Mercenary Wars

Chapter 255 Summoning the Eye Demon
The experiments that Professor Francis conducted caused Gaucano considerable hardship.

The existence of the "zeroth element" is still unknown, and the promise of "pointing to gold" is even more distant and unattainable. There must be some real benefit to justify it.

Fortunately, Professor Francis was quite generous, granting Gaucano five uses of the Mithril Chamber's alchemy table, which saved him a lot of time.

A few days later, he took more than twenty sets of materials to the Mithril Room to make the potion.

Some of the twenty-odd sets of materials were collected by him personally, while many others were purchased.

Most of the materials are secondary stabilizers.

But Gaucano didn't intend to drink the secondary stabilizing potion he made, as he had done before.

His resistance to the secondary stabilizing agent is already quite significant, and his physical and mental attributes are already high enough, so it's not worth continuing to drink it.

Therefore, he plans to sell all the secondary stabilizing potions he made this time and exchange them for some gold coins.

After all, his success rate in making secondary stabilizing potions is already quite good. With the support of the Mithril House's large alchemy table, he can basically maintain a success rate of around 80%. Considering that his cost of obtaining Eternal Forgetfulness Moss is lower than that of ordinary people, his profit margin is quite considerable.

Gao Jiano estimated that he could earn at least two hundred gold coins every time he came to the Mithril House.

In addition to the secondary stabilizer, there is also the secondary titan concoction.

After a period of study and practice in the Golden Plains, he gained a certain level of confidence in making Lesser Titan Elixir, and thus prepared some materials for Lesser Titan Elixir.

After a flurry of activity in the Mithril room.

Gaucano eventually produced fifteen bottles of Lesser Stabilizing Elixir and four bottles of Lesser Titan Elixir.

He carefully stored away the fifteen bottles of Lesser Stabilizing Elixir, intending to sell them at the Apothecary Guild tomorrow. These elixirs shone brightly in the light, each bottle representing the fruits of his hard work and the gold coins that were about to be earned.

As for the four bottles of Lesser Titan Elixir, they were used on the spot.

The core ingredients of Titan's Elixir are Earth-type and Fire-type Forget-Me-Not Moss. It is orange in color and looks a bit like orange juice, but its texture is much thicker and heavier. If you smell it up close, you can also detect a faint scent like lava. This unique aroma always evokes images of ancient giants and ancient powers.

Gaucano shook the Lesser Titan Elixir in his hand, checked that there were no problems, and then drank it all in one gulp.

The medicine was slightly dry when it entered his mouth, but quickly transformed into a warm current that spread throughout his body. This feeling was both warm and powerful, as if an invisible hand was reshaping his muscles and bones. He could clearly feel his bones and muscles growing larger and stronger with a slight tremor.

[Strength +2] [Strength: 32/63]

[Size +1%]

A 1% increase in body size corresponds to an increase of nearly two centimeters in Gaucano's height.

The magnitude is not large, and cannot be compared to the blessing of the holy name, but little by little, it adds up to something similar.

Gaucano then drank the other three bottles of Lesser Titan Elixir.

[Strength +2] [Strength +1] [Strength +1]

【Strength: 36/63】

[Size +0.9%] [Size +0.8%] [Size +0.7%]

After consuming all four vials of Lesser Titan Elixir, Gaucano visibly grew taller and larger. His previously loose clothing suddenly became tighter, with the cuffs and collar noticeably tighter, and his trousers shorter. His overall silhouette became more robust and muscular.

"Looks like I need to get a few outfits with 'effective scaling'..." Gao Jiano thought to himself, while stretching his limbs.

He could clearly feel the increase in strength, and when he clenched his fist, he could hear a slight clicking sound from his joints. This feeling of power made him quite satisfied.

His movements appear somewhat uncoordinated, naturally because his body hasn't yet adapted to the changes. This uncoordinatedness will gradually disappear over time.

However, it's certain that this discomfort will still manifest when he exercises at full strength. After all, attributes are closely interconnected, and as his strength significantly exceeds his agility, his reaction time will inevitably suffer.

To completely eliminate this inconsistency, the agility value must also be increased.

It seems I need to study the Secondary Swiftness Elixir next.

In fact, Gaucano prefers to prioritize improving his intelligence attribute.

After all, intelligence directly affects learning efficiency. Sharpening your axe won't delay your work. With higher intelligence, studying potions and magic will be much more efficient.

