Wizards begin by accessing the Inspiration panel.

Chapter 205 Successful Inspection

"Master, I have carefully searched the Gray Dwarf Brotherhood's database for similar cases of an entire race disappearing or being massacred. All the records that match the above are the work of cult organizations."

"The following five cults are more likely to fit the description: the Dark Demon Cult, the Azure Fire Cult, the Resentment Cult, the Broken Heart Cult, and the Nightmare Church. These cults have all engaged in the practice of slaughtering an entire tribe and sacrificing it to evil gods or demons."

"However, according to the records in the Grey Dwarf's scriptures, whether it's the Grey Dwarves, Night Elves, or other intelligent races of the Underdark, once they encounter cultists, their first choice is to exterminate them!"

"Therefore, according to the ancient texts, these sects have long been lost to the annals of history. Even if some sects have managed to survive with a few followers, they are not a threat at all."

"A cult?" Richard rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

This was a possibility he had once guessed, after all, no normal intelligent race would do something like slaughtering an entire group. Even if they did, there would be clues to it, such as a blood feud or something.

But this time it was a series of events, and it happened without any warning.

If they are ferocious wild animals, they will usually leave after they have eaten their fill, leaving some of the people alive as their next meal.

Stephanie, who was standing to the side, was also taken aback. Originally intending to leave, she slowly walked behind Richard, stretched out her fair and delicate hands, and gently massaged Richard's shoulders.

Richard was slightly taken aback, but did not refuse Stephanie's service.

Gorkan glanced at it furtively, then pretended not to see it at all, lowering his eyes and looking straight ahead.

"Anything else?" Richard asked after a moment's thought.

"There's another piece of news: a patrol team from Tuge City, located in the northeast corner of the city and responsible for the security of several lighthouses in that area, has gone missing. Just now, Tuge City sent people to investigate the scene, and they only found some scattered bloodstains on the ground not far from where they disappeared."

"Huh! They actually dared to attack the official forces of Tug City?" Richard, who was being massaged by Stephanie with unusual comfort, suddenly opened his half-closed eyes.

Gorkan's words really surprised Richard.

If the other side dares to attack even the official patrols of Tug City, then they must have something to rely on.

Or is it that the other side is already prepared and about to launch a major operation?

Richard and Dessol had encountered the lighthouse patrol team on their way from Greyfern Town to Tug City. They were mostly fully armed teams of second or third-level wizard apprentices, numbering from dozens to twelve, and responsible for the security of about a dozen lighthouses in an area.

Their numbers alone are nearly twice that of the wizard apprentices stationed below the lighthouse, responsible for driving away the blue giant moths.

Moreover, as a team used for dispatching and support, it has comprehensive personnel and configuration, and its combat effectiveness is quite good.

Even Richard himself believed that eliminating such a team would take some time and effort, and the difficulty lay in preventing these dozen or so people from sending out the news so that the enemy could be completely wiped out.

This basically proves that the other party is well-organized. If the other party is not an elite night elf squad that has infiltrated the gray dwarf territory, then the possibility that the other party is a cult is very high.

"Gorkan, have you looked into the five cults you just mentioned?"

"Of course, Master."

So, Gorkan began to give a brief introduction to these cults, such as the Dark Demon Cult. The entire cult had a clear division of labor, consisting of patriarchs, bishops, priests, deacons, and ordinary followers, who believed in the Dark Demon, a demon from another world.

There are also sectarian insignia, typical rituals, and the descent of dark demons, among other things.

-

In a secluded valley far from Tug City.

The vegetation is lush, and various vines twine around the tree trunks, growing vigorously and covering the already limited gaps.

In the extremely dark environment, a group of gray-robed men were on high alert around them, while in the very center were three figures, one tall and two short.

A tall figure in black robes was pacing anxiously back and forth in the center of the arena, cursing something.

If you listen carefully, you can hear some fragrant words spoken in the language of the night elves.

"Damn it! A bunch of idiots from the Nightmare Church."

"Damn pig-beast!"

"."

After the tall figure had vented his anger, the shorter figure beside him said:

"Nikol, what's done is done, so what do we do now?"

After a long silence, a deep voice finally came from the tall figure: "Grace, just now, the patrol team of Tug City was killed by those idiots from the Nightmare Church. It seems we'll have to lie low for a while!"

"Nikol, we don't have much time left! You promised us you'd start immediately." Upon hearing this, Irene became anxious, already dissatisfied that Grace had placed all her hopes on this traitorous night elf.

