Chapter 38: Transformation and Inheritance (Part 1)

Standing before the Elders’ Altar, Donald took a deep breath to calm himself before issuing a command to the Book of Truth.
“Hero inducted, Demon Hunter!”
As soon as the words were spoken, the sun totem atop the altar glowed brightly, as if an in-game level-up aura descended from the sky, enveloping Donald entirely.
Countless elemental energies converged in this forest, forming a vortex of power that even disturbed some high-level magical beasts deep in the woods and mountains.
The elemental energies howled like the wind, creating tangible spirals of force, and this manifestation of energy stirred up chaos among the higher magical creatures in the forest and mountains.
The eight hundred souls of power remaining after Donald created three puppet troops in the Book of Truth were instantly reduced by half, while his energy reserves drained rapidly. If he hadn’t previously ordered his butler to acquire elemental crystals worth thousands of gold sols, the transformation process would likely have been interrupted.
Under the glow, Donald’s face showed pain as the transformation continued. The Book of Truth was calculating appropriate heroic attributes based on the rules it knew and the laws of this world, in order to transform and strengthen the host’s body and soul.
The transformation process was actually the Book of Truth invoking laws through the altar, channeling the resulting energy into the inducted hero’s body. The hero would then enter a dormant state, whose duration depended on the extent of the transformation and physical condition—usually at least two hours.
This was because changes and enhancements to the soul required time to recover and adapt.
Soon, the light of laws and energy faded, revealing Donald’s naked body. The Tree of Life behind the altar immediately stretched its branches, lifting Donald and placing him in the moon well, which already contained a shallow pool of crystal-clear liquid.
Donald remained unconscious for over three hours before waking up. The moon essence, accumulated over half a month for watering crops in the fields and plantations, was now almost depleted.
But Donald couldn’t worry about that now. The first thing he did upon waking was to clench his fists, feeling the strength and explosive power of his new body, which made him laugh out loud.
“Haha!”

After being transformed by the Book of Truth and the altar, his physique underwent a fundamental change. His once thin frame at seventeen vanished, replaced by a tall stature of over 1.85 meters, with smooth muscles that visibly bulged when exerted. His physical capabilities had developed and stabilized at around the level of a 20-year-old. In terms of strength alone, he was already on par with peak Black Iron warriors who had undergone rigorous training, and his coordination was even more agile than before. Moreover, his mind was now extremely sharp, his vision several times improved, and his thinking speed had increased.

This transformation not only granted him greater strength, sensitivity, and mental acuity but also improved the strength of his soul. Initially, he only had the potential to become a full-fledged mage due to the enhancements from the Book of Truth. Now, through the hero transformation process, both the essence and potential of his soul had been greatly increased by at least half. His soul level soared from LV1 to LV3. Although he had not yet reached the peak of Black Iron level or advanced to the Bronze tier, it allowed him to quickly attain the capabilities of a mid-level Black Iron caster. With enough time, mastering multiple second-tier or even third-tier spells would not be a problem.

Soul level does not equal strength, but it is a prerequisite for determining a professional’s developmental potential. Those with a high soul level find it easier to learn anything, whereas those whose soul strength falls short will struggle immensely if they attempt to advance to the next level.

After fully completing the Demon Hunter ritual, Donald’s memories gained additional knowledge. These were experiences and skills left behind by ancient Demon Hunters, generated by the Book of Truth. They included techniques for forging and using blade weapons, relevant training for Demon Hunters, basic identification of the Demon Eye and demonic creatures, and most importantly, the mastery of four heroic skills.

Since he had not yet officially slain a demon, he was only partially transformed into a Demon Hunter. Apart from the four heroic skills, he could only use some or none of the additional innate abilities. For example, the psychic power gained by sacrificing his eyes as a Demon Hunter allowed Donald to use his senses to obscure his eyes and gain psychic perception, enabling him to observe the outside world through his psychic vision. However, in this state, his eyes would emit a red glow.

As for other innate abilities, the only one he fully mastered was proficiency in the Moonblade. He had reached a basic level of skill in using and forging this exotic weapon originating from elven warriors. With sufficient time for reflection and practice, he could gradually achieve higher levels of mastery, such as expert or master, making his combat and defense more stable and effective.

The other two powerful abilities—Eye of the Demon Hunter and Demon Skin—could not be obtained because he had not succeeded in hunting demons. The strength of these abilities depended on the number of demons a Demon Hunter had slain.

By successfully adopting the hero class, his strength had increased dramatically. Donald was full of confidence about heading to the battlefield soon to fight the orcs and earn glory.

However, he had spent almost all the elemental crystals he had acquired by trading Goldthorn on this purpose. Now, Donald was penniless. He longed for the sorcerer who had raided his manor to appear before him so he could torture and kill him to vent his anger. He even hoped for an early outbreak of the Plague of Demons, so he could hunt numerous demonic creatures and see his strength soar at an astonishing rate.

After Donald rebuilt the manor’s defense system and transformed into a hero, the mage Meisel had promised to send someone to protect the manor, and that person had already arrived.

Donald personally welcomed the pale-skinned mage with oily black hair at the door, instructing the butler to provide the best treatment. The mage’s appearance reminded him of a wizard character from a movie in his past life—the professor who liked to stay in the basement, studying strange potions, also looked similar.

“I never expected Master Chris to come in person. Donald feels truly honored!”

This mage was named Chris. He was one of the three highest-ranked Bronze Peak mages in the Stone City Guild, second only to Meisel. He was also the youngest Bronze mage in the North County.

“Stop being polite. I heard you invented another mage beverage called black tea. Prepare some for me later; I want to study it!”

“Of course. Please follow me, Master!”

With that, Donald led the Bronze mage into the manor.

At just forty years old, Mage Chris had a somewhat rigid and aloof attitude, but Donald knew he held no hostility. He was simply naturally eccentric and not good at interacting with others. It was precisely this dedication to mage cultivation and research, with no distractions, that allowed this reclusive mage to reach the Bronze rank before the age of thirty.