Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

From the crack, a wisp of pitch-black mist, capable of swallowing all light, seeped out.

The mist spread rapidly and then condensed into a face made up of countless tiny runes.

The face had no features, only a mouth that opened and closed repeatedly, emitting low, overlapping murmurs—murmurs from the depths of the abyss…

"A contract is established..."

The moment the words left his mouth.

The black, misty face suddenly lunged at Ian!

Its speed far surpassed any previous attack, ignoring space, and it appeared directly in front of Ian.

Ian didn't have time to react, no, he couldn't even react.

The moment that face appeared, his body, his mental strength, and even his thoughts were frozen.

He could only watch helplessly as the black mist struck his brow.

boom!

Ian's consciousness was instantly dragged into pure darkness.

In the darkness, countless fragments of images flashed by...

An endless abyss, layers upon layers of planes, where countless twisted monsters roar.

A dark red rift spanning the void quietly attaches itself to a vibrant world, drawing nourishment from it like a parasite.

Within the world, countless beings are unknowingly corrupted, their souls marked, becoming anchors to the abyss.

Finally, the rift opened completely, and the army of the abyss surged out like a tidal wave...

That was one of the fragments of the Abyss World invading countless worlds.

At the heart of this scene, Ian "saw" a contract.

A contract outlining the fundamental rules of "soul trading and domination," written in the oldest script of the Abyss.

The contract was extremely complex, but its core was very simple:

Offering their souls as sacrifices to gain the favor of the abyss, and using the world as pasture to become shepherds of the abyss.

The Thousand-Eyed Soul-Stealing Demon was one of the signatories of this contract.

And now, it wants to pass on this contract...

Black mist surged wildly into the depths of Ian's consciousness, attempting to imprint the mark of the abyss on his soul and transform him into a new "shepherd."

This is a soul-corroding power far exceeding that of a first-level wizard.

Ian's soul began to tremble, and his consciousness gradually blurred.

Just as the mark of the abyss was about to take shape!

hum!

Suddenly, a pale blue light screen appeared in Ian's field of vision.

On the light screen, countless data streams scrolled wildly.

[High-dimensional soul erosion detected...]

[Energy Source: Fragment of the Will of the Abyss]

[Erosion Intensity: Level 3]

[Analyzing the contract structure...]

[Removing pollutants...]

[Purification in progress...]

In the center of the light screen, a rotating silver vortex appeared.

The black mist that surged into Ian's soul was drawn into the vortex like rivers flowing into the sea.

The madness, distortion, and pollution within the fog are stripped away and purified layer by layer in the vortex.

Only the purest flow of information remains: the "knowledge structure" of that contract.

Purification complete.

[Knowledge Fragment Obtained: Abyss Soul Contract (Extremely Damaged)]

[Description: Records underlying information about soul transactions and world parasitism between the Abyss and its followers. Abyssal contamination has been removed, but the contracts are severely incomplete and cannot be analyzed at this time.]

The darkness receded like a tide, and Ian's consciousness returned to his body.

Ian knelt on one knee, panting heavily, sweat soaking his temples.

From being dragged into the abyss illusion to the powerful purification of the panel [Abyss Soul Pact].

In just a few breaths, it was even more dangerous than the fierce battle with the Thousand-Eyed Soul-Stealing Demon.

A refreshing coolness emanated from the panel and traveled to the mind, soothing the tremors and weariness of the soul.

"Gah! Ian, don't die!" came a terrified voice.

The little guy flapped its wings and kept rubbing its head against his cheek. "You were so still, like a log, it scared me to death!"

Ian raised his hand and weakly rubbed its head, his voice slightly hoarse: "I'm fine."

He propped himself up on his knees, his gaze fixed on the dark golden Eye of the Gaze.

It floated silently above the remains of the monster, its radiance restrained, like a dusty star.

The terrifying pact has dissipated, leaving behind a pure, almost liquefied, essence of spiritual power.

Carefully putting it away, Ian began a thorough search of the battlefield.

Beside Hector's body, besides the identity token of the Withered Council, were several damaged magical artifacts.

