blogombal Page 48
Page 48
"Really, Mr. Leon?"
Having said that, Lancelot raised his seemingly frail left hand.
next moment.
A surge of azure wave power emanated from his raised palm.
immediately.
The deep blue waveguide began to swirl around Lancelot's palm, like a surging, never-ending abyss.
Chapter 55 The Incomplete Mark of the Wind King
Enter the forest near Qingfeng Village.
Arthur, leading the black-haired horse Nightshade, returned with Gawain to the open meadow where the alchemist Merlin's residence was located.
With the help of the vine bracelet given to them by Merlin, they opened the barrier hidden in the meadow that led to Merlin's residence.
Soon, an unusual airflow began to gather in front of them, tearing apart a wall of air.
After Arthur and Gawain looked behind the air wall, a field of flowers in full bloom and teeming with life came into view.
The two stepped into the flower field, entering the world of the alchemist Merlin's abode.
Shortly after.
Arthur and Gawain walked to the alchemy workshop at the edge of their field of vision, a three-story Gothic-style villa.
"Squeak!"
Just as they were about to knock, the door opened at the perfect moment.
The one who opened the door was their visitor, the alchemist Merlin, the tall, white-robed youth.
He seemed to have sensed Arthur and Gawain's arrival as soon as they opened the barrier, hence the knowing smile on his face.
"Welcome back to both of you."
Merlin stepped aside and greeted the two in a lighthearted tone:
"It seems the shadow monster disaster in Qingfeng Village has been successfully resolved."
"Thank you, Mr. Merlin, for the extraordinary help you provided; otherwise, we certainly wouldn't have been able to resolve this matter."
Arthur expressed his gratitude to Merlin in a sincere tone.
Merlin waved his hand after hearing this:
"We simply made an equivalent exchange."
After saying that, Merlin turned and walked inside.
Seeing this, Arthur and Gawain stopped and followed in his footsteps.
After walking to the center of the main hall of this alchemy workshop.
Merlin stopped and turned to face the two of them.
Arthur noticed that Merlin had somehow acquired a bag.
He could clearly sense that the bag was radiating abundant wind element fluctuations.
Undoubtedly, it contains a gemstone refined by Merlin, containing the essence of the wind element.
Merlin's words confirmed Arthur's guess:
"I have lived up to the Lord's expectations in this refining commission and successfully refined eleven Wind Element Essence Gems."
"An extra one? Mr. Merlin's alchemy skills are truly exquisite!"
Upon hearing this, Arthur couldn't help but praise it.
"In the world of alchemy today, few can rival my alchemical refining skills."
Merlin did not deny Arthur's praise, but quickly changed the subject:
"However, the extraction results differed from my expectations. The main reason was not my extraction skills, but the third-tier one-eyed wolf corpse that the lord brought."
Arthur understood Merlin's implied meaning:
"Mr. Merlin, do you mean there's something special about the third-tier one-eyed wolf's corpse that you misjudged back then?"
"That's right!"
Merlin nodded, then took a rhombus-shaped blue gem from the bag.
Its color and the energy fluctuations it emits are extremely similar to those of the Wind Element Essence Gem, but it looks a size larger than the Wind Element Essence Gem, about half the size of a palm.
Soon, Arthur noticed that the rhombus-shaped gem was transparent and did not seem to have any color.
The cyan color he saw was actually from a cluster of pulsating energy.
After noticing this, Arthur looked at Merlin:
"Mr. Merlin, what is this?"
"The incomplete mark of the Wind King".
Merlin offered his explanation, then asked Arthur in return:
Where did you kill this Tier 3 one-eyed wolf?
What is its status within the pack? Did this monster pack ever have higher-ranking wind wolves?
Arthur pondered:
"This Tier 3 one-eyed wolf was the leader of the wind wolf pack that I annihilated. It was the only Tier 3 magical beast in the pack."
However, thirty years ago, at its peak, this pack of wind wolves was led by a fourth-tier alpha wolf, but my father killed it.
"That's not surprising."
After hearing this, Merlin suddenly realized:
“A low-level magical beast like a wind wolf would normally be unable to break through to the fourth rank. The fourth-rank alpha wolf you mentioned from thirty years ago must have accidentally obtained a complete Wind King Mark, which allowed it to break through its bloodline shackles and mutate to the fourth rank.”
"Mr. Merlin, what is the Mark of the Wind King?"
Arthur seized upon the key words to ask questions.
Merlin's thoughts returned, and he answered Arthur:
"The growth potential of a monster is measured by its 'elemental bloodline' as the absolute core."
In contrast to the human knight ranking system, the monster advancement system is also divided into six tiers.
The known ultimate level of monster growth is the "Elemental King" of each element, a sixth-tier legendary creature.
Therefore, generally speaking, each type of monster has a path to become an elemental king.
For example, your mount, the Black-haired Horse, traversed the Wind King's path, my lord.
but."
Merlin paused, then continued:
"Your Black-haired Horse, like the Wind Wolf, is a low-level magical beast. Its 'elemental bloodline' is naturally thin, making it unable to condense the mark of an elemental king on its own."
