The spider stared blankly in the direction Duke left, its sixteen compound eyes wide open, seemingly unsure of how it was discovered.
Duke chose a relatively safer route and smoothly returned to Academy Island.
In fact, the sea around Academy Island does not have any overly powerful deep sea magical beasts, so being cautious should avoid major issues.
Upon returning, Duke immediately began to deal with the three Shadow Squids.
When he took the Shadow Squids out of the Space Ring, he found that the one that had knocked itself out was still alive and even planning an escape.
Duke swiftly ended its suffering with a single sword strike.
He carefully dissected the belly of the Shadow Squid to extract the ink within.
Altogether, the three Shadow Squids provided Duke with 220 grams of ink, which he stored in two small bottles.
Duke planned to sell 20 grams of ink in exchange for some lesser magic stones for daily needs.
He currently only has a few lesser magic stones on hand, which is rather scarce.
Additionally, preparing Shadow Water also requires other materials, so he needs to trade for some magic stones to purchase materials later.
He didn’t waste the Shadow Squid corpses either. He cleaned them up completely and took them to the town to sell.
The corpses can serve as magic potion materials or be used as food; grilling them makes for a great delicacy.
For now, Duke couldn’t bother with indulgence; it was enough to fill his belly, so he sold the Shadow Squids for six lesser magic stones.
The 20 grams of ink were sold at a rate of six lesser magic stones per gram, and the town’s magic potion shop bought it all, asking if Duke had more.
This item is evidently rare; even in a magic potion shop, it’s not commonly found.
The shop assistant knew that a single Shadow Squid yields at least fifty to sixty grams of ink.
Duke only sold 20 grams, likely retaining more, and they indicated they’d offer a higher price if he had more.
But Duke had no intention of selling further; he needed it himself.
After receiving the money, he went to purchase materials related to Shadow Water.
"Silver Light Grass root powder, Elf Soil..."
Following the Shadow Water formula, Duke purchased various materials from multiple stores in town, enough for two batches, costing a total of seventy lesser magic stones.
To ensure success in preparing Shadow Water, Duke also bought a second-hand book titled "Magic Potion Introduction" for five lesser magic stones.
Shadow Water is not exactly a magic potion and isn’t very difficult to prepare.
Magic potion making is a vast field, with a network-like structure that many Wizards spend their lives mastering just a part of.
Duke only aimed to understand the basics; making Shadow Water didn’t require advanced knowledge.
Once Duke processed all the Shadow Water materials, he added them into a cauldron in order, lighting an alcohol lamp underneath.
Brewing Shadow Water requires a low temperature, making the alcohol lamp’s heat just right.
As time passed, the black solution in the cauldron gradually reduced, becoming less and less.
Seeing that it was almost done, Duke poured a bottle of Shadow Squid ink inside, causing black smoke to rise immediately.
He waved his hand to disperse the smoke and focused intently on the cauldron, observing a layer of black gelatin forming inside.
Duke reached in and lifted this layer of gelatin, letting it hang in mid-air, bouncing up and down.
He held the gelatin in his hand and then infused it with magic power; this was the refining process.
During this process, continuous infusion of his own magic power is needed, while using Spiritual Power to control it, leaving his Spiritual Power signature inside.
After approximately three minutes, the gelatin in Duke’s hand turned liquid-like, flowing on his skin without dripping to the ground.
This marked the successful refinement of Shadow Water.
Duke manipulated the Shadow Water to cover his entire body; outwardly there was no noticeable difference, but a layer of Shadow Water was now adhered to his skin.
There was no sensation from the Shadow Water covering his body, not affecting daily life.
Duke then attempted to cast a Water Shield Technique; this Water Shield contained Shadow Water, its color darkening from sky blue.
The Water Shield’s strength increased significantly, its defense rating moving from around 0.2 to 0.4.
The same was true for the Water Arrow Technique, which went from 0.1 to 0.35.
Duke didn’t visit the island’s magic laboratory for testing, as it required numerous magic stones, making testing these two spells seem too wasteful.
His magic stones were few, each needing to be used where it counted.
The spell’s strength could be estimated via the formula data itself, with minimal discrepancy.
One batch of Shadow Water couldn’t cover his entire body, only half.
Duke proceeded to prepare a second batch; with prior experience, this time it went even more smoothly.
With success in the second batch of Shadow Water, it could finally cover his entire body.
Feeling the Shadow Water covering his whole body brought Duke some sense of security.
This layer of Shadow Water provided basic magical energy defense.
Prior to this, wearing armor still made him feel exposed in icy terrains.
However, while there was now a layer of defense, it was still somewhat flimsy.
Duke needed to continue capturing Shadow Squids, refining Shadow Water, and enhancing its strength.
After completing the Shadow Water preparation, Duke resumed his practice of Meditation Technique, not letting his proficiency slip.
Duke barely had any time to rest, maximizing the Skill Tree’s advantages without even taking the time to sleep.
...
The next morning, Duke continued diving to capture Shadow Squids.
After just ten minutes of swimming, his Underwater Breathing skill leveled up.
[Underwater Breathing level increased, Spiritual Power +0.1]
[Underwater Breathing: LV3(5/900)]
Both Water Arrow Technique and Water Shield Technique were close to leveling, yet due to preserving magic power for unexpected situations, proficiency hadn’t increased yet.
Once again, Duke intentionally avoided the spider’s area and swam more cautiously.
He returned to the sea where Shadow Squids resided, finding one easily perched on a rock.
Several Water Shields formed, these containing Shadow Water, more sturdy than before.
This time Duke refrained from using Water Arrow Technique against the Shadow Squid, fearing the increased intensity with Shadow Water could easily blow the squid to bits.