Skeleton

Although Roland was eager to return to the manor, the continuous wild exploration and battles had left him physically and mentally exhausted.

If he were to start his journey back in this state, he might not be able to cope with any unexpected situations.

Furthermore, as it was getting late, for safety reasons, Roland decided to rest for a day in Pine Wood Town and set off the next morning.

Lying on the soft bed in the inn, Roland finally had the time to open his Profession Panel for a closer look.

When he noticed the changes in his attribute column, he couldn't help but let out a soft sound of surprise.

"Strength and Agility both increased by 0.2?"

After some thought, Roland gradually found an answer.

Compared to the previous battles with monsters, the biggest difference this time was that his opponents were Winged Kobolds.

Although he had encountered Blood Scale Kobolds in the village before, the combat methods in both encounters were completely different.

In the previous battle with the Blood Scale Kobolds, Roland had relied mainly on Peyton and John to hold the front line, with him delivering the final blow.

However, when facing the Winged Kobolds this time, due to Theresa's injury, he single-handedly bore at least seventy percent of the monsters' attacks, making it a direct confrontation.

"It seems..."

Roland mused, stroking his chin, a hint of realization flashing in his eyes.

"Compared to daily training, real combat where life and death are on the line has a much more significant effect on attribute improvement."

As his gaze slowly moved down, Roland noticed that behind the "Ecological Scholar" bonus, triggered by Learner and Hunter, a conspicuous exclamation mark had suddenly appeared.

"This is... I've obtained Ecological Notes?"

As he silently recited this in his mind, the transparent panel before him suddenly changed.

Three-dimensional models of Kobolds and Goblins appeared out of thin air, vividly displayed before him.

Each model was accompanied by detailed text descriptions below.

"Kobold, a cave-dwelling reptilian humanoid."

Following the concise species introduction, the notes also detailed the Kobolds' strengths and weaknesses.

Most striking was that the weak points were clearly marked in bright red on the 3D models.

"This is..."

Roland's gaze shifted to the left.

The Ecological Notes for Goblins also included complete 3D models, detailed descriptions, and weakness analyses.

He carefully compared the contents of the notes with the information he had gathered during the actual combat and couldn't help but nod slightly.

"The information in the notes not only aligns with what I observed during combat but is even more detailed. This means..."

Roland's eyes lit up.

"If I can collect the Ecological Notes for a certain type of monster, I can deal with them more effectively the next time I encounter them. This is indeed a very practical bonus effect!"

"It's a shame... I had to kill at least a hundred Goblins and dozens of Kobolds to trigger the Ecological Notes for these two types of monsters. It seems the trigger rate for Ecological Notes isn't very high."

Shaking his head with some regret, Roland exited the Ecological Notes and browsed through his Profession Panel again. After confirming there were no other changes, he closed it.

Lying on the soft bed, Roland's thoughts involuntarily drifted back to the perilous battle with the Winged Kobolds, his brow furrowing.

With his current strength, although he could defeat such mutated monsters alone, the process was not easy.

Firstly, the battles often required prolonged engagements, consuming a lot of energy.

Secondly, his primary means of attack still relied on the Combat Skill [Momentum Slash].

However, this move also carried considerable risk.

If he hit successfully, he could naturally heavily injure or even kill the enemy.

But if he missed and entered a brief state of exhaustion, he wouldn't have time to dodge the monster's counterattack.

"And..."

Thinking of the significant difference between the Blood Scale Kobolds and the Winged Kobolds, Roland's expression became even more solemn.

"It seems Mr. Bronson was right. As the Magical Essences gradually recover, these monsters are also constantly evolving, or rather, regaining their former peak strength."

"First, there were Blood Goblins that could cast magic, and now there are winged Kobolds. This indicates that these mutated monsters are not isolated cases. It's likely that as time goes on, more and more powerful mutated monsters will appear..."

Thinking of this, Roland clenched his fist, his heart already made up.

"I must improve my strength as soon as possible!"

"Currently, the only remaining conditions to transfer to the [Warrior] profession are max-level combat skills and attribute requirements. After returning to the manor, I can use the [Preparation] Trait and daily training to gradually achieve this, it will just take more time."

"Besides that, I also need to practice my horsemanship skills diligently to see what new professions and bonuses I can unlock. And the plan to learn Cantrips and those mysterious characters from Mr. Bronson cannot be delayed..."

"I wonder how the research on that kind of spell pattern is progressing."

As his thoughts swirled, Roland's eyelids grew heavy.

Unconsciously, his breathing evened out, and he drifted into dreamland.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Roland opened his eyes.

