Chapter 215: Spare

Chapter 215: Spare

“Hmm… what kind of Magic Arms pit should I dig recently?” Looking at the Magic Weapon Summoning Book before him, Zheng Yichen, who was still recovering from his injuries, muttered to himself. He felt somewhat annoyed. Back then, Dan Marina had said this matter could be resolved within a month at most. Yet, more than a month had passed, and he hadn’t heard anything from her. This made Zheng Yichen wonder if something unexpected had happened to that woman, or if she had done something too outrageous and gotten herself killed by Loris.

Right now, he was supposed to be recovering and didn’t want to research Magic Potion formulas, after all, he needed to collect all those materials himself. This made Zheng Yichen miss his old supply channels. Speaking of supply channels, he wondered how Qin had been lately. Did her Alchemical Avatar need maintenance? Ahem, maybe he was overthinking this.

Anyway, since he was recovering, he should just take it easy. The problem was, he couldn’t stay idle!

He grumbled and opened the tome on Summoning Magic. The Basic Magic Weapons and Low-level Magic Weapons were all refined by Zheng Yichen. They covered various weapon types without any duplicates, as there was no need for that. As for Intermediate Magic Weapons… well, he had added more recently, finally bringing the total to over ten. However, the High-Level Magic Soldiers were still pitifully few, with only two. Should he create a new High-Level Magic Soldier? In terms of numbers, it was sufficient—one righteous and one evil.

Wait, no. The Sword of Victorious Vows could only be considered quite neutral in attribute. It didn’t lean toward an evil effect, nor did it possess a holy effect specifically countering evil. How about making a Sacred Attribute weapon? He pondered. After all, he was only physically injured. Whether it was the Magic Weapon Summoning Book or his own constitution, they gave him an immense, nearly inexhaustible supply of Mana.

Ran out of Mana? Just draw from the book! Every day, a huge wave of people charged this book for him. What was there to worry about?

“Hmm… what weapon would be good? Sky Crystal… it always felt a waste to put it in the High-Level Magic Soldier category.” Zheng Yichen pinched his chin and muttered. There weren’t many righteous-type weapons in his memory. Probably because he had seen too many back on Earth, so he didn’t pay them much mind. Besides, nowadays, which protagonist didn’t wield a somewhat evil weapon to showcase their uniqueness?

Over time, righteous swords became less famous, while demon swords and cursed blades were everywhere.

“Well… forget it, I’ll think of one myself.” Flipping open the Magical Grimoire, Zheng Yichen searched for the Magic he needed. As for the appearance, he already had an idea… wasn’t the Holy Spirit Hammer, transformed from the skill of that crazy nun in a certain game, pretty good?

However, the effects would need additional attachments. Though there was no skill tree, Zheng Yichen intended to design it as closely as possible to the original setting he wanted.

Anyway, he should create the mold first. Sketching it out in his mind, Zheng Yichen cast a Magic for crafting a High-Level Magic Soldier. Glancing at the sleeping Lily, the form of the Holy Spirit Hammer quickly took shape. A golden war hammer fell into his hand. After checking that there were no mistakes in the details, Zheng Yichen nodded and prepared to slowly fill in the subsequent enchantment Magic.

Tsk tsk, it was all thanks to Loris’s help back then that the growth potential of Magic Arms had increased further. The Magic Arms he created with Magic had the ability to accumulate Mana for growth, and with Loris’s assistance, they also gained effect growth potential. Otherwise, relying solely on massive Mana to stack effects would be just like the Magic he cast himself—spectacular in scale, but many effects wouldn’t be as refined as those of specialists.

After all, it was impossible for Zheng Yichen to master every type of Magic. He could cast them, but that didn’t mean he had time to research them thoroughly. Therefore, the effect growth potential of Magic Arms autonomously improved this situation. While Zheng Yichen couldn’t master every Magic, he had a vast resource of Magic Weapon Summoners. These Magic Weapon Summoners used the effects of the Magic Arms, primarily based on the most advanced understanding among them.

Whenever someone achieved new enhancements in using or understanding the effects attached to a Magic Arms, such improvements would be recorded through the settings of the Magic Weapon Summoning Book. The enchantment effects of that Magic Arms would then be newly reshaped to reach that level. This dual growth potential further enhanced the growth rate of both the Magic Weapon Summoning Book and the Magic Arms themselves.

