In Pure River Town, Luca moved like lightning, his spear flashing forward with precision, piercing through the skull of a rare monster in front of him.
At the same time, a golden light enveloped his body—he had leveled up.
[Ding! Your level has increased to 35! You have earned 30 free attribute points!]
“Finally leveled up!” Luca smiled with satisfaction.
In less than a day, he had managed to raise his level to 35. Despite not having any experience bonuses, the sheer number of monsters he had killed in the square had provided a massive boost to his experience points.
Otherwise, reaching level 35 would have taken much longer.
On top of that, Luca had collected a significant amount of gear materials and a decent stash of gold.
He allocated his attribute points to Spirit, bringing his total to 3300 points. His base attack had now broken past the 8000 mark.
With his skills, he could easily push his damage to over 16,000.
This trip to Pure River Town had been incredibly rewarding!
Satisfied, Luca closed his status panel.
By now, most of the monsters in the other areas had been cleared.
At Luna’s command, everyone began leaving the now lifeless Pure River Town.
Luca glanced around.
He noticed that their numbers had diminished. Several people had fallen to the monsters in the town.
For him, these monsters posed little threat.
But for the majority of the group—mid-tier professionals—fighting these monsters had been a considerable challenge.
“Thankfully, not too many people died,” Luna said after doing a headcount, breathing a sigh of relief.
The number of casualties was far lower than she had anticipated, largely due to Luca killing Adrien early on. Otherwise, many more people would likely have perished.
Calming her emotions, Luna scanned the remaining crowd and announced in a clear voice, “Everyone, Pure River Town has been successfully cleared! We owe it to your efforts. As a result, the mission rewards will be distributed in excess!”
With a wave of her hand, servants descended from the Cloudwing Airship, handing out bank notes from Southwind City to everyone.
The amounts were calculated based on each professional’s contribution during the mission. Even the lowest sum was a staggering 10,000 gold coins, which was a fortune for mid-tier professionals.
Smiles spread across everyone’s faces.
They had risked their lives for one thing: the reward from the City Lord’s mansion.
Luca, of course, also received his mission reward.
However, his was a bit different from the others.
[Ding! Congratulations on completing the mission “Pure River Town Monsters” with a “Perfect” rating!]
[Reward: 150,000 gold coins, 1000 reputation points!]
Luca’s reward was several times higher than that of the other players, and he also gained 1000 reputation points.
This was based on his significant contributions during the mission.
Luna glanced at the group, and for the first time, a slight smile appeared on her face. “This mission was only completed so smoothly thanks to the help of Viscount Luca.”
“If he hadn’t killed Adrien when he did, our losses would have been much higher.”
“When we return to Southwind City, I will personally recommend him for commendation to Marquis Bronte.”
At Luna’s words, the crowd turned their eyes toward Luca, filled with envy.
It was well-known throughout the city that Luna’s standards were extremely high.
No one expected this young man to catch her eye.
Nearby, the portly Pierce looked from Luna to Luca.
Rubbing his chubby chin with an increasingly curious expression.
Before, he had thought he might be imagining things.
But now it seemed like he might have been right all along…
…
With the mission complete, the hired professionals had no reason to stay any longer.
Although the monsters in Pure River Town had been cleared, the bodies still needed to be dealt with, but that task would fall to specialists.
According to Luna, the town would most likely be wiped off the map entirely to prevent the spread of that strange plague.
Luca said his farewells to the group and returned to his cabin on the airship.
Once inside, he carefully set up several protective arcane barriers.
Then, from his storage ring, he pulled out the massive black coffin.
The Undead Coffin was easily twice the size of a normal coffin.
Thankfully, the room was large enough to accommodate it. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to find a place to work.
Earlier, Luca had received a substantial amount of high-tier materials from Orf, so he didn’t have to worry about running out of supplies for the crafting process.
“Let’s begin,” Luca whispered, taking a deep breath as his eyes glowed with a faint purple light. One by one, the high-tier materials floated into the air, enveloped in magic.
He planned to use the journey back to craft the Undead Coffin into his third fixed magic rune. Luca was eager to see what kind of abilities this item might grant him.
Thanks to his previous experiences, crafting high-tier materials had become much easier for him.
To Luca’s surprise, the process of crafting the Undead Coffin was far more difficult than he had anticipated.
This item was incredibly unique, releasing waves of dark energy during the crafting process. freeweɓnovel.cѳm
Luca was astonished.
Even without anyone controlling it, the coffin had its own defensive mechanisms.
Its origins were undoubtedly extraordinary!
If he were to successfully craft it into magic runes, it would likely cause some trouble down the line.
However, after a moment of thought, Luca decided to proceed with crafting the Undead Coffin.
After all, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
If he wanted to accelerate his growth in power, some risks were inevitable.
As Luca became fully absorbed in refining the coffin, Jormungandr silently drifted out from her bracelet.
Watching Luca meticulously refine the Undead Coffin, her expression was strange.
