Chapter 25: Acid Spray

Tick—

Tick—

Gao De walked through the sewer pipes, holding an oil lamp, as unknown liquids continuously seeped from the walls and dripped into the murky wastewater below.

Light was coming from ahead.

Gao De knew he was nearing the entrance.

He quickened his pace, the slimy, filthy surroundings always making him feel uneasy.

Upon reaching the entrance, Gao De carefully climbed upward, trying his best to avoid letting his clothes touch the unknown liquids clinging to the sewer walls.

Just as he was about to leave the sewer, he faintly heard a strange sound coming from behind—like the cry of some animal.

Gao De instinctively turned his head to look.

In the boundless darkness of the sewer, two eerie red dots had suddenly appeared.

Deep red.

Like a pair of eyes, staring directly at him.

In an instant, a chill ran through Gao De’s body; he dared not look back again and hurriedly scrambled out through the opening.

Back at the general store, Gao De informed Pierre that he had finished cleaning the worms.

He returned the unused insecticide to Pierre and received his meager payment—two three-leaf silver coins.

“I’ll bring you the ring tomorrow; I’m heading home—I stink all over.” After receiving his pay, Gao De bid farewell without delay.

Inside the sewer, even though he had been extremely careful and even used “Mage Hand” to clean himself, he still couldn’t avoid getting filthy and was eager to wash up.

Upon returning to the herb garden, Gao De first took a shower to rinse off the stench, then headed to the dining hall for dinner.

Following Ye Lan’s “glorious” reputation as a night assassin, the other apprentices in the herb garden—except his roommate Amy—had been keeping their distance from him.

As was the case now: the moment Gao De sat down at the table with his food, the other apprentices eating there instinctively sped up their meals, eager to leave the dining hall and avoid sharing the same room with him.

Gao De didn’t mind any of this; he calmly finished his dinner, cleared his dishes, and headed toward his workshop.

Two major tasks awaited him tonight.

In the workshop.

Gao De sat cross-legged in meditation, focusing his mind.

“Wind Spirit, Moon Shadow!”

As he silently murmured the incantation, the simple, familiar interface reappeared before him.

In the spell list, beside all four spells except [Repair+], small yellow plus signs flickered.

After a moment’s thought, Gao De fixed his gaze on [Acid Splash].

“In terms of damage, Acid Splash surpasses Frost Ray.”

This point allocation would be a choice between only these two damaging spells: Acid Splash and Frost Ray.

In professional terms, under overwhelming odds, every bit of limited resources must be invested in offensive gear to have even a slim chance of turning the tide.

“Allocate point!”

Without hesitation, Gao De stared intently at the plus sign beside [Acid Splash].

In the next instant, the “Big Dipper,” representing the primordial essence of the Dark Mire Crawler, drifted out from within Wind Spirit, Moon Shadow and, like lightning, merged into the Acid Splash spell model.

The two fused seamlessly; new branches sprouted from the original Acid Splash model and extended outward.

Moments later, the Acid Splash spell model, originally composed of nine star points, expanded into a new model of eighteen star points.

The plus sign beside [Acid Splash] vanished from the spell list, and its name changed to [Acid Splash+].

[Acid Splash+] (Conjuration, 0th level): Launch a small acid orb at a target, with an initial maximum range of 25 feet (approximately 8.5 meters).

You must make a successful ranged touch attack to hit the target; the orb deals acid damage.

The acid will dissipate after several seconds.

Bonus: The acid can be retained for up to one day, as needed.

“Done.” Gao De felt joy within.

The transformation of [Acid Splash+] did not disappoint him.

The acid itself deals ongoing damage; as long as it remains, it continues to inflict harm until fully consumed.

But usually, the acid from Acid Splash would expire before it was fully depleted.

Thus, extending the acid’s retention time effectively increases its damage output.

Moreover, the ability to retain acid for up to a day holds strategic value, unlocking new applications for the spell.

For instance, Gao De had already thought of this: since the acid can be retained for up to a day, he could prepare and store [Acid Splash+]’s acid a day in advance.

When needed, he could then indirectly “cast” Acid Splash by physically throwing the stored acid, bypassing his own mana limitations.

“Point allocation” complete.

Gao De took a deep breath, calming his turbulent emotions, and began his second major task for the night.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring.

The Damaged Divine Guide Ring.

“Let’s try.”

Gao De focused his mind, channeling his inner mana, directing it to flow briefly through the [Repair+] spell model.

The mana transformed into invisible streams of energy, gathering in his fingers and coalescing into a soft glow that gradually enveloped the damaged Divine Guide Ring.

The faint light precisely seeped into the ring’s cracks, flowing along the fissures like molten metal filling a mold, swiftly repairing and healing every damage.

Normally, this would be the end.

Repair only fixes physical damage to objects.

But what Gao De now wielded was not [Repair], but [Repair+].

So the repair continued.

The runes on the ring’s surface, representing its magical power source, were now also bathed in the gentle radiance of the repair magic.

A golden line began to extend from the broken edge of the rune, stretching toward its original connection point.

It was as if an invisible quill, dipped in golden ink, was tracing the broken rune.

As the final wisp of light merged into the ring, its surface shimmered once more with its original luster.

The lost magical power was revived.

Gao De exhaled softly.

The mana consumed by casting [Repair+] equaled that of three normal 0th-level spells.

Yet the successful restoration of the ring proved that effort always yields reward.

He slipped the restored Divine Guide Ring back onto his finger, focused his spirit upon it, and immediately received feedback:

With the Divine Guide Ring, you may cast the cantrip [Divine Guidance] once per day without cost.

[Divine Guidance] (Divination, 0th level):

Choose a target to cast this spell, temporarily granting a slight bonus to their performance in one specific skill.

Including but not limited to: lockpicking success rate, archery accuracy, item crafting success rate