Wizards begin by accessing the Inspiration panel.

Chapter 115 Attack of Fingert

"So, your tribe still has two high-grade magic stones and dozens of mid-grade magic stones stored there?" Richard was overjoyed when he heard this news, but just to be on the safe side, he confirmed it again.

"Yes, Master. But the high-grade and mid-grade magic stones are currently being kept by Dibu. Although I'm not sure of their exact location, they should be somewhere in Dibu's stilt house or in the sacrificial hall," Fingart replied respectfully.

Richard clenched his fists, a surge of excitement welling up inside him. It seemed there was a good chance he could return.

Now that Fingart has submitted, if we can find a way to kill Dib, we can naturally push Fingart to power and take control of the entire merman tribe. We can then easily obtain the high-level and mid-level magic stones we want.

"Master, there's another piece of information I think you should know. The Black Tide, which occurs once a month in the Gray Fern Wilds, is coming soon. The tribe can't gather enough blood offerings right now, and it's very likely that we won't receive the protection of the three-headed serpent god Kumaila in the Darkwater Lake. At that time, the tribe may be directly destroyed by the Black Tide," Fingart said worriedly.

"Kuroshio?" Richard was taken aback after hearing this.

He immediately asked Fingart to explain what the Kuroshio was.

Soon, Richard's face turned ashen as he finally understood Black Tide's meaning. He realized that he had almost been foolishly killing monsters in the wild due to his lack of information, completely oblivious to his surroundings.

If the Black Tide were to descend, he would most likely perish without a burial place.

The Black Tide, short for the Dark Beast Tide, is a massive surge of monsters that emerge from the depths of the Gray Fern Wilderness at specific times, overwhelming the surrounding area. If a faction does not possess the strength of a formal wizard or higher, it is impossible for them to survive the Black Tide.

The merfolk tribe has always relied on worshipping the three-headed serpent god Kumaila to obtain the protection of this monster.

When the Black Tide impacts the merfolk tribes, it is affected by the aura of the three-headed serpent god Kumara and automatically avoids the merfolk tribes protected by the aura of the three-headed serpent god Kumara.

However, the prerequisite is that the monthly blood sacrifice must satisfy the three-headed serpent god Kumaila; otherwise, Kumaila will become angry and may even eat the fish-men directly.

There have been instances before where small tribes did not receive enough blood offerings, resulting in the three-headed serpent god Kumaila devouring the entire tribe.

After listening to Fingart's description, Richard paced back and forth, pondering the question: wasn't this three-headed hydra essentially a Darkwater Lake version of Cthulhu?

Currently, I am not yet capable of resisting the Black Tide, let alone confronting the three-headed serpent god Kumaila.

It seems I must speed things up. According to Fingart's assessment, the Black Tide will last about seven or eight days.

In that case, we should try to kill Dib today or tomorrow, quickly put Fingart in power, and then gather a murloc hunting team. With his help, we can hunt enough blood on time to offer as a sacrifice to the three-headed serpent god Kumaila, so that the murloc tribe can obtain its protection in the Black Tide.

According to Fingart's description, the three-headed serpent god Kumaila, although its exact strength is unknown, is definitely a being that surpasses a first-level wizard, and is also the overlord of the entire vast Darkwater Lake.

The more than ten tribes of varying sizes that live on the surrounding dark lake are required to prepare offerings and sacrifices to Kumaila every month.

Richard estimated that the three-headed serpent god Kumaila was at least a monster with the combat power of a first-level peak wizard, or even a second-level wizard. It was completely beyond Richard's current ability to contend with. Therefore, he could only follow the original practice of the fishman tribe and prepare offerings to satisfy them for the sacrifice.

At this moment, the Soul-Eating Spider is consuming the souls of the fishman warriors one by one. The souls of ordinary warriors, when fed back to Richard, are merely a thin strand of pure spiritual energy, and the soul energy that can improve aptitude is so little that it can be ignored.

Richard felt like he had just smoked a cigarette.

However, after smoking a few dozen, little by little, it feels quite good.

When the Soul-Devouring Spider began to devour the soul of the dual-wielding merman warrior, the feedback became much stronger. A wisp of spiritual energy, about the size and thickness of a ring finger, mixed with a trace of soul energy, fed back into Richard's mental sea, giving Richard a feeling of ethereal bliss once again.