However, he had other plans in mind regarding methods to improve his intelligence.

The next day.

Gao Gano went to the Apothecary Guild to consign fifteen bottles of Lesser Stabilizing Potion, and then went to the nearby Hunter Guild to buy a Level 7 Monster Core and three fresh Monster Hearts.

These were the materials he prepared for summoning the demon.

The heart can actually be selected from the heart of an intelligent creature, such as a troll's heart, which is more effective, but the cost is not necessarily much higher.

However, troll hearts are not sold individually. The only way to obtain troll hearts on the market is to purchase troll slaves and then extract their hearts.

Gao Gano did consider buying slaves for their hearts, but after much deliberation, he felt that it involved human sacrifice and was somewhat unacceptable, so he chose the heart of a monster instead.

All three monster hearts were level eight. Although Gao Jiano specifically chose cheap ones, one of them was a bargain, and it still cost him a lot of gold coins.

Adding the cost of the crystal cores, his funds were almost depleted. Looking at the few gold coins he had left, Gao Jiano couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself. Sure enough, everything required money, even summoning demons was no exception.

He had to wait until the fifteen bottles of secondary stabilizing agent were sold before he could continue to purchase other materials.

Aside from monster cores and monster hearts, the most important material for summoning demons is undoubtedly holy oil.

Holy oil is not required to summon demons, but it becomes crucial once the demon is summoned—it directly determines whether the demon's attitude is polite.

Gaucano also bought several "holy ropes," which were ropes thoroughly soaked in holy oil. To ordinary creatures, these were no different from ordinary ropes, but to demons, they could become cruel whips and bonds.

After buying all the materials needed for the summoning, he also bought several hundred books and some daily necessities.

These were gifts he prepared for the spirits of Pierce and the other dead.

The books were mostly inexpensive, mainly history and novels, but without a doubt, for a group of lonely spirits living underground, these were probably the most urgently needed supplies.

After completing the purchase, Gao Jiano checked the various supplies and also took stock of his remaining wealth—1,100 gold coins.

It has to be said that the cost of summoning demons is quite high.

He had fantasized about gaining experience by repeatedly summoning and killing demons, but now it seemed that, from an economic perspective alone, this wasn't necessarily a worthwhile trade. After all, Lesser Enlightenment Elixir cost roughly one gold coin for one point of experience, and after a quick calculation, Gaucano realized that the cost of summoning and killing demons to gain experience was even higher. Although the demon corpses could recoup some of the cost, the battles were still risky. Overall, it was about the same as using Lesser Enlightenment Elixir.

Soon after.

Just in time for a holiday, Gaugano packed all the supplies and set off with Dariss to the ruins of the fourth water cellar in the southern Asur Desert.

Upon arriving at the entrance to the Fourth Water Cellar site, he took out his "sand-digging artifact," the Desert Bottle, and soon removed all the yellow sand blocking the entrance, revealing the gate once again.

The gate remained as heavy as ever.

But Gaucano's strength has greatly improved.

Therefore, even without the help of others, he successfully opened the door by his own strength.

Afterwards, he and Darius entered the ruins of the water cellar, and soon met Pierce and several other Sindragosa spirits in what was once the Church of Set—now the Church of Sindragosa.

"Sindragosa, you've finally arrived!" the undead exclaimed enthusiastically.

Pierce asked impatiently, "So, have you investigated my family?"

“Of course,” Gaogano said. “Around the time of your death, during the Asur War, the Shackleton family went through many ups and downs, eventually moving to the Kingdom of Saen and becoming the prominent family known throughout the continent today…”

He recounted in detail the Shackleton family's history, from their arduous migration during the war to their resurgence in new lands, captivating Pierce with every detail.

As he spoke, he took out many books from his storage ring: "These books record the history of that period in detail, many of which are related to the Shackleton family... These two, 'The Complete Works of Egil' and 'Elysis,' were written by your sister."

Gaucano did not give Pierce the copies of "The Works of Ethel" and "Elysium" that Christine had given him directly. He discovered that the books Christine had given him were quite different from all the versions available on the market, and seemed to be some extremely rare edition.

So he bought common editions of both books to give to Pierce.

Pierce took the two books and silently flipped through them, his face expressionless—because he had no facial features.

