Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

Chapter 492 Collecting Talents

The outer edge of the limestone wasteland is piled with large areas of grayish-white gravel, dry and desolate.

Ian arrived at the outer edge of the cave. The entrance was a crack about two meters wide, hidden between two giant rocks.

Without sensory scanning, it would be difficult to discover this hidden cave. Cool air seeped out of the cracks, carrying a damp, earthy smell.

As their senses expanded, they saw three low-level shadow demons guarding the inside of the cave entrance, their presence faint, blending seamlessly into the surrounding shadows.

Deep within, an even more powerful aura lay dormant, seemingly asleep.

Ian didn't rush in; his senses continued to penetrate deeper, thoroughly understanding the structure inside.

Inside the entrance is a downward passage about fifty meters long, guarded by three low-level Shadow Demons.

At the bottom is a natural cave, about two hundred square meters in size, where a medium-sized Shadow Demon appears to be sleeping.

Seeing that his target hadn't gone out, Ian quietly approached the cave entrance.

A grayish-white flame shot out from the palm, striking the back of the head of the outermost low-level Shadow Demon, silently dissolving its skull.

Before the other two low-level Shadow Demons could even turn their heads, two thin flames attacked again.

The three low-level Shadow Demons slowly collapsed, their bodies turning into gray powder in the flames.

Ian stepped over the powder and entered the cave.

The cave was extremely dark, and several cracks hung on the rock walls overhead, from which water droplets seeped out and emitted a faint reflection.

At the bottom of the cave, in the center, there is a huge, flat rock, and a medium-sized Shadow Demon is coiled on it.

It was a whole size larger than the lower-level Shadow Fiend, standing about two meters tall, with jet-black skin and clearly defined muscles.

Its face is more human-like than that of a low-level Shadow Fiend, with distinct features and even a rather handsome appearance.

Without hesitation, Ian silently unleashed a gray-white flame.

Just then, the mid-level Shadow Demon's eyes snapped open, and his body vanished in an instant.

The flames shot through the air and struck the rock wall behind it, burning a crater the size of a bowl.

Ian was taken aback. This was Shadow Teleportation, a skill he was very familiar with, one of Gaga's signature abilities.

He immediately became alert, his senses expanded, and he quickly located its new position in the shadow of the rock wall on the upper right side of the cave.

He turned and raised his hand, and a second flame shot out.

But in an instant, the figure of the medium-level Shadow Demon disappeared again, this time appearing ten meters to his left.

The third flame was flung out, but it dodged it again.

The mid-level Shadow Fiend leaped back and forth in the shadows at incredible speed, its eyes gleaming as it stared intently at Ian with the greed of a predator.

But it dared not get too close to Ian, as the grayish-white flames posed a great threat to it.

It was looking for an opportunity. Every time Ian's flames missed, there would be a very short attack interval, about half a breath.

It's negligible for a normal demon, but for a medium-sized Shadow Fiend's teleportation speed, it's enough for it to launch a surprise attack.

Its claws were sharp, and a layer of dark light condensed at the tips of its jet-black fingers—this was the Shadow Demon's unique shadow power.

Immediately, Shadow Fiend launched his first surprise attack, leaving a white mark on Ian's scales on his back, nearly breaking through his armor.

The second time, from the left side, the claws slashed across Ian's forearm, leaving three bloody marks.

The third time, Shadow Fiend hung upside down from the shadows above his head, slashing down with his crossed claws.

Ian dodged to the side, but the claws grazed his cheek, leaving a thin, long cut on his face.

Each time, he would strike and retreat immediately after the moment his flames were released, never lingering in battle.

Ian remained calm. Although Shadow Fiend's Shadow Leap was instantaneous and its location was completely random, it was not without its weaknesses.

The teleportation distance for each teleportation is no more than twenty meters, and it can only teleport to places with shadows.

These two restrictions combined create an opportunity for a counterattack.

Ian stopped his attack, took a few steps back, and stood in the open area in the center of the cave, where the faint light from above shone directly, minimizing the shadows on the ground.

The mid-level Shadow Fiend crouched in the shadows of the cave wall, his eyes filled with mockery, waiting for Ian's flames to be unleashed.

The cave was dimly lit, making it its domain. If it weren't for its fear of the flame, it would have torn its opponent to shreds long ago.

Ian stared at it, looking into the Shadow Fiend's eyes, and slowly raised his right hand, a grayish-white light shining from his palm.

Foolish Shadow Fiend, his fire attacks now have more than just this one method.

