Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

The cave has temporarily returned to calm.

Alyvia walked up to Ian, her gaze sweeping over his tattered robes and the raven familiar on his shoulder, its feathers charred but its eyes bright and alert.

"You've advanced one level? And... you're quite strong."

Her tone was calm, but the shock in her eyes was unmistakable.

"I was lucky." Ian bowed slightly. "Thank you for your help back then."

"It's just a transaction, no need to thank me."

Alyvia waved her hand, her gaze falling on the still-dissipating crystal cone in his hand.

"That shield-split attack technique you just used was ingenious. Did you improve it yourself?"

"It combines two types of shield magic."

Ian didn't elaborate, but instead said, "I have important intelligence here."

He took out the jet-black bone token he had obtained from the man in black robes, as well as a bloodstained emblem he had picked up next to the remains of the bloody hand.

"There is a mysterious organization inside the Demon Cave that specializes in hunting down lone wolves who rank high on the contribution leaderboard."

I was attacked by three men in black robes. They were very coordinated and skilled in soul attacks and death magic.

Alyvia took the token, her fingertips tracing the symbol of the pupilless eye on it, her brows furrowing.

"The Eye of Twilight... they've actually infiltrated the Demon Hunter battlefield."

"The Eye of Twilight?" Ian pressed.

"A wizarding organization active in the shadows, whose members are mostly fallen, wanted criminals, and defectors."

They are skilled in necromancy and assassination, and enjoy hunting down promising lone wolves to extract their souls or plunder their talents.

Alyvia said gravely, "In this demon-hunting war, they probably want to take advantage of the chaos to harvest a batch of 'seeds'."

She looked at Ian: "You've been targeted, which means your potential has caught their attention. Going alone is too dangerous; come with us."

Ian had the same idea: "Thank you very much."

"You were born in Shadowmoon, and now you're a first-level wizard," Alyvia said, turning to the team members.

"This is Ian Marcus, now our teammate."

The team members nodded in greeting, but their eyes held a mixture of scrutiny and curiosity.

The strength Ian had just displayed, especially his ice and fire ray magic, made them wary of him.

"You seem to be suffering from some kind of mental trauma."

Alyvia took a small crystal bottle from her bosom and handed it to Ian.

"Moonlight Dew has a very good soothing effect on psychological trauma."

Ian accepted it without hesitation: "Thank you, Wizard Elivia."

He drank the Moon Dew, and the cool energy flowed through his spiritual sea, instantly relieving his sense of exhaustion.

Gaga also flew down from my shoulder, curiously observing the members of the Shadowmoon Squad.

Finally, it squatted down at Ian's feet, its little head looking left and right.

"Your familiar... is a bit special." Elivia glanced at Gaga a few more times.

"Shadow attribute, but the eye technique seems to have an effect of interfering with fate?"

"Its name is Gaga, and it does have some special talents," Ian said without going into details.

Alyssa didn't ask any more questions. After a short rest, they continued their advance towards the core area.

"According to intelligence from headquarters, we may encounter a clone of the 'Demon Cave Lich' ahead. Everyone, stay alert."

Everyone took turns regulating their breathing, and Ian also took the opportunity to check the panel.

The analysis progress of 【Abyss Soul Contract (Fragment)】 is stuck at 15%, but an additional note has appeared.

[A simplified version of the Contract Altar can be constructed by consuming mental energy and specific materials. Current material completeness: 22/100.]

"I need to collect more runestones..." Ian thought to himself.

After resting, the team set off again.

This time, Ian walked in the middle of the group, with Gaga perched on his shoulder.

Occasionally, it flaps its wings a couple of times, trying to attract the attention of one of the witches in the group.

The other person had a small cloth bag hanging from their waist, emitting a nutty aroma.

"Ian, I want to eat that..." Gaga transmitted her voice.

"I'll buy it for you when we get back."

"I want to eat it right now..."

"Quiet."

"Gah..."

Alyvia walked at the front, her mental energy spreading out like a tide, sensing the energy flow within the passage.

Suddenly, she stopped, raising her staff: "Stop!"

