Chapter 43: The System of Power

When he stepped outside, he realized the sky was even darker than he had imagined, with an eerie quality unseen before: dark clouds mixed with that dark red energy emanating from the ground fissures—less intense but still intensely luminous—forming a strange, umbrella-like structure, resembling some kind of evil mushroom. The clouds at the edges were lighter in color, while the closer to the center, the darker they became, tinged with a blood-red hue. At the very core was where the dark red energy shot straight upward, filled with thick layers of dark red clouds and black lightning dancing like snakes—clearly no good omen.

Faced with such a situation, little insight or intelligence was needed to know that fleeing immediately was the only option. This was indeed what Neo thought at the moment. After last night’s feast, he felt extremely “full”; digestion, adaptation, and stability were what he needed most, even with the help of the energy treatment chamber.

Ascending from the valley to the continental road, he saw no trace of the monsters—no blood, no corpses, only countless hoofprints left by the monsters and traces of their frenzied superhuman behavior from last night.

As Neo followed the ridge path toward the platform, he couldn’t help but admire the desperate hunting style of those monsters. The ravine, which should have been piled with corpses, had been cleaned thoroughly by them. Even the mud and rocks nearby seemed to have been scraped away, leaving only traces of blood on top.

“It seems these things were truly starving!” Neo sifted through the debris and finally found a few pieces of muddy but still intact clothing. After putting them on, he let out a long sigh. Almost after every brutal battle, he faced the embarrassment of having no suitable replacement clothes, which made him desire a storage artifact even more—though such items were rare luxuries for many magicians.

By now, the sun had fully risen in the east, and the dark clouds there were thin and light-colored, allowing for a noticeable increase in brightness.

Survivors began to appear in small groups at this time—Gris, Grot, Angus who had dug himself underground early, Kara and Nikola, and Oleg. This werewolf wasn’t too stupid; he managed to survive thanks to the set of dark rune scrolls Neo had given him. Yet he showed no sign of joy at surviving, instead bearing a solemn expression and sad eyes, suggesting he carried a heavy burden—likely related to his comrades and those who managed to survive at the last moment last night.

Neo glanced at Gusby’s guards—only five remained alive, one of them a level 4 warrior with only minor injuries. It was unclear whether this guy had sudden potential or just good luck.

“Miner, what should we do now?” Gris asked, handing the dark magic book to Neo. Without energy, it was merely a material for storing spells. It had been lost during last night’s battle and found by Gris.

The others also looked at Neo. His outstanding performance last night had earned them genuine respect, so his attitude and opinions naturally received attention and importance.

“Let’s first check out the camp of Furs’ expedition. The damage there shouldn’t be as severe as on this side. We need some basic rest,” said Nio, gazing eastward and sighing. “Rock Sentinel Valley is probably beyond hope—it’s too close to the rift and likely suffered the same devastating fate last night.”

Upon reflection, it made sense. With so many monsters, it was impossible for them to gather solely on the west side to fight head-on. Although Rock Sentinel Valley had some defensive measures, its combat strength might not be much greater than that of the defenders on the platform last night, making destruction highly likely.

The group headed east. As Nio had predicted, the monsters showed no interest in anything other than food. Furs’ expedition had left behind quite a bit, including valuable furs and black iron. Furs’ family was quite resourceful—after all, in terms of fur quality, those from the deep forests in the north and south of Erdrit Domain were more valuable, and black iron was a specialty of Erdrit Domain. Being able to acquire such supplies at this time and sell them earned even Baron Angus of Keliu respect.

Of course, these things meant little to the survivors—they couldn’t take them with them, and no one was greedy enough to forget death. The bloody battle at dawn still gave them chills even a month later. Seeing these riches, everyone remained indifferent, treating money as worthless. But Gris and the others were thrilled to find real gold and silver. Hadn’t they risked their lives for Gusby just for this? Although the expedition couldn’t carry much money or goods, they were careful enough to make a small fortune.

At this moment, Nikola and Oleg showed their unique dedication to their cause—they protected Angus and Kara wholeheartedly, started a fire, and brought out the food they had hidden the night before. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to feed those still alive. Considering last night’s losses and the upcoming journey, this meal was extremely valuable.

