Chapter 31: Inheritance Stone Plate

Chapter 31: Chapter 31: Inheritance Stone Plate

Seraphina Sinclair stood frozen, hesitating for a moment before tentatively reaching for the Stone Tablet on the table.

Her entire body was tense, ready to bolt at the slightest sign of trouble.

But even as her hand touched the Stone Tablet, nothing happened.

In the corner, the desiccated corpse’s hollow eyes were pointed right in her direction, as if mocking Seraphina Sinclair for being so jumpy.

Seraphina Sinclair: "..."

’No, but what else could it be?’

’There has to be a reward!’

A sudden flash of inspiration struck her. She fixed her gaze on the Stone Tablet and, on a whim, used "Insight"!

It was almost instantaneous!

The surface of the Stone Tablet suddenly bloomed with intricate golden lines, glowing faintly like an activated circuit board.

’So that was the trick.’ Seraphina Sinclair shook her head, making a mental note. From now on, no matter what she encountered, she should try using Insight.

[Inheritance Stone Plate]

[Description: A mysterious Stone Tablet engraved with ancient wisdom, its surface flowing with golden lines like veins. The one who touches it will receive a one-time skill inheritance. This inheritance is "Basic Talisman Making"!]

[Learnable Skill detected: Basic Talisman Making!]

[Learning Conditions: Intelligence ≥ 10, requires 100 sunshine to be consumed.]

Seraphina Sinclair’s fingertips trembled slightly. ’To think there’s something like this here!’

’But if I can draw runes... does that mean this place actually has ghosts?’

Seraphina Sinclair shivered.

She definitely had to learn this, but unfortunately, she didn’t have enough sunshine at the moment.

Seraphina Sinclair took the item with her and went to examine the brush pen.

Nothing happened.

’Insight.’

[Green Jade Rune Brush (F-level)]

[Description: A green jade brush with a cracked shaft and the dried remnants of cinnabar on its tip. It was once a powerful tool for crafting Advanced runes, but due to damage, it can now barely handle the drawing of basic talismans.]

’Oh, I should take this too.’

Seraphina Sinclair looked around and suddenly realized that the scattered Yellow Runes and the inkstone were also precious materials.

"So this is the real treasure..."

She muttered to herself, quickly gathering the usable rune paper and the inkstone.

Just as she bent down to pick up the last stack of rune paper, she suddenly heard a soft "CLICK" from behind her.

She instinctively turned to look. In the corner, the desiccated corpse she had thought was just a decoration was now slowly raising its head. An eerie green light flickered within its empty eye sockets. Using its broken leg bones for support, it was about to push itself to its feet!

Seraphina Sinclair’s pupils constricted. She turned and ran for her life!

This thing was completely different from the mangled monsters she had encountered in the dark! And it was a monster guarding an inheritance! No doubt about it, her chances of winning were slim!

Seraphina Sinclair’s mind was sharp and her feet were swift. After bursting out of the dilapidated building, she made a beeline for the mobile cabin!

She paused at the doorway for one last glance back. The monster was standing at the entrance of the ruined building, the two clusters of ghostly fire in its sockets serving as eyes, staring unblinkingly at her.

The girl and the monster stared at each other from a distance for a second, then Seraphina Sinclair commanded inwardly, ’Insight!’

[Current Threat: Revived Talisman Master (D-level)]

[Description: A Cultivator who was obsessed with forbidden rune magic in life and was corrupted by the black mist after death. Unfinished, malevolent runes are hidden in its every wrinkle... (Advice for beginners: RUN!! If you still can!)]

[Weakness: ???]

’D-level!’

’This is insane!’

Seraphina Sinclair immediately slammed the wooden door shut and retreated into her mobile cabin. This was definitely the highest-level monster she had ever seen!

’Good thing I ran fast...’

Seraphina Sinclair let out a sigh of relief, twisting open a bottle of mineral water and taking a sip. Then, she sorted through her haul from this trip.

