Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree

Duke did not respond to Lucia’s teasing probe.

His gaze swept past the Shadow Crystal Round Couch and landed on the two Holy Artifacts side by side on the altar, his eyes narrowing slightly.

On the left side of the altar was a palm-sized Shadow Crystal Talisman, inside of which was sealed a drop of Salonos’s Primordial Essence Blood. The wearer could gain partial shadow rule affinity temporarily, greatly enhancing the control over shadow rules. It’s a Level 3 Top Level Support Witchcraft Artifact.

On the right was a Shadow Ring, its face in the shape of a vortex, capable of actively absorbing shadow energy from the surroundings and storing it inside the ring, releasing it all at once when needed to form a wide-range Shadow Shock, powerful enough to severely wound a Level 3 Middle Stage wizard instantly.

The surface of the Shadow Crystal Talisman appeared like an ordinary black crystal to the naked eye, but as soon as his spiritual power touched it, he sensed the drop of solidified, intensely primordial red blood inside.

Salonos’s essence blood.

The Primordial Essence Blood of an Evil God Level 4 and above is worth far more than the Shadow Scythe and Forbidden Magic Scroll to him.

Essence blood is the direct carrier of divine power, with rule fragments inside far more intact than any witchcraft artifact.

If he could extract and analyze the shadow rules within, it might elevate his understanding of shadow arts to a higher level.

Even if he didn’t use it himself, bringing it back to the Wizard Plane to auction off would definitely fetch an astronomical price.

Duke reached out to pick up the Shadow Crystal Talisman. The moment his fingertip touched the crystal’s surface, the drop of essence blood inside throbbed violently, the dark red light suddenly flaring, and a cold and violent aura erupted from it, like a beast suddenly awakened from slumber and letting out its first roar.

But Duke merely tightened his grip slightly, and a faint golden light of Light Rules seeped out from his palm, forcibly suppressing that drop of essence blood back inside.

The dark red light slowly restrained itself, returning to silence.

Duke put the talisman into his Space Ring, then picked up the Shadow Ring.

The vortex structure of the ring face began to operate automatically the instant his spiritual power touched it, the shadow energy in the surroundings being drawn in as if by an invisible whirlpool, slowly converging inside the ring.

Everything functioned normally, structure intact, also a Level 3 Top Level combat-type witchcraft artifact.

Duke put the ring into the Space Ring, then stood straight again, his gaze finally returning to the sisters kneeling on both sides of the round couch.

Lucia and Caitlin’s eyes had been following his movements intently.

Lucia saw Duke’s gaze turn towards them, lifted her face, and her charming smile became even more seductive than before.

She turned slightly, allowing the light of the Shadow Torch to fully illuminate her delicate collarbone and long neckline, her black silk-clad long legs slowly crossing on the velvet cushion, emitting a faint rustle of silk fabric.

Her long, narrow phoenix eyes looked straight at Duke, her gaze flowing with unspeakable allure.

"Since my lord has personally descended, it must be to show pity on the hardships my sister and I have endured over the years. I boldly request my lord to stay in the palace tonight and let my sister and me carefully clean your armor, and so that we may have a chance to express our longing and devotion to you face-to-face over the years."

Caitlin’s face had turned red to the ears, but she didn’t speak up to stop her sister like she did before.

Her hands clenched the velvet cushion, knuckles slightly white, her long legs wrapped in pure white stockings gently coming together and slightly parting under the broad black robe, as if in a silent struggle.

After a moment, Caitlin finally mustered the courage to raise her head, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, her voice light and soft, as if squeezed out from deep in her throat: "My, my lord... my sister is right... my sister and I have guarded the Holy Artifacts for you for decades, never slacking off for a day... now that the Holy Artifacts have been taken by you, my sister and I... we don’t know if you will ever return..."

Her eyes slightly reddened, her voice carrying a touch of fragile, just-right grievance.

Duke stood before the round couch, his face beneath the Dark Gold Armor showing no hint of any expression. His gaze moved from Lucia to Caitlin, then back, silent for a moment.

"The Holy Artifacts being taken does not mean your duties are over."

Duke’s voice was low and authoritative, maintaining that abyssal echo quality typical of the Dark Form.

"The Shadow Council’s base, espionage networks, and believer contact lines in the Rising Sun District all require maintenance. Marcus handles the Northern Fortress, you sisters handle the Southern Territory, one north and one south, providing mutual support. The affairs here remain fully in your two hands."

Lucia’s eyes flickered; she heard the meaning in Duke’s words. The Holy Artifacts were taken, but their positions were not replaced.

"Thank you for your trust, my lord." She slightly bowed, the neckline of her black robe dropping lower with the motion, revealing a stretch of snow-white skin. "My sister and I will give our all to guard everything in the Northern Territory for you."

Lucia lifted her head, her eyes once again shimmering: "But my lord mentioned just now that our duty is to continue guarding this place. So, I boldly ask again, my lord, what about you? When you leave, who knows how long it will be before you return? My sister and I will miss you dearly if you leave so soon."

As she spoke, she propped herself up from the velvet cushion, standing slowly, the hem of her black robe fluttering lightly with her movement, and her long legs wrapped in black silk stockings appearing and disappearing between the folds.

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