Volume 3 Chapter 45: Three Skill Scrolls

“It’s fine. I’m leaving the city this afternoon and will probably be gone for a few days. You can wait until I return to complete the trade!” Qin Lun’s eyes flashed as he spoke ambiguously. Of course, he didn’t want to give Osiris time to think; the sooner the deal was settled, the greater the benefits he could gain.

“You’re leaving this afternoon?” Osiris frowned slightly and sighed. “If you’re free now, please wait a few minutes. I’ll be back soon!”

Watching Osiris step away from the projection, Qin Lun let out a soft sigh of relief. He was now certain that the Apostle who needed the Exemption Token was very close to Osiris and about to embark on an Otherworld Mission; they absolutely couldn’t wait for several days.

…

Meanwhile, in the hall of a luxurious villa at Devil’s Horn, Osiris, wearing a wind element mask, was speaking to a stern-faced young man. “Leader, I need those Skill Scrolls from the team warehouse. If my Contribution Points aren’t enough, I hope you can grant me an advance equivalent to two Quest Worlds!”

“Osiris, that Apostle might have already seen through your intentions. If you rush the trade like this, you’ll likely be taken advantage of!” A heroic-looking man with white short hair, sitting on the sofa in the hall, frowned and tried to console him.

“Yes, Osiris, won’t you reconsider?” A blue-haired girl in the hall softly agreed, tiny flashes of lightning occasionally visible within her closed eyes.

“Rulna died because of me! I promised to take care of his sister!” Osiris suddenly roared with surging anger. “You all know how dangerous the first Class Change mission is! I absolutely will not let her repeat the same old path we walked before!”

Silence fell over the hall. A trace of dazedness appeared in everyone’s eyes. Even though they had all crossed the threshold of the second Class Change, some memories from their lives could never be erased.

“Rulna was our comrade. Even though he fell while taking a private job, we should still take care of his sister.” The stern-faced young team leader sighed. “Alright, Osiris. Within the limits of my and your Contribution Points, you pick the good items first. I’ll go ask the Leader to open the Team Warehouse so we can complete this trade as soon as possible.”

“Add mine too,” the blue-haired girl said plainly, then turned her head to look at the white-haired heroic man.

“Why are you looking at me? Since you all agree, would I be stingy with those Contribution Points?” The white-haired man smiled bitterly and touched his nose. He then turned to Osiris and said seriously, “Our Contribution Points are at your disposal. However, if that Apostle demands too much, Osiris, you know what to do!”

“I know. If he tries to pull a major scam, I will find a way to get his personal information after the trade is complete.” A cold glint flashed in Osiris’s eyes.

…

“I have acquired the items you wanted. Please take a look and see which ones meet your requirements!” Qin Lun didn’t have to wait long before Osiris sat down in front of the projection again.

His attitude seems to have changed… Qin Lun immediately sensed the difference in Osiris’s tone. This High-Rank Apostle’s attitude had cooled significantly; he no longer seemed focused on haggling and just wanted to finish this trade quickly.

The thought flashed through Qin Lun’s mind, but his attention was soon captured by the scroll projections before him. There were seven or eight Skill Scrolls laid out before him. One was the Frost Wind, a seventh-tier magic spell, and another was Titan Descent, an eighth-tier summoning magic spell. Seeing these made Qin Lun’s heart skip a beat.

Although he didn’t know the exact value of high-tier magic, such things probably couldn’t be offset by Dark Gold Equipment alone. If he actually chose those two spells, the team behind Osiris would definitely not let the matter rest easily.

“I want… these three scrolls!” After a moment’s contemplation, Qin Lun lightly tapped twice on the projection.

“Are you sure?” Seeing the Skill Scrolls Qin Lun requested, a flicker of anger passed through Osiris’s eyes. The value of these three scrolls plus the Dark Gold Ring already exceeded 350,000 Shattered Crystals.

“Mm, these three scrolls in exchange for the Dark Gold Helmet and the Exemption Token!” Qin Lun said with a smile. “Your Dark Gold Ring doesn’t need to be part of the deal.”

“No Divine Light Ring?” Osiris was slightly stunned. He took a deep look at Qin Lun. “Alright. I’ll deposit the items at the Auction House. We’ll complete the trade within the day.”

“Okay, pleasure doing business!” Qin Lun revealed a charming smile, but as soon as he turned off the projection, his smile vanished, and he let out a soft sigh.

The three Skill Scrolls he chose were all low-tier scrolls: one was Virtual Magic Web, one was Summoning Overlay, and the last one was the wind-element Drift Technique.

Virtual Magic Web: Constructed a virtual Magic Network Core within the Apostle Soul Mark, allowing all of one’s own spells to be imprinted onto the Magic Network Core. It enabled spellcasting using one’s own mana without needing to connect to the World Law, only being restricted by the laws of the Quest World.

At first glance, it seemed having this Magic Network Core made no difference; it neither added other spells nor enhanced spell power. However, the true value of the Magic Network Core lay in the fact that once spells imprinted on the Magic Web were thoroughly comprehended and understood by the Apostle, they could be partially modified, thereby indirectly enhancing the value of other spells.

