Chapter 10: Wizard's Seed

「Squeak…」

A Damp Rat Skeleton as big as an orange cat.

It flew at high speed and pounced at Taku, who was holding a lantern.

The Damp Rat Skeleton was very fast.

But it was still slower than Taku's bullet, which was even faster.

He raised his hand and fired a sniper shot.

「Bang! 」

The Damp Rat Skeleton's entire skull was blown to pieces.

The gunshot echoed in the Bone Passage.

That rustling sound paused briefly, then quickly resumed.

A dense chorus of squeaks surged like a tide.

「Damn it! 」

Taku, knowing he had stirred up a rat's nest, raised his lantern and began to retreat.

At the same time, Taku rapidly released Thorn Vines on the tunnel walls, one after another.

Soon, the sound of Thorn Vines whipping and bones breaking came from deep in the tunnel.

The squeaks of the Damp Rat Skeletons grew ever more furious.

These Damp Rat Skeletons were all level 1 to 3.

Thorn Vines bolstered by S‑rank Precision basically took out one Damp Rat Skeleton per lash, sometimes several.

Moreover, the Thorn Vines on the walls were unlikely to be threatened by the Damp Rat Skeletons.

No‑damage monster grinding!

This is also why Taku dared to venture deep here.

When Taku had released about fifteen or sixteen Thorn Vines,

the squeaking of the Damp Rat Skeletons no longer spread toward Taku.

"Consuming a third of my source power to stop the Damp Rat Skeletons is not bad."

After briefly sensing the source power within him, Taku put the source‑energy potion back into his waist pack.

After waiting until the tunnel was completely silent of Damp Rat Skeleton squeaks,

Taku then returned to the Bone Passage.

Just as Taku had expected.

The Thorn Vines on the tunnel walls, with astonishing killing efficiency, halted the Damp Rat Skeletons' advance.

The deeper the Thorn Vines, the more piles of Damp Rat Skeleton bones accumulated beneath them.

「Squeak…」

A badly wounded Damp Rat Skeleton that hadn't died yet poked its head out from the pile of Damp Rat Skeleton bones.

With a "crack", an afterimage flashed past.

The Thorn Vine, at astonishing speed, whipped the exposed upper half of the Damp Rat Skeleton to pieces.

"Precision lets my spells perfectly match trajectory and context, greatly boosting attack speed and accuracy."

"The bullet tentacle benefits the most; it can even be said to be the ultimate transformation."

"Next comes the Thorn Vine; standing firm and outputting, it stands out for its ferocity and efficiency."

"Shield and speed—these two spells basically receive no boost from Precision."

"Fire oil bombs have some effect, but not much."

"After all, this spell is inherently an area‑of‑effect attack."

"It doesn't need much aim."

"Going forward, when selecting spells, we need to pick ones that synergize perfectly with Precision."

In battle, Taku also continually explored how to maximize the effect of Precision.

With a homing bullet tentacle, plus Thorn Vines capable of stopping a mass assault by Damp Rat Skeletons,

the Bone Passage that other superhumans dare not enter deeply.

Taku treaded it as if it were flat ground.

About an hour later.

Having consumed three source‑energy potions, Taku had slain an unknown number of Damp Rat Skeletons.

Finally, he found a suitable spot.

It was an underground passage roughly a hundred meters long.

One end of the passage lay within the Bone Passage.

The other end was a giant well hole about three meters in diameter, leading straight down into the depths.

Under Precision Vision, the air from the depths of the well hole was slowly seeping upward.

In other words, this is a "lifeline".

If anything goes wrong, Taku can simply "jump into the well to survive".

After setting up a source‑energy barrier in the passage and placing sachets to repel the Damp Rat Skeletons,

Taku's makeshift cave dwelling was now complete.

"This is far better than the environment in the supernatural wilderness."

"Compared to the dragon‑sized Blood‑Sting Mosquitoes and the occasional fright‑inducing Screeching Bees in the wilderness, those Damp Rat Skeletons are just cute little critters."

After clearing a clean area beside the well hole, Taku sat quietly there for a moment.

A golden light sphere appeared in Ta Ke's mind.

This is Ta Ke's extraordinary sequence—the Wizard Seed!

As an "Apprentice Wizard".

The sequence appeared as a 'Wizard Seed'.

And once the sequence elixir is used to water the Wizard Seed,

the Wizard Seed will take root and sprout.

A true wizard is thus born.

【Wizard Tree】

It is the core of the wizard.

Extraordinary talent, wizard abilities, and extraordinary wizardry all take the 【Wizard Tree】 as their core.

Every wizard's 【Wizard Tree】 is a small-scale but perfectly structured 'extraordinary sequence ecology'.

Although Ta Ke has not yet used the sequence elixir to irrigate his own Wizard Seed.

But at this moment.

Ta Ke's "Wizard Seed" is now completely different from before.

Compared to before, the Wizard Seed presents a pale golden yellow.

At this moment, Ta Ke's Wizard Seed presents an extremely brilliant golden yellow.

And the spells and wizard abilities that were previously scattered randomly around, possessing certain extraordinary traits,

now they have all become orderly.

The entire "sequence ecology," which has not yet been formally cultivated, now shows a vibrant state.

And the reason for being able to have such an astonishing change

is naturally due to the S-rank extraordinary talent 【Precision】.

"The context and trajectory of the world's operation are themselves flawless."

"I simply haven't perceived it yet."

"And as Precision perceives the context of the world's operation,"

"My sequence ecology naturally underwent a change."

"I am increasingly discovering how terrifying this S-rank extraordinary talent is."

"I still need more than two days to accumulate enough fragments for my 【Precision】 to evolve to SS-rank."

"I will first quietly polish my Wizard Seed."

Although Ta Ke can level up directly by gaining experience through the system,

but the promotion at critical nodes cannot be solved simply by adding points.

The subtle perception and control of the Wizard Seed still require time to settle.

……

When Ta Ke was cultivating in the remote corner depths of the Skeleton Cave.

In the deep part of the Skeleton Cave where source energy is very rich and skeletons are densely packed.

A sturdy silver skeleton was in a state of slumber.

Suddenly, the faint green soul fire in the silver skeleton's pupils rapidly intensified, then covered the entire pupil.

The silver skeleton gradually awakened.

Rising to its feet, the silver skeleton looked around.

He could feel that the flow of source energy around him had become abnormal.

The not-so-wise silver skeleton instinctively began to carry out its master's command.

Guarding the nine source energy wells here, if those essence-draining rat skeletons cut off the flow of source energy, they are to be eliminated.

The silver skeleton fumbled among the bone pile beside it for a moment, then pulled out a gleaming silver and sharp bone dagger.

Thereafter, the silver skeleton slowly ventured into the deep, intricate parts of the Skeleton Cave, probing cautiously.

…………

(End of chapter)