Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

Chapter 491 Hunt

On his first day in charge of the Bloodslag Mine, Ian did not leave the mine.

He sat inside the stone house, sensing the layers unfolding outwards.

The mine tunnels, slopes, entrances, the surrounding rocky outcrops, and beyond that, the territory of the Bonethorn Wolves—all formed coordinates in his mind.

Knicks crouched by the door, ears perked up, watching him nervously.

It thought the new governor would go out to expand the territory on his first day in office, but the governor was as still as a stone, staying there for half a day.

After a long while, Ian opened his eyes. "Are there a few mines around here?"

The Knicks paused for a moment, then spewed out their words like beans spilling out.

"Thirty miles east of the Bloodslag Mine is the Cracked Hoof Mine, where the Ironjaw Overseer Bonebreaker is much stronger."

It speaks very quickly and waves its arms exaggeratedly.

"Further east, there are two small mining sites, both under the jurisdiction of Ironjaw. To the north is a gray rock wasteland with nothing much, except for the occasional Stoneskin Demon."

"There is an underground river to the south, and at the end of the river is an abandoned mine. People used to dig there, but the ore vein was cut off later."

Ian listened attentively without interrupting.

"To the west—to the west is a large area of ​​rocky wasteland, and beyond that is the outer edge of the mining area. There are not many mines or monsters there."

"Is there any demon stronger than Crackhoof?"

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Knicks' pupils contracted slightly.

"M--My lord, the higher demons are far from here. The nearest one is further east, called—what was it again—"

""

It scratched its ear. "I heard it's a very powerful demon, even Ironjaw is afraid of it."

"What's your name?"

"I—I don't know my real name." Knicks shrank back.

"I've only heard it called 'Bone-Piercing,' and it's said to be made entirely of hard white bones."

The name stung, and Ian silently memorized it. "And what about the Demon Lord?"

Knicks's expression changed completely. "Commander—Sir, please don't scare me."

Its voice trembled, "The Commander's territory is thousands of miles away from here. I can't go that far. I've only heard that—"

There are three rulers in the Black Corrosion Realm, and each of them is extremely powerful.

"Three."

"Yes, there are three." Knicks nodded vigorously.

"I really don't know their names. It's just that legend has it that the three rulers divided the Black Corrosion Realm into three parts, each in charge of its own."

Ian closed his eyes and sorted through the information. The biological hierarchy of the Black Eclipse Realm was more orderly than he had expected.

The lowest level consists of mindless monsters, like the Bone Spike Wolf, which act purely on instinct.

The middle level consists of lower-level demons, such as horned demons, stone-skinned demons, and quass demons. These demons possess basic intelligence and act in small groups.

Above that are the mid-level demons, which are larger, stronger, and territorial, ruling over areas spanning hundreds of kilometers.

He hadn't encountered High Demons or Demon Lords yet, but judging from Nix's description and the memories he had devoured, High Demons roughly corresponded to Morning Star Wizards among wizards, while Demon Lords were Level 5 Radiant Moon Wizards.

This social structure is strikingly similar to the power system in the wizarding world: the strong prey on the weak, but not so chaotic as disorder.

The abyss has its own "order," but it is built upon devouring and slaughter.

Ian opened his eyes and his gaze fell on the ore in the corner.

Piles of magic iron ore, large and small, covered half a wall; this was the Bonebreaker's "hidden stash" accumulated over a long period of time.

He had discovered that Chaos Transformation could decompose mineral structures when he was killing Stoneskin Demons outside the mine.

The magic iron ore contains a large amount of abyssal energy. Abyssal creatures almost never eat stones; their devouring instincts make them prefer flesh and blood.

But chaos transforms into anything.

Ian got up and walked to the pile of ore. He placed his right hand on a fist-sized piece of magic iron ore, and a grayish-white light shone from his palm.

Chaotic fire enveloped the ore, and the dark red color on its surface began to fade, with gray powder falling from the ore.

A dark red crystal, now shrunken, was revealed, and the panel flickered.

【Magic Iron Essence: Purity 94.7%, Estimated Conversion Value: 0.8】

Ian held the essence of the magic iron in his palm, extracting it directly through the Chaos Transformation. A warm current flowed from his palm into the ore, purer than the energy he gained from devouring flesh and blood.

[Abyss Energy +0.8]

Current Abyss Energy: 45.8/500

A fist-sized piece of ore can provide almost a little bit of energy, and the Bonebreaker's hoard contains at least several hundred pieces.

Ian did not hesitate and began refining the pieces one by one.

The ore that the Bonebreaker had accumulated over half a year was like a pile of sandcastles blown away by the wind in front of Ian, with gray powder covering the ground.

Knicks crouched in the corner, his mouth agape.

It has seen demons that eat flesh and drink blood, and it has also seen demons that gnaw on stones.

But it had never seen anything like eating stones so quickly before, and it seemed to want more even after it finished.

Knicks swallowed hard and silently hid the half-eaten wolf hind leg behind his back.

Two hours later, the last piece of ore turned to ashes.

The panel is jumping around.

[Abyss Energy +56.2]

Current Abyss Energy: 102/500

[Mineral source already included: Magic Iron Ore (purification efficiency 94.7%)]

Ian stretched his body. After refining the ores, he could clearly feel that the energy circulation in his body was faster than before, his muscle fibers were tightening slightly, and his bone density was quietly increasing.

The reserves in the mine have been exhausted. The veins in the Bloodslag Mine can still be mined for a while, but sitting around and using up all the resources is not a solution.