Finally, when the Soul-Devouring Spider began to devour the soul of the high-ranking merman warrior named Gru, it fed Richard a thumb-sized amount of mental energy, plus a wisp of soul energy, which immediately made Richard squint his eyes in comfort.

Richard felt as if his entire body, from head to toe, was being immersed in a nutrient solution, constantly receiving nourishment.

After a long while, Richard brought up the panel and checked the attributes.

[Attributes]: Strength 4.6, Agility 4.8, Constitution 4.5, Spirit 14.5

Richard's mental strength has been increasing at an extremely rapid pace these past few days, currently reaching 14.5 standard units. This is mainly due to the master-level Rodrigo meditation method and the feedback from the Soul-Eating Spider after these battles.

Each time, besides feeding back a large amount of spiritual energy, what Richard values ​​most is the trace of pure soul energy mixed in with the Soul-Devouring Spider.

Based on my own experience, this wisp of pure soul energy is the key that is said to improve a wizard's aptitude.

Although each instance is extremely small, if accurately measured, it might only be an improvement at the decimal percentile level. However, many small improvements add up. Ten times would result in an improvement at the tenth percentile level, and after a hundred times, the improvement to Richard's wizarding aptitude would approach the single digits.

Therefore, Richard has reason to believe that even if he had drunk the Crimson Vibration Elixir passed down from ancient times, his speed of improvement might not have been as fast as he is now!

At the current rate, in seven or eight days, my total mental energy will probably be close to the threshold of twenty points. Once I cross that threshold, I will have entered the threshold of a level three wizard apprentice.

The school's requirements for third-level wizard apprentices are: mastery of four level-zero wizarding spells, plus a total mental energy exceeding twenty standard units.

Richard had already met the requirement of mastering four level zero spells: Grandmaster-level Summon Skeleton, Grandmaster-level Dark Element Shield, Master-level Shadow Grip, and Master-level Slow. This doesn't even include the support-type level zero spell, Spirit Guidance.

Thinking of this, a slight smile appeared on Richard's lips.

From this perspective, if I can successfully return to the school this time, I can not only directly participate in the Level 2 Wizard Apprentice Promotion Examination, but also continue to participate in the Level 3 Wizard Apprentice Promotion Examination if I want!

Bringing his thoughts back, Richard glanced at Fingart, only to see the merman prophet's disciple looking at him anxiously, awaiting his decision.

Richard smiled and said, "Since we still need to hunt for prey, the tribe's warriors are very precious. Therefore, we'd better only let Dib disappear, don't you agree, Fingart?"

"Wise master, your decision is so wise!" Fingart's fish eyes lit up, and he quickly agreed.

This was actually what he was thinking. After all, the stronger the tribe, the more interesting it would be for him to be the future supreme leader of the tribe.

If one's own murloc tribe is wiped out by their current master, then being a lone tribal prophet is pointless.

"If we successfully take down Dib, can you control the remaining three high-ranking merman warriors, Fingart?" Richard asked, glancing at his merman servant.

As Richard's first servant, if he could elevate him to the position of prophet of the merfolk tribe, it would not only greatly benefit Richard himself, but also ensure that his servants would be loyal and devoted to him in the future. Why not do it?

"Absolutely no problem. As long as Dibu dies, I will be the highest-ranking person in the tribe." Fingart's face lit up with joy, and he bowed to assure her. "Moreover, with your help, I believe the tribe will have no problem gathering enough blood food for this month."

"Fingart, when you go back this time, take the enormous carcass of the octopus with its shell, and do it this way." After a brief discussion, Richard explained in detail how to carry out the plan to Fingart.

Generally speaking, Richard will have the Soul-Eating Spider possess the body of the high-ranking merman warrior Gru, helping Fingart drag the massive carcass of the octopus back to the merman tribe.

Although the ordinary merman warriors were almost entirely wiped out, the acquisition of a large monster like the octopus with a shell made the losses roughly offset. However, Dib will definitely seize the opportunity to attack Fingart, and then...

in the afternoon.

Fishman tribe.

Inside a spacious stilt house.

All the high-ranking members of the blind merfolk tribe were present.

"Fingart, although you successfully found out the reason for the disappearance of the fishman team and killed the large monster, the octopus, the entire tribesman you brought was wiped out. You bear an unshirkable responsibility for this!" Dib rebuked with a sorrowful expression.

"Dieter, this time it's a shelled octopus!" Fingart's face turned red as he tried to explain.

