Continuous Gains

"This is too good!"

"Senior Roy was right, these mermen aren't very wary, it's a huge opportunity!"

The morale of everyone who had achieved victory soared.

But now was not the time to be happy. They quickly butchered the mermen, collected the pearls, and handed them over to Roy for safekeeping.

Then, they rode their horses, continuing upstream while seizing the time to rest, adjust, and re-enter the fray.

Night travel was inconvenient, but humans, with their balanced characteristics, had an advantage over the mermen, who had some night blindness. They soon succeeded repeatedly, acquiring three Sorcerer Fish Pearls.

This was a massive haul!

Even exchanging it for about a thousand Magic Stones, as they had in the past, would be a waste.

This was because the Wizard Tower had recently implemented a support policy for low-level and intermediate apprentices, allowing them to obtain some primary materials for Mage Body Modification that were not part of any Inheritance.

This was more than enough to create three senior apprentices, who, with a little accumulation, would be no less than Potterning and the others before they mastered witchcraft!

Even without the talent and aptitude to grasp Spell Models and temporarily become advanced apprentices, they might still be able to reach that position in a few years through accumulated time.

In addition, there were Magic Pearls, Blood Corals, mutated fish scales, Elite Warrior Fish Pearls…

A large pile of various materials was captured, conservatively estimated to be worth over seven or eight thousand.

Not to mention, the mission itself also had rewards!

All these, accumulating from small amounts, made for a considerable quantity.

Even though Roy had already been promoted to advanced and could no longer distribute the spoils equally, they would still receive a substantial harvest.

Realizing this, everyone's blood boiled with excitement, and they became more driven than ever.

"The fifth Sorcerer Fish Pearl!"

Soon, time came to the afternoon of the next day.

The group encountered and annihilated two more merman tribes.

Unconsciously, their coordination became more seamless, and their harvest naturally became more bountiful.

"Everyone has been fighting for so long, you must be tired. Let's rest for a while."

After another fierce battle, Roy had Renion and Andov go to a nearby high slope to keep watch. The others sat down to rest temporarily.

He himself sheathed his longsword and tidied his hair, letting out a long sigh of turbid air. "Has anyone else noticed that there are more and more mutated mermen?"

Everyone agreed, "Yes, this tribe, with only a hundred or so members, actually has more than 10 Elite Warriors. This ratio is a bit abnormal!"

"It's probably the radiation pollution from the Chalk Country..."

"The monsters are getting harder to kill...

We were able to succeed this time by ambushing them. If we encounter tribes with even more Elite Warriors next time, we could be in danger!

And..."

Roy mused inwardly, casting his gaze to the side.

Renion, Andov, Nia, and others had also entered the fray.

One by one, they had sustained injuries.

If it weren't for the various salves produced in the tower and the rapid effectiveness of Healing Potions, they would have already lost their combat effectiveness.

But even so, everyone was clearly exhausted, and the various potions and supplies they carried had been depleted.

They had almost no remaining combat capability.

"It's time to call it a day! Our rations and clean water are almost gone, and all our Mild Healing Potions have been used up, leaving only a bit of salve."

Hearing this, everyone was momentarily stunned.

Then, a strange sense of reluctance to part with their current success washed over them.

"Let's quit while we're ahead!"

Roy, however, was clear-headed.

This time, it was he who persuaded everyone not to push their luck further.

"Let's leave this area completely before those large groups of monsters truly notice us!"

Everyone had no choice but to agree.

However, a day later, they suddenly discovered several corpses on the riverbank ahead.

Although they were tired, they had been laughing and chatting due to their great harvest and were in a relaxed mood. Seeing this, they immediately became vigilant.

Renion cautiously approached to scout. "They're Intermediate Apprentices from the tower, and they haven't been dead long, not even since this morning!"

Aimo and Tigro exchanged glances and said grimly, "These wounds... they must have been inflicted by that merman sorcerer we talked about, the one that can discharge electricity!

It must be nearby!"

Discharge electricity...

This is a common way of putting it.

Roy guessed it was a mutated Merman leader that had mastered some powerful lightning-based spell.

He dismounted and examined two of the bodies, which were blackened by lightning.

"The lightning energy didn't cause much damage to the surrounding terrain, and these two looked agile enough to dodge slow, orb-like elemental attacks...

It should be a spell like 'Electric Claw' or 'Lightning Bolt'!"

Even within the same lightning element, there are many specific spells.

'Lightning Shock,' 'Electric Ball,' 'Electric Claw,' 'Thundercloud,' and so on, are all common.

Monsters like Merman Sorcerers definitely can't learn and master spells through witchcraft or arcane means.

It's more likely they use their bloodline.

So, there's a more than 70% chance it was 'Electric Claw' or 'Lightning Bolt.'

Roy pondered for a moment, "Search the surroundings for any signs of Mermen standing.

These monsters always secrete a fishy slime, so if they stop to cast a spell, they should linger in one spot."

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly began searching the area.

Sure enough, Andov soon made a discovery, "There are dried slime marks on the rocks over here! And a strong fishy smell!"

Roy went over to examine it, "This must be tens of feet, almost a hundred feet."

A foot in the Wizarding World is about 0.3 meters, meaning the attacker killed these people from twenty to thirty meters away.

"It must have been that Merman Sorcerer! It was too strong; when it just pointed into the air, our leader was gone!"

Aimo and Tigro recalled the events with a touch of fear.

"That lines up. The only issue is, a true 'Lightning Bolt' is a Level 1 spell, likely requiring dozens of degrees of spell power."

Roy concluded.

"It's possible its bloodline isn't strong enough to cast the complete spell, but its spell-like ability is enough to mimic its form!"

He thought for a moment, then used his longsword to cut open the victims' chests and abdomens, frowning as he looked.

"Just as I suspected, the internal organs aren't completely burnt...

The spell power should be in the single digits!"

This was similar to their previous assessment. That Merman Sorcerer was likely a Lord-level monster, stronger than a leader but weaker than a hero.

"So, there really is a mutated, powerful monster roaming around here..."

"What if it suddenly attacks us?"

"Being able to attack from such a distance is truly dangerous!"

Everyone looked worried, feeling jumpy and seeing enemies in every shadow.

The atmosphere around them grew tense.