[Ding! Mission established! Scanning in progress!]The Chip faithfully carried out
Soon enough, the latest results were transmitted: [Compared to previous data, target constitution has risen by 0.01, strength by 0.02, spirit by 0.005 — no significant adverse rejection reactions detected!]
"Flesh and blood from a high-level professional really is a potent tonic for ordinary people…"
Leylin nodded. He knew full well that these figures were inflated with a fair bit of water. If it were him personally, the strength boost gained would probably not even amount to 0.00001 — such was the disparity caused by the difference in their body stats.
"You… you're a devil!! You're a servant of the devils!!!"
At that moment, Manxter, sprawled on the ground, screamed. Although the reputation of
Now, learning that the mage who had captured him was a servant of the devils, Manxter's heart was flooded with despair.
As a member of the underworld, he knew perfectly well that those devil-worshipping fanatics loved nothing more than sacrificing flesh and the souls of the faithful to the gods, all to earn rewards from their devil patrons.
"Kill me! Kill me now! Don't profane my soul, or the gods will never let you get away with it!" Manxter shrieked in hysteria, though with his parched throat, the sound that came out was like a broken bellows — it could barely reach beyond the dungeon cell itself.
"Noisy!" Leylin's brow furrowed, and he delivered a sharp kick that sent Manxter straight into unconsciousness.
"Now, for the most critical step — alignment detection!"
A ball of white light in Leylin's hand drifted over and enveloped Howard.
Before long, a trace of delight surfaced on Leylin's face: "Lawful Neutral. As long as I don't profane the soul, and with
Of course, Leylin was fully aware that the most energy-dense part of any living being was its soul. The energy siphoned from consuming flesh alone probably didn't even amount to half of the true total.
But if he were to profane the soul, he would inevitably be branded as Chaotic Evil. So Leylin had no choice but to swallow his regret and let that part go.
"Alright! You may leave! Once you walk out of this cell, you will forget everything that just happened!"
Leylin nodded coolly, retrieving the devil-blood dagger. He issued his instructions to Howard.
"Yes!" Howard staggered out of the cell, leaving Leylin alone in the dungeon to sink into contemplation.
"Converting the power of flesh and blood into Spiritual Power is another massive drain on resources. And on top of that, I should add one final safeguard — erase the memories from the final stretch of the target's soul…"
Countless possibilities flashed through Leylin's mind, giving him more ideas for the devil-blood dagger.
Originally, he had considered going out to travel and using the devil-blood dagger to continuously hunt, rapidly boosting his strength. But he had held back out of the need to lay low.
But now? The situation was entirely different. Being bullied right up to his doorstep, Leylin desperately needed powerful strength — otherwise, the entire Faoilan family could be annihilated just like
Of course, there was still one key difference. Isabel had to pray to devils and demons for power, but Leylin only needed to rely on himself!
"This kind of small modification… I can complete it right here. Mister Mank… the time has truly come for you…"
A crimson glow flickered from the devil dagger, casting its light on Leylin's expressionless face. He looked down at Mank on the ground as though regarding a dead man — or perhaps livestock waiting to be slaughtered.
The sensation of devouring power was incredibly intoxicating, but Leylin, whose true body had already grasped the law of devouring, handled this feeling with absolute mastery.
A ceaseless stream of heat gathered through the dagger in his right hand and spread throughout his entire body.
A warm, pleasant sensation stimulated his Spiritual Power to break through continuously. It even began pushing toward higher layers of the
At that moment, the Chip's mechanical voice sounded ceaselessly in Leylin's ear: [Ding! Detecting changes in the host's data. Constitution increased by 0.2, Spiritual Power increased by 0.05!]
Numerous notifications refreshed one after another, causing Leylin's various stats to climb. His Spiritual Power, which had long since reached the peak of a sixth-level
Crack! A faint sound seemed to resonate directly from within his soul. Leylin then felt his Spiritual Power brush against an even more terrifying layer of the Weave.
"Third-level Weave! I've made contact with the third-level Weave — I've officially advanced to a seventh-level Wizard!"
Leylin's mind was flooded with clarity.
And then the Chip's voice rang out.
[Ding! The host's Spiritual Power has made contact with the third layer of the Weave. Advancing to seventh-level Wizard (Spiritual Power +0.5)!]
[The host has advanced to seventh-level Wizard. New spell slots gained: one third-level, one second-level, one first-level!]
[Detecting major changes in the host's data. Initiating full rescan!] The Chip's information flooded the screen.
