Chapter 16

Although relying on mana to cast spells allowed Gordon to far surpass ordinary mages in the number of spells he could use, he was unfortunately lacking in various magical tools and aids. Moreover, among the spells he mastered, there were very few that were truly useful, greatly reducing his flexibility in battle.

Fortunately, his enemy, Mendoza, also had a fatal flaw.

Spells from the Evocation school were known for their direct destructive power, while Necromancy spells were cruel and mysterious, excelling in one-hit kills. Mendoza, who specialized in these two schools, had formidable offensive capabilities, but he clearly had little knowledge of protective and buffing spells.

If he had cast "Protection from Arrows" on himself earlier, Gordon would not have been able to sneak attack with his crossbow and turn the tide of the battle.

After this battle, Gordon did not feel elated about his victory against a stronger opponent. Instead, he gained a more direct understanding of his own shortcomings. His desire to become stronger became even more urgent.

Gordon lay on the ground in a star shape, panting heavily. The act of pulling the trigger had almost drained all his strength, and now he couldn't even move.

After a long while, his brain, which had been oxygen-deprived and dizzy, finally returned to normal. Gordon mustered the strength he had painstakingly accumulated and wobbled to his feet.

What was he going to do? Of course, he was going to loot the corpse, something that players always enjoy!

As a well-off mage, Mendoza was certainly not as poor as Gordon.

"Detect Magic!"

A faint green light ignited in Gordon's pupils. He scanned Mendoza's corpse, ensuring there were no magical traps emitting auras before he began searching.

It must be said that being a mage was a wealthy profession, or rather, only the wealthy could become mages—well, Gordon was an exception.

On Mendoza's corpse, Gordon found a lizard skin money pouch containing over two hundred gold coins. The magic scrolls had been used up in the previous battle, leaving only the bone wand that could fire Melf's Acid Arrow.

This wand could only fire five acid arrows in total and was now empty. If Gordon wanted to use it, he would need to recharge it with spells.

The most valuable item Gordon found was a dimensional bag that Mendoza had carried.

This dimensional bag had an internal space of about one cubic meter. After Mendoza's death, Gordon marked the bag with his own imprint and password, claiming it as his own. The bag alone was worth at least three hundred gold coins, not to mention its contents.

Inside the dimensional bag was a small box made of ebony. The box contained green emeralds, red rubies, beryl, opals, fluorite, blue diamonds, and other precious gems.

These finely polished, brilliantly shining earth crystals almost blinded Gordon.

The value of just this box of gems exceeded four hundred gold coins.

Next to the ebony box, four glass bottles lay quietly. Each bottle contained a different mysterious substance.

A solid yellow substance; a dancing red light; a changing blue liquid; a dynamic white vortex. These were the essences of the four elements: wind, fire, water, and earth!

These precious substances were widely used in the creation of various magical items and were in high demand. Obtaining elemental essences required either killing large elemental creatures or using teleportation spells to gather them from the four elemental planes, both of which were extremely difficult.

Although these four bottles of elemental essences were only "trace" level, each was worth at least one hundred gold coins.

Gordon carefully put the elemental essences back. In the dimensional bag, there were two books: "Joras' Alchemical Compendium" and Mendoza's personal notes on magic.

Gordon didn't have time to read the books in detail. He put the dimensional bag away and took out the Dawn Badge that Priest Jack had given him. He lightly rubbed the surface of the badge and softly said, "Meridia." A prominent light ball immediately shot into the sky, bursting into a brilliant white light that dispelled the clouds and mist.

Given what had happened in the cemetery, Gordon didn't plan to hide it from the Dawn Temple, nor could he. So he decided to notify the priests to handle the aftermath as soon as possible.

The light from the signal flare illuminated half the cemetery like daylight. Gordon, using the light, noticed that Mendoza's corpse had suddenly changed.

A pale blue flame ignited Mendoza's robes. The flame quickly spread over his entire body, burning the clothes to ashes. Surprisingly, Mendoza's skin remained intact under the high temperature, but the pale color rapidly turned red, and black lines emerged from his navel, spreading like snakes over his entire body.

The air suddenly filled with the smell of sulfur.

The pale blue flame rose, forming a faint human shape with horns and a tail.

In the flickering light, a deep voice sounded: "Human, you killed my follower and ruined my plans!"

Through his eyes, Gordon saw the human shape emit chaotic and evil magical auras. Although it was just a shadow, the vortex-like power still stirred Gordon's thoughts.

