Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 101: Speedrun Strategy

Eugene came for the rope ladder for the second time.

He carefully touched the edge of the stone platform. This time, there was no air wall to hinder his fingers. However, as they climbed up the rope ladder, the gravity around them instantly reversed, causing the rope ladder to stretch straight upward.

It was almost a clear sign for them to continue ascending.

In the darkness of the night, the stone platform above them was nothing more than a pitch-black silhouette, as quiet as a graveyard. Who knew whether ascending would bring them face to face with even more outrageous monsters.

Such scenes were fine in a game, but now faced with this unknown, Nol felt genuine displeasure—he had the feeling of being toyed with.

Eugene jumped down from the vertical rope ladder, which still stood erect, as if in defiance.

Unable to contact the personnel below, Eugene’s expression was rather unpleasant. Sensing the shift in mood, Damori couldn’t sit still. “How about… I mean, why don’t we regroup here for the night? When the sun is up, we can try to send a message.”

Nol sighed inwardly.

If the Lord of The Manor was really following the logic of a game, he would definitely not leave behind a mechanism like “game characters defending the original map”. In floating maps, the designers favorite method was to use—

The stone platform began to tremble with a thunderous vibration, and a chilling, terrifying cracking sound came from within. Numerous cracks swiftly spread under their feet, and the once-solid ground became unstable, fluctuating up and down.

The limbless corrupted monster still lay where it was, mechanically biting at the air.

Its giant mouth opened and closed, rhythmically making a “clack, clack, clack” sound, like a countdown timer.

The collapse came very suddenly.

Eugene grabbed Damori, who was closest to him, and with his other hand, he grabbed the cloak of the female knight next to him. He only had time to glance at “Drake” before his figure disappeared into the rolling smoke and shadows.

Just seconds before, the knight named Dia had run towards Eugene, but he wasn’t fast enough and failed to touch the hem of Eugene’s robe. His eyes reflected the starry sky and dust, filled with terror.

The next second, Knight Dia’s cloak tightened. He was pulled upward, and though the position didn’t allow him to look up, he knew who had lent a hand—in addition to himself, only the skillful Mr. Drake remained.

The night belonged to the shadows. Thick dust laid the path of shadows, and Teest mounted the shadow wolf, stepping on shadows to ascend. He held Nol around the waist, and Nol clutched Dia as they leaped upwards together.

By the time they reached the upper stone platform, Dia hadn’t had a chance to utter words of gratitude before he passed out. The last thing flashing before his blurred vision was a huge black nose.

“We were almost able to have a perfect world for just the two of us,” Teest complained, retracting the hand that had knocked the man out. The shadow wolf curiously sniffed around Knight Dia, ending with a sneeze.

“I’ve looked through the list of Investigation Knights. His full name is Dia Blanco,” Nol said. “Strictly speaking, he’s a distant relative of yours. I couldn’t just ignore him.”

“Yeah, a handsome young man, with long hair too,” Teest hummed.

“What a pity. I only take in followers that are mentally ill. This one is too normal,” Nol hummed back, helping Dia onto the back of the shadow wolf. The situation here was strange, and he had no expectations for the cowardly Ben to lead the way.

“You think that kid Eugene is dead?” Teest asked hopefully.

“It depends on whether his prophecy includes an image of him dying from a fall. The Temple of Life values him so much, so I guess his prophecy must be something special.” Nol took Kando from his chest and placed it back on the Staff of Sacrifice.

“I’ll bet a gold wheel that the kid has jumped onto the stone platform below.” Teest kicked the pebbles under the platform.

Feeling the cold night wind, Kando opened its eyes, and its eyeballs spun wildly. Nol was waiting for it to curse, but it remained silent and slowly closed its eyes again.

“Be careful,” it warned them wearily. “I’ve never seen this formation before.”

“Really? Then you should take a good look.” Teest forcibly opened Kando’s eyelids, and it beat him with a stream of wax tears.

“Ah, we were so close to having a perfect world for just the two of us…” And so, the Mad Monk let go of Kando and started muttering again.