Pierce had originally used illusion magic to transform himself into a living person, but it was pointless in the underground world with only a few undead, so he eventually "went with the flow" and remained a skeleton like the other undead. His fingers lightly traced the pages of the book, occasionally pausing to carefully read certain passages.

half an hour.

Pierce closed the book and asked, "Did she really become a famous playwright?"

Gaucano nodded: "Yes, at least among female playwrights and writers, your sister is undoubtedly a first-rate figure."

Pierce was silent for a moment, then sighed softly: "The world is going to the dogs..."

Gao Jiano was taken aback by what he heard, for he never expected that Pierce would give such an evaluation of his younger sister's literary achievements.

However, this was ultimately someone else's family matter, so he didn't say anything. He then took out a large stack of books: "These books are your history and literature after your deaths. I think you will be interested in them. In addition, I also brought you some clothes and furniture..."

As he spoke, he took out various items, including several brand-new mage robes, some simple tables and chairs, and several magic lamps.

"You're so thoughtful!"

"May Sindragosa bless you!" The undead were overjoyed by the gifts brought by Gaugano and expressed their praise and gratitude.

Gaucano certainly had his reasons for doing this. Besides telling Pierce the details of the Shackleton family, another important purpose of his visit was to summon the demon.

Summoning demons inevitably carries risks.

In case of any uncontrollable accident, he might have to seek help from these spirits.

After talking with the undead, Gaucano found a place and began preparing for the demon summoning ritual.

He first used magic to create a flat stone slab, then took out the Summoner's Blade and plunged it directly into the slab.

The Summoner's Blade can directly generate several summoning magic circles.

This greatly saved Gaucano's energy; otherwise, just studying the summoning magic circle would have taken a lot of time.

Now he only needs to inject mana into the Summoner's Blade, and the pattern of the magic circle will slowly generate on the stone slab, clear and precise.

As magic was infused, intricate geometric patterns began to emerge on the stone slab's surface. Countless fine lines intertwined and wove together, forming a summoning circle brimming with mysterious power. The entire process emitted a faint magical glow, causing the surrounding air to become slightly warm.

Once the magic circle was complete, Gao Jiano took out the materials needed for the summoning: a level seven magical beast core, a level eight magical beast heart, several secondary materials, and most importantly—six eye stalks of eye demons.

These eye stalks appeared particularly eerie under the glow of the magic circle. Each one was as thick as an adult's arm, covered with fine scales, and the eyeballs at the tips, though lifeless, remained clear and transparent.

He is going to summon the Eye Demon.

In fact, he can almost only summon the Beholder. After all, the Beholder is one of the highest-ranking demons explained in "Elementary Demonology," and its summoning magic circle can be directly generated by the Summoner's Blade.

The Eye of the Demon's bonus is also something Gaucano really needs.

Based on the description of the [Cage of Sin] and his understanding of the Eye Demon, he was almost certain that the Eye Demon's bonuses included at least a considerable increase in intelligence.

Not to mention, long before he possessed the seventh holy name, he had already planned to summon the Eye Demon in order to obtain the flesh of the Eye Demon.

Therefore, Gaucano didn't even consider other demons; the Eye Demon was the best choice for summoning.

Of course, there are differences between different eye demons.

To select the best of the best, he planned to perform three summons. Since each summon would consume one monster heart, he had previously purchased three monster hearts.

The magic circle is ready.

Gao Jiano, holding Dariss's high-level staff, began chanting a spell. Ancient syllables flowed slowly from his mouth, each carrying a peculiar rhythm and power. Subtle ripples appeared in the air, as if invisible tentacles were wandering around.

After a while, as the magic circle glowed, a subtle ripple spread through the surrounding space. This spatial ripple caused a vague sense of dizziness, as if the boundary between reality and illusion became blurred, and distant scenery began to subtly distort.

The pupils of the six eye stalks glowed faintly.

In the darkness, they looked like an eye demon with its central eye closed, cautiously surveying its surroundings with its eye stalk.

As everyone knows, the Eye Demon hates another Eye Demon the most. In fact, it could be said that the only thing the Eye Demon cannot tolerate is the existence of its own kind.

Upon discovering their own kind, they become uncontrollably fratricidal. This is known as "speciesism," an evil trait inherent in some demon races.

Therefore, the underlying logic of summoning beholders is very straightforward—using the eye stalk to disguise themselves as their own kind as bait.

(End of this chapter)