Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 167: Nol Speaks
Dragon’s Lair.
When Lilith woke up, she didn’t see the familiar tent ceiling but an unfamiliar rock cave, as if it was her first day in this world.
Dim stone walls were in front of her, surrounded by the heavy smell of blood and viscera. She woke up in a pile of corpses in a cage, wrapped in dried blood like armor.
Her lower half had turned into a serpent’s body, with scales cracked open and flesh torn, causing unbearable pain. Her lips were chapped and wrinkled, and her throat felt as if it had been roasted in a desert. The discomfort and pain throughout her body made her want to cry, and then her dry eyeballs also became part of the pain.
Everything seemed like a nightmare.
She didn’t know how to “walk” and could only crawl on the ground, licking the moist droplets on the stone walls. Occasionally, other serpentmen would appear and throw animal carcasses to her. She couldn’t stomach them, only able to chew on the moss in the corners with a fishy smell.
Starving, she dared only to drink a bit of blood and swallow a few clumps of raw meat.
Through bits and pieces of conversation over a dozen days, she pieced together her current situation.
The original owner of this body was named Lisbeth, one of the tribe’s prophets. In pursuit of power, she ventured into the tribe’s forbidden lands to learn ancient divination arts that had been banned.
Lisbeth’s tribespeople insisted it was the prophecy of an evil god and threw Lisbeth into a cage. Before determining her punishment, another prophet was sent to make a prophecy for her.
[Touching the forbidden surpasses death. In turmoil, your wishes will be fulfilled.]
However, at that time, other than knowing “this is likely another world” and “this world has magic”, she was clueless about other common knowledge, let alone deciphering the prophecy.
Despite declaring over and over her lack of worship for the “evil god”, it was all treated as deep and deceptive acting.
Had Dorothy’s adventure team not happened to be fighting nearby, she might have died confusedly deep in the cave.
What followed was simple: recognizing a fellow countryman in Dorothy, figuring out the system and skills, and gaining a preliminary understanding of the situation. Renouncing the hard-to-remember name of Lisbeth, Lin Li renamed herself Lilith and joined Amazon*.
*Clarity: Lisbeth (莉兹贝丝) vs Lilith (莉莉丝).
However, after Dorothy knew her origins, she made her keep it secret from the other Players.
“I’ll keep an eye out for your sister,” she promised repeatedly. “As for the rest, you have to pretend you know nothing.”
Why? Lilith didn’t quite understand.
All she knew was that upon hearing she came from Joy Garden and knew nothing about the game “Tahe”, Dorothy first froze, then a hint of despair appeared in her expression.
They were just transmigrating into the game differently, Lilith thought. Weren’t they all just transmigrating into the game?
Fortunately, Lilith understood the dangers of this world. She didn’t pry into Dorothy’s reasons and used her skill, [Lost Prophecy], to contribute to Amazon without reverence.
However, not long after making a prophecy for Barto, she lost her memory. When she opened her eyes again, it was… like this.
The panic that should have faded surged up, and she abruptly sat up, wanting to scream, but saw two familiar figures beside her.
Barto stood in the corner, motionless. He was still breathing, but his eyes were devoid of light, like painted wood.
Dorothy sat on her stone bed, peeling the skin of a flame scale fruit—a hard-skinned fruit that resembled dragon scales that was very sweet and only found near the Dragon’s Lair.
“Sister!” Lilith sighed in relief. “What happened? I seem to have blacked out…”
Dorothy showed that subtly complex expression again. “I don’t know.”
She glanced warily at Barto in the corner. “But, I think someone will give us answers.”
……
In another cave.
“…So that’s roughly what happened.”
Painter supported a holy light shield and said in a serious tone, “Miss Lynn told me the truth about Paradise and your identity. Now, I am your staunch ally.”
Teest: “Then remove the magic shield. I’ve said I won’t steal your sword.”
Painter pretended not to hear, and the holy light shield kept shimmering. “Thank you all for your honesty. Many of my questions have been answered.”