In contrast to low-level magical beasts are high-level magical beasts, whose bodies naturally possess a rich "elemental bloodline" and are able to spontaneously condense the rudiments of an elemental king's mark.
However, the fourth tier is a watershed moment in the advancement path for any magical beast. Only by condensing the complete Elemental King Mark can one be considered to have truly begun to step into the extraordinary realm.
For a high-level magical beast to transform from a rudimentary Elemental King Mark into a fully formed Elemental King Mark, it is extremely difficult.
So, in conclusion.
A low-level magical beast can only advance to the fourth rank by absorbing the elemental king's mark left behind by a fourth-rank or higher magical beast of the same element after its death; otherwise, it cannot advance to the fourth rank.
Of course, high-level magical beasts can also absorb elemental imprints of the same type to complete the process of transforming their own imprint prototype.
Furthermore, they can hunt other magical beasts possessing rudimentary forms of the same type of mark, accelerating the transformation process of those rudimentary forms.
"Isn't this just a 'throne battle' between monsters of the same type?"
Upon hearing this, Arthur couldn't help but think of the royal power struggles his father had experienced in the Grey royal family when he was young.
"Yes, the winner takes all, and this rule applies to the world of Warcraft as well."
Merlin nodded, then returned to the main topic:
"So, what do you plan to do with this incomplete Wind King's Mark?"
"Um!?"
Arthur never expected Merlin to entrust him with such a task.
Merlin smiled knowingly:
"Although this Wind King mark is only one-tenth of what it used to be, it is still roughly equivalent to the prototype of a mark condensed by a high-level magical beast."
The lord's mount, the Black-Maned Horse, is so well-preserved that it's clear a great deal of effort has been put into its appearance.
Presumably, you won't easily abandon it after you advance to the Silver Rank Knight.
But I think, Lord, haven't you considered forming a soul contract with a magical beast in the future?
I don't think you, Lord, are a short-sighted person. You wouldn't choose a monster with limited potential as your second fighting force.
Therefore, if Your Lordship intends to make it a contracted magical beast in the future, have you considered allowing it to absorb this incomplete Wind King's Mark, so that it can compete with other high-ranking magical beasts of the same element for the title of Wind King?
After hearing this, Arthur fell into deep thought.
A few moments passed.
He replied to Merlin:
"I want my partner Nightshade to make this decision."
Chapter 56 Night Shadow Advances, Early Stage of Second Tier
After saying that, the three of them walked out of the main hall of the alchemy workshop and came to the lakeside outside.
At this moment, Arthur's mount, Nightshade, was drinking water from the lake to quench its thirst.
"Xu~"
Soon, it noticed its owner's arrival, so it stopped drinking water and responded with a slightly lazy purring sound.
"Nightshade, there is now a decision you need to make."
Arthur walked over to Nightshade, soothing it by stroking its mane, and slowly explained his purpose.
After Arthur finished speaking, Merlin stepped forward at the opportune moment.
Then, he took out the rhombus-shaped crystal that sealed the incomplete mark of the Wind King from the bag.
Soon, the Black-haired Horse Night Shadow, being a wind-type magical beast, possessed a unique and keen perception of the wind element, which helped it sense a superior aura within the rhombus-shaped crystal that resonated with its "elemental bloodline".
"hold head high!"
Instantly, the indomitable spirit of the black-haired horse, Night Shadow, was ignited by this superior aura that was trying to suppress it. Its mane stood on end, and it let out an extremely passionate neigh.
"Nightshade, my partner, you now have two choices."
Arthur took the blue rhombus-shaped crystal Merlin offered, placed it in his palm, and put it in front of the head of the dark-haired horse night shadow.
"First, you will absorb this incomplete Wind King mark, and from then on you will embark on the path of the Wind King, gaining a chance to advance to the fourth-tier extraordinary level. However, the price is that you are destined to die nine times out of ten, because you will have to compete with other magical beasts of the same type for the sole position of Wind King."
Secondly, it means abandoning its absorption, which means...
Before Arthur could finish speaking, the black-haired horse, Night Shadow, seemed to have already understood its master's meaning and immediately made its choice through action.
It lowered its head, and the wind elements around it began to converge towards it.
The next moment, Nightshade manipulated the wind element to form a surging airflow, and then it drove this invisible airflow to lift the cyan rhombus-shaped crystal that was placed in Arthur's palm to the position between his eyebrows.
When the cyan rhombus-shaped crystal was placed on Nightshade's brow, the incomplete Wind King mark within it seemed to sense the "elemental bloodline" within Nightshade that shared the same origin, and immediately showed signs of violent tremors.
"hold head high!"
Immediately afterwards, the black-haired horse night shadow let out another excited neigh, and then focused all its energy on gathering the surging air around its body to the center of its forehead to press down on the outer wall of the rhombus-shaped crystal.
Under the combined forces of external airflow pressure and the internal tremors of the incomplete Wind King's Mark, the outer wall of this rhombus-shaped crystal quickly shattered into pieces.