RoleplayNovel Chapter 25 Upgrade, the lines on the back of the hand
Chapter 25 Upgrade, the lines on the back of the hand
The waiting period was longer than Chen Mo had imagined.
The research team sent by the Blue Palace will need time—it takes four days to travel from Dugu City to the Wolf Skull Cave, and with the time spent on the investigation, it is estimated that it will take at least six or seven days before we have any news.
Before leaving, Foko Huohu left a message telling Chen Mo and Benjamin to stay in the city and not go far.
Chen Mo didn't want to go anywhere; he needed time to process the gains from this adventure.
He and Benjamin counted the gold coins they had opened from the treasure chest.
A total of 618 gold coins, which can be considered a great harvest.
Chen Mo and Benjamin split the gold coins equally.
As for that enchanted dagger...
Benjamin examined it and confirmed its enchantment effect.
Stamina Absorption – Absorb stamina from enemies during combat.
Good luck.
Stamina Absorption isn't the rarest enchantment, but it's very useful.
However, Benjamin showed little interest in it and handed it to Chen Mo after the appraisal.
"You can keep it, I don't need it."
Chen Mo held the dagger and pondered for a moment.
He did need the dagger, but he couldn't let the old man suffer a loss for nothing.
"I'll buy it. I'll give it to you in gold coins," Chen Mo said, looking at Benjamin.
"Tch—" The old man made a sound that was hard to tell whether it was mockery or disdain.
Benjamin patted the bulging money bag he'd just divided the spoils with: "I just need some money for drinks. What do I need so many gold coins for at my age?"
Benjamin waved his hand as he spoke.
"I'm off, old man, I'm going to blink at the giant rat."
Chen Mo smiled as he watched the old man's dashing figure disappear into the distance, remembering this favor in his heart.
We saw the old man off.
Chen Mo sat alone in his bedroom on the second floor, cross-legged, with his eyes closed, letting his consciousness sink deep into his body.
The star map unfolded before his eyes, the countless points of light stretching from nearby to the unseen distance.
But this time, the star chart seems to be a little different from before.
That star, high in the sky, seemed brighter than ever before.
Its light changed from faint to steady, like a lamp that had been refilled with oil.
That familiar, faint star that seemed to be nurturing something.
It seems that some changes have quietly taken place.
The golden-white light was gentle yet firm, and each pulse synchronized with Chen Mo's heartbeat.
He could sense that most of the soul power he had devoured from Potema had been absorbed by this star.
It was like a baby who had finally eaten its fill, sleeping peacefully and contentedly.
But while it was asleep, it was growing and becoming stronger.
Power flowed from the stars, along those unseen threads, and into Chen Mo's body.
The feeling was neither the scorching heat of absorbing the Soul Stone nor the icy cold of being possessed by Potema—it was a gentle, continuous, and filling sensation, like spring water melting ice and snow.
His body was absorbing this power and using it to transform itself—his muscles became stronger, his bones denser, his reactions quicker, and even his senses more acute.
He could hear the bakery owner next door kneading dough, smell the faint floral scent carried by the sea breeze drifting in through the window, and see the tiny cracks on the wall in the darkness that he had never noticed before.
Chen Mo silently estimated the changes in his mind—roughly the amount of the previous five upgrades.
He didn't hesitate for long.
So they made the choice to add points.
Magic, once.
Life, three times.
Physical strength, once.
This was the most reasonable allocation he could think of.
Life is always the most important thing; only by surviving can you talk about anything else.
His physical strength allows him to run further, carry more weight, and endure longer in battle.
Magic—although he can't even cast a single fireball right now, he knows that one day he will need it.
The star chart lit up the moment he made his choice, and the energies within him rearranged, condensed, and settled, like water finding its own channel.
When he opened his eyes, he clenched his fists and could feel the change.
He tried to lift the copper kettle full of water in the corner of the room—which used to require two hands to barely lift, but now he could easily lift it with one hand.
He tried walking around the room quickly a few times—his steps were lighter, his breathing more steady, and his turns more agile.
Now, it seems he can finally hold his own against a normal Nord warrior.
As this thought crossed his mind, Chen Mo suddenly noticed his right hand.
On the back of my right hand, near the wrist bone, red lines have reappeared.
It wasn't a scar, a bruise, or a scratch—it was a pattern made up of several pale red lines.
Winding and branching, like miniature rivers, crisscrossing each other.
Chen Mo carefully examined the pattern.
For some reason, he always felt that the pattern of this design seemed somewhat similar to—
A howling wolf's head.
……
The next morning, Chen Mo went to the market.
He was preparing to purchase some soul stones.
Absorbing Potema's soul power gave him a taste of success.
That star needs to be fed, and he himself needs to be strengthened, and the soul stone is the most direct fuel he can think of right now.
The market in Dugu City is busiest in the morning.
Vegetable vendors, meat vendors, cloth vendors, and ironware vendors crowded both sides of the narrow street, their shouts rising and falling.
Chen Mo, wearing a glove on his right hand, moved through the crowd, his gaze sweeping over each stall before finally stopping in front of an inconspicuous little shop deep inside the market.
Above the shop door hangs a wooden sign depicting a crystal surrounded by flames—a common symbol of alchemists and enchanters.
Chen Mo pushed open the door and went inside. The store was smaller than he had imagined. Three walls were lined with floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with bottles, jars and all sorts of boxes.
The air was filled with a complex smell, a mixture of herbs and sulfur.
Behind the counter stood a thin, Brighton man with sparse hair and round-framed glasses, weighing some powder on a scale.
Hearing the door open, he looked up and his gaze lingered on Chen Mo for a moment.
"What do you need?"
"Soul Stones," Chen Mo said. "Let's take a look at the miniature ones first."
The Brighton man raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask any further questions.
He took a wooden box from under the counter, opened it, and inside were two neat rows of soul stones—of various sizes and colors. The miniature ones were on the far left, four in total, a dark purple, similar to the one he had found on the enchanting table earlier.
"Miniature Soul Stones, four in total. Seventy gold coins each, two hundred and eighty for all four. If you want all four, it'll be two hundred and sixty."
Chen Mo's lips twitched.
He knew that Soul Stones were valuable, but he didn't expect them to be this expensive.
Seventy gold coins a piece—he only needed two copper coins to drink a bowl of vegetable soup from the Blinking Giant Rat, and one gold coin could buy him fifty bowls. Sixty gold coins would be enough for him to drink three thousand bowls of vegetable soup.
He reached into his robes and touched the bag of gold coins he had brought back from the wolf skull cave.
More than three hundred coins, heavy and cool to the touch, even through the cloth bag.
"Two hundred and forty," he said.
"Two hundred and fifty. That's the lowest I can get."
Chen Mo smirked. "Deal."
Chen Mo counted out two hundred and fifty gold coins and pushed them to the Brighton man.
The man put four miniature soul stones into a small cloth bag and handed it to him.
When Chen Mo took it, the moment his fingers touched the soul stone, that familiar, tingling sensation under his skin returned.
He took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to "absorb it now," and stuffed the cloth bag into his arms.
As he stepped out of the shop, he glanced down at the bulging cloth bag in his arms.
Three hundred and nine gold coins, minus two hundred and fifty, leave less than sixty.
Chen Mo sighed, looking at his wallet, which had shrunk again.
It's all gone before it's even had a chance to warm up.
But if he wants to continue buying soul stones to improve his strength—this amount of money is far from enough.
That's really expensive.
Chen Mo couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.