Nol had returned to human form, wearing a loose black robe, and sat a bit awkwardly on a stone chair—this was his first time facing the natives as the “Creator”… Well, the mentally stable natives.
“You don’t seem very surprised,” Nol said.
Knowing the whole story, Painter was much calmer than expected. Even though Nol’s identity shifted from “Demon King” to “Creator God”, Painter’s gaze toward Nol didn’t change.
“Haha, whether this world was created by the Goddess of Life or you, or even if it originated from a godless coincidence, Tahe is Tahe. Many beings have come this far on their own, unrelated to gods.”
Painter spread his hands in the holy light. “To me, you’re like my ancestors’ ancestors who created me—worthy of respect and gratitude, but not awe.”
With the golden glow illuminating him, this former Pope’s image was radiant, his words heartwarming. It’s just a pity that the reason for the appearance of the holy light shield was regrettable, Nol thought.
Teest circled the holy light shield twice, clicking his tongue. Nol couldn’t tell if he was after the sword or just disliked Painter.
“How can you see the system?” he asked bluntly. “Is your situation like mine?”
Painter waved his hands repeatedly. “No, no. This Villain is just an ordinary person. I don’t have the favor of the world’s authority, even using existing magic for projection. That’s not simple magic—at least not for me alone.”
“Projecting on that prophet, I could watch the world through her eyes. I think, by using this method, Star Stealer Sol also intended to bypass the restrictions of [God’s Forsaken].”
“What do you mean?” Lynn immediately caught on to the issue. “Are you saying, that prophet is—”
Painter: “A resident of Paradise, I guess.”
“Now she’s nominally ‘sacrificed’ on the Players’ side. Afterwards, returning to the Players’ side or following us, she can choose freely.”
As Painter said this, his gaze shifted to Nol, and he smiled like a fox that got the hen.
It was as if his face was saying, “Just give me that sword.”
“That means Dorothy might have guessed some of the situation,” Lynn murmured. “But she’s keeping it from the other two Player leaders… If she’s worried about causing chaos among the Players…”
“Then this is up to you. You go negotiate with them.” Teest glanced at Nol, trying to hide his indifference.
Lynn pinched the bridge of her nose hard.
How did she get assigned a task so quickly, and by someone not even her boss? She needed time to digest the situation too.
She had indeed staunchly refused Star Stealer Sol’s temptation, but people’s hearts aren’t made of steel. The path to find her sister and return home once lay before her; to say she didn’t care would be a lie.
Lynn couldn’t help but look at the other three present.
Teest definitely didn’t care, no doubt. She suspected even if the entire Lost Tower exploded, the Mad Monk wouldn’t blink an eye. He was temporarily their ally, solely because of Nol.
Painter was kind and righteous, but the Pope’s “good intentions” didn’t extend to “betting the world on an outsider’s return home, rushing to join an evil god”.
To be honest, in the entire event, Lynn was most surprised by Nol. Nol’s decisions were very decisive, so much so that it seemed uncharacteristic of someone who grew up in peaceful times. It’s not that she didn’t support Nol’s decision; she just thought he would hesitate more.
“Thank you for your hard work.” Nol sincerely turned to Lynn, unaware of her inner doubts. “Please talk to those two and also reconfirm the prophecy.”
Both prophecies were fake, Nol speculated. He was worried that, with Star Stealer Sol possessing Perradat’s remains, indeed some degree of “foresight” could be achieved.
Where dragons are born, where mistakes converge. The Master of the world returns to the start of the dream.
This was true. He had indeed returned to the beginning of it all. A mix of truth and lies in the prophecy would definitely deceive people more effectively than pure nonsense.
The prophecy given to the Players, “He will grant you the way home”, “You will witness a noble sacrifice”, were likely traps set by Star Stealer Sol to fan the flames.
As for the other descriptions… “Lost knowledge is reset”, “You will find what you have lost”, “You will find the answers you seek.” They all reflect one thing—the trip to the Dragon’s Lair will provide some answers.