He clenched his right hand tightly, and chaotic fire erupted from his palm, a ring of grayish-white flames rapidly spreading outwards.

The mid-level Shadow Fiend's eyes widened suddenly, trying to teleport away, but the Chaos Flame had already filled the entire space.

The flames illuminated the darkness, enveloping the Shadow Fiend's entire body.

"Hey!"

The Shadow Demon opened its mouth and let out a hoarse scream, rolling on the ground in an attempt to extinguish the flames, but to no avail.

The flames lasted for about ten breaths before the Shadow Demon stopped struggling, and the light in its eyes went out completely.

Ian withdrew his right hand; the bloodstains on his face and forearm had begun to scab over and would heal soon.

As Shadow Fiend died, a warm current flowed from his corpse and into his body.

Just then, the panel flickered slightly.

[Abyss Energy +42]

[Unfamiliar talent detected: Shadow Clone (Basic) - Extract?]

Ian's eyes lit up when he saw the word "Shadow" on the panel, and he confirmed the extraction.

[Extracting... Extraction complete]

[Shadow Concealment: Allows you to hide your presence and form in the shadows; can evolve to higher levels as your Abyss Energy increases]

Current Abyss Energy: 245/500

Although it's not Shadow Leap, the value of this talent far exceeds forty-two points of energy.

Talents can actually be extracted from the panel? Could it be that the previous Bonebreaker's talent didn't even reach the beginner level, and therefore didn't meet the minimum requirements for extraction?

The ability to steal the talents of other monsters is quite in line with the evolutionary style of the Abyss world.

This also provides him with a path of evolution: with each demon of a different race he kills, he may gain new talents and then integrate and optimize them.

Now, with the Chaos Transformation and Shadow Concealment combined with his existing Flame Affinity, his ability combination is becoming more complete, and his talent will only grow stronger over time.

Ian turned the Shadow Fiend's remains to ashes and quickly returned to Bloodslag Mine.

Knicks stood at the hole, watching Ian return safely, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

It didn't want anything to happen to its owner. Now it can eat its fill every day, which is unimaginable compared to the old days.

"My lord, you're finally back. That Shadow Fiend—" Nix asked cautiously.

"Stop talking nonsense." Ian glanced at the Knicks, but didn't stop walking.

The Knicks even shuddered, quickly lowered their heads, and decided to talk less nonsense in the future.

It followed behind Ian, stealing glances at him several times, and roughly guessed the ending, feeling overjoyed.

The master can even kill a powerful Shadow Fiend, so it seems his good days can continue.

In the days that followed, Ian slowed down his hunting pace.

He no longer aimlessly farmed monsters, but instead systematically challenged the mid-level demons in the surrounding area.

Before each operation, he would spend one or two days scouting. Knicks was in charge of gathering intelligence, while he was in charge of close observation.

Once you have a clear understanding of the target race, combat style, territory, and number of monsters under their command, choose the weakest link to attack.

On the third day, he challenged a horned demon leader.

The horned demon leader was a head taller than the Bonebreaker, with thicker scales. Its fists could leave craters several meters deep in the rock face, but it was less alert and slower.

Ian used Shadowstep to sneak up behind it, pressed Chaos Flame against the back of its neck, and finished it off in less than ten breaths, much easier than when he dealt with the Bonebreaker.

This time, Ian finally acquired a new talent, "Great Strength," and he didn't mind at all.

On the seventh day, they found a Stone-Skinned Demon leader a hundred miles away. It was twice the size of an ordinary Stone-Skinned Demon, and its rock armor was half a meter thick.

Instead of confronting it head-on, Ian used Chaos Fire to continuously burn its abdomen, taking a full minute to burn through the defensive layer.

The talent Ian acquired this time is "Super Strong Scale Armor," which strengthens his defense and increases his margin for error during surprise attacks.

On the twelfth day, a Poison Stinger was killed.

This demon is not large, but its entire body is covered with spiky sacs that can spray venom.

Ian's stealth ability came into play, allowing him to silently approach from the shadows and sever the root of its poisonous stinger with a single blow.

The Poison Sting Demon, having lost its stinger, was greatly weakened in combat and was easily defeated by the Chaos Fire, gaining "Basic Poison Resistance".

On the fifteenth day, they encountered an Abyss Spider Demon.

A giant spider with eight legs, capable of crawling freely on rock walls and ceilings, and capable of spitting out extremely sticky spider silk from its tail.