Grot wanted to join Gris and the others. It wasn’t that he was in dire need of money—he wasn’t a mage who required large sums for cultivation. But as a spellcaster, he had ways to make money far beyond ordinary people’s reach. What tempted Grot was the pleasure of finding bargains—goods piled up everywhere, gold coins, silver coins, and copper pieces scattered, all unclaimed. To some extent, participating in such activities could relieve mental stress. Last night’s battle was too unforgettable. For those who made a living with weapons, failing to effectively relieve such oppressive emotions could harm their careers and even hinder skill improvement. And the ways to relieve it were clearly not just getting drunk in bars or seeking comfort with prostitutes to achieve an odd kind of conquest.

But with Neo, his new employer, present, Grot couldn’t let go of himself. He hoped to show some grace and leave a good impression on Neo. As a spellcaster with intelligence, sharp thinking, and insight, Grot wasn’t like Gris, whose opinion of Neo was heavily influenced by preconceived notions. In Grot’s eyes, “Gusby” was a new figure, and the traits he displayed didn’t seem like those of an ordinary mining tycoon. He felt a bit curious and eager about this seemingly low-key and mysterious new employer.

By boiling ice and snow in iron pots and barrels, they managed to clean themselves. They found a first-aid kit to treat the fake injuries, filled their stomachs, and put on dry, warm clothes. Even if they managed to escape, it probably wouldn’t be much better than their current situation. Neo lay comfortably on the cart covered with furs, looking ready to fall asleep right there.

“Miner, should we set off?” Gris, with dark circles under his eyes and bloodshot whites, approached to remind him.

“Set off? Go back to Spoon Valley? Or bypass the Earth Split and cross Rock Sentinel Valley to head east? Which do you think is safer?”

“Well…” Gris paused, thinking. “The Eagle’s Nest Inn in Spoon Valley might be…”

Neo waved his hand, interrupting Gris. “It seems you still don’t understand what I mean. Hylfanis’s army isn’t made of dead men. With such a big disturbance here, and that patrol captain sending reports of fierce battles, someone will surely come. You’ve seen how many monsters there are; we don’t know what’s happening elsewhere. Right now, we need to ally with a powerful force, not assume we’ll be safe once we reach a certain place. We need intelligence.”

“The miner really thinks things through!”

“Mm! We ended up in such a mess because we didn’t know that damned Bels well enough. One time is enough for such a loss,” Neo said with a gloomy expression.

Seeing this, Gris thought, “Hmm, this determination is like Gusby’s…” Neo’s behavior yesterday had indeed been somewhat impulsive. In a crisis, people don’t have time to think carefully, but afterward, doubts arise. Neo was seizing the opportunity to make amends, and he was mostly successful.

After learning of Neo’s plans, the Bodde parents said they didn’t want to wait for an uncertain chance to rely on others for help—they wanted to overcome the crisis on their own. They asked Neo to fully charge the rune scrolls and teach them how to activate and deactivate them. The downside of rune scrolls, which could be produced quickly, was that they couldn’t support magic arrays that drew energy from themselves, so their power gradually diminished.

Neo readily agreed to Angus’s terms and even made three extra twisted rune scrolls. The effect of disrupting force fields was also an important covert tactic that could help them hide better in the darkness and shadows.

This time, Angus paid with three large gems. Neo didn’t greedily try to get more, probing whether Angus had more energy crystals, as he didn’t want to alert him. After all, the value of those three gems wasn’t much lower than that of impure rainbow crystals.

“The mysterious Baron Klyuryu family…” Watching the four figures fade into the distance, Neo pondered those unsolved mysteries. Nikolai, Oleg, and those West Wind Berserkers—their attitude toward Angus and Kara remained a puzzle. Willing to risk their lives to protect others, uncomplaining even when sacrificed in almost shameless ways—Neo certainly didn’t consider the Wild Wolves to be heroes of the Holy Light Rescue Society.

Operating discreetly, risking unknown dangers to avoid official figures—this too held implications worth deep reflection.

The third was Princess Ensbas, Angus’s eldest daughter. As far as Neo knew, the current Grand Duke of Ensbas was quite ambitious. Yet such a ruler defied political marriages and took the daughter of Baron Klyuryu as his wife. Though this was a celebrated union that brought prestige to Ensbas at first, with the outbreak of the Dark Infiltration incident and the Grand Duke’s response, Neo believed he wasn’t someone who valued reputation at all—true power was likely what he pursued, and he would use any means to achieve it.

