Ize’s gaze also fell upon that dull, dark scale.
Even from a distance, he could sense its extraordinary nature.
Its material was by no means something possessed by an ordinary monster; it was exceptionally hard, and more importantly, a faint surge of pure and unique magical fluctuations flowed within it.
‘Good stuff,’ Ize evaluated internally.
As a near-grandmaster of magic tool forging, he almost instinctively began to estimate the value of this scale.
‘If I could get a few more, or even a sufficient quantity, it would definitely be a top-tier material for crafting high-level defensive gear or magic tools with special effects.’
At that moment, Leon took a step forward and spoke to Rhea, his tone carrying a hint of imperceptible urgency: “Senior Rhea, this scale… can you leave it in my care?”
The restlessness of the dragon blood within his body was urging him to obtain this dragon scale, but reason told him he could not expose his connection to the dragon race.
Therefore, when Rhea cast an inquiring look his way, Leon was momentarily at a loss for words, stammering and unable to provide a reasonable explanation.
In the end, he could only squeeze out a pale and weak reason: “I… I think it looks very special, it just feels right to me.”
Sarah intervened at the right time, her considerations being more thorough: “Junior Leon, this scale might be related to the core secret of the goblin mutation; it is not ordinary loot. I believe it would be more appropriate to hand it over to Dean Alan of Liyue Academy for professional identification and research. If we don’t uncover the truth, there might be more unknown risks in the future.”
Rhea thought for a moment and felt that Sarah’s words made sense.
She put the scale away again and said indifferently to Leon: “Yes, Sarah is right. Once we return to the Academy and the teacher finishes his research, you can apply to him for it.”
Seeing this, Leon knew he could not force the matter. He could only suppress the longing in his heart and nod in response: “Yes, Senior.”
Sarah looked around at the group, who appeared slightly exhausted after the battle, and suggested: “Everyone worked hard today. It’s late, so let’s head back to the arranged lodgings to rest. Tomorrow, we will contact the nearby noble’s garrison and ask them to formally take over the defense of Cassipe Village. As for us, we must set out as soon as possible for the Raymond Territory. I have a feeling that the goblin mutation here and the truth behind the unknown monster invasion over there are likely connected.”
This judgment was met with everyone’s agreement.
Each with their own thoughts, they returned to the temporary residences arranged by Cassipe Village.
***
Ize returned to his simple room, lay down on the hard wooden bed fully clothed, and closed his eyes to rest, appearing as if he had truly fallen asleep.
However, half an hour later, his tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open. His pupils were clear, showing no sign of drowsiness.
He rose silently and donned the [Misty Shadow Cloak].
Aided by the dismal moonlight outside the window, he slipped out of the silent Cassipe Village like a true shadow, plunging into the dark forest outside.
Coming to a secluded spot outside the village, Ize stopped, concentrated his mind, and slowly mobilized the vast magic power within his body.
Soon, a thin, pale blue line of magic that only he could see slowly emerged in his vision, pointing deep into the forest. This was exactly the hidden magic coordinate he had left on the goblin leader earlier.
From the moment this goblin leader displayed extraordinary intelligence and accurately designated him as a priority kill target, Ize had no intention of letting it go.
A monster that possessed high intelligence, held grudges, and had witnessed some of his anomalies was a potential threat as long as it lived.
He would never allow such uncertainty to exist.
Following the guidance of the magic line, Ize moved rapidly through the dense forest.
About half an hour later, he stopped before a concealed cave entrance.
A strong, pungent stench and a faint aura of monsters emanated from within.
Scattered human remains lay at the cave entrance, signaling the danger within.
Deep inside the cave, within a relatively spacious main chamber, that Lord-class goblin leader was slumped on a crude “throne” piled with animal bones and rubble, lingering fear still visible on its face.
It could not understand how its full-strength blow, which was enough to shatter stone monuments, had landed squarely on that seemingly weak human, yet the opponent hadn’t even suffered a scratch!
This completely overturned the perception of humans it had built over months of hunting and observation—those mages were extremely fragile once they lost their magical protection, and among those warriors and knights, very few could reach a level of defense comparable to a Lord-class monster.
Recalling that human male who could effortlessly instant-cast a massive amount of low-tier magic as easily as breathing, whose magic power was bottomless, and who possessed freakish defensive capabilities, it couldn’t help but tremble all over.
That was simply a monster! A monster wearing human skin!
It felt incredibly fortunate that it had made the decisive choice to retreat at that time, and that monster didn’t seem to have any intention of pursuing.