"Shut up! Ever since our teacher led a large number of the tribe's elite troops to the surface with the Night Elves, we haven't received any news. Every warrior in the tribe is our most precious resource now." Dib interrupted Fingart when he saw that Fingart was about to argue.

In fact, although Dibu looked extremely grief-stricken, as if he was heartbroken for the dead tribal warriors, he was secretly overjoyed and thought to himself: "Now that we have the carcass of the octopus, the shortage of blood food for the tribe is basically solved."

Fingart made such a fatal mistake that he gave himself a handle to use against him.

Now, he has no chance of competing with himself for the position of the tribe's prophet.

It's fair to say that my current situation is extremely favorable!

At this moment, Dib noticed that Gru, his trusted confidant who had been silent since returning and had been standing beside him, slowly stepped forward, as if he had something important to report to him.

"Gru, what's the matter?" Previously, Dib had specially arranged for his trusted confidant Gru to accompany him, with the aim of keeping a close watch on Fingart to prevent him from making any great contributions.

"Pfft!" Dib never expected that the answer he received would be a fatal blow from his own confidant.

Gru held a sharp fishbone dagger and pierced Dib's chest, right where the fishman's heart was located.

"stop!"

"Gru, are you insane?"

The high-ranking members of the merfolk quickly surrounded them and shouted at them.

Dib's bulging fish eyes were fixed on Gru's calm face, his gaze filled with disbelief, as he stammered, "You...why did you..."

The large vomiting of blood prevented Dib from finishing his questioning; he died with his head drooping.

A top fighter of the merfolk tribe, equivalent to a human third-level wizard apprentice, died just like that.

Before he died, Dib couldn't understand why his trusted confidant, Gru, would suddenly assassinate him without any warning!

"Gru, what are you doing, you traitor!" Fingart feigned a shocked and angry expression and immediately cast a level zero spell, Water Arrow.

A thick water arrow pierced through the chest of Gru, who was controlled by the Soul-Devouring Spider, at high speed.

Gru was "killed" on the spot!

After a period of chaos, the murloc leaders in the stilt house unanimously elected Fingart as the sole candidate for the tribe's prophet, to take office immediately.

Following Richard's instructions, Fingart placed Dib's body and Gru's body in the same stilt house, with trusted men guarding the door.

The Soul-Eating Spider slowly crawled out of Gru's mouth and entered Dib's body.

Meanwhile, Richard, standing next to the camp, was once again feeling like he was floating on air!

After the Soul-Eating Spider devoured Dib, whose soul was equivalent to a human level three wizard apprentice, it fed Richard an exceptionally pure spiritual force, along with several strands of pure soul energy. The effect was no less than that of the Brain-Eating Monster.

Along with this came fragments of Dib's memories from his lifetime, much of which greatly interested Richard.

After a long while, Richard fell into deep thought.

That night.

At the entrance of the fishman tribe camp.

Fingart, accompanied by several trusted merfolk, waited anxiously at the entrance.

As Richard had planned, after Fingart took control of the entire murloc tribe, Richard would move into the murloc village that very night.

A short while later, a man in a black robe whose face was obscured by a hood was invited into the merman tribe camp by Fingart with unusual respect.

Inside the prophet's luxurious stilt house, Fingart respectfully said, "Master, as per your plan, I have now successfully assumed the role of the tribe's prophet. Here are the two high-grade magic stones you requested, along with forty-two mid-grade magic stones."

Fingart bent down and presented Richard with a black box.

"Well done, Fingart." Richard took the black box, his heart filled with joy.

Richard examined the high-grade magic stones and carefully put them away. He then took twenty mid-grade magic stones from the box and returned the remaining mid-grade magic stones, along with the black box, to Fingart.

Under Fingart's surprised gaze, Richard slowly said, "Fingart, I will not exploit you to the point of exhaustion. As the blind merfolk tribe's prophet, you often need to use mid-level magic stones, not to mention some large transactions also require magic stones. If you give them all to me, it will make your other tribesmen dissatisfied or even suspicious."

Today I'm updating two chapters totaling 8000 words, with 2000 words being an extra chapter to celebrate the 50% increase in average subscriptions. Thank you for your support.

Note: As mentioned in Fusheng's previous post before the book's release, for every 50 increase in average subscriptions, an additional 2000 words will be added.

(End of this chapter)