novelraw Chapter 298: Space Magic—Space Slash!
Chapter 298: Space Magic—Space Slash!
It was finally over...
Lin Mo sheathed his sword and stood. Even though his physical stamina could keep up with such a long journey and continuous battles, and the consumption of his Qi and Blood and stamina wasn't severe, a person was ultimately not a machine. The increasingly bothersome and irritable emotions also needed time to settle down.
After finishing this Stage 20, he needed to rest a bit.
Anyway, in this Secret Realm world, the flow of time was different from the outside. Not much time should have passed in the outside world since he entered the Secret Realm, so there was no need to be too anxious.
He collected the materials from the several magical creatures. The meat from the last magical creature he killed, the one named Red-Armor Rock Scorpion, was also quite good, so he collected a lot.
Combined with the parts collected along the way, the amount of magical creature meat in Lin Mo's Spatial Ring now had to be counted in tons.
Ahead was a large door glowing with blue light, just like the previous forest, but this time, it seemed somewhat different from the previous one...
The blue light on the door was noticeably deeper than last time. The door for the previous Stage 10 was clearly a light blue, while the one before his eyes was undoubtedly a deep blue.
So, correspondingly, would the rewards inside also be better?
Lin Mo felt a bit of anticipation.He walked forward, pushed open the large door, and entered. What appeared before him was indeed a room similar to before, seemingly specifically set up for them to rest.
This time, the room was even larger and more refined than the last one.
"This time, let's rest a bit, okay?"
Lin Mo looked at Eve behind him.
The young girl nodded and quietly sat down on the sofa inside the small room.
Lin Mo looked at the large chest in the center of the room. That should contain the rewards for this time.
However, before that...
Lin Mo took out pots, pans, bowls, and utensils from his Spatial Ring, brought out a portion of the magical creature meat he had just collected, and prepared to make a simple meal first.
Of course, this room also had some ingredients prepared. Lin Mo checked them; the quality was also quite good. He tried storing them in his Spatial Ring. As long as he didn't interfere with the Mana Circuits on them, they didn't seem to turn to dust.
So, he brought them over to use as well.
With a snap of his fingers, he ignited a flame. Lin Mo poured half a pot of water into the pot and simply added some seasonings for a base flavor.
He planned to make a hot pot.
Although this world didn't have seasonings as rich and varied as Blue Star, it possessed high-end ingredients that Blue Star couldn't compare to.
Generally speaking, the higher the level of the magical creature, the higher the energy contained in its meat, and the meat itself would often be more delicious.
Magical creatures that had reached the Lord Level were completely incomparable to any ingredient from Blue Star, let alone the fact that what Lin Mo had collected along the way were all top-tier ingredients even among Lord-Level magical creatures.
This meat didn't need any complex seasoning at all; just simple cooking made it taste great.
Lin Mo heated the water, sliced the ingredients, arranged them on plates, placed them on the table, and waved to Eve. "Time to eat."
Eve walked over and sat down, looking somewhat puzzled at the pot of clear water on the table, which had some Minuo Scallions (a crop cultivated by Planters) and seasonings added.
Lin Mo took out a small dipping bowl, put in some crushed Sweet Pungent Fruit (similar to garlic paste), magical creature oil extracted from magical creature meat, and Qiluo Grass (similar to cilantro), and handed it to Eve.
"Want to try?"
Eve took the bowl with a mix of belief and doubt, her face full of confusion as she asked, "How do you eat this?"
"It's simple. Put the meat in the pot for a little while, then dip it in the sauce in this bowl. Of course, you can also eat it directly."
As Lin Mo spoke, he picked up a piece of Black Armor Beetle meat and put it into the pot.
After about ten seconds, he took the meat out. Without dipping it in sauce, he directly put it into his mouth.
It was tender and smooth upon entry. A fresh, fragrant flavor from the ingredient itself spread out in his mouth, perfectly complemented by that little bit of seasoning used as a base.
With one bite, the fresh, tender meat juices exploded in his mouth. It tasted a bit like high-quality shrimp meat, but far more delicious than shrimp.
It had to be said, although this type of magical creature looked ugly and a bit scary, its meat tasted genuinely good...
A trace of suspicion lingered in Eve's eyes. She had never seen such a way of eating before. Could such a simple cooking technique really taste good?
