Chapter 194: Tribe Leader Diyelong's Tension, Comprehensive Level 41
"Rune Craft" was a special form of rune work, a method of enchantment completely different from the magic infusion technology currently used by humans.
Among the dwarves living in the Angelicisia Mountain Range, very few still mastered this technology, to the point where it was on the verge of being lost.
Tang Zheng was interested because this technology was completely different from the enchanting techniques used for magic items in the game YGGDRASIL.
It was a craft that simply didn't exist in the game.
To be precise, YGGDRASIL also had runic script, but it was used merely for ornamentation—carved as patterns for purely aesthetic purposes.
However, the runic script of this other world was special, possessing real power.
Tang Zheng naturally placed great importance on this kind of power.
To fight against the Bone King and his group, besides mastering even greater power, he also needed to utilize some of the technological means that this world possessed but were non-existent in the game.
"Rune Craft" was one of the methods that interested Tang Zheng.
For example.
In the game YGGDRASIL, there were skills and methods that could destroy magic items, and even abilities specifically designed to nullify the effects of magic items.
If he used magic equipment made with "Rune Craft," could it resist the skills that were specifically designed to destroy magic items created with enchanting techniques?
Of course!
This was just one possibility.
But the law of victory itself was formed by the convergence of numerous possibilities.
Tang Zheng retracted his gaze from the armor and met Alar's bright, silver eyes.
Alar quickly lowered her head, fiddling with her fingers.
"I have no use for these two magic items. You should use them yourselves," Tang Zheng said, briefly explaining the abilities of the two magic items.
"Lord Her— cough, Lord Tang, are you a traveler?" Tribe Leader Diyelong asked in a low voice.
Tribe Leader Diyelong was also somewhat curious about a human from outside Despair Valley, but he was more concerned with something else.
He didn't have much talent; allowing his tribesmen to live peacefully in the valley was already his greatest wish.
If it were his father, he would definitely be extremely curious about the world outside.
"That's right. I also arrived in your region suddenly for reasons unknown to me," Tang Zheng nodded.
*Just as I thought.*
Tribe Leader Diyelong was not surprised. Aside from them, there were no other humans in this Despair Valley.
And a great hero possessing such immense power must have come from the outside world.
Naturally, he would also leave.
Despair Valley was ultimately too small for a person who had stepped into the Heroic Realm.
"Um..."
Tribe Leader Diyelong's scarred cheeks flushed slightly, and the man in his fifties suddenly became fidgety.
"What's wrong with you, Father?" Alar looked at Tribe Leader Diyelong in surprise with her bright, silver pupils.
Suddenly interrupted by his daughter, Tribe Leader Diyelong paused just as he was about to speak, a hint of almost imperceptible panic in his tone. "It's nothing. I was just thinking about the matter with the Grey Dwarves."
*Is that so?*
Alar glanced at her father doubtfully. She had never noticed that her father's personality had a bashful side.
"How many of your tribesmen are still able to fight?"
Tang Zheng glanced at Tribe Leader Diyelong. He could tell the man likely had some unspoken difficulty, but since the other party didn't say anything, he naturally had no intention of asking.
"There are 300 men who can be deployed into combat immediately. The healing potion Lord Hero gave us is excellent. We just need another day or two."
Hearing Tang Zheng's question, Alar immediately turned her head and spoke to him with an excited expression:
"Once our comrades' injuries have healed, another 500 people can be deployed into combat. If you need more manpower, my lord, we can assemble 1,500 combat members."
Hearing his daughter's words, Tribe Leader Diyelong nodded almost imperceptibly. He wasn't sure why Tang Zheng was asking this, but he followed up.
"With the weapons seized from the Grey Dwarves, the situation of being unable to fight due to a lack of weapons has greatly improved. We can dispatch another 500 men, making a total of 2,000," Tribe Leader Diyelong said.
2,000 people?
Tang Zheng's eyelid twitched.
The entire human tribe currently had just over 3,000 people, yet Tribe Leader Diyelong and Alar offered him two thousand in a single breath.
That was basically every person who could fight.
Tang Zheng could clearly feel the complete trust Tribe Leader Diyelong and his daughter had in him.
If this were a game.
This situation would probably only occur after grinding the human tribe's reputation to the highest level.
"Then we'll wait another day or two."
Tang Zheng's expression turned serious as he looked at the two of them and said, "Then we will set out for the Gray Dwarf Race's oasis and finish them off for good."
"I don't like leaving behind a hidden danger."
"Ah?"
Tribe Leader Diyelong's eyes flew wide open as he stared at Tang Zheng in shock.