It now seems that the other party is indeed unreliable, repeatedly delaying the operation!

However, before Irene could finish speaking...

"Whoosh!" A sound of air being cut rang out.

A long, thin object, about the thickness of a bowl, struck Irene's high, firm chest with a heavy blow.

"Snapped!"

With a muffled groan, Irene spat out a mouthful of blood and flew backward, instantly being sent flying seven or eight meters away. After landing, she rolled twice.

He felt as if he had been struck by a wild bull.

The fact that the attacker could send a high-level spider woman flying several meters demonstrates the immense strength of the attacker. Grace looked closely and realized that the long, thin object was actually the mutated tail behind Nicol.

Nicole snorted coldly and said, "Irene, watch your attitude. Don't think that just because Grace pleaded for you, you can offend me again and again!"

"This is the second time! If there's a next time, hehe, you won't be so lucky."

Nicol's tall and strong body, like a giant, looked down at Irene lying on the ground, bringing a strong sense of oppression.

Irene's tightly pursed lips trembled slightly, her originally slender hands now gripped the soil on the ground tightly, and her chest heaved violently, showing her unwillingness and anger!

"Nikol!! One day you will pay the price!!" Irene shouted furiously in her heart.

But the shadow of death prevented her from saying those words outright. At this moment, she could only keep them in her heart and bury her resentment deep inside!

Even after Nicol forcefully approached, Irene slowly lowered her head, whether out of fear of meeting Nicol's eyes or because she didn't want him to notice the vengeful rage in her eyes.

Grace, supporting Irene, said helplessly:

"Nikol, you've gone too far! But if we have to lie low for a long time, I'm afraid we really won't have enough time."

"Don't worry, Grace. Just listen to me, and I'll make sure you get the Nightmare Mirror back. Don't worry."

When facing her former lover, Nicole's tone immediately softened considerably.

-

Tuge City Villa District.

Richard sat languidly on the soft leather sofa, his fingers rhythmically tapping the armrest, his gaze fixed on the hazy garden of his villa outside the window.

This is the daytime in the Underdark, as dark as twilight on the surface of the earth.

For ordinary humans who do not possess the racial gift of dark vision, they can only see a distance of about ten meters during the day.

Because Richard was a formal wizard with a physique far exceeding that of ordinary humans, the daytime in the Underdark felt to him much like the evening of a heavily smoggy day.

After listening to Gorkan's description, Richard felt an increasing sense of urgency.

Previously, the targets of the attacks were some remote tribes around Tug City, and it seemed that they did not dare to directly attack the forces of Tug City.

But judging from the fact that the other side dared to target an official force like the Tug City patrol, it seems that they are getting closer and closer to Tug City and to us.

The fingers that were tapping were now gripping the armrest tightly.

It seems I still need to find a way to quickly improve my strength!

Richard's brain was working at a rapid pace.

My current strength is at the initial stage of a first-level wizard, and with my innate wizardry, I'm at most about the same level as a mid-level first-level wizard.

If you add in vengeful spirits, abominations, and alchemical combination bombs, you barely reach the advanced level of a first-tier wizard.

But under these circumstances, it still doesn't seem enough.

I always feel it's dangerous

I need to become stronger!

The fastest way Richard can think of to improve his strength right now is to create a blood-bone puppet. He already has a preliminary plan for this, and he can implement it as soon as the conditions are right in the next few days.

However, this may still not be enough, since the Blood Bone Puppet's combat power is, to some extent, linked to his strength.

With his current strength, even if the Blood Bone Puppet is created, its combat power will most likely be at the high level of the first tier.

The second way to increase his strength is to make full use of the "dragon's blood" in his possession.

Because if he could really use this source blood to stimulate his mental power again, his mental power would be greatly enhanced.

As a result, the attack power of the innate witchcraft mental shock will surge again.

Moreover, the power of the vengeful spirits you summon will increase dramatically.

The same applies to the Blood Bone Golem.

That's how necromancers work; as their own strength increases, the strength of their summoned creatures also increases.

It seems he needs to speed up his research and find a way to identify the rank of this source blood as soon as possible. What kind of creature's source blood is it?

Only then can I proceed with the next step of my plan.

For three consecutive days.

Richard spent far more time at headquarters than usual.

He spent part of his time studying the book "Intermediate Puppetry Knowledge". Since Richard already had experience in making Phosphorus Combat Puppets at the Proficiency level, he found it easy and efficient to learn by combining theory with practice.

During the other part of his time, Richard was researching methods for testing high-level source blood.

