How come this arcanist is invincible?

Chapter 12 The Wedge of the Soul

The reason for faking fainting is simple.

The immortality trait cannot be exposed.

Kane knew it.

The "Mind Wedge" cast by that Drow descendant was a psionic attack that directly targets the mind.

The injured party must obtain an intellectual disability exemption.

Even magic-based professionals might experience headaches if their intelligence attribute isn't high enough.

Therefore, if he appears too calm, it will inevitably arouse Shar's suspicion.

There are concerns that he may have received a gift from the abyss through the Stigmata Ritual.

In short, being dizzy for a while is enough.

But to his surprise, just as he closed his eyes and fell, Shar immediately reached out to support him and quickly moved him to the side.

She hid behind a tree and gently lowered his head.

A soft touch came from the back of my head; it was Shar's thigh.

A faint fragrance lingered around my nose.

Kane sighed inwardly:

He truly is a kind-hearted "lamp bearer".

At the appointed time, Kane opened his eyes and met Shar's concerned gaze looking down at him.

He sat up:

"I'm fine now."

"Really?"

Shar remains worried.

After thinking for a moment, she suggested:

"Should we... take a detour, or rest for a bit first?"

Kane shook his head, then nodded:

"We must leave as soon as possible."

He looked at Shar, his tone serious:

"The most important thing now is to find out if these drow are involved with the demon cult and have come specifically to hunt us down."

Shar knew the situation was urgent and said no more.

The two returned to the bodies and began searching them one by one.

Kane found a considerable amount of loot from the three corpses.

But on that Drow descendant, he touched a different ring.

Kane's brow twitched slightly at the moment of contact.

The panel suddenly displayed a prompt, and unlike before, it didn't directly show the properties.

"Let me take a look," Shar said softly.

"Do you know appraisal skills?"

"No... but I recognize the text above."

Shar pointed to the unusual patterns engraved on the surface of the ring:

"This is Zhuo Er's writing; I can try to read it."

Kane handed over the ring.

Shar read it aloud in a low voice:

"The Oath of Vengeance..."

The instant she read the name aloud, a new notification suddenly appeared before Kane's eyes, clearly displaying the ring's attributes:

【Ring of Vengeance (Green)】

Category: Jewelry - Ring

Equipment Level: lv10

Basic attributes: Intelligence +2, Agility +1

Equipment effects:

Mind Wedge (Magic):

Injects a psionic spike into the mind of any creature within 30 feet, causing mental damage to targets that have not passed an Intelligence saving throw. Can be used 3 times per day.

Note: "The descendants of the drow, for the sake of our destroyed homeland, will take revenge on humanity!"

……

Kane put on the ring and immediately understood how to use it.

Suddenly, "Mind Wedge lv1" appeared in the system skill bar, and then quickly disappeared after being removed.

After a moment's thought, he decided to leave it between his fingers.

Currently, Shar has just been released from imprisonment and her magical abilities have not yet been restored, so giving her this would not be of much use.

But he still offered a brief explanation.

Shar simply nodded, not paying any attention.

She then picked up the curved knife from the ground:

"No further discoveries were made; you can leave now."

She slung a crossbow over her shoulder and looked at Kane:

"Where to go next? Take a detour or continue straight?"

"There is a settlement of halflings on the outskirts of the Dark Forest, which is about a three-day walk away."

The two said no more and quickly gathered what they could.

The main supplies carried by the drow were food, medicine, etc., and then they set off.

They did not dispose of the body.

If all goes well, the animals in the forest will soon clean this place up.

But shortly after they left, another group of descendants of the Zao people arrived at the scene.

Leading the group was a female drow dressed as a priestess, riding a giant spider, with a gloomy expression.

After examining her companion's body, she angrily released a hawk.

……

As night fell, One-Eyed arrived at the same place with three Silent Assassins.

He bowed his head in greeting to the enraged drow priest:

"Honorable priest, we are deeply sorry for the murder of your people by our 'traitor'."

The drow priest's eyes were cold as he quickly spoke a few words in drow, his killing intent barely concealed.

One-Eyed shook his head after listening:

"We can't hand the person over to you, but we can compensate you in other ways."

The priest's eyes suddenly hardened, and several drow beside him drew their swords at the same time.

The two sides faced off in the dark forest.

