Chapter 0068: Let Me Treat You to Dinner

Staring at the still-unfallen, raging Mark, though Grim couldn’t help but feel a secret admiration, his hands did not relax in the slightest. Clusters of earthen-yellow smoke gathered around the heavily damaged serpent’s head; using diamond-hard rocks drawn from the earth as material and viscous earth elements as adhesive, it took but the blink of an eye to re-encase the exposed summoning crystal core.

No sooner had it completed this self-repair than the terrifying rock python once again reared up high, its stony body coiling into a battle formation before it shot forward with sudden violence. Its gaping maw, broken and incomplete, revealed jagged fangs and crisscrossing rocky peaks, its aim fixed upon Mark, who could barely stand.

The distance of less than thirty meters could be crossed in an instant.

Yet just as the python’s lethal fangs were about to strike, an even taller and more imposing humanoid figure appeared abruptly before Mark. Flesh and bone, yes, but this towering figure merely clenched his fist and delivered a light tap to the python’s snout as it lunged forward. In that instant, the rock serpent—which had just been locked in a fierce battle with Mark—was smashed to pieces, bursting apart with flying earth and shattered stone.

Around the towering figure seemed to be an invisible barrier of air; no matter how debris scattered, none of it could come near him. Amid the tons of flying mud and gravel, he stood immovable as a mountain, even finding the leisure to slowly retract his right fist and reach into the earth below with a casual grasp.

With a soft pop, the summoning crystal core, hidden among the falling debris, was drawn by some great force directly into his palm.

He raised his right hand, examining the radiant crystal core carefully in the sunlight. Its once brown and translucent surface was now densely etched with countless tiny runic arrays, as fine as the legs of a fly. One by one, these magic runes, brimming with the essence of earth, lit up, outlining a three-dimensional, miniature sorcerous array before his eyes.

To be honest, he could clearly see each rune, finer than a hair, and could roughly identify every flickering magical symbol. But when assembled together, Bald Afo could only scratch his shiny head in frustration, unable to fathom how these runes combined to harness strands of earth elemental energy and construct such a powerful and ferocious elemental golem.

After a long and fruitless attempt to decipher the core sorcerous knowledge, Afo could only sigh at his own lack of talent in the art of arrays. By now, Grim had already hurried over, riding his magic crocodile, his face full of anxiety.

Casually tossing the crystal core back to Grim, Bald Afo sneered, “Look at how worried you are. Did you think I’d break it just by looking at it? All right, all right, today’s battle counts as your win. I’ll surrender on Mark’s behalf! Go and claim your prize.”

Grim fumbled to catch the crystal core, immediately lifting it for a careful inspection. After the repeated fierce impacts just now, he was worried that the powerful shock might have damaged the delicate sorcerous array on the core.

Fortunately, under the chip’s meticulous scanning, the summoning crystal core—capable of calling forth the terrifying rock python—was still intact, which eased Grim’s anxiety somewhat.

As for Bald Afo’s unexpected intervention, Grim dared not voice a word of protest. The leader of this training camp could easily have ended the duel with a light touch, yet had chosen such a violent and brute display to shatter the rock python’s form. If that wasn’t a warning to knock some sense into him, Grim would never believe it.

It seemed today’s performance had been too eye-catching, forcing this camp leader to use the “gentlest” of methods to teach Grim a lesson.

Yet the quasi-sorcerer strength that Bald Afo had just displayed truly shook Grim’s soul. That ultimate physical power, and total mastery over its use—within it, Grim sensed something wholly different from other apprentice sorcerers.

They say quasi-sorcerers are the ones closest to true sorcerers—could it be that this very trait is the essence that transforms an apprentice into a true sorcerer?

Grim lowered his head in silence, carefully etching this moment’s insight into his heart, to be analyzed at leisure in the future.

“I never imagined we’d all underestimated you!” Bald Afo said, supporting the barely-standing Mark. “It seems you’ve invested most of your power in your golem. That does give you quite the boost in short-term strength. Come with me—someone like you is exactly what our camp needs. Let me see if there’s a fitting position for you here!”

With that, he dragged Mark off toward a large wooden lodge in the distance. Grim could only touch his nose and follow with a wry smile.

All around the field, there was a silence so deep it rang in the ears. Each onlooker wore a complicated, shifting expression, clearly struggling to accept such an outcome. Some of the senior apprentices even looked as if they’d lost their parents, faces long in utter dejection.

