Becoming an adventurer by copying monster abilities

Time passed quietly amidst the ruins of the abandoned quarry, and about an hour went by.

Murphy's busy schedule finally came to a halt.

The vocal cords of the Banshee of Terror are unlike those of ordinary creatures; they are more like a semi-transparent membrane woven from pure negative emotions and magic.

Under Murphy's command, the shield-wielding female warrior, wearing specially made gloves, gently took out all the cut materials.

It was soaked in a viscous silver liquid along with the heart that had been removed earlier.

The containers were then wrapped in special leather and finally stuffed into a small wooden box.

Such a complicated process can provide a certain degree of activation, minimizing the rapid decay of the demon creature's flesh.

The wooden box, along with other miscellaneous valuable materials, together made up a package of only average size.

This saved Luke a lot of space.

It would indeed be very troublesome to make him carry the entire corpse of the Banshee back.

"Alright, my matter is settled."

Murphy patted the lid of the wooden box with satisfaction, stood up, stretched, and looked at Luca, who had been standing quietly to the side.

"Take out the item you want me to examine and let me see it."

Without hesitation, Luke took off the bronze ring that exuded a cold, metallic feel and handed it over.

So many days have passed, and the ring still retains its ancient and lifeless appearance, without any change.

After Murphy took the ring, he first carefully examined the patterns on its inner ring in the dimming light.

Soon, her eyes, which had been somewhat languid, narrowed slightly.

Then, her long robe was suddenly lifted up as if by an invisible gust of wind, fluttering loudly.

Luca was able to clearly perceive the violent turmoil of magical particles in the surrounding space.

The magical elements floating in the air converged towards the ring in Murphy's palm, centered on her.

It's also a first-level spell, the Appraisal spell.

However, the magical power that Murphy displayed was worlds apart from that of the dwarf appraiser at the Adventurers' Guild in Ryan City.

the reason is simple.

Luca already knew that any combat technique in this world, after a long period of time, would develop into countless variations.

Spells are no exception.

Murphy, who usually enjoys tinkering with strange and unusual things, has a level of expertise in appraisal that far surpasses that of a regular spellcaster.

She was using her own proprietary version, which she had heavily modified and upgraded to improve the spell rings:

【Identification Techniques - Modification (Ring Enhancement)】

Based on the original spell framework, it greatly enhances the ability to detect, analyze, and infiltrate encrypted magical items.

After a moment, Murphy's robe fell silent.

"An extremely ingenious magical circuit, combining spatial magic and transformation magic. Moreover, I also sensed a faint element of divine power."

She gently picked up the bronze ring, and her words immediately revealed her expertise.

"The sealing encryption system isn't particularly complex, but aside from cracking the magic circuit, this ring seems to require a certain amount of charging before it can be used."

Luke nodded: "This is a relic from a long-sleeping guide. This ring reacted when we encountered the death aura of the undead before."

"The one who guides the long sleep? No wonder."

Murphy fiddled with the ring, a knowing look on his face:

"The divine power circuits on these should be the shackles that need to be charged. Only those guys who worship the King of the Dead like to use divine power to tinker with these strange and weird things."

Murphy may seem a bit lazy, but he's decisive and efficient in his work.

Having taken on this task that sparked her strong academic interest, she immediately decided to find a quiet place to conduct in-depth deciphering.

By this time, it was getting dark.

This abandoned quarry naturally became the temporary rest camp for this high-level squad tonight.

On an open ground not far away, dwarf warriors and elven rangers were dealing with the remaining monster corpses in the quarry.

In reality, it's just piling up those twisted, deformed, and gruesome corpses of the cowardly demons, pouring some accelerant on them, and burning them to ashes.

For an elite squad of their caliber, carefully concealing the stench of living creatures' blood was of little use.

The dangerous aura emanating from them, befitting high-level professionals, makes even the more intelligent, high-level monsters in the forest wary.

At least on the outskirts of this Sunset Forest, no foolish creature dares to provoke them.

Murphy walked side by side with a burly woman named Hannah who carried a giant shield.

I prepared to enter the cluster of stone houses not far away and find a quiet place to start working.

