Chapter 107: Something Strange

Eighth Rank!

When Veil sensed the pure ice magic contained within the crystalline magic core, he was astonished to find that his own ice magic had advanced to the eighth rank. This meant he had leapt forward four ranks at once, instantly becoming an eighth-rank mage specializing in ice!

Amidst his surprise, the only unexpected thing for Veil was how he managed to leap so many ranks in one go. After all, the heterogenous energy he absorbed was not a pure energy form like the Golden Flame or Jade Grass; the energy contained within was quite limited. For him to undergo such a magical transformation and jump four ranks by absorbing this kind of energy was truly beyond his expectations.

He circulated his senses around his body several times. After confirming that he had sustained little injury, he exhaled deeply and focused all his magic into the Sea of Consciousness, even recalling the fire magic he had been using to ward off the biting cold.

Sure enough, after reclaiming all his fire magic, the piercing chill around him vanished. It seemed that this transformation had granted his body a certain resistance, or perhaps even immunity, to the severe cold of his surroundings.

“I wonder if my body is similarly resistant to extreme heat now?”

Veil suddenly thought. Though this transformation was risky, it inadvertently brought him many benefits. His mood naturally improved. Slowly opening his eyes, he was met with a leering face almost pressed against his own, a pair of sly eyes roving over him.

“Ghost!” Veil screamed instinctively, raising his fist and swinging it at the face.

“Wait, wait! It’s me! … Ouch!”

With a thud, a small figure was sent flying by Veil’s punch. Veil’s face remained vigilant, making a defensive gesture and curling his legs as if still shaken. Yet, just as the small figure hit the ground, a glint of mockery and triumph flashed across Veil’s eyes.

“You brat, what do you think you’re doing!?” Skandoli scrambled up, scolding Veil angrily before glaring at Thassa beside him with a look that clearly questioned why he hadn’t stopped Veil’s punch.

“Er, cough cough… I just, um, didn’t react in time…” Thassa coughed awkwardly, scratching his head. But when Veil heard this excuse, he nearly burst out laughing.

Didn’t react in time? If anyone else tried to use that as an excuse, Veil might have believed it. But coming from Thassa? Who would buy that?

“Deliberate, huh?”

Veil gave Thassa a knowing look, then mischievously winked at Skandoli, clearly saying, “Old man, your character isn’t so great either! See? Karma’s caught up with you.”

Skandoli’s face flushed with a mixture of shame and anger, turning red and green in patches. Fortunately, the old man had a decent temper and simply gritted his teeth before saying, “You two… very well!”

After some time, Skandoli’s complexion returned to normal. He gave Veil a strange glance and opened his mouth as if to ask something.

“Kid, I feel like you’ve grown a bit.”

“Yeah, just advanced in magic,” Veil replied honestly, not hiding anything from Skandoli. He nodded and then seized the opportunity to glance at the old man’s cheek, where a bright red mark stood out against his characteristic green skin—Veil’s handiwork.

Because of earlier events, as the beast tribe’s high priest, Skandoli was still somewhat annoyed. He stood coldly with pursed lips. Thassa, not very talkative by nature, barely spoke unless spoken to, so the atmosphere quickly grew quiet. Veil didn’t mind; he deliberately glanced at Skandoli’s face a few more times, stifling his laughter, stretched lazily, and then found a suitable spot to enter meditation.

As for what Skandoli was thinking at that moment? Veil couldn’t care less. His greatest concern was his exhausted body and seizing every precious second to train. Sleep… for an exceptional mage, was almost a luxury.

………………………

After resting through the night, Veil’s weary body had recovered. After gnawing on a few roots of the Ice Orchid as breakfast, the three set off deeper into the valley.

After wandering for nearly a morning through the foggy, ice-shrouded valley, they finally arrived at its very center.

There stood a vast cavern over three meters tall. Upon closer inspection, it was clear this cave was not naturally formed but rather artificially carved.

Inside, the cavern was spacious beyond measure. Veil stretched his senses to the limit but could not detect the surrounding rock walls. The three proceeded cautiously into the depths of the cave. To be safe, they did not light any fires. Though the cave was pitch black, all three were no ordinary people. For example, Veil could use his senses to detect the surroundings. Thassa relied on his keen instincts to infer the terrain and used his agility to dodge obstacles. As for Skandoli, he was almost uncanny—darkness was meaningless before him, and he knew every blade of grass and stone in perfect detail. Veil half wondered if the old man had some kind of night vision!

After traveling a distance in the darkness, they finally discovered something.

A stone platform about six meters wide, resembling an altar. Surrounding it were piles of rhombus-shaped crystals. Veil picked one up casually and examined it closely, realizing these were not ordinary crystals but extremely rare energy crystals!

Even more astonishing was the sheer number of these crystals—Veil roughly counted and found there were over a thousand!

Over a thousand energy crystals—what an incredible quantity!

Veil’s heart leapt in surprise, which soon morphed into a strange mixture of curiosity and suspicion. He studied the crystal in his hand closely and delved his senses inside it, only to find that most of the energy within these crystals had been consumed, and the remaining energy in each crystal was nearly identical in volume.

His already furrowed brow deepened further.

Had the undead creatures used these energy crystals? No, that was impossible. No matter how clever they were, they were still beast-like creatures whose thoughts and behaviors would never lead them to do such a thing. But then, where had the energy in these crystals gone?

Veil clenched the crystal tightly and examined the altar more closely. Suddenly, he noticed that strange and intricate patterns had been painted right in the center of the altar—bizarre symbols, mysterious writing, and motifs interwoven. To Veil, it resembled a massive magical array.

Yet, oddly, it was not a magic array! Veil had already extended his senses to probe the entire altar several times but detected not the slightest trace of magical fluctuation.

“Something’s not right…”

Veil muttered to himself, a peculiar unease rising in his heart.