Ciel's gaze was fixed intently on the system panel. After a long while, he finally snapped back to reality. He had an almost unbelievable feeling.
Serpensortia had reached Diamond level?
His very first Diamond-tier spell? Even though this advancement was temporary, boosted by the power of countless cursed jewels, the progress far exceeded his wildest expectations. Then, despite the continuous curse induced pain throughout his body and his somewhat pale complexion, he couldn't help but laugh heartily.
Each level in the system evaluation was a qualitative change compared to the previous one. Especially starting from the Platinum level, the upgrade difficulty increased dramatically. But the qualitative improvement after each upgrade was also earth shattering. The increase from Platinum level was almost equivalent to the sum of multiple previous upgrades.
And from Platinum to Diamond level, this increase was naturally even more massive! Even his Platinum level Sectumsempra probably couldn't match Serpensortia's current power. Even his Ancient Weather Magic, before completing the last few runic nodes to form the basic runic configuration and fill its final gaps, probably couldn't compare to his current Serpensortia.
This spell had become his strongest method besides his physical body!
Then, the excitement in his eyes gradually calmed. He still needed to test exactly how powerful Serpensortia had become. However, his previous Serpensortia casting had already made quite a commotion. The Diamond level disturbance might be much more attention grabbing than before.
To be safe, he decided to change locations for testing. As for where specifically, his gaze fell on the distant Forbidden Forest. In his mind surfaced the scene of first facing Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest.
His various magical methods then were vastly different from now. The five-headed snake summoned by Serpensortia then could only slightly delay one Acromantula. In actual combat, it was torn apart within seconds. But now, it was perfect timing to use Acromantulas to test Serpensortia's improvement.
Then he stepped forward toward the Forbidden Forest.
In the Forbidden Forest, it was pitch black as always. But under his Platinum level night vision, it remained bright as day. Unfortunately, the night vision's ability to observe magical particles had lost its usefulness for the current him. This was far inferior to his own magical perception.
This made him feel somewhat regretful. Previously, night vision had helped him tremendously, even showing effects in Potions and Herbology. Now, this ability was gradually falling behind.
"If there's opportunity, I could improve night vision ability again. Wonder if advancing this ability to Diamond level would bring greater benefits."
As thoughts flashed through his mind, he soon arrived where he had previously encountered Acromantulas. On surrounding trees, tough, sticky white spider silk could be seen everywhere. Once living creatures were inadvertently caught by this silk, the vibrations would immediately be sensed by the Acromantulas.
These pack hunting 5X level magical creatures would immediately rush over, inject venom, then slowly drain their prey into empty husks. Moreover, this silk was extremely tough; once entangled too much, even trolls couldn't break free. Therefore, even in the dangerous Forbidden Forest, few creatures would approach this area.
But now, he casually waved his wand. His recently created new spell, Mage Hand, immediately emerged. The air seemed to have an invisible hand continuously plucking these silk strands. Spider silk throughout the nearby forest began vibrating violently.
Deep in the Forbidden Forest, in the darkness, pairs of blood-red, bloodthirsty eyes suddenly opened. The current Acromantula colony seemed to have fewer numbers than before. The remaining Acromantulas also bore various scars.
This was precisely the result of his previous trade with the two-faced man. To obtain fresh Acromantula blood for cultivating Blood Jade, he had proposed exchanging Acromantula blood for blood with the then two-faced man. Both got what they needed. But the Acromantulas suffered.
Facing the continuously recovering two-faced man, they had no resistance. They could only be farmed like livestock, having blood drawn daily by the two-faced man.
Even when Acromantula leader Aragog mentioned the colony's food shortage, the two-faced man didn't even blink. He immediately killed several of the weakest Acromantulas coldly: "Now there's food, isn't there? If you still can't provide enough blood, I can help you create more food."
Even now, recalling the days of being farmed by the two-faced man, the Acromantulas would tremble with fear. Fortunately, the two-faced man hadn't visited the Forbidden Forest for a long time. The Acromantulas had finally escaped being treated like livestock. Now, they desperately craved flesh and blood to fill their hungry bellies.
After sensing the violent vibrations from the silk, intense greed and desire exploded in their hair raising red eyes. Click. Click. Acromantulas larger than carriages moved through the Forbidden Forest. Their pincers opened and closed, eager to tear apart sweet flesh.
Soon, they reached where the vibrations originated. But unexpectedly, there was no prey caught in the webs. Only a young wizard's figure met their eyes.