The one-eyed man raised his hand to signal his companion to remain calm and took a step forward.

"Does your family intend to break the alliance with our sect?"

Seeing the priest's expression shift slightly, he continued to lower his voice:

"Our patriarch will soon be visiting this stronghold."

Upon hearing the word "patriarch," the priest's expression finally changed.

She remained silent for a moment, then waved her hand unwillingly, uttered two harsh words in the Drow language, and led her men to quickly leave with the corpse.

Watching their retreating figures, One-Eyed breathed a sigh of relief and turned to the tall, silent killer beside him:

"Luckily I didn't bring Anjie, otherwise we probably would have really fought."

The tall, silent killer remained silent.

Another young silent killer shook his head:

"It's one thing for two apprentices to die, but it's not surprising that they would be angry when a precious female professional is killed."

"Alright, let's make some adjustments and continue tracking. If we delay any longer, the traces will disappear."

One eye gazes into the depths of the forest:

"We can't let those two little mice get away."

Thinking of Shar's past arrogant and aloof demeanor, One-Eye licked his lips.

……

As night deepened, Kane and Shar found a cave along the way and decided to spend the night there.

The night in the dark forest is fraught with danger; hiding is the wise thing to do.

Looking back on this day, besides the initial ambush by the drow, they also encountered various other threats from the forest:

It can summon goblins that can blow darts, swarms of rats that leave nothing but desolation in their wake, and blood eagles whose claws can leave deep marks on steel.

If it weren't for the mage throwing animal carcasses to test the waters first, Kane suspected he would have died several times over.

Fortunately, Shar was extremely familiar with the forest.

With her help in recognizing and guiding them, the two managed to avoid deadly crises time and time again and move forward with difficulty.

Inside the cave, the two leaned against the rock wall, sharing the dry rations and jerky they had obtained from Zhuo Er.

Kane took advantage of the free time to bring up the panel to check.

Since the killings began at the demon cult's stronghold, system notifications have been popping up constantly, but he hasn't had time to look at them closely.

"More than 30 apprentices and two professionals were killed."

Although there is an experience penalty, the accumulated experience is still considerable thanks to the bonus from the Dark Water…

Should we continue using these experience meditation spells?

Kane thought for a moment, then shook his head.

The success rate is not high, and the Mage's Hand is sufficient for now.

"I'll save it for now and see if I can find a suitable side job."

He currently has two secondary professions to choose from: "Silent Killer" and "Witchcrafter".

However, both possess evil attributes, which may affect subsequent plans.

As a magic user, he hopes to find a secondary profession that can improve his intelligence attribute, which is the long-term solution.

After finishing his dry rations, Kane was about to rest when he caught a glimpse of Shar breathing heavily and looking somewhat unfocused.

"What's wrong?"

Kane frowned:

You are sick.

"No……"

"Don't move."

Kane interrupted her and reached out to touch her forehead.

It was scalding hot to the touch.

Think about it too.

Shar was locked in a cage for a week, and after being rescued, she survived on only a dose of nourishing medicine.

What followed was a series of battles, escapes, and jumping off cliffs...

The fact that it took until now for the fever to develop is a testament to the excellent physical condition of a professional.

What should I do?

Kane frowned.

The tonics he had were just syrups and were ineffective against the disease.

To cure the illness, we need more advanced medicine, but where can we find it in this dark forest?

Abandon her? Impossible.

After going through so much trouble to rescue her, it's not only to clear her name, but also because, judging from the journey, she has indeed proven to be a reliable companion.

Moreover, not long ago, she even used herself as a "pillow".

After a moment of contemplation, Kane said to Shar:

"Lie down."

He took off his robe and folded it into a simple pillow.

He himself only wore long pants—possessing immortality, he was not afraid of the cold or injury.

Shar was taken aback and was about to refuse when Kane spoke calmly:

"If you fall ill, we will delay even longer."

You must recover as soon as possible in order to leave.

Hearing him say that, Shar stopped refusing and gently rested her head on the robe.

The fabric carried Kane's scent.

Before she knew it, she had fallen into a deep sleep...

Kane leaned back, pondering his next move while stroking the ring on his finger, contemplating the purpose of the Mind Wedge.

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, three silent assassins were rapidly pursuing the trail...