Ur left without hesitation.
But Isolde didn't relax in the slightest.
Because she knew very well that a profiteer occasionally taking a loss didn't mean he actually lost out.
It was more likely that he felt placing his bets on her would yield far greater returns in the future.
Still, she wasn't about to let him get the better of her for free.
Next time, she would have to squeeze some more benefits out of this profiteer.
At the very least, her debt was cleared, her button was back, the map was in her possession, and she had purchased the skill scrolls.
A person had to digest the meat already in their stomach before they were qualified to think about what to eat for the next meal.
Lia quietly stood back by her side.
Isolde glanced at her.
When Ur had touched the back of her hand just now, Lia had moved almost entirely on instinct.
If she hadn't called out to stop her in time, Ur's throat might have already been pierced.
Though she wasn't sure if such an attack would have actually managed to harm him.
Isolde withdrew her gaze and turned to walk back through the gates; she still had more important things to do.
“To the underground laboratory.”
Lia bowed her head slightly. “Yes, Milady.”
One by one, the eerie fires in the underground laboratory flickered to life.
Isolde walked over to the workbench and laid out the scrolls she had bought, along with the usable items from the Radiant Ring, one by one.
【Holiness Fragment × 16】
【Radiant Attribute Fragment × 21】
【Fallen Fragment: Hourglass of Dusk (1/5)】
【High-Tier Light-Attribute Attack Magic: Daystar】
【Basic Universal Spell: Mana-Conducting Thread】
【Malice Universal Skill Book: Malice Substitute Marker】
【Special Material: Basic Puppet Core】
【Skill Scroll: Pressure】
【Castle Core Fragment】
And the map of the Celantia continent.
Isolde stared at the table full of items for a few seconds.
Suddenly, she felt the sheer happiness of opening so many packages that her hands went weak.
First, Isolde pulled up her status panel.
【Name: Isolde】
【Identity: Crow Candle Castle Master / Soul-Weaving Witch / Soul Stitcher】
【Primary Path: Malice】
【Secondary Path: Holy】
【Passive Skills: Witch's Mask, Castle Authority, Home Advantage】
【Active Skills: Soul-Binding Thread, Purifying Light, Mark Weakness, Strangle, Blood Banquet Substitute, Banquet Verdict, Deathrattle Deconstruction, Mastering Truth】
【Contracted Holy Beast: Moon】
【Soul Contractee: Lia】
Isolde stared at her skill list for a moment, her expression gradually turning complex.
She indeed had far more skills than when she first woke up.
They were practical enough, but her combat power still needed improvement.
Isolde looked down at the 【Holiness Fragment】 and 【Radiant Attribute Fragment】.
【Absorbable attribute fragments detected】
【Holiness Fragment × 16】
【Potential Enhancement Direction 1: Holiness Damage Resistance】
【Potential Enhancement Direction 2: Holiness Affinity in Disguise State】
【Potential Enhancement Direction 3: Malice Core Corruption Suppression】
Three options floated in midair.
Resistance preserved her life, affinity made disguises easier, and corruption suppression could reduce backlash.
She wanted all three, but unfortunately, the system was utterly heartless.
Isolde's fingertips lightly tapped on the tabletop.
After a brief moment, she chose the first option.
The one thing she didn't lack right now was a disguise.
The incident at the Grey Dove Monastery had made too much of a splash, and with so many spoils of war in her hands, there was no telling when she would clash with the people of the Holy Court in the future.
Stacking more damage resistance now would also increase her own advantage.
【Confirming Enhancement: Holiness Damage Resistance】
【Holiness Fragment × 16 consumed】
Platinum-gold spots of light rose from the table like a swarm of fireflies, slowly filtering into her palm.
【Enhancement complete】
【You have obtained passive buff: Holiness Tolerance】
【Effect: Reduces damage taken from Holiness sources by 30%; reduces Malice mana conflict by 18% when using light-attribute skills.】
She let out a breath and picked up the 【Mana-Conducting Thread】 scroll.
This was the real highlight.
With it, her 【Soul-Binding Thread】 could carry even more things.
In the future, she could even stuff the spell structures dismantled by 【Deathrattle Deconstruction】 into her Soul Threads piece by piece.
Isolde unrolled the scroll.
The dense spell symbols looked like countless extremely fine threads, slowly separating before her eyes and then wrapping back together.
