Chapter 112
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The three girls noticed that Rhode was walking towards them and lifted their heads in response .
In all honesty, they were Starlight's trump cards because Starlight lacked experienced mercenaries and they were all beautiful females nonetheless .
Some mercenary groups got jealous when they saw the three capable yet beautiful women . They even secretly called them prostitutes when the three were together .
Of course, these things could only be spoken secretly; no one would dare to publically denounce Starlight when they heard news of Rhode beating up Jade Tears into such a miserable state .
Still, it didn't prevent them from being jealous of Starlight .
Among the three women, Lize was the adorable type . Her white Cleric robes matched with her luscious golden hair made her look like a delicate lily . Although she was smiling right now, a trace of gloominess still hid deep within .
Marlene was as prideful as always . She placed her hand on her knee while her white, long hair waved around as she moved . Her crimson red eyes emitted a beautiful gleam, just like a flower that grew on a mountain; hard to reach, but incredibly beautiful .
Anne was much bolder than the lot of them . Even if someone were to scribble the word 'bold' on their head, they still can't possibly rival Anne in revealing her innocence to the world .
Anne yawned as she lay flat on the grass and enjoyed the warm sunshine . Her golden hair was tied up in a ponytail, emitting a youthful and wild charm . Contrasting against Lize's and Marlene's conservativeness, Anne seemed to prefer to show off her figure . The armor she wore right now was tight-fitting and emphasized her slim waist . With her vivacious personality, who knew if she intentionally picked this set of revealing attire .
Randolf and the rest were almost immune to Anne's outfit as they were already used to it . On the other hand, Shauna's subordinates eyes glued onto Anne . This made Shauna angry, and she scolded them for being a group of good-for-nothings that couldn't control their inner desires .
Honestly speaking, Shauna can be considered to be a beauty herself . While she wasn't as striking when compared with the other three, a strong and mature woman like her did attract plenty of men .
If Rhode were an ugly, lecherous fatty, perhaps everyone would've called him a lewd b*stard . But even though they knew that he recruited many beautiful women into Starlight, no one called Rhode lewd . So why was that?
The reason was simple . It was because of his appearance! His looks weren't far off from the rest of them . Saying that he was lewd? Wasn't it better for him to buy a mirror to look at himself if he'd ever felt lustful?
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While many were busy with training, the three women chatted about a variety of topics… well, actually it was only Marlene and Lize who was having a chat . At the side, Anne's blissful facial expression revealed that she was having a pleasant dream .
"Ah, Mr . Rhode . "
Lize quickly stood up . Marlene also smiled and nodded .
"How do you feel?"
Rhode asked Lize .
"It's slightly weird… the last time we came to Twilight Forest was for a mission and didn't have time to take in the scenery . This is my first time coming here without taking on any mission . "
Lize said with a smile as her gaze fell upon the sea of trees not far from her .
"It's really beautiful . I recall that I was so nervous that my head started to spin when I first took on a mission here . At that time, leader and the others would laugh at me…"
Lize stopped speaking and gazed at the forest silently . She knew she shouldn't say these things, but she couldn't help but think of it .
Looking at her gloomy expression, Rhode frowned . It's not like he didn't notice her mood, but her painful memories weren't something that could be erased easily .
If it was a problem in battle, Rhode might be able to think of a solution, but this was a psychological problem, and Rhode's ability to guess what people were thinking was as good as the average person next to him .
Lize looked fine on the outside, but deep inside there was a scar that no Cleric could heal . If a similar accident were to occur, perhaps this scar might once again open up and bring a greater injury to her mental state .
"I will go and check on everyone . "
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Lize seemed to have noticed something, so she made a faint smile and made her way to the others . Rhode stared at her leaving figure and was lost in thought .
"Seems like that accident left a deep scar . "
Marlene, who had been quiet for a while, finally opened her mouth .
"Indeed…"
Rhode nodded .
"Do you have a plan, Mr . Rhode?"
"For now? No . "
"Since its something hard to bring up, we can only act according to circumstances . Marlene, can you inform me if anything happens to her?"
