Chapter 95: Purifying Flame Rune

Chapter 95: Chapter 95: Purifying Flame Rune

[Evaluation: Moon Flame Burn Dark, Clear Light Breaks Illusion. This is no ordinary fire, but a Purifying Flame that draws upon the Power of Moonlight. You have invented a miraculous new talisman!]

Seraphina Sinclair gazed at the brand-new talisman in her hand, her fingertips faintly sensing a peculiar, cool warmth.

’Do I have to name it?’

"Power of Moonlight, Purifying Flame..."

Seraphina Sinclair repeated the words from the Evaluation under her breath, a powerful urge to test it welling up inside her.

The effects of this improved talisman were nothing short of extraordinary. It specialized in countering Malevolence, its low temperature wouldn’t harm ordinary objects, and its duration was significantly extended.

It might be the perfect countermeasure for unclean things.

But...

’Where’s the rating?’

After searching for a moment and finding nothing, Seraphina Sinclair frowned and decisively named the new talisman [Purifying Flame Rune].

The moment the naming was complete, the talisman’s name on the panel became fixed, and its grade finally appeared.

This talisman was an E-level Talisman!

E-level!

This was the first E-level Talisman Seraphina Sinclair had ever created!

As if she’d found a priceless treasure, she clutched the talisman and caressed it several times, then held it up for another careful look before she could bear to put it away properly.

When she looked up, the Sunflower, having grown tired of lying in one position, was using its stalk to support its flower head as it swayed back and forth.

Seraphina Sinclair swayed along with it. Once the excitement from her success had subsided a little, she noticed that more than half of the gasoline mixed with Moonlight Powder was left. The opportunity was rare. She picked up her rune pen again, held her breath, and concentrated, attempting to draw a second one.

But just as the tip of the pen was about to fall, Seraphina Sinclair felt a slight dizziness. It was a strange sensation, as if something very important had been drained away. Her intuition told her she couldn’t continue drawing this new type of talisman.

She paused her pen thoughtfully and carefully sealed up the remaining special fuel.

’This stuff is precious; I can’t waste it.’

This was the first time she had felt this, and it was clearly because she had drawn an E-level Talisman. ’I can’t draw a new one, but the old type should still be okay.’

Seraphina Sinclair raised her pen and, with smooth, flowing movements, drew a Fire Drawing Rune.

She froze, staring dumbfounded at the freshly made rune paper, the pen still in her grasp.

Her previous brushwork had been smooth, but it had never reached this level of effortless perfection.

This was definitely a good thing, but Seraphina Sinclair fell silent, pen in hand.

’Between the last time I painted runes and now, the only thing that happened was running into a Traveling Merchant, buying some attribute fruits, and increasing my Attributes a bit...’

Seraphina Sinclair immediately grasped the key point. The crux of the matter had to be there.

’Strength, Constitution, and Speed don’t seem to have much effect on rune painting. So, it must be because of Intelligence, right?’

A wave of emotion washed over Seraphina Sinclair, and her fingers tightened around the rune pen.

From the moment she learned about runes until now, she had been fumbling in the dark for so long. Finally, she had found the right path.

Before, Seraphina Sinclair was like a blind person trying to describe an elephant; what the Stone Tablet gave was all she could perceive.

Based on her deductions from what she had just experienced, Seraphina Sinclair came to two main conclusions.

First, creating an E-level Talisman clearly consumed some kind of energy, perhaps because these talismans were of a higher grade.

But Seraphina Sinclair still didn’t know what kind of energy it was. Her current threshold seemed to be just one talisman; if she tried to make another, she was powerless.

Second, the success rate of drawing on rune paper was related not only to proficiency but also to the creator’s Intelligence.

The higher the Intelligence, the higher the success rate.

And even... Seraphina Sinclair made a bold guess.

’Perhaps Intelligence is the entry threshold for making talismans!’

’I can now create F-level talismans almost effortlessly, but creating E-level ones is fraught with difficulty, to the point where I can feel an excessive drain. Maybe it’s because my current Intelligence hasn’t reached the threshold to create E-level Talismans smoothly, so it’s consuming another type of energy as compensation.’

The more Seraphina Sinclair thought about this stroke of genius, the more plausible it seemed.

She shook her head. The joy of her discovery greatly alleviated the discomfort brought on by Mental Pressure.

Seraphina Sinclair didn’t stop. It was rare to have a quiet evening with nothing else to do; not drawing more talismans would be a waste of time.

’Besides... there’s a group of people waiting in private messages to trade for talismans.’

After working until ten, Seraphina Sinclair went to bed on time.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to stay up late, but she had to get up early and forced herself to go to bed at a reasonable hour.

Seraphina Sinclair lay flat on her small bed. Perhaps because the day’s events had been such a roller coaster and she had expended so much energy, the moment her body relaxed, she sank into a deep sleep.

She slept well all night.

When Seraphina Sinclair opened her eyes again, last night’s campfire had not yet gone out. She sat up, dazed for a moment, then yawned. Finally mustering her energy, she got out of bed to add some firewood to the campfire.

’I might as well use this fire for cooking later. If it goes out, I’ll have to relight it, which would be a pain.’

Seraphina Sinclair yawned again. She had been so exhausted yesterday. Even a full night’s sleep hadn’t felt like quite enough to fully recover.

Her gaze casually swept past the window. The monster from yesterday morning was still standing there, but a new one had spawned. ’It seems the purpose of this type of monster is very clear: to provide players with Immunity Crystals. A small test resulting from the path I chose, I guess?’

Seraphina Sinclair shook her head. After washing up in her personal bathroom, she placed a pot over the campfire. While her food cooked, she browsed the regional channel.

First thing in the morning, and there was already an argument on the regional channel.

Seraphina Sinclair had never been interested in gossip—she was someone who focused on her own affairs. But after she saw the ID of one of the main participants, that lack of interest vanished instantly.

’Gossip is usually boring, but you have to check out the gossip about someone you know.’

One of the main parties in the argument was none other than Pretty Guardian.

Seraphina Sinclair scrolled up, skimming the previous messages, and discovered it was trouble caused by a trade.

Pretty Guardian was the seller. It seemed she had sold an E-level item, and after the trade was complete, the other party felt they had gotten a bad deal and wanted to cancel it.

But Pretty Guardian had already used the item the other person gave her. Besides, the trade was already complete. How could they just demand a refund?

The two had originally been discussing it calmly in private messages, but the other person must have gotten emotional and suddenly started being passive-aggressive in the regional channel. Pretty Guardian, not being one to take a loss, immediately dished it right back.

One thing led to another, and it escalated into a full-blown argument, attracting plenty of onlookers. After hearing what the buyer had offered in the trade, everyone thought what Pretty Guardian sold was indeed too expensive, which forced her to post the item’s detailed information.

And that was the gist of the drama.

But what caught Seraphina Sinclair’s attention was the item information that Pretty Guardian had posted.

[Directional Teleportation Beacon]

[Description: Special Item, No Grade. A bronze compass engraved with spatial coordinates, with a pointer made of solidified black mist. After use, it can record the current coordinates and instantly teleport the user back to the recorded point from any location. Cooldown: 24 hours. Each teleportation consumes 100 sunshine energy. Each signal beacon can be used three times!]