Imperial Crown.

Chapter 194: Third-Level Magician

The killing continued into the evening.

To the bone dragon, the fleeing horse thieves were nothing more than a group of ants. Killing them was not challenging at all and could only be an after-meal pastime.

call--

The bone dragon Gregory landed not far from Raven, looking at the man whom Margaret called her master.

As a dragon who once ruled the continent, Gregory believed that he had a very high aesthetic taste.

But even in his critical eyes, Raven was considered a handsome man, with a strong and well-proportioned body, neither too bloated nor too thin like a woman.

Especially the black hair and the deep dark eyes, which reminded Gregory of the human form of the black dragon king Nesirion. Although the facial features were different, they had very similar majesty.

On another level, in the eyes of the undead creatures, Raven's energy was extremely abundant. Although it was only at the second level, it was mixed with a kind of power that even Gregory found unfamiliar.

"Master." Margaret walked behind Raven and bowed. "According to your wishes, more than 2,000 of the 5,000 bandits were killed, and the rest have fled in all directions."

"Got it." Raven nodded slightly and turned around: "Is this Gregory?"

"It's Lord Gregory, boy." The bone dragon's voice was hollow and full of dissatisfaction: "Don't think you..."

He choked before he could finish his words, because Raven already had three more bottles of Corrupted Soul Essence in his hands!
"Well, seeing that you are respectful enough, Lord Gregory allows you to call my name." The bone dragon sniffed, with flames dancing in its eyes: "Give it to me now!"

"Of course." Raven placed three bottles of Corrupted Soul Essence on the ground, and a suction force emerged from the bone dragon's throat and swallowed them in.

Then, Raven's eyes fell on Margaret.

The witch who devoured the body of the Soul Saint of the Hand of Death Cult has been reborn. She now wears a silver crown on her head, her hair is silky and smooth, and her eyes are filled with seven parts of cold arrogance, and three parts of charm that comes from her bones.

She was wearing a light blue silk robe, revealing her shoulders and arms. The silk was soft, and the drape showed off her exquisite figure. She stood there like a carefully carved stone statue, poured with all the passion and enthusiasm of its creator.

Facing Raven's gaze, Margaret's face flashed with a hint of pride, and then she lowered her head: "If you wish, this horned hippogryph can continue to stay with you."

Raven knew what she meant, which was to transform Xiaobai into an undead creature.

"She has fulfilled her duty. Let her soul rest in peace." Raven rejected Margaret's proposal: "Do you have the Holy Symbol of Death?"

Margaret nodded and took out the holy symbol.

It was a diamond-shaped emblem, as big as a silver plate, and could just fit in two hands.

Its texture is like bronze, engraved with dense and complex patterns, and in the center is a relief of a skinny, old baby's arm.

Raven used the Eye of Truth and saw that it contained a surging power of death, even mixed with a hint of golden light, and countless dead souls were howling and trying to break free from it.

Just observing, Raven felt a little tired. He rubbed his temple and asked, "How many souls are there?"

Margaret enumerated them all: "About 1.07 million, of which about 400 are first-level souls, less than 60 are second-level souls, and 14 are third-level souls."

Raven's brows twitched slightly. This holy emblem actually collected so many souls.

No wonder the Death Hand Cult came.

"Well, from today on, you will come back to Eagle Territory with me."

Margaret's eyes lit up: "Yes, Master!"

During this period of time, she has been living in the open air with the bone dragon. Although the bone dragon doesn't care about this, Margaret has her own pursuits in life.

Accustomed to the luxury and comfort in Eagle Castle, living outside was simply a torture, but since Raven didn't ask, she didn't dare to take the initiative to ask.

Raven also had his own plans for letting her come back.

Margaret now has the third-level strength. In the five northwestern counties today, she is one of the most powerful people. If there is any emergency, Margaret can serve as an important helper.

As for the bone dragon - Gregory had no desire for the flesh and blood of living beings anyway, so as long as he had the essence of corrupted souls in his hands, he would be able to control it.

Things here were temporarily settled. Before leaving, Raven asked the bone dragon to help dig a simple tomb to bury Xiaobai.

Of course, Raven did not forget the real purpose of this trip, to chase the locust-headed bee.

Although the swarm of bees had been scattered, Raven could be sure that the nest was nearby.

With Xiaobai's help, the horse thieves could not grasp Raven's specific movements. They chose to ambush here only because, as natives, they were familiar with the habits of locust-headed bees and knew that this was the only way to return to the hive.

So with Gregory's help, Raven quickly found the nest of these locust-headed wasps.

The locust-headed bee is a very troublesome second-level monster. Not only is it extremely fast and difficult to intercept, but a single sting can penetrate heavy armor, and it is extremely poisonous. Even a second-level knight cannot withstand a few hits.

But in front of the bone dragon, these little guys are even more harmless than ordinary bees, so Raven easily got what he wanted - golden jelly, which is the royal jelly of the locust-headed bee.

They are contained in hexagonal honeycombs made of beeswax. They are deep red in color, but when they flow they give off a golden-sand-like luster, hence the name.

