Chapter 126

"My lord, look—there really is a stone house ahead!"

After traveling more than ten minutes into the Black Pine Forest, the path suddenly opened into an abrupt clearing.

Around it stood dense black pines, but the clearing itself, hundreds of square meters, held only ankle-high grass.

At the center of the grassy clearing stood a stone house.

The stone house’s surface was weathered by rain, yet not a single vine or plant covered it.

"My lord, this is incredible—its owner must have been a mage!"

Even Migen and the other knights could now deduce the original owner of the stone house was no ordinary person.

Gervas wasted no time; he ordered Migen and the others to guard the perimeter while he and Lei Meng approached the house.

With a creak, the door opened, revealing a simple front room just like the cave dwelling they had seen before.

Having learned from experience, Gervas rushed straight to the inner room—and there, in the alchemist’s workshop, he found numerous crystal test tubes, along with hammers, engraving tools, and feathers.

On the wooden table, cluttered with tools, lay a thick handwritten journal.

So where are my inscribed weapons?

Gervas frowned slightly and picked up the journal, hoping to find answers within.

Fortunately, his efforts were rewarded—he truly found clues inside this journal, which resembled a diary.

This little house had been left behind by an alchemist who had reached the Mage-Technician realm.

Alchemists themselves are mages.

Because mages hold noble status, most only turn to alchemy as a profession after realizing their talent is insufficient and advancement is impossible.

Thus, the vast majority of alchemists are Chuji or Zhongji mages; even high-level mages who become alchemists are rare.

Yet this one was a Mage-Technician-level Master Alchemist—his status was so high he could have been a guest of honor in the royal court.

This Mage-Technician Master Alchemist came to the edge of the Death Mountains at the request of a royal family member, to craft a legendary-quality magical ornament for them.

The journal recorded that the alchemist had succeeded.

Of course, the legendary-quality magical ornament was certainly taken away.

The inscribed weapon left behind might have been a spear.

Because the Master Alchemist mentioned it as one of only two magical items he crafted besides the legendary ornament.

It was prepared to aid his battle servant in hunting beast materials.

Gervas put down the book but found no trace of the spear in the workshop.

He then retreated to the front room—but found nothing there either.

Wait!

Gervas quickly exited the main house, remembering that beside it stood another small hut.

Opening the hut’s door, he found a smaller, even more rudimentary bedroom.

Clearly, this was where the battle servant had lived.

In the corner beside the bed, Gervas finally saw a spear leaning against the wall.

"Hey, my lord! It’s an inscribed weapon!"

Lei Meng, following behind Gervas, immediately recognized its nature.

Though covered in spiderwebs, the iron spearhead remained gleaming bright.

Upon closer inspection, fine crimson lines ran along the blade, filling its entire surface.

Gervas swiftly took up the spear and found its wooden shaft ordinary, likely hastily assembled.

Only the spearhead was a genuine inscribed, enchanted item.

,

Amid the curious gazes of the knights, Gervas swiftly carried the spear to the edge of the Black Pine Forest.

Then he thrust it with full force into the trunk of a black pine, thick enough for one man to embrace.

Pfft!

The hard black pine trunk shattered like tofu—the spear sank deep into the wood.

Migen and the others widened their eyes in shock.

"Good heavens! Is it really that sharp? This is black pine!"

"And just now, when the spear pierced the trunk, didn’t you see a flash of red light? Was I imagining things?!"

"I saw it too—it wasn’t my imagination! My lord, did you activate your battle aura just now?"

"I didn’t channel any battle aura!" Gervas himself was unsettled—he had seen the red glow too.

"My lord, this is at least an Exquisite-grade inscribed weapon! Only Epic-grade inscribed weapons can passively activate their runes without battle aura!"

"But strangely, the passive enchantment glow on this spear is unusually strong. I’ve heard that Exquisite-grade weapons emit only a faint glow."

"Yet if it’s not Exquisite, it can’t be Epic—because only a Mage-Technician-level Master Alchemist can craft Epic-grade enchanted weapons!"

"Those are beings the royal family treats with reverence! They’re exceedingly rare!"

"Is that so?" Gervas’s eyes flickered.

Well then—wasn’t the original owner of this house precisely a Mage-Technician-level Master Alchemist?

Also, ordinary weapons in this world have no grades.

For example, Gervas’s Starlight Sword, no matter how superior its materials, remains an ordinary weapon due to lack of enchantment.

But enchanted weapons are divided into five grades: Ordinary, Fine, Exquisite, Epic, and Legendary.

The higher the grade, the rarer and harder to obtain.

Especially Exquisite-grade weapons, which can be worth two or three hundred gold coins.

Because only high-level mages can craft Exquisite-grade inscribed weapons.

As Lei Meng said, Epic-grade weapons require a Mage-Technician-level alchemist to forge.

Without status or influence, you simply cannot buy one.

Could this spear truly be an Epic-grade weapon?

If so, that would be fantastic—Epic-grade weapons are not only expensive but also impossible to find on the market.

Of course, Gervas could not yet confirm this, so he would have to wait and ask Lu Kasi upon returning.

Then Gervas slowly channeled his battle aura into the spear.

Hum!

As his aura flooded in, the runes on the spearhead instantly activated, radiating a crimson glow.

"Beautiful!"

Gervas exclaimed, and with a swift thrust, drove the spear into the trunk again.

Boom!

The trunk was effortlessly pierced, accompanied by a thunderous explosion.

The section struck by the spear shattered violently, the damage reaching nearly half the trunk’s depth, the surface charred black as if scorched by flame.

"My lord, beware!" Migen and the others suddenly cried out.

The trunk, having been shattered too deeply, could no longer bear the weight of its canopy—and began to crack and topple.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The black pine, thick enough for one man to embrace, crashed heavily to the ground.

Only then did Migen and the others relax—and they stared at the spear in Gervas’s hands, their eyes filled with longing and envy.

"My lord, this spear is incredible!"

"If a man were struck by this, he’d be blown to bloody pulp!"

"Indeed impressive—it’s worth its price of hundreds of gold coins!" Gervas nodded in satisfaction.

"But my lord, I can’t fathom how that alchemist thought—such an Exquisite-grade enchanted weapon, and yet it’s just a spear!"

"If it were a knight’s lance, it would be perfect!" Lei Meng couldn’t help but speak up.

"Yes! If it were a sword, it’d be even better!" Migen and the others agreed—the spear felt somehow beneath its worth.

This wasn’t them undermining Gervas; they genuinely felt regret, for such a rare Exquisite-grade enchanted weapon was too precious to be a spear.

Nobles love to show off—in plain terms, they love to flaunt.

So beyond practicality, appearance matters greatly.

Had it been a knight’s lance or a sword—the noble’s exclusive weapons—its value would have soared.

But a spear? Used by common soldiers in war—so even an Exquisite-grade one loses value.