Chapter 308: A Powerful Enemy

Chapter 308: A Powerful Enemy

The Stitched Abomination appeared in a Mine Cave. Places like this not only attracted Stitched Abominations, but were also prone to drawing in other creatures. After all, Mine Caves were underground; Wraiths, Evil Spirits, and the like loved such places… even nocturnal creatures favored spots like these.

Therefore, commissions for Mine Cave areas were usually permanent Quests at the Mercenary Guild, just like clearing dungeons. Even after cleaning out one Mine Cave, after some time it would attract new unknown things, leading to new commissions.

“Stitched Abomination… I wonder how long ago the last time I encountered one was?” Rick murmured, pinching his chin as he looked at the Mine Cave. Beside him, Oss skillfully opened his Magic Weapon Summoning Book, entered the Trading Module of the Trading Zone, and opened an ‘Online Store’ selling various goods. He bought several Alchemy stones that could emit sufficient light. These things were similar to flashlights, but their duration was like that of a candle.

So they weren’t expensive; generally, Mercenaries going out on Quests would prepare a few.

Only now, with things like Online Stores, it was enough to carry just one symbolically. Except for items prepared for sudden emergencies, things meant for rest periods could be left behind. If really needed, instant purchase was sufficient.

The prices were similar to those in physical stores… some even seemed cheaper and more affordable.

“You’ve encountered a Stitched Abomination before?” Gale looked at Rick in surprise.

“It was quite a while ago.” He pulled open his collar, revealing a scar on his collarbone. “This was left by that Stitched Abomination. Back then, it almost took my head off.”

“What happened?” Wood pressed. Creatures like Stitched Abominations were quite famous, but they weren’t something everyone encountered. Like robbers, you could see plenty in the news, even feeling they appeared frequently, but you just never ran into one yourself.

“Aside from their creators, no one knows what kind of limbs are added to those Stitched Abominations. The one I encountered was almost dealt with, but as it made a final desperate lunge before death, a tongue spike shot out from its mouth. So when facing a Stitched Abomination, you must be extra careful. Not just the mouth; perhaps their eyes, ears, or stitched areas on their bodies might shoot something out.”

Since it concerned life and death, everyone present listened to Rick’s words seriously, except for a certain woman…

“Lena, how about you wait outside?” Oss said after some thought.

“Yeah, it’s dirty down there. A girl like you would feel uncomfortable following us down.” Gale chimed in from the side.

“Come on, what if something suddenly jumps out at me outside?” Lena looked around. “If there’s one Stitched Abomination here, there might be other things.”

“…Alright, come along.” Oss said, sounding a bit resigned. Seeing that Lena didn’t want to stay outside, he didn’t force her. After all, they had been in the same team for a long time. Compared to before, Lena had grown so much now. Besides, Wood had made an interesting statistic: from the past until now, every single Fireball Spell Dan Marina had ever cast had never missed once!

Magic wasn’t like Curse Magic, some of which had built-in homing. When you cast it, it went as cast; at most, under the caster’s control, a straight line could become a curve. If Lena had mastered something other than the Fireball Spell, like an advanced Multiple Fireball Spell, it would be better.

After all, that spell was too low-level, not very powerful, and Dan Marina showed no intention of trying to learn other spells. It seemed she intended to conquer the world with just the Fireball Spell, even though a 100% hit rate Fireball Spell was truly amazing.

“Brother Rick, what was the intelligence of the Stitched Abomination you encountered like?” Gale asked as they entered the Mine Cave, holding a glowing stone.

“Like a mother beast with cubs. When alone, it could seem calm, but once there was external stimulation, it would fall completely into madness.” Rick shook his head here. “That was just the one I encountered. I don’t know if others are like this.”

“Look over there, so disgusting!” Lena pointed at a spot. Oss and the others looked over. A large pile of broken bones and some rotten flesh were stuck in a rock crevice. It was a person who had been smashed into this crevice by some tremendous force. Judging by the struggle marks, this unlucky fellow didn’t die immediately after being smashed in; he struggled for a while before perishing.

