Devouring Magic Blade

"You killed the Corpse Demon."

"You gained 20 XP."

"You gained 37 Xia Yin Value."

"Processing Extermination Order rewards..."

"You obtained the feat—Mana Growth—from the Corpse Demon. After evaluation, this feat has been determined to be an invalid feat. Convert it into a valid feat?"

Huh? The Extermination Order's effect was actually stealing the feats of those he killed?

Roger was slightly surprised.

Mana Growth was an excellent feat in itself. It could increase a spellcaster's mana pool.

But the Hidden Hero class didn't even have a mana bar, so naturally, it was invalid.

He decisively chose "Yes"!

"You obtained a new feat—Devouring Magic Blade."

"Devouring Magic Blade (2nd Ring Feat): You may designate one weapon, granting it the 'Magic Devouring Weapon' trait in close combat."

"Magic Devouring Weapon: Each attack has a 1% chance of permanently stealing the enemy's mana and storing it. Once the mana is full, it may unleash 'Magic Explosion Strike' (Magic Explosion Strike causes considerable damage to the weapon itself)."

Permanent mana depletion? That's way too targeted.

This feat absolutely can't be allowed to become known to anyone else!

Seeing this feat, Roger's first reaction wasn't delight, but vigilance!

Just like absolute Magic Resistance, the existence of Devouring Magic Blade would also cause panic and hatred among mages.

Once exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable!

After careful consideration, he still chose to designate Red Moon as his "Devouring Magic Blade."

The reason was simple.

Normally, by the time he needed to use Red Moon, things had already developed to the point of no return.

At that time, Roger only needed to consider how to kill his enemies.

Thinking back, the words on the message board hadn't deceived him after all.

The Hidden Hero class really had been designed to counter mages.

It just so happened that Mystra had a terrifying number of mages.

Even the monsters running rampant in the wilderness were seventy or eighty percent spellcasters.

Roger felt as if he were a fish back in water.

"We did it!"

The instant Roger cut down the Corpse Demon, the spells it had cast lost their effect.

The Pool of Corruption automatically dissipated, and all the Skeleton Soldiers were banished back to the Netherworld. The battlefield, which had seemed somewhat cramped, suddenly became empty.

Dorothy immediately dropped the shield and sword in her hands and ran over, tightly embracing Roger.

"Thank you!"

"We finally avenged Kane—boohoo..."

At first, her words were still relatively clear, but gradually, they were overtaken by sobbing.

Roger gently stroked her hair without saying a word.

The other Adventurers also hugged one another in celebration.

When it was over, they gathered around Roger and quietly waited.

Dorothy's sobs gradually stopped.

"Don't try to throw me into the air."

Roger warned them.

Several young people looked at one another. One fat man reacted quickly and immediately laughed.

"Then can we throw Dorothy instead?"

Dorothy wiped away her tears. Her expression returned to normal, though her eyes were badly swollen.

She glared at them and put on the authority of a leader.

"Stop fooling around."

"This place is very close to the Land of Buried Bones. Dangerous monsters might appear at night, so we need to find a safe campsite immediately."

"We need to start heading back!"

The young people shook their heads in disappointment.

But they also knew Dorothy was right.

The Corpse Demon was dead, but that didn't mean this place was absolutely safe.

"Don't worry. I've already found a campsite."

Terry stepped forward with a hearty laugh to smooth things over. "I had the scouts keep an eye out earlier."

"Less than an hour's walk from here, there's an abandoned safe house the Lord's Manor once built for the mine. We can camp there tonight."

Dorothy nodded. Uncle Terry's arrangements were always reassuring.

The group quickly cleaned up the battlefield and prepared to begin their return journey.

Just then, however, Roger suddenly stopped them. "We're leaving just like this? We don't want the Corpse Demon's spoils?"

"Spoils?"

Dorothy looked around. "What spoils?"

"Shouldn't the Corpse Demon's possessions be in its lair?"

Before she had finished speaking, she realized it herself. "Wait. If it migrated, then it must have brought all its possessions with it."

