“Stop the bleeding,” Li Xiuman said calmly.
“Yes!”
Terrified to her very core, Yudith didn't dare resist in the slightest.
In her heart, this skeleton had become a thorough demon.
A cruel demon who toyed with humans.
She used her magic to stop the bleeding.
Parting the flesh and blood, a row of stark white ribs was exposed.
Li Xiuman aimed at one of them and severed it with a single stroke.
Then, aligning the Rib Sword with the gap, he activated [Bone Manipulation].
Instantly, the Rib Sword fused with Jack’s rib, and a terrifying death energy surged from the connection point, spreading throughout his entire body.
Jack stiffened instantly, his muscles tensing as his eyes bulged nearly out of their sockets.
“Heal!” Li Xiuman swiftly ordered.
Yudith, who had already shrunk back like a frightened quail, cast her healing spell without a moment’s hesitation.
Jack’s wound began to mend bit by bit. Under the power of magic, even the pitted gaps of the attached Rib Sword began to restore themselves.
Li Xiuman began observing Jack’s condition.
Jack’s body started to shrivel, as if his aging process had been supercharged.
The death energy continuously corroded his body, causing his life force to plummet rapidly.
However, the holy light inside him fought back against the death energy, keeping him from dying outright.
“Keep healing! Don’t stop!”
The healing spells were cast on Jack continuously, but they only slightly slowed his rate of aging.
Wrinkles began to line his body, and his hair started turning white strand by strand.
It was as if someone had pressed a fast-forward button on his body's clock.
This terrified Yudith even more, forcing her to close her eyes as she cast her spells.
She felt that Jack today would be her tomorrow.
Only when liver spots appeared on Jack’s skin did the aging finally halt.
Under the continuous healing, the pitted gaps on the Rib Sword were finally fully restored.
A bizarre change began to occur in Jack’s body. His skin grew increasingly pale, shriveling up as though the blood in his veins was completely vanishing.
Realizing something was wrong, Li Xiuman quickly slashed Jack’s chest and yanked the Rib Sword out.
He couldn't let anything happen to this guy; otherwise, where else would he find such a handy Light Priest?
As expected, once extracted, the Rib Sword regained its devouring ability, greedily sucking in the residual blood.
“Heal him,” Li Xiuman ordered Yudith, letting out a sigh of relief upon seeing that the Rib Sword had recovered its devouring power.
Yudith, her face pale, squeezed out every last drop of mana remaining in her body to cast the healing magic.
Jack was now completely unrecognizable compared to before. His hair was gray, wrinkles and liver spots lined his face, and his aura was incredibly weak.
He looked as though he had aged several decades.
But he was still alive.
As long as he was alive and could still be squeezed for holy light, Li Xiuman didn't care about his appearance.
Li Xiuman turned his attention to the Rib Sword.
The Rib Sword had returned to its pristine white state, though it now bore bloodshot vein-like patterns.
Li Xiuman did not dare connect the Rib Sword back to his own body.
With his current dense death energy, the moment the Rib Sword was plugged back in, it would probably revert right back to its blackened state.
For now, he just needed to use holy light to slowly squeeze the death energy out of his own body and feed it to the Rib Sword.
“Watch over him. Don’t let him die,” Li Xiuman instructed Yudith before retreating to the side to pull out the memory crystal and study Tier 3 Magic knowledge again.
Having found a way to recover his stats while also leeching off this wretched death energy, Li Xiuman's mood improved slightly.
He hoped things would continue to go this smoothly.
For example, getting [Magic Analysis] to Level 3.
Li Xiuman felt it was already very close.
He was currently only one step away from Level 3 [Magic Analysis]. It was a thin barrier, waiting to be pierced.
However, this final step was proving to be the most difficult.
He needed a bit of stimulation to push him over the edge in one go.
Tier 3 Magic knowledge could not provide that kind of stimulation.
Li Xiuman set his sights on the Tier 4 magic models.
Although the Tier 4 magic models looked slightly better to him than last time, they still seemed like completely incomprehensible ancient hieroglyphs.
But if he could understand even a tiny fraction of it, the resulting breakthrough would surely propel his [Magic Analysis] to Level 3.
Currently, the memory crystal stored two Tier 4 magic models: "Wind Dragon's Roar" and "Flame Spear of Judgment."
The latter was even more complex.
Li Xiuman had absolutely no interest in challenging the more complex one, so he turned his attention to "Wind Dragon's Roar" without hesitation.
Yet even though it was relatively simpler, it was still incredibly difficult for him to comprehend.
He could only use the brute-force method—enduring mental exhaustion and splitting headaches as he picked out the simplest parts to sketch over and over again.
To survive, and to escape this wretched dungeon.
...
The adjustments to the dungeon labyrinth had proven effective. The shifting terrain of the labyrinth completely bewildered the adventurer parties that had gone back to replenish their rations.
They were forced to find ways to redraw the map, which significantly delayed their progress and bought Li Xiuman more breathing room.
Li Xiuman kept studying the magic model of "Wind Dragon's Roar" until Jack finally woke up. Only then did he set aside the memory crystal and draft paper.
“Continue casting holy light on me.”
Li Xiuman looked at the despondent Jack.
Jack stared blankly at Li Xiuman, his pupils slowly focusing.
He wanted to boldly say, “Just kill me.”
But he was also terrified that the skeleton actually would.
After a brief silence, he began to chant the name of his Goddess.
O Goddess, send down the holy light and smite this demon.
Under the holy light, Li Xiuman’s body hissed as a strand of death energy was squeezed out.
Quick as lightning, Li Xiuman funneled the death energy into the Rib Sword.
The Rib Sword sizzled as a black scar burned into it, its devouring power activating to painstakingly absorb the strand of death energy.
The speed was incredibly slow; if one did not observe closely, it would seem as if no absorption was occurring at all.
Back when it had first absorbed the energy from the skeletal remains of the Glacial Seal Sword's previous owner, the efficiency had never been this laughably low.
Yet now, even though the Rib Sword's material quality had improved significantly, and it was only absorbing a single strand of death energy, the process was still this tedious.
However, Li Xiuman was well-aware of the stubborn quirks of his Rib Sword.
The Rib Sword possessed adaptability; as it devoured more death energy, its adaptability would increase.
There was no rush.
Li Xiuman sat to the side, waiting for the Rib Sword to consume the strand of death energy while he continued to research the magic model.
It took half a day before the Rib Sword finally consumed the death energy.
He stood up nimbly and approached Jack.
“Again.”
The second cast of holy light.
Another strand of death energy was forced out and quickly funneled into the Rib Sword, which resumed devouring it.
This time, however, the rate of consumption was at least visible to the naked eye.
It took nearly half a day.
The third cast of holy light.
This absorption only took about two hours.
The fourth, then the fifth cast of holy light.
Two strands of death energy were forced out and tossed into the Rib Sword together.
The speed at which the Rib Sword devoured the energy grew faster and faster, and Li Xiuman’s understanding of the magic model progressed bit by bit.
Yet, Li Xiuman found no joy in this.
On the first floor of the dungeon, an adventurer party consisting entirely of Tier 2 classholders at Level 20 or higher had stepped inside.
Half of the team was comprised entirely of Light Priests.
They also had a baggage-handling supply group accompanying them.
This was completely a raid meant to clear him!
“Oh, crap. If I don't work hard, I'm really going to get raided!”
Rate on N.U.