Are these pieces of true prophecy, or just smoke and mirrors by Star Stealer Sol?
He must verify this properly.
Nol fell into thought as usual, as if he had just had an ordinary day, not one where he made decisions affecting the fate of the world.
Lynn watched him for a while. “I understand. If necessary, I’ll try to get a real prophecy done for you.”
“Thanks,” Nol said. “Also, that sword is rightfully yours now, Mr. Painter.”
Teest clicked his tongue even louder, sitting next to Nol and eyeing Painter. “And I have to pay for the rewards for those Players.”
“Just testing the system’s judgment on ‘God’ is a great feat.”
Nol placed a hand on Teest’s knee. The system represented the law of the world. If the “God” of the “system’s quest” had a huge interpretative space, the situation with the “prophecies” would likely be the same, giving their actions much more confidence.
Just a few hours ago, Teacher Star Stealer Sol kindly demonstrated this to them.
Although the prophecy given was false, whether Nol chose to sacrifice for everyone or Painter pretended the serpentman prophet sacrificed, the Players would “witness a noble sacrifice”.
Whether it was Star Stealer Sol deceiving the players through projection, or Painter, the “temporary god of the Drifting Mercenary Group”, pretending to be the Goddess of Life, both could pass the system’s judgment of “listening to the words of God”.
The Chosen Ones’ baffling oracles could become their weapon to forge fate—
Nol’s greatest skill wasn’t combat, but finding loopholes in the rules.
A comforting feeling spread from his toes, warmly rushing to his chest, turning into a satisfied sigh. Nol relaxed a bit, leaning on Teest, his expression gradually easing.
“That red-haired old fox done ‘a great feat’?” Teest muttered.
“You forced Star Stealer Sol out directly, preventing a human-dragon war. Your contribution is the greatest.” Nol leaned on his lover. “My ‘loyal’ knight, do you want any other response?”
Lynn’s eyebrows twitched slightly. She pulled her knees together, looking down.
This is a perfect conclusion, isn’t it?
No one was hurt, no one died. The harsh mission was aborted halfway. Nol’s terrifying condition was successfully reversed, appearing very stable mentally. Everyone’s cooperation was seamless, decisively driving away the False God. Everything went too smoothly that it felt unreal.
As a beneficiary, should she be dissatisfied with the “loud thunder but little rain*” outcome?
*Metaphor for doing something with great fanfare but little actual action (AKA all bark no bite, much cry little wool).
Teest and Painter were stronger than her, and they hadn’t spoken up; maybe she was overthinking… maybe there could be such an overly “happy” ending?
But Lynn couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was off, yet she couldn’t pinpoint what it was. Looking at Nol’s smiling face, she felt like she was looking at a complex puzzle missing a piece.
“It’s getting late.” Lynn hesitated. “The prophet and Dorothy are not easy to deal with. I have my puppet watching over there. I’ll talk to them tomorrow.”
“Of course.” Nol smiled.
“Tomorrow we’ll go find Subelbot.” Teest planned excitedly. “The matter of the knowledge seal, we’ll talk to it properly.”
“It’s best to wait until Miss Lynn’s talk is over. Going together with Miss Dorothy shows more sincerity in negotiating peace with the dragon race,” Painter interjected.
Ah.
Lynn suddenly realized the source of her discomfort. Teest and Painter, after all, were different from her.
They were warriors from another world, accustomed to life and death, not prioritizing Earth at heart, unaware of Earth’s situation, and unclear about Earth’s values.
So they couldn’t feel Nol’s subtle… detachment.
“Xu Yue.” When the other three discussed the itinerary, Lynn spoke up solemnly.
Hearing this name, Nol turned his face. “What’s up?”
“Are you okay?” Lynn stared straight into his eyes. “Star Stealer Sol is indeed untrustworthy, but that was still a painful decision.”
“Painter covering for you in the name of God isn’t a long-term solution. In case your situation is exposed, you will face many who accuse you, like Barto. You need to be mentally prepared.”
