Wildness and Masks

As the magic pattern on the wooden token in his hand shattered, Ogre successfully stepped into the Black Market.

The first thing that hit him was a scent mixed with a slightly pungent aroma, reminiscent of the disinfectant developed by the Church of Truth.

This was a kind of incense burned to erase foreign "smells," rendering most olfactory abilities ineffective.

The downside was that prolonged exposure could cause hallucinations, theoretically making it a type of poison.

Only "shopkeepers" who had taken the corresponding antidote could stay inside for long—this was the Black Market's design to prevent people from lingering.

It also helped eliminate the unpleasant stench of the slums.

And it had a certain effect in preventing the spread of disease.

Although he had been here many times, Ogre still disliked the smell, mainly because he hated the feeling of his sense of smell being interfered with, which made him feel dangerous.

The stench wasn't truly frightening; what was truly terrifying were those gentle, alluring scents that made one lose their way.

Ogre habitually waved his hand in front of him, trying to disperse the scent, though it was practically useless.

Since joining the Arena as a defender, Ogre rarely came to the Black Market anymore. Firstly, he had a relatively stable source of income.

Secondly, due to his ability (magic resistance), there wasn't much here that was useful to him—high-grade potions were too expensive, and low-grade ones were useless.

As for equipment and weapons, Ogre had better places to acquire apprentice-level items, and anything more advanced was unaffordable.

So, what Ogre bought most here was knowledge about various professions.

Of course, that was the old Ogre. The current Ogre was financially sufficient, with about five or six hundred Gold Coins.

Ogre originally planned to purchase a forbidden potion with this money—if he couldn't become a Professional, becoming a Wizard was also an option.

Forbidden potions weren't necessarily better the more expensive they were, but cheap ones certainly weren't good.

Even with a ten percent mortality rate, Ogre didn't want to gamble.

"I'm just here to select ingredients."

Looking at the bustling scene before him, Ogre checked his mask again.

After confirming everything was fine, he continued to walk briskly forward—Ogre's goals were always clear.

Most people here, like Ogre, walked quickly, unlike the lazy folks in the Inner City. People here valued their time.

Only well-fed predators could stroll leisurely on the plains, while surviving antelopes wouldn't do so; even when full, they remained vigilant.

Because the unwary antelopes were all dead.

However, due to the proximity to the Demon Beast Forest, even the nobles in the city never fully let their guard down, as could be seen from their attire.

People near the borderlands dressed more practically, with little attention to headwear or hairstyles, which was why Foucault and Lange were quickly recognized as foreign nobles.

Only those nobles and knights far removed from danger would wear thick armor without helmets—compromising flexibility and neglecting full-body defense.

Borderland nobles, although predators in a sense, were more akin to wolves.

Though predators, they still faced dangers they couldn't handle, requiring constant vigilance and unity.

"Dear customer, would you like to buy some fine slave beauties?" It was hard to imagine that the person saying this to Ogre was a standard red-haired dwarf.

Ogre's black eyes glanced at the cage behind the dwarf—indeed, there were quite a few attractive slaves marked with magic contracts.

At a glance, many racial-featured slaves could be seen here, even a centaur girl.

But no humans.

Perhaps because this was still human territory, or maybe humans were just too cheap...

In a sense, slavery had never truly been abolished; a noble killing a commoner required only three hundred Gold Coins.

"I can't afford it..." Ogre left a sentence and walked away without looking back.

He had no interest or qualification to save these people; he hadn't even redeemed himself yet.

Moreover, even if saved, it would be useless. Slaves valued for their beauty would perish faster without a master, and their fate would be hard to judge.

The only satisfaction might be a moral one.

This was something Ogre needed the least.

Perhaps everyone is an ogre...

As long as they have the opportunity to "consume."

Underneath the distorted prosperity, buried sins... no one would care.

And in such a turbulent world—only strength is fundamental; without it, one cannot protect their "wealth."

This wealth could be beauty, family, or money.

Without strength, one can only pray for the favor of fate, like those pitiful slave girls—hoping for a kind but not naive master.

"What kind of 'ingredients' should I consume..."

Honestly, what to eat was the only thing Ogre needed to consider right now.

He came here to select more diverse "ingredients."

After three "meals," Ogre had gained a deep understanding of his abilities.

The stronger the ingredient, the harder it was to digest; the more memories an ingredient had, the harder it seemed to digest...

And the abilities obtained through digestion depended on conditions for inheritance—this compatibility seemed to originate from the transformation of his own body.

After all, Ogre had eaten two birds and hadn't grown feathers or wings.

With this selection, Ogre's target requirements were clear.

