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[Devouring Serpent·Spirit Bone] [Gold Quality]: A rare material formed when a sixth-tier or higher ferocious beast condenses its elemental energy into a physical form. Even rarer than a beast core, it is a key material for crafting high-quality golden weapons.

[Spirit Essence Pill] [Orange Quality]: After consuming this miracle drug, a mystical beast will have a 100% success rate during evolution, with no side effects.

The effect of the Spirit Essence Pill was straightforward—Charles knew it was meant to be used when a mystical beast was about to evolve.

But what about the other two items?

Based on his theoretical knowledge, Charles understood that these materials could be used to craft weapons and armor. However, crafting high-quality equipment required more than just good materials—it required skill to ensure the materials worked well together.

In Lsengard, the best weapons only reached blue quality. It would be a waste to hand over such valuable materials to a local blacksmith.

Just when Charles was at his wit\'s end, he suddenly noticed that in the system interface, next to [alchemy], there was an additional column labeled [forging] that he hadn\'t seen before.

Curious, Charles focused on it, and a window quickly popped up.

[Nine Netherworld Armband] [Gold Quality]

[Crafting Materials]:

- [Devouring Serpent·Gold Scales]: 20/18

- [Devouring Serpent·Spirit Bone]: 10/8

- Water Attribute Beast Core [Second Tier]: 0/1

[Description]: The armband integrates seamlessly with the exoskeleton of the right arm, remaining invisible until activated by infusing water attribute energy.

[Effect]: A gold-quality piece of equipment that combines offense and defense. It enhances the muscle strength of the right arm by 100% through the exoskeleton while providing significant protection from the golden scales, reducing damage from ordinary attacks. (Currently, it can mitigate 97% of a Level 4 Beast Master\'s standard attacks.)

[Enhancement]: The beast core is removable. The higher the grade of the water attribute beast core, the stronger the offensive and defensive capabilities.

After reading the brief description, Charles was overwhelmed with excitement. "It can reduce 97% of the damage from attacks two full levels above! That\'s insanely powerful!"

With this level of damage reduction, getting hit on the right arm would be no more painful than a light scratch.

Even more impressive was the fact that the armband could boost the strength of his right arm by an explosive 100%. This enhancement would effectively double the piercing power of Charles\'s Puncture Thorn. Just the thought of it made him realize how terrifying this exoskeleton could be.

Charles figured that with such a powerful effect, there had to be some limitations, like a cap on the number of uses. Otherwise, it would be too overpowered. Additionally, since the materials came from a sixth-tier mystical beast, its effectiveness would likely be reduced against even stronger beasts.

But even with these considerations, this would be an incredibly valuable piece of equipment for Charles at his current level. Once the gold-quality armband was crafted, it would be another ace up his sleeve for staying alive.

What made Charles even happier was that the system had unlocked the [forging] feature, which meant that he could now craft weapons and equipment himself using materials he obtained in the system.

As Charles\'s gaze shifted to the "forge," a flood of information poured into his mind—everything related to forging, including temperature control, smithing, extraction, and more.

The sudden influx of knowledge caused a brief dizzy spell in Charles\'s head.

"Now that I have the knowledge of forging, and I\'ve got the gold scales and spirit bone, all I need is a second-tier water attribute beast core," Charles sighed as he checked the required materials.

He had plenty of first-tier beast cores, but not a single second-tier core. Such rare items could fetch astronomical prices at auctions, and even if he found one, it would likely be beyond his budget.

With no other options, Charles decided to try his luck near the pond at the center of the oasis.

After gathering his belongings and stuffing all the sellable ferocious beast materials from the valley into his storage space, Charles left the valley.

But when he arrived at the pond... he was stunned!

The entire pond was shrouded in a thin layer of pale purple poisonous mist. Dozens of animals and ferocious beasts of various sizes floated lifelessly on the water\'s surface. Seeing the grim scene, Charles couldn\'t help but grimace.

Forget about finding a second-tier water attribute beast core—there wouldn\'t even be any fish left to eat. Thankfully, he still had plenty stored in his storage space...

He searched the area around the pond but found no sign of Aria. It wasn\'t until he approached the small wooden cabin near the edge of the forest that he heard faint sobbing coming from inside.

The poisonous mist that had polluted the entire area was emanating from within the cabin, and the greenery surrounding the cabin had withered and turned yellow under the toxic influence.

"Aria, are you in there?" Charles asked softly, knocking gently on the door.

The crying stopped, and after a long silence, a faint voice responded, "No... I\'m not here."

Hearing that familiar voice, Charles breathed a sigh of relief. He had always sensed that this girl carried secrets far beyond what he could imagine. But then again, everyone has their secrets, and Charles had no intention of prying.

The days of the ferocious beast mountain range trial were drawing to a close. Thanks to his relentless efforts over the past few days, Charles had successfully climbed into the top three on the leaderboard.