If the Grand Duke truly was such a person, then marrying Baron Klyuryu’s eldest daughter seemed rather strange. After all, though not as noble or dashing as Victor, the Grand Duke of Ensbas was still handsome, skilled in both arts and warfare, of high status and wealth, and versatile. Rumor had it that a princess from an alliance offered her entire country as a dowry to marry him as his chief consort, only to be rejected.

“What could be more valuable than acquiring a country?” With such a premise, conspiracy theorist Neo naturally asked himself this question.

On the other hand, it’s said that a son rises with his mother. Even if Baron Klyuryu valued family reputation and pride, his actions seemed excessive. Why did the Grand Duchess seem to distance herself repeatedly from him? During the Dark Infiltration incident, she didn’t enjoy any privileges and disappeared for over four months. Now, she hurried eastward, avoiding even meeting people—what was the problem?

Neo tapped his fingers gently against the wooden frame of the cart. “Treasure, oh treasure! If there’s some incredibly important treasure, perhaps all these problems could be solved at once…”

There were undoubtedly countless coveted treasures in the world. Of course, anyone with a normal intelligence knew that coveting everything one saw and seizing it led to ruin—even the Pope of the Glorious Church, with his formidable religious forces, ended up defeated and dead.

Neo wasn’t only normal-minded but also calm. However, he had his specialties—he made sure not to miss certain types of treasures, such as plant-related items, blood-powered artifacts, Moon Goddess relics, pure darkness artifacts, and elemental objects. The latter two weren’t that urgent. Treasure-level darkness artifacts required modification before use, but he didn’t have the skills yet. Neo favored practicality—since he couldn’t use them, and wouldn’t be able to for a long time, there was no need to rush and cause trouble.

Elemental treasures seem somewhat wasted in his hands; for him, elemental powers exist merely to support life energy. Although the balance of the four elements sounds impressive, Neo also understands that for him right now, being proficient in everything means being mediocre in everything. Holding dual roles as a warrior and shaman, using a power system where life energy, blood energy, dark energy, and moon energy influence each other is already complicated enough—adding the four elements would make him act like a grocer.

In fact, Neo is quite satisfied with his current power structure. Moon energy is an important influencing force for him; it blends well with blood energy and dark energy, effectively altering their purely negative traits—such as the brutality of blood energy and the deadness of dark energy. Life energy, on the other hand, is the core—it can enhance blood energy, giving it more vitality and enabling different applications, like the characteristic of vitality. Nancy has already analyzed that the blood energy and life energy he controls are interconnected. The sprouting of the Seed of the World Tree depends greatly on the impact of life energy contained in last night’s surge of blood energy, and once the seed sprouts, it feeds back power, thereby influencing blood energy.

Although there’s no comparison with the blood energy used by vampires, it’s hard to determine the exact differences. But Nancy is certain that Neo’s blood energy has taken a unique path—it’s neither part of the ancient Boiling Blood lineage nor the pure life-sucking style of the current Kael’s vampires. Its controllable traits, as seen by both Nancy and Neo, are positive. If it led to blood rage or madness, that would be bad, as going insane from using power is definitely not the fighting style Neo wants. After all, multitasking and close cooperation with Nancy are key to defeating enemies, from executing combat techniques to deploying tactics.

As for dark energy, there’s no need to elaborate. Under the restraint of life energy and influenced by the other two forces, Neo’s dark energy has moved away from pure darkness toward a relatively milder form of darkness, “night.” In terms of its power characteristics, it represents the possibility of life, such as dark plants and shadowy flora. From another perspective, it also serves as Neo’s distinctive mark of “darkness.” No matter what others think, Neo knows he hasn’t fallen, hasn’t been corrupted by dark forces, nor has he become an embodiment of evil or decay. His beliefs remain unchanged; his dark energy is part of a natural cycle—quiet, resting, dormant, accumulating and transforming, awaiting a new cycle. Thus, he considers his darkness purifying. Those killed by its power or drained by life easily integrate into the world as dust and soil, rather than causing scars like the power of demons, which refuses to fade over time and thrives at the first opportunity, corrupting the land and sky—also a scourge.