"But we didn't find anywhere it could have hidden them!"

That was what the others couldn't understand, either.

They had even searched the tunnel, only to find a dead burrowing worm. The Corpse Demon had used the Absolute Domination Curse on it, causing the burrowing worm to be buried alongside it when the Corpse Demon was reduced to ashes.

As for the rest of the battlefield, there was even less that looked capable of hiding anything.

Roger didn't keep them guessing. He pointed at the dark outline in the distance.

"Just pick a few people to drag that thing away later."

"I'll bet that once we reach a place where we can camp, it'll give you a surprise."

The group looked in the direction he indicated.

It was none other than the Flesh Golem that the Corpse Demon had inhabited.

The night wind swept past.

The Flesh Golem's corpse had a belly that rose and fell. Suddenly, something glinting with silver light fell out.

Two hours later, near a safe house at the Southern Mine.

The blazing bonfire illuminated everyone's faces, and joy was written all over them.

The successful expedition was certainly an important reason, but the spoils found inside the Flesh Golem's belly were what had truly ignited the mood.

The Corpse Demon had been extremely cunning.

The Flesh Golem had been not only its dwelling place, but also its little treasury.

Roger had looted a large amount of spoils from the Flesh Golem's belly.

The first category was currency.

The Corpse Demon had once been a mage from Gem City. Although it had lived in the wilderness all these years, it still possessed considerable wealth.

Roger counted it up. There were 58 Silver Horns and more than 6,000 Copper Coins!

Using the conversion rate of one Silver Horn being roughly equal to 100 Copper Coins, that amounted to 11,800 Copper Coins.

That was truly an astronomical sum.

After discussing it with the others, Roger and the group ultimately settled on a three-seven split.

Roger would take seven, and the rest would take three.

In fact, he hadn't intended to take that much at all.

But Dorothy and Terry insisted in unison that a three-seven split was the bottom line.

Everyone knew perfectly well that without Roger, they would never have had a chance to defeat the Corpse Demon—not to mention forcing it to reveal its true form.

"Dividing it this way is already taking advantage of you!"

Once Dorothy had put it that way, Roger stopped refusing.

In truth, the others had also played a major role in his defeat of the Corpse Demon.

The Hidden Hero's strength lay in one-on-one combat, while the Ten Years One Sword trait meant that a Hidden Hero who didn't make a move was the most formidable of all.

If the others hadn't risked their lives to clear away obstacles for Roger, he might not have been able to reserve his first three moves for the Corpse Demon.

In that case, Eye Cut's power would have been greatly reduced.

This battle had actually been a mutual achievement.

Next came the Magic Scrolls and Magic Books.

The distribution plan remained three-seven.

Considering the journey ahead, Roger decided to give up part of his cash in exchange for all the scrolls and books.

These items were highly valuable, but it would be difficult to sell them for a good price in Tongma Town.

Gem City, on the other hand, supposedly had a very mature market for magical artifacts. He might even make a small profit there.

Since Roger had made the offer, the others were naturally happy to do him a favor.

Soon.

After paying 2,700 Copper Coins, Roger had another stuffed-to-the-brim backpack in his luggage. It contained seven Magic Scrolls and four Magic Books.

"Hm?"

While organizing his backpack, Roger accidentally found a piece of gilt-edged stationery tucked inside one of the Magic Books.

It was an invitation.

There were only two lines of elegant writing on it:

"I cordially invite you to visit my alchemy garden. September 14, Star Dome Platform. Please be sure to attend!"

What stirred Roger's emotions was the signature below—

"Vilan, Grand Lord of Lubei County."

"Vilan... Mage Vilan."

"So it really was him."

Roger's emotions were complicated.

He was somewhat shocked, yet also somewhat relieved.

At that moment, he finally understood why the name and vertical pupil on the cover of the Book of Extreme Evil had seemed so familiar.

Velenus was Vilan.

And Mage Lord Vilan...

was the final boss who had tormented Roger for nearly a week before his transmigration!

(1)

Note 1: See "001: 164,250 Magic Explosion Frogs."