Nol tilted his head slightly, but his face still wore a gentle smile. “I will be. Thank you for the reminder.”
His expression didn’t change—no trace of conflict, trouble, or hesitation.
Something was indeed off.
Lynn felt a chill at her feet. She tried to stabilize her expression. “After a battle, it’s time to relax. Let’s chat casually—my first business trip in two lifetimes, and it turned out to be a big deal. If only we had ice-cold beer here.”
Teest’s gaze swept over her, containing a hint of scrutiny.
He said nothing, instead silently shifting his gaze away, as if… offering encouragement?
Could it be that this guy had also realized it?
Lynn took a deep breath inwardly, trying to continue naturally. “Speaking of which, you mentioned before that you attended A University’s XX College? I have a colleague who also went to A University, always complaining about how bad the second cafeteria’s food was.”
“It wasn’t that bad.” Nol recalled for a moment in response to this abrupt topic. “Just generally too sweet. The tomato scrambled eggs were frighteningly sweet.”
“Haha, she said the same thing! She also said that dish always had leftovers, and if anyone bought it, the serving lady would give a generous portion.”
“Auntie Liu, right? I remember.” Nol’s tone carried a bit of reverence. “The first time I saw her serve so much, I was quite touched…”
Normally, Teest wasn’t too fond of these Earth-related topics. This time, uncharacteristically, he remained silent with his arms around Nol, quietly listening.
Lynn paused, then changed the subject. “Speaking of which, how’s the cafeteria at your company? I’ve seen posts online saying it’s pretty good.”
“…It’s not bad,” Nol replied slowly.
Lynn waited patiently for more, but it didn’t come. Nol’s blue eyes just looked at her, like the wings of a dead blue morpho butterfly.
Suddenly, Lynn felt an eerie sensation of walking through a minefield. She sharply changed the topic. “You rarely talk about this. I was just curious—I remember our neighborhood is quite far from your company. Commuting must be quite difficult.”
“…Quite difficult.” Nol still looked at Lynn in the same way.
Teest’s pupils suddenly narrowed, and Painter’s expression froze. For a second, Lynn instinctively wanted to run away; to escape from this… unknown entity in front of her.
Teest tightened his embrace around Nol’s waist, nodding subtly to Lynn. Almost simultaneously, a veil-like light swept over her body. That was Painter’s calming magic.
Calm down. Lynn clenched her fists, trying hard to pretend everything was normal.
“Let’s drop the commuting topic. It’ll just make us all cry anyway. Let’s talk about colleagues instead.”
Lynn tried to keep her voice steady. “I know you’ve chatted with Lao Luo and others about the gossip in the art department. Share some with me. Let’s give Painter something fresh to hear—how about starting with some weirdos? Difficult people like Barto?”
Nol: “I have many colleagues.”
At this point, his gaze suddenly became distant. “I have many colleagues, from different departments. The question is too broad…”
“Like?” Lynn smiled stiffly. “What’s the name of the colleague you’re closest with?”
Lynn knew this question was very abrupt, but she really couldn’t continue the conversation. At this moment, she hardly dared to look into those eyes.
“What kind of question is that?” Nol chuckled, sounding like a normal person for a second. “His name is—”
His voice abruptly stopped, as if he was frozen in the air.
“…I don’t remember.” After a few seconds, he murmured as if in a trance. “I can’t recall.”
“It’s normal. That happens to everyone, forgetting words as soon as pen is put to paper.”
Lynn’s tongue felt numb. “A nickname is fine. What about their appearance? Describe the appearance—”
“…I don’t remember,” Nol said.
“What subway line do you usually take to work?”
“…I don’t remember,” Nol said.
“……” Lynn really started to feel scared. “When did you move into Joy Garden?”
A crack appeared in Nol’s voice, pain slowly seeping through.
“…I don’t remember,” Nol said.
The author has something to say:
Lynn: My boss is sick (literally). My boss’ significant other is also sick (literally)
Working environment is extremely challenging…
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