It seems that this nest of locust-headed wasps has taken root here for a long time. The stored golden magma filled an entire pottery jar, nearly one liter, which is another considerable wealth.

Raven did not cut off the roots, but left some for these locust-headed wasps - they could come back to collect them next year.

The Congyun kumquats are already growing, and now we have obtained the golden magma. The main ingredients of the magic-making potion have been basically collected, and all that remains is to slowly collect other ingredients.

In addition, Raven also thought about collecting some spoils, but the gains were not much. Steelfang's armor was so broken that it was not even worth repairing, but Firebeard's was usable. Other than that, there were a few first- and second-level enchanted weapons.

As for the most valuable leader - Raven didn't know Avila's name - Gregory had sprayed him until only residue was left.

With Gregory's help, Raven and Margaret landed not far from Eagle Town in the dark and rushed back to Eagle Castle.

A bone dragon is a bone dragon after all. When it soars high in the sky, it can actually construct a layer of barrier on its body surface to protect people from being blown directly by strong winds. The riding experience is very good.

But Margaret started to curse after the bone dragon left: "This old dragon is really a rip-off, why didn't I get this kind of treatment when I rode it!"

But every time she was blown hard by the strong wind, although she was very graceful, but firstly, there was no warmth, and secondly, no one was watching her!
If Gregory could hear it, he would definitely answer: "You are worthy?"

After returning to Eagle Castle, Raven took a nap. After breakfast the next day, he returned to the bedroom, lit the magic lemongrass, calmed down his emotions, and took out a magic core from his belt.

It was the fifth-level steel magic core obtained from the Medini family.

Raven was currently at the second-level, four-star level, and was still some distance away from three stars.

He originally planned to slow down a bit. After all, breaking through one level in one year was really shocking.

But now Raven didn't plan to wait any longer.

As usual, Raven placed a brand new crystal bottle beside him, took a deep breath, and crushed the fifth-level magic core in his hand.

The manic steel energy swept over, and for a moment Raven saw a silver storm that filled the entire room. Wherever it passed, the carpet was torn into pieces and turned into dust. The tables, chairs and beds were all broken, as if hundreds or thousands of steel knives were cutting them!
The essence of the corrupt soul flowing out of it is as thick as a giant python!
The Eye of Truth quietly activated, and the giant python's body twisted in the air. Finally, it was forcefully grabbed and stuffed into the crystal bottle. At the same time, the violent energy in the air was introduced into Raven's brow!
The water in Raven's originally calm pool of magic power rippled and began to rise.

Just like the surface of a river after a rainstorm.

Crazy increase! Explosive increase!
This situation may not be a good thing for most magicians. Even in reality, a surge in water volume can cause a dam to burst, let alone on a more sophisticated spiritual level?
But for Raven, this was not a problem.

The Eye of Truth firmly controlled the speed of absorbing energy, not a bit more, not a bit less, just the limit that Raven could bear. Soon, Raven's magic pool was full, and then he came to the most familiar part - stirring the magic and condensing a new magic vortex!

Every time a new magic vortex is condensed, it is a huge challenge for the magician, because not only must he pay attention to the fluctuations of the magic power itself, but he must also take into account the gravity of the previously condensed magic vortex.

It is like draining a bathtub full of water, a huge vortex will appear on the water surface. From the second level to the third level, the difficulty is equivalent to giving you a stick and asking you to manually create the same vortex while draining the water.

Strength, speed and precision are all essential!

Therefore, many magicians may be stuck at the second level throughout their lives. This is why, after reaching the third level, magicians are qualified to build a magician tower.

The originally abundant water surface gradually sank. Raven concentrated all his energy, harmonizing the vibration of magic power, causing it to undergo qualitative changes bit by bit.

When the magic power condensed into a point, Raven's mental power gently pierced it, and then the magic power suddenly exploded.

That wonderful feeling came again, and Raven's vision was divided into two parts at the same time, one falling into the empty world in meditation, and the other falling into his own pool of magic power.

A new nebula-like vortex exploded on two levels simultaneously!

In the void world, there are two nebulas, one above and one below. The upper one rotates clockwise, while the lower one stirs counterclockwise, generating a tremendous suction force in the gap, which draws more and more elemental star clusters and pours them into the magic pool.

But it's not over yet.

Raven saw that between the two whirlpools, a door was slowly opening.

That is the gate to the astral world.

The astral realm is where the gods’ kingdoms reside, and it is also the habitat of many wonderful creatures. According to legend, it is the birthplace of all elements and the origin of infinite dimensions, the so-called “first world”.

Only at this stage can a magician have limited contact with the astral world and acquire endless knowledge. Some extremely talented magicians can even begin to try to create their own magic at this stage.

For Raven, the most important thing at this moment is to summon and contract his own magical pet!
His mental power probed into the star realm portal and emitted its own fluctuations. At this moment, Raven did not have the ability to step into the star realm, but his voice was enough to attract the attention of the creatures in the star realm and attract them to respond to his call.