Summoning Overlay: Could add one additional summoning slot to orthodox summoning arts, limited to low and mid-tier summoning arts. (Orthodox Summoning Arts: Excluding high-tier inter-dimensional entity summoning arts, limited to summoning creatures bound by master-servant contracts.)

This Summoning Overlay, Qin Lun intended for the Mazer Summoning Art. Since he planned to make summoning a key combat ability, the single summoning slot of the Mazer Summoning Art was clearly insufficient.

Drift Technique: After the spell was cast, Wind Element would form a wind tunnel effect around the Apostle, accelerating and changing the direction of the body according to the Apostle’s will. It provided short-distance drifting and leaping effects. Single use required 20 Stamina Points, with no cooldown time.

Combining the Drift Technique with the Crystal Mirror Magic Array, as long as Qin Lun could master these two skills, his movement would become incredibly agile. From a survival perspective, this was even more effective than purely defensive magic.

In terms of estimated value, these three scrolls weren’t particularly high. Basic spells like the Virtual Magic Web could occasionally be seen at the Auction House, as the more basic an item was, the more common its world of origin.

Summoning Overlay was actually a rather niche spell. Aside from high-tier summoning overlays, genuine Summoners didn’t lack summoning slots; what they needed were high-tier summoning creatures. High-tier creatures weren’t hard to encounter, but creating the contractual conditions for them to willingly submit wasn’t easy, as high-tier creatures possessed a certain level of intelligence and dignity.

Drift Technique was a good movement skill, but after all, it was a low-tier spell, with its value capped at around seventy to eighty thousand Shattered Crystals at most.

Combined, these three Skill Scrolls were worth roughly 200,000 Shattered Crystals, still twenty to thirty thousand more than the value of the Dark Gold Helmet and the Exemption Token. However, Osiris had already prepared himself to be heavily exploited. In the end, Qin Lun didn’t even take the Dark Gold Ring, so Osiris naturally had no objections to this price.

In fact, Qin Lun had originally intended to take at least one piece of Dark Gold Equipment from Osiris. However, the indifferent attitude Osiris displayed upon his return made Qin Lun aware of the potential danger, forcing him to abandon the extortion plan. Ultimately, it came down to his lack of strength; taking too much could cause trouble.

With the trade concluded, Qin Lun wasn’t in a hurry to go to the Auction House. He waited in his room for the Elf Mafa, who was about to visit.

He waited for several hours. It wasn’t until evening, when the sky turned dark, that Mafa finally arrived at his villa.

“Haha, Qin Lun, it’s great to see you safe and sound. It seems you successfully completed this Otherworld Mission again!” Mafa walked into the villa hall with a laugh.

“Oh, Mafa, you seem to have changed quite a bit.” Seeing Mafa’s attire, Qin Lun blinked.

Previously, Mafa always dressed as an Elf warrior. This time, however, he came to see Qin Lun wearing a magnificent robe. The robe had golden thread embroidery on the edges and simple patterns, but it gave an impression of nobility and elegance.

“Haha, thanks to you, the Council of Elders promoted me to Elder of External Affairs. I will be stationed at Devil’s Horn as the administrative representative for the Moonlit Elves!” Mafa’s white long hair was simply tied into a ponytail hanging down his back. The whole person glowed with health. Wearing this robe, along with his handsome appearance, added an air of confidence and authority.

“Congratulations! And thank you for the bottle of World Tree Dew you sent!” Qin Lun said with a sincere smile. His relationship with Mafa was good, and the Elf’s rise in status would benefit him as well.

“I should be the one thanking you. You know, it’s been over a hundred years since the Moliya family had a newly promoted Elf Elder. A bottle of World Tree Dew is not enough to express my gratitude!” Mafa said with emotion. “By the way, you must have something you needed me for this time!”

“Yes, I do have a matter to trouble you with!” Qin Lun made a gesture, and the black bear BEN appeared before the two of them.

At this moment, the massive black bear’s physical condition had worsened again. Its fur was dull and lifeless all over, some wounds oozing black pus, emitting a strong, foul odor.

“This is… your summoned creature?” Mafa’s expression turned serious. He raised a hand, and a holy light fell upon the black bear. The soft, moonlight-like radiance bathed the bear’s entire body but didn’t bring any sign of improvement.

“This black bear seems to be afflicted by a soul-type curse. My abilities alone cannot dispel such a vicious curse!” Mafa said gravely. “Unless our Grand Druid personally intervenes to heal it, there’s little hope.”

“A soul curse? Not a physical breakdown?” Qin Lun raised an eyebrow slightly.

“The feedback from Moon Goddess magic cannot be wrong. Summoned creatures are not ordinary beings. There aren’t many spells that can corrode a summoned body; among them, damage to the soul most easily leads to the collapse of the summoned form.” Mafa explained patiently. “Furthermore, this kind of damage ultimately causes the summoned creature’s soul to perish, making it impossible to repair the body again.”

So that’s it. No wonder Phantom Demons only leave behind Phantom Demon Pearls after death, unable to leave a physical body. So Phantom Demon technology involves soul modification and is different from biotechnology!

A flash of understanding crossed Qin Lun’s eyes. Coming back to his senses, he smiled and said, “Actually, I asked you to come not because I wanted to save this summoned creature…”