I became a god through archaeology in the Wizarding World.

At the entrance to the second basement level, the air was filled with the stench of blood and the acrid smell of burning alchemical fuel.

Viscount Valerius slumped against a rock, his expensive velvet hunting trousers cut open to reveal his twisted and deformed calves.

The broken tibia pierced the skin, exposing the white bone fragments to the air, surrounded by a shocking patch of bruises.

The inspector, who had been so arrogant not long ago, was now sobbing like a child, cold sweat soaking his meticulously styled curly hair.

"It hurts...it hurts so much...give me painkillers! Quickly!" Valerius grabbed Rhodes' sleeve, his nails almost digging into his flesh.

Rod knelt beside him, holding a bottle of cheap liquor he had taken from a first-aid kit.

His face bore the chilling calmness characteristic of a professional doctor.

"Your Excellency, there are no high-grade painkillers here. If you don't want this leg to be crippled and become a cripple rejected by His Majesty, you must have it reset immediately."

Rhodes' voice was steady: "Bear with it."

"Wait...wait a minute! Ahhh!!!"

Before Vallejo could even prepare himself, Rhodes had already made his move.

【Stone Skin】The enhanced palm is as steady as an iron clamp, precisely gripping both ends of the broken bone.

With a teeth-grinding cracking sound and the tearing sound of muscles being forcibly stretched, the protruding bone was forcefully pressed back in.

Valleux let out a pig-like scream, his eyes rolled back, and he almost fainted from the pain.

Rod quickly clamped the broken leg between two planks and tore off strips of his robe to tightly wrap and secure it.

"alright."

Rhodes patted the blood off his hands, looked at Valerius whose face was as pale as paper, and his tone suddenly became deep: "My lord, physical injuries are easy to heal, but how to explain this to His Majesty when we get back is the real problem."

Vallejo's body stiffened abruptly.

Yes, all twelve royal guards were wiped out, two battle mages were killed, and the mission made no progress.

Given King Edward's suspicious and ruthless nature, even if the inspector didn't die, he would be stripped of his title and exiled to the frontier to work in the mines.

"What...what should I do?"

Valerius looked at Rhodes in despair: "Those monsters...those monsters are terrifying..."

"No, sir. That's not a monster, it's a trap."

Rhodes leaned close to Valerius's ear and began his psychological manipulation: "Didn't you notice? Those crystal scorpions are extremely sensitive to magic. And in that cave, there just happens to be a lingering scent of necromancy-specific incense."

"You mean..." Valerius's pupils dilated.

Mortimer.

Without hesitation, Rhodes pinned the blame on the Necromancer's chief: "He discovered the power zone a long time ago, but he couldn't get in, so he set a trap there, using those crystal scorpions to destroy His Majesty's power. This was an assassination attempt against the royal family."

Vallejo's breathing became rapid.

If his command error led to the annihilation of the entire army, then he was incompetent.

However, if he was deliberately framed by a necromancer, then he was injured in the line of duty and became a victim of political struggle!

"That's right...that's right! It's Mortimer!"

Valerius, as if grasping at a straw, cried out, "That damned gravedigger! He tampered with the cave! I'll report this to His Majesty! I'll make the necromancy department pay!"

Rod nodded in satisfaction.

"You are the only survivor, and your testimony is irrefutable. As for me..."

Rhodes stood up and looked at the closed, broken stone door: "I was just a loyal subordinate who risked his life to save his superior."

"Yes, yes! Rhodes, you are a hero!" Valerius nodded repeatedly. Now he and Rhodes were in the same boat and had to cover for each other.

"Professor, could you please look after Lord Jue for a moment?"

Rhodes turned to Isaac, who was huddled in a corner trembling, and said, "I'll go check the seal to make sure the scorpions don't come out. You guys go to the camp up there and wait for me."

After sending the two away, Rhodes did not check any seal.

He carried the windproof lantern and returned to the broken stone gate.

In the crevice beneath the stone gate lay half a smashed crystal scorpion corpse.