Then the Acromantulas remembered: "Young wizard. It's you?!"
Their eyes spewed fury because he had killed their companions before. But simultaneously, the Acromantulas felt fear. The terrifying Dark wizard who later farmed them seemed to have an inseparable relationship with him.
Thinking of that figure, despite their belly's hunger pangs, the Acromantulas involuntarily retreated. They didn't dare rashly attack him. What if they attracted that terrifying being again?
Seeing this scene, he showed surprise. It seemed the two-faced man had left deep psychological scars on the Acromantulas. They were clearly starving but still didn't dare approach?
However, he wasn't here for sightseeing. He looked at the Acromantulas, a hint of mockery surfacing on his face. Then he pricked his finger. Dark red blood drops slowly seeped out, accompanied by life force so dense it was unimaginable, spreading through the air.
The Acromantulas' eyes immediately froze. All gazes focused on the blood drops at his fingertip, with desire and greed beginning to surge in their eyes. This blood's temptation was too great for them. Absolutely the most exquisite delicacy they had ever tasted in the Forbidden Forest.
Especially in their current weakened state. One drop of blood could restore their strength. What if they ate him entirely?
The previously retreating Acromantulas' eyes flashed with fierce light as they whispered among themselves: "At worst, we'll eat him and then scatter for a while. That guy can't always guard the Forbidden Forest, right? Eat, eat, I'm so hungry!"
Some Acromantulas who had witnessed his terrifying strength reminded: "This young wizard's strength is frighteningly great; he's probably some mixed-blood giant. But his magical power isn't good. Don't get close to him easily."
Hearing the whispers around him, his mouth finally curved into a smile: "Now that's more interesting. But there's one thing you're probably wrong about. Magical power not being good – that was a long time ago."
The next moment, he waved his wand, thrusting forward: "Serpensortia!"
With the incantation, his magic flowed from his wand tip. Along with it flowed the powerful curse magic from dozens of cursed jewels. Though not all was utilised, just a portion already exceeded his previously possessed curse magic by countless times.
The result was the system panel's Serpensortia blazing with diamond light. From his wand tip, cold, malevolent smoke rose. Then the black smoke condensed into a massive dark shadow. Seven ferocious snake heads writhed with malice. Every black scale was stained with cold, venomous curse magic. On the gleaming fangs, more deadly than venom was the extremely dense curse magic.
This seven-headed giant snake seemed born from curses! What made even the Acromantulas restless was that among the countless black scales on the seven-headed snake, human faces seemed to surface, countless eyes staring at them!
Instantly, the Acromantulas, who dominated the Forbidden Forest, felt bone-chilling terror. What was this strange black snake?!
Especially Acromantulas who had previously fought him found it unbelievable. Serpensortia – they had seen him use this spell before. But the previously summoned five-headed snake was just for show, torn apart within seconds. How long had it been? This spell in his hands had become completely different?!
Before they could react, he waved his wand. The seven-headed snake unhesitatingly slithered toward them. In stark contrast to its massive size was the snake's speed. It defied logic, seeming insubstantial, fast as a ghost.
Before several Acromantulas could react, the snake was before them. Its tail swept horizontally, heavily flinging two Acromantulas away. Simultaneously, seven snake heads simultaneously bit the remaining Acromantula.
This dangerous 5X-tier creature felt an overwhelming terror surge through its being. Concentrated curse magic wrapped around it like chains, paralysing its enormous body entirely. In the following heartbeat, the seven heads tore the Acromantula to ribbons. Rising from their kill, the serpentine heads swivelled toward the remaining spiders with deadly intent.
Seeing the Diamond level Serpensortia's battlefield performance, his eyes filled with joy. This was already much stronger than his estimated power. Strength and speed had improved by more than one level compared to before. Plus the strange characteristics brought by curse magic. Each attack carried dense curse magic; even massive creatures like Acromantulas couldn't withstand Serpensortia's attacks.
What he hadn't expected was that seven snake heads simultaneously focusing on one target could bind it with curses through the air, leaving Acromantulas rigid and defenceless. His eyes flashed slightly: "This is somewhat similar to the millennia-old basilisk's gaze. Though far inferior to the basilisk's direct sight, it means death power that could even petrify ghosts. But the manifestation is quite similar. Could the millennia-old basilisk's gaze actually be an extremely powerful curse?"
