Chapter 46: 46. Lin Da's Horrific Injury
"You won\'t do it, huh? Fine."
"Venom Magic Sphere, go!"
Lin Da fired a purplish magic sphere that landed right between Kafni\'s legs.
The nearby weeds instantly dissolved into liquid.
Kafni turned deathly pale.
If the magic sphere had been just a bit higher, it would have been her end.
"Will you do it?" Lin Da asked with a benevolent smile.
"I will," Kafni gritted her teeth.
With a face full of reluctance, she stood up, covered her nose, took the dagger from Lin Da\'s hand, and - under his instructions - performed \'dissection surgery\' on the blood-sucking mosquito, managing to extract its mouthparts.
While searching for the demon core in the mosquito\'s head, Kafni almost vomited due to the sticky mess. She looked to Lin Da for help several times with a bitter expression, but he rejected her with a cold glare every time.
"I should just find another adventurer, sigh!"
Kafni complained to herself as she fiddled with the dagger and extracted a dull gray crystal, which looked like a seed, from the mosquito\'s head.
"The blood-sucking mosquito, a poison magic core, is slightly more expensive than those from the ordinary series."
Lin Da took the magic core, rolled it on the ground to wipe away the unidentified substance, and pocketed it.
The level 3 Slime water elemental magic core they had obtained earlier could sell for 3 silver coins, whereas this level 4 Poison blood-sucking mosquito demon core was worth around 1 Gold Coin.
For comparison, a commoner\'s monthly income for labor in the city was also about 1 Gold Coin.
This goes to show that adventurers really do make quick money.
After dealing with the blood-sucking mosquito, Lin Da and Kafni continued to search for Magical Creatures.
In a cave on a small hillside, they found four Black Armored Scorpions about twenty centimeters long.
Raising their large claws and tail stingers that flashed with cold light, the Black Armored Scorpions lined up as if they were cavalry advancing with lances raised!
They charged at the two with an overwhelming, breath-stopping pressure!
Facing the rapidly charging Black Armored Scorpions, Lin Da was calm and collected. His experiences as a level 15 Healer made him well-accustomed to battle. Adventurers who became more nervous facing a Magical Creatures\' charge were the likeliest to perish.
He connected with the source kernel via his mind; two stars in the night sky suddenly brightened, transmitting magic power into his body.
Lin Da\'s internal magic circuits whirred into action, and with his right hand extended forward, a small purple Magic Circle formed in the blink of an eye.
As a transmigrator whose aptitude for cultivation was nothing extraordinary, Lin Da seemed to have all his talent points invested in chant speed.
The speed at which he cast spells could even rival Aiko, who came from the Holy Light Church.
"Venom Eruption!"
Hisss!
From within the Magic Circle, a purple fan-shaped burst jetted out!
The cave was very narrow, leaving no room for the Black Armored Scorpions to dodge; they were hit full on by the Venom Eruption.
"Hiss hiss hiss!"
Instantly, a "-71" popped up above the heads of the Black Armored Scorpions.
Their carapaces corroded, and their movement speed was severely slowed.
Every second, a "-20" appeared above them, visibly occurring three times, for a total loss of 60 hit points.
Adding that to the initial 71, each Black Armored Scorpion suffered around 130 damage.
In other words, a single Venom Eruption dealt a total damage of 520!
The average damage was slightly less than that of the Venom Magic Sphere, but its wide range made it effective for clearing out small fry Magical Creatures.
Lin Da rapidly calculated in his heart, the Black Armored Scorpions were level 4, he estimated their health points to be between 400 to 500, a single Venom Eruption wouldn\'t be able to kill them.
So, he blocked the entrance, waiting for the five Black Armored Scorpions to rally. Just as they were about to reach him, the purple Magic Circle lit up again, "Venom Eruption!"
Under the powerful impact, the Black Armored Scorpions were sent tumbling back to the deepest part of the cave as if hit by a massive force.
Wherever the Venom Eruption passed, not a blade of grass remained; the rock walls corroded as if splashed with sulfuric acid, a sight too ghastly to endure!
Despite being severely injured, the Black Armored Scorpions did not flee. These magical creatures were notorious for their violent temper, attacking any adventurer they saw.
After regaining their footing on the ground, they collectively launched an attack on Lin Da.
"Venom Eruption!"
Lin Da switched into repeat mode!
After the third Venom Eruption, the carapace of the Black Armored Scorpions was corroded beyond recognition, their large pincers dropping onto the ground.
-20, -21, -19...
The cumulative damage exceeded 400, the Black Armored Scorpions\' health points drained completely; their insides turned burnt black and they stiffened in place, utterly reduced to corpses.
[Kill level 4 Black Armored Scorpion x4, acquiring 80 Mystical Points]
Lin Da glanced at the system message bar, his mouth curling upwards slightly.
The three Venom Eruptions left him somewhat fatigued, but in exchange, he earned enough Experience Points to advance to the next level.
Having killed the Black Armored Scorpions, he sat to Add Points while casually recovering his Magic Power.
The task of extracting the Demon Core was handed over to Kafni.
Despite Kafni\'s extreme reluctance, Lin Da couldn\'t keep around a Deity who was good for nothing.
"If you can\'t extract the Demon Core, you might as well stay inside."
Lin Da stood guard at the entrance, supervising Kafni\'s work.
Ignoring Kafni\'s incessant complaints, Lin Da took out a Blood-sucking Mosquito\'s Poison Magic Core from his pocket, crushed it in his palm, and slowly absorbed the Magic Power within.
The Poison Magic Core was like a tonic for him, making it easier for him to absorb Magic Power compared to cores of the Fire Series or Water Series.
The skills description for Venom Eruption was \'Magic Points consumption: medium\'. Such Spells, when cast at full strength, could be used continuously 5-6 times.
In order to kill the Black Armored Scorpions, Lin Da had used Venom Eruption three times consecutively. Half of his Magic Points were depleted, and he needed to replenish them quickly.
The Magic Power from the Blood-sucking Mosquito Demon Core flowed into him continuously, and Lin Da closed his eyes in comfort.
Using Demon Cores to recover Magic Power was a slow process, not as quick as using Potions for direct recovery, but the former was cheaper.
A system message popped up: [Recover Magic Power, temper oneself, gain 1 Experience Point]
Lin Da then spent 49 Mystical Points to make up a total of 50 Experience Points.
Suddenly, a ray of golden light descended upon him.
He leveled up.
His depleted Magic Power was replenished significantly, and his arm muscles became stronger.
In the spiritual world\'s night sky, the third star also lit up, allowing him to store more Magic Power.
System prompt:
[You have risen to level 3]
[Strength +13, Magic Power +13, Defense +3, Magic Defense +2, Agility +1, Hit Points +200]
[Next level Experience Points: 0/100]
At this point, Lin Da\'s total attributes reached a high degree for his level, especially Hit Points, which were at 800. Adding the 80 augmented by Leather Armor, it was 880 Hit Points.
The health points of ordinary magical creatures at the same level were around 300.
Not only did Lin Da have a high health reserve, but he could also use Healing Art to recover his own Hit Points.
The difficulty of magical creatures hitting him was almost on par with fighting a BOSS.