Chapter 283: The 9th

As he looked at the Soul Core that was floating before him, Rhode felt puzzled. He remembered clearly that this Soul Core was something he had gotten from an unlucky Devil in Blackrock Depth. He was quite busy before, so he didn't have the time to awaken this Soul Core. Although he himself wasn't really in hurry, it seemed like this Soul Core itself was a little impatient.

Of course, this was only a joke. A Soul Core that wasn't awakened didn't have any self consciousness. The only reason it behaved this way was because of the resonating response. As a high-level Soul Core, it was able to awaken itself under an influence of certain external factors. Of course, it was not easy to do that; it had to rely on one's luck. After all, not everyone knew what object to use to awaken the Soul Core. That's why at first, Rhode did not really pay much attention to it, but if it was true, then after the Soul Core resonated with an object, it would become stronger and more stable after awakening. Actually, even without it, based on the cards that Rhode had, there wouldn't be much problem as long as the attributes matched well. Of course, this was only theoretically.

But why this ring?

Rhode curiously glanced at the ring in his hand, and once again used his mental powers to appraise it. Rhode could be sure that there was no special force attached to the ring. It was beautiful, and the diamond on top of it was worth some money, but then? Nothing else. If this were in the game, this kind of ring would belong to the players who liked to show off, like "look, this is a limited edition equipment worth 100 gold coins." After that, they would just resell it to an NPC.

According to original standards, mercenary groups should not be able to come up with this kind equipment to cheat him. Not to mention Sereck, who was checking on them. Rhode also believed that Sereck wouldn't cheat.

So, what was this ring?

Was there actually something special about it?

For a while, a strange curiosity emerged in his mind. He carefully looked at the ring and finally decided to give it try first... Anyway, since there had been a resonance, there shouldn't be a problem in awakening it now. Thinking of this, Rhode took two steps back, then he stretched his right hand forward.

Soon, after sensing the presence of the ring, a purple haze began to emerge around the Soul Core, which was moving towards the ring. A dazzling glow appeared and connected with the diamond on the ring. At this time, a familiar system prompt appeared

[Resonating response detected. Bind and awaken the Soul Core?]

Awaken.

Rhode slightly nodded, and soon after he answered, the ring that hovered in his hand was swept away by the purple haze and slowly got closer to the Soul Core, merging. After that, it disappeared without a trace.

The purple haze suddenly became thicker. A dazzling glow enveloped the whole room, and even the other magical equipment that had been sleeping was suddenly shining at this moment.

Seeing it, everything seemed to so surreal and so fascinating. But Rhode was in no mood to appreciate the sight. As he ascertained the awakening, Rhode could feel a mighty soul power come out of the ring and merge with the Soul Core. After absorbing that power, the originally quiet Soul Core was now moving intensely. It trembled violently, and the surging power was clearly visible, and after reaching the apex, it was pouring out.

"——————!!"

It was such a wonderful, mystical color. Countless halos emerged from it, flashing in the air. The originally egg-like Soul Core was now completely broken. Purple haze hovered around and disappeared as it transformed into a beautiful black sword. A beautiful maiden was carved on the guard, naked while embracing hilt like a devout believer. Six poisonous snakes wrapped around her. They danced around the hilt as biting one another. The hilt was not as smooth as a sword. To the contrary, the surface was rough because scales were attached to it.

This sword reminded him of a beautiful treasure in a certain kind of horror legend dedicated to tempt humanity. Although people clearly know it was dangerous, they still became infatuated with it. Looking at the sword, Rhode's right hand paused for a moment. He also noticed that the sword seemed strange. But soon, he reached out towards it without hesitation and grabbed it.

Accompanied by a cold, comfortable touch, a system prompt once again appeared before his eyes.

[The 9th Eternal Holy Sword: Nightmare, dark attribute, not available for fusion. Only death is the most real existence.]

The 9th Eternal Holy Sword? Seeing the system prompt, Rhode was slightly stunned. It was really a huge surprise for him. In fact, not too long ago, he had thought about collecting this deck, but he didn't have a clue on how to. According to the original characteristics of the Spirit Swordsman, usually, cards in the same deck had same or similar attributes. Such as the Spirit Bird or the Army of Abyss—as long as one had enough knowledge of their characteristics, it wouldn't be difficult to awaken new cards through fusion. Only the Holy Sword deck made him helpless because when he got it, Star Mark was already in a form of a card, so he had no idea how to gather the remaining nine. So he simply went with the flow—if it was his, it would always be his. What was the hurry?

