My inventory is full of monster materials.

Chapter 141 Divine Sacrifice

Shadow Dragon!

Shadow Dragon again!

Mark's doubts deepened. He fiddled with the black scales with his fingers for a few moments, then calmly handed them to Gray beside him.

"Gray, take a look, are these black dragon scales?"

Gray took the scales, examined them with both hands, and then asked with a puzzled look.

"Huh? Besides black dragons, are there any other dragons that are black?"

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Mark was speechless. Although he had a system panel that could determine the authenticity of the scales, he couldn't express his opinion too obviously, so he had to ask indirectly.

"Do you think these could be scales from a shadow dragon?"

Upon hearing the words "Shadow Dragon," Gray's expression clearly froze for a moment, then he fell into deep thought, muttering to himself.

"Shadow Dragons are the original dragon race of the Fallen Shadow Realm. They are born with the power to control shadows and death and are ancient creatures of the dark plane."

"Logically speaking, Shadow Dragons rarely leave the Fallen Realm," and they wouldn't appear on the Prime Material Plane, so how could these scales possibly belong to a Shadow Dragon?

However, Mark recalled that Professor Morris had mentioned that a shadow dragon had appeared in the core area of ​​the Golan Forest thirty years ago.

Although Serge City is hundreds of kilometers away from Pinewood Town, in the eyes of the dragon, it is just a matter of flapping its wings a few times, and it is not impossible for it to leave behind a scale or a claw.

Just as Mark was deep in thought, Gray finally snapped out of it and spoke.

"To be honest, both the Black Dragon and the Shadow Dragon possess dark elemental energy, and I find it difficult to distinguish between them with the naked eye alone."

"To obtain a specific and accurate result, it is necessary to send it to the Mage's Association for specialized evaluation."

"Cough cough."

Suddenly, Killian's cough interrupted their conversation.

Gray and Mark exchanged a embarrassed glance and handed the scales back.

After receiving the scale, Killian turned around, faced the entire squad, and solemnly said...

"This dragon scale is the biggest spoil of war in this campaign against the kobold tribe."

"According to the adventurers' rules, we need to hold an internal auction first, and the proceeds will be divided equally among all team members. Does everyone agree?"

Eris and the others all nodded in agreement.

Mark and Gray both sighed, but did not refute it.

As mage professionals, the two had a great interest in monster materials, but since it was a collective effort, they couldn't keep it all to themselves.

Seeing that everyone agreed, Killian raised the dragon scales and shouted.

"Excellent! The starting price for this dragon scale is 1000 gold coins, and the minimum bid is 100 gold coins. Now, the auction begins!"

Upon hearing this reserve price, both Eris and Nolan frowned.

A single dragon scale is actually somewhat useless; at most, it can only serve as a consumable for alchemy or as an auxiliary material for equipment.

If we could get another twenty or thirty pieces to complete a set of dragon scale armor, that would be a truly priceless treasure.

It is said that the royal family of the Kingdom of Augea possesses a set of True Crimson Gold Dragon Scale Armor, which is a legendary national treasure.

Grey stroked his chin, his eyes hesitant, then shook his head.

Mark also carefully considered it in his mind.

He has over 3000 gold coins on hand, which gives him the potential to make an offer.

But for a single Shadow Dragon scale...

not worth it.

A single dark-attribute dragon scale is destined to be effective only against specific professions.

Even if it's a purple-quality material, for Mark it's just a meaningless "Dark Resonance (Blue)".

It's truly a case of something so beautiful that it would be a shame to throw it away.

Moreover, Mark suspected that Killian had overstated his asking price.

How many scales does a dragon have? If each scale is worth 1000 gold coins, the economy would have collapsed long ago.

Mark has reason to suspect that Killian deliberately let Dragon Scale go unsold!

But just as the auction fell into a brief silence, a clear and loud voice suddenly broke the silence.

"3000 gold coins!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Adele raising her little pink fist, her face full of excitement and her eyes sparkling.

"Each of you will get 500 gold coins, and this dragon scale is mine. How about it?"

Killian looked down at the scale in his hand, then at Adele who was looking at him expectantly, and asked again to confirm.

"Are you sure? 3000 gold coins is no small sum."

Adele nodded vigorously and explained with a smile.

"Of course I'm sure! This is my first time adventuring with everyone, and it's also the first time I've obtained such meaningful loot."

"Whatever it is, I'm going to frame it and cherish it as the first medal of my adventuring career!"

