Chương 65: The Artistic Killer

More importantly, Charisma was strongly linked to Intelligence. According to the attribute panel's explanation, Strength and Constitution had a weak connection. Every 6 points of Strength increased Constitution by 1 point. Agility and Strength were directly linked. Every 4 points of Agility increased Strength by 1 point. Constitution and Strength worked the same way. Every 4 points of Constitution increased Strength by 1 point.

So the improvement ratios for direct linkage and weak linkage were 4: 1 and 6: 1 respectively. However, Intelligence and Charisma had a strong connection, with the same 4: 1 ratio. This was probably because Charisma was an advanced attribute. Increasing it required two attribute points each time, meaning its value was weighted higher than basic attributes. That was likely why the ratio was different. Hopefully this Intelligence increase would allow me to finally touch the threshold of a Novice Mage…

Zelier quietly clenched his fist.

"Awesome!" Seeing the Vile Skeletal Amalgam collapse, with shattered bone fragments raining down everywhere, Grey let out a loud whistle.

"I feel like if we ran into that juvenile Mistwraith again, we could take it down without much trouble now." Marcus nodded in agreement. He habitually flicked his blade to remove nonexistent blood before returning it to its sheath. Looking across the entire Blackstone Town Adventurer's Guild branch, how many teams could boast firepower like theirs? A mid-tier ranger who had mastered battle aura, paired with a magic apprentice capable of terrifying destructive power.

A mage who could use Arcane Missile and Flame Breath. A combination like this could practically sweep through monsters rated as 【Difficult】. Just like Goblins, Skeleton Soldiers did not drop any valuable loot. After all, they were nothing more than mutated piles of bones. The Guild's mission verification required Skeleton Soldier skulls as proof, but because the battle had been so intense, many of the skulls had been completely blasted apart. Finding usable ones was proving troublesome.

Grey crouched down and poked through the fragments with a small branch for a while before frowning.

"Are we seriously going to piece these skulls back together one fragment at a time? That sounds like a nightmare."

"No need." Vaelis searched through the pile of bones.

"Just find the jawbones. The Guild accepts those too." The remains of Skeleton Soldiers usually turned black after their destruction, as if large patches of mold had grown across the surface of the bones. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. They were easy to identify. The remains of a Vile Skeletal Amalgam were even more obvious. The entire bones had turned black as charcoal.

"Taking someone's bones to collect a bounty still feels kind of weird…" Zelier muttered. The four of them began searching through the battlefield like archaeologists excavating ruins. Using his thin sword, Zelier pushed aside the shattered ribs of a Skeleton Soldier and found its jawbone. Suddenly, a strange splash of color caught his attention. A vivid crimson red. It was buried beneath several broken pieces of pelvis bone, with only a tiny corner exposed.

If Zelier had not happened to look from this exact angle, he probably would have missed it completely. Curious, Zelier brushed away the scattered bones. A strange, blooming flower was revealed beneath them. Zelier's pupils trembled slightly. The flower was not large, only about the size of half a palm. Its entire body was a nearly unnatural shade of crimson, like fresh blood that had just flowed from a vein. The six petals had a smooth, gel-like texture, and beneath the moonlight they emitted a faint scarlet glow.

Zelier reached out and gently touched it. The petals were incredibly smooth. There was no fragrance, but a faint metallic scent lingered around it. A powerful instinct surfaced in Zelier's mind. This thing was definitely not ordinary. He used his shovel to carefully dig out the flower, keeping the roots intact with the soil still attached. Then he carefully placed it into his cloth bag. I'll have Mentor Manlin examine it later.

"You guys, come over here! Something feels wrong!" Grey's voice suddenly came from the other side of the graveyard. The group stopped what they were doing and walked over.

"What happened?" Marcus asked. But the moment he spoke, he noticed something strange. A smell. A rotten stench spread through the air, forcing its way into their noses. The foul odor was so intense it felt like it was stabbing directly into their skulls. Zelier frowned and covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve. Vaelis also complained.

"What is that smell…? It's worse than a latrine." Marcus narrowed his eyes and stared at the source of the stench. A pile of broken gravestones and rubble overturned during the battle. Grey endured the disgusting smell and kicked away several stones, revealing a patch of loose black soil that had clearly been disturbed recently. The horrible stench was coming from beneath the earth. Dark clouds drifted across the sky, blocking part of the moonlight. The already eerie graveyard became even more unsettling.

Zelier raised his hand and cast Illuminate. A bright, gentle orb of light slowly floated upward, illuminating the area. The four exchanged glances and nodded. Although they already had a vague idea of what they might find, they still needed to see what was buried beneath the black soil. Grey used his sword sheath to dig into the loose earth. After only a few movements, the sheath touched something soft. A corpse. …

After working together to clear away most of the soil covering the body, the four finally saw its full appearance. The sight before them was deeply disturbing. It was the corpse of an adult man. Completely naked. His body was curled up inside the pit. Except for his head, the rest of him was already in an advanced state of decay. His skin had turned a horrifying blue-black color, and pale maggots crawled through the rotting flesh. But that was not the most terrifying part. The most terrifying thing was his head.

There was not a trace of flesh left on his skull. The pale bone was completely exposed, stripped perfectly clean. Even more bizarrely, the smooth surface of the skull was covered with countless carved markings. Were they words? Or drawings? Nobody could tell.

"I thought this was just going to be a normal mission…" Vaelis muttered.

"How did we end up stumbling into a murder case?"

"This isn't just a simple murder case, is it?" Grey said.

"What normal person would spend that much effort stripping all the flesh from someone's skull after killing them?"

"Normal people don't murder others in the first place," Zelier replied.

"Killers can be divided into normal killers and abnormal killers. This one is obviously the abnormal type." Grey spoke with complete confidence.

"And judging from the style… this one's pretty artistic."

"What do we do?" Vaelis looked toward Marcus. Marcus remained silent for a moment before shaking his head.

"This isn't something we should involve ourselves in. Collect the mission evidence, and at most mention this to the Adventurer's Guild when we turn in the request."

"Everything else is their problem."

"Fair enough…" Vaelis nodded, agreeing that it was the safest approach. Zelier stared at the corpse for a while. One thought refused to leave his mind.

"I have a feeling…"

"The Skeleton Soldier outbreak this time might be connected to this murder case."

"Maybe the person responsible is somewhere nearby…"

"Watching us right now…"