Seeing this, Luke followed suit.

Reaching the largest stone house in the center of the complex, he prepared to push open the door and check on the weakened mage named Archie and his unfortunate teammates.

After all, the other party had promised to give him a reward.

Unexpectedly, Hannah was the first to push open the door and walk in.

As you walk along the stone corridor into the room, the stench, a mixture of excrement and blood, seems even stronger.

The group, including Archie, remained huddled in the dark corner of the stone house like frightened quails.

His condition has visibly worsened.

The Banshee's three indiscriminate "Screaming of Fear" were like tangible mental blades.

Each time, the penetration becomes stronger.

Even though they hid behind the thick stone walls, they still suffered the terrifying aftershocks of the mental storm.

Several ordinary adventurers without professional ranks had already lost their lives in extreme fear.

Archie's two teammates remain gripped by fear.

Even Archie himself was dazed, his mind not yet fully clear.

Hannah, who is over two meters tall, strode forward.

With a loud clang, the incredibly heavy shield was slammed onto the hard stone floor.

Then, under Luke's astonished gaze...

This female warrior, who was like a giant, actually clasped her calloused, thick hands together in front of her chest.

Close your eyes and begin to chant a solemn prayer in a low voice.

Soon, a soft yet powerfully vibrant white light emanated from her broad, rough palm.

The light dispelled the chill inside the stone house and bathed the three survivors.

As the holy light soothed them, the three people's ferocious and distorted expressions gradually eased.

His convulsing limbs slowly calmed down, and the unfocused look in Archie's eyes gradually faded, replaced by a clear-headedness that came after surviving a disaster.

Luke then noticed the tall woman who was wearing full plate armor, carrying an exaggeratedly large shield, and had a flail at her waist.

He was actually a pastor?

Perhaps it was because Irene's first impression on him was too profound, Luke always felt that priests were like mages, fragile spellcasters who needed protection.

However, it now seems that there are differences among pastors as well.

I recalled the muscular priest Wyatt I had met at the Church of Dawn.

Then look at the woman in front of you, whose strength and physical attributes are probably not much lower than those of a warrior or a barbarian.

It seems that priests in this world may use physical means to spread their doctrines, in addition to using magic to convert enemies.

Of course, despite their different fighting styles, it's clear that this priest also belongs to the good side.

She must have been the one who saved these people before, and this time she rushed back and specially used her divine magic to heal them.

"Hannah, is everything sorted out?"

Murphy's slightly disgusted urging voice came from outside the stone corridor, clearly indicating that the spellcaster could not stand the overly strong stench in the room.

"alright."

Hannah responded in a deep, resonant voice.

After confirming that the others were not in mortal danger, she effortlessly lifted the giant shield with one hand, turned around, and strode out.

Murphy found a reasonably clean room, set up a soundproof barrier, and began to focus on deciphering the ring.

Hannah, wielding a giant shield, acts like a bodyguard, protecting Murphy's safety.

The three, who had been healed by divine magic, probably because they had been in a state of mental shock for too long, fell into a coma after regaining some of their sanity.

Luke had nothing to do for a while, so he decided to go out and check on how the dwarves were cleaning up their battlefield.

Even with the packages he was going to carry back, there was still extra space in his luggage.

There are many demons in the quarry who died from the mental attacks of the Fear Banshee, their bodies still intact.

If I can bring one or two more back with me, I can make a little extra money.

This could also be seen as a way to slightly heal the emotional wounds inflicted on him by this adventure...

"The Leaf Pond we're going to this time is supposedly a swamp, so be careful."

Why?

"It doesn't matter to us, at most the mud will be up to our thighs, but I'm afraid you'll drown."

"****! (Dwarven slang)"

Outside, the elves and dwarves were still bickering.

The two seemed to be at odds, but they didn't stop working on moving the corpses of the fearsome demons.

Luke did not interrupt their friendly exchange, but instead walked over to the still unprocessed corpse of the coward not far away.

Just like buying vegetables at the market, picking and choosing among these ugly pieces of meat.

...