It turns out it was for commemoration.

Everyone understood.

At the same time, one has to admire Adele's generosity as the daughter of the guild president; she's incredibly wealthy, spending 3000 gold coins just for a fleeting desire.

Killian didn't ask any more questions and handed the dragon scale in his hand to Adele.

Adele carefully took the scale, then took out an exquisite gold and gem box from her dimensional bag and carefully stored the scale inside.

Then, Adele took out a heavy leather bag and handed it to Killian.

Killian took the leather bag and poured it out, and colorful magic crystals flowed out, refracting brilliant colors, each one crystal clear.

The scene was so dazzling that everyone present stared wide-eyed.

This whole bag of magic crystals contains only mid-grade crystals; with just a little processing, they can be made into a high-quality magic ornament.

Killian suppressed his surprise, divided the magic crystal in his palm into six equal parts, and handed them to the team members one by one.

Everyone's face was beaming with smiles.

Even Eris, a scion of a long-established noble family, took notice of him.

This auction was a win-win situation for everyone.

Then, Killian pointed to several treasure chests nearby and said in a deep voice.

"You can take whatever you need from these treasure chests, as long as it's not very valuable."

"As for what's left over, I'll hand it over to Butler Madeline to sell for a profit, and then give it to everyone after this mission is completed."

Upon hearing this, everyone became quite informal and crowded around the treasure chest, selecting items that caught their eye.

Mark didn't join Taobao's group; instead, he walked alone to the giant dragon statue carved from obsidian and quietly examined it.

The crouching dragon on the statue is ferocious and majestic, and there seems to be a trace of dark energy remaining in the empty space of its mouth.

Just as Mark was intently examining the statue, he suddenly heard a faint, low murmur in his ear. The voice was obscure and difficult to understand, like an ancient incantation repeating itself endlessly.

"Φ△ωΦ△ωωΦ⊆w\∞..."

This familiar feeling instantly reminded Mark of the sacrificial altar he encountered when the "White Eagle" squad raided the goblin camp.

However, Mark has now become a formal mage, and his mental strength is far stronger than before. He is less affected and has not experienced dizziness.

Driven by mere curiosity, Mark slowly reached out and placed his palm on the statue's cold surface.

The moment they made contact, the whispers in their ears reached their maximum intensity, as if countless people were whispering in their ear. At the same time, their vision blurred and a screen of light suddenly appeared.

【Shadow ΦΦi\ΦWΦ∆ was detected】

[Whispers of the Abyss detected. Do you accept/disappear?]

Mark's pupils dilated and contracted suddenly, and his heart skipped a beat.

This obsidian sculpture is no ordinary ornament, but an object with divine power, similar to a job change emblem.

"Don't touch it."

Suddenly, an ethereal voice appeared behind Mark, instantly silencing his murmurs and distracting thoughts.

Mark jerked his hand away as if electrocuted, and turned around sharply to see Theresa standing beside him.

At this moment, Theresa's expression was no longer indifferent, but instead her eyes were solemn. The holy light patterns on her armor flickered, surrounded by a holy aura, and her long, straight, golden hair moved without wind, overflowing with golden light particles.

Upon seeing who it was, Mark asked in confusion.

"Theresa, you noticed the problem with this sculpture a long time ago?"

The teammates next to them were still busy picking through the treasure chests, completely oblivious to the conversation between the two, as if they were in two separate worlds.

Theresa nodded gently, walked slowly to the sculpture, her gaze sweeping over every detail, and said softly.

"From the moment we began our campaign against the kobold tribe, I sensed the abyssal aura emanating from this sculpture deep within the cavern."

"This is a corrupted energy. Those whispers are the Abyss's attempt to cross the prime material plane, tempting and corrupting any creature that gets close to it. Once it accepts these whispers, it will become a puppet of the Abyss's will."

As she spoke, Teresa gently stroked the sculpture with her delicate hand. Milky white ripples spread from her palm to the entire sculpture, and the surface emitted a "sizzling" sound. The eerie black aura melted away like ice and snow.

A moment later, Theresa withdrew her hand.

Mark looked at the sculpture with curiosity. Although it was still as black as jade, the whispering, restless feeling had disappeared.

"You are the one who purified the dark energy above?"

Theresa suddenly turned her head, her bright golden eyes fixed on Mark's face. She paused for a moment before speaking.

"Mark, you may have misunderstood. Light and darkness are twin sisters. They are never in opposition or restraint. On the contrary, they complement each other and maintain a balance."

