Chapter 71: The Monster

Ace was truly astonished by Daina. She had directly improved a Lesser Fortification Spell, turning it into a dedicated reinforcement spell for Mana Crystal Weapons. Combined with a dedicated Mana Crystal Shaping Spell, Daina’s complete set of Mana Crystal Weapons was born.

Lesser Mana Crystals themselves do not possess the power of Magic Weapons, but Daina injected her Inherent Mana into the Mana Crystal Weapons. This Mana, firmly imbued with her will, completely changed the nature of the Mana Crystal Weapons.

Coupled with the Weapon Reinforcement Spell, the Mana Crystal Weapons were directly reinforced to a rigidity and strength close to that of a Lesser Magic Weapon.

Meanwhile, on the Spell Page of Daina’s Grimoire, two new Lesser Spells appeared, Mana Crystal Shaping and Mana Crystal Reinforcement, and they flickered with the designation “Proprietary.”

Ace had only intended to guide Daina to develop Enchanted Martial Arts. He hadn’t expected Daina to create such a surprising piece of magic.

“What a brilliant idea. A naive path, but one with a great future. And now, it is mine.”

Ace silently mused. He was even more eager to see what kind of wisdom would be contributed once he reached the Northern Marches and acquired more contractors.

It was certainly more efficient to direct others to pioneer than to laboriously develop spells himself.

A few days later, Ace and Daina were camping in the wilderness.

“Teacher Ace, everyone says the further north we go, the more Monsters there are. Why have we traveled this far and encountered nothing?” Daina asked Ace while roasting a rabbit.

“It is likely related to the city-state’s Reclamation Order. A large number of the city-state’s armed forces have been deployed to clear out the Monsters to prepare the ground for reclamation.” Ace grabbed a handful of salt he had brought and sprinkled it onto the skinned, roasting rabbit.

“Then my goal of exchanging for spells is still far away. I can only look at many spells but not exchange for them. I really wish we would encounter a Monster.”

Daina raised her left hand. A planar Spell Model appeared in front of her hand. She slowly reached her left hand into the Spell Model, and a Mana Crystal carving knife was slowly drawn out.

She skillfully used the Mana Crystal carving knife to separate the meat from the rabbit bones, tossing the meat into the air.

“Wood Skewer, Assemble!”

Following Ace’s somewhat strange tone and gesture, several nearby branches transformed into sharp wooden skewers, flew up to skewer the roasted meat, and settled steadily into Ace’s hand.

The two shared the roasted meat, eating heartily.

Ace took a jar of silver wheat beer and two small ceramic cups from the carriage, and they both took sips.

Since Daina devoted herself to researching the rapid creation of Mana Crystal Weapons and Enchanted Martial Arts, her earlier shyness gradually vanished. The shy young girl Ace remembered had transformed into a qualified female warrior who proactively dealt with any beasts, from skinning to roasting.

Unfortunately, they were unlucky today. After searching for a long time, they only managed to catch a few fat rabbits. Though they were so adorable, roasting them until the skin was crisp and the inside tender was barely enough to fill their stomachs.

Just then, Ace felt a burst of chaotic turbulence in the surrounding Mana and quietly activated his Perception Spell.

Daina suddenly stood up. Although she couldn’t use any perception spells, she possessed a basic ability to sense Mana.

The surroundings felt very abnormal. The Mana was restless, somewhat chaotic, and carried a sense of madness and malice.

Ace’s eyes narrowed slightly. He had just activated Perception Retrieval and discovered over a dozen Monsters with chaotic and malicious auras rushing toward them.

He did not detect any other people. The aura of these Monsters was definitely not that of ordinary Monsters. Monsters are a general term for all other supernatural life forms, and in a way, they are similar to Heroes.

Heroes are Divine Descendants. Monsters are rumored to have evolved from animals and plants tainted by Kaya’s blood.

However, these chaotic Monsters were different. The aura they emitted was very familiar, very similar to the Demon Worshiper.

Daina began to cast. Two Spell Models appeared in front of her hands. She extended her hands directly into the Spell Models, slowly drawing them out. Her hands were translucent and shiny: Mana Crystal Gauntlets!

She then used the Weapon Reinforcement spell, activated her Enchanted Martial Arts: Daina Steel Fist Style, and cast the Leap Spell. Her entire body ejected like a gust of wind.

She charged toward one of the Monsters. Only up close did she see its appearance: a highly decomposed body, incredibly fast movement speed, somewhat like a large dog that had been skinned and wasn’t cooked well.

“Hmph! Uncooked dog meat, don’t come near me and ruin my appetite!”

Accompanied by Daina’s delicate shout, her Mana Crystal Steel Fist instantly smashed the rotting Monster’s dog head.

The other monsters, seeing their companion fall, charged in and lunged at her, closing in from all sides. Daina immediately ejected out of the circle of Monsters. The Monsters collided with each other and immediately began tearing at each other. Their mouths seemed to have a powerful corrosive effect, exposing bone in an instant.

The remaining Monsters continued to chase Daina, and two set their sights on Ace.

They roared and lunged at Ace.

“Legs Weak and Feeble!”

Following Ace’s strange pronunciation and the gesture that matched a certain rhythm, the Monsters’ legs suddenly gave out as they jumped. They tumbled to the ground, eating dirt.

“High-Spin Blade!”

Ace’s arm quickly spun half a circle, and he threw out a sharp Mana Crystal blade that spun at extreme speed, slicing off the head of one of the Monsters.

“Steel Edge Rebound!”

Accompanied by Ace’s angry roar, the spinning Mana Crystal blade paused, then reversed its spin. Guided by Ace’s gesture, it sliced off the head of the other Monster.

This was the attack incantation Ace had developed for Magical Trickery—the Spinning Blade Incantation, inspired by Daina.

Utilizing mental visualization, strengthened by incantation language, the more specific and real the visualization, and the closer it aligned with the simulated rune, the greater the power exerted.

Ace was intimately familiar with Daina’s research. He easily simulated her weapon creation and added his own design, making the Mana Crystal blade spin at high speed to create a super-strong cutting effect.

He used these two Monsters for testing, and the result was excellent.

On the other side, Daina was engaged in fierce combat. Although these Monsters were incredibly chaotic, their unpredictability made them difficult to counter. Surrounded by them, Daina was injured.

“Hover!”

Ace roared loudly. Mana pulsed, forming a thick cushion of air beneath the Monsters. The Monsters, unable to react quickly enough, awkwardly floated in the air, clawing and scratching.

Diana seized the opportunity, letting out a sharp cry, and quickly launched herself forward, smashing the heads of several monsters to pieces.

She turned and smiled at Ace, her eyes brave and sharp, possessing a heroic air.

Just then, an anomaly occurred. The corpses of the dead Monsters began to squirm, quickly converging to form a massive, tumor-like growth that reeked of rot and malice.

One after another, dog-like heads pushed out from the tumor-like mass, only to be yanked back as if something inside was dragging them in.

Daina stared blankly at the tumorous Monster, which radiated malice and chaos.

A tentacle suddenly shot out from the tumor, lunging at Daina. Caught off guard, Daina was seized by the tentacle and was about to be dragged in.