CHAPTER 440: CHAPTER 440: ABSORPTION

The strength gap between these five kobolds wasn’t something Herag could clearly feel, because the gap was too large, he just struck them down with a single slash.

A gust of wind blew by, carrying the scent of blood far away.

Herag collected the wolf fang clubs and other usable weapons from the ground for future use.

Since the situation here was still unclear, anything potentially useful had to be gathered.

After storing the weapons, Herag swiftly left this place.

He arrived at the place where Tessa died and checked, confirming she was completely dead, with no chance of revival.

If there were a Necromancy-specialized wizard, they might be able to awaken Tessa’s soul to ask something.

But Herag lacked such means, so he let it go.

He rummaged through Tessa’s body for a while, puzzled by the absence of any Space Ring.

Judging by the various injuries on the body, it was evident she had been attacked multiple times, as the healing stages of the wounds differed, indicating different times of occurrence.

Most likely, these kobolds just took advantage; by the time they encountered Tessa, she was already near her end.

A Level 1 Crystalization Wizard, reduced to having her skull shattered by a kobold’s blow, died just like that.

Herag couldn’t help but lament the fate of others, thinking he might be next.

He glanced at the direction Tessa came running from; one could already see some areas of the forest.

The edge of the Gobi Desert was nearby, and moving forward, he should encounter other intelligent creatures.

Since Tessa was running from that direction, danger must have lurked there.

Herag thought for a moment, then decided to explore.

Retreating bore no meaning; retreat would only lead deeper into the desert region, where the likelihood of finding valuable clues was slim.

Advancing might be riskier, but contact with intelligent creatures could yield many valuable clues.

Having made up his mind, Herag stood up to leave.

He suddenly halted, glancing back at Tessa’s body, extending a hand to form a fireball and cremating her remains.

Tessa bore no enmity toward him; both hailed from the Wizard Plane, granting her basic dignity, avoiding becoming food for other creatures.

After a few Fireball Techniques, Tessa’s body was thoroughly incinerated.

With these tasks concluded, Herag steeled his Spirit, proceeding with caution.

The vegetation around him gradually thickened; Herag even discovered a meandering stream hidden among the grasses.

He followed the direction Tessa had come from, and soon discovered a cave.

The cave’s location was extremely concealed; an underground cave with its entrance as a slope, surrounded by dense shrubs.

Without environmental detection, Herag would have hardly noticed this cave.

At the cave’s entrance, he spotted some footprints, identified as belonging to the kobolds.

Environmental detection also noted another kobold inside, sleeping soundly on the ground.

The cave was cluttered with various objects, bones of different animals, and even human bones.

"Shadowy Corner."

Herag’s massive form transformed into a mass of black shadow, swiftly advancing toward the sleeping kobold, stealthily approaching.

The shadow moved unimpeded, arriving before the kobold; Herag leaped from the shadow, gripping the long blade in both hands, slicing down vertically.

The kobold detected nothing, his head severed in his slumber.

The kobold experienced no pain, his life ended just like that.

A wisp of black qi floated out from the kobold’s body; seeing it, Herag hastily used his Talent Ability, Demon Power, to absorb it into his body.

Once inside, the Demon Aura permeated throughout his body.

Herag closed his eyes, carefully sensing the changes the Demon Aura brought.

There wasn’t much notable sensation, just a faint enhancement to his physical body.

"Shenlan, what changes did this wisp of Demon Aura bring to the body?" Herag inquired.

"Calculating..."

"The Demon Aura increased Strength by 0.1, Agility by 0.1, and Constitution by 0.1."

"An increase of 0.1," he mused.

Herag hadn’t anticipated enhancing by 0.1. His physical strength was already quite high.

Such an enhancement at this level was considerable.

Herag began contemplating more; if he could acquire a substantial amount of this Demon Aura, wouldn’t it allow him to enhance his physical body to an extraordinary level?

Reflecting on the wasted Demon Aura earlier, he felt a pang of regret.

After absorbing the Demon Aura, Herag wandered around the cave in search of anything valuable.

However, after a thorough search, he found nothing of worth.

He had hoped to find any written text, but found none.

Texts represent civilization, providing much knowledge.

With no additional gains in the cave, Herag departed.

The surroundings had completely transformed into a forest scene, though curiously, there were scarcely any animals, just a few small ones.

Normally, such a large forest area wouldn’t be lacking animals.

But within Herag’s environmental detection range, not even a rabbit was seen, clearly defying logic.

He promptly considered that the kobolds appeared as if they hadn’t eaten for a long time.

Their cave lay so close to the forest; with their physical strength, food scarcity shouldn’t have been an issue.

Herag also recalled Tessa coming from that direction, already injured at the time.

Considering these factors, the forest must contain hidden dangers.

Herag cautiously entered the forest, constantly alert to environmental detection feedback; as of yet, he discovered nothing unusual.

After stealthily advancing for half an hour, he discovered a pile of excrement.

Finding the excrement heightened his vigilance, signaling his entry into some animal’s territory.

The shadow he had assumed paused briefly near the excrement, then swiftly moved on, soon hearing a distant beast’s roar, resonating loudly.

Following the roar’s origin, Herag moved, soon spotting the source of the noise.

A tiger-like creature stood there, not extremely large but slightly bigger than ordinary tigers.

"Is this creature controlling the forest area?" Herag speculated uncertainly.

Judging by its size, the tiger didn’t seem particularly strong; the kobolds should have been able to fight back, rather than huddle between the Gobi and forest borders.