From the rift, a wisp of mist seeped out, as black as ink and capable of devouring all light.
The mist spread rapidly, then condensed into a face composed of countless tiny runes.
The face had no features, only a mouth that continuously opened and closed, emitting a low, overlapping sound—the whispers from the depths of the Abyss...
"Con... tract... estab... lished..."
The mont the words faded, the black mist face lunged fiercely at Ian!
Its speed far surpassed any previous attack. It ignored the space between them, appearing directly before Ian.
Ian had no ti to react. No, he was completely unable to react.
The instant the face appeared, his body, his Spiritual Power, and even his thoughts were frozen.
All he could do was watch helplessly as the black mist crashed into his forehead.
BOOM!
Ian’s consciousness was instantly dragged into a realm of pure darkness.
In the darkness, countless fragnted images flashed past...
An endless Abyss, planes stacked one upon the other, and innurable twisted Demons roaring.
A dark red rift spanning the Void stealthily attached itself to a vibrant world, draining its life force like a parasite.
Within that world, countless living beings were unknowingly corrupted, their souls marked to beco Anchor Points for the Abyss.
Eventually, the rift tore wide open, and the armies of the Abyss surged forth like a tidal wave...
This was just one fragnt of the Abyss World’s invasion of countless other worlds.
At the heart of this fragnt, Ian "saw" a contract.
It was a fundantal Rule Contract, written in the most ancient script of the Abyss, concerning "the trade and dominion of souls."
The contract’s contents were exceedingly complex, but its core was simple:
To offer souls as tribute in exchange for the Favor of the Abyss, to treat worlds as pastures, and to beco a Shepherd of the Abyss.
The Thousand-Eyed Soul-Stealing Demon was one of the signatories of this contract.
And now, it intended to pass this contract down... as an Inheritance.
The black mist surged madly into the depths of Ian’s consciousness, attempting to sear the Abyssal Mark onto his soul and transform him into a new "Shepherd."
This was a soul-eroding power far beyond what a Level One Wizard could handle.
Ian’s soul began to tremble, and his consciousness started to fade.
Just as the Abyssal Mark was about to take form!
HUM!
A pale blue Light Curtain suddenly materialized in Ian’s field of vision.
On the Light Curtain, countless streams of data scrolled by frantically.
[High-dinsional soul Erosion detected...]
[Energy Source: Will of the Abyss (Fragnt)]
[Erosion Intensity: Level Three]
[Analyzing contract structure...]
[Stripping away corrupting elents...]
[Purification in progress...]
In the center of the Light Curtain, a spinning silver vortex materialized.
The black mist pouring into Ian’s soul was drawn into the vortex, like a hundred rivers flowing to the sea.
The madness, distortion, and corruption within the mist were stripped away, layer by layer, and purified inside the vortex.
All that remained was the purest stream of information: the "knowledge structure" of the contract.
[Purification Complete]
[Knowledge Fragnt Acquired: Abyssal Soul Contract (Severely Damaged)]
[Description: Contains fundantal information regarding soul trading and world parasitism between the Abyss and its subjects. The Abyssal corruption has been purged. The contract is severely incomplete and cannot be analyzed at this ti.]
The darkness receded like a tide, and Ian’s consciousness returned to his body.
Ian dropped to one knee, gasping for air as sweat drenched his temples.
From his soul being dragged into an Abyssal illusion to his panel forcibly purifying the [Abyssal Soul Contract], the entire ordeal had lasted only a few breaths, yet it had been far more perilous than his pitched battle against the Thousand-Eyed Soul-Stealing Demon.
A cool sensation flowed from the panel into his Sea of Spirit, soothing the tremors and fatigue of his soul.
"Gak! Ian, don’t die!" Gaga’s terrified voice rang out.
The little creature flapped its wings, repeatedly nuzzling his cheek with its head. "You weren’t moving at all just now, like a piece of wood! You scared to death!"
Ian raised a hand and wearily rubbed its head. His voice was slightly hoarse as he said, "I’m fine."
He pushed himself to his feet, his gaze locking onto the Dark Gold [Eye of the Gazer].
It hovered silently above the Demon’s remains, its radiance contained, resembling a long-forgotten star.
The terrifying contract had vanished, leaving behind a Spiritual Power Origin so pure it had almost undergone Liquefaction.
After carefully stowing it away, Ian began to ticulously search the battlefield.
Next to Hector’s corpse, besides his identification Token from the Withered Council, were a few damaged Witchcraft Artifacts.