Thinking this, he found it quite possible. After all, even the Killing Curse was accompanied by green light with magical fluctuations. But the millennia-old basilisk's gaze only required eye contact to activate immediately. Besides curses, no other magic could achieve such characteristics.
This made him even more amazed: "If so, Herpo the Foul, who created the basilisk, must have reached unimaginable heights in Curse Studies. To actually create living creatures with such curses. Wonder if my Serpensortia reaching Legendary level could give summoned snakes such curse effects."
Just then, the Acromantulas retreating before the seven-headed snake finally recovered. Their fierce gazes fell on him: "Kill this young wizard; the snake will disappear."
Even after previous warnings about his extraordinary strength, comparing the two, he was certainly far less dangerous than the seven-headed snake. So what if he was strong? With so many Acromantulas swarming together, even mixed-blood giant descendants would be torn to pieces. Not to mention the Acromantulas' terrifying venom; injecting enough could melt even giants!
So the next moment, several Acromantulas scattered to entangle the seven-headed snake while the rest bypassed it, pouncing toward him. Without any hesitation, their hearts filled only with greed and rage.
But he, seeing the dark shadows surging toward him, showed no panic. Instead, he displayed eager anticipation. After so much accumulated ability, this was perfect timing to test his strength.
His wand moved repeatedly. Without incantations, Mage Hand immediately emerged. The frontmost Acromantulas suddenly felt their bodies lighten, as if floating on clouds. Then a powerful force gripped their now weightless bodies, yanking them violently upward. Before they could react, this invisible force slammed them downward again. During this process, their bodies regained their original weight. Like several cannonballs, they crashed into companions behind, immediately blocking the Acromantulas' advance.
Simultaneously, his wand was already moving quietly. Magic flowed from his wand tip, constructing magical nodes one by one. After magical perception improved, constructing runic magical nodes was much easier than before. The three nodes that could initially resonate and display Ancient Weather Magic's partial power were completed instantly.
Then four. Five. The five nodes that once made him sweat profusely were now completed effortlessly in a blink. His eyes sparkled brilliantly. His wand continued moving.
Now his wand tip was shrouded in dazzling electric light. The nearby Forbidden Forest was illuminated bright as day. The Acromantulas' hisses were drowned by crackling arc sounds. The stench was replaced by scorched air.
They stared blankly at the scene around his wand. What they felt was unprecedented terror: "What is this?!"
He seemed to forget the battle was continuing. His face showed a delighted smile. His mind was immersed in runic construction. His natural will had long reached the standard for displaying Ancient Weather Magic's power. It even far exceeded Bronze level, reaching Silver level.
Only magical perception had prevented him from constructing runes' most basic configuration, causing him to remain unable to fully master Ancient Weather Magic. This time, five nodes were quickly surpassed. Then six nodes. The arc flashing light became even more dazzling than before.
In the clouds above, a dark cloud suddenly appeared. Waves of oppression emanated from it. As if terrifying power were brewing.
Soon after, everything he had understood about runic script during this time surfaced in his mind. Following this, the seventh magical node of the three runes was completed. Not only that, but seven magical nodes generated unprecedented resonance, outlining the runes' contours.
Grand will rose within him, flowing into his wand. He couldn't help but chant the three runes: "Fehu. Thurisaz. Dagaz. F, Th, D..."
The Acromantulas trembled, prostrating on the ground. Their gazes looked at him with terror. Currently his voice seemed to come from ancient eras. Ancient, powerful...
The next second, resonance also occurred between the three runes. Simultaneously, on the system panel, Ancient Weather Magic's missing fragment of light was finally filled completely. Light flickered on the text. Bronze light quickly spread. The text rapidly flickered and blurred. Then Bronze light became Silver light. Gradually transforming with flickering Silver lustre.
The text finally came to rest, displaying his hard-won advancement: [Ancient Weather Magic (Silver Level)]
Just then, in the clouds, as if attracted by the electric arcs surging from his wand tip, a point of light appeared in the cloud layer. Then it grew brighter and brighter. He felt his wand tip guiding unprecedented grand power. Ready to burst forth!
He gritted his teeth hard. In his mind surfaced the figure he had seen in Ancient Weather Magic insights. Then his wand fell.
BOOM!
The thunderous roar reverberated through every tree in the Forbidden Forest. Lightning erupted from the storm clouds, a brilliant spear of electricity crashing down into the forest depths!