Ian's stealth ability failed, preventing him from getting close to the spider webs that filled the caves. He even got entangled in the spider silk once, but the Chaos Fire could directly burn the spider silk.

The spider demon thought it had trapped its prey and moved closer to bite, but Ian activated his Great Strength talent and smashed its head with a backhand.

Over the course of a month, Ian's abyssal energy soared from over two hundred to three hundred and seventy.

The changes in the body are even more obvious.

His skin changed from dark red to jet black, the hardness and luster of his scales increased significantly, he grew taller, and his physique became more symmetrical and sturdy instead of slender.

The curves of the horns were even more pronounced, and the tips gleamed with a dark red glow.

More importantly, he gains a talent for each demon of a different race he devours, and his own structure is constantly being fine-tuned.

The Horned Demon's immense strength, combined with the Stone-Skinned Demon's super scales, plus the Poison-Sting Demon's poison resistance and the Spider Demon's extraordinary senses—

The panel records and analyzes all these scattered talents, and they gradually show a tendency to be integrated, forming a comprehensive physique that far surpasses others of the same level.

The Knicks witnessed Ian's transformation.

It went from initial shock to numbness, and then from numbness to blind worship.

Every time Ian returned from hunting, it would squat at the entrance of the mine and count the days.

Who did you kill today? How long did it take?

Then Ian would walk in from the mine entrance, becoming cleaner and cleaner, his eyes becoming calmer and calmer.

The speed at which Nix gathered information gradually couldn't keep up with the speed at which Ian hunted, which made it very nervous. It was afraid that Ian would drive it away, and it was constantly worried about losing it.

However, his subordinate horned demons were less knowledgeable than himself. During this time, they had revealed all the information he knew, and he had no more information about the demons in his mind.

After more than a month, as Ian continued his hunt, he gained a clear understanding of the power structure of the Black Corruption Realm.

Throughout the entire Black Corruption Realm, there are dozens of high-level demons and three even higher-level demon rulers.

The closest to Ian is the Bone Demon Lord, who rules a large area east of the mine and has more than twenty mid- to high-ranking demons under his command.

The second is the King of Flames, who is said to be the strongest demon leader in the Black Corrosion Realm.

There are many legends about it. Some say it can control fire, while others say its body is made of solidified magma and it rules the central region of the Black Erosion Realm.

The last one is Shadow King, a Shadow Demon evolved to its ultimate form.

No one has ever seen its true form, because those who have seen it have never returned alive.

It is said that it can move freely in any shadow, and the shadows of the entire Black Eclipse Realm are its territory.

Besides these three, there are many other high-level demons distributed across various regions of the Black Corrosion Realm. They have clear divisions of power among themselves, and while there are occasional frictions, they rarely engage in full-scale wars.

Besides the Demon Lord, whether there are even stronger demons, Ian doesn't know, and neither does Nix.

Its status is too low; it has no access to useful information.

However, from the fragments of the Abyss Spider Demon's memory, a piece of information caught Ian's attention.

The spider demon's memories were chaotic, mostly consisting of instincts and fragments of senses, but this particular piece of information was very clear.

At the deepest part of the Black Corrosion Realm, there is a bottomless rift that constantly churns up a dense abyssal aura.

It is said that the bottom of the rift connects to the second layer of the abyss.

In the Spider Demon's memory, there was both longing and fear for this rift.

Ian secretly memorized this information, knowing he would definitely look into it later.

He spent more than a month in the Black Eclipse Realm, growing from a dying young Tanari to hunting mid-level demons with ease, his growth rate far exceeding his expectations.

According to the original calculations, the flow of time in the Wizarding World is almost synchronized with that here.

This further confirms that the Black Eclipse Realm has been completely integrated into the Abyss.

However, the Bloodslag Mine is still too small, and the amount of ore there is not worth considering now.

He had also slain all the monsters within a radius of dozens of miles, and the rest were desperately trying to escape. If they stayed here, their growth rate would only slow down.

He needs more territory, more prey, and to gather more talents.

With that thought in mind, Ian turned his gaze eastward, towards the direction of Crackhoof's territory.

Zul: Young Balor the Balrog

[Talents: Chaos Transformation, Devouring Evolution, Advanced Fire Affinity, Shadow Clone, Mighty Strength —]

Current evolution level: 486/500

Only 14 points remain. Once I refine all the magic iron ore I've collected during this period, I'll meet the promotion requirements.

Once I've completed the promotion, I'll head east and annex the Crackhoof Mine to see how other factions react.