Looking at the mysterious scale that had turned from pure black to grayish-white, Tang Zheng knew that the Curse Power stored within had been completely devoured by him.
The dense aura of curse within the narrow stone wall also dissipated at that moment.
"Raising my class level by two in one go. What kind of creature did this scale come from?"
Tang Zheng raised his hand, easily lifting the massive mysterious scale from the ground, a solemn expression appearing on his face.
It's so light!
He shook the scale a few times, and the palm-thick scale cut through the air without making a sound.
Tang Zheng took out an Iron Sword in his left hand and forcefully slashed at the scale.
Clang! A crisp sound of impact rang out.
Not a single scratch appeared on the mysterious scale. Instead, the point where the Iron Sword collided with the scale became dented.
So hard!
Tang Zheng's eyes gleamed slightly. To be able to store such a massive amount of Curse Power, the scale itself must be of extraordinary quality.
It could also withstand the erosion of the Curse Power.
Could it be made into a weapon? The thought flashed through Tang Zheng's mind. It might be a good material. But the problem is, there might not be anyone in this other world who could forge such a scale into a weapon.
Also.
The source of the Curse Power is this mysterious scale.
Then.
"Was the birth of the 'Cursed Knight' class also derived from this scale, or rather, from the creature behind this scale?"
Tang Zheng speculated with a grave expression.
As far as he knew, besides the current Renners, the only other person in this world who possessed the 'Cursed Knight' class was one of the Thirteen Heroes from two hundred years ago.
Tang Zheng looked at the human skeleton leaning against the wall.
Was that person one of the "Thirteen Heroes" from the legends of the human nations?
He glanced around the narrow crevice in the stone wall. Besides the mysterious scale and the skeleton, there was nothing else.
Naturally, there was no way to prove who the human skeleton belonged to.
He stored the mysterious scale in his Item Box.
"I'll take the item. No matter who you are, thank you for the gift."
Tang Zheng said softly to the skeleton.
He had roughly figured out what had happened.
The time when the Curse Power leaked from the mysterious scale was impossible to calculate. Perhaps it started when the Forest Gnome tribe began clearing out the poisonous Demon Creatures that occasionally climbed up the valley.
Since it had always been in the crevice within the stone wall, the Curse Power dissipated very slowly.
As a result, a few years ago, a Demon Creature like a Petrification Lizard dug open the partition, and the Curse Power was completely released.
It's a pity.
If that large portion hadn't dissipated, Tang Zheng felt that the 'Cursed Knight' class might have been raised to max level in one go.
Whoosh! The Flame Archangel flapped its wings, carrying Tang Zheng back to the cave, away from the narrow crevice hidden in the mountain wall.
Outside the stone wall.
Duo Gan had already woken up from his coma, but because he was too close to the center of the mysterious scale, the skin on his entire body had completely rotted.
Waves of pain kept surging, but the manic emotions in Duo Gan's eyes had completely subsided, and he had regained his clarity.
He struggled to get up from the ground.
"Cough, cough, was the power of the curse resolved?"
Duo Gan leaned against a Rock, his expression weak, muttering to himself powerlessly.
Since being affected by the Curse, he felt his mental state had never been better; the power in the air that agitated him had completely disappeared.
In the dark environment, a glimmer of light emerged from above.
The figure of the Flame Archangel appeared in Duo Gan's vision, his eyes becoming somewhat blurred.
"Are you alright? Duo Gan."
After descending from the air, Tang Zheng quickly came to Duo Gan's side, frowning at his weakened state.
The Curse Power's corrosion of him was already quite severe, like those completely rotten Demon Creatures he had killed before.
"What exactly caused this, mighty one?" Duo Gan revealed his clear green eyes, speaking weakly.
He desperately wanted to know the answer, what had caused the destruction of their entire tribe.
This was his only purpose in coming here! "It was a Cursed Undead Creature."
"Sealed in the deepest part of the rock wall, it must have been the Petrification Lizard living here that accidentally dug through the wall, causing the leakage of Curse Power." Tang Zheng paused briefly, speaking slowly.
He felt this answer would be easier for the Forest Gnome before him to accept.
If he said that all of this was caused by a scale of some unknown creature, the Duo Gan before him would probably truly despair.
"Undead Creature..."
"As, as expected... this kind of existence that living beings detest."
Duo Gan's weak voice carried a hint of anger and relief, "We Forest Gnomes, are meant to protect the jungle and the creatures living here."
Speaking of which.
Duo Gan's eyes became somewhat dazed.
"In the end, were we still cursed by the Petrification Lizard's power?"
Weak and dazed voices echoed continuously within the cave.
Tang Zheng also completely understood the whole story.
The Forest Gnome tribe had always had a special Magic ritual, which could only be used by those who had mastered the Wild Transformation ability.
In the ritual, as long as they ate the heart of a Demon Creature or beast, they could not only gain the power of that Demon Creature or beast.
They could also break through the limit of Wild Transformation, transforming into that Demon Creature, but at the same time, they would lose the ability to transform into other beasts, only being able to transform into the beast or Demon Creature whose heart they had eaten.