It mix of surprise, pride, and a subtle satisfaction, as if she was reveling in some sort of revenge.
…
At the same time, on another Cloudwing Airship…
The black box hovered mid-air, emitting a blinding, sinister light.
Just gazing at this light seemed to stir the most primal desires within one’s soul.
Under the influence of the black light, everyone aboard the ship—except for Harvis and his few companions—underwent a horrifying transformation.
They writhed on the ground, screaming in agony as their bodies twisted and morphed from human form into grotesque, monstrous shapes.
Gradually, their bodies began to wither, leaking streams of thick, black, foul-smelling liquid that were absorbed into the black box.
In just a few short moments, the luxurious cabin was filled with twisted, pitch-black corpses. The horrific sight would make anyone’s skin crawl.
Yet, Harvis and the others stood there, seemingly oblivious to the carnage around them. Their eyes were vacant, their minds stripped of any sense of self-awareness.
At the same time Luca began crafting the Undead Coffin, the black box hovering midair suddenly trembled violently.
In unison, Harvis and his companions turned their lifeless gazes toward the direction where Luca was, a flicker of confusion crossing their otherwise emotionless eyes.
…
Back in Luca’s luxurious cabin, the once enormous coffin, which had been several meters in length, had completely disappeared.
In its place floated a mass of shiny, pitch-black liquid, swirling and shifting.
“Finally… it’s done,” Luca muttered, sitting cross-legged on the floor, his forehead drenched in sweat. His body relaxed slightly as he allowed himself a moment to rest.
The difficulty of crafting the Undead Coffin had far exceeded his expectations—it was even more challenging than when he had refined the Frost Heart of Hydra.
If not for the significant boost in his strength, he might have failed entirely.
To rival the heart of a Hydra… just what exactly was this thing?
Luca’s curiosity deepened.
However, the greater the challenge in crafting the Undead Coffin, the stronger the powers it would grant him.
And that, at least, was something to be thankful for.
After calming himself, Luca began drawing the magic runes for the Undead Coffin in midair.
Luckily, his previous experiences crafting Superclass magic runes gave him some familiarity with the process.
Though it was still challenging, he managed to complete the drawing of the runes within a few hours.
In the air above him, a strange, pitch-black magic rune floated quietly, shaped like a coffin. Dark energy radiated from it, casting a black hue over the entire room.
If Luca hadn’t had the foresight to set up multiple layers of protection, the entire airship’s crew would likely have been drawn here by the surge of magic.
Carefully, Luca guided the magic rune closer to his body. The moment it touched him, a sharp pain shot through him, followed by an intense feeling of rejection.
To his shock, the magic rune was rejecting him!
This had never happened before.
However, Luca recalled reading in books from Sophia and Orf.
That some special magic runes could indeed cause rejection when fused with a Demonic Rune Mage.
The reasons varied, and there was no clear explanation for why this happened. The recommended course of action was usually to halt the fusion and seek advice from an expert like Orf back at Red Maple Academy.
But Luca knew if Orf found out he had drawn such a dangerous rune.
He would never approve the fusion.
So, Luca had two options: abandon the fusion or force it.
There really wasn’t a choice.
Determined, Luca unleashed his full mental strength and began forcefully fusing the Undead Coffin’s magic rune with his body.
The resistance from the coffin caused him no small amount of trouble, but at the end of the day, it was just an inanimate object without a will of its own.
After several more hours of struggle, a game notification finally appeared.
Read first at mvl _em _pyr.
Luca successfully fused the Undead Coffin’s magic rune.
[Ding! Congratulations, you have successfully crafted the fixed magic rune “Undead Coffin (Superclass),” Quality: Unique!]
[Your skill “Magic Rune Crafting” has reached its maximum level. You have gained 5000 free proficiency points!]
…
“Finally!” Luca let out a breath, a smile spreading across his face.
He wasted no time in checking the attributes of the Undead Coffin magic rune.
[Undead Coffin: Superclass Fixed Magic Rune, Quality: Unique. This magic rune, crafted using the Superclass special material “Undead Coffin,” grants the Demonic Rune Mage incredible regenerative abilities.]
[Skill 1: “Undying Body” (Passive): If you receive a fatal blow, this skill will automatically preserve 1% of your health and prevent your death for 1 minute. Cooldown: 3 days.]
[Skill 2: “Rapid Regeneration” (Passive): Your defense and health are increased by 100%, and your healing rate is increased by 300%. When activated, you can consume your own life force to quickly heal injuries. Cooldown: 3 hours.]
[Skill 3: “Demonic Transformation” (Active): You can use this skill to corrupt and transform a target into a monstrous aberration. The transformed monster will obey your commands for 24 hours before dying. Cooldown: 12 hours.]
[Skill 4: “Demonic Awakening” (Active): Activate the full power of the magic rune, entering the “Demonic Awakening” state. In this state, your life force is increased by 500%, attack power by 300%, and all skills gain special demonic effects. You can use high-tier demonic skills during this state. Duration: 30 minutes. Cooldown: 24 hours.]