Why are you saying that in a loop?

Nol sighed and took the initiative to grab Teest’s wrist. “Let’s go.”

“Aren’t you going to have some late-night snacks? I just found a piece of wreckage.” Teest didn’t move, almost writing “I’m not motivated” on his face.

“It’s not appropriate. Someone might be watching us.”

Nol tugged at the corner of his mouth, his gaze sweeping over the pitch-black platform. “Teest, it seems you’re not looking forward to what’s coming.”

“I want the truth, but I don’t like the process.” Teest yawned while propping one arm on Nol’s shoulder. “Throwing people into an enclosure, then throwing in a monster, only the victor gets to leave alive. I’ve been fighting like this since I was a kid. It’s a bit tiring aesthetically.”

Thinking of the possible experiences of the young Teest, Nol’s expression stiffened.

Teest glanced at him without a trace and continued casually, “The opponents here are just like puppets—not even as fun as fighting the shadow wolf. Compared to this mess, I prefer your ‘game’.”

Nol’s expression relaxed a bit, and his mouth involuntarily curled up. “You don’t want to fight this?”

“Mm.”

“Then we won’t fight.” Nol cleared his throat. “Let’s find something interesting to do.”

Teest raised his eyebrows at him and slapped the freshly formed air wall. “But there are invisible walls here—”

Nol smiled at him. “As long as magic still works here, I have a way out.”

He sat down on the spot, patting beside him. Teest understood and leaned over, stretching out comfortably.

Mr. Lich clearly had no intention of approaching the center of the platform. Nol took out “The Complete Recipe Book” from his bag. His pen briskly swept across the paper, writing down a series of incomprehensible characters.

Teest’s gaze couldn’t help but follow Nol’s hand—from the ink-stained fingertips to the trembling wrist, and then to the slightly contracted pupils.

He was surprised to find that even without the unique blue color, those eyes were still as perfect as he remembered them in his memory.

The two didn’t explore deeply, and the platform didn’t respond. Under the starry sky, everything was exceedingly quiet and peaceful. Ben let out a yawn and lay down beside the two. For a moment, the atmosphere was actually quite serene and pleasant.

About an hour later, Nol completed the calculation. Teest propped his eyelids and watched the ink marks shimmer and turn into a brand-new magic circle.

[The Eye of the Bat]

Nol scribbled, writing down its name and function—this magic allows the caster to see through the terrain within a radius of 10 to 1,000 meters. The farther the viewing distance, the higher the magical power consumed.

It looked like an extremely degraded version of the [Eye of Truth], with a little bit of modification. After completing the magic, Nol closed the book and raised his head with a smile, his eyes twinkling faintly. Teest remained silent. As Nol observed above, he watched Nol’s profile. It was hard to say who was more focused.

“Okay.” Nol stood up, reaching out his hand to Teest, his eyes still in the state of magic activation.

“Just like that?” Teest grabbed his hand, his eyebrows raised high.

“Hold my hand tightly,” Nol said “Ben, keep up!”

The shadow wolf quickly stood up, accidentally knocking off the knight who was unconscious on its back. It then annoyingly picked up the tin can again, saliva streaming down from its mouth that wouldn’t close.

Nol waved his staff, and a circle of blue flames opened up in front of everyone. Nol tightened his grip on Teest’s fingers, pulling him forward.

Teest curiously extended his foot, thinking they would travel upwards layer by layer. Who would have thought that his god wasn’t as honest as he imagined—

The Mad Monk saw such a crazy scene for the first time.

One circle of fire was extinguished, and another lit up. It was as if they were traveling through a tunnel made of circles of fire. And between these tunnels were psychedelic scenes of the world turned upside down.

Teest stepped over broken tiles on one step, and the next step was in the midst of stars, stepping into the void. After falling through the circle of fire, he found the ground reappearing under his feet, surrounded by thorny bushes with dried flowers.

The white stone platform was bathed in moonlight. Descending monster’s spine; the cold water surface smooth as a mirror… While the blue fire burned, the tips of their toes brushed over even more things.