In this area, the strongest Demon Creature was the Petrification Lizard, so the young people in the entire tribe had always taken hunting Petrification Lizards and devouring their hearts as an honor.
However, this kind of Magic ritual.
Was also resisted by some people in the tribe; eating the heart of a Demon Creature in this way was truly against their duty.
The Duo Gan before him was obviously not this kind of conservative, relying on his own strength to capture a Petrification Lizard alive and complete the Magic ritual.
This immediately caused a sensation in the Forest Gnome community at the time, after all, the Petrification Lizard was a very strong Demon Creature.
And the corpse of the dead Petrification Lizard was shared by Duo Gan as food with his companions and some people in the tribe.
As a result.
The Curse erupted.
The entire tribe was destroyed in an instant, with only one tribesman escaping from here. This was why Duo Gan kept muttering that they were cursed by the Petrification Lizard.
After listening to the other party's words.
Tang Zheng couldn't make a judgment, but he noticed the so-called Magic ritual that he had previously overlooked.
During the battle.
Tang Zheng felt that Duo Gan's strength was a bit off.
The other party had the class of Wizard, could use Second Tier Magic, and had a spellcasting level of at least level eight.
He also had the class of Forest Priest, and could transform into a Petrification Lizard that far exceeded his own size, so his level was not low.
At least level 21 or higher.
But apart from the fact that he had considerable strength after transforming into a Petrification Lizard, other aspects were not strong.
The Wild Transformation skill also has levels, generally divided into three tiers. The first tier only allows transformation into beasts and Demon Creatures of similar size to oneself.
The second tier allows exceeding one's own size, but there are still certain limitations.
Only upon reaching the third tier are there no size restrictions, and this tier is roughly achievable at level 60 or higher.
Yet, the Magic ritual passed down by the Forest Gnome tribe can actually break through this limitation!
"Pasha... is he alright?"
Duo Gan twisted his head, looking expectantly at Tang Zheng.
"He's fine." Tang Zheng nodded gently, opening his mouth with a smile.
Pasha had naturally died long ago, and was even killed by Renners. In the end, she also couldn't escape the influence of the Curse Power, falling into madness.
The reason he said that earlier was to communicate with Duo Gan.
"Give this, this Magic ritual scroll, to him." Duo Gan tremblingly raised his palm, reaching towards his chest, taking out a yellowed tree bark scroll, "Tell him, there's no need to worry about anything."
"I want to atone for my sins."
"Please, ancestors... forgive Dogan Stone Lizard, the name of this sin."
His arm fell.
Tang Zheng looked at Duo Gan, who had completely lost his breath, and was slightly silent. He didn't gain any experience, but the Curse Power within the other party's body entered his own.
With his current level of Cursed Knight, the amount of this Curse Power wasn't much.
...
Moonlight enveloped the land, and the brilliant starry sky twinkled.
By the time he brought Duo Gan's corpse back to the ground and found a beautiful environment to bury it, it was already night.
Tang Zheng stood in front of the grave, looked up at the night sky, and suddenly felt that this world had become exceptionally real.
"Now is not the time to stop and sigh." Tang Zheng exhaled, his gaze returning to calmness.
He opened his Attribute Table, sorting through the information on it.
...
[Ability Table]
Innate Ability: [Player]
Comprehensive Level: 24Lv Experience Bar: 17520/10000 Profession: Basic Profession: Genius 10Lv (Warrior...) Intermediate Profession: Sword Saint 10Lv Advanced/Special Class: Magic Swordsman 1Lv, Cursed Knight 3Lv Skill Points: 40 Passive Skills: Item Box, Sword and Magic, Mana Infusion, Complete Curse Resistance, Dark Attribute Resistance (20%), Restless, Slash Enhancement (10%)
Active Skills: Warrior: Instant Reflex, Four Light Consecutive Slash, Rapid Slash, Stealth, Tracking
Magic: First Tier: Minor Wound Treatment, Magic Arrow, Odorless, Camouflage
Second Tier: Item Appraisal, Mana Accumulation, Decipher Magic
Third Tier: Undying Spirit, Undead Manipulation
Fourth Tier: Heating, Angel Summoning, Papermaking
Fifth Tier: Raise Dead - Modified Class Skill: Pharmacy, Alchemy, Scroll Production, Mana Slash, Dark Wave, Shrink (2/day), Wild Transformation
...
[Attribute Table]
Player: Tang Zheng Justice Points: 51 [Neutral]
HP: 173 (13%) MP: 28 (2%)
Physical Attack: 173 (13%)
Physical Defense: 58 (4%)
Agility: 113 (8%)
Magic Attack: 58 (4%)
Magic Defense: 28 (2%)
Comprehensive Resistance: 150 (9%)
Special Resistance: 60 (5%)
Total: 60%...
The Attribute Table will only appear when there are significant improvements; normally, I will try to minimize its appearance.
-----------
This high quality machine translation is powered by: https:// randomtranslator.com/
To read the full translation, as well as more than 130+ full translations or to request new translations, check out: https:// randomtranslator.com/
You can also join the Random Translator Community on Discord to connect with other readers: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------