“Missing an arm, part of the flesh on the side ribs is gone too. Can’t find related parts nearby. Probably taken by the Stitched Abomination for food.” Rick said after examining the body’s condition, then couldn’t help but glance at Lena. This kind of situation was nothing new to them. Lena excelled at noticing details compared to everyone present; she often spotted certain hard-to-detect traces well before they did.

Stitched Abominations weren’t Necromantic Creatures; they needed to eat too. Even though some people always classified Stitched Abominations under Necromantic Creatures, they were actually different. The reason some thought that way was because among the undead Necromantic Creatures, there existed an ‘Abomination’ type, which was also made from piled-up corpse chunks, looking similar to a Stitched Abomination.

But there was an essential difference between the two. Stitched Abominations were genuine living beings, their creation involving Life Force, whereas Abominations were generated based on Negative Power.

“Everyone be careful, it’s probably hiding nearby… ah!” Before Wood could finish, an elongated arm shot out from the darkness, grabbed his neck, and rapidly retracted. Oss reacted first. A steaming blood mist appeared on his body. Upon entering the ‘Blood Frenzy’ state, both his speed and power explosively increased. He caught Wood just before he was dragged to the Stitched Abomination hidden in the darkness.

He also got a clear look at the Stitched Abomination in the dark. Its body seemed irregular, one side extraordinarily strong, with a muscular palm over ten times larger than an adult’s. Combined with the unlucky fellow smashed into the crevice, it definitely was this hand’s doing.

The arm on the other side was similar to a normal person’s, but this arm was currently gripping Wood’s neck. Its ability to extend over ten times its length indicated this thing wasn’t simple either. On its head’s center was a large eye, with a row of smaller eyes on each side. Whether there were any on the back of the head was unknown for now. Also, it had some pore-like openings on its body. The mouth wasn’t on the head, but on the body, more than one. There was a large mouth on the abdomen, one in the center of the huge palm on the left hand, and one on each finger… it had many mouths!

Being stared at by its main eye gave Oss a hair-raising feeling. He didn’t hesitate anymore. The Blood Qi Blade slashed down towards the arm gripping Wood’s neck. The Stitched Abomination wouldn’t let him do that either. Its massive left hand smashed towards him like a battering ram.

Bang!

A dull collision sound echoed in the Mine Cave. With the help of the glowing stone on Oss, Gale and Rick, who couldn’t get there in time, clearly saw the blood mist Oss had condensed for defense being violently smashed apart by that fist. Fortunately, it blocked most of the impact. He and Wood were both hammered back, caught by the other two. Even so, the tremendous force pushed them back several steps.

“…This… damn! The Quest information is wrong!” Gale said, his tone somewhat angry. What was the biggest worry for Mercenaries on a Quest? Incorrect intelligence, of course. They had all experienced how strong Oss’s power was when maintaining the Blood Frenzy state. Yet even so, he was still punched flying by that Stitched Abomination. If he hadn’t used the blood shield, that punch just now could have shattered him!

“Cough, cough, quick retreat.” Wood coughed violently, his voice full of suppressed pain. Rick thought of something and quickly pulled away Wood’s hand covering his neck. There was now a row of fine, dense wounds on both sides of his neck, left by sharp teeth.

“You’re poisoned, Captain. Find a way to hold off the Stitched Abomination. His poison must be treated immediately!” Rick looked at the charging Stitched Abomination. It had many mouths but couldn’t make a sound. Yet its movements were filled with obvious frenzy. The frenzy in silence brought greater pressure!

Not to mention that bizarre head which seemed to exist only to hold eyes. A main eye the size of a palm, with rows of eyes on both sides like a spider but more densely packed. Simply looking at it was extreme mental pollution!

“Got it!” Oss wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said solemnly. The advantage of being a Demon Sword Cultist was already evident. They possessed a much tougher physique. Vigorous Blood Essence gave them recovery far surpassing others of the same level. If someone else had been hit by that punch just now, they’d definitely be severely injured. He only suffered minor injuries, and with sufficient Blood Essence, these injuries healed quickly. Not to mention, a while ago he discovered another strange power on himself…

This power allowed his Bloodline Power to be focused and exerted more effectively. But every time he used it, he felt somewhat awkward, as if this power wasn’t meant to be used this way. After using it, some of his wide-area attacks utilizing Blood Essence would weaken considerably, but the power would greatly increase, at the cost of extra consumption!

