Ryan's eyes stayed locked on the undead knight at the cliff's edge. He suddenly noticed that this undead knight riding a skeletal horse seemed constrained by some kind of magic, able to move only along the cliff's edge.

  "Restrictions make it easier!" Ryan thought with a grin and directed the undead greatsword to fly toward the undead knight.

  He chose not to engage in close combat, instead using the mobility granted by his basic flight magic to have the undead greatsword strike directly at the knight's skeletal horse.

  The undead knight reacted instantly, raising its greatsword to block while keeping the skeletal horse pressed ninety degrees against the cliff.

  The two bronze-grade inferior weapons clashed, sending sparks flying into the night.

  At the moment their blades met, Ryan clearly felt that the knight's strength was roughly equal to his own. However, the knight's position against the cliff lacked stable support.

  The impact from the undead greatsword shook it violently. It immediately lost balance and plummeted toward the black mist below the cliff.

  Ryan watched the falling undead knight, recalled the undead greatsword to his hand, and slung it diagonally across his back, the hilt secured between his shoulder and waist. It was convenient to retrieve without hindering his movement.

  As he turned to leave the cliff, he did not notice that the undead knight, which should have fallen, had reappeared at the cliff's edge.

  It maintained the same ninety-degree cliff-pressed posture, the eerie green flames in its hollow eye sockets flickering as it watched his back retreat.

  Even more bizarre, the undead knight let out a hoarse whisper:"I would relish the chance to test my strength against you."

  This seemingly ordinary undead knight was, in fact, a rare high-tier undead creature with independent consciousness.

  【Escaping the Misty Forest completed! Reward: one bottle of Bronze-grade Inferior Mana Condensation Potion.】

  The Grimoire notification sounded, and a crystal vial filled with blue liquid fell from the air.

  Ryan hastily caught it and stuffed it into his pocket. This potion could rapidly restore spent mana, an invaluable supply for the adventures ahead.

  "Grimoire, with 100 points of Magic Origin Value, how large a storage space can I open?" Ryan asked mentally while hurrying along in the night.

  These 100 points of origin value were the reward from slaying the undead knight at Shrouded Village. Without a proper storage item, carrying both the undead greatsword and the potion was extremely inconvenient.

  Only by using specialized origin energy could he unlock a personalized storage space. Evidently, the Grimoire's origin value could meet this need.

  【100 points of Magic Origin Value can unlock 1 cubic meter of basic storage space. The space is bound to the host's mental strength and can be controlled with thought.】

  "One cubic meter? That's too small! I can't even fit the undead greatsword on my back!" Ryan couldn't help but complain.

  The undead greatsword was one and a half meters long, far too big for a 1-cubic-meter space. But he quickly reconsidered; something was better than nothing, and at least the mana condensation potion could fit.

  "Fine, I'll make do for now. By the way, the lottery function should be able to activate, right?" Ryan suddenly remembered that in previous lives, when he adventured with the Grimoire, accumulating enough origin value could unlock the Origin Lucky Roulette. But this life had been disrupted by events with Evelyn, and he had completely forgotten.

  【The host can unlock the interface through mental intent and explore the function modules independently.】

  Hearing this, Ryan tapped his forehead. Lately, his mind had been filled with thoughts of undead pursuers and Evelyn's cold expressions. He had almost forgotten the Grimoire's basic operations.

  He immediately focused, sketching the Grimoire interface in his mind. A virtual light screen instantly unfolded, floating within his consciousness.

  He noticed a flickering icon in the corner of the light screen labeled"Random Magic Shop."

  His mind stirred, and he activated it with thought. A line of text appeared on the interface:"Daily refresh: 10 items. Item level is bound to the host's current magic level. Origin Value can be exchanged directly."

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  "Didn't expect there to be a shop function, but it's quite useful." Ryan browsed with interest. However, the more he looked, the more his brow furrowed, and he couldn't help but curse inwardly:"This broken Grimoire is definitely messing with me."

  The ten items in the shop were an outrageous mix of extremes between absurd and practical:

  First item: Spatial Teleport Scroll, priced at 1000 Magic Origin Value. This scroll can transport to random location coordinates.

  Second item: Legendary Ancient Dragon Core, priced at 999999 Origin Value. The description stated it could greatly increase affinity with fire element magic. But with that price and legendary label, Ryan did not even dare to dream.

  Third item: Chilled Magical Soda, priced at 1 Origin Value. The bottle depicted bubbling cold fizz and noted that it relieved fatigue and heat. The price was ridiculously cheap.

  Fourth item: Beginner Defense Rune Paper (10 sheets), priced at 5 Origin Value.

  …

  Last item: Damaged Magic Apprentice Handbook, priced at 3 Origin Value. The cover was almost falling off, and the writing inside was barely legible.

  "Ancient Dragon Core? Even if it appears, I can't buy it. That's just cruel!" Ryan rolled his eyes.

  Especially when he saw the Spatial Teleport Scroll, a shiver ran down his spine. A spatial scroll could transport to random coordinates, or even tear through space, sucking someone into a dimensional rift.