Their footsteps added prints to the frost-sealed bridge, the surface of the lava-flowing river rose with a cold wind, and the fog that filled their vision tumbled endlessly.

The roar of monsters mixed with various noises. Strangely, Teest thought, the clearest sound was always Nol’s heartbeat close at hand—and his own. His heartbeat had never been so fast—loud enough to burst his eardrums.

Right in front, Nol was always holding Teest’s hand. To prevent slipping, their fingers were tightly interlocked.

Teest looked at the figure in front, his fingers getting tighter and tighter.

Regrettably, this beautiful and chaotic journey had to end. The last circle of fire extinguished, and the two stopped at the end of the stone steps of the castle at the top.

“Pity, the final boss can’t be skipped directly,” Nol muttered.

It turned out that Eugene’s speculation was completely wrong. At the top, the effect of the anti-magic crystal was even stronger. Even the low-level [The Eye of the Bat] couldn’t be activated normally here.

No matter how this castle was floating in the air, it must have nothing to do with Tahe’s magic.

This discovery didn’t please Nol—if he couldn’t see the destination, he couldn’t use Kando to connect spaces. This meant that his “speedrun strategy” was over, and he could only rely on his own feet going forward.

“I thought you would go to see that siren,” Teest said, not letting go of Nol’s hand.

“I took a quick look just now. His condition is still okay.” Nol pursed his dry lips. “Rashly going to see Fischer might let the people of The Manor notice something unusual, and it might even turn him into a hostage.”

After speaking, he glanced strangely at Teest. “I thought you were familiar with these things.”

“Well, I am usually the one who notices something unusual and takes hostages.” The Mad Monk shrugged. “I will try to adjust my mindset.”

“Thanks. I feel much safer now.”

After a bit of joking, Nol finally relaxed a bit. At least he was now in the mood to carefully observe the “final level”.

In front of the two, the long stone steps were covered with black dust. At the end of the stone steps, the huge castle was brightly lit. Its stone was even stranger than the stone platform below, with a moist texture, nearly black in the night.

Between the bricks and stones, the web-like black-red flesh was denser than below, emitting a faint smell of decay.

The aura of the Demon King grew stronger, as if this place had been blood-washed by countless corrupted monsters. That breath deeply penetrated every crevice of stone. Just standing there, Nol could feel a chill creeping up from the soles of his feet.

The buildings here were relatively well preserved, and the wind made a sharp wail through the crevices. On both sides of the castle’s spires, two full moons were hanging.

Maybe it was the environment, but from here, all four moons seemed to have a hint of blood color.

‘Just add some spooky music, and it would be perfect,’ Nol thought. As the final battle zone, this map was entirely qualified.

Nol also didn’t let go of Teest’s hand. The “Betrayer” longsword was unsheathed, and the Staff of Sacrifice blazed with flames. The shadow wolf, carrying the unconscious knight and looking confused, was half-hidden in the shadows of the two men.

Feeling the other’s dry and warm palm, Nol steadied his mind and stepped onto the first level of the stairs.

At that moment, the ground trembled, and the gravel on the edge of the stone platform hissed as it slid into the darkness. Nol’s knees became weak, and he knelt on the stairs. If it weren’t for Teest holding on to him, he would have tumbled down.

“What’s wrong with you?” Teest’s leisurely expression completely vanished, and his speech sped up. “Hey, Nol, can you hear me?”

Nol covered his mouth. Something warm touched his fingers.

It was blood. He smelled the scent of blood, Nol thought somewhat dazed. Drops of fresh blood fell on the stone steps, blending instantly with the dark stone surface.

In that instant, after the tremor, the Demon King’s aura burst forth violently. There was no White Night here, yet the Demon King’s aura was so intense that it could rival the phenomenon of the White Night.

It was as if he had plunged into the deep sea in an instant. Everything around him was pressing on him, vowing to completely eject him, this “foreign object”, from this place. Nol’s whole body was in pain, and his energy and strength were rapidly leaving him, as if being wrung out alive.

“Nol!” Teest grabbed his shoulders. His voice was muffled as if it was covered by a layer of water. “Nol, let’s go back right now.”

