames.
"Clang!"
Just as the flames were about to subside, a massive Dragon Claw suddenly emerged from the flames and struck down with great force!
"Crack!"
In a panic, Mistclaw raised its scythes to block, but the black scythes, already weakened by the Flame Breath, could not withstand Rayne's powerful Dragon Claw. They were instantly severed.
The opponent was then slammed into the metal floor of the corridor.
"Void Breath!"
After the three consecutive attacks, Rayne followed up with a Void Breath and then rushed over to deliver a double-claw strike to the struggling Mistclaw on the ground!
The rest of the battle was a foregone conclusion!
After Rayne released multiple breath attacks, Mistclaw finally stopped howling and curled up its limbs, its body resembling a dried-up infant.
"Snap!"
When Rayne delivered the final stomp, the opponent's shriveled body shattered like coal.
"Finally dead, huh?"
"Phew~~~"
Rayne exhaled deeply. During the battle, he had added three attribute points, meaning he had recovered his stamina three times.
The old dragon form was indeed powerful, significantly boosting his combat strength, but it also consumed a lot more stamina.
At that moment, Rayne's torn wounds were rapidly healing. The battle with Mistclaw had not left him unscathed.
Before the opponent was eliminated, Rayne's wounds were wrapped in black smoke, hindering his body's natural healing. However, with the opponent's demise, the black smoke began to dissipate quickly.
"Didn't find anything like a Divine Power Crystal, huh?"
Rayne did not immediately search the human wizard's corpse for items. Instead, he waited for his wounds to heal quickly while frowning in thought.
Initially, he had wondered if the black mist might be a fragment of an evil deity. If that were the case, the system should have triggered a related absorption prompt after he defeated the opponent.
However, it was strange that after defeating this black mist creature, which Rayne had named Mistclaw, there was no such system prompt.
Of course, the reward in Golden Skill Points was still substantial. In the recent battle, Rayne had earned 196 Golden Skill Points.
"So, the opponent was probably not an avatar of a deity but some kind of evil entity? Or perhaps a strange phenomenon caused by the power of a deity?"
"It seems that only in such a case would the system be unable to absorb anything."
Rayne had a vague suspicion.
However, these were just guesses.
Moreover, after feeling the opponent's combat strength, Rayne had lost the desire to continue exploring the next level.
In his estimation, the opponent's strength even surpassed the combined power of Tirion the Sword Saint and Hernandes.
Given that the black mist would only become more intense and the monsters more frequent as he went deeper, the dangers would be immense.
Rayne shook his head, dismissing the thought.
He quickly approached the human wizard's corpse, but stopped a few meters away, using Metal Deformation to create a spear to prod the body cautiously.
After confirming there was no danger, Rayne bent down and began to search the corpse quickly.
Soon, he found a pendant on the wizard's chest. The pendant had a thin golden chain, and the pendant itself was a diamond-shaped crystal. Rayne did not sense any significant energy fluctuations, indicating it was not a powerful magical artifact.
After a moment's thought, Rayne put it away and continued searching.
This time, he found a hard, square object in the inner pocket of the wizard's robe. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a black diary, with a familiar appearance and style.
"Hmm? This material is almost identical to the black leather diary I saw in the Valzig School's safe."
Rayne couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, feeling quite pleased.
"Could it be that this is the Patriarch himself?"
Although it wasn't safe here, Rayne still decided to quickly flip through the pages.
He swiftly turned to the last few pages of the diary:
"Dammit, I don't know if anyone else will find this diary, but I have to write something down."
"Future reader, by the time you see this letter, I'm probably already dead."
"But if I had another chance, I would still come here! Because this place not only holds the ancient goblin's construct achievements but also a secret known to only a select few!"
"A secret of particular significance to me and all metal wizards!"
"That is, the ancient goblin empire is the origin of the Iron Heart Meditation!"
"In other words, to obtain the complete advanced version of Iron Heart Meditation, you have to come here. Of course, if you're a wizard of another school, or even not a wizard, I implore you to spread this message, or even sell it."
"Believe me, metal wizards would absolutely be willing to pay a price that would satisfy you for this secret!"
What!
Reading this, Rayne's eyes widened, and his mind felt as if it had been struck by a thunderbolt!
So that's how it is.
It wasn't just about the knowledge of construct golems; it also involved the content of Iron Heart Meditation beyond the fifth layer!
After a moment, Rayne quickly read the last few lines:
"At first, I thought this place was just a contamination caused by some evil entity, but it turned out to be a nightmare."
"When we reached the third underground level, we found goblin soldiers infected by Vile Demons everywhere. After killing them, the malevolent energy gathered and transformed into even more terrifying Vile Demons!"
"This is just the third level. Warning! Future reader, the danger here exceeds your imagination; every step could be your last."
"Please, heed my advice and don't explore further. The danger at the third level is already beyond what a Dawn Wizard can handle."
"Future reader, I hope you cherish your life and live well."
"Oh, and one more thing, if you're willing to help, Magnir and Snape will be very grateful. Please deliver my pendant to Valzig School. Thank you!"
"Sigh~ I wonder if Magnir and Snape can bring Valzig School back to its former glory."
"Vile Demons?"
"Hmm? The fifth layer of Iron Heart Meditation is here?"
Rayne was elated and immediately took out the pendant, focusing on the crystal.
Without hesitation, Rayne quickly channeled his psi energy into the crystal.
A few seconds later, with a delighted expression, Rayne carefully put the pendant away. Indeed, it contained the fifth layer of Iron Heart Meditation.
With this, he could systematically advance and smoothly reach the level of a full Moon Wizard.
Since his mission was accomplished, Rayne didn't plan to stay any longer and quickly turned to leave.
However, as he passed the dismembered body of the female goblin interrogator, he suddenly noticed a ring of keys hanging from her waist, with a large number of keys on it.
"Prison keys?"
Rayne bent down to pick them up.
But in the next moment, he noticed that one of the keys in the middle was clearly different, not made of bronze but of some stone material.
"These aren't prison keys. Could they be for the interrogation room? Interesting."
Weighing the keyring in his hand and glancing at the room, Rayne decided not to explore further after a moment's thought.
While further exploration might yield some other rewards, it also came with significant risks.
Soon, Rayne's figure vanished from the prison area.
Not long after Rayne left.
A series of sparks suddenly appeared on the corridor floor of the prison area, and a large, sharp gear seemed to cut its way up from the third sub-level.
If one were to switch to a view of the third sub-level, they would see that the owner of the gear was a massive mechanical dinosaur resembling a tyrannosaurus, with the gear located at the end of its tail, which was currently raised high, cutting through the metal ceiling.
Around the Giant Mechanical Dinosaur, there were numerous Raptor-like Mechanical Devices, some moving back and forth, others stationary. Goblin corpses in military uniforms were scattered around, preparing something.
(End of Chapter)
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