As Bald Afo passed through the crowd, he suddenly stopped, turning to glare at the ever-sullen Blackwood. “Hey, skull-face, why did you bet on Grim?”

Blackwood pulled his hood tighter, hiding his skull-like visage, his chilling words floating forth from the shadows. “Wouldn’t it make me look even more useless if Mark had won? Isn’t this outcome better? Now who dares say I was beaten by a weakling?”

Afo opened his mouth wide, letting out a dry, awkward howl, unable to find a retort.

Damn, the kid’s answer was twisted, but it was also completely true. It left the camp boss seething inside with nowhere to vent his anger.

“And you? What about you?” Afo now eyed Kevin.

“The kid said on the way here he was confident, and I’m broke, so I figured I’d take a gamble!” Kevin’s answer was just as blunt.

“Ah, ah…” Afo snapped his jaws for a while before finally giving up on finding someone to blame. “You two lucky brats—how come no one told me about this in advance? Hmph, go claim your reward. Hey, you there, come with me, I’ll treat you to a meal…”

Afo’s invitation was no mere formality—he truly meant a meal.

Unlike the usual pleasantries, once Afo led Grim and the battered Mark into the spacious wooden hall and seated them at the long table, a procession of burly men filed in, each carrying heavy food boxes.

Before Grim was laid a perfect, elegant silver platter, its ancient patterns and mysterious inscriptions brimming with arcane charm. Yet Grim had no mind to examine these; instead, he stared dumbfounded at the thick slab of roasted meat atop the tray.

The cut of meat weighed a full two kilograms, with faint traces of blood and smoke marks still visible. Beside the platter sat a large goblet of viscous, blood-red liquid, whose stench hit Grim’s nose with a nauseating, pungent reek.

“Eat up!” Bald Afo’s grin was deep and menacing. “I rarely treat anyone to a meal, so don’t tell me you’d insult me by turning it down!”

Strangely enough, though Mark was badly wounded and should have been tending to his injuries, he struggled to climb up to the table. Before him lay a bloody rack of ribs weighing at least ten kilograms, and his accompanying wine cup was simply a bronze basin.

Grim glanced at the host, Bald Afo. On his plate was an entire slab of half-raw beast ribs, so bloody it looked as if it had been freshly hacked from some great predator.

Meanwhile, the chip in Grim’s mind quietly delivered the answer.

Earthfire Dragon!

This was a cut from the flesh of an Earthfire Dragon!

The Earthfire Dragon—a massive subterranean drake that dwelled in the depths of molten rock, bearing a trace of draconic blood, yet lacking the terrifying might of true dragons. Fond of consuming underground sulfur and firefruit, it was classified as a fire-type magical beast.

While Grim hesitated, Mark had already torn into his portion with gusto, casting aside the silver knife to rip and chew with his bare hands, utterly unbothered by the meat’s gamey stench, swallowing great mouthfuls at a time.

Surely Bald Afo wouldn’t use this to harm him.

The chip’s scan of the meat showed nothing amiss, so Grim finally picked up the knife to carve off a piece. Only now did he notice that the unremarkable silver knife was actually a magical implement, enchanted with armor-piercing and keen-edge effects. The matching fork bore enchantments for piercing and durability.

Damn, a table knife just for slicing meat had better magic than most mid-level apprentices’ defensive gear. Grim couldn’t help but marvel at the gulf between ranks.

With infinite mixed feelings, Grim finally managed to carve off a small strip, spearing it with the fork and placing it in his mouth.

Truth be told, the first bite nearly made him spit it out—the gamey, bitter taste was overwhelming. He chewed with effort, jaw aching, but finally managed to swallow it. As soon as the meat entered his stomach, a warm sensation spread from his abdomen, sending a flush of heat through his body.

Suddenly, Grim felt as if he’d been plunged into a state of ravenous hunger, an all-consuming urge to keep eating gnawing at his will.

“What’s happening to me? Chip, initiate dynamic body scan!”

“Beep. Dynamic body scan initiated… Fire-type source energy detected, rapid absorption underway…”

Correspondingly, in Grim’s dynamic status display, both his physical and mental stats began to rise slowly but steadily. The increments were tiny, barely visible past the third decimal place, but they were real and growing.

Grim’s eyes lit up.

Nutritional enhancement?

Could this be the legendary nourishment of another world?