The Ten Sephiroth, Card of Wind

Rhode certainly had no intention of abandoning the fat merchant. On the contrary, the reason he left was only to check his spoils of war.

In the previous battle, Rhode gained a lot of experience, but not many spoils of war. Although for players, the crashed airship before was a treasure trove, and there were so many dead people, their belongings must have been considerable. However, Rhode eventually dismissed the idea. After all, they had saved his life. It would be too much to search their bodies after they died.

Although experience was precious, what made Rhode feel he had profited was something else. It was the black raw stone he held in his hand at that moment. According to the Dragon Soul Continent, this was a Soul Core formed when a creature with powerful magic died. Its properties were rich; it could be used as a gem to be inlaid into weapons, melted down to forge soul weapons, and for spellcasters, it was also an excellent material for crafting magical items. Furthermore, the drop rate of Soul Cores was very low, so their price in the world of the Dragon Soul Continent had always been high. For a Summoning Swordsman, they had an irreplaceable role.

Because this was the treasure needed to awaken a summoned spirit.

At this moment, Rhode stood deep in the dense forest. He raised his right hand, and the Soul Core, the size of a walnut and exuding a strong dark aura, lay quietly in his palm. The surroundings were tranquil and gentle. Midnight moonlight filtered through the leaves, scattering into dappled light that illuminated the ground and bushes. Then, the summoning array on the back of Rhode's hand flashed again, and the streamlined magical glow quickly spread out. Next, a line of system prompts appeared before Rhode.

[Detected a corrupted Soul Core. Do you wish to purify it?]

"Purify."

Soon, pure white radiance reappeared from the summoning array on the back of Rhode's right hand. It flowed along his fingers like water, enveloping the Soul Core in his palm. As the holy power invaded, the wisps of black mist that originally entangled the Soul Core melted away like snow under the sun, disappearing without a trace. As the black mist dissipated, the Soul Core that had been enveloped finally revealed its original appearance—transparent, emitting a sapphire glow, trembling slightly like an egg-shaped gem. It seemed to sense something and was struggling to break free.

[Ectoplasm Core has been purified. Do you wish to awaken it?]

"Awaken."

With Rhode's words, the trembling of the sapphire egg-shaped gem intensified. Then, with a soft "crack," the entire egg-shaped gem shattered. Following that, streams of blue power, like flowing water, erupted. They spun and intertwined rapidly, transforming into the form of a card, which finally lay quietly in Rhode's hand.

A cool, comfortable sensation spread through Rhode's body, causing him to shiver with pleasure. At that moment, Rhode learned what kind of existence had signed a contract with him. He picked up the card. The front depicted a green Spirit Bird with wings spread, soaring in the sky. In the upper right corner was a cyan semicircle (representing the card's attribute), and in the upper left corner was written "v." The bottom left and right corners displayed two small numbers—2. Rhode flipped the card, and soon, shining magical text appeared on the back.

[Soaring Soul Bird (Wind Element Attribute): A fusion-type spirit that can fly. Has a 10% chance to trigger paralysis and penetration effects upon attacking. Ineffective against magical defenses—Possesses Skill: Spirit Wind Phantom (A child of the wind that soars in the sky, area-of-effect skill)]

[Obtained Sky Deck 1/10, Soaring Soul Bird]

What good luck.

Rhode couldn't help but smile. A flying summoned spirit was one of the essential spirits for an early-game Summoning Swordsman. Moreover, the wind element attribute allowed it to pass through items without magical attributes, meaning ordinary defenses were meaningless against it. Coupled with its 30-meter effective range and special effects, Rhode could at least guarantee he wouldn't encounter too much danger. Even if he accidentally encountered mutated bosses, he was confident he could fight them.

