Wizards begin by accessing the Inspiration panel.

Chapter 51 First Signs of the Enemy (Bonus Chapter 1)

This is the power of a mastered Shadow Grip. It can be used to manipulate the shape of the hand with mental energy. Increasing the flow of mental energy can strengthen the grip. It is almost a perfect level zero sorcery.

The only problem is that it consumes too much mental energy. Whether it's changing forms or strengthening grip, it requires extra mental energy.

[Absorbable energy detected, absorb/not absorbable]

"yes!"

[Gained 341 energy points.]

Having used just two spells, Richard felt his mental energy was almost depleted. Before he could savor the thrill of using Shadow Grip to kill an enemy for the first time, he hurriedly began picking up the spoils of war and quickly swung his knight's longsword to cut off the four pairs of legs of the Darkfang Spider.

The dark-fanged spider contains a potent toxin and is inedible, but its four pairs of legs are. After cutting open the hard shell, you can see a long strip of translucent spider meat, which can be eaten raw. It is delicious and nutritious, and many nobles would compete to buy this top-quality ingredient.

Richard also quickly wrapped the spider web that had just been spat out in a piece of linen and collected it. It was Darkfang Spider silk worth at least one magic stone. Although it was not as good as the silk of the Crystal Web Spider, it could not be wasted.

It's a pity he didn't process the spider silk further, otherwise he could have sold it for at least three magic stones.

Not long after Richard left, the corpse of the Darkfang Spider attracted several Swamp Carrion Wolves, and several Carrion Vultures circled overhead.

One of the hunting rules in the swamp is to leave quickly after a successful kill, otherwise the smell of blood will attract a constant stream of wild beasts and even monsters.

Just as Richard was looking for a place to recover his mental strength, he discovered a piece of "dead wood" lying in the swamp twenty or thirty meters ahead. If one did not look closely, it would be difficult to tell that it was alive if it were not for the slight ripples at its tail that revealed it to be a living creature.

That's right, this is the fanged crocodile that Richard was tasked with eliminating!

But having finally encountered a sharp-toothed crocodile, Richard thought for a moment, then took a few steps back and turned to find a place to recover his mental strength.

The two spells he had just cast had left Richard with very little mental energy. Without drinking any potions to replenish it, he could only rely on rest to slowly recover.

After all, Richard's main purpose in coming here was to practice witchcraft, so there was no need to risk exhausting his mental energy by rushing to kill the sharp-toothed crocodile.

Richard kept in mind his previous encounter with the giant swamp crocodile. Danger could arise at any time in the wild, so it was always wise to have some reserves to deal with unexpected events.

Richard found a tree hollow, made some arrangements, placed a warning trap at the entrance, and attached the collected spider silk to the entrance to make it look like no one was there. He then decided to rest there for a while.

But then Richard changed his mind and walked out of the tree hole and began searching around.

A short while later, Richard found another slightly smaller tree hole about 20 or 30 meters behind the previous one. He dug a few holes in it and then stayed there.

The first tree hollow contained the eggs of the Soul-Eating Spider, the skeleton of a knight, and clothing, among other things.

He himself was in the tree hole at the back, and he had also dug several holes the size of a fist at the first tree hole to make it easier to observe.

After making such a cunning arrangement, Richard was finally able to rest a little more at ease.

It took Richard a long time to fully recover his mental strength.

Suddenly, the warning device that Richard had set up in the previous tree hole emitted a faint sound of a pull cord.

"Huh, could it be a small animal?" Richard looked up and, through the hole, clearly saw a tall, thin man in a gray robe standing near the previous tree hole.

"Richard, I know you're in there. Hand over your things now, or else..." Accompanied by that distinctive deep voice, the person who came was none other than Seymour!

Richard's heart skipped a beat. Sure enough, just as he had feared, the Knight family possessed some kind of secret technique or item for tracking spider eggs.

After a moment's thought, Richard had already made up his mind. He secretly began to use his magic to control the knight's skeleton in the previous tree hole.

A moment later, a figure dressed entirely in black robes and wearing a hood appeared in the previous tree hole.

After Seymour called out once, he saw no response from the tree hole, but there was a faint magical fluctuation coming from it. He immediately became alert and cast a dark elemental shield on himself.

Suddenly, he saw a dark figure dart out of the tree hole and run quickly to the right away from him, seemingly trying to avoid him!

This immediately made him burst into laughter, thinking Richard was trying to run away. "Haha, Richard, do you think you can get away?"

Seymour chanted a spell rapidly, and a dark hand suddenly appeared behind the black-robed "Richard." Although the black-robed "Richard" tried his best to dodge and weave, he was ultimately grabbed by the dark elemental hand.

Seymour, manipulating his large hand, grabbed the black-robed "Richard" and pulled him before him, grinning smugly. "The abilities of a second-level wizard apprentice are beyond the comprehension of a first-level apprentice like you! Hand over the item now! I might let you die a quick death! Otherwise, hehe!"

He had an air of complete control about him.

Perhaps because the black-robed "Richard" had remained silent, Seymour was a little puzzled, so he slowly used his oddly shaped, charred short cane to lift up the hood that covered the black-robed "Richard" completely.

Suddenly, a pale white skull appeared before Seymour's eyes!

Seymour was immediately alarmed and tried to retreat quickly, while continuously strengthening his mental power, wanting to crush the fake Richard in the dark element's hand!

But things didn't go as planned!

With a loud "BOOM!", Seymour, despite being weakened by Shadow Grip and protected by a Dark Element Shield, was instantly blasted more than ten meters away.

When Richard saw how well it was going, a knowing smile appeared on his lips!

Although only five bottles of Fire Dance Star and five packs of Silver Moon Dust were placed in the skeleton, the effect so far seems to be quite good.

The explosive power of Fire Dance Star is astonishing, but since it does not contain steel balls or other objects to increase kinetic energy damage, its destructive power is not particularly impressive when used alone.

But if you put a bag of Silver Moon Dust next to it, the effect will increase dramatically!

The silver dust and particles in the Silver Moon Dust are like steel balls. Accelerated by powerful kinetic energy, they are scattered in all directions, causing great damage!

Therefore, even with the double weakening from Shadow Grip and Dark Element Shield, Seymour was still shaken so badly that he coughed up blood, his face was covered in dust, and he felt a faint stinging pain all over his body. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that his face and body were covered with countless tiny eyes, which were slowly oozing blood.

"Damn it! I was actually made to look like this by some new brat who just joined the school! It's an absolute disgrace!" Seymour cursed inwardly, burning with rage.

Just as Seymour was about to get up and fight back, he heard three sharp sounds of weapons whistling through the air!

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(End of this chapter)