A demon, and an extremely powerful one!

Seeing Gordon's silence and guarded expression, the blue flame shadow flickered and danced: "Hmm, your potential seems stronger than that foolish necromancer. How about it, bow down to the might of chaos and become my follower, and I will grant you infinite power!"

"Thanks, but no thanks. There are many ways to pursue power, and I don't think I need to rely on a demon to achieve my goals." Gordon quietly took a few steps back.

"Those who reject me never have a good end. Die then!"

The blue human shadow in the flames suddenly began to swell. Gordon felt a terrifying power building within it. He realized it was bad and tried to turn and run, but found himself immobilized as if under a binding spell.

"Is this it? Am I really going to die?"

"Demon! Go back to your sulfurous plains!"

Accompanied by a stern rebuke, a white light shot out, creating a large hole in the blue flame. A silver sword followed, slicing the human shape in half.

"I curse you, detestable order!" the demon screamed and dissipated in the material plane.

Finally, reinforcements from the Dawn Temple arrived.

A large group of people appeared in the lonely cemetery. Familiar face, Priest Jack, led the way. Behind him was a man in chainmail, holding a holy symbol in one hand and a flail in the other. The white light that dispelled the demon came from his holy symbol. The man's light-colored cloak fluttered in the night wind, and his chiseled, resolute features exuded a weathered charm, with a thick but neat beard—this kind of mature, charming middle-aged man was likely the dream of many young girls.

Next to the middle-aged man stood a female warrior in silver armor. She was tall and slender, with delicate features, blue eyes, and golden hair, exuding a heroic aura in every movement.

"Indeed, in a world of swords and magic, it would be a shame not to have a heroic blonde female warrior," Gordon observed the woman holding a two-handed longsword.

"Cough, cough," Priest Jack cleared his throat, making Gordon realize his gaze was a bit impolite.

"Mr. Gordon, let me introduce you. This is," Jack pointed to the middle-aged man, "Jude Frey, the Dawnlight Battle Priest of the Dawn Temple."

In addition to various administrative roles, battle priests in the Dawn Church were generally divided into three ranks: Twilight, Dawn, and Dawnlight. Jude was the highest rank, a Dawnlight Battle Priest, and was likely very powerful.

Jude nodded slightly at Gordon and smiled charmingly. Before Jack could continue, the female warrior introduced herself: "I am the Holy Warrior of Lady Meridia, Lenaiss Reinhart. Could you please provide a detailed account of what happened just now?"

Gordon nodded and said, "While I was keeping watch in the cemetery, I discovered this necromancer and four vagrants attempting to rob graves. They ambushed my cottage..."

He briefly recounted the events. However, although he was clear that the necromancer Mendoza and the four thieves were sent by Dunville Ritter to murder him, Gordon did not reveal the truth. Without sufficient evidence, accusing Dunville would only alert him and put Gordon at a disadvantage. The Ritter family, though only honorary nobles, controlled one-third of the weapon market in Bluewater City, and their wealth and connections were far beyond what a down-and-out noble like Gordon could easily challenge.

After listening to Gordon's account, the members of the Dawn Church did not doubt him. It was not uncommon for necromancers to rob graves in cemeteries for magical research.

What worried them was the sudden anomaly on Mendoza's corpse.

"After seeing your signal, I brought five Temple Guardians here," Priest Jack said. "Unexpectedly, the temple sensed a sudden surge of chaotic energy in the cemetery. Priest Jude and Holy Warrior Lenaiss were sent to investigate. Did you notice anything, Mr. Gordon?"

"I'm just a low-level mage, and my knowledge of the Abyss is limited. I only know that after Mendoza's death, his body soon began to mutate. A demon appeared before me, trying to tempt me. Although it was just a projection in the material plane, I could still sense that the demon was very powerful," Gordon said.

Lenaiss's sea-blue eyes flashed with a hint of light. She scanned Mendoza's corpse and said, "This body has been specially treated for an evil ritual. The magical runes on it suggest a connection to Akathus."

"Akathus?" Gordon gasped.

The Abyss was a land of sulfur and fire, the source of chaos and the home of demons. Among the demons ruling there, three were the most powerful, with the largest territories and the most followers, known as the Three Demon Princes.

Akathus, one of the Three Demon Princes, was known as the Lord of Death and the Master of Undeath, with a cruel and vengeful nature.

"This is serious," Gordon felt he had gotten himself into big trouble.