The creatures he consumed had to be Transcendent, but they couldn't have lived too long.

The abilities gained were always incomplete and dual-sided—so there was no need for particularly powerful Transcendent creatures.

Ogre had to choose a Transcendent creature that could compensate for his weaknesses with minimal impact, preferably one that hadn't lived long.

The choice of abilities wasn't about mindlessly stacking as many as possible; some seemingly wonderful abilities might bring unacceptable negatives for Ogre.

The ogre's talent provided Ogre with more efficient energy acquisition, magic resistance, and self-healing.

But more efficient eating and self-healing meant Ogre needed to consume more.

Magic resistance could indeed negate some negative effects of magic, but it also destroyed the positive effects of potions.

The Demon Claw Falcon was a choice Ogre made after careful consideration, though gaining high-speed dynamic vision was somewhat unexpected.

But that didn't mean high-speed dynamic vision had no side effects.

It took Ogre half a month to adapt to these eyes, during which he fell several times, which was his only rest period.

The coordination difference between his eyes and body was indeed very awkward, making Ogre feel mismatched.

He often unconsciously looked into the distance, ignoring the nearby, which was the main adjustment Ogre had to make.

Besides, Ogre paid a price—he lost his keen sense of color.

In simpler terms, Ogre was now colorblind.

This was also a characteristic of the Demon Claw Falcon.

However, according to research by Truth Wizards, bird species originally had very developed color vision, with unactivated power in their eyes, but for some unknown reason, they collectively and voluntarily regressed this function.

Of course, this didn't affect combat.

In fact, it was the stacking of these abilities that made Ogre the strongest apprentice Martial Artist in this border city.

"Recovery, magic resistance, digestion, vision." Ogre muttered the abilities he already had.

He realized that the abilities he inherited seemed to come from the most formidable aspect of the Transcendent life, not random.

"Strength, speed, defense, agility, perception." Ogre said, extending five fingers as he walked.

"Unfortunately, the Ogre Lunchbox can only absorb the abilities of flesh-and-blood creatures..."

Ogre initially tried eating a Slime, but the ability activation failed.

As for the taste...

It was like rotten rubber soaked in slop.

It was something even an ogre's stomach didn't want to digest.

"Strength can be compensated with Martial Skills and equipment, but what about speed?"

Speed was indeed a promising breakthrough direction.

Speed could solve many problems, especially with the aid of high-speed vision.

But as Ogre quickly reviewed several fast creatures in his mind, he found they all had a common flaw—short endurance.

"The speed of the Shadow Panther comes at the cost of body fat, and I'm not sure if I can absorb and inherit its shadow mana."

The only thing Ogre was sure of was that mana had no effect on him, as all creatures had some mana in their bodies.

But he hadn't tried mana with attributes.

Mainly because such attribute-bearing Transcendent creatures had long lifespans and were quite powerful, making absorption impactful.

Whether they were expensive was secondary.

"No, speed can't be fully utilized in narrow caves, and my existing abilities already shorten endurance."

Ogre quickly abandoned the pursuit of speed.

"Then what about defense?"

The toughness of ogre skin was something Ogre had inherited, but it also made him hesitant about defensive creatures.

Shell-type creatures were definitely out, as the shell was their strongest aspect.

But Ogre didn't want to grow a shell and restrict himself.

The creatures he'd consumed before didn't have shells.

So, choose a tough-skinned scaled creature?

Ogre shook his head again, not unless it was dragon skin; sacrificing human appearance for scale defense wasn't worth it.

He might even be mistaken for a Mutant by the Church of Dawn.

"Oh right, Mutants."

Most Mutants were humanoid, probably due to mixed blood.

Mutants had some weaknesses (like silver and light), but their transformation was truly formidable and grew stronger over time.

Ogre certainly wouldn't eat a Mutant now; they were also targets for suppression.

But what couldn't be eaten now might be an option later.

It could be a more realistic choice than a Wizard's forbidden potion if he had no other options.

"Defense is out, so what about agility and perception?" As Ogre thought of this, his eyes met a magical pet.

"Sonic Bat..." Ogre had read many books for better consumption.

There was a record of the bat in a book about miscellaneous beasts.

High body temperature could immunize most diseases, and powerful hearing could detect sounds inaudible to humans, with the throat capable of unleashing strong sonic attacks.

This seemed like a good choice.

But if Ogre remembered correctly—this thing carried a disease poison...

"Forget it, I'll keep looking." Ogre wasn't confident he could immunize the bat's poison.

Suddenly, Ogre stopped.

He had found a Transcendent creature that perfectly met his requirements.

A creature he had only seen in books before.