That was broken off by the falling stone gate when we were escaping.

Although most of the body is inside the door, a complete tail and half of the dorsal carapace are exposed outside.

The purple crystalline shell shimmered with an eerie luster under the light, and even though its host was dead, it still emitted a wave of repulsive magic.

"First tier, Crystal Scorpion."

Rhodes crouched down, his eyes burning.

That terrifying magic resistance, capable of even reflecting fireballs, is precisely the defensive piece he currently lacks.

【Stone Skin】Protects against physical damage, 【Static Electricity】Protects against lightning, and if you add this...

He reached out and placed his hand on the cold, sharp crystalline shell.

hum!

The mental atlas of species flipped through the pages, stopping at page six.

The lines depict a ferocious scorpion made entirely of amethyst, its pincers raised high, and its carapace as smooth as a mirror.

[Species Included: Crystal Scorpion]

[Status: Extant (Ancient Relic)]

Completeness: 15% (only partial carapace and stinger obtained)

[Description: Special arthropods that live in high-magic environments. In order to survive in high concentrations of magical radiation, they have evolved a special crystalline exoskeleton capable of refracting, absorbing, and reflecting most forms of energy attacks.]

[Extractable Feature: Crystal Shell (Basic)]

"extract."

Rhodes muttered to himself.

This fusion was quite peculiar. There was no excruciating pain, only a chill that rose from the depths of my bones, followed by the illusion that my body was becoming brittle.

His skin surface did not show any obvious changes, but between the subcutaneous tissue and the "stone skin" layer, an extremely thin and tough transparent crystalline membrane grew.

Rhodes stood up, drew the dagger from his waist, and a small amount of [secondary acid] condensed on the tip of the blade.

Without hesitation, he dripped the acid directly onto the back of his hand.

"Sizzle~~"

The acid did not corrode the skin as usual upon contact with it.

A faint purple light flashed on the back of his hand, and the acidic liquid slid off like a drop of water on a lotus leaf, leaving no red mark.

"Basic magic immunity..."

Rhodes clenched his fist, feeling the presence of that invisible armor.

"While it can't quite reach the level of reflecting fireballs, it's enough to withstand the damage from apprentice-level spells and weaken the effects of spells cast by full-fledged wizards."

Physical defense includes [Stone Skin], magical defense includes [Crystal Shell], burst damage includes [Steel Mane], control includes [Poison Ivy], scouting includes [Raven], and mobility includes [Moonlight Butterfly].

Now he is truly armed to the teeth.

......

Three days later, at Royal Academy.

An unprecedented political storm swept through the entire capital.

Viscount Valerius was carried into the palace on a stretcher.

He tearfully denounced the necromancers' despicable ambush before the king, and presented the severed leg as irrefutable evidence.

King Edward was furious.

Although he was suspicious, he could not tolerate his authority being challenged.

The deaths of two battle mages and twelve royal guards must be accounted for.

That afternoon, the King signed a Special Search Warrant, authorizing the Iron Duke's military police to enter the college and conduct a security check on the Necromancer's Department.

At the same time, the Morning Star Church, under the guise of purifying the plague, pressured the council to thoroughly investigate whether the necromancy department was conducting forbidden experiments.

Mortimer was in a desperate situation.

The Necropolis was sealed off, all experiments were forced to stop, and even his own movements were restricted.

As the instigator of all this, Rod lived an exceptionally comfortable life.

The top floor of the History Department building.

Rod was lying in the bathtub, enjoying the relaxation brought by the hot water.

These past few days, he has become a celebrity in the college.

On one hand, he was a genius of the bloodline system and was favored by his mentor, Galon; on the other hand, he was a hero who bravely rescued the inspector and was rewarded by the royal family.

That's a full thousand magic stones as compensation, plus a fine enchanted dagger.

"Balance...it's wonderful."

Rhode toyed with the dagger called "Dark Serpent" in his hand, looking at the poison runes flowing on the blade.