Blood energy, this new form of power, possesses the same adaptable qualities as water. Neo values it because its entry threshold is low—unlike water elements, water mages remain passive, declaring, “Water is life!” As a result, healing spells such as Rain of Blessings generally require level 15 to be used effectively, while ordinary healing spells are less potent, roughly only matching a priest’s ability to treat minor injuries at level 3. Water mages can also drain all the water from a person’s body, turning them into a mummy instantly, but this too requires a high level.

Although blood energy is less mainstream, it is highly targeted. For living beings, a Boiling Blood Curse can make an opponent feel as though their body is about to explode. At a higher level, it can be used to direct blood within the enemy’s body to cause damage, acting like a dual attack from within and without. Even more powerful is the scenario from last night, where blood burns—blood being the main carrier of energy for the body, burning blood reverses this process, stealing energy as it disperses through the pores, forming a burning red blood mist that can be controlled by the user, making it extremely formidable.

Although most vampires can use this technique, their bodies cannot hold such massive amounts of energy, so they must rely on magical artifacts to create an external energy storage source, such as Blood Blades, Blood Puppets, or Blood Wands. However, with Nancy’s help, Neo uses his own body as a powerful container to obtain concentrated forms of pure blood energy, which is naturally incomparable to those relying on external objects.

No matter how good the treasures related to these eight types of power—four auxiliary and four primary—may be, they are still inferior to those from sacred-level relics. Neo understands well that no matter how varied or rare the powers he wields, they are not unique; they can be analyzed and replicated. Essentially, compared to other types of power, there is only a difference in form and application, not in strength. There’s no such thing as one power being inherently superior to others—when it comes to real confrontation, compatibility and activation levels still determine the outcome, following universal standards. For example, fighters above level 10 generally reach the energy condensation stage, and the light blades they emit are beyond the resistance of those with such powers; if they still dare to attack with swords, they will surely suffer.

But Nancy is unique—there is only one Nancy in the world. She is his intelligent AI assistant, tailored to him and growing alongside him. With Nancy, he has the foundation to turn the impossible into possible, enabling him to create astonishing miracles time and again and making the most of every ounce of his power. He can face off against ten or eight opponents of the same level without fear, because in terms of the total effectiveness of his energy output, he surpasses the combined strength of those opponents. Thus, Baron Kluilu’s energy crystal undoubtedly gives Neo a subtle hint: Baron Kluilu possesses a treasure worth that of a small kingdom, and this treasure is related to sacred-level relics.

For this precious item whose existence is still uncertain, Neo is truly going all out this time—using two drops of pure essence blood to inject into Angus and Kara during breakfast. This approach takes the initial method of tracking via magic powder applied to rune scrolls and plant seeds a step further, enabling blood control when necessary and setting up passive protection to safeguard Angus and Kara. It also facilitates coordination with Neo’s other tactics, such as close monitoring.
“I need to finish creating the intelligent brain clone as soon as possible, so I can track and control them remotely…” Neo thought, gradually feeling his eyelids grow heavy. The energy healing chamber had only restored his physical body; his mind was still fatigued. At this moment, he was quite tired.
Lying back on the thick fur cushions of the cart, with his head raised, Neo saw the swirling dark red clouds in the sky, and an idea struck him suddenly.
“Gris!”
“Boss, what’s your order?” Gris rushed over quickly. Not long ago, he and a few other thugs had witnessed Neo create the twisted rune scrolls, so they became even more obedient to their boss. Before, they had somewhat looked down on Gusby, thinking he was just a mortal who knew how to make money. But now it was different—even a low-level caster could be compared to a combatant of rank 5, as it represented energy awakening, which was a kind of qualification.
“Look at these strange clouds. If it rains, the water might be problematic. At the least, it could cause illness; in worse cases, it might even lead to demonization. Go quickly and check if there’s any paint, hot glue, or anything similar in the supplies to make some rain gear. Also, pack up all the supplies and cover them up. We can’t take these with us, but they can be used as gifts.”
“As you say, boss. I’ll take care of it right away!” Gris left, convinced. Along the way, he thought, “After being scared by that bastard Bels and not getting proper sleep for days, the boss seems to have gotten smarter…”
On the cart, Neo pulled a fur blanket over himself and slowly closed his eyes. “It’s time to rest. I’m afraid that by the time I wake up, the officials will already be here…”