SPLAT!
The tigress’s head burst open like a watermelon, and its display of impotent rage came to an end.
While the Elemental Essence materialized, Su Chen glanced at the wound on his left arm.
He had barely dodged, but the tiger’s sharp claws still left three bloody scratches on his left arm. However, when he checked his arm again a short time later, he found the minor wound had already healed completely, leaving not a single blemish on his skin.
Clearly, the family heirloom Jade Pendant around his neck, which had absorbed a great deal of Wood Element energy, had done its work.
’Not bad.’
Su Chen was very pleased with the healing effect. Besides obvious physical injuries, it was also effective against hidden ailments like mosquito-borne malaria.
He currently considered his family’s Jade Pendant a mysterious elemental converter. Once the pure Wood Element energy was converted into a permanent Physique attribute, its secondary healing properties and the boost to his Rune Energy Bar’s Recovery would disappear.
’Thinking of this, I’ll need to include permanent Recovery and purification-type Runes in my primary Magic Construction.’
’Or I could just separate them and create a dedicated piece of Support Equipment.’
Furthermore, if his Physique attribute continued to increase, not only would he feel a clear boost in his stamina, Vitality, and willpower, but the unprecedentedly vigorous cellular activity would also significantly enhance his healing speed and resistance to negative effects.
’He might even unlock a healing factor similar to Wolverine’s.’
’Besides Physique, I can’t let my other attributes fall behind.’
’From a simplistic point of view, Fire Element might correspond to the Strength Attribute. Would Wind and Lightning correspond to agility?’
’That’s all unknown for now.’
The more pressing decision was what to do with the two Dark Element Essences that had emerged from the tiger’s corpse.
Counting the two he had already absorbed, he hadn’t expected to have such a surplus of Dark Element Essences.
The Shadow Jumping Skill didn’t have a high demand for them, he hadn’t seen any Light Element for a long time, and he’d had no luck finding any Wind Element Essences.
’A monochromatic Rune is a good choice. It’s easier to assemble and upgrade than a multicolored one.’ Su Chen wanted to create a pure Dark Element Rune, and the large number of Night Monkeys made the prospect look promising.
When it came to Elemental Runes, quality was more important than quantity.
The Water Mirror Refraction Rune he had first obtained was exceptionally effective, and he was very fond of such high-skill-ceiling Runes.
But to this day, he hadn’t been able to find the necessary Essences for it, and it remained stuck at Lv1, unable to advance.
Meanwhile, the three Runes he acquired later had already surpassed it in level.
’I’ll stick with a single color.’
Su Chen stopped hesitating. He bent down, picked up an Essence, and a black vortex seemed to gather and condense in his palm.
The moment the mysterious Rune structure took shape, it surprisingly resembled an Array Map.
As the Rune ascended into his sea of consciousness, the mystical information it carried confirmed it wasn’t a delusion—it was actually a summoning-type Rune.
[Shadow Summon] (Lv1): The Spellcaster will summon a Dark Demon from the Netherworld and bind it with a contract.
Contract Slots: 0/1
Synthesis Formula: Dark + Dark + Dark (Elemental Essence)
Promotion Requirement: Shadow Summon Rune 0/1
’Not bad,’ Su Chen remarked.
To be fair, synthesizing Runes was like opening a blind box. At least getting a summoning-type Rune was a pleasant surprise.
’As for the Netherworld mentioned in the description, where is that?’
’And what kind of world is this fantasy world I’m in now?’
After a moment of contemplation, Su Chen activated his new Rune Ability.
BUZZ!
A two-meter-wide Dark Array suddenly unfurled on the asphalt road, like a doorway to the Abyss opening up. A thick, cold aura spewed forth from it, causing the surrounding temperature to plummet.
The next instant,
WHIMPER!
A low whimper echoed from the Abyss, and a nimble black shadow leaped out.
From its appearance, it was a canine-like demon beast.
Its entire body was covered in jet-black fur. It was powerfully built and had a naturally imposing look, with wisps of faint, shadowy mist swirling around it.
It initially showed aggression, baring its fangs at Su Chen. But once a Soul Mark was placed on its soul, it completely lost its temper.
Its expression changed in a second.
It quickly lowered its forelimbs and wagged its tail, looking at its new master with a submissive posture.
Su Chen ignored it for the moment and checked its information.
Contract Slots: 1/1
Contracted Creatures: Shadow Hound
Skill: Invisibility Skill
’So I’ve gained a hound. The Invisibility Skill isn’t limited to night or day. Not only can it be maintained while moving, but its racial trait allows it to move quickly while hidden. The overall effect is pretty good.’
Su Chen was quite satisfied.
More importantly, he could rely on this hound to greatly expand his search for monsters.
A dog’s nose is very sensitive, after all.
With a thought, he tentatively established a connection with the hound.
According to the information he received, by communicating through the Rune contract, the summoned creature could even quickly understand human language through its own way of thinking.
There was no need for any training at all.
This was remarkably similar to how humans understood the mysterious and abstruse information from Runes.
’Magic is amazing, isn’t it?’
"Stand!"
Su Chen commanded.
The Shadow Hound twitched its ears and cocked its head, not quite understanding its master’s intent at first. But a one-way command transmitted through the Soul Brand made it understand instantly, and its lowered body immediately straightened.
"Sit!"
After another command, the Shadow Hound didn’t hesitate and immediately sat down.
"Very good. From now on, your name is ’Xiaoye’. Your duty is to guard and search for nearby monsters."
After being named, the sturdy and elegant Shadow Hound didn’t grin, maintaining its cold expression, but the rapidly wagging tail behind it betrayed its feelings.
After picking up one more Dark Element Essence and feeding it to the summoning Rune, Su Chen immediately led Xiaoye toward the area by the bridge.
The people who had been blocking the bridge downhill were all dead.
An electric car in front was still burning fiercely. Two people were still sitting in the SUV behind it. Judging by their rigid, upright postures, they were likely killed by a sneak attack before they could even react.
Su Chen couldn’t help but feel that sneak-attacking while invisible was a bit unfair.
And the Night Tiger had the instincts of a feline; it was nearly impossible to defend against its silent, invisible night raids.
However, being invisible didn’t mean being detached from reality. It was purely visual deception. In gaming terms, an invisible unit still had a physical collision model and could be touched and attacked.
And it couldn’t escape the tracking of a dog’s nose.
It could be said that the appearance of the Shadow Hound was a crucial development.
The area around the dead was also littered with weapons and equipment. Two Compound Bows showed signs of severe damage and were clearly unusable.
’What a shame.’
Su Chen had never learned archery, but with his superior athletic reflexes, he was confident he could master a Compound Bow in no time.
Besides, a Compound Bow with a sight was just too easy to pick up.
Also, with a spatial-displacement Skill like the Shadow Jumping Skill, he had indirectly compensated for his lack of ranged attacks. If he couldn’t shoot from afar, he would just close the distance.
After a quick search of the bodies, Su Chen looted a fire axe, two outdoor survival knives, and a portable radio.
He passed on the riot shield.
It was a bit cumbersome.
Besides, the best defense was a good offense.
Soon, he picked up the night-vision goggles and looked toward the Riverfront Area. He immediately spotted something. At least several sneaky little monkeys were rummaging through the corpses everywhere, and one small figure passing by even darted into a public restroom in the distance.

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