As night fell, the night wind swept across the abandoned quarry, raising wisps of smoke that carried the smells of sulfur and rotting flesh.

Murphy's decoding work is not over yet.

Having dealt with all the demon corpses, the three sat in front of the campfire, chatting to pass the time.

Luke also learned from their previous conversation that the dwarf's name was Akin and the elf's name was Dane.

"After this commission is completed, I should start working on the trial mission to advance to the extraordinary level."

The dwarf Yakin roasted jerky and took out a jar from his pocket, smearing it with a golden, viscous liquid.

It looks like a honey-based condiment.

Although everyone, including Luke, had already eaten the fruit created by the Elf Ranger's Divine Berry spell.

But clearly, this dwarf, whose width is almost as great as his height, also wants a late-night snack.

"Come on, you haven't even touched the threshold of the extraordinary yet, and you're already thinking about this kind of thing?"

The elf Dane curled his lip in disdain as he wiped his longbow.

"You don't know anything! I'm just thinking about how to get promoted when things fall into place, then you can cling to my coattails!"

Yakin swallowed the honey-coated, glistening jerky in one gulp, glancing at Luke with his mouth full:

"Hey kid, have you already figured out your path to transcendence? Don't listen to that elf, how could an immortal being understand our sense of urgency about the future, especially humans? It's best to plan ahead as soon as possible!"

The scene they had seen in the quarry led the team to believe that Luca's level must be quite high.

It can solo a level 6 challenge monster without sustaining any injuries.

It would take an adventurer of at least level 7 or even 8 to do this.

Although Luca was considered very weak in their observation, both in terms of physical strength and magical energy fluctuations.

However, they did not underestimate him because of this; instead, they thought that Luke had some ability to disguise his strength.

That's why the team members were so nervous when Luke reached for the letter of recommendation.

But when they learned that Luke's job level wasn't even level 3.

The two people by the campfire widened their eyes in surprise.

The dwarf standing nearby nearly choked on a piece of meat that was stuck in his throat.

"You mean, your job level is only level 2?"

The dwarf swallowed the piece of meat with force, his voice becoming several decibels louder.

Luke nodded, making no attempt to hide anything.

Given the other party's strength and level, if they wanted to show hostility towards me, no amount of bluffing would be effective.

It's better to tell the truth before the other party sees through you.

"Are you kidding us?"

The dwarf looked at Luke suspiciously.

It turns out that his previous observations revealed that the other person's unsteady steps and weak muscles were not feigned, but genuine.

Of course, this is all based on the dwarves' own combat strength as the standard of judgment.

If Luke were placed in the tier of level 2 professionals, he would definitely be at the top level.

The elf Dane, standing nearby, then raised his own question:

"So how did you manage to kill that banshee all by yourself?"

This question is actually somewhat offensive.

After all, no adventurer would reveal their secrets to others.

It still involves details regarding combat capabilities.

But this is really too strange.

A level 2 human adventurer single-handedly killed a demonic creature from the bottomless abyss with a challenge level of 6.

Even if such words were spoken, they would be regarded as the nonsense uttered by a drunken bard lacking common sense.

Luca was indeed unable to recount the details of his battle to the two of them.

I could only manage a sheepish smile to brush it off:

"Just lucky."

The dwarf and the elf exchanged a glance, clearly not believing Luke's words.

How does one get lucky?

Does the Banshee suddenly lie on the ground and stick out her neck for him to cut?

But they couldn't get to the bottom of it.

The three people in front of the campfire fell silent for a moment.

Fortunately, the awkward atmosphere didn't last long.

A chillingly intense fluctuation of magical particles emanated from the nearby buildings.

Under the curious gazes of the three, Murphy and Hannah slowly emerged.

She casually tossed the ring to Luke, who was some distance away, and Luke quickly reached out and caught it.

Murphy's face showed a slight weariness, but more so a smug expression:

"The craftsman who made this ring was definitely a master of magic, but it seems I'm still a cut above!"

Luke looked into his palm.

Under the light of the moon and the campfire, the patterns on the inside of the bronze ring were no longer calm.

At this moment, a faint glow of color is flowing through it...