novelnext Chapter 32 Lv3
Chapter 32 Lv3
Flames erupted from the ruby at the top of the staff.
"boom--"
The entire sheet of oil noodles turned into a sea of fire in an instant.
Flames shot up to a height of more than a person, igniting the grease on Cass's back. The greedy flames engulfed Cass like surging waves, and also swallowed the greyhound that was still lying on the oil noodles behind him.
Cass barely managed a roar before collapsing onto the oily noodles, flames rushing into his mouth and instantly burning his vocal cords.
Wilder stood still, his staff held in front of him, the ruby on the staff's tip now dulled.
He stared at the sea of fire before him, motionless.
The fire burned for about ten minutes until the grease was burned away, leaving only a charred, irregular area on the grass and two curled-up, charred bodies.
Wilder suddenly felt a tightness in his throat and a churning in his stomach.
In his past life, he had killed countless monsters, including humans, in games, but they were just pixels on a two-dimensional screen, without smell or realism; they were all fake.
In this world, he had killed kobolds, giant spiders, and gnolls that could stand upright, but those were still beasts, barely comparable to killing chickens or pigs.
But this was the first time he had killed someone.
He couldn't figure out who the victim was in this matter, couldn't tell who was right or wrong, and couldn't determine whether Cass deserved to die.
But he understood one thing.
If he doesn't kill Cass, Cass will kill him.
This is the rule of this world.
"Cough cough."
The heatwave hadn't subsided, and the air was filled with the smells of burning and blood, causing Wilder to cough twice.
He crouched down, drew a dagger from his waist, and flipped it over Cass's charred body.
The chainmail had been burned and deformed, but the small leather strap under the armor plates had only hardened from the heat and had not been burned through.
Inside were five gold coins, a dozen silver coins, and a brass badge of the Adventurers' Guild.
The greyhound didn't have anything valuable on him, only a few silver coins.
Wilder put the gold and silver coins into his pockets, hesitated for a moment, and then threw the badge and weapon back.
Then he stood up and looked at the two corpses on the ground.
We can't just leave it like this.
This is A·15. Although it is remote, other adventurers occasionally pass by.
If it is discovered that he killed two adventurers, regardless of whether it was in self-defense or not, the association will be in trouble.
Wilder piled the two bodies together, then cut some dead branches from the surrounding trees and piled them on top.
They lit the dry branches, and the fire started again.
After burning for about fifteen minutes, the body was no longer recognizable as human.
Wilder broke up the remaining bones and charcoal, mixed them with soil and fallen leaves, scooped up some soil from a distance, covered them with soil, and sprinkled some dry grass on top.
After doing all that, he stood there and watched for a few seconds.
Without careful observation, it's impossible to tell what happened here.
Then he slung his backpack over his shoulder, tucked his staff into his waistband, and turned to walk toward Talia.
……
Talia was still squatting in the same spot, her burlap sack now filled with seven or eight clumps of morning dew violets.
She heard footsteps, looked up, and saw Wilder's figure reflected in her pale blue eyes.
"It hasn't even been two hours yet," she said, sounding rather calculating.
"I was a little tired, so I came back early." Wilder's voice was much more relaxed than expected.
"Did you see the smoke coming from the forest just now?" Talia asked.
"Yes, I saw it."
Wilder did not deny it, "Maybe there's a logging team nearby, burning branches, which is common in the forest."
Talia nodded and continued searching for morning dew violets.
Wilder crouched down not far from her, pretending to help her find that rare little flower, but his mind was completely on what had just happened.
Flames, a charred body, death.
Nothing around us has changed.
The bright sunshine of spring, the tender grass, the damp forest, and the slightly silly girl beside me.
But Wilder always felt...
From that day on, his life will change little by little, until there is no turning back.
……
Before the sun began to set, Wilder and Talia returned to Ironweave.
Inside the Adventurers' Guild hall, the two handed in their quests at the counter.
"Are you doing newbie quests again?" Martha asked.
"Well, it's a pity the mission failed." Wilder gave a wry smile. "Yunxu Ying is not easy to find."
Actually, Cass did find one for him, but unfortunately it was burned to ashes.
Talia collected twelve morning dew violets.
Martha handed her the reward of six silver coins, her gaze lingering on her for a few seconds before she gave a subtle smile.
This was the second time Wilder had gone on a mission with this girl.
There's a story behind it?
Next time I'll have to get that kid drunk and ask him some questions.
"By the way," Martha changed the subject, "that guy Cass hasn't given you any trouble, has he?"
Wilder shook his head naturally.
"Be careful, that madman has done a lot of nasty things, and his teammates always die tragically during missions."
Martha lowered her voice, "But who knows if it was a monster or a human who did it?"
"Yes, I'll be careful."
Wilder changed the subject, "Martha, do you know how Cyrion and Lyle are doing?"
"Oh, Lyle is still in the clinic, but he's recovering well."
Then she pouted, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied, "Cyrion has been discharged from the hospital. I heard he's researching level two combat skills, and he's thinking about how to advance to intermediate warrior."
There were still adventurers queuing up behind them, so Wilder didn't talk to them any longer. After saying goodbye, he and Talia left the Adventurers' Guild.
It was already dark when we got back to the Colt Inn.
After dinner, the two went back to their respective rooms.
After a quick wash, Wilder lay down on the wooden bed.
After staring at the ceiling for a moment, the familiar semi-transparent light screen gradually appeared before his eyes.
Name: Wilder
[Class]: Mage
[Level]: Lv2 (290/300)
(340/300)
(360/300)
Lv2—Lv3
……
Wilder was overjoyed.
It really got upgraded!
He continued reading.
[Spells]: Grease, Oil the soles of the feet, Burning hands
【property】:
(2 extra points available for allocation)
Power: 8
Agility: 8
Physical condition: 8
Intelligence: 11
Perception: 8
Charisma: 11
……
This time, Wilder did not hesitate at all and added both attribute points to Intelligence.
+2.
Intelligence: 13
Instantly, a surge of magical power welled up within him, flowing through his veins and throughout his body.
He has experienced the enlightenment that an ordinary monk might take his entire life to attain, for the third time.
The casting speed should have increased as well, but I'll have to try again tomorrow.
Wilder continued to look down at the bottom of the light screen.
Specialty:
Already known: actors, orders
(Unlock new specialization, choose one of three, not yet selected)
First: Crossbow Expert
Agility +1, your archery skills will be significantly improved, and you will always be favored by hurricanes.
Secondly: Attribute enhancement
+2 attribute points, freely redistributable.
Thirdly: Linguists
Charisma +1: Gain the ability to decipher various languages and quickly master listening, speaking, reading, and writing.