He nimbly rolled out of bed, washed up quickly, and went downstairs to eat a simple breakfast with a few copper coins. Then, he mounted Black Wind and galloped towards the manor.

There was no conversation along the way. By noon, the familiar silhouette of the manor finally came into view.

Seeing this, Roland's tense nerves finally relaxed completely.

He gently pulled the reins to slow his horse. After passing the guards' routine inspection, he smoothly entered the manor.

After settling Black Wind in the stables, Roland first went straight to the blacksmith shop to report his safe return to Hawk. Then, he hurried to that secluded wooden house.

But this time, as soon as he reached the door, before he could even raise his hand to knock, the mottled wooden door creaked open from the inside.

Bronson's face, even thinner than usual, poked out, with fanatical flames flickering in his sunken eye sockets.

"Ha! Roland!"

He excitedly waved his somewhat skinny arms.

"I knew it was you just by your footsteps! When did you get back?"

Without waiting for an answer, he stepped aside, making way, and eagerly beckoned.

"Come in quickly! My research has made another major breakthrough!"

Roland was long accustomed to Bronson's occasional eccentric behavior, so he didn't say much.

As soon as he stepped inside, Bronson's incessant chatter filled his ears.

"I made some minor adjustments to the spell patterns, guess what? The speed of absorbing magic elements has tripled! Of course, the cost is reduced storage capacity for magic elements, but it's totally worth it."

Ignoring the gesticulating Bronson, Roland cautiously surveyed the surroundings.

After confirming it was safe, he closed the door behind him and then decisively swept the scattered parchments on the table aside.

"No! Roland!"

Bronson clutched his head and let out an exaggerated wail.

"Those are all my hard work! How could you..."

His complaint stopped abruptly because Roland had already untied the leather pouch at his waist.

"Bang!"

With a slight muffled sound, the pouch was spread open on the tabletop, revealing a mysterious, jade-white skeleton inside.

"This is..."

Although he hadn't touched it yet, as a scholar who had studied in the tower, Bronson keenly sensed the unusual aura emanating from this bone fragment.

"Do you remember what I mentioned before, about the giant creature's skeleton found in the forest that the Blazing Sun Church and the kobolds were fighting over?"

"You mean..."

"That's right, according to my deductions..."

Roland had traveled non-stop, not resting for a moment.

Feeling his voice become hoarse, he unfastened his water skin and took a long drink.

Casually wiping the water droplets from his chin, he let out a long sigh and said slowly.

"This bone fragment is very likely part of that giant creature's remains."

"I..."

Bronson's Adam's apple bobbed, his voice slightly hoarse with excitement.

"Can I examine it closely?"

"Please do."

Roland leaned back tiredly in the wooden chair, trying to shake off the fatigue of his journey.

"In fact, I was hoping to use Mr. Bronson's professional knowledge to identify the true origin of this bone fragment."

Upon receiving permission, Bronson immediately stepped forward, not even bothering with the parchments he called precious research materials scattered on the floor.

He carefully picked up the bone-white fragment, held it up to his eyes, and examined it with complete concentration.

Silence fell upon the wooden house.

A moment later, Bronson suddenly trembled with excitement, his voice involuntarily rising.

"This bone fragment, it actually..."

Noticing Roland's gesture of placing his index finger to his lips, the somewhat frantic scholar abruptly lowered his voice, but the fervor in his eyes undiminished.

"It stores magic elements internally!"

Roland, who had anticipated this, was not surprised. He calmly asked.

"Similar to the spell patterns you're researching, or magic solidified crystals?"

"No, no, no... it's still somewhat different."

Bronson held the bone fragment with both hands, examining it repeatedly.

"As I said before, magic crystals only exist within monsters and are purely disposable consumables. While my spell patterns can continuously draw magic from the environment, their effectiveness is greatly reduced without a suitable carrier."

He suddenly closed his eyes, his fingertips slowly tracing the rough texture of the bone. After a moment, he opened his eyes, an expression of disbelief on his face.

"But the magic element absorbed by this bone... its purity is even higher than my spell patterns."

"And even while carrying magic elements of such high purity, this bone shows no signs of damage whatsoever."

Realizing this phenomenon, Bronson couldn't help but mutter to himself, his tone a mixture of shock and unwillingness.

"But how is this possible? A piece of biological remains, yet it can surpass the spell patterns I've studied for years?"

Roland, hearing these words, had a flash of brilliance in his eyes, ignoring Bronson's self-pity.

He stood up and moved forward, tapping the bone lightly with his finger.

"Dong!"

Amidst the dull resonance, he licked his dry lips, his voice filled with barely suppressed excitement.

"Mister Bronson, perhaps... we could try inscribing spell patterns onto this. What do you think?"