Oferion approached Ezra and tapped on his chest with the tip of his staff. The gem on top of the staff emitted a bright blue light which spread across Ezra’s skin and gently entered his body.Ezra felt a gentle warmth seeping into his chest and gradually spreading all across his body. His eyes blazed with azure fire, and the tips of his fingers started glowing as pure magic energy rippled on the surface of his palms.“I grant you the power which rightfully belongs to you. Now, you must choose whether to follow the path of shadows or seek the light at the end of the tunnel,” Oferion proclaimed aloud, his voice echoing in the ruined monastery.[Magic Talent level: D][Awakening Completed!][Magic Power maxed out!][Current Magic Power: 500%!][All shooting skills enhanced!][Enhanced shooting skills unlocked:][1. Magic Surge (level 3) (active)][2. Enchanted Hand (level 3) (active)][3. Dragon Eye (level 3) (active)][4. Reflexive Armor (level 3) (active)][5. Shadow Cannon (level 1) (a
The wooden beams supporting the roof of the monastery crackled and snapped like twigs as the flames spread across the room. As the fire bolts kept raining upon the building, it quickly turned into a pyre, with smoke billowing out the hole in its ceiling like a chimney.Ezra realized that if he stayed inside this building even a minute longer, the whole structure would collapse on his head and bury him alive. He could already feel the heat from the flames raging around him, and the smoke made it extremely difficult to see anything.Tying his silk kerchief around his mouth, Ezra took a deep breath and touched his Lunar Howl pendant. “Summon Spectral Companion!”The spectral white wolf leaped out of the pendant and howled. Hearing the ferocious predator’s hunting cry, the Centaur Warriors accompanying the Brutes scampered away in fear.However, the four Brutes attacking the monastery held their ground. Since they were high-level humanoid hybrids, they were extremely resistant to intimidat
Ezra was surprised by this unexpected notification. Silencing wards were usually deployed by mages and adventurers to block teleportation spells and prevent sneaky enemies from dashing from one location to another by using their agility skills.However, Centaurs had never been known to be magic users. If anything, they despised magic due to their past encounters with human sorcerers. “Who the hell is using a silencing ward here?” Ezra looked around him, unsure who else was trying to hunt him down.Oferion’s monastery had already burned down, and there were no other safe havens in the Starlight Forest. Ezra’s only option now was to keep moving and get back on the road as soon as possible.Keeping his Reflexive Armor active, Ezra equipped his enchanted revolvers and carefully made his way through the forest.The Centaurs lurking nearby had their eyes glued on him, but they weren’t too keen on attacking him abruptly since their arrows and bolts had already failed to get through his magic
As the dark fog wafted in Ezra’s direction, the veins on his arms turned black and his skin changed from peachy white to stony gray. His lower body gradually became numb and after a while, he could barely feel his legs.“What is with this fog?” Ezra had never experienced anything like this before and it made him anxious and uncertain.Just then, his system panel flashed open, displaying a terrible status effect.[Warning: Lethal proximity to Dark Fog.][Necrotic Rot contracted!][Skin and flesh decay accelerated by 100%.][Step out of the fog to slow the decay.]“Necrotic Rot? How is this even possible?” Ezra was shocked by the status effect displayed on his system panel. As far as he knew only necrophages and necromancers could inflict Necrotic Rot.But there was no way the undead had raided this forest or else the Centaurs would not have survived the onslaught. What was even more shocking was the presence of a Centaur Shaman in their midst since Centaurs despised magic and were amon
When Ezra had received the notification about the Centaurs, he expected to face a horde of archers and heavy melee attackers. But the Shaman threw all his plans and stratagems out the window.Not only was the Shaman capable of casting minor hexes and curses, but also knew how to effectively deploy wards. And to make matters even worse, this Centaur had pledged his allegiance to Zepheroth which granted him the power of raising the dead with his dark magic.Hearing the guttural grunts of the resurrected Brutes, Ezra turned around. The resurrected Centaur Brutes looked even more formidable in death. Their eyes had turned pitch black, and their battle axes were enveloped in darkness. The Shaman’s dark spell had not only raised them from the dead but imbued them with dark magic. Their hides had turned mottled gray, and dirty black veins had popped up on their arms and necks, making them look like diseased abominations.Ezra downed a magic restoration potion and reloaded his revolvers with
Ezra felt a strange restlessness in his heart as he stared at the wooden totem erected in the middle of the settlement. Even though he had killed the Shaman, he could feel an evil presence lingering in the dark.With the Shaman dead, the dark fog gradually dispersed, and the moon cast its pale glow upon the forest, illuminating the dense undergrowth and pushing back the shadows.Ezra gulped the last healing potion in his inventory to slow the spread of the necrotic rot, but it did little to reverse the damage which had already taken place. His flesh had turned squishy, and his skin dry and flaky. “God, that stinks!” He scrunched his nose as the smell of rotten flesh wafted up his nostrils.Bruised and battered, Ezra looked like he had crawled right out of a nightmare. Even his hair was starting to fall off, and the veins on his arms had turned sickly black. Any sensible person would have hurried out of the forest, but Ezra felt drawn toward the wooden totem before him. It was a stran
The Romanov mansion was unusually quiet this time as Lord Sebastian had ordered all the maids and attendants to take the day off. Only a few guards were asked to stay behind along with a single butler.As Lord Sebastian led Ezra and Aurelia to his study, Ezra could not help but wonder why the house seemed so quiet.“Where is everyone else?” he asked, looking around.“I gave them a day off. They have been working quite hard all year round and I thought it would be nice for them to spend some time with their families,” Lord Sebastian replied, walking into the room with his hands behind his back.“But they do get plenty of leaves all year round. It’s not like they work the whole week,” Ezra replied, unable to understand the reason behind such a decision.Aurelia, however, had already untied the knots. “You see, brother, the people of Aranor have been on edge ever since they heard about the Dewdale infestation. Many of them had relatives living in the village. The commoners are starting to
The Rosington firearms were always custom-made for high-ranking nobles, and their single-barrel shotgun was no different. It was a smoothbore pump-action shotgun enchanted with magic glyphs that were carved onto its stock.Ezra marveled at the shotgun’s polished steel muzzle and the specially designed silver trigger with runic engravings on its surface. Unlike the basic 12-gauge shotguns available in the market, this one had ivory ribs jutting out like pine needles from the top of its barrel, and its movable forestock was made of varnished mahogany wood.Just by looking at the gun Ezra could tell it had cost Count Gressil a few thousand Sovereigns at least, and the silver slugs which came with it had probably set him back by another hundred. As Ezra reached for the shotgun, Marlin’s cursed eye re-opened, but his mouth no longer appeared under it.“You’re finally back. I guess you could not contain your excitement upon sensing a new weapon?” Ezra’s question remained unanswered, but h