Apparently, he had either stored his wealth elsewhere or already spent it before setting out.
To be cautious, Ian completely incinerated any remaining traces.
Next, he turned his attention to the remains of the Thousand-Eyed Soul-Stealing Demon.
The enormous mountain of flesh had dissipated, but in its place, strange strands of matter floated and weaved together slowly, as if possessing a life of their own.
It was a fist-sized ball of dark purple "threads."
It wasn’t a physical object, but sothing between energy and concept, composed of countless ever-flowing threads of Soul Power.
A dark light, imbued with negative emotions like resentnt, pain, and terror, swirled across the ball’s surface.
rely getting close was enough to hear faint wails and whispers.
However, at the core of these negative emotions lay a pure energy that the soul instinctively craved.
’This is... Resentnt Soul Threads!’
The Thousand-Eyed Soul-Stealing Demon had devoured countless souls. After its death, the suppressed resentnts within them refused to dissipate, forcibly coalescing into this unique residue.
It contained a vast but impure reserve of Soul Energy, which was highly beneficial for increasing one’s Spiritual Power.
However, this substance was better suited for absorption by a Summoned Demon bound by a Soul Contract.
It could profoundly strengthen a Summoned Demon’s Soul Essence and optimize its innate Talents.
However, it required a high degree of purification before it could be absorbed. Otherwise, the complex resentnts within the soul threads would corrupt and twist the Summoned Demon’s mind, possibly even triggering a backlash.
"Gak! What... what is that?"
Gaga perched on Ian’s shoulder, its mismatched eyes staring intently at the ball of soul threads. Its little claws unconsciously tightened their grip on Ian’s robe.
It felt a craving originating from the depths of its soul, like a person dying of thirst who had just found water.
At the sa ti, however, the chilling resentnt emanating from the soul threads also filled it with instinctual dread.
Gaga’s feathers ruffled slightly. "It slls so good... but it’s so scary..."
Ian’s eyes lit up. "It’s a ’feast’ for you. But it needs to be ’cooked’ properly first."
He took out a specially made Crystal Bottle, its inner walls inscribed with runes for containnt and purification.
Carefully enveloping the [Resentnt Soul Threads] with his Spiritual Power, he guided them into the bottle and sealed it tightly.
"We’ll deal with this back at the fortress."
He gave the scene one last careful sweep before hurrying back to his residence, number 73, in the fortress’s core district.
Gaga chattered almost the entire way back, asking everything from, "When can I eat it?" to "What if it tastes bad?"
and then, "Will I get bigger and stronger after I eat it?" It buzzed around him like a bee around a honeypot.
"Can we start now?"
"How long do I have to wait?"
...
"Be quiet. Wait for to turn in the mission first."
Ian set it down on the workbench and took out the Crystal Bottle and a series of other materials.
"Keep making noise and you’ll have to wait another three days."
"Gak! I’ll shut my beak!" Gaga imdiately covered its beak with a wing, its little eyes darting about.
Ian went straight to the mission hall and took out his Demon Hunting Jade Token.
The status for the mission, [Investigate Abnormal Energy Fluctuations in the Eastern "Withered Forest"], had automatically updated to [Complete].
After a mont, the Jade Token vibrated and transmitted a confirmation ssage from command.
[Mission Assessnt: Threat source confird eliminated. Mission completion exceeded expectations. Base rit Points: 800. Additional rit Points: 1,000. A total of 1,800 rit Points have been issued.]
[Special Note: Withered Forest Pollution Source eliminated. Regional threat level reduced to "Green."]
1,800 rit Points!
Ian’s spirits lifted. That was almost as much as he had accumulated in a single week during his ti as an Apprentice.
But his joy was quickly tempered by a new worry.
’Hector is missing, so the Withered Council will definitely investigate... Fortunately, there were no other witnesses. Legolas and Xi probably won’t talk.’
He took a deep breath, pushing the distracting thoughts from his mind.
After he submitted the mission, the rit Points were credited, bringing his total Available rit Points to 12,760.
The Silver Ring Wizard handling the transaction glanced at him, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
’Completed the Withered Forest mission alone... Not bad.’
But that was the extent of it.
There was no extra offer of recruitnt, no special attention.
The Silver Ring still hadn’t extended an olive branch to him, perhaps because they’d discovered his "Shadow Moon Tower" background.
Or perhaps, the strength he had displayed simply wasn’t impressive enough.
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