However, what frustrated Rhode the most was his attributes. To this day, his Strength, Constitution, Agility, Will, and other attributes remained hidden, which made Rhode uneasy. Although this was his own body, the state it exhibited far surpassed what Rhode's own body should be capable of. He had already determined that his attributes were definitely above human levels, but this inability to precisely grasp his body's condition felt terrible. You think you're going to die, but you don't. That's a beautiful misunderstanding. But if you think you won't die and then you do, that's a damn nightmare. Since he couldn't see them, Rhode could only rely on his experience to guess and muddle through.

Through the previous battle with the Wind Serpent Lord, Rhode had a rough idea. After all, he had studied the information of the Wind Serpent Lord as a boss in detail. Judging from the previous combat situation, his Strength should be comparable to a standard, legitimate swordsman, and his Constitution was quite formidable. At least since arriving in this world, despite several crises, Rhode's body seemed to have withstood the tests, with his physical condition never dropping below "alert" and never reaching "critical." As for speed, it was similar to that of a normal human. But when it came to Will, Rhode couldn't test it—he couldn't find a mage to cast mental spells on him and see how many he could withstand.

Just then, a faint sound came from the bushes. Rhode's eyebrows twitched. He lowered his right hand, and the glow of the summoning array on the back of his hand instantly dimmed. The card he had been holding turned into specks of magical dust and disappeared. Once sealed into a card and its relationship with the holder confirmed, the sealed card would no longer appear in its physical form. It would quietly slumber within the "Ten Sephiroth" rings on the Summoning Swordsman's summoning array on the back of their hand, waiting to be awakened and used by the holder. Currently, only two cards were sealed within the lowest ring of the outer six rings, the "Kingdom" ring—the attribute-less "Star Trace" and the wind-attribute "Spirit Bird."

Rhode did not intend to reveal too much of his abilities in front of others. Although it was introduced in the game, the Summoning Swordsman was an exclusive player class that once existed in the distant ancient era of the continent. Players were the sole inheritors of this profession, embarking on a journey to find and revive the glory of this once-heroic profession—of course, this was all game lore nonsense. To put it more practically, judging from Lize and Mace's expressions, Rhode was certain that these people had no idea such a profession existed, so it was inconvenient for him to say much. Moreover, maintaining a certain sense of mystery was not without its benefits.

Just as Rhode turned around, Lize emerged from the woods.

"Lize? Is there something you need?"

"Ah... no, nothing, Mr. Rhode."

Lize shook her head, but her expression was somewhat uneasy.

"Um... I just wanted to ask, how is your injury? Is there anything I can do..."

As she spoke, the girl's voice grew softer and softer. She clutched the hem of her long robe tightly, appearing incredibly fragile at that moment.

In fact, Rhode had also noticed Lize's unusual behavior. Mace could discern her traits because, as a merchant, he had traveled extensively and would have been swindled long ago without keen observation. Rhode, on the other hand, could see through her personality due to his experience as the guild leader of the largest guild in the Dragon Soul Continent game. Unlike reality, players in online games were hidden behind their avatars, making their behavior more secretive than in real life. In such an online world, to consolidate collective strength, one needed to be very perceptive. Most players came to the game to have fun, not to treat it as work. Asking them to log in on time, raid dungeons, break records, and achieve accomplishments—these things were difficult to manage without a good balance. Therefore, for a guild leader like Rhode, being able to observe the emotions and inner thoughts of his companions was extremely important.

Now, Lize's behavior clearly indicated a lack of reliance, which made the girl very, very uneasy. Rhode could further see that losing her companions had hit her hard, not just because familiar people had left her, but also due to her anxiety and fear for the future. During the previous battle, Rhode had also taken the time to observe the girl. Everything she did at that time was excellent. She could cast healing spells on her companions in the shortest possible time and quickly dispel the poisons they suffered. The protective shield she cast on Rhode at the end was calculated down to the second. For a support class, such skill could be considered quite outstanding. Moreover, she was full of confidence and had clear goals at that time, not hesitating or showing fear despite facing danger.

But this trembling girl now had completely lost her former confidence.

There was only one reason.