[Warning……. Abnormal status @#¥%……]

[Abnormal power system… Source rejection reaction…… You are not recognized. Your level is insufficient…… Your power is insufficient…….]

In Nol’s somewhat blurry vision, the system pop-up struggled and flickered.

[Warning……………… Abnormal status @#¥%……]

[Please leave as soon as possible…… Please leave as soon as possible…… Please leave as soon as possible……]

How could they possibly leave?

They had finally made it here. They had to take something back, no matter what.

Intelligence, data, knowledge…. Anything at all…

Faced with the exceptionally active Demon King’s aura, Nol instinctively activated [Lost Last Wish].

That terrible sense of oppression seemed to freeze. The crushing pain around him stopped, and countless tiny voices drilled into his ears.

Don’t hurt me… Don’t hurt me… Don’t hurt me…… Don’t hurt me……

Save me… Save me……….. Save me…………….

Save me…… Save me……

Save me………

……..

[Source rejection reaction stopped… You are preliminarily recognized…. Your level is insufficient… Your power is insufficient… It is not recommended to proceed…]

The system’s intermittent voice echoed in Nol’s ears.

Nol’s vision finally focused, and he realized that his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears were all stained with damp blood, and his robe was soaked with blood. His internal organs were in stabbing pain, and his limbs felt boneless, completely devoid of strength.

He looked at his hand placed on his chest. The back of his hand was paler than a corpse that had been dead for three days.

The surrounding scenery was bumpily retreating—he seemed to be held in Teest’s arms, and Teest was striding forward in the opposite direction of the castle. A pale golden protective shield surrounded the two of them, and the air inside was much warmer than outside.

“I’m okay now.” Nol tasted a strong metallic blood flavor in his mouth.

“We’ll find a place to rest, and then we’ll go back,” Teest said without looking down.

“This opportunity is rare. We might not be so lucky next time.” Nol exhaled tiredly. “The system just prompted something about an ‘abnormal power system’. Our guess was right. There’s definitely something wrong with this place.”

“Whether it’s the building itself or its power, it doesn’t belong to Tahe… This is a big discovery. You wanted to understand the true nature of the world, right? The Lord of The Manor must know something…”

“Don’t talk about that. I’m not in the mood to listen.” Teest clicked his tongue. “If you die here, we’ll end up with nothing.”

“I really am okay.”

Nol struggled to get down to the ground, but alas, with his power halved, the Lich was no match for the terrifying strength of the Death Knight.

“I wouldn’t be able to put you down even if I didn’t use Kando,” Nol admitted, resorting to his trump card.

Teest grunted, took Nol’s magic staff with one hand, and shook it vigorously. Kando, without even opening its eyes, said faintly, “Let go, you. Fish shouldn’t spend all day pondering how to fly.”

With a snap, Teest gritted his teeth hard.

“Even if I don’t go with you, you wouldn’t be foolish enough to seek death on your own.” Seeing that the magic staff was ineffective, Teest stubbornly persisted.

The two faced each other, neither willing to give in.

“I won’t tell you any intelligence,” Nol threatened.

“I won’t make you supper then.”

“A Lich can’t starve to death.”

“Then would you have the heart to watch me starve here?”

“…Alright.” Nol pinched the bridge of his nose hard. “Let’s compromise. We’ll rest here tonight. If by tomorrow you still think I’m not in the right state, we’ll go back.”

“That’s more like it.” Teest lifted his head in triumph.

Nol resigned. “First, put me down…”

“No.”

With their backs to the castle, they found a remote part of the ruins. After a rudimentary setup of spells, the two hid in the shadows. Teest quietly set up a pot and began to cook some recently obtained monster remains.

Concerned about being discovered by outsiders, he kept the fire low. Honey, strange pasty medicine, and scraps of the remains were stewed into a soft, mushy syrup, eventually shrinking to the size of half a palm.

Teest sprinkled some sugar on it, wrapped it in a grape leaf, and placed it under Nol’s nose.