If it weren’t for Loris’s assistance back then, the Magic Arms within the Magic Weapon Summoning Book up to now wouldn’t have both enhanced effects and increased power; they would only have increased in power. Zheng Ychen had even considered creating something similar to a computer in the future. Forget about the Earth version—he couldn’t do that. But creating an Otherworld version wasn’t impossible. Although Zheng Yichen hadn’t found any information on ‘Tower Spirit,’ the special ‘butler’ within Mage towers, this was an Otherworld. He could always do some research on his own.

Who knows, maybe there would be a chance.

“Hmm… High-tier Magic, oh, this one is good. A super-enhanced version of Purification can be added. Passive enchantments that resist Negative Energy attacks will work too. Hmm! Also, this power concentration—that’s it!” After selecting the appropriate Magic, Zheng Yichen nodded, put away the Magic Arms embryo, and planned to study these three Magics during his recovery. He didn’t aim for mastery, but at least he wanted to be able to cast them proficiently.

“My goodness, how annoying can you people be!” Dan Marina looked at the pursuers behind her with an irritated expression. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to deal with them, but eliminating them would bring even bigger troubles. So, where did these people come from?

They were certainly not enemies… but creditors from whom she had stolen things. After all, among the materials she collected, many weren’t wild-grown but specially cultivated. Some things she could exchange for, but others were things people needed themselves and weren’t willing to give up. What should she do under such circumstances?

Steal or rob… what other choice was there? Have a friendly negotiation? Sorry, no time. Now that she had gathered everything she needed, trouble had come knocking. Dan Marina had a headache. So much time had passed, yet Zheng Yichen was still fine. The Sanctuary Church’s Saintess was now happily playing with the Undying Witch, whom she had tricked. Under these conditions, it was naturally impossible to cause trouble for Zheng Yichen.

As for the small fry, they couldn’t affect Zheng Yichen either. The consequence was that the Threads of Fate kept expanding… trying every possible means to steer Zheng Yichen’s current situation onto the right path. Either he needed to resolve the trouble with the Saintess, or he would be caught by her and the Prophecy Art would end him.

Anything else? Any other approach would only make things worse. Like now, if Dan Marina had acted a little faster, Zheng Yichen would have had at least over half a month to smoothly resolve the Prophecy Art without any interference. But now, everything was greatly affected, and nothing went smoothly. And this was with Dan Marina using many ways to reduce the impact; otherwise, her troubles would be even bigger.

“Don’t make me take action!”

“…” The vaguely shadow-like ‘people’ chasing after Dan Marina silently continued following her. If one observed carefully, the air was densely filled with black threads invisible to the human eye. These threads spread throughout the space. Everywhere the black Phantoms passed, the land became softer, stones turned to dust, trees crumbled into ash… as if everything had been subjected to high-density cutting.

However, these black threads were disrupted around Dan Marina. They constantly collided and tangled with other black threads, forming knots that couldn’t be pulled apart. An invisible confrontation played out during this chase. These black Phantoms were less troublesome than the tentacled creature she had encountered before, but they still posed significant problems.

Firstly, they were extremely difficult to destroy. Even if they were forcefully shattered, they would quickly re-form new bodies.

“How about this? I’ve already used your things, so I definitely can’t return them. But I can offer a not-too-difficult favor for free, how about that?”

The black Phantoms chasing Dan Marina stopped. Dan Marina curled her lips and casually tossed a seemingly unremarkable bead to one of the black Phantoms. Although they looked illusory, they could still grasp physical objects. The gray bead fell into the black Phantom’s hand and sank like it was into a swamp, quickly disappearing. Then, they silently began to fade…

In fact, from the start of their chase until now, they had spoken fewer than thirty words.

“Wait! I can modify the not-too-difficult favor I just mentioned. How about adding that I’ll put in extra effort to help?” Dan Marina’s eyes shifted as she watched the nearly faded black Phantoms. These beings were incredibly powerful—they could fight, endure, and kill. On normal days, it would be far too easy to kill someone with their help. Many organizations specializing in assassination desperately wanted such beings to join them. Unfortunately, the black Phantom race had a temperament that didn’t match their abilities.

Yes, they were pacifists. As long as they weren’t provoked, they basically remained aloof from worldly conflicts. Usually, it was hard to find their scattered race settlements, as the black Phantom race had very few members.