He needs to go out.

The next morning, Ian led Knicks out of the mine.

Knicks was in charge of leading the way and providing intelligence, while he was responsible for the hunt.

He set a rule for the Knicks: they had to patrol the mine every two hours to ensure the miners didn't cause trouble and that their quotas were handed over on time.

Knicks nodded vigorously, his wings flapping loudly.

The hunt was far more efficient than Ian had anticipated.

He had already killed dozens of Bone Spike Wolves. He could find their weaknesses even with his eyes closed. From the moment he spotted a Bone Spike Wolf to the moment he killed it, it took no more than three breaths.

The Stoneskinned Demons weren't too difficult to handle. Ian simply pressed the Chaos Fire onto the thinnest rock armor on their bellies. The flames seeped in and broke down the mineral structure, causing the Stoneskinned Demons' defenses to crumble from the inside. They collapsed to the ground in no time.

The swamp lizard in the underground river region is a new adversary.

This thing lay motionless in the mud by the river, its skin color exactly the same as the silt.

It wasn't very big, about 3.5 meters long, and it could spew out a ball of corrosive mud from its mouth. When Knicks saw it, he deliberately walked around it from 20 meters away.

Ian sensed the three swamp lizards hiding in the mud, motionless.

Their breathing rate is extremely low, and the color-changing scales on their bodies blend perfectly into the mud, making them indistinguishable to the naked eye.

But their body temperature and the mud are different.

Ian raised his hand, and three gray-white flames shot out simultaneously, accurately hitting the heads of the three lizards.

There was no struggle whatsoever.

Knicks stood ten meters away, his eyes wide open and his mouth agape for a long time.

The black-spined scorpions in the rock crevices are not hard to find. These creatures are not much thicker than an arm, are entirely black, and have a drop of dark green venom hanging from their stingers.

They like to hide in narrow rock crevices and ambush passing prey. A sting from one of them can take away half the life of a horned demon overlord.

Ian didn't need to get close; a burst of chaotic fire poured in, and the Blackscorpion, along with its venom, turned to ashes.

Each time you kill one, the panel will record new data, such as size, attack pattern, weakness distribution, and energy value.

With the Knicks' intelligence, the hunting efficiency was more than three times faster than relying on luck to kill monsters.

Over the course of three days, Ian's hunting range had expanded from the outer perimeter of the mine to an area spanning twenty miles.

The Bone Spike Wolves became scarce, and the Stone Skin Demons were almost gone. All the monsters seemed to know that a powerful demon had come to the vicinity, and they all fled the area.

He had to go further.

On the fifth day, a new notification popped up on the panel.

[Abyss Energy: 203/500]

[Host energy detected to have reached threshold, unlocked: Advanced Flame Affinity]

[Effect: Chaos Flame's range +30%, penetration +25%, deals additional burning damage to abyssal creatures]

Ian condensed a ball of chaotic fire in his palm. The flames were more intense than before, and their color changed from grayish-white to silvery-white. A deep humming sound accompanied the burning.

He hurled a flame at a black rock in the distance. The flame barely diminished as it passed through the air, and when it hit the rock, it burned a crater the size of a bathtub.

The improvement in penetration and range is visible to the naked eye.

Ian withdrew his hand and continued forward.

But after the fifth day, the hunting efficiency dropped sharply again, and all the prey escaped.

Knicks was the first to notice something was wrong. He crouched behind a black rock and glanced towards the rocky beach, his eyes full of confusion.

"Sir, the Bone Spike Wolf pack—is gone."

Ian spread his senses to the fullest extent, and indeed, within a radius of ten miles, not only were the Bone Spike Wolves nowhere to be found, but even the two most honest Stone Skin Demons were gone.

"They ran away?" Nix scratched his ear, hardly believing it.

"Bone-Spiked Wolves are the lowest-level monsters, usually they're stupid, how could they possibly—"

Ian withdrew his senses. "Let's go back. These low-level monsters are no use to me anymore."

Abyssal creatures lack human intelligence, but they possess instincts.

Within five days, most of the predators in this area were killed by an unknown entity.

The surviving monsters may not know who the killer is, but they can smell the lingering scent of chaotic fire in the air.

Ian didn't continue; it was time to look for something more worthwhile.

"A mid-level demon." Ian looked into the distance.

Knicks's vertical pupils shrank to slits.

"My lord, a mid-level demon—far beyond what a Bone-Spiked Wolf can compare to." It swallowed hard.

"At the very least, they are all powerful figures like Lord Shattered Bones, possessing territories, subordinates, and—"

"I know," Ian interrupted, "Are there any people living alone nearby?"

Knicks thought for a moment, then lowered his voice, "There is one."

"To the north, deep in the gray rock wasteland, there is an underground cavern where a Shadow Demon lives. It never interacts with others, nor does it fight for territory. It just stays in the cavern by itself, with three low-level Shadow Demons serving it."

"Who is stronger, the Mighty One or the Bone Crusher?"

"I don't know." Knicks scratched the ground twice with his claws.

"But the warlords of the nearby mines are unwilling to provoke it. The Shadow Demon is not easy to deal with; it comes and goes without a trace. If you can't beat it, it runs away, and you can't catch it at all."

Shadow Fiend, Ian narrowed his eyes slightly. Just from the name, you could tell he possessed talents like Shadow Concealment.

A mid-level Shadow Fiend can perform short-range spatial jumps, making them extremely difficult to deal with in a head-on fight.

"You go back to the mine first, I'll go check it out."

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