Hidden Dangers

Iz said, "When exploring a dungeon, mastering a means of illumination is essential."

"Repeat after me."

"Light that illuminates the world, granting all things their colors."

He was not speaking the common tongue.

It was the language of magic.

Along the way, Iz had taught Lu Cang a great deal about magic.

Only then did Lu Cang learn that spells were chanted in a separate, specialized language.

[Root Language]

Only by chanting spells in this language could one communicate with mana, resonate with the elements, and cast magic.

Only a very small number of people could cast without chanting.

Such people either possessed extraordinary talent for a certain type of spell, or had practiced that spell tens of thousands of times and studied it to the utmost extreme.

Lu Cang followed his words and chanted.

Lu Cang said, "Light that illuminates the world, granting all things their colors."

Iz said, "I pray to Zhuya for a little light to illuminate the road ahead."

Lu Cang said, "I pray to Zhuya for a little light to illuminate the road ahead."

Huh...

This chant somehow felt different from the chants for other spells.

Pray to Zhuya?

[Illumination Technique]

Ding—

A spot of bright light floated above Lu Cang's head.

Illumination Technique (LV:5)—Chant shortened

"Iz, in this spell's chant..."

Bang!

Before Lu Cang could finish his question, a ball of flame exploded beside his ear!

The searing heat made Lu Cang instinctively gather ice elements around himself to block it.

It canceled out the heat wave.

He whipped his head around.

Only to see a bat, reduced to charcoal, fall to the ground.

Iz's expression turned somewhat grave. "Lu Cang, we have already entered the dungeon."

"Dungeons are places where magical creatures gather."

"Letting down your guard in a dangerous place is behavior that could cost you your life."

Lu Cang swallowed and nodded. "I understand, Master Iz."

This world had no status panels, nor did it have any specific values such as "HP" or "constitution" for Lu Cang to inspect.

Lu Cang did not know how strong his body was, but from the looks of it, aside from his greatly increased mana, his physique was not much different from when he had first crossed over.

An ordinary person's body would truly die if pierced by a sharp blade.

He had to change his mindset...

This was no longer a peaceful place without magical creatures. If he was killed here, he would really die.

Lu Cang took a deep breath.

He looked ahead again.

Then he suddenly realized that the countless black silhouettes reflected above on the rock wall were not shadows cast by the light.

They were black bats, one after another.

Sensing Lu Cang's gaze upon them, they spread their wings one by one, revealing blood-red eyes.

"Shadow Bats live in dark caves. When they remain still, they blend perfectly into the shadows."

"They are among the weakest first-tier magical creatures. They can be found in the vast majority of cave-type dungeons."

"They attack by biting with their fangs and sucking blood."

"They carry weak germs, but priests of the Life Church can easily cure the disease, so their infectiousness is generally not considered in combat."

Iz explained from beside Lu Cang.

"Elite Shadow Bats can attack with sound waves, while king-level Shadow Bat Kings often serve as dungeon lords."

As he explained, Iz tossed over a wand.

Lu Cang caught the wand in his hand.

It was the slender wand he had used for Lightning Strike Technique yesterday.

Bats?

Fire attacks would do.

Fireball Technique (LV:80)

Whoosh!

With a light wave of his wand, five scorching fireballs formed around Lu Cang!

Boom!

Boom boom boom boom boom!

Almost instantly, the fireballs slammed into the rock wall.

Before the bats could even take flight, they were reduced to charcoal and fell.

Fireball Technique proficiency EXP +12,000

Fireball Technique proficiency EXP +12,000

Fireball Technique proficiency EXP +15,000

The fireballs erupted!

Flames splashed outward!

Explosions!

The flames detonated in succession. Before the Shadow Bats along the way could launch an attack, they were swept clean away by the fire.

Not a single bat could withstand one explosion from a fireball.

Killing these monsters with spells also granted proficiency!

And it seemed that this proficiency was not a one-time gain.

After clearing out this group of bats,

Lu Cang had actually gained 680,000 Fireball Technique proficiency. Fireball Technique rose from level 80 to level 82.

Yet a sigh came from Iz beside him.

"What a pity..."

"You burned these bats into charcoal."

"Otherwise, their corpses could have sold for quite a bit of money."

So there was such a consideration.

"Still, it is normal for the corpses of magical creatures to be damaged in the process of killing them."

"Besides being a level 5 Warrior, Chicheng is also a level 3 gatherer."

"He usually collects all our supplies. If you explore a dungeon without a gatherer accompanying you, the gains from Spoils of War will be greatly reduced."

So there were professions divided up like this.

Looking at it that way, a gathering profession really was necessary.

"Still, this trip is mainly to help you break through your mana limit."

"It does not matter if we get fewer Spoils of War."

Lu Cang nodded.

He continued deeper into the dungeon with Iz.

At the same time, Lu Cang casually practiced [Illumination Technique].

Illumination Technique (LV:30)—Shortened chant, longer duration, gentler light source, illuminates more shadows, dispels darkness.

Illumination Technique was different from other spells.

Even after reaching proficiency level 30, it still required chanting.

But he only needed to silently recite the word "Light"

to cast it.

Illumination Technique still felt somehow more special than the other spells.

The level 30 Illumination Technique was like a shadowless lamp. Within its range, there were no shadows whatsoever.

As they explored deeper, they encountered only several dozen scattered bats.

After killing them all, he gained another five hundred thousand or so proficiency experience.

But this time, Lu Cang used Wind Blade Technique.

That way, he could leave the corpses behind.

Although they had been sliced into pieces, at least they were not charcoal.

Their value had probably gone from zero to one.

Iz stored the magical creatures' corpses in his storage space.

They continued deeper.

Then the space suddenly opened up. The cave instantly became much taller, and Lu Cang could see many protruding rocks on the rock walls.

It was like countless barbs had grown from the inside of an upside-down bowl.

If his Illumination Technique had still been low-level, the light shining on those protruding rocks would have created deep black shadows.

At that very moment, behind those protruding rocks stood pitch-black Black Panthers.

"Black Panthers hiding in the shadows, huh."

Lu Cang could easily imagine what would have happened if he had not possessed a high-level Illumination Technique.

He would most likely have been ambushed by these things.

Lu Cang raised his wand.

He swung it!

Ice Cone Technique (LV:90)

Bang!

The Black Panther's eyes widened, revealing an expression of disbelief.

Its abdomen had already been pierced through by a sharp, spinning Ice Spike.

After piercing through its body, the Ice Spike struck the rock wall, scattering blood and frost.

Seven Ice Spikes pierced through seven different Black Panthers.

Whoosh!

Almost in the next instant, the Black Panthers hiding on the rock wall pounced down fiercely.

However, their numbers were now severely depleted.

Between striking first and striking later,

the offense and defense had already switched.

They were fast, but not fast enough for his eyes to fail to follow.

And while they were in midair,

Lu Cang raised his hand again.

Ice Spikes formed once more in an instant... the air, where they had nothing to brace against, was nothing more than a field of live targets.

Bang!

In midair, five Ice Spikes instantly pierced through their chests, abdomens, and skulls.