Chapter 386 – Seize the Time

Ovakain had escaped…

Standing in the center of a lava lake formed by spreading magma, Punk gazed grimly at the distant sky. Flakes of blazing ash drifted down like dark snowflakes, dancing whimsically upon the scorching winds as they landed, spreading destruction ever further across the landscape…

Though Ovakain had fled at incredible speed, this didn’t mean Punk was out of options. Just as Ovakain had left a Soul Mark on Punk, Punk had now implanted an even more deeply rooted Soul Mark within the black dragon’s soul. Given the dragon’s severe injuries, Punk estimated Ovakain would have difficulty dealing with this mark. Through his senses, Punk could perceive the severely wounded black dragon flying desperately due south through the Hoth Mountains, still more than a day away from exiting the mountain range.

“Sigh, this truly becomes endless now!”

Letting out a soft sigh, Punk inhaled the 700-degree air that felt warm in his lungs, yet his heart remained cold as ice.

“Very well, though this creature has escaped again… my pursuit won’t cease. Even if not for that Legendary Equipment, I must chase this dragon to the ends of the earth simply to prevent future retaliation! But before that…”

As dust slowly settled in the air and boiling glory began its gradual cooling, Punk turned his chilling gaze toward the direction of Gray Rain Country, his eyes gleaming with cold determination.

Unlike previous “ordinary” missions that lasted only a month or two, this pursuit would likely continue for quite some time in Punk’s estimation. He needed to stay close behind Ovakain, ensuring the black dragon couldn’t recover peacefully even if Punk couldn’t immediately catch up.

Considering the Soul Marks on both parties wouldn’t fade for at least a century, Punk anticipated this “great hunt” might last decades. Such duration could change many things, forcing Punk to decide whether to retrieve the Eerie Eyeball he’d placed in Anya’s eye socket.

“The law remnants within the Eerie Eyeball provide crucial reference for advancing to Legendary status – its importance rivals the pursuit of Ovakain itself. Leaving it at Thought of Truth for even one or two months was already quite risky. Who knows what might happen after decades… Indeed, it’s better to retrieve it. Though prematurely discarding Anya as an ‘experimental subject’ is somewhat regrettable… she’s ultimately just a relatively talented apprentice. This world contains many more gifted individuals than her!”

After careful consideration, Punk quickly reached his decision.

In his plan, he would rush back to Thought of Truth at maximum speed, “dispose” of Anya without discussion to retrieve the eyeball, then immediately return to continue pursuing Ovakain, who was flying relentlessly southward without pause.”Calculating carefully, time is truly tight, but… no matter how urgent, without restored mana, nothing can be accomplished. Considering the Justice God’s Church has already completed their reporting procedures, there’s probably an investigation team led by Master-Level experts heading toward the Hoth Mountains by now… I’ll have to avoid them too, what a hassle!”

Thinking this far, Punk couldn’t help but frown.

According to his perception of his own soul, due to the overdraft from casting “Soul Mark” on Ovakain at the final moment, what originally took one minute to fully restore now required at least five minutes to recover just half. It had to be said, the cost of mana overdraft was quite steep. Now Punk had no choice but to spend a full five precious minutes restoring his mana.

Since he had nothing better to do anyway, and the lava lake was still boiling at high temperatures, Punk simply took out some rock shrimp he’d caught while setting up the volcano formation and started grilling them. After continuous intense battles reaching this point, even Punk was beginning to feel fatigued. He wouldn’t mind enjoying some good food if the opportunity presented itself.

As creatures living on volcanoes, rock shrimp were undoubtedly highly heat-resistant. The 700-degree air temperature was just comfortable for them, but their thick rocky shells clearly couldn’t withstand thousands of degrees of magma. As Punk dropped the still struggling rock shrimp entirely into the lava, the palm-sized creature quickly stopped moving after intense convulsions.

Waving away the surrounding volcanic dust, Punk gently cracked open the now brittle rock shrimp shell. Beneath the dusty carapace, glistening shrimp meat emitting an appetizing aroma was revealed.

Sprinkling some spiced salt he’d found in Ben Lajie’s Storage Ring, Punk took a small bite of the shrimp meat.

“Mmm, not bad at all, much better than dry rations.”

Feeling the smooth, elastic shrimp meat quivering between his teeth, Punk’s gloomy mood improved slightly.

Usually to save time, Punk’s food consisted almost entirely of self-made high-nutrition magic dry rations. These “wartime special rations” invented specifically for Master-Level Casters by Grand Arcanist Coronella during the Netheril era were indeed nutritious, but… Punk would bet that as a Legendary Caster who didn’t need to eat or drink, Coronella herself had never tasted these rations. Probably even slums’ black bread wouldn’t have the awful sawdust-like texture of “magic dry rations”!

Having eaten nothing but magic dry rations for a month, Punk took advantage of these “idle” five minutes to treat his palate. Who knew if there would be time to stop and eat during the coming days chasing Ovakain.

After devouring five or six rock shrimp, Punk’s mana had already recovered more than half. Wiping the grease from his lips, Punk began carefully assessing his condition. Though time was extremely pressing, he didn’t want his soul to suffer any aftereffects from mana overdraft.

However… after this assessment, Punk made a pleasantly surprising discovery – the first good news he’d encountered so far: he had leveled up again.

Punk was now an eighteenth-level Master-Level Caster.”Is this the effect of accumulated strength leading to a sudden leap? Advancing rapidly to level eighteen right after reaching level seventeen? But leveling up while mana-depleted is truly unpleasant—it will significantly delay the next upgrade”…

Well, this is truly a case of not knowing when one is well off. Any Master-Level powerhouse stuck at a single rank for millennia would likely cough up blood in frustration if they heard such complaints.

Though it appears remarkably swift, this kind of progression isn’t entirely unexpected. After all, Punk had already reached level sixteen when he emerged from the Netherese Ruins. For a “genius” like Punk, spending over five hundred years in the Netherese Ruins to gain just two levels was already exceptionally slow. Now experiencing rapid growth through “accumulated momentum” seems perfectly natural.

“Regardless, this means I’ll face Ovakain with greater confidence. With the lifespan bonus from my half-elf heritage, I calculate I still have over five thousand years remaining—more than enough time.”

Smiling confidently as he felt the enhanced mana dancing joyfully within his soul, Punk felt quite satisfied.

Pre-Legendary leveling posed no real challenge for Punk. What demanded his immediate attention now was the need for swift action.

Without further delay, once his mana reserves had stabilized, Punk immediately cast Kinetic Propulsion on himself and departed from Sleeping Dragon Volcano. The journey to the Thought of Truth Branch was considerable from the Maple Leaf Kingdom, and Ovakain kept flying farther south… Punk truly needed to make every second count.

(End of Chapter)