He didn't actually expect that he thought would come true. When he no longer thought about this matter, it actually came out on its own!?

That was a good news for him, but his good mood didn't last long because another system prompt soon came up.

[ Gargoyle's Heart detected.]

Well?

Seeing this, Rhode was surprised, but before he could react, a Gargoyle's Heart flew out of his pocket and hovered in front of Nightmare. Soon, purple haze came out of the sword and surrounded it.

[Target - Nightmare - Forced Evolution]

Give me a second!

Although Rhode tried to stop it, the sword in front of him completely ignored him. In the blink of an eye, the Gargoyle's Heart had been swallowed up by this sword. Soon, it was again shrouded in purple haze, and slowly turned into a card that hovered in front of Rhode. It was a black card, engraved with scarlet magic runes. Below, there were six poisonous snakes with their mouth opened, desperately circling upward around the black sword. There was blood flowing from above. On the left and right corners, the numbers 10 and 9 were written.

[The 9th Eternal Holy Sword: Nightmare, dark attribute, not available for fusion. Only death is the most real existence.

LV:15, The Shadow of Death is everywhere. Curse characteristic.

The Dark Wings devour all. Blood absorbing characteristic.

The Magic Blade is with you. Split characteristic.

Magic Condensation completed]

It had to be said that Nightmare's starting point was indeed much higher than Star Mark's. Star Mark had followed Rhode for such a long time, but it had only reached level 9 offense and defense. However, when the Nightmare appeared, it already had level 10 offense and level 9 defense. It could be said that this card was now fully equipped. However, Rhode didn't feel assured. The reason was very simple because he had just discovered that this card did not seem to be very obedient. Although originally speaking, Rhode was also planning to use the Gargoyle's Heart to evolve it, it was a totally different matter if she absorbed the Gargoyle's Heart herself. As a holder, Rhode also could feel a vague feeling, that not only did it seem to be less obedient, it was also a bit too aggressive...

In addition, after reading Nightmare's attributes, Rhode really did not know what to say.

Cursing characteristic ——— When an enemy is hit, there is a 30% chance of weakening and poisoning. The curse cannot be dispelled.

Blood absorbing characteristic ——— When an enemy is hit, there is a 15% chance that enemy blood is absorbed and this cannot be blocked.

Split characteristic ——— The blade can be split and extend up to three meters.

Was this even a Holy Sword?

After reading these attributes, Rhode was totally speechless. This meant whether, in terms of appearance or attributes, it was completely a demon sword. The two words 'Holy Sword' were completely insubstantial. To the contrary, Star Mark, whether from its appearance or its attributes, was consistent with the characteristics of a Holy Sword. However, he had to admit that the attributes were indeed very useful. Thirty percent chance of a weakening and poisoning effect that could not be dispelled, meant that even if he couldn't deal a fatal blow, the enemy still wouldn't be able to survive. As for the blood-absorbing characteristic, of course, it was impossible for the enemies who had their blood absorbed to recover on its own like in the game. This attribute absorbed a large amount of blood. For example, if there was 50 milliliters of blood in a wound, this attribute would absorb about 150 milliliters at a time, which was definitely a bad news for the enem. Iit could be seen just how insidious and vicious this sword was.

Not to mention the final splitting characteristic. A distance of up to three meters was enough to make everyone tremble when facing this sword because it was difficult for the enemy to judge this sword's combat distance. Which was certainly a good news for Rhode, who fought by relying on dexterity and speed. After all, he would win whenever the enemy hesitated.

From this point of view, this sword was indeed 'not worthy of' the name of Holy Sword.

However, looking at the card in his hand, Rhode was still thinking about another thing.

Can I get along with the summoning spirit?

Thinking until here, Rhode frowned and reached for the card.

Soon, followed by a crisp, crackling sound, the dark card was broken. Then, purple haze rose and a slim and graceful figure appeared from it.