  "Forget it. At least there's something I can buy." Ryan gritted his teeth and exchanged 1 Origin Value for the Chilled Magical Soda.

  In the next moment, a glass bottle materialized in front of him. He twisted the cap open, and the icy bubbles surged down his throat, washing away more than half of his travel fatigue.

  "Not bad, at least it wasn't wasted." Ryan smacked his lips in satisfaction and then turned his attention to the Origin Roulette.

  This time, he noticed that the roulette offered not only a fixed 50 Origin Value draw option, but also tiers of 10, 100, 1000, etc. The reward pool upgraded with the tier.

  "Let's try the 10-point one first!" Ryan selected the 10 Origin Value roulette. The original twelve-slot wheel transformed into a simple four-slot panel.

  White occupied 90%, green 10%, and there was not even a"Thank you for participating." Clearly, the top reward in the low-tier draw was only a bronze-grade basic item.

  "Start the draw!"

  With Ryan's thought, the wheel began to turn slowly. The pointer landed steadily in the white area.

  【Congratulations, host has obtained"Shorts" x1.】

  Ryan froze for a moment. A pair of shorts appeared in his hands. The fabric felt surprisingly comfortable.

  "Not completely useless." Ryan looked around. Seeing no one in the night, he went behind a large tree and quickly changed out of his dust-covered long pants, putting on the new shorts.

  Much more comfortable than the old pants.

  "Again! I'll use all the remaining Origin Value for the draw!" Ryan looked at his remaining Origin Value and decided to take the risk.

  Ryan took a deep breath and poured the remaining 80 Magic Origin Value into the 10-point tier of the draw, silently thinking:"All in is an art. This time it has to give me something useful!"

  As he repeatedly pressed the draw button, the Grimoire notification sound rang continuously. Each chime, however, made his expression increasingly odd:

  【Congratulations, host has obtained Bronze-grade"Limb Softening Potion" x1 (Note: temporarily reduces target muscle tension, no side effects if not used maliciously).】

  【Congratulations, host has obtained"Charm Pollen Sac" x1 (Note: low-tier nature magic item, releases a faint attractive aura, can attract magic users of the opposite sex).】

  【Congratulations, host has obtained"Magic Excitement Potion" x1 (Note: temporarily increases magic output by 30%, side effect is accelerated heartbeat).】

  【Congratulations, host has obtained"Shadow Silk Stockings" x1 (Note: inscribed with beginner stealth runes, slightly reduces magical fluctuations).】

  【Congratulations, host has obtained"Scroll of Spring Breath" x1 (Note: nature support scroll, accelerates plant growth, no special effect).】

  【Congratulations, host has obtained Silver-grade"Star-patterned Magic Robe" x1 (Note: contains starlight magic, can amplify spells).】

  【Congratulations, host has obtained"Shorts" x1.】

  【Congratulations, host has obtained Forbidden Magic Tome"Shadow Clone Technique" Fragment x1 (Note: records ancient shadow magic, requires extremely high mental strength to study).】

  "Seriously, Grimoire, was this draw pool tampered with?" Ryan asked, shaking his fist at the air as he looked at the list of rewards in his mind.

  It felt like he was punching the Grimoire interface."First a softening potion, then a charm pollen, and finally a fragment of forbidden shadow magic. Are you trying to get me to stage sneak attacks with these?"

  Luckily, the Grimoire categorized rewards into instant-use and knowledge-storage types.

  For a tome like the"Shadow Clone Technique," he could choose whether to invest mental strength to learn it. If he declined, he could convert it into Magic Origin Value.

  【The probabilities of the Origin Roulette draw are completely random. The results are related to the host's current magic level and luck value. No human intervention exists.】

  "Luck value? You mean my bad luck stat!" Ryan rolled his eyes and started tallying the rewards.

  Eight draws in total: four were support items, three were clothing, and only one tome had any real value.

  While he was pondering, the Grimoire suddenly activated the physical delivery function, and one by one, the rewards materialized in front of him.

  Crystal bottles containing potions, silk-wrapped stockings, neatly folded magic robes, and the black-tinged fragment of the"Shadow Clone Technique" were stacked together, almost tripping him.

  "Could you at least warn me before dropping them!" Ryan hurriedly reached out, but two bottles still rolled onto the grass. Luckily, the crystal bottles were sturdy and did not break.

  He looked at the scattered items and shook his head helplessly. Without a large enough storage space, carrying all these things was a real torment.

  Ryan first picked up the star-patterned magic robe. The blue fabric was embroidered with silver starlight runes, cold to the touch, and he could feel a faint flow of magic within.

  Without hesitation, he took off his dusty old robe and put on the new one, instantly feeling his internal magic circulation become smoother.

  Next, he folded the shadow silk stockings, shorts, and other clothing, and then sorted the potions and scrolls. He tore the old robe into a large sheet of cloth to wrap everything together and tied it to his back.

  Finally, he picked up the"Shadow Clone Technique" fragment. After a moment of hesitation, he decided not to study it for now, leaving the tome for later.

  Ryan exhaled, packed all the items into a bundle, slung it over his back, and resumed his journey.