Right now, Mortimer is too busy taking care of himself to bother him.

The Iron Duke was busy beating a drowning dog, and was even more pleased with his inside man.

The excavation rights for the underground ruins, due to Vallejo's serious injury and fear, had effectively fallen entirely into the hands of Professor Rhodes and Professor Isaac.

"However, this calm is only temporary."

Rod stood up from the bathtub, water droplets sliding down his muscular physique.

He examined his body in front of the mirror.

As his genes continued to merge, his temperament became increasingly cold and hard, and a kind of inhuman wildness was hidden deep in his eyes.

"Tomorrow is the final round of the annual performance review."

Rhodes dried himself off and changed into a brand new black robe.

This was a special gift from Master Galon, embroidered with the emblem of the bloodline lineage, a red dragon wrapped in chains.

"The opponent in the finals..."

Rod picked up the detailed information about the final opponent that Swift Jack had given him from the table.

Opponent: Lynn Frostwhisper.

Identity: Chief of the Elementalist class, First-Ring Elite Wizard (promoted yesterday), heir of the Ice Queen family.

Abilities: Frost control, extreme cold domain, and... a high-level enchanted item called [Winter's Lament].

"A wizard with the strength of a first-ring cultivator..."

Rhodes looked at the portrait of the aloof and proud girl in the intelligence report.

Three days ago, facing an ice mage who could alter the environment and possessed powerful control and explosive power, he might have had to put in some effort and might even have had to reveal his trump card.

but now……

Rhodes raised his left hand, and a faint purple crystalline luster flashed beneath his skin.

Frost spell?

That's a joke in the face of the combined defense of [Crystal Shell] and [Stone Skin].

"Lynn Frostwhisper".

Rhodes threw the intelligence report into the brazier and watched the papers turn to ashes.

"I'll use you to test just how far my defenses really go."

……

The next morning, in the dark arena.

The atmosphere today was more enthusiastic than any of the previous ones.

Because this is the final.

It's a showdown between the strongest dark horse and the veteran champion.

It is a collision of savage bloodline and noble elements.

The stands were packed with people, and even some of the college's high-ranking officials, who are rarely seen on ordinary days, made an appearance.

Instructor Galon sat in the VIP section, his face glowing, making a bet with an elemental instructor next to him.

"Old man, your ice doll is doomed! Rhodes will crush her ice walls like cookies!"

The elementalist instructor scoffed, "What magic does a barbarian know? If Lynn freezes his feet, he'll be a sitting duck!"

In the center of the arena.

Rod stood quietly, his hands hanging naturally at his sides.

Opposite him, Lynn Frostwhisper hovered half a foot above the ground.

She wore a snow-white robe, surrounded by three crystal-clear ice shields, and held a blue staff that exuded a chilling aura.

"Rod Griffin."

Lynn's voice was cold and clear, like shards of ice striking each other: "Your good luck ends here. The brute force of a bloodline wizard is meaningless in the face of absolute elemental control."

"Yeah?"

Rod raised his head, a kind yet dangerous smile appearing on his face.

"Then please... help me cool down."

"The match begins!"

With the referee's whistle.

Lynn slammed his staff to the ground.

"Extreme Cold Region!"

Whew!

A terrifying white cold current erupted from her center in an instant, and the temperature of the entire arena dropped below freezing in that instant.

The ground is frozen and the air is frosty.

Rhodes' eyebrows and hair were instantly covered in frost, and his feet were frozen in place by thick ice.

"it's over."

Lynn coldly raised his staff, and dozens of sharp ice spears appeared behind him.

"Ice Lance Technique - Rapid Fire!"

shhhhhh!

A barrage of ice spears rained down on the immobilized Rhodes.

The entire audience held their breath.

However, Rhodes, who was at the center of the storm, didn't even blink.

He didn't struggle, didn't dodge, and didn't even activate [Steel Mane].

He simply stood there quietly, letting the ice spears, sharp enough to pierce through steel plates, plunge viciously into his chest.