One Stone Tablet, one brush pen, and... thirty-four intact sheets of blank Yellow Paper, plus an undamaged inkstone!

’Everything’s ready...’

’Ah, wait. Brush, ink, paper, inkstone... Where’s the ink?’

Seraphina Sinclair frowned, mentally replaying the layout of the stone chamber...

Nothing.

There was indeed nothing that could be used as "ink."

’Something else must be used as a substitute then.’ Seraphina Sinclair shook her head and put the items away. She hadn’t learned the skill from the inheritance yet, so there was no point in guessing.

She stood up, opened the wooden door, and looked out. The outside had returned to its previous state. The black mist shrouded everything, and the floating island from before was gone without a trace.

’Looks like it’s over.’

Seraphina Sinclair withdrew her gaze and shut the door.

It was almost noon now.

Seraphina Sinclair took out a bag of bread, tore it open, and contemplated her next move while chewing.

’The Sunflower’s Hunger Level is full again. I’ll definitely have to move again this afternoon, but it’s supposed to rain then. I need to avoid the rain...’

’The sun will come out after the rain. In that case, I might as well wait for the lantern to soak up the sun then.’

But thoughts were just thoughts. Seraphina Sinclair still opted for the most primitive method. It was boring waiting for the water to filter anyway, so she might as well spend some time shaking the daylight lamp.

By three in the afternoon, Seraphina Sinclair had finally collected 200 sunshine.

She didn’t rush to move. Instead, she immediately picked up the Stone Tablet.

After using Insight again, Seraphina Sinclair chose to "Learn." The 100 sunshine she had just earned was immediately deducted, but she only felt a thrill of excitement as several panels popped up in front of her.

[Basic Talisman Making learned!]

This was one panel. Seraphina Sinclair closed it immediately.

[Fire Drawing Rune unlocked!]

[Blood Stopping Talisman unlocked!]

[Corpse Suppression Rune unlocked!]

[All content from the Inheritance Stone Plate has been learned!]

’Only three types?’

’But judging by the names, these runes should be pretty useful.’

Seraphina Sinclair blinked and noticed a new, semi-transparent rune making icon had appeared on her wrist.

She raised her hand and tapped it open.

[Fire Drawing Rune (F+): Consumes 1 portion of gasoline + 1 sheet of rune paper. Creates a light-producing flame that lasts for 10 minutes (has a repellent effect on photosensitive monsters).]

[Blood Stopping Talisman (F+): Consumes 1 portion of herbal juice + 1 sheet of rune paper. Accelerates wound healing (effect is weaker than a Healing Potion).]

[Corpse Suppression Rune (F): Consumes 1 portion of monster blood + 1 sheet of rune paper. Has a temporary restrictive effect on F-level and lower monsters (effect diminishes as the monster’s size increases).]

’These materials...’

’Huh?’

’The Fire Drawing Rune uses gasoline?’

’That’s surprisingly down-to-earth.’

Seraphina Sinclair was already getting impatient. Of the three ingredients, gasoline was actually the easiest to find.

She opened the trade channel and, in no time, found two people selling gasoline.

After trading a can of cola for an 8-liter canister of gasoline, Seraphina Sinclair took a deep breath, gripped the Green Jade Rune Brush, and began to draw the first rune of her life.

Seraphina Sinclair spread a blank sheet of Yellow Rune Paper flat on the wooden table. After she selected which rune she wanted to make, a complete pattern of the rune automatically appeared on the Yellow Paper.

Seraphina Sinclair held down the edge of the rune paper with her left hand. As she held the brush in her right, she realized her fingertips were trembling slightly.

"Calm down... just pretend you’re practicing calligraphy..."

She muttered to herself, but hesitated when it came time to dip the brush in gasoline. Just as she was debating whether to pour the gasoline into the inkstone, the tip of the brush suddenly touched the surface of the gasoline.