While she was hesitating, Lin Mo had already picked up another piece, put it in the pot, swished it for a few seconds, and this time dipped it in the sauce in the bowl.
The flavor profile of the seasoning was indeed quite similar to Blue Star's overall, just even tastier. The meat with the added seasoning felt different from before. Although it lost a bit of that pure freshness, the flavor profile became richer, and it was also quite good.
After Lin Mo had eaten several pieces in a row, Eve could no longer hold back her curiosity and decided to give it a try as well.
She picked up a piece of meat, followed Lin Mo's example and cooked it in the pot for a few seconds, then put it in her mouth.
The next moment, her eyes suddenly widened, revealing a look of astonishment.
So food could be this delicious even without going through all those complicated processes?
Unconsciously, the speed of her hand movements began to accelerate. One piece, two pieces, three pieces...
Before she knew it, she had eaten more than Lin Mo.
Lin Mo smiled as he watched the scene before him. This brief respite during the Secret Realm exploration also had a very warm feeling to it.
It wasn't until Eve had almost filled her stomach that she realized something. Lifting her head and seeing Lin Mo's expression that seemed both a smile and not, her face immediately flushed slightly. She put down her chopsticks, momentarily at a loss for words.
She seemed to want to explain something but was hindered by her own clumsiness with words, so she just froze.
This appearance was completely different from her usual style, seeming somewhat cute.
After finishing the meal, Lin Mo finally walked over to the chest in the middle of the room, ready to open it and check this round's rewards.
Opening the treasure chest, only three items were inside: a scroll, a gemstone, and a key.
Among them, that key was the same color as the one obtained from the previous room, blue. However...
Lin Mo took out the previous key and carefully compared them. Indeed, these two keys were also different.
The new one was one size larger than the previously acquired one, and the patterns on the key were more complex.
As for that gemstone...
Lin Mo appraised the gemstone's attributes.
[Swiftness Gemstone — Lightning Leopard]: An alchemical gemstone forged from the heart and bones of a Lightning Leopard, can be inlaid onto weapons.
Attributes: Agility +15, Qi and Blood intensity +20%
Gemstone Skill: Gain 30% burst movement speed that decays over 3 seconds. Cannot be used again for a period of time after use.
An alchemical gemstone with quite good attributes. Magical professions have Magic Stones; physical professions naturally have corresponding alchemical gemstones.
This gemstone was very suitable for agile-type Warriors like Eve to use.
The 15-point Agility attribute bonus and 20% Qi and Blood intensity were both quite substantial improvements. The gemstone skill was also very useful, able to grant instantaneous burst movement speed, which also fit Eve's combat style very well.
So without hesitation, Lin Mo directly handed this gemstone to Eve beside him.
Eve wasn't the overly hesitant type. She nodded, took the gemstone, removed the originally inlaid gemstone from her thin sword, and replaced it with the new one.
Her original gemstone was actually not bad either, but compared to this one before her, it was indeed somewhat inferior.
Finally, there was that scroll.
Lin Mo slowly unrolled the scroll. At the top of the scroll, several large characters were written prominently — Space Slash.
Space Slash?
The name sounded very imposing.
With an excited heart, Lin Mo continued reading downwards. As expected, this was a Space Magic spell.
Time and Space Magic, as the two most special types of magic, not only possessed powerful functionality but were also not to be underestimated in terms of defense and offense.
For example, this [Space Slash] before him worked by manipulating and compressing space to form a slash, attacking the space the target occupied rather than their physical body.
This method of attack gave this skill an effect somewhat similar to "true damage" to a certain extent. Because it slashed space rather than the body itself, if control over this skill was precise enough, it could completely bypass powerful surface defenses like armor, carapace, or fur.
However, one's own Constitution strength could still resist the cutting of space.
After all, the space of life itself was a whole; one couldn't bypass the surface and directly cut the interior.
But this was already an extremely powerful skill. Moreover, Space Slash was formless and silent, difficult to detect, making it easy to achieve effects that caught people off guard.
Just this one skill alone made Lin Mo's trip to this Secret Realm completely worth it!
Lin Mo sat on the sofa and eagerly began studying the skill circuits before him. Compared to elemental magic, the learning difficulty of Space Magic was undoubtedly much greater. Fortunately, he already had some foundation, had mastered the [Flash] skill, and his understanding of Space Magic wasn't zero. So he quickly found the way to get started.