【Do you wish to learn the Basic Universal Spell: Mana-Conducting Thread?】
“Yes.”
The scroll dissolved into a grayish-white stream of light, flowing into her body along the stitched markings on the inside of her wrist.
Her Soul Threads were stretched open as dense, fine mana lines began to grow anew within them.
It felt as though someone were mending clothes within her soul, stitch by stitch.
【Learning successful】
【Obtained Basic Spell: Mana-Conducting Thread】
【Soul-Binding Thread capacity increased】
【Attribute conduction efficiency of Soul Thread-type skills increased】
Looking at the prompts, the corners of Isolde's lips finally curved upward.
Excellent. The upper limit of her Soul Threads had increased, making it much more convenient to develop her own exclusive skills in the future.
She looked at the 【Radiant Attribute Fragment × 21】.
【Enhancable light-attribute skills detected】
【Enhancable Skill: Purifying Light】
【Enhancable Disguise State: Rogue Mage】
【You can attempt spell reconstruction with Mark Weakness and Mana-Conducting Thread】
Isolde's eyes brightened slightly.
Wasn't this a ready-made combo skill?
Enhancing 【Purifying Light】 on its own would yield limited benefits.
Enhancing her disguise state was too broad.
But if she reconstructed 【Purifying Light】, 【Mark Weakness】, and 【Mana-Conducting Thread】 together, she could obtain a new skill with strong offensive capabilities that could also land critical strikes on weak points.
It would be more than enough to use under her 'Rogue Mage' identity.
Isolde muttered in her mind: Begin spell reconstruction.
The gray light screen finally popped up.
【Skill reconstruction successful】
【Purifying Light (Intermediate) + Mark Weakness (Beginner) + Mana-Conducting Thread (Basic Spell) fused】
【You have obtained a new active skill: Fading Radiance Spike】
【Skill Type: Light-Attribute / Mark / Penetration】
【Skill Effect: Briefly locks onto a low-defense area of the target, condensing a spike of fading light to perform a penetrating attack. If the target is in a Corrupted, Undead, or Decayed state, damage is additionally increased.】
【Current Mastery: Beginner】
[Before me, you are nothing but weaknesses.]
Looking at the new skill, Isolde felt much better.
Though it was still only at the Beginner level, it was usable.
Most importantly, it looked like a skill a proper light-attribute mage would use.
When she went out under her 'Rogue Mage' identity in the future, she would finally no longer have to rely on 【Purifying Light】 to deal tickle damage.
As for 【Daystar】...
Isolde picked up that high-tier light-attribute magic scroll, only to quickly put it back down.
Now was not the time.
【Fading Radiance Spike】 could only be considered a narrow path she had cleared in the light attribute.
【Daystar】 was like trying to shove a burning star directly down this narrow path.
If the path wasn't wide enough, the star wouldn't be shot out; instead, she would be blown away first.
She would put it aside for now.
Once she trained 【Fading Radiance Spike】 to the Intermediate level, she could use 【Holiness Tolerance】 to continue suppressing the backlash.
Being greedy was fine, but she couldn't get carried away.
The reason she had survived until now was never because she swallowed every good thing in one gulp.
Instead, she knew when to eat, when to hide things, and when to let others test the poison for her first.
Isolde stored 【Daystar】 into the Radiant Ring and picked up 【Malice Substitute Marker】.
When she unrolled this scroll, the firelight in the laboratory dimmed for a brief moment.
A cold malice crept up her fingertips like a thin mist.
【Do you wish to learn the Malice Universal Skill: Malice Substitute Marker?】
“Yes.”
The dark runes seeped into her palm, and Isolde closed her eyes.
【Learning successful】
【Obtained Skill: Malice Substitute Marker】
【Current Mastery: Beginner】
Isolde removed a silver button from some old clothing.
She drew out a thread of malice, wrapped it tightly with the Mana-Conducting Thread, and mixed in a bit of the radiant dust left over from the Holy Court's treasury.
A faint circle of gray patterns quickly surfaced on the silver button.
【Malice Substitute Marker successfully crafted】
【Currently capable of absorbing one low-intensity aura tracking attempt】
Isolde held the silver button between her fingertips, spinning it gently.
She could discard it in an abandoned camp in the future.
Or slip it into some unlucky fellow's pocket.
Having finished dealing with her own skills, Isolde's gaze finally fell upon Lia.
Rate on N.U.