"No problem, leave it to me, Mr . Rhode . "
Marlene had no reason to reject as Lize was her best friend . Even if she was a genius Mage, she was no psychiatrist either . Other than staying beside her, there was nothing she could do .
Rhode nodded . Then he walked towards a stream by the hillside .
Marlene frowned when she saw Rhode's figure . She felt that it was familiar .
Ah, yes… it was just like in Silent Plateau . He went into the forest and summoned an angel, right?
But what was he doing now? Was he going to summon someone again?
Marlene fell deep into thought for a while before shaking her head . Rhode had too many secrets . It was no point for her to pry his secrets . She believed that he would tell them the truth when the time came .
But when she looked at where Rhode was heading to, she couldn't help but think about the underground palace . The Fascarl era buildings… the strange statues and the trial…
Is he really…?
Suddenly, her eyes flashed a trace of shock . She didn't realize that her heart was beating really fast . An unbelievable thought just hit her . If it's just like she thought, then Rhode is…
She shook her head and threw away the frightening idea .
At that moment, Anne, who was supposed to be sleeping, quietly opened her eyes and peeked at Marlene . Her beautiful and refined face was currently flushed red .
Rhode felt that this forest was somewhat fated with him .
He walked towards a dense thicket, and after making sure that there was no one around, he took out a small Soul Core . It was the second Soul Binding Stone . Inside the stone was the soul of the Death Knight that he previously defeated . Frankly, Rhode didn't expect to bind its soul since he was actually trying to avoid the fight . However, Anne's stubbornness altered the plan . So, Rhode changed his mind and took out the Soul Binding Stone to seal the Death Knight's soul .
Unlike the Necromancer, the Death Knight's soul wasn't pure black; it was grey . Rhode couldn't help but feel nervous when he saw the swirling fog .
The Death Knight was a monster above level 30 and he was currently only level 15 . He wasn't even half of its level . A Soul Core from a higher level monster would enable him to summon a high-level spirit . All he had to do now was to suppress its instability to the lowest .
High-level cards were very rare . In the game, the majority of the Summoning Swordsmen players had to fuse three high-level cards to get it . Of course, if one obtained a high-level Soul Core, he or she might acquire a high-level card as well though the success rate of obtaining one was much lower than fusing three cards .
Rhode hoped that the level 30 Soul Core wouldn't turn out to be trash . After thinking for a while, Rhode finally made the decision to go for it .
"… Sigh . "
Rhode took a deep breath as he stared at the foggy Soul Core in his hand . Once again, he scanned his surroundings to make sure that no one would disturb him . Then, he closed his eyes and began .
Soon, a stream of mysterious lights appeared from his hand . Like a river of water, it flowed from his body to the ground . After that, with Rhode as the center, it formed into a huge and majestic magic circle!
Then, a deck of cards floated in the air; they were hovering inside the circle, all of them shining with a different kind of light .
At that moment, Rhode lifted his right hand to present the Soul Core to the deck .
This was a method he thought of . Rather than letting the Soul Core form itself, it was better to place it into a card he had . By doing so, he can obtain a higher success rate of getting high-level spirits . That was his conclusion after countless trials and error and research from the forums .
And now, he finally got the opportunity to experience it .
As if aware of the Soul Core, the deck began shining with a mysterious light . The Soul Core began to change color as though it was communicating with the deck . The Soul Core flickered and changed colors rapidly from white to black, to red, and to green . The colors started to change faster until Rhode's eyes couldn't keep up with it .
But suddenly, Rhode's expression changed .
He found out that something wasn't right .
The Soul Core on his palm began to tremble, and the magic circle also began to distort .
What happened? He had never encountered this kind of situation before .
Rhode calmed down and kept his doubts in his heart . He tried to suppress the magic circle, but he didn't expect the feedback was getting even more violent and the formerly stable magic circle exploded with a powerful force .
Crack .
When the Soul Core on his palm broke, his body suddenly felt extremely painful .
There was only darkness before him; he lost consciousness .