Eve sat quietly on the sofa beside him, watching his profile, not disturbing him.
She gazed at Lin Mo's completely focused and serious expression.
Indeed, no one's strength came from nothing. Even a genius among geniuses must have shed a lot of sweat and effort in places people couldn't see.
Just like her.
Being a genius, especially becoming the most dazzling genius in people's eyes, came with immense pressure.
Countless eyes were fixed on her. If she slacked off even for a day, if her progress slowed down even a little, all sorts of doubts and malice would swarm in.
She seemed to be placed on a high pedestal, forced to be a perfect person, unable to make a single mistake.
And Lin Mo, that person who was an even greater genius than her, must be bearing the same, or perhaps even greater, pressure than her, right?
Eve's random thoughts continued for a long time. She quietly curled up on the sofa, hugging her legs, like a delicate doll.
Until an hour later, Lin Mo suddenly stood up, put down the scroll in his hand, and rubbed the space between his eyebrows.
As if guided by some unseen force, Eve suddenly spoke up, asking with concern, "Is the skill hard to learn?"
"Hmm, Space Magic is considerably more difficult than regular magic..."
Lin Mo shook his head. He had expended too much mental energy just now, giving him a bit of a headache.
"Learning a skill isn't something that happens all at once."
After saying this half-sentence, Eve opened her mouth several times, but simply didn't know how to continue.
She really wasn't good at talking and didn't know how to comfort people either.
"Huh?"
Lin Mo scratched his head. "But I've already learned it."
......
"But I've already learned it."
This sentence echoed repeatedly in Eve's mind.
She instantly felt that all those complicated thoughts she had just had, all that self-important "empathy," had turned into the delusions of a clown.
She bit her lip, snorted coldly, buried her head into the sofa, and stopped talking.
Is she angry?
Although he couldn't see her face, Lin Mo could almost imagine her puffing up her cheeks angrily, looking much cuter than her usual icy demeanor.
Actually, Eve wasn't completely angry.
It was more that she felt very awkward.
It was like if you, after working hard all day, saw an old man in a tank top and flip-flops picking up trash on the street. With a kind heart, you prepare to invite the old man for a meal. Just as you finish speaking, you see a large bunch of keys hanging from the old man's waist... Then the old man thanks you, pats your shoulder, and tells you he has something to do, having made an appointment to go collect rent.
If she was angry, she wasn't angry at Lin Mo, but at herself.
Should he try to comfort her?
Lin Mo scratched his head. Experience told him he should offer comfort at times like this, but he had a feeling that trying to comfort her now might backfire.
Better to just leave it...
After a while, Eve sat up, acting as if nothing had happened, walked over to the bed, and lay down.
"Let's rest early. We still have to continue exploring the Secret Realm tomorrow..."
Lin Mo nodded. According to the previous pattern, the upcoming journey was where the real intensity would begin.
The magical creatures encountered from now on would all be Mid-Level Lord-Level at a minimum.
To face the challenges ahead, they really did need to rest properly.
However, there was only one bed in the room. Although it was large, but...
Forget it, I'll just meditate.
Lin Mo sat cross-legged on the sofa and closed his eyes.
After a while, Eve, who was facing the wall, suddenly turned her head and glanced at him...
They didn't rest for too long. Three or four hours later, Eve sat up from the bed.
Beside her, Lin Mo had already finished meditating and was checking the information that had flashed by earlier.
First was the skill he had just learned.
"Learned skill [Space Slash], gained +3 base attribute Mana!"
[Space Slash] Lv1 (0/10): Manipulate and compress space to form a slash, attacking the designated space.
This was a blue Exceptional-Grade magic. Learning it granted 3 base Mana attribute points.
Then, there was the choice of evolution direction.
Please choose evolution direction—
Evolution Route 1: Swift Strike 1: Slash speed increased by 20%
Evolution Route 2: Slash Void 1: Skill power increased by 20%
Standard, middle-of-the-road evolution routes. Lin Mo thought for a moment and finally chose Evolution Route 2.
Skill power was still a bit more important.
Then, there were the gains brought by the numerous magical creatures he had killed while advancing through the Secret Realm...
"Killed Level 6 magical creature Blazing Flame Tiger King, Whip Kick proficiency +40"
[Killed Level 8 magical creature...]
[Killed Level 10 magical creature......]