Alar also revealed a look of disbelief. Her tender red lips parted, but no sound came out.
Annihilating the entire Grey Dwarf tribe was something they had never thought of, or even dared to think of. Their human population was too small, and they lacked the strength.
The destruction of an entire people.
It seemed to have been decided in a single sentence.
Yet, neither Tribe Leader Diyelong nor Alar felt that Tang Zheng was just boasting.
Tang Zheng didn't find it surprising at all.
He wasn't gathering two thousand human soldiers to clash head-on with the Grey Dwarves, but to prevent them from escaping.
After all, the Gray Dwarf Race still had about 15,000 members.
Late at night.
In a wooden cabin within the Human Oasis, located closest to the water source.
The wooden cabin Tang Zheng was currently in was said to have been the residence of that former human hero.
After a curious inspection, Tang Zheng lost interest.
From the information he had gathered, Alar's grandfather had been able to step into the Heroic Realm not by relying on any item or mysterious treasure, but entirely on his own talent.
Or perhaps with the boost of an innate ability.
In the wooden cabin.
"Awoo." The Ghoul Dog finally reverted from its goshawk state to its original form, comfortably stretching its body.
Tang Zheng sat cross-legged to the side, his eyes slightly closed. His mind was focused on the stat panel, looking at the experience points on it.
Comprehensive Level: 37Lv
Mad Mage: 1Lv
[Experience Bar: 782262/120000]
*Time to level up.* This thought flashed through Tang Zheng's mind. The amount of experience he had gained this time was enormous, enough for him to gain several levels in a row.
"Level up!"
Comprehensive Level: 38Lv
Mad Mage: 2Lv
[Experience Bar: 662262/140000]
Tang Zheng's body trembled slightly. He immediately felt the increase in his internal magic power and his entire life aura. Even the magic elements in the air became somewhat clearer at this moment.
"Level up!"
Comprehensive Level: 39Lv
Mad Mage: 3Lv
[Experience Bar: 522262/160000]
...
"Level up!"
Comprehensive Level: 40Lv
Mad Mage: 4Lv
[Experience Bar: 362262/210000]
...
The black, form-fitting attire on Tang Zheng's body bulged slightly from the fluctuation of aura generated by his level increase.
As his level grew higher and higher, Tang Zheng could increasingly feel the change in his life-level each time he leveled up.
He glanced at the information on the stat panel.
Tang Zheng was suddenly stunned.
If he wasn't mistaken, the experience cost for each level-up before should have increased by 20,000 from the previous amount.
But now, after reaching Level 40, the experience cost had actually increased by 50,000 from the previous base!
"Why did it increase by so much?" Tang Zheng narrowed his eyes, a look of surprise on his face.
Recalling the changes in the rate of experience increase from when he first started leveling up, Tang Zheng suddenly realized that every ten levels, the amount of experience required would undergo a major change.
"Level up!"
Thinking of this, Tang Zheng silently willed it again in his heart.
...
Comprehensive Level: 41Lv
Mad Mage: 5Lv
[Experience Bar: 152262/260000]
...
He reached Level 41 in the blink of an eye.
The aura emanating from Tang Zheng's body swelled once more, forming an invisible airwave that vibrated throughout the room.
The Ghoul Dog shrank its head and retreated to a corner. This was naturally not the first time it had seen such a situation, but it was much more intense than before.
Faintly.
The aura exuded by a creature of a higher tier was so overwhelming that the Ghoul Dog couldn't muster a single thought of resistance deep within its heart.
"I've finally reached Level 41. Just two more levels to break through the realm of the 'Aberrant'."
Tang Zheng muttered to himself in a low voice, sensing the surging magic power and vigorous stamina and spirit within his body.
"The higher the level, the stronger this aura will become. It didn't matter when I was weak, but now I'll probably need to find a way to conceal it."
Tang Zheng clenched his fist, lost in thought.
Ever since stepping into the Heroic Realm, Tang Zheng had been able to faintly sense the strength of others' auras. He presumed that people of a similar level could also sense this, especially that ancient red dragon he had encountered before.
It had even faintly detected the power of the seventh-tier magic he had stored using the [Mad Mage]'s passive ability.
If he came into contact with people from the Slane Theocracy in the future, he would probably have to pay even more attention to this.
The highest level for humans was the 'Aberrant' tier. If he surpassed the power of an 'Aberrant', he would likely attract suspicion without even doing anything.
Tang Zheng remembered that the Bone King had mastered magical abilities like *False Data: Life* and *False Data: Magic Power* that could conceal his own power.
He would probably also need to prepare some methods to hide his own power and level.
(end of chapter)