"Just like day and night, they alternate to make up a complete world."

Then, Theresa changed the subject and explained.

"The abyss is the culprit that broke this balance. It distorts all matter and energy, whether it is light and darkness or everything else. Once it erodes everything, it will deviate from its original trajectory."

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Mark was puzzled. The usually taciturn paladin had suddenly become very talkative and was saying a lot of things he couldn't understand.

However, Mark responded to the blonde girl's kindness by expressing his gratitude.

"Thank you for telling me this...interesting little story."

Theresa smiled broadly, as if she had heard a joke, but without responding, she silently left.

It wasn't until this moment that Killian suddenly noticed Theresa appearing at the "spoils" scene, grabbing a handful of magic crystals with a slightly apologetic tone and calling out.

"Hey, Theresa! I was planning to... eh?"

Theresa ignored his shouts and walked away, leaving Killian bewildered in the wind. Then she shrugged at Mark and put the magic crystal back in her pocket.

Mark looked back at the sculpture and pondered for a moment before reaching out to touch it again. This time, the light screen that appeared was completely different from the previous one.

[Detected "shadowy spying," do you accept/disappear?]

Mark frowned even more deeply, considering what Teresa had just said...

Could this be the original form of the sculpture?

A divine object of shadow.

Suddenly, Mark remembered another divine object: the beak of a three-eyed raven!

Mark quickly took out a smooth, shiny black bird beak bone from his dimensional bag.

【The Three-Eyed Raven's Beak in the Night (Purple)】

Completeness: 11%

[Effect]: "The Secret of the Night"

[Special]: Divine Revival (11/100) - Sacrifice divine substances such as 'Shadow', 'Nightmare', 'Abyss', and 'Death'.

Mark's gaze fell on "Divine Restoration" on the equipment panel, and an idea came to mind.

To verify his hypothesis, Mark "equipped" himself with the materials, placed his hand on the sculpture again, and then silently recited something in his mind.

[Sacrifice]

In an instant, the blackness of the obsidian sculpture, as if it were alive, was completely absorbed into Mark's palm, and in the blink of an eye, it turned into a gray-white stone statue, which then collapsed into countless fragments.

At the same time, the "Three-Eyed Raven Beak" in the [Head] equipment slot has also changed.

The beak grows into a complete bird skull, and the name changes to [Three-Eyed Raven Skull of the Night (Purple)]. The special progress changes to "Divine Revival (23/100)".

Mark took the Raven Skull out of his inventory, weighed it in his hand a few times, but found no other changes.

At that moment, the sound of the sculpture collapsing startled the other members.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked in the direction of the sound. When they saw the grayish-white pebbles scattered on the ground, their faces showed surprise.

Killian walked over first, kicked at the pebbles on the ground, and asked with a puzzled look.

"Mark, what happened? How did the sculpture collapse?"

Eris, Nolan, Adele, and Gray followed closely behind, their eyes scanning back and forth between the rubble and Mark, their gazes filled with curiosity.

Mark pondered for a few seconds, then showed a slightly surprised expression before shifting the blame.

"Didn't you see? Theresa sensed an evil aura emanating from the statue and cleaned it up casually. I was going to check if there was anything different about it, but it shattered as soon as I touched it."

Mark's mention of it made Killian suddenly realize what was going on.

"Teresa did indeed come from the sculpture area just now."

Nolan echoed this sentiment.

"I carried this sculpture out of my back; it does have a somewhat unsettling aura about it."

Adele, holding the gold and jewel box, looked at the rubble with regret on her face.

"What a pity! This sculpture is quite unique. I was thinking of taking it back and surrounding it with a fountain to admire it."

"Cough cough."

Mark was speechless at the young lady's bizarre idea.

Next time, we need to stay far away.

As for the sculpture collapsing, it was easily brushed off by the team members as they talked amongst themselves.

At this point, the treasure had been divided up into several parts.

The two-hour break was also coming to an end.

Killian then let out a loud groan.

"Sigh! The kobold tribe has been wiped out, and we still have to cross an underground river. The journey ahead is extremely dangerous."

As soon as he finished speaking, a graceful figure in a standard uniform stepped out from behind Killian.

It was Madeline, the team's liaison.

Madeline and Killian nodded to each other, signaling a brief handover of command, before announcing the changes to the squad members present.

"Operation Anchor Point, the engineering team has located the optimal entrance to the underground river. Please follow me."