And almost instantly, Leylin's own database was refreshed: [Leylin Faoilan. Age: 15. Race: Human. Seventh-level Wizard. Strength: 2.5. Agility: 2. Constitution: 3.7. Spirit: 7. Status: Healthy. Acquired Talents: Robust, Encyclopedic. Spell Slots: Third-level (1), Second-level (3), First-level (4), Zero-level (???)]
"The spiritual aspect is one thing — after all, my Spiritual Power has long been at the threshold of a breakthrough — but the increases in the other three attributes this time are almost equivalent to the total growth of my entire fifteen years..."
A glimmer of light flickered in Leylin's eyes.
"Could it be that after turning fifteen and reaching adulthood, my body's stats have finally reached the average level, and more importantly, it's fully developed now and capable of absorbing strength boosts?"
Leylin's gaze shifted to the spell slots. "Sure enough, promoting to the seventh level added a new Third-level Spell Slot. Looks like the Goddess of the Weave really doesn't play favorites with Wizards..."
The increase in a Wizard's spell slots followed an inscrutable pattern. There were magical artifacts that could expand spell slots, and there were even rumors that the Goddess of Weave's favored ones would gain additional spell slots upon leveling up. But two iron rules remained absolute: First, no single spell slot could exceed a quantity of nine. Second, only Wizards who had reached a certain rank could possess spell slots of that tier!
In other words, Leylin was currently a seventh-level Wizard, so the highest spell slots he could hold were Third-level. Fourth-level spell slots were simply impossible for him. And even if he somehow acquired a hoard of legendary **Lich Rings** that could increase spell slots, the most he could do was boost all his existing slots to nine — no more than that, not even Zero-level Spell Slots!
Moreover, these two iron rules applied to all Wizards without exception. Even the legendary **Archmages** and **Divine Favorites** were bound by them, without any possibility of change!!
From this, Leylin glimpsed the constraints the gods had placed on Wizards, and a faint curve appeared at the corner of his lips.
"It seems the ancient **Wizards** left far too deep an impression on the gods during the Final War. They were so frightened that they were willing to shackle even their own spellcasting classes, all to prevent the rise of **Wizards** once more?"
"And what would happen if, one day, the entire Weave's shackles were broken? How interesting that would be!"
Leylin smiled, barely able to contain his eagerness.
"Then there's this power gained from devouring flesh and blood..."
Leylin rose to his feet, looking down at the skeleton on the ground. He tucked the Devil's Blood Dagger away, a slight frown forming on his brow.
His entire body now felt bloated, like a glutton who had eaten far too much. Even his soul seemed burdened to the breaking point.
"It seems this ability can't be used too often, especially before the main body has fully digested the previous intake. Otherwise, the surging Life Energy could easily turn into the deadliest poison!"
Leylin shook his head, knowing the Devil's Blood Dagger was not a tool to be wielded carelessly.
"Besides, no one can ever find out about it. If they did, my identity as a devil worshipper would be confirmed, and that would basically be the end..."
With that thought, Leylin immediately began clearing away the skeletal remains on the ground.
Something that so obviously belonged to an evil ritual could not be left behind — burning it all was the best solution.
As for the sacrificial souls consumed by the Devil's Blood Dagger, after Leylin's modifications, the dagger could inflict unimaginable agony on their souls at the moment of death, utterly shattering their final memories. It left behind no traces whatsoever.
After using the Devil's Blood Dagger, the many accumulations from my time as a Wizard can be quickly bypassed, allowing me to rapidly advance my Wizard level…
A gleam of light flashed through Leylin's eyes: "But I need to come up with a proper excuse for this, and more importantly, a cover story…"
Such an obviously abnormal advancement in rank would raise suspicion with anyone. Leylin had already decided that after this affair, he would at least move out on his own, disguising himself under the pretense of secluded cultivation.
Once he had accumulated enough power, he would immediately begin traveling, using that to mask the unusual growth of his strength.
For now, in the midst of the many battles, the constant fights and bloody clashes with the pirates under Viscount Dim were clearly a great opportunity to continuously harvest flesh and blood for the Devil's Blood Dagger to devour, while rapidly advancing his own power.
That Viscount Dim, and even Marquis Louis, would soon realize just what a terrifying enemy they had chosen for themselves, blinded by their greed!
The Devil craves the flesh and blood of its enemies for growth! It will ultimately reign supreme over the entire world of the