Unfortunately, there is absolutely no record of any source blood knowledge beyond the third tier in the Grey Dwarf Brotherhood's archives.

Richard also inquired about high-level source bloodlines from members of several other large wizarding organizations in Tug City through Gorkan, but to no avail.

It seems that behind the high-level source blood, there is a huge mastermind that has erased all relevant information and methods.

The highest-level knowledge about source blood that can be found in the archives is about the identification methods and utilization techniques of third-order source blood.

After several days of study, Richard has mastered the identification of first and second-order source blood.

Richard already had a basic understanding of the principles behind identifying third-tier source blood. He also had some ideas about methods for identifying higher-tier source blood. The next step was to put them into practice.

"Fingart, use all of this to purchase live, level three wizard apprentice level monsters." Richard handed Fingart a bag of magic stones.

Don't be fooled by the bulging bag; it's mostly filled with ordinary magic stones, with a small number of intermediate magic stones as well.

This is all the magic stones Richard currently has after covering his daily expenses.

The number of monsters that can be purchased is roughly the same as last time, only three.

"Yes, Master." Fingart slowly withdrew.

In fact, Richard earned magic stones quite quickly. Basically every day, he would take on one or two potion-making or bomb-making tasks within the Grey Dwarf Brotherhood.

The next day, he was able to gain a lot of contribution points and magic stones.

Therefore, for Richard, the magic stones are something he can get again tomorrow if he uses them up today; it's just that he doesn't get many each time.

One reason is that Richard deliberately concealed his shortcomings.

Secondly, it's because he devoted most of his time to studying and research.

The alchemy room on the second basement level.

Over the course of several days, Richard had accumulated more than 20,000 energy points by continuously acquiring and killing monsters.

However, this also made Fingart stand out from the crowd, since very few people would purchase live monsters in such large quantities as Fingart, especially monsters at the level of a third-level wizard apprentice.

It's not that Richard doesn't want to acquire higher-level monsters, such as those at the level of formal wizards.

Instead, monsters of this level are worth at least ten times more than monsters at the level of a third-level wizard apprentice. Currently, Richard's biggest obstacle is that he doesn't want to sell his other possessions.

It wasn't that no one was unaware of Fingart's existence; however, the investigation later revealed that Fingart was actually a servant of Levi, a rising alchemist in the Grey Dwarf Brotherhood, which left no room for doubt.

You should know that many potions use monster organs.

Or it could be an essence extracted from the blood, cerebrospinal fluid, etc. of monsters.

Of course, most importantly, Richard was fortunate to have the title of alchemy master!

Richard brought up the Inspiration Panel [Skills]: Tier 3 Source Blood Check Witchcraft Array (Entry-level 47%)

Now he plans to try to deduce the next level, or even a higher level, source blood verification method by raising the third-level source blood verification array to its limit.

[Host has been detected practicing a third-tier Source Blood Verification Spell. Do you wish to consume energy to gain inspiration for the third-tier Source Blood Verification Spell?]

Richard didn't hesitate to drag the slider all the way to the right and select "Yes!"

With a dizzying sensation, Richard's soul arrived in the dream space. This time, he came to an alchemy room with all kinds of utensils. In the center of the room, a blurry figure was bending over, carefully drawing something on the ground.

[Ding! The host has reached the limit of mastering the third-tier Source Blood Verification Spell Array, triggering the design inspiration for a higher-tier Source Blood Verification Spell Array. You now possess the higher-tier Source Blood Verification Spell Array (9% beginner level)!]

Richard was both surprised and delighted!

Unexpectedly, after I was promoted to a formal wizard, the intelligence level of the Inspiration Panel seemed to have improved slightly.

He vaguely remembered that when he was a wizard apprentice, if he wanted to create a new level zero spell, the Inspiration panel would give him a drop-down menu to choose from.

Now, I rely more on my own repeated attempts and diligent research in the dream space.

In the dream world, as long as you try and work hard in a certain direction, after hundreds or thousands of times, you will make breakthroughs and achievements in that direction.

Of course, this is on the premise that you have enough relevant knowledge and energy.

This is exactly the opposite of everyone else!

For the vast majority of wizards, rich imagination and creativity are the most valuable qualities.

But I have my own inspiration panel, and for me, the most important thing is to study hard, pursue knowledge relentlessly, and accumulate enough knowledge.

The accumulation of knowledge is like firewood, and inspiration is like a flame. The more firewood there is, the more intense and scorching the flame will become after it is lit!

