Chapter 535 - 534: Underground Banquet

Chapter 535: Chapter 534: Underground Banquet

By now, Colin had a general idea of what it meant.

When used against creatures with low Intelligence, this Magic could knock them unconscious for a period of time. It was similar to a Mind Flayer’s Mind Blast; he had been the first in their party to wake up after being hit by that attack.

Afterward, Colin spent a great deal of time in the Illusion Realm learning this Tier Four Magic.

He had no idea how much time had passed before he finally left the Illusion Realm of infinite Casting and returned to reality.

’This Tier Four Magic is way too hard to learn,’ Colin complained inwardly.

Once he was done complaining, he looked at his Skills panel and added one hundred Skill Level points to "Casting." As the Skill Level increased, information about a newly acquired Specialty appeared before him.

[Metamagic Mastery]: Allows the user to master two Metamagic abilities based on their experience using Magic.

It was another very simple Specialty description.

Colin had indeed heard that some powerful Mages could enhance their Magic, much like Warlocks.

However, this required a great deal of effort, and the Metamagic abilities most Mages acquired over a lifetime could never compare to those of Warlocks.

’This Specialty means my Casting Ability has reached a new stage,’ Colin thought silently.

That left three hundred Skill Level points.

After some thought, Colin decided to add these three hundred Skill Level points to his Swordsmanship and Armor Technique Skills.

After all, his Casting Skill Level could be massively increased by buying materials, but there was no easy way to quickly improve these other two Skills, even with money.

Moreover, Colin could feel that his Casting Ability was directly tied to the Skill Level of his Casting Skills. The higher the Skill Level, the higher the Tier of Magic he could cast.

On the other hand, while increasing his Swordsmanship and Armor Technique Skill Levels didn’t produce a change as obvious as unlocking new Magic Tiers, the improvement still enhanced his swordplay and armored Defense, which was also crucial.

After careful consideration, Colin added the remaining three hundred Skill Level points to his Armor Technique Skill.

That set of dragon bone Half-plate Armor was almost finished, so it was a good time to increase his Skill Level in advance and get used to it.

With that, his Skill Levels became: Casting (Expert) 4052/7000, Empowering Armor (Expert) 2473/4000, Silent Sword Skill (Expert) 2133/4000, Magic Artisan (Apprentice) 644/1250.

Having sorted out his Skills, Colin breathed a sigh of relief and looked over at the others sitting in the tent.

He suddenly recalled some information from the book and said to the others, "Oh, right. The Aboleth can also transmit a disease called Dryskin. If a victim goes too long without contact with water, their skin will slowly rot away."

"Can’t my Divine Art cure it?" Orelia asked.

"This disease can only be cured by a Tier Six or higher Divine Art... Ssss..."

As he spoke, Colin suddenly felt a stinging ache in his elbow and immediately took off his Plate Armor.

As he peeled off his Armed Clothing, a large patch of skin from his elbow, stuck to the fabric, tore away, revealing the bright red, fluid-covered flesh beneath. A transparent mucus, just like an Aboleth’s, was also oozing from other parts of his body.

"This is what I was talking about. The book said pouring some water on it should help. You don’t have any other wounds, do you? This disease also makes ordinary Divine Healing Spells ineffective."

As he spoke, Colin picked up a waterskin and poured some water over his arm.

The moment the water touched his skin, the mucus immediately began to recede. The throbbing ache quickly faded as well, and he seemed to feel much better.

"This is such a hassle." Orelia began, then quickly added, "Mr. Colin, hand me the waterskin."

With that, she also rolled up her sleeve and poured some water on her injury.

"Ugh... This stuff is so disgusting."

After treating her arm, she frowned, muttering under her breath as she wiped a bit of lingering mucus from her arm and flung it to the ground. She looked utterly miserable.

Kase, who was standing nearby, had also been afflicted. He silently found a waterskin and started treating himself.

"Those with Dryskin can’t be away from water for long, it seems. The common interval is ten minutes. I think you could probably tie a wet cloth around your forehead and just add more water when it’s about to dry. That might be more convenient." Ale, who hadn’t been afflicted, squatted down and curiously examined Colin’s wound. After she finished speaking, she puckered her lips and gently blew on it.

As she blew, Colin caught a faint, elusive floral scent that made him feel like he was strolling through a sunlit garden.

’What kind of tooth powder is she using? It works amazingly well.’

Colin thought for a moment, deciding it would be a bit presumptuous to ask right now. He joined the others in finding bandages to tie around their heads, then soaked them with water.

Once they had all done this, the afflicted members of the group sighed, then said in unison, "That damned fish."

-----------------

「The next afternoon.」

Colin and the others stood at the entrance of their party’s assigned tent, watching the nearby Dwarves bustle about.

One group of Dwarves had managed to scrounge up a relatively intact iron table from somewhere, along with some passably sturdy stools and a large number of metal utensils.

Another group of Dwarves gathered around a bonfire, processing the meat of the Chuul and the Aboleth and turning the monsters into food.

A few Dwarves by the bonfire were arguing heatedly over a block of butter, debating exactly when it should be added. It seemed every Dwarf had their own family recipe.

After defeating the Aboleth, the Dwarves recovered quickly.

They were incredibly resilient. Only a day had passed, yet they had recovered as if nothing had happened and were even clamoring to hold a celebratory feast.

Furthermore, the portal to the Surface would take another day to prepare, so Colin and the others decided they might as well stay underground and enjoy the feast.

Colin silently yawned.

Kase and Orelia beside him didn’t look like they’d slept well, either. All three had rather severe dark circles under their eyes.

To prevent their skin from peeling off in their sleep, all three of them had spent the previous night with one hand stuck in a small puddle of water. It was no wonder they hadn’t slept well.

"The buildings around here are so tall," Kase said quietly, nudging Colin’s arm. "Seems like a real mismatch for these Dwarves."

"I’m not trying to speak ill of the Dwarves, but because they like to build their halls so large, Giant Dragons, Giants, and Orcs all love to take over Dwarven cities. They also like to capture Dwarf Blacksmiths as slaves."

Ale said, "Besides, Dwarves themselves have no need to live in such large houses. Of course, I’m not speaking ill of the Dwarves, either."

"But the fact that you keep denying it just makes you sound sarcastic," Dorn said with some annoyance from nearby.