Although there was still some distance between him and Grace, who held the first spot, and Emily, who was in second, Charles was already satisfied with his progress.

He had come today to share a meal with Aria and to say goodbye at this oasis. Afterward, she would return to the desert, and Charles would head back to Lsengard.

Who knows... they might never see each other again.

"If you don\'t open the door, I\'m coming in," Charles said after waiting a moment longer, worried that something might have happened to Aria. He gently pushed the door open.

He had a good idea of why Aria was upset—it was likely due to the poisonous mist around her that was becoming increasingly difficult to control.

Before setting out on this trial, Charles had read about a legend in the book Local History that related to Atacama.

Long ago, Atacama wasn\'t the vast, barren desert it is now, but rather a lush paradise with fertile grasslands, abundant herds, and millions of living creatures. The ancient Goddess of Sky-patching was said to have molded clay into humans, who lived harmoniously with her and enjoyed a prosperous, blissful life.

One day, however, the Goddess of Sky-patching was corrupted by an evil spirit. Her once long, black hair transformed into thousands of venomous snakes, and her fair, beautiful face twisted into something grotesque and terrifying. Wherever she went, poisonous mists spread.

Humanity, once devoted to the Goddess, began to fear and despise her. They destroyed the temples dedicated to her and burned her statues. The once-revered Goddess of Sky-patching became the dreaded and shunned evil deity known as Medusa.

...

"I wonder if this has any connection to that legend..." Charles thought, snapping back to reality as he noticed Aria, now wearing an apron, preparing dinner in the kitchen.

She seemed inexperienced in the kitchen, her movements somewhat clumsy, and with tears still lingering at the corners of her eyes, she looked like a young bride who had been wronged.

The fish that had been lively just moments ago perished the moment it came into contact with the faint purple mist surrounding Aria before it even reached her hands.

Seeing that she was on the verge of tears again, Charles couldn\'t help but tease her, "So, you know how to cook fish?"

"Of course! Back in the palace... at home, there were people who wanted to eat my cooking but couldn\'t!" Aria shot Charles a defiant glare, her cheeks puffed out in frustration.

Watching her, Charles felt a strange sense of nostalgia, as if he were witnessing a scene from a different lifetime. It was hard to reconcile the cheerful girl he once knew with the sad and vulnerable Aria standing before him now. He couldn\'t help but wonder what she had gone through in the month they had been apart to bring about such a change.

He had a vague suspicion that it had something to do with the tomb of the ancient serpent gods, Medusa, that they had encountered.

As he watched the beautiful figure bustling about, Charles suddenly spoke up, "Aria, I might be leaving the ferocious beast mountain range tomorrow. Of course, there\'s no real rush if... you know, we don\'t have to say goodbye so soon..."

The beautiful figure hesitated for a moment at Charles\'s words. After a brief silence, she replied with a barely audible, "Okay."

They both fell into a quiet silence, neither of them saying a word, just like when they had first met in the ancient tomb.

The only difference was that back then, it had been Charles grilling meat for Aria.

"All done! Come and taste my cooking!" Aria finally called out, breaking the silence with a small smile.

Aria proudly placed the pot of "fish soup" in front of Charles. Without even needing to taste it, as a seasoned cook, Charles could already imagine just how "delicious" it would be, simply by looking at it.

He hesitated for a moment, then forced a laugh. "This is... fish soup?"

"What, are you worried I poisoned it?" Aria\'s lips curled into a smug smile as she looked at Charles. "This is the first time I\'ve ever cooked for someone else. Even if it doesn\'t taste good, you have to finish it, or else..."

Aria raised her slender arm, the threat in her words unmistakable.

"Why would I worry about you poisoning me? The entire room is already filled with toxins..." Charles muttered, unable to resist a bit of sarcasm. But the moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them.

Sometimes, words are spoken without thinking, but the listener can take them to heart. Aria, who had just started to cheer up, was hurt by Charles\'s comment. She glanced at a wilted flower on the windowsill, then burst into tears and ran out of the cabin.

Lightning Demon Ape!!!

At the moment Aria started crying, a terrifying pressure descended, nearly suffocating Charles. The small wooden cabin, along with the table and chairs around Charles, was instantly reduced to splinters.

A gray-haired middle-aged man appeared before Charles in the blink of an eye, his eyes blazing with fury. "Boy, what did you say to the young lady? If anything happens to her, I\'ll make sure you die a thousand deaths!"

As the man appeared, a few lines of information flashed before Charles\'s eyes.

[Name]: Joshua

[Race]: Serpent Man

[Age]: 41

[Level]: Lv64

[Attributes]: Wind/Poison

Charles\'s face twitched involuntarily, and the spoon in his hand slipped from his grasp, clattering to the floor.

"No way... talk about bad luck. Isn\'t this the same guy who fought Emma? How did I run into him again here?"