“Okay…” Several black Phantoms silently waited for a moment. Dan Marina knew they were engaged in a special form of communication. After a while, the black Phantoms gave their reply. Their voices were ethereal and hollow, sounding as if they came from all directions at once—very peculiar. “Conditions.”

“Help me clear away, within two days, all obstacles within your ability to handle that stand in my way.”

“Alive? Dead?”

“Unless I state otherwise in advance, you decide. Just make sure no one troubles me within these two days.” Dan Marina said. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to set higher conditions; it was just unnecessary. As for the free favor she mentioned—tsk! Although the black Phantom race kept to themselves, their abilities and strength were undeniable. If there were many of them, even Dan Marina would find them troublesome. It wouldn’t be easy for them to encounter a situation where they needed her help.

Even though the black Phantom race had very few members, they could still muster over a hundred. This race also had no concept of the old, weak, sick, or disabled. As long as they didn’t die, they would always maintain their powerful form.

Even if they encountered trouble in the future, and she found it difficult to help, so what? That would be far in the future. The Little Dragon had high potential; by then, she could just bring him along—delightful. If he didn’t help? Then she would tell him all about her ‘hardships’ during this period and see if he could harden his heart to be a heartless ingrate.

Dan Marina’s mental calculations were practically crackling.

“Agreed.” The black Phantoms nodded, their figures gradually dissipating and merging into the ground, entering Dan Marina’s shadow. From now on, anyone obstructing Dan Marina’s actions would face their immediate interference and interception.

“Hmm~ Hah! Not so powerful now, are you!” Watching the Threads of Fate entangled around her fluctuate intensely, Dan Marina slightly raised the corners of her mouth. Shake, shake, better shake until they snap off soon!

Oss led his younger sister forward silently, his gaze vigilantly scanning their surroundings, guarding against any possible threats. He had already initiated the Hunting Ritual at their hiding place. Over the next three days, he needed to hunt one or several creatures that were definitely stronger than himself to complete the Hunting Ritual!

The stronger and more numerous the creatures, the more ‘blessings’ he would receive after the ritual. However, this wasn’t easy for him. It would have been simpler if he were alone, but now he had to bring his sister along to accomplish this. He couldn’t let his sister get involved in his battles—she was just an ordinary person. Take his sister into the Demon Sword Sect to gain power?

Oss had no such intention! He alone would plunge into the deep mire of a Cult; his sister shouldn’t step into such an Abyss. She was beautiful and adorable, like a precious gem that didn’t belong in the Slum. At her age, she should be living in a school, not in a dark, uncertain, and perilous slum.

Before, he and his sister could barely survive. Now that he had power, these were no longer fantasies. Once he completed the Hunting Ritual and further enhanced his strength, he planned to become a Mercenary or an Adventurer. As for his identity as a Demon Sword Cultist…

Anyway, the Demon Sword Sect he joined was… peculiar. Although it also focused on killing, it didn’t have the deceptive rules of other Cults. It wouldn’t be bad to treat it as a side job, right? At least for now, the Demon Sword Sect had helped him escape the most difficult and desperate period of his life, giving him a chance to strive for a future. There was nothing wrong with that.

As Oss left, he didn’t notice several pairs of eyes watching them. The moment he prepared to leave, he had already been exposed. True, his knowledge of the terrain had made some members of the Sanctuary Church run in circles, but this time the team was led by Achille. By the time he arrived here, Achille had already fully grasped all the information about him. The older, unverifiable information was vague and could be ignored, but the recent, clear information he saw clearly.

In the end, it was a disaster brought about by a woman. Oss had a very beautiful younger sister. Even though he usually protected her well, their living environment was too harsh. Once people learned about his sister, trouble arose. Of course, later troubles were resolved after he joined the Demon Sword Sect.

It seemed somewhat cliché, but that was the situation. According to the intelligence, this young man was forced into it. He usually had no bad habits and was just an ordinary person wanting to live peacefully.

“Stand down. Let’s go deal with another matter.” Achille said. Even though the young man had taken a path of no return, his choice wasn’t wrong. The fault lay with those who caused the disaster. Fortunately, his luck was good; he joined a peculiar Cult that required observation. If it were a regular Cult, Achille’s approach would have been to eliminate him and ensure his sister was taken care of…

“Captain… is this really okay?” One of the accompanying members hesitated and asked. They all heard the leader’s furious roar before his death.

“Let him bring it up when he has the ability to stand before me. Let’s go.”