Almost simultaneously, a human figure slowly "grew" out from the shadows of the passage ahead.

It is pieced together from decaying fungal carpet, dark red blood vessels, and grayish-white bones.

Its face had no facial features, only three constantly rotating purplish-black vortexes.

"The Demon Cave Lich... clone." Alyvia's voice was icy.

The clone slowly raised its hand, the vortex in its palm aimed at the team, and a silent mental shriek erupted!

The spiritual shriek is invisible and intangible, yet it strikes the soul of every person like a heavy hammer.

Within the Shadowmoon Squad, two of the weaker wizards groaned, their shields vibrating violently, and blood trickling from the corners of their mouths.

"Hold your mind!" Alyvia whispered.

The sapphire at the top of the staff emitted a cool, moonlit glow, transforming into a soft halo that enveloped the team.

The [Soul Devouring] property in Ian's mental sea activated automatically.

The dark red vortex devoured most of the invading mental attack, and the remaining part was withstood by the liquefied mental energy.

His eyes flashed, and the instant Alyvia's moonlight barrier unfolded, he made his move.

Twelve floating crystal cones shot out, but they were not aimed at the lich's clone.

Instead, it shot towards the vein patterns on the surrounding rock walls, which were continuously supplying energy to the clone.

Puff puff……

The crystal cone pierced the blood vessel, and the power attached to [Spirit Devourer] began to frantically extract the polluted energy from it.

Puff puff……

The crystal cone pierced the blood vessel, and the power attached to [Spirit Devourer] began to frantically extract the polluted energy from it.

The clone's body trembled, and the vortex in its palm slowed down noticeably.

"Disrupt its energy supply," Ian shouted.

The team members reacted immediately, unleashing various spells at the veins in the rock wall.

Lightning blasts, frost freezes, wind blades cut... large patches of blood vessels dim and break.

The clone's body began to become unstable, and signs of separation appeared between the surface fungal carpet and the skeleton.

"Gah! Watch this!"

Gaga leaped from Ian's shoulder, its wings unfurling, and [Eye of Calamity] was activated at full power.

A dense gray light was brushed onto the three vortexes on the front of the clone.

The vortex suddenly stopped spinning, and even briefly reversed direction.

"A great opportunity!" Elivia raised her staff high.

The moonlight before her gradually condensed into a three-meter-long Moon Spear.

Silver runes flowed across the gun's body, emanating an aura of purification and annihilation.

"go!"

The Moonlight Spear shot through the air and accurately struck the clone's chest!

boom!

The clone exploded, scattering putrid fungal carpet, bone fragments, and purplish-black energy in all directions.

But the fragments did not completely disappear; instead, they attempted to reassemble.

"It needs to be reborn, completely purified!"

Elivia cast spells continuously, and moonlight fell like rain, scorching every fragment.

Ian also unleashed a sweeping attack with the Frost Ray, the intertwined power of ice and fire freezing and incinerating the fragments.

The rest of the team used their own methods, and finally, all the fragments turned to ashes during the purification process.

The cave fell silent for a moment, with only the blood vessels remaining on the rock walls still pulsating faintly.

"It's solved..." A young witch breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Alyvia looked at Ian, her admiration undisguised.

"The reaction is very fast, and the crystal cone's ability to absorb energy is very powerful."

"It was just a trick." Ian retracted the crystal cone.

"In a life-or-death battle, being able to use tricks is a skill."

Alyvia walked to the spot where the clone had vanished, bent down, and picked up a dark purple crystal fragment.

"This is a core fragment of the lich's avatar, containing distorted rules information. Handing it over to the command center will earn you merit points."

She handed the fragments to Ian: "Your spoils."

Ian thought for a moment and shook his head: "It was a team effort that killed him."

"But the key disruption was your doing," Alyvia insisted. "Take it; it's the rule."

Ian stopped refusing and accepted the fragment.

It feels cool to the touch, with a subtle, regular flow inside, but it's full of distortion and contamination.

He put it away for the time being, planning to try purifying it with the panel when he got back.