As for deeper use, it was a special type of attached attack similar to a combination of light and electricity. This attack was peculiar; it wouldn’t directly inflict damage on the target, but would erupt only after the target received a new attack. And it wasn’t over after one eruption; until that power was depleted, they could keep stacking.

This power worried Oss. After all, his current power came from the Demon Sword Sect, which belonged to a Cult. The root power enabling him to use Bloodline Power was the Evil God’s Power. Having an obviously evil-countering power inexplicably appear on him—how could he not worry?

The extra consumption increase was likely due to some conflict arising between this power and the Evil God’s Power.

Normally, he wasn’t willing to use this extra power. A conflict merely increasing consumption was acceptable, but what if, at some point, the two powers with completely different attributes didn’t just conflict to increase consumption, but directly BOOMED himself? He still had many things to do!

But now, he had to use this power. This Stitched Abomination put immense pressure on him. Oss held the Blood Qi Blade in his left hand and a Low-Level Magic Weapon greatsword from the Magic Weapon Summoning Book in his right hand. Unlike Basic Magic Weapons, Low-Level Magic Weapons had an additional attribute attack attached. This was a common effect among Magic Arms. The Low-Level Magic Weapons in the Magic Weapon Summoning Book were more comprehensive.

You didn’t need to increase proficiency with a specific attribute’s related Magic Weapon; using any of them would increase proficiency for that type of Magic Weapon. The varied attribute requirements were also a major reason why Low-Level Magic Weapons became very popular after Magic Weapon proficiency saw abnormal growth. Besides being forced to use them, the diversified attribute needs, once large numbers of Magic Weapon Summoners refocused attention in this range, made them realize these Low-Level Magic Weapons became more and more handy the more they used them!

In the past, they improved too fast, only thinking about using High-Level Magic Soldiers. Slowing down, they rediscovered what they had overlooked. Former Magic Weapon Summoners, when encountering certain Magical Beasts and feeling they couldn’t win, would only choose a higher-level Magic Weapon. Now? Although a higher-level Magic Weapon was an option, why not choose a Magic Weapon with an attribute that countered that Magical Beast before that? Not only lower consumption, but the effect was also good. Wasn’t this more suitable than using a higher-level Magic Weapon?

Oss didn’t know this Stitched Abomination’s attribute weakness, so he directly chose a Low-Level Magic Weapon greatsword with the Dark Attribute. ‘Dark Attribute’ was shorthand for weapon-attached Dark Power attacks. This term spread from the Magic Weapon Forum, originating from the Creator. Later, Magic Weapon Summoners found such shorthand catchy. After getting used to it, they adopted this abbreviation.

“It’s a weapon that carries Dark Power” versus “it’s a Dark Attribute weapon”—clearly the latter was quicker. Especially after such shorthand became popular, among many Magic Weapon Summoners, the old way of saying it was rarely used. “Still carries Dark Power”? Forget it—just say Dark Attribute; simple and clear.

Dark Attribute caused more damage to living beings and could leave a series of negative effects. When not knowing the target’s attribute weakness, choosing the versatile Dark Attribute was suitable, because as long as it worked, it could extremely effectively weaken the target. Besides, Oss had another plan. When channeling the other power within his body into his attacks, it could attach a special light-electricity attack.

That attack would erupt upon external stimulation, erupting once per hit until the power was depleted. But he discovered that if he used Dark Attribute attacks, that power, once stimulated by Dark Attribute power, wouldn’t erupt in segments, but would erupt completely due to the ensuing conflict.

Even though the eruption was affected due to mutual counteraction of powers, the overall damage was higher. Of course, this practice would damage the Magic Weapon. Using a physical Magic Weapon like this would require weapon repair after each such fight. He was using a Summoned Magic Weapon, no worries there—at most, just consume a bit more of his own power.