“Eat it. Any added attributes are good.” Teest stood up. “I’m going to cook some honey milk.”

“Thank you…  What are you doing?!”

Teest walked over to the still unconscious Knight Dia, beat him around the head with a clatter, and then naturally sat back down as if nothing had happened. Nol watched, dumbfounded.

“Oh, just increasing his unconscious time,” Teest muttered.

“…I still prefer the world of just us two. What about you?”

The author has something to say:

The explanation refers to the middle part of the story as described in the previous chapters—

The beginning, middle, and end each make up one third of the story. Since the beginning has certainly passed, it is now in the middle phase. <-∑(>w0)b

Kinky Thoughts:

Speedrunning is the act of playing a game, or section of a game, with the goal of completing it as fast as possible, for those unaware of the term.

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 100: Air Wall

The parachutes descended slowly, like jellyfish in the ocean, touching down on the ground. The light vanished, and the rope ladder was nearly swallowed by the darkness.

The group finally gathered on the lowest level of the stone platform—Damori was fine, but Sean’s legs went soft on the swaying rope ladder, and he had to be pulled up by an Investigation Knight. When he climbed onto the platform, his entire face was pink, like a cooked shrimp.

The platform was nearly the size of a sports field, with only the ruins of a few huts on it. The peripheral area was piled with various items, like rusty components and rotten wooden boxes, emitting a faint smell of decay, their purpose unclear.

Black and red fleshy tendons clung to the edge of the platform, connecting to higher platforms, gently bouncing in the wind, looking almost alive. Nol didn’t think “climbing them” would be a good idea. The whole manor gave him a very bad feeling, very similar to the atmosphere of the White Night.

The presence of Siren Fischer was just above. Nol strained to look up, only able to make out the vague outlines of the structures above. The siren was probably imprisoned somewhere, having only moved slightly within a small area recently.

While the knights took a break to regroup, Nol glanced at Eugene. If the Knight Commander demanded an immediate surprise attack on The Manor—assuming Mr. Eugene was really foolish enough to do so—Nol would definitely jump out to stop him.

Fortunately, Knight Eugene remained calm and composed.

“Drake gets an additional fifty gold wheels as a reward,” Eugene said approvingly. “Well done, sir. Let us have a pleasant exploration.”

Then, his gaze swept over the shivering Sean and Damori who was looking around. “Leave seven people with Sean and Damori to record the terrain. I, Dia, and Drake will go up to have a look.”

“Can I come along?” Damori immediately chimed in, his eyes sparkling with a desire for money… Ah, no—a desire to be loyal to the Goddess. “I’m in good condition. I can definitely help!”

“It’s dangerous up there. In case of an emergency, we may not be able to protect you,” Eugene said gently.

Damori persistently applied to join. “That would be my fate then. If anything happens, I won’t blame anyone.”

Eugene’s brows twitched slightly, and he stared at Damori for a long time. “The Goddess sees your loyalty. Marian, you come along too.” The female knight beside him nodded, and the original trio thus expanded into a team of five.

Actually, six, as Nol pulled Teest, who was looking around. The latter quickly stuck back to Nol’s side. [I feel the aura of monsters.]

[There are indeed quite a few above,] Nol replied. [We’ll find a time to split from them and first look for the Lord of The Manor.]

The methods of The Manor in Eternal Day City were indeed outrageous, but Nol didn’t want to attack a neighbor without understanding the situation first—The Manor was easy to defend but hard to attack, and the knights would surely investigate first. He wanted to clarify the situation himself before deciding on the next move.

[How do you know what I’m thinking?] Teest let up a long hum. [Coincidentally, I also don’t want to play with the little dogs of the Goddess of Life.]

Eugene had no idea of this “Drake’s” private conversation. He gathered the exploration team, distributing scent-masking ointment to everyone. The knights who weren’t named established a simple base on the spot, began to visually measure The Manor’s stronghold, and started drawing maps.

Sean sat on a folding chair at the edge of the platform, his lips pale. He sat with his back to the center of the platform, tilting his head up, silently staring at the sky.

