Chapter 30

Gao De, drenched in cold sweat from the shock of Master Seda, first washed himself, then returned to his workshop.

“Thank goodness this old bastard didn’t strike until today,” Gao De silently rejoiced, calming down and even feeling lucky again.

At least he had already spent all his savings and learned a new spell.

And fortunately, he had seized every moment, preparing many things over the past dozen days.

Master Seda’s order to confine him had completely crushed any thought of escape.

If that’s the case, there’s only one path left.

“Fuck him!”

Gao De growled fiercely.

He refused to believe that someone as extraordinary as himself could be defeated by some ancient local old man on the brink of death.

As he bolstered his resolve, Gao De pulled from his pocket the “Fog-Stealth Fang” he had bought for four Xien gold coins today.

Gao De’s limited spell knowledge contained no information about Fog-Stealth, so he had no idea of its specific effects.

But Fog-Stealth was a first-rank spell.

That alone was enough to fill Gao De with boundless anticipation.

“Judging by the name, it doesn’t sound like an attack spell—but then again, maybe it is,” Gao De speculated.

Regardless, once he repaired the “Fog-Stealth Fang,” he would know exactly what kind of spell it was.

Gao De gripped the Fog-Stealth Fang, focused entirely, and cast [Repair+].

His magical energy began to overflow; a faint glow streamed from his fingertips.

The heavily worn runes on the surface of the “Fog-Stealth Fang” began to shimmer weakly, extending and healing, as if an invisible brush were tracing them.

This process lasted about five minutes, after which a fresh layer of sweat broke out on Gao De’s forehead.

With a sigh, the glow at his fingertips faded.

Yet the “Fog-Stealth Fang” in his hand was not fully repaired.

Only a small portion of its worn runes had healed; the majority remained broken, awaiting more magical energy.

It wasn’t that Gao De didn’t want to continue—he had exhausted all his magical energy.

“With my current magical capacity, repairing a first-rank magical artifact is clearly not something achievable in a day or two,” Gao De had expected this.

Repairing the Divine Guide Ring had already taken him tremendous effort; the Fog-Stealth Fang, as a first-rank magical artifact, would be even harder to restore.

Compared to that, he was more worried that [Repair+] wouldn’t work at all.

After all, it was merely a cantrip, while the Fog-Stealth Fang was a first-rank magical artifact.

It was a tier above.

“Though strengthened by Wind Spirit Moon Shadow, Repair+ is undoubtedly limited—it’s impossible for a mere cantrip to repair a high-rank magical alchemical artifact.”

“But thankfully, first-rank magical alchemical items are still within Repair+’s limits,” Gao De silently rejoiced.

“About ten days,” he estimated his progress and concluded, “rushing won’t help—but ten days is still enough time.”

He stopped thinking further, carefully stowed the Fog-Stealth Fang, sat cross-legged, and began today’s cultivation!

After finishing his daily cultivation, Gao De returned to his bedroom and had just lain down to rest.

Before he could fall asleep, he heard an unusual sound.

Squeak-squeak-squeak! Squeak-squeak-squeak! Like a rat’s cry, but far too shrill.

In the overly quiet environment of the herb garden, it was jarringly abrupt.

Gao De immediately sprang up, alert.

Along with the strange sound, a faint stench of decay and rot drifted through the air.

“What is that?” Gao De’s heart tightened.

The next instant, a piercing cry of agony echoed from the apprentice room nearby.

“Ahh!!!”

Followed immediately by another scream, laced with horror and terror.

The shrill sound jolted awake everyone in the herb garden, including the sleeping Amy.

He woke in a panic, instantly lighting the oil lamp in his room, then instinctively turned to Gao De, “What’s going on?”

“Something’s happened,” Gao De said grimly, swiftly casting [Mage Hand]. A spectral hand appeared and silently extinguished the oil lamp Amy had just lit.

After this, Gao De rose and approached the door, carefully opening a narrow crack.

Through the gap, he peered toward the source of the sound, aided by the dim candlelight of the corridor.

It was the room of two other apprentices.

The door remained tightly shut; he could not tell what had happened inside to cause such agonized cries.

At that moment, the continuous moaning from within the room suddenly ceased.

The herb garden fell utterly silent.

But only for an instant.

Boom! With a violent explosion, the tightly closed door shattered into splinters and wood chips.

Immediately after, a grotesque shadow emerged from the ruined doorway.

Bathed in the corridor’s dim candlelight, Gao De caught a rough outline.

Part wolf, part rat.

It resembled a rat in appearance, with unmistakable head features.

A pair of brown eyes glowed with ferocity; its ears were enormous.

Sharp, curved fangs protruded from its wide mouth; its fur was a dark, swampy green, gleaming with a cold, resilient sheen.

Beneath the fur, defined muscle lines revealed immense strength and agility.

It resembled a wolf in size—far exceeding normal rats, two meters long, nearly one meter tall at the shoulder, more like a wild wolf.

“A Ground Vein creature!” Gao De’s heart recoiled in shock.

This was not his first encounter with a Ground Vein creature.

But the ones he had seen before—Gray-Eyed Rats, Dark Marsh Crawlers—were merely Ground Vein-blooded creatures with no combat ability, “the disgrace of Ground Vein creatures.” This Ground Vein creature radiating such overwhelming pressure was his first.

The giant rat’s brown eyes swept the area, then suddenly locked onto a new target:

The door beside it had just opened; two apprentices were peering out.

It wasn’t just Gao De and Amy who had been awakened by the moaning—every apprentice nearby had been jolted awake.

But not everyone was as cautious as Gao De.

“Squeak!”

The giant rat charged without hesitation straight toward the two apprentices peering out.

Gao De watched this unfold, his horror deepening.

The giant rat moved so swiftly, yet the two apprentices, as if paralyzed by terror, stood frozen in place as it lunged.

It was obvious they would be crushed—dead or crippled.

“Beast!”

As Gao De began to mourn the two apprentices, a hoarse, vicious voice rang from the end of the corridor.

The air suddenly brimmed with intense heat.

An arrow composed of pure flame traced a brilliant arc through the air, as if igniting the atmosphere itself, and shot straight at the giant rat lunging for the apprentices.

Sensing danger, the giant rat made the correct choice instantly: abandoning its near-at-hand prey to dodge.

But the giant rat, having failed to spot the flame arrow at first, could not escape its fiery judgment.

The flame arrow struck its waist precisely; roaring fire instantly spread, engulfing the giant rat’s body.

“Squeak!”

The giant rat shrieked in pain, but its fur was remarkably tough, preventing the flames from spreading further—for now, it stabilized its wounds.

The relentless heat radiating from its body kept its agony constant, fueling its ferocity.

It let out another shriek and charged toward the direction from which the flame arrow had come.

There, a not-tall figure emerged.

Master Seda!

In the herb garden, only Master Seda could cast such a powerful spell!