As the massive detection array drawn on the ground flashed with a dazzling red light, a huge black, two-winged dragon phantom began to appear above the array.

Even though it was just a phantom, a faint dragon's roar could be heard, as if it were a sovereign ruling the world, with an incomparably majestic aura.

"Hiss! It really is Black Dragon Origin Blood!"

However, perhaps due to the impure source blood, the phantom was not lifelike, but rather slightly blurry.

This can be easily determined by the fact that Richard could not clearly see the scales on the black dragon's body or the features of its head.

At the same time, above the giant verification magic array, there was a very faint phantom of a four-legged extraordinary creature lying on the ground. It was so faint that it could only be barely identified as a creature similar to an earth dragon.

In addition, there was a lot of black smoke, which roared and transformed into various extraordinary creatures.

While observing the shapes, clarity, and duration of the various afterimages, Richard took out a quill pen and quickly jotted down a line of text:

"A mixture of Black Dragon blood (Black Dragon blood accounts for approximately 68%, blood from a certain type of Earth Dragon Beast accounts for approximately 29%, and unknown blood accounts for approximately 4%)."

"You should know that the black dragon is a legendary creature. Only those extraordinary creatures that have surpassed the third rank are called legendary creatures, that is, the fourth rank! This powerful ancient creature has long since disappeared into the vast river of history."

"According to records, the last black dragon with a clear record in the Grey Dwarf Brotherhood's archives was more than two thousand years ago, and it disappeared without a trace after a brief appearance."

"Even now, many wizards are still diligently searching for traces of these legendary creatures, which has even led to the formation of numerous sects, such as the famous Dragon Worship Cult."

As Richard toyed with the murky black dragon blood in his hand, his thoughts wandered, recalling many legends about dragons from the Darklands.

After a moment of stunned silence, Richard turned his gaze back to the source blood in his hand.

Although this source blood was only the size of a fingernail and not very pure, it was enough for Richard to use.

Richard recalled that, according to a record in the Grey Dwarfs' database...

After using the blood of a second-tier Earth Bear to stimulate mental power, it directly promoted a first-level gray dwarf wizard to the middle level of the first level. Of course, the bloodline residual period was also as long as three and a half years.

"From this perspective, if I can successfully activate my spiritual power using this mixed black dragon blood, my strength can at least reach the high level of the first stage."

"However, we still need to find a way to solve two problems!" Richard sighed.

In fact, if Richard were given a fist-sized piece of pure black dragon blood, which, as the blood of a legendary creature, would be at least at the terrifying level of the fourth rank, Richard would be completely unable to use it.

In the current situation, the mixed black dragon blood in Richard's hand contains energy roughly equivalent to the blood of a third-tier transcendent being.

If Richard could find a way to ignite it and use it to stimulate his own mental power, the effect would be self-evident.

Richard was confident he could quickly master the third-tier witch array, essential for activating the source blood, thanks to the Inspiration Panel. However, the third-tier igniter—the Heart of Flame—was exceptionally troublesome.

That's the core of a third-tier fire-based extraordinary creature!

I haven't heard of any wizarding organization in Tug City having this thing.

It does!

If you can't find it in the Grey Dwarf Brotherhood's contribution point exchange list, other wizarding organizations are probably not as strong as the Grey Dwarf Brotherhood, so they likely won't have it either.

Although Richard had never met the leader of the Grey Dwarf Brotherhood, he knew that the leader was only a high-level second-tier Grand Wizard.

The goal is to kill a third-tier fire-type superhuman creature that has the advantage of terrain in the scorching environment of the Scorched Earth Secret Realm.

I'm afraid even if three association leaders go, they won't return.

That's difficult.

Gee!

Just as Richard was pondering this.

"Knock knock knock!" A loud knocking sound came from outside the alchemy room located on the second basement floor!

This immediately made Richard frown.

What are Fingart and Gorkan up to? They said not to let anyone bother them, so why are they still doing this?

"Li Wei! My brother!"

A familiar loud voice came from behind.

"Hahaha! We've struck gold! This new rye beer is unbelievably delicious!!"

Dessol had just barged into Richard's villa with a lot of noise, and when he learned that Richard was in the alchemy room, he rushed straight down, and Fingart and Gorkan couldn't stop him.

Richard opened the door and, sure enough, it was Dessall, carrying several bottles of beer in black glass containers.

This must be the new type of rye beer.

Richard smiled broadly as he looked at the elated Dessol.

At the same time, I thought to myself:

"The magic stone I've been waiting for has finally arrived!"

(End of this chapter)