The Third Fragment

After the golden light faded, the three Flick Swords vanished. In their place was still a single Flick Sword. Diya took it out of the Horadric Cube. Its style had not changed much from before the synthesis, except that it looked sharper and tougher.

"Its quality has risen by one grade," Radish's voice rang out. Diya's heart stirred. The original Flick Sword's quality had been upper white grade, so if it had risen by one grade, it was now peak white grade. In that case, each synthesis by the Horadric Cube improved things by a fairly limited amount.

Moreover, it had consumed quite a bit of Diya's spiritual power—nearly one-fifth of all of it. Such an enormous consumption startled Diya greatly. The Flick Sword was still only white grade, and it was not large either, yet a single synthesis like this required so much spiritual power. One could imagine how terrifying the spiritual power consumption would be when synthesizing higher-quality items.

With a bitter laugh, he realized that relying on the Horadric Cube to earn a large sum of money in a short time did not seem very possible. Rubbing his temples, Diya ended his conversation with Radish, opened the door, and walked out.

"Nataya, let's go stroll around the streets today," Diya said. He had already decided to go outside, take a walk, and clear his head. While he was at it, he could see if there were any good things he could buy, synthesize, and resell. Although it was only an increase of one quality grade, the price would rise severalfold, so it would not count as a loss.

The main street was bustling and lively, people coming and going in a dense, noisy crowd. Everywhere one looked, many mercenaries could be seen moving quickly along the streets, either alone or in groups. There were also places where people had gathered, discussing something.

As Diya walked past, he faintly heard the four words "Phantom Thief Jeanne," and could not help recalling what the mercenaries had said when he entered the city earlier.

"Nataya, do you know Phantom Thief Jeanne?" Diya asked tentatively.

"I do, sir. As long as someone is a resident of Luo City, they all know Phantom Thief Jeanne. He's amazing," Nataya said, her eyes blinking, filled with admiration.

"How amazing?"

"Phantom Thief Jeanne appeared half a year ago. Every time he appears, it's when Red Moon is full, and after successfully taking something, he leaves behind a flower and a card. The card has Phantom Thief Jeanne's signature on it. From the time he appeared until now, many people have always tried to hunt him down every time, but not once have they succeeded. They don't even know whether Phantom Thief Jeanne is male or female," Nataya said in a worshipful tone.

"So that's how it is. Phantom Thief Jeanne really is an interesting person. It seems last night was when Red Moon was full," Diya said calmly. The moonlight on Brahma Continent was tinged red, which was why it was called Red Moon, and once every half month, Red Moon would become perfectly full.

"Xiao Li, this Phantom Thief Jeanne has stolen so many times and is so mysterious. There's definitely a mission to capture him, and the reward is probably very high too," Diablo suddenly said.

"Forget it. With my current strength, I really can't afford to provoke someone like that."

"I didn't tell you to catch him. But you can find him, then cooperate with him and steal together, specializing in stealing the nobles' precious items. Wouldn't that let you gather a large amount of gold coins in a short time?" Diablo tempted him patiently.

"Uh..."

Ignoring Diablo, Diya walked side by side with Nataya and gradually arrived at a particular area on Luo City's main street. Why call it particular? Because in a place as large as Luo City, with such a huge flow of people, every shop did extremely good business. It was impossible to find an empty shop. Yet sometimes, some people needed to sell things but did not want to sell them to stores, afraid the price would be pressed down. Others did it out of personal preference.

Therefore, this stretch of area was reserved especially for temporary merchants to set up stalls. The moment they reached this side, all kinds of hawking cries rose and fell one after another, drifting over in waves. All kinds of strange and oddly shaped things were being sold. This place was Diya's destination for coming out today.

Diya looked over the stalls one by one and had Radish come out to help him see whether there was anything good. Although there were many people setting up stalls, most of the items were low-level Magic Cores, crystals without magic power, and even some very strange things that nevertheless had no use whatsoever.

Diya was currently standing in front of one stall. The stallholder was a middle-aged man, sitting silently behind the stall. He wore a long cyan robe. The robe was somewhat old and worn, and on his chest hung an emblem with three wind blades, clearly marking him as a Spirit Grade wind-element magician. He did not hawk his wares like the others, so business at his stall appeared rather bleak.

The reason Diya stopped was because of Radish's reminder. Here, Radish had sensed the aura of a Hell Fragment. Diya's eyes were fixed tightly on an irregular fragment on the stall about the size of a thumb. Its whole body was gray, with a few traces of faint blue contained within.

His gaze became calm. Diya looked left and right, then finally picked up that fragment. Without any change in his expression or voice, he pretended to be curious. "May I ask what this is?" As he pinched the fragment, he felt waves of faint power radiating from it.

"I don't know," the magician said, glancing at the fragment and shaking his head.

"Oh. Then how much are you selling it for?" Diya asked.

"Five gold coins," the magician said only after looking at Diya.

"Look, you don't know what this thing is used for. Isn't asking five gold coins a bit too high?" Diya said with a smile.

"Although I don't know what this thing is, I can feel the power fluctuations it emits. It's a very peculiar power. Its origins must not be simple. Five gold coins isn't expensive," the magician said, shaking his head.

"Since you know its origins aren't simple, why sell it?" Now Diya was curious. Surely this fellow had not become so poor that he had no money left.

"That's my business. Are you buying it or not?" the magician said indifferently.

Diya took out his remaining five gold coins and handed them over, then put the fragment away. His expression was calm, but his heart was already blooming with joy, because Radish had told him that this Hell Fragment was precisely the third Hell Fragment, and it could absolutely be fused. For Diya, who urgently needed strength at present, this was the most pressing thing of all.

"Do you want anything else?" After receiving the five gold coins, the magician's attitude improved a little, and he asked.

"No need," Diya answered. He called Nataya over and quickly headed toward the inn. After returning to his room, he specifically told Nataya not to let anyone disturb him, then immediately slipped into the room and locked the door.

Immediately afterward, Diya swiftly stripped off all his clothes and set them aside, while he himself pinched that fragment. Suddenly, the fragment burned once more, flew above Diya's head, and melted into a liquid that was gray with a faint blue tint, covering Diya again.

His entire body was wrapped in the gray viscous liquid. The liquid kept wriggling, burrowing into his body through Diya's pores and turning into streams of clear, slightly chilly energy that flowed through every part of his body. Another portion of the energy rushed toward his head.

The pain brought by this fusion was far less than the previous two times, both in terms of body and spirit. Enduring that agony which ordinary people could hardly bear, but which was not too serious for Diya, doubt rose in his heart. The energy transformed from this fragment flowed through his body, while another portion rushed up to his head. This was clearly the same as the previous two fusions. Could it be that what this fusion brought was not only an improvement to his body, but also an increase in spiritual power?

Amid Diya's doubts, the fusion was completed. All the gray viscous liquid on the surface of Diya's body disappeared. His skin faintly emitted a soft, crystalline radiance, as if some mysterious power were flowing through it, making Diya feel a burst of comfort from the depths of his heart.