After Sister Luna left, Li Wen logged off to take care of her physical needs. Only after returning did she begin studying the things she had bought from Old Sem.
These materials consisted mainly of animal and plant tissues, along with common natural ingredients such as ores. Most contained no magic power. Only a few, such as dried Mandrake Grass, Red Myrtle leaves, and Unicorn Toad poison glands, were common magical ingredients.
However, these were already enough for Li Wen's needs. Basic and lower-tier rituals emphasized versatility, and most materials could be substituted for one another.
Looking over the materials, Li Wen decided to enchant her weapon first.
Enchanting rituals existed across all major lineages. In ancient times, when humans smeared paint on shields and blades or drew totems upon them, hoping to gain protection and strength to defeat their enemies, they had already mastered this craft.
A ritual called Bone-Corroding Poison Blade was especially suited to her current circumstances. It could grant poison enchantment to bladed weapons, and its main ingredients could be prepared by combining a Unicorn Toad's poison gland with myrtle juice.
The advantage of poison enchantment over simply coating a weapon in poison was that the enchanted toxin was more potent, acted faster, and was easier to carry. Once the enchantment expired, the weapon itself would not be affected.
More importantly, the ritual's steps were extremely simple.
The only difficulty lay in preparing the composite toxin used as the main ingredient. Old Sem's materials already included a processed semi-finished product, so Li Wen only needed to combine it roughly.
Bone-Corroding Poison Blade (Calamity Nightmare)
Knowledge—Ritual—Bestowal (Duration)
Required: 2 Magic Power, 1 ounce of composite toxin, 1 bladed weapon
A technique once used by the Wild Hunters of the Northern Lands. They beseeched the King of the Wild Hunt to bestow deadly poison upon their swords and spears. It was said that the poison could easily corrode even bone.
Grants the target weapon [+1 Sharpness] [+1 Corrosion] [+1 Deadly Poison]. The weapon is treated as an extraordinary weapon of the same grade. Duration: 30 days.
Step One: Prepare a smooth, level surface of sufficient size. Use beast blood to draw the cross-shaped Ritual Array [Pre-Hunt Rite] upon it.
Step Two: Place prey as a sacrificial offering at the top of the cross-shaped array to please the Wild Hunt; place the weapon to be enchanted in the center; place the composite toxin for the enchantment at the bottom; draw the symbol of the King of the Wild Hunt on the left; place beast teeth, fur, and skulls on the right to strengthen the connection (optional).
Step Three: Beseech the King of the Wild Hunt!
Li Wen acted at once, simply mixing the two ingredients together before directly beginning to draw the Ritual Array on the floor.
She had originally intended to use her own blood as the drawing material, but after slicing open her finger with her shortsword, the wound healed itself before long.
This...
Li Wen looked at her status panel. Melt into Light still had more than a dozen hours remaining. She had never expected the "wounds heal slowly" described by this status to be so powerful.
With no other choice, Li Wen could only speed up her drawing. Every time the wound healed, she cut herself again. After repeating this several times, she finally completed the Ritual Array, Pre-Hunt Rite.
Li Wen placed the shortsword at the center of the Ritual Array and the bottle of poison beneath it. On the right, she placed fur. In the slot above for the sacrificial offering, she set down a shriveled one-eyed mouse corpse, another material collected by Old Sem.
Finally came the symbolic design on the left side of the array. Li Wen drew a crown resembling a wolf's head.
After all the preparations were complete, Li Wen closed her eyes, clasped her hands in prayer, and repeatedly murmured the honorific name of the King of the Wild Hunt along with hunting blessings from the peoples of the Northern Lands.
At some unknown repetition, a chill ran through Li Wen's entire body, and the howling of wind and snow reached her ears.
She seemed to be standing amid the ice and snow of the Northern Lands, where night lingered eternally and no human life could be found. Only death and cold endured forever. Noisy footsteps sounded all around her. They clearly did not belong to humans or any creature known in the Mortal World. They were as ethereal as spirits in the snow, yet when they stepped through the blizzard, they burned like roaring flames.
Li Wen could clearly sense them drawing near. She could even smell the scent of blood and death that clung to them.
These were the hunting hounds of the King of the Wild Hunt. When the night of eternal winter descended, they hunted through the Mortal World in place of their king.
Now, they were observing Li Wen, seemingly considering whether the human before them could serve as food. But after sensing traces of Radiance upon her, the hounds quickly grew disgusted and disdainful, then hurried away.
The ice and snow vanished with their departure.
Li Wen opened her eyes and shuddered violently.
She glanced at her status panel. Her health had actually fallen to 67%, and a new status, "Frostbite," had appeared. While reducing her speed by 20%, it also drained 1% health per minute for 5–10 minutes.
This was the power of the Calamity Nightmare lineage. Even if a ritual succeeded, it could inflict unpredictable harm upon its practitioner. No one could avoid it.
Yet likewise, the greater the price, the greater the reward.
Bone-Corroding Poison Sword (30 Days)
Weapon—Dagger—Extraordinary (Blue)
A bladed weapon crafted by a professional artisan and bestowed with a terrifying deadly poison capable of corroding even bone. Even a mere scratch was enough to kill.
Enchantment: Sharpness Lv. 1, Corrosion Lv. 1, Deadly Poison Lv. 1.
With this enchanted weapon, Li Wen now had the strength to fight even a mage from the Sunday Secret College.
But that alone could not ensure victory.
The Bone-Corroding Poison took too long to act, and her opponent was a mage who had embarked upon the Path. Li Wen might not be able to hold out until the poison took effect and killed them.
Therefore, Li Wen still needed something that could truly secure victory.
Li Wen turned her attention to the status panel.
"Melt into Light." This was the temporary status Li Wen had gained when advancing to Supplicant. It allowed her wounds to heal slowly, and its effect was remarkably obvious. In just this short time, her health had already recovered to 68%, even accounting for the damage caused by frostbite.
The magical materials she had obtained from Old Sem were nearly depleted, but as an experienced player, Li Wen knew well that statuses obtained through rituals and carrying residual power could also be consumed as ritual materials.
Give up a temporary health regeneration buff in exchange for a ritual that could save her life at a critical moment.
Li Wen had already made her plans.
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