Blood Vine Ring, Spirit Gathering Grass

Sunan sighed and shook his head, not dwelling on it further.

No matter what, he had the Synthesis Cube and the player panel, two incredible advantages. He would never end up like Angus MacLean.

Setting down the diary, Sunan picked up another one.

To his delight, this diary contained Angus MacLean's experimental records on the Blackrock Panther.

It detailed the entire process of crafting a Blackrock Panther.

"With these experimental records, as long as I use the books on the shelf to unlock the Puppet Crafting Skill, I can try crafting a Blackrock Panther!"

A delighted smile appeared on Sunan's face.

The Blackrock Panther was a knight-level puppet. It was loyal, dependable, and fearless in battle—an exceptional source of combat strength.

If he had a batch of Blackrock Panthers at his disposal, his safety would be much more assured when he went out to search for materials in the future.

After putting away the two diaries, Sunan picked up the ring.

The dull gray ring looked like a cheap trinket hawked by a roadside vendor, utterly unremarkable.

Yet in Sunan's perception, the ring resembled a miniature black hole, constantly devouring the Energy Particles drifting through the air around it.

"A Magical Item!"

Sunan's eyes lit up.

He had not expected Angus MacLean to have left behind a Magical Item.

Sunan glanced back. Seeing that everyone else was still outside, he discreetly opened the Synthesis Cube and placed the ring inside.

A line of text soon appeared before his eyes.

Blood Vine Ring (Alchemy Grade/Sub-Magical Item): Once activated, can summon blood vines to bind a designated target and continuously drain a small amount of the target's vitality. Uses remaining: 3/3. Uses can be restored by infusing Spirit Power or automatically absorbing ambient Energy Particles.

"Not bad. A very practical effect."

Sunan nodded to himself.

Magical Items were divided into ranks.

The lowest rank was Alchemy Grade, also known as Sub-Magical Items.

This type of Magical Item usually possessed only a single enchanted property.

For example, Dimensional Bags and Space Rings.

Or enchanted weapons with properties such as sharpness, bleeding, Black Steel, and so on.

Though they were merely the lowest-ranked Magical Items, their power was still considerable.

Taking the Blood Vine Ring as an example, Sunan estimated that even a Peak Knight would likely be unable to break free once bound by the blood vines.

For a Wizard Apprentice like him, a Sub-Magical Item was undoubtedly exceedingly precious.

Of course, if he wanted to use the Blood Vine Ring, he would have to wait until he advanced to a Level Two Wizard Apprentice.

Only after gaining a preliminary ability to manipulate Energy Particles could one activate a Magical Item.

Above Alchemy Grade were Glimmer Grade Magical Items, also known as Low-Grade Magical Items.

Magical Items of this rank usually possessed multiple magical properties and were far more valuable than Alchemy Grade Magical Items.

Even a Level Three Wizard Apprentice would be overjoyed to obtain one.

Above Glimmer Grade was Magic Grade.

This rank consisted of true Magical Items, also known as wizard artifacts.

Wizard artifacts usually possessed at least one magical power that could be invoked, and their might was astonishing.

Generally, only formal wizards were qualified to possess wizard artifacts.

As for Magical Items of even higher ranks, Sunan guessed that not even a single one existed on the present-day Starlight Continent.

In fact, in the game from his previous life, wizard artifacts above Magic Grade did not appear until Wizards' Return, version 2.0 of the game.

"I remember that quite a few Sub-Magical Items and Low-Grade Magical Items seemed to have been left behind across the Starlight Continent in version 1.0. I should have Big Brother keep an eye out for them."

Sunan pondered silently.

That said, unactivated Magical Items looked no different from ordinary objects to normal people, making them difficult to identify.

Even if he asked Kei to keep watch for them, it probably would not be of much use.

Still, it was better than nothing.

Sunan put away the Blood Vine Ring and looked at the last two wooden boxes.

Opening the larger one, he found three leaves, each about as long as an index finger.

They looked somewhat like clover leaves, except they were entirely bluish-purple, crystalline and lustrous like leaf-shaped gemstones.

"This is... Spirit Gathering Grass!"

Sunan recognized the leaves at once, his eyes widening in delight.

He immediately placed the leaves into the cube.

Spirit Gathering Grass. Purity: 29.28%. Consuming it can slightly increase Spirit Power. The exact effect depends on the consumer's Spirit Power; the higher the Spirit Power, the weaker the effect. Ineffective for those with Spirit Power of 12 or above.

"Spirit Gathering Grass that can increase Spirit Power!"

"Angus MacLean really was willing to spend—"

Halfway through his sentence, Sunan suddenly realized that, as a Level Three Wizard Apprentice, Angus MacLean's Spirit Power had definitely exceeded 12. Spirit Gathering Grass was useless to him, so it was only natural that he had not valued it.

"Even better. Now it benefits me."

Sunan happily closed the wooden box and opened the other one.

What met his eyes were over thirty gleaming gemstones.

"Sapphires, rubies, Fire Opals, Aura Stones, Moon-Pattern Stones..."

Sunan clicked his tongue in amazement.

Together, these gemstones were definitely worth more than a thousand Gold Coins.

"Good stuff."

After some thought, Sunan decided to keep the gemstones for himself.

With the batch of Blackstone Iron in the warehouse and the Blackstone Mining Area about to reopen, Blackstone City should not be short of money for a long time to come. There was no need to sell these gemstones for Gold Coins.

More importantly, gemstones were also precious materials to wizards.

Valuable gemstones were not merely for viewing or decoration.

In the hands of wizards, gemstones could serve many purposes.

For instance, they could be used as casting mediums to cast certain special spells.

Sunan remembered a spell school called Gem Magic, whose casting mediums were all kinds of gemstones.

This spell school was famously expensive.

Every spell consumed a gemstone, costing anywhere from a dozen Gold Coins to over a hundred Gold Coins.

Wizards without substantial wealth simply could not afford it.

Correspondingly, the spells of this school were also astonishingly powerful.

A first-circle Burning Hand could be enhanced to nearly the level of a third-circle spell by using a ruby as its casting medium!

Because of this, practitioners of this spell school were famous for being immensely wealthy and skilled at challenging opponents above their level.

Besides serving as casting mediums, gemstones were also commonly used materials in the creation of Magical Items.

The most common example was a magic staff.

Inlaying different types of gemstones into a magic staff could grant it specific magical powers.

Additionally, gemstones were often used as the energy cores of puppet constructs.

Many Wizard Apprentices who could not afford Soul Crystals would settle for gemstones as energy cores instead.

In short, gemstones had countless uses. Unless absolutely necessary, Sunan could not bear to sell them.

After checking the drawers, Sunan thoroughly searched the other corners of the room. Regrettably, he did not find anything else of value.

"Forget it. I've already gained plenty of good things this time. I can't be too greedy."

Sunan let out a long breath, put away his things, and left the room.

During the time he had spent in the study, Kei had already sent someone to notify the soldiers waiting outside. They had brought in carts to transport the black iron ingots, and the hall was now bustling with activity.

When Kei saw Sunan emerge, he did not ask what Sunan had found inside. Instead, he pointed at the laboratory and asked, "Do you want the things in there? If you do, I'll have someone carry them to your courtyard."

"No need." Sunan shook his head.

Several decades had passed. Even the magical traps had failed, and the Puppet Crafting equipment inside had long since been damaged beyond repair. Fixing it would be useless.

Besides, Angus MacLean's experimental records contained the relevant equipment blueprints. If he needed them in the future, he could simply have the blacksmiths in the territory forge a new set.