The night sky was clear, the stars plentiful, with the four moons hung high in the sky. Together with the scattered lights from The Manor, the scene was almost beautiful.

He watched as the scouting team’s figures disappeared higher up—once on the platform, the difference in height wasn’t so absurd, and one could climb up with physical strength.

But he couldn’t do it.

As a healer who usually stayed in the rear, even the physically fit Sean couldn’t jump that high. On second thought, his presence seemed to bring nothing but trouble on this trip.

Sean hung his head in dejection, opening his empty palms. He had harbored a flame of vengeance, thinking of burning his last drop of blood for God. But now he realized that even “sacrifice” had its thresholds.

“Don’t mind it. Your job is to ‘witness’, not to ‘fight’.”

A young knight noticed his gloominess and approached. “Someone like Drake is rare… Forget Drake, we couldn’t even find someone like Damori when recruiting in the last city.”

“Thank you. I was too naïve.” Sean managed a wry smile. “I thought I could at least be of some help.”

The knight laughed. “Of course, you can help! The captain might take a while, and when they come down, they will definitely need your help to recover their strength.”

“Does Lord Eugene always lead from the front?” Sean asked curiously.

“Yes. In these unknown places that are a matter of life and death, the captain is always the first to go in and explore. He only lets everyone ‘up’ after he’s sure the path is viable.” Behind Sean, the knight was busy sorting through the debris while earnestly answering.

“But he wouldn’t bring temporary knights on a previous occasion… After all, this is not official combat—it’s a covert investigation, and temporary knights can easily cause trouble.”

“Perhaps Drake and his group are too special. Even I can tell at a glance that they’re not ordinary people.”

Sean leaned forward from his chair back, forcing himself to look down at the chasm below the platform.

The knight didn’t answer him again.

“How long does a typical investigation take?”

Sean brought up another topic. “Magic can’t be used here, and I need to allocate time to prepare potions in advance. If the situation is serious, fresh potions are more effective.”

Silence still reigned behind him.

A sinking feeling hit Shaun.

He suddenly realized that, at some point, all the footsteps of the knights and the friction sounds of moving debris had ceased, leaving only the whistling wind on the stone platform.

A few steps away was the swaying rope ladder. Just as Sean’s gaze reached it, he saw one end of the ladder drifting down, falling towards the edge of the chasm.

…Who?

Sean didn’t dare to look back. He didn’t smell any blood—nothing at all. The platform became an isolated island again, and he felt an immense weight on his back, followed by emptiness.

He tried to stand, but his already weak legs failed to respond. Behind him, there was a soft rustling sound, and he could hear the clatter of his teeth.

A pair of hands gently rested on his back.

“I’m sorry.”

Sean heard a soft voice, and at the same time, his body, along with the folding stool, fell from the stone platform, plunging into the chasm.

Darkness rushed towards him, and in his confusion, he suddenly remembered the day he parted with his family.

What did they eat that night?

In the shallow part of the chasm above the cliff, a huge rock caught him, and he didn’t have time to remember the answer.

……

Nol suddenly sensed something was amiss.

He felt the presence of death from below, yet no unusual sounds were heard. The area was still under the influence of anti-magic crystals, rendering communication crystals useless, so he couldn’t immediately confirm the situation underneath.

At this moment, they had moved from the lowest layer to near the middle layer. The stone platforms here were relatively intact, displaying statues wrapped in withered vines and buildings that were somewhat whole.

The more clearly Nol saw, the more questions arose in his mind.

From a distance, the castle was surrounded by clouds and mist, not very discernible. Now, viewed up close, the architectural style of The Manor was extremely peculiar.

Its stone bricks were too finely carved, and there were too many unidentified metal debris around. The style was a mishmash, without a trace of the culture from the Gemino region—not even the remnants from the “Era of Strife”.

Moreover, they still hadn’t figured out how this castle had flown up into the sky.

There were no magical fluctuations, no magical circuitry. The castle stood in the void against common sense, immobile as a mountain in the cold wind.

“There must be a gigantic magic circle in the uppermost building. Those flesh and ruins below were lifted by it.” Eugene analyzed. “A little further up, and everyone will be able to use magic normally.”

