Chapter 137: Zombie Blood Crystal
The others gathered around the table.
The map was not particularly detailed, and none of them could understand the writing scattered across its surface. Even so, the general layout was clear enough for them to make out several important locations.
Cain quickly found a rough symbol that likely represented the camp they were currently standing in.
From there, a wide route stretched northward toward a much larger marking.
The Southern Anchor Gate.
Several smaller symbols were scattered along the path between their current position and the Gate.
Nathan pointed toward one of them.
"Outposts?"
"Probably."
Cain studied the map more carefully.
Several smaller paths connected the marked locations, while the largest route continued farther north toward the deeper sections of the Invasion Corridor.
At the very least, the map confirmed something useful.
The Zombie Race had established proper routes throughout this region rather than simply scattering their forces everywhere. If the smaller markings really were outposts, then they could also use the map to predict where they were most likely to encounter more enemies on their way to the Southern Anchor Gate.
Unfortunately, the writing itself meant nothing to them.
Dragon’s Eyes could reveal far more than ordinary vision, but it could not magically teach Cain a language he had never seen before.
Still, the map was far too useful to leave behind.
Cain rolled it up and stored it inside his Inventory.
"Take anything that looks valuable."
Everyone immediately separated to search the tent.
Jack began checking the weapons stacked along the wall, while Cole opened several of the smaller containers. Professor Irina gathered a few unfamiliar documents and briefly examined them, setting aside anything that seemed potentially useful.
Cain was about to search another section when something near the rear of the tent caught his attention.
A faint energy fluctuation.
His golden pupils narrowed.
Through Dragon’s Eyes, Cain could perceive a dense concentration of energy coming from beneath one of the tables even though its source was hidden inside a wooden container.
He walked over.
A dark chest rested underneath the table.
He dragged it out and opened the lid right away as there was no lock.
A faint crimson glow immediately illuminated his face.
Cain froze for a moment.
Dozens of crystals rested inside the chest, each roughly the size of two fingers. Their surfaces were dark red, while the centers appeared almost black.
Even without touching them, Cain could sense the unusually dense energy contained within.
Elara noticed his reaction and walked closer.
"What is it?"
"I don’t know yet."
Cain reached into the chest and picked up one of the crystals.
The moment his fingers touched its surface, information appeared before him.
[Zombie Blood Crystal]
[An artificial resource created by the Zombie Race through the refinement of blood essence, Life energy, and corrupted Mana.]
[Contains concentrated energy capable of strengthening the body and supporting the growth of Zombie Race members.]
[Warning: Contains dense Zombie Race contamination. Direct absorption by incompatible races may cause corruption or zombification.]
Cain’s eyes immediately lit up.
"Oh?"
Elara noticed the change in his expression.
"What did you find out?"
Cain raised the crimson crystal between his fingers.
"Something useful."
"For us?"
"Normally?" Cain raised an eyebrow and glanced at the warning again. "No."
Then a smile gradually appeared on his face as he continued.
"But I’m not exactly normal."
He looked back into the chest and quickly counted the crystals.
Thirty.
Cain had not expected to find that many inside what appeared to be nothing more than a temporary Zombie Race camp.
He picked up the chest and carried it outside.
The others noticed what he was doing and followed shortly afterward.
"Stand guard for a bit."
Ron leaned closer and looked inside the chest.
"What are those?"
"Zombie Blood Crystals."
Ron stared at the dark-red crystals for a moment.
"That name doesn’t exactly make me want to absorb one."
"You shouldn’t."
Cain sat down beside the chest and picked one up.
"They’re resources created by the Zombie Race. There’s a lot of useful energy inside them, but they’re also filled with Zombie Race contamination. If a human absorbs one directly, there’s a chance of corruption or even zombification."
Ron raised an eyebrow.
"Then why do you look so happy?"
"Don’t you already know the answer?" Cain replied with a smile as he lifted the crystal slightly.
Dark-gray energy immediately gathered around his fingers.
True Ruin Energy flowed across the surface of the Blood Crystal.
Almost immediately, thin black traces began surfacing from deep within its dark-red interior.
Cain watched the process closely through Dragon’s Eyes.
The contamination was thoroughly mixed with the energy inside the crystal, but none of it could withstand True Ruin.
Dark-gray energy gradually seeped deeper.
Wherever it passed, the Zombie Race contamination simply disappeared.
Cain carefully controlled the amount of True Ruin he released. There was no point destroying the useful energy along with the contamination when his goal was to preserve as much of the crystal as possible.
Several seconds later, the almost black center had become noticeably clearer.
Cain stopped and inspected the crystal again.
[Purified Zombie Blood Crystal]
[The Zombie Race contamination within the crystal has been completely erased.]
[The remaining blood essence and Life energy may be safely absorbed.]
Cain’s smile widened.
"Just as I thought..."
Ron looked at the purified crystal in his hand.
"Why do I feel like you can purify just about anything now?"
As far as Ron knew, Cain had only used that strange dark-gray energy to purify Zombie Cores before. Apparently, its usefulness extended far beyond that.
Cain ignored him and reached for another one.
The purification process itself turned out to be surprisingly simple.
Compared to using True Ruin during combat, the amount required for each crystal was almost negligible.
The contamination trapped inside possessed no ability to resist him, so Cain only needed to carefully pass True Ruin through the crystal until every trace of it disappeared.
One Blood Crystal after another gradually changed.
The nearly black centers became clearer, and the unpleasant feeling hidden within their energy disappeared along with the contamination.
Sonya watched from several meters away.
"So we can use them after you purify them?"
Cain glanced at the crystal in his hand and nodded.
"Should be able to."
Her eyes immediately moved toward the growing pile of purified crystals.
"Are you going to give us any?"
Cain became silent for a moment, then he looked at Sonya.
"Let me make sure they actually work first."
"Such a shameless bastard." Ron rolled his eyes as he responded.
Cain turned toward him.
"You want to test the contaminated one instead?"
"I’m good, thanks."
Cain returned his attention to the crystals.
Before long, all thirty Zombie Blood Crystals had been purified.
The completed pile released a dense vitality that even the others could faintly sense from several meters away.
Cain stared at them for a few moments.
Inside his chest, the Flawless Ruin Mana Core rotated steadily.
Only one stage remained.
Perfected stage.
After seeing how many Cores he had needed merely to advance from Tempered to Flawless, Cain had originally expected the final stage of his Mana Core to take much longer.
Yet now, thirty purified Zombie Blood Crystals were sitting directly in front of him.
Each contained a considerable amount of concentrated energy, and unlike normal Zombie Race resources, there was no longer any contamination preventing him from absorbing them.
There was no reason to save them.
Cain reached into his Inventory and took out the Core belonging to the 2nd Echelon zombie he had just killed.
He placed it beside the pile of Blood Crystals.
Then he picked up the first one.
"Let’s see how far these can push me."
Cain closed his eyes and began absorbing it.