“Are you thinking about me?”
A calm human voice abruptly rang out in the silent cave, scaring the goblin leader so much that it nearly jumped off its “throne” in its lingering fear.
Ize slowly stepped out from the shadows, threw back the [Misty Shadow Cloak], and revealed a face that looked exceptionally “kind” under the flickering light of the torches.
The moment it saw him, the goblin leader’s pupils suddenly shrank to the size of needle points. Immense terror seized its throat, causing it to emit meaningless, raspy hisses.
“As I thought, you were just thinking about me.”
Ize nodded. From the other party’s anthropomorphic expression of terror and its previous composed command behavior, he confirmed once again that this goblin’s intelligence was extremely high, far exceeding ordinary monsters and not even inferior to humans.
This further solidified his intent to kill.
The goblin leader suppressed its fear and let out a string of sharp, hurried commands in the goblin tongue.
In an instant, over a hundred goblins swarmed out from various parts of the cave. They moved swiftly with a clear division of labor; warriors held shields at the front, while archers and a few goblins holding bone staves positioned themselves in the rear, quickly surrounding Ize in layer upon layer. The formation was perfectly orderly.
Seeing this scene, Ize actually smiled.
Perfect. Earlier, he had only tested the “chip-damage style” of fire magic; he hadn’t had the chance to properly verify other elemental magic in actual combat.
With so many live targets, they were practically practice subjects delivered to his doorstep.
He no longer hesitated, raised his right hand, and snapped his fingers crisply.
In the next moment, a continuous, low rumbling echoed within the cave! Over a hundred [Earth Rock Walls] rose from the ground almost simultaneously. Thick stone walls stacked one after another, sealing off all exits of the cave, including the ventilation holes, with staggering speed and precision! The thickness of the resulting stone barrier exceeded ten meters, completely cutting off any possibility of any creature escaping.
That wasn’t all. Ize waved his left hand casually, and a scorching aura instantly filled the air!
Over a hundred [Flame Walls] appeared out of thin air, connecting with each other to form a giant, airtight cage of fire, enveloping himself and all the goblins within. The fire walls blazed furiously, their thickness also reaching a staggering ten-plus meters. The intense heat caused the air to begin to warp.
Having completed all this, Ize clapped his hands, a “gentle” smile appearing on his face that, in the eyes of the goblin leader, looked incomparably hideous.
“Alright, the bothersome exits are gone, and the noisy sounds won’t leak out either.”
His tone was relaxed, as if he were setting up an amusement park. “Now, we can enjoy a game together.”
Looking at this scene that defied magical common sense, the Lord-class goblin leader’s eyes fell into complete despair.
This human was not only a monster but a monster with a twisted sense of humor!
He clearly possessed the strength to cast high-tier magic [or so it thought], yet he insisted on using this inefficient method that consumed massive amounts of magic power just to toy with them!
This wasn’t a battle at all; it was one-sided, cruel entertainment!
The time that followed became Ize’s personal field test for magic.
Wind blades, water arrows, earth spikes, lightning strikes… basic magic of every element was summoned at his fingertips, pouring out with a frequency and quantity that transcended common sense. He constantly tried combining, stacking, and accelerating them, verifying various possibilities of “quantity leading to qualitative change.”
Inside the cave, the screams of goblins and the explosions of magic rose and fell one after another.
Under Ize’s immersive “research,” the hundred-plus goblins, including those few brawny Elite-class individuals, quickly turned into consumables for verifying his magical theories, falling onto the cold ground.
Looking at the mess everywhere and his “experimental results,” Ize nodded with satisfaction.
Facts proved that his unconventional path of magic indeed possessed infinite potential.
At this moment, within the entire cave, besides Ize, only the Lord-class goblin leader remained, slumped on its throne with a face as ashen as death.
It looked at the thick, still-burning walls of fire surrounding it, and the even deeper, indestructible rock walls beyond them. Its eyes were completely lifeless.
Escape? There was no way to escape.
Ize slowly walked toward it, his footsteps exceptionally clear in the silent cave.
“Alright, the trash has been cleared out.”
Ize came to a halt in front of it, his tone still flat. “It’s your turn. I know you can understand my words.”
He leaned down slightly, looking into the goblin leader’s terror-filled eyes, and offered a “suggestion”:
“Let’s play a new game next. The rules are very simple—as long as you can wound me, even if you just scratch a tiny bit of my skin, or even just make me feel a hint of pain…”
The “kind and friendly” smile appeared on Ize’s face once more.
“I’ll let you go. How about it?”
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