To make an analogy, it is like being in a blind date corner and holding a loud speaker, starting with your name and introducing yourself, and what assets your family has, such as cars, houses, money, etc., all of which need to be clearly stated.

However, there is one difference, that is, the star realm does not tolerate lies, and the information you report must be completely true. Otherwise, if you deceive the residents of the star realm, your end will be miserable.

According to the book "The Way of the Mage", when a mage sends out a message, there will be three to five responses at most, and one or two at least.

But this time, after Raven sent the message, there was no response for five or six minutes.

"It can't be that bad, right?" Raven frowned. "No one likes me!?"

But what Raven didn't know was that when his message spread to the other side of the star realm, dozens or even hundreds of beings responded immediately.

However, these responses were not delivered, but were firmly blocked by several powerful beings, and they began to fight with each other!
Time passed by minute by minute, and just when Raven was about to collapse from the gate, a thought passed through the gate.

Whether it is good or bad, it can only be this!
Raven drafted the contents of the contract with his mental power, and both parties left their soul imprints on it at the same time.

This kind of contract concerns the soul. If either party violates the contract, it will cause great damage to the soul and a significant decline in strength. Even if they do not die, they will never be able to improve their strength in this lifetime.

When the contract was completed, a deep spiritual light passed through the portal and came to the nebula, then sank into Raven's magic pool through the nebula, absorbing magic and elements in the pool water to condense the body, then broke away and condensed into a shape at Raven's feet.

When he looked down and saw it, Raven was speechless.

This is actually a... sleek black cat?

"Ignorant mortal, I am not a cat!" The black cat stood up, showing its emerald green pupils, licking its paws and said, "You should call me Master Sikoret!"

The voice was soft, and it was a female cat.

Sikoret arched his back. "I told you it's not a cat!"

"Okay, Sikoret." Raven squatted down and scratched her head. Sikoret immediately showed a satisfied expression and yawned loudly: "Hmm... scumbag! Your method is pretty good. How many girls have you ruined?"

"Master Sikoret wants his own room, a fluffy blanket, and fish to eat!"

"Okay, all of them will be available." Grabbing Sikoret's neck, Raven held her in his arms, stroking her soft and silky fur with a happy smile on his face.

Level three, so this is what it feels like!

If Raven had to concentrate in the past to be able to feel the existence of magical elements, now he can feel the ups and downs of the elements around him at all times, and the range is enough to cover the entire Eagle Castle.

In other words, anyone using magic within this range cannot escape his senses, and no enchanted weapon can be hidden from him.

In a sense, the entire Eagle Castle was in his hands and became his territory!

This also means that the speed and power of his magic casting will be greatly improved.

In addition, there is his magical pet, Sikoret.

This is not just a magical pet, but also his eyes and his hands. From now on, he can cast spells completely through Xikret!
Moreover, as a magical pet, Sikoret itself has its own innate magic. Currently, Raven can sense three types of them, namely the first-level "Silent", the second-level "Cat's Lightness", and the third-level "Invisibility"!
As Raven's own rank improves, she will be able to awaken more powerful innate magic!
If he could go back to the previous battle now, Raven would be able to beat those horse thieves to death before his magic power was exhausted!
If there is any regret, it is that there is still a lot of energy dissipating in the air, and Raven has just broken through to the third level and has not yet stabilized, so he cannot absorb it.

Raven shook his head helplessly and sighed: "Tsk, what a waste!"

Sikoret yawned: "Being greedy will only bring you harm."

"Baron, are you okay?" Petty pushed open the door anxiously, and then froze.

She saw that the bedroom had become a mess, as if it had just experienced a war, but Raven was spotless, which was out of tune with the whole environment, as if he had transcended the mundane world.

A third-level magician possesses two vortexes of magic power, with elemental tides rising and falling in his body, enough to wash away all dust.

In a few days, once Raven stabilizes at the third level, he will be able to actively control this fluctuation.

"I'm fine. There was just a small error in the experiment." Raven smiled and said, "Ask someone to rearrange the room."

"Yes, Lord Baron."

Time flies by and a month passes in the blink of an eye.

During this period, rumors that Raven commanded the bone dragons to defeat the horse bandits spread throughout the Nord province, but no one believed it.

Some even suspected that Raven had released the news on his own initiative in order to intimidate the surrounding nobles.

Only those close to Raven, such as Patty and Old Gordon, could catch a clue from Xiaobai's disappearance and Raven's absence, but they were not sure.

Raven himself has stabilized at the third level, the construction of the territory is in order, and funds have begun to flow in, but the territory's finances are still not optimistic.

Gregory took the initiative to ask Raven to build a palace for him!
This also made Lei Wen sigh: "Why is it that the more money we make, the less money on the books!"

The good news is that the orphanage has finally been completed and officially put into use. Raven has chosen a day and decided to give a speech.

Early in the morning of the day of the speech, Raven knocked on the door of the church and personally invited Lux ​​to bless the orphans.

……

(End of this chapter)