I Have a Task Log

The two immediately ran deeper into the Supreme Forest.

Colin had wanted to look for Kase nearby.

But they had no idea where the Kobolds had gone, and with no way to get their bearings in the Supreme Forest, they could only wander around like headless flies. In the end, they found nothing.

It wasn't until nightfall that the exhausted pair finally stopped beneath a giant oak tree.

"Let's stop here for now," Colin said. "We'll rest for a bit. We should at least wait until tomorrow to set off again."

After speaking, he and Ale each laid out their sleeping bags by the oak tree.

Colin sat on his sleeping bag, leaned back against the trunk, and let out a long sigh of relief.

'Even though we were only in the Fog-Locked Rift for a few days, that time was a real ordeal. I was constantly worried about running into monsters, not to mention what happened to Kase.'

He wasn't as anxious now that they were out.

'I'll just let things take their course. There's always a way.'

'Right now, I need to check out what I dug out of that Black Dragon Descendant's stomach.'

As he thought this, Colin pulled the parchment from his bag.

Even after just a short time, a small hole had been corroded into the paper. Fortunately, the parchment was still mostly intact.

Unfurling it, he saw a stone rolled up inside.

Colin picked up the stone and glanced at it.

It had no Spiritual Light from any Magic, looking like a simple, Ordinary pebble. You could probably find hundreds of stones just like it by any random stream.

He set the stone aside, recited a Spell to ignite a small Flame on his fingertip, and used its light to carefully examine the contents of the parchment.

However, Colin didn't recognize the script written on it.

He looked at Ale, who was sitting beside him, and asked, "Can you read this?"

"Let me see." Ale, who had been a bit down, perked up and leaned closer.

She looked down, carefully studying the parchment, and said, "This is written in Draconic, but it's encrypted. I can't understand what it means."

"Is that so?" Colin sighed.

The answer didn't surprise him.

'So far, it seems like most of the secret messages we've gotten have been encrypted. If only these Cultists would let their guard down a little.'

Colin said, "I'm guessing it's some kind of war plan. Otherwise, that Black Dragon Descendant wouldn't have been in such a hurry to swallow it. We need to get this back."

"Do your wounds need to be treated?" Ale looked at him.

"Probably," Colin said. "I don't think I treated my wounds before drinking the Potion. My clothes have probably fused with my flesh by now."

Ale said worriedly, "Then we need to hurry."

Colin hesitated for a moment, then began to take off his Plate Armor and Chain Armor. When he got to the Cotton Armor, he found he couldn't pull it off.

Turning his head to look, he saw the flesh of his shoulder had indeed grown into the Cotton Armor.

The newly healed flesh was mixed with the cotton padding, and the area where they met was already swollen. It didn't look good. If left alone, it would definitely get infected or cause other complications.

"You still have one more Potion, right? I know it feels like a waste, but I don't think I'll have any combat ability left after this," Colin said with a smile, then drew his Dagger, intending to do it himself.

But Ale quickly reached out, grasped his hand, and said, "Let me do it."

"Alright, then. Just remember to sterilize it with Flame before you cut."

Colin handed her the Dagger, then turned back and found a branch of suitable thickness to bite down on.

Ale softly chanted a Spell, and a golden light flared up before extinguishing.

She then began using the Dagger to separate the Cotton Armor that had fused with his flesh.

An icy sensation, accompanied by searing pain, flowed across his shoulder. The feeling was enough to make his scalp tingle.

Colin silently bit down harder on the branch in his mouth.

'Honestly, this part is torture.'

When the body is severely injured, it automatically releases hormones to dull the pain, but being slowly cut open like this was another matter entirely.

That's why being sliced by a Small Knife was much harder to bear than a severe injury like a broken bone. The pain receptors in his body were firing on all cylinders.

To distract himself, Colin looked at the Armor lying on the ground.

The Plate Armor's Shoulder Guards were completely ruined. One had been hacked in two, while the other was riddled with holes of various sizes from the acid spit by the Black Dragon Descendant.

Besides that, other parts had also been heavily corroded by the breath weapon.

Speaking of which, Colin once again thought of the parchment he had dug out of the Black Dragon Descendant's stomach, which hadn't been completely corroded.

It was worth mentioning that Dragon Species have two core organs for their breath weapons. Besides the lungs, the other is the "Fundamental Vessel," an organ unique to dragons.

The Fundamental Vessel could be understood as an organ for storing Magic Energy. It allows the energy within a Giant Dragon's body to enter its bloodstream. When it's time to use its breath weapon, all that energy converges in the lungs, mixes with air, and is then expelled.

This was also why the parchment swallowed by that Black Dragon Descendant wasn't digested into pulp by acid—because what they spat out for their breath weapon wasn't their own stomach acid.

Colin glanced down again at the Dragonbone Longsword he had taken.

[Dragonbone Longsword / Poor-Quality Non-Ordinary Magical Item]

[Damage: 5-12]

[Rough Craftsmanship: The Forging method for this sword shows no skill whatsoever. It can only be described as a waste.]

[Bone of a Green Dragon: Deals an additional two points of Damage on attack.]

'This thing... how should I put it.'

Even Colin, who had only learned a little about Forging, felt it was a waste of materials. He could clearly feel how crude the craftsmanship was; when he picked up the sword, he could even feel unpolished burrs.

'Don't those Cultists from the Dragon Worship Cult have any decent craftsmen on hand?'

'Or maybe this bone sword was made by some of the natives living in the Fog-Locked Rift, and was then confiscated and used by those two Black Dragon Descendants.'

'As for what really happened, perhaps only those Cultists know.'

'All I can do is hope that after I hand this over to Donkexes and the others, they can salvage it somehow. If I'm lucky, they might be able to whip it into something halfway usable.'

"Hiss..."

A sharp pain suddenly shot through his shoulder, and Colin couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath. At the same time, he felt the Dagger on his shoulder tremble slightly.

Mumbling around the branch, he said, "It's nothing. Keep going."

The cold sensation returned.

Blood trickled down his shoulder. Colin furrowed his brow and silently shifted his focus to his Task Log.

-----------------

[Commission: Liberate the Mushroommen]

[Rating: 6 (Local Hero)]

[Reward: 150 Skill Level points, Tier Three Magic [Haste]]

-----------------

Colin proceeded to add all the Skill Level points to Armor. After the Illusion Learning, his Empowerment Armor Skill Level became: Empowerment Armor (Reliable) 1809/2000

Next up was [Haste].

With a flicker of his thoughts, Colin once again found himself in the Illusion he used for practicing Magic.

The use of this Magic was rather simple, mainly for strengthening oneself. After studying it intently a few times, he mastered the new Spell.

[Haste], a Tier Three Magic. You can increase the Speed of one creature within a ten-meter radius, up to a maximum of double its normal Speed, for up to one minute.