Chapter 176: Ancient Seabed Altar

After confirming that Gune had safely stored the 'Blood Touch,'

Nigel slowly continued his account.

'The third part of the reward, as I told you before, is the Demonic Rune.'

'Originally, I thought they might not give it to you.'

'They might even have offered you a choice between it and the second part, the Blood Touch.'

'Clearly, I worried for nothing. The council approved both the Blood Touch and the Demonic Rune slot directly.'

'You should know, there are only three Demonic Rune slots each year.'

'Only transcendents who have made tremendous contributions are eligible to obtain them.'

'Even a Grandmaster Transcendent would find it hard to get a Demonic Rune without sufficient contributions.'

Having heard Senior Nigel emphasize the importance of the Demonic Rune twice now,

Gune grew increasingly curious about it.

What kind of powerful and peculiar rune could be so highly valued by Senior Nigel?

'Senior Nigel, what exactly is this Demonic Rune?' Gune asked in a low voice.

'The Demonic Rune,'

Nigel began to explain softly.

'is a mystical power used by an ancient seabed altar that seals a Dominator.'

'A power that seals a Dominator?'

Gune felt a slight tremor in his heart.

Dominator, seal, ancient seabed altar—

these words intertwined, stirring his imagination.

'No wonder Senior Nigel values the Demonic Rune so much,' Gune thought, beginning to understand.

'Such a great power capable of sealing a Dominator—not even millions of gold pounds could buy it, let alone a mere million.'

After a moment of contemplation, Nigel continued.

'The acquisition of the Demonic Rune has always been subject to extremely strict restrictions.'

'First, one must have sufficient talent in spell runes.'

'Otherwise, even if you obtain the method to condense a Demonic Rune, you won't be able to do so.'

'At the second rank, you can cast mid-tier spells instantly, and your number of Secret Transit Runes is clearly not small—you already meet this requirement.'

'Second, the Demonic Rune requires a relatively strong physical body to bear it, and you easily meet this condition as well.'

'Your physique is the strongest I've seen among almost all second-rank transcendents.'

'That's why I strongly recommended you to condense this Demonic Rune.'

'Fortunately, you've already obtained the qualification.'

'As for the specific effects of the Demonic Rune, a ninth-rank spell master once told me,'

'it acts on source power and brings about a qualitative change to it. The more Demonic Runes you condense, the more terrifying your source power becomes.'

'When you condense ten or even twenty, it will cause some indescribable changes in your source power.'

'Indescribable changes.' Gune couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

Clearly, the Demonic Rune was far more peculiar than he had imagined.

'And it's a rune that acts on source power, not on spells?'

As he pondered, Gune quickly searched his memory for various characteristics of 'legendary runes.'

He found that most runes acted on 'spells.'

For example, the Secret Transit Rune speeds up spellcasting.

The Acceleration Rune also speeds up spellcasting.

The Amplification Rune amplifies spell power.

The Elemental Rune enhances elemental sensitivity, and so on.

But runes that act on 'source power' were almost nonexistent.

'A rune that acts on source power—this Demonic Rune is truly unique!' Gune marveled inwardly.

'And with enough of them, it can produce indescribable changes... that's really something to look forward to.'

'As for the specific effects, you'll know once you receive the relevant information about the Demonic Rune,' Nigel said softly.

As he spoke, Nigel took out a golden conch from his storage bracelet and placed it before Gune.

'This golden conch is the token for receiving the Demonic Rune.'

'When you set foot on the ocean, holding this golden conch, you will feel a peculiar call.'

'Follow the call to that place, blow the conch, and soon someone will come to take you to where the Demonic Rune inheritance information is imparted.'

Taking the golden conch, about the size of two fists, Gune firmly committed Senior Nigel's words to memory.

'The inheritance site of the Demonic Rune clearly doesn't want too many people to know about it, hence the secrecy,' Gune mused.

Then he smiled lightly.

'I was already planning to go out to sea to accumulate my initial capital. I didn't expect this powerful Demonic Rune to be on the way—how delightful.'

'These are all the rewards for you this time,' Nigel said slowly.

'Truly satisfying rewards,' Gune nodded slightly.

Except for the hereditary earl's territory, which was a bit of a letdown,

the noble title, the powerful artifact, and the qualification for the Demonic Rune inheritance all pleased Gune greatly.

'Senior Nigel, could you give me this map?' Gune said, pointing to the wide map on the ground.

He could tell that this map was very detailed, with many important locations in the ocean area marked.

Compared to the crude maps on the market, Senior Nigel's map was far more valuable.

'No problem, but remember, this map is an officially controlled item. Don't leak it easily,' Nigel nodded lightly.

'Rest assured, I'll keep it safe.' Gune quickly picked up the map and stored it in his system space.

'That's all I need to say. Let's head back.' Nigel made to rise.

'Senior Nigel, there's one more important matter I need to discuss with you.'

Gune suddenly spoke up.

'Oh?' Nigel looked over.

'What is it?'

'The million-pound bounty.' Gune's tone was grave.

'You're afraid of Grandmaster Transcendents assassinating you?' Nigel said lightly.

'Yes.' Gune didn't hide it at all.

Such an important matter couldn't be resolved by concealment.

'You know better than I do how powerful Grandmaster Transcendents are. Though I'm strong, it's only against mid-tier transcendents. I might not even beat a formidable mid-tier transcendent.'

'Let alone a powerful high-tier transcendent.'

'And a Grandmaster Transcendent, perhaps more than one, could be watching me from the shadows, ready to strike at any time.'

'Maybe one morning, I'll never wake up.'

'So, I want to disappear for a while.' Gune said.

'Disappear for a while?'

'Yes.' Gune nodded lightly.