Clearly, they may have stored their wealth elsewhere or already spent it before setting off.

As a precaution, Ian completely destroyed any traces of the fire.

Next, his gaze fell upon the corpse of the Thousand-Eyed Soul-Stealing Demon.

The enormous mountain of flesh had dissipated, but in its place, wisps of strange matter, as if possessing life, slowly floated and intertwined.

It was a ball of dark purple "thread," about the size of a fist.

It is not a physical entity, but rather exists between energy and concept, composed of countless constantly flowing threads of soul power.

On the surface of the ball of yarn, a dim light flowed, reflecting negative emotions such as resentment, pain, and fear.

Just by getting close, you can hear faint, mournful whispers.

However, at the heart of these negative emotions lies a pure energy that the soul instinctively yearns for.

"This is... a strand of resentful spirit!"

The Thousand-Eyed Soul-Stealing Demon had devoured countless souls. After its death, its suppressed resentment refused to dissipate and forcibly merged into a special residue.

It contains a vast and complex soul energy, which is highly beneficial to the growth of spiritual power.

However, this thing is more suitable for absorption by familiars with soul contracts.

It can deeply enhance the soul essence of familiars and optimize their innate abilities.

However, it must be highly purified before it can be absorbed; otherwise, the complex resentment contained in the soul threads will pollute and distort the mind of the familiar, and may even cause a backlash.

"Gah! What...what is this?"

Gaga perched on Ian's shoulder, its heterochromatic eyes fixed on the wisp of soul silk, its little paws unconsciously gripping Ian's robe.

It felt a longing from the depths of its soul, like a person dying of thirst finding water.

However, at the same time, the chilling resentment emanating from the soul threads made it instinctively fearful.

The squeaky feathers bristled slightly. "It smells so good... but it's also so scary..."

Ian's eyes lit up: "Your 'feast' needs some 'cooking'."

He took out a specially made crystal bottle, the inner wall of which was engraved with runes of isolation and purification.

Carefully using mental energy, I encased the [Spiritual Resentment] in a bottle and sealed it.

"We'll talk about it when we get back."

He carefully swept the site again before rushing back to his residence at No. 73 in the core area of ​​the fortress.

Gaga kept talking the whole way, from "When can we eat?" to "Will it taste bad?"

Then there's the question of "Will I get bigger and stronger after eating it?", like a bee circling around a honey pot.

"Can we begin now?"

"How long will it take?"

……

"Quiet down, let me finish turning in my task first."

Ian placed it on the workbench and took out the crystal bottle and a series of materials.

"If you keep making noise, we'll wait another three days."

"Gah! I'll shut up!" Gah immediately covered its mouth with its wings, its two little eyes darting around.

Ian went straight to the mission hall and took out the Demon Hunter Jade Token.

The mission "Investigate the Abnormal Energy Fluctuations in the Eastern 'Withered Forest'" has been automatically updated to "Completed".

After a while, the jade tablet vibrated, transmitting confirmation from the command center.

[Mission Assessment: Threat source confirmed and eliminated; mission exceeded target; base merit points 800, additional merit points 1000, total merit points awarded.]

[Special Note: With the removal of pollution sources from the withered forest, the regional threat level has been downgraded to "green".]

1800 merits!

Ian was thrilled; this was almost equivalent to a week's worth of his apprenticeship.

But the joy was quickly overshadowed by worry.

"Hector's disappearance will surely prompt an investigation by the Withering Council... Fortunately, there were no other witnesses at the time, so Legolas and Shio should keep quiet."

He took a deep breath and suppressed his distracting thoughts.

After submitting the task, the merit points were credited to his account, bringing his available merit points to 12760.

The Silver Ring wizard in charge of the handover glanced at him, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"Completed the Withered Forest quest alone... Not bad."

But that's about it.

There was no additional recruitment, no special attention.

The Silver Ring has not yet extended an olive branch to him, perhaps because they have discovered his "Shadowmoon Tower origins" label.

Or perhaps it's because his demonstrated abilities weren't dazzling enough.

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