Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

Chapter 113 The Crimson Codex

With sharp eyes, Ian carefully studied "The Crimson Codex: The Crucible" several times before solemnly putting it away.

He walked to the corner and poured out all the stored blood essence from his dimensional bag.

Splash!

Countless drops of blood essence rolled onto the ground, the dark red of the Shadow Viper, the deep green of the Rotten Swamp Pufferfish, and the earthy yellow of the Stone-Skinned Mandrill—

A rich life energy forms a misty haze inside the stone house.

"Gah—!"

A dark figure darted out like lightning from the specially designed pocket on his chest.

It landed beside the pile of blood essence, its little eyes wide open, and its dark blue feathers bristled.

It looked at the mountain of blood essence on the ground, then looked up at Ian, its heterochromatic eyes, one gray and one blue, filled with shock and—grievance.

"Ian! What—what are you going to do? Gaa!" A gaa-like voice urgently rang out in his mind.

"These are all my snacks! Why did you dump them all out?"

It flapped its wings, trying to use its small body to block a few of the brightest blood essences, displaying a clumsy, protective demeanor.

Ian was amused by it and reached out to rub its little head: "Don't worry, these are still yours."

"Then why did you pour it out?! Gah!"

Gaga didn't believe it, and with her little paws, she pulled a Stone-Skinned Mountain Demon Blood Essence into her arms, saying, "I'm reserving this one!"

"I'm going to use them to practice a body-refining technique," Ian explained.

"I can absorb some of the energy from this blood essence to temper my body, but the rest of the essence will still be left to you, and—"

He paused, a glint of light flashing in his eyes: "Once my body becomes stronger, I will be able to hunt even stronger monsters and extract better blood essence. You will eat even more and better blood essence."

Gaga tilted its head, its beady eyes darting around as if weighing its options.

"Really? Huh?" It poked the blood essence with its little paw.

"You're not lying to me, are you? I've been waiting for so long for the first-tier blood essence you promised!"

"I'm not lying to you this time," Ian said seriously. "The stronger my physical body is, the safer we'll be underground, and the more good stuff we can get our hands on."

After thinking for a few seconds, Gaga finally let go of her paw, but still looked reluctant.

"Well—you can use it first, but it's a deal: the rest is mine! And you'll have to pay me back double later!"

"Okay, I'll pay you back double," Ian promised with a smile.

Only then was Gagu barely satisfied, jumping onto Ian's shoulder and rubbing his cheek with his little head.

"Then hurry up and practice! Once you're good, we'll go kill even more monsters! I want to eat a level one one! Gaa!"

After calming Gaga down, Ian took a deep breath and sat down cross-legged.

"Let's test this furnace first, and see just how much it can swallow!"

He closed his eyes, channeled his spiritual energy into his body, and, following the initial method of the Tempering Chapter, sketched a simple transformation structure between his flesh and bones.

The moment the structure took shape, Ian felt as if an invisible vortex had appeared inside his body, emanating a faint suction force.

He picked up a blood essence from a Stone-skinned Mountain Demon and swallowed it in one gulp.

boom!

The moment the blood essence entered the body, a scorching and heavy torrent suddenly exploded.

Earth-elemental life energy, like lava, flows along specific paths, cleansing the limbs and bones.

The muscle fibers swelled and tightened slightly, and a subtle tingling sensation came from deep within the bones, as if countless tiny hammers were gently tapping and compacting.

On the panel, a new line of text quietly appeared: [Forge Tempering Technique: Beginner (1/400)]

"Starting with 400 proficiency points is terrifying."

Ian's lips curled into a smile, and his eyes gleamed with even greater excitement.

We've chosen the right path!

Without further hesitation, he picked up another blood essence from the swamp pufferfish and threw it into the furnace.

The Crimson Royal Court's headquarters in the Seventh War Zone.

This is a crimson palace located deep within the rock strata, with walls covered in writhing, vein-like patterns and a sweet, cloying stench of blood permeating the air.

In the center of the hall, several formal wizards dressed in dark red robes gathered, the atmosphere oppressive.

"How long have Patton's team been out of contact?"

A hoarse voice rang out, and the speaker's face was covered with horrifying scars. He was the "Bloodscar" wizard in charge of the area.

"It's been four days, sir." A senior apprentice knelt on one knee below, his voice trembling.

"Their last mission was to reconnoiter the stone forest area on the eastern side of the Poison Mist Rift, and they were supposed to return no later than two days ago."

"Reconnaissance mission—" The Bloodscar Wizard's eyes were cold.

"Although the Stone Forest area is complicated, with Barton's strength and the cooperation of four advanced apprentices, even if we encounter a group of first-tier monsters, we will be able to escape."

Another wizard with an effeminate appearance spoke up: "Could it be that we ran into another cleaning crew from the Alliance?"

"Unlikely," Scarface shook his head.

"That area is not the main direction of attack, and—if a conflict breaks out, at least there will be battle fluctuations or distress signals."

Silence fell over the hall; Patton was no ordinary advanced apprentice.

He was recognized as a top genius among this group of apprentices. He followed the path of body refinement, possessed a powerful physique, and had even touched the threshold of the first rank.

The Crimson Court has invested a lot of resources in him, making him a strong candidate for a future first- or even second-level wizard.

It's too strange that someone could disappear without a trace, leading their entire team.

"Could it be—we've encountered a cleaner?" the effeminate wizard suddenly said.

Recently, a rumor has been circulating on the front lines that a mysterious "scavenger" has appeared in certain areas, specializing in hunting down lone or small groups of monsters with clean and efficient methods and elusive movements.

Some speculate that it was a top genius secretly cultivated by some force, while others believe it was a powerful, solitary wizard.

Bloodscar's eyes flashed with sternness: "Investigate! Send men to search the Stone Forest area thoroughly. We need to find them alive or dead—bring back the body and the dimensional bag!"

Especially Barton's dimensional bag; it might contain important items!

"Yes!" The apprentice below quickly responded and hurriedly withdrew.

Inside the hall, several wizards exchanged glances, all seeing the solemnity in each other's eyes.

The war has barely begun, and we've already lost a top-tier apprentice. This is not a good sign.

Time passed, and a month later.

Inside the stone house, Ian slowly opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing in them.

He moved his arms, revealing more defined muscles and a subtle undercurrent beneath his skin.

Although he hadn't yet mastered the [Furnace Tempering Technique], after absorbing dozens of blood essences, he could clearly feel the subtle strengthening of his physical body; his strength was greater, and his bones were more resilient.

"It gets slower as you go on," Ian said, looking at the panel.

[Forge Tempering Technique: Beginner (68/400)]

The first few blood essences can increase proficiency by five or six points, but this gradually decreases later on.

Currently, absorbing a single high-quality blood essence only increases one or two points. The amount of resources required is truly terrifying.

However, he did not only practice body-refining techniques during this month.

Two weeks ago, the [Eye of Vigilance] was running continuously when it finally broke its limit again without anyone noticing.

【Eye of Vigilance: Limit Break Two (1/3200) (Limit Break Effects: 1. Concealment, 2. True Sight)】

The newly acquired [True Sight] effect grants the energy eyeball the ability to see through low-level illusions and blur energy disguises.

Although the range is still suppressed by the underground environment, within a hundred meters, ordinary optical concealment and low-level illusions can hardly hide from its detection.

This is roughly equivalent to the power of a first-tier reconnaissance spell.

"With Gaga's shadow perception, the reconnaissance is now much more reliable."

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