Rody, in order to understand the regenerative capacity of his skin, inflicted various wounds on himself with a small dagger and observed them closely. He discovered, to his amazement, that his healing ability was terrifyingly efficient.
Minor and superficial cuts healed completely within three to five minutes, with the oozing blood being reabsorbed into his body, leaving no scars. Even deeper wounds that reached the bone showed rapid healing. The spilled blood would faintly turn into a mist and seemingly get reabsorbed into his body, while the wounds visibly closed at an astonishing rate. Bone-deep injuries healed completely in about half an hour.
The only drawback Rody felt was that his body now seemed more sensitive than before. He experienced extreme pain when injured, and his skin seemed more fragile, easily getting wounded. "Could it be that my skin has become brittle?" Rody was almost suffocating with happiness.
Brittle skin is a supernatural trait of some advanced life forms. While their skin's defensive power is not high, their regenerative capability is remarkable, offering better resistance to magical damage and even immunity to certain low-level magic. 'Brittle skin' is the opposite of 'tough skin'. If Rody had to choose, he would definitely pick the brittle skin that has amazing regenerative powers and can resist magic, rather than the tough skin that is thick and resistant to physical damage.
As a necromancer, he doesn't need to engage in close combat, and since he doesn't use physical strength, having tough skin wouldn't be very beneficial.
Although he was still unsure if his skin had indeed become brittle after being doused in the blood of the black dragon, at least his skin now possessed incredible healing powers, which greatly satisfied him.
With a heart full of ecstasy, Rody hurried back to Whitestone Town, hoping to share his joy with his mother at the earliest. Of course, he wouldn't disclose everything, not wanting to worry her. He planned to cleverly steer the main topic away, sharing only his jubilant mood with her. Maybe, Stacey would also be happy for me! He thought of the perpetually tipsy tavern mistress, feeling an urge to share his joy with her as well. On his way, Rody also caught a fire fox, planning to present its beautiful fur as a gift to the succubus sisters, believing they wouldn't mind too much and would soon replace their pouts with smiles.
Rody rushed out of the forest, brimming with excitement and almost wanting to shout, "I'm back!"
Suddenly, he saw the female tavern owner standing at the road intersection, waiting for him.
This spot was always where his mother used to wait for him to return home. Why wasn't she there, and why was it the tavern owner instead? Rody was startled and hurriedly ran closer. He noticed that the tavern owner was not holding a bottle of wine and didn't appear drunk, but she looked at him strangely. Upon closer inspection, he saw her entire body was wrapped in bandages, many stained with fresh blood, which sent chills down his spine, almost stopping him in his tracks.
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"What happened? Stacey? Where's my mom?" Rody asked in alarm.
"She's fine, still lying in bed and shouldn't be moving around," the tavern owner replied, noticing Rody coming out of the forest. A fleeting look of joy appeared in her eyes, but before Rody could understand it, she turned and walked away.
"Why are you injured?" Rody couldn't imagine anyone in the town daring to harm the tavern owner.
"It's nothing," she responded indifferently, without turning back. "Why do you look like a wild man?"
"Don't worry about me. I've only lost my clothes. But look at you, covered in injuries. What happened?" Rody approached her to see more closely and found that she was wounded all over, including several scars on her face. He roared, "Who hurt you? Was it Felik's regular army coming to collect taxes? Or some new mercenary group causing trouble?"
"No," she shook her head, "Half a month ago, a crazed man with severed hands and feet rushed out of the forest, wielding a 'blood-sucking dagger' and killing anyone he saw. Eventually, we fought. That guy was a Sword Emperor, with a Great Swordmaster as his accomplice. We had a bit of a disadvantage but eventually drove them away…"
The tavern owner spoke lightly, but Rody was deeply shocked, believing it must have been a tremendous and terrifying battle.
So, her injuries were caused by that crippled Sword Emperor and someone named Prince Vincent. Rody was filled with rage at the thought. To save his own life, that Sword Emperor slaughtered people in the town with a blood-sucking dagger to recover from the severe injuries inflicted by the black dragon and the nine-headed monster.
But this happened half a month ago?
Rody was startled. He had thought that after awakening from the black dragon's blood burning, he wouldn't have been unconscious for more than a day and a night. It turned out to be a slumber of over ten days.
"I'm fine, mind your own business. Go see your mother; she was just talking about you and asked me to check if you had returned," the tavern owner said. Seeing Gaven, the one-armed swordsman, approaching from a distance, she quickened her pace. "If you have questions, ask that Gaven guy. I don't have time for you!"
The tavern owner produced a bottle of wine and began to drink from it.
Rody wanted to follow her, but Gaven, the one-armed swordsman, blocked his way.
Gaven, too, was covered in wounds, his forehead wrapped in several layers of blood-stained bandages, making him look gaunt and pale.
"You're alright, that's good. Your mother was very worried about you," Gaven started, then fell silent for a moment. Just as Rody tried to move past him to see his mother, Gaven stopped him with his arm. "She's asleep now, hasn't slept well for days. Let her rest a bit. Many people in town died, including Bruce whom you disliked. He was cut in half by the Sword Emperor while protecting your mother... I hope you'll drink a toast at his grave. Come with me."
Rody followed Gaven to the center of the town, where he saw a dozen new graves.
He felt a mix of gratitude and anger.
Although the people of Whitestone Town were considered rogues, ruffians, lechers, and thieves, not a single one of them good, in times of danger, they stood up to protect the women. Ironically, it was these same men, often referred to as scum and filth, who were now lying in these graves. None of the graves belonged to women, only to those men who would drink and talk about the women of the town.
"Let's drink with everyone. You're an adult now, you should drink with us!" Gaven handed him a bottle of wine, paused, and added, "Those two wanted to sacrifice your mother to the war god, to heal their crippled limbs. We fought desperately to save her."
"You guys... are all incompetent fools! I'm here to protect my mother, she doesn't need your meddling!" Rody, like the tavern owner, began to guzzle the strong liquor. Tears streamed down his face as he looked up to the sky and roared, "Don't worry, I will slaughter them, bring their heads back, and pile them in front of your graves! Just you wait... Just you wait..."
"Rody, darling, is that you coming back?" Rody's mother awoke from her dream, came outside upon hearing the noise, and cried out as she threw herself at him.
"Mom..." Rody saw his mother running towards him with one arm also wrapped in a bloodied white bandage, almost falling over. He quickly rushed to embrace her tightly. Although he had grown up, he still lacked the strength to protect her. Seeing the blood stains on his mother's body, Rody wept bitterly, his rage against the unknown Sword Emperor and this Prince Vincent burning fiercely.