Chapter 238: New Ratman

Spirit Seed?

What a coincidence.

Luo De kept two or three spare ones on him.

But he had no intention of using them on this so-called New Ratman.

He hated the thing so much he planned to destroy it—or at least sell off anything valuable and be done with it.

He waited a while.

The elf Kallist and the banshee Krist arrived.

No major issues—they both suffered no significant injuries.

Kallist first checked the orc Amy's condition.

The onset of Ogresickness has long been known, and due to its contagious nature and incurable specificity, modern magic has long had a complete system of spells to detect infection.

One check tells you right away.

After getting the result, Kallist did not speak immediately; her expression turned grave, and she fell into thought.

Though elves always had sour expressions.

But Luo De had known her long enough to read something in it—he felt a sudden pang in his chest.

"Infected?"

The elf hesitated for a long moment, then nodded.

Luo De sighed.

He looked at Amy, standing carefree in the corner, idly drawing in the dust with her toes, vacant-eyed.

In an instant, many thoughts flashed through him.

Amy, like Pan Ni, was a captive.

But unlike her, Amy was a simple orc, even lacking any ill intent; her earlier attack on Shi Ying Town was merely for the chance to fight.

Their brief time together had been pleasant enough, but to say they shared deep affection? That was not the case.

Luo De always kept his emotions in check.

He held back with Amy, Pan Ni, Selena, and Krist alike.

So now,

Facing a seventh-rank advancement, a beastman renowned for physical strength, infected with Ogresickness—a hidden bomb.

Ice crystals crept up Luo De's palm.

Don't worry, Amy.

I won't let you die. Until I find a cure for Ogresickness, you'll just have to endure a long sleep.

"But it's strange—her Ogresickness blood is suppressed."

Kallist spoke again.

She stepped before the orc, drew a vial of blood from the snarling Amy.

Then she set up a small spell ritual on the ground.

"Indeed, her Ogresickness blood is suppressed—its vitality is extremely low, concentrated in one place, and hasn't even infected her own bloodstream."

"So her blood won't spread it? Or trigger an outbreak?"

"You could say that."

Why didn't you say so sooner?

Luo De exhaled in relief.

I almost acted.

"As for the cause… hmm, it's unrelated to the body, unrelated to spiritual arts… perhaps some special item is suppressing it."

Luo De immediately thought of Amy's crystal greatsword.

It was a meteorite capable of cutting through magic and spiritual energy.

He handed it back to Kallist.

Kallist examined it closely, casting numerous spells to inspect it.

She couldn't hide her surprise.

"Fascinating material. I've seen her use it before, but never paid it much mind. There's a strange spiritual energy within—the spiritual energy has always been a weak point in modern magical systems. I'll need time to study it before I can explain why it suppresses Ogresickness blood."

"What about Amy?"

"As long as she keeps wearing this blade, she'll be fine. Come to me weekly for blood tests—at least for now, Ogresickness shows no effect on her… hmm, perhaps even enhances her."

Luo De smiled:

"As long as she's fine."

Kallist's focused, curious expression cooled, turning sour again.

"You care about her quite a bit. Ogresickness blood carries the negative effect of 【Fervor】, the main cause of their frenzy—【Fervor】 might even enhance her 【Rage】."

"Can it do that?"

"She doesn't need her brain when using 【Rage】 anyway—isn't that just like being beast-touched? But it still depends on her own insight and understanding of spiritual arts."

Luo De chuckled at this.

Insight and understanding?

Amy was a pure wild-type—no understanding, only feeling.

But my Spirit Seed can absolutely push her feelings to the point of understanding!

Luo De patted Amy's head as he returned the crystal blade to her.

Amy beamed and hugged the blade tightly.

Seeing her master no longer angry, she leaned in, trying to mimic Tally's kiss.

But the elf cast 【Mage Hand】 and shoved her away.

She glared: "Until verified, no bodily fluid exchange—mainly to prevent Ogresickness transmission."

"Aaaah—"

Amy wailed.

The cat-fairy Xiao Ju glanced at her sister: "Little Kallist, are you—"

"Shut up!"

"Okay~"

The interlude ended.

Everyone began clearing the battlefield.

After disposing of the ratman Reiko's corpse, Luo De retrieved her spell satchel.

There was quite a bit of money.

Likely intended as payment to the Plague Mage Amel—eighty thousand Jin Along altogether.

Also several green dimensional stones, and some spell notes on New Ratman creation and dimensional stone usage.

When Kallist heard that Plague Mage Amel had implanted a memory core into his disciple Miqi, she frowned.

Clearly, she understood that memory cores and clone copies couldn't possibly be just one.

As she studied the New Ratman creation notes, she said:

"Don't worry too much—memory cores can't synchronize fully with the original's memories. At least, the cores don't know who killed their original."

"So the Arcane Mage is effectively immortal, with spells like clones and memory cores?"

Luo De frowned.

If this were a mage's world, the power level was truly over the top.

Spells kept emerging endlessly—even if the soul was destroyed, memory cores still remained.

"It's not that Arcane Mages are too strong—it's that Amel's mastery is far ahead of his time. Many of his spells don't belong to the current continent's magical system. The two 【Engravings】 alone prove he made a pact with cosmic beings from another dimension, acquiring extraordinary knowledge."

Kallist snapped the notes shut.

She looked at the large green egg sac.

"I plan to hatch this New Ratman to fill the gap in my frontline strength."

"Aren't I?"

Xiao Ju interrupted, disgruntled.

Kallist ignored her, turning to Luo De: "Human, this is your spoils. I'll pay you for it—name your price."

Luo De was curious.

Elves were always proud; if even she was tempted, the New Ratman's strength must indeed be impressive.

But he wasn't interested in it at all.

Rats were stinky and ugly.

Even the mountain of Jin Along in the spell satchel reeked constantly.

Besides,

The forest already had him and Amy, plus Pan Ni's undead legion—no shortage of frontline.

"Don't say that—it's everyone's effort. If you want it, take it."

He said generously.

(End of Chapter)