To the people of this world, this was an obvious thought.

Just as when still on Earth, no one would doubt gravity—apples fell downwards, and there could be no other possibility. Just as the castle could only stay afloat in the sky supported by magic.

Nol, however, had a vague sense of unease. This castle seemed not to be “his creation”.

The group climbed up another layer, and finally, the effect of the anti-magic crystals weakened slightly. This should have been good news, but Teest, who was usually so confident, became quiet at this moment, sticking close to Nol’s side.

[I don’t like this place. Its aura is very… foreign.] Teest frowned, looking at those bricks and stones. [A Lich’s home is warmer than this place.]

[I agree.] Nol looked towards the garden in front of him.

The stone platform was comparable in size to the Joy Garden community, resembling a dilapidated yet elegant garden.

Half-rotten metal gates stood at the edge of the platform; their fine wrought iron covered with black-red rust. In the moonlight, it had the texture of bones.

The flowerbeds were devoid of plants, with only dry roots remaining. The body of the beds was full of cracks—a rough texture that was eerily familiar. The fountain was dried up and dirty, and the angel-shaped stone figure had fallen to the ground, its cracked eyes filled with dry grass. Those stems were hard and dark, like the limbs of giant insects.

There were no guards, no magical artifacts in ready stance—nothing but the silence of the night and the cold wind at this place. Nol wanted to “accidentally get lost” but couldn’t find the opportunity.

“Sir, should we just keep going like this? Let’s go up. There’s nothing here.” The team had circled this ruined garden four or five times, and Damori couldn’t help but speak up.

Eugene stopped by a clump of dry thorns, pinched the peeling rust, and tasted it with his tongue. His expression was serious, his usual smile gone.

“Let’s go back tonight,” he said. “Something’s not right here.”

Nol couldn’t help but look up again—Siren Fischer wasn’t far from them. Just a few more layers up, and he was confident he would find the siren.

But as the saying goes, haste makes waste. Especially in a game, greed for quick victory was a big taboo.

The place was truly eerie. With The Manor activities being so frequent, Nol thought he would see one or two guard monsters, but he didn’t even see a single monster’s hair. This dead silence didn’t seem like a symbol of peace but more like the atmosphere before a boss battle.

“I agree to go back,” Nol said in a steady voice. “We’ve investigated enough. Caution is the better part of valor.”

[Forgive my bluntness, but your neighbor seems more like a Lich than you do.] Teest poked at a disfigured statue beside him. [Look at this atmosphere. Next time use this style for the illusion in the Lost Tower… Hey, don’t twist my waist. It tickles!]

After consultation, everyone unanimously agreed to go back temporarily. Eugene quickly made his way back the way they had come, just about to lower the hook rope—

His hand bounced back.

Eugene’s face stiffened, and after groping forcefully, he found the air rippling like water, trapping them firmly on this large stone platform.

The rope dangled just half a step away, yet they couldn’t use it to escape. Eugene groped along the edge again. Without a doubt, they were trapped here, like little delicacies under a glass dessert cover.

Nol: “……”

This barrier seemed somewhat like an “air wall” that restricted character movement. His own “Tahe World” didn’t feature such a design—what was going on here? Regardless of the wall’s origins, since it was now activated, it meant only one thing—

Nol swiftly drew his longsword. “Prepare to fight!”

Eugene looked back in surprise. “There’s nothing here—”

His words were cut short as a “monster aura” emerged. He saw a dark blue glow tangled into a cluster above the center of the stone platform and the old fountain, tearing open a black hole in the air.

A sticky black giant hand emerged, followed by an arm, and finally an almost mummified body—

The creature placed its claws on the edge of the fountain and let out a silent, skyward scream.

It was about four meters tall, resembling the skeleton of a giant canine, its bones covered in sludge-like Demon King’s corruption. This corruption flowed over its body, forming new flesh and skin.

The beast’s four legs ended in giant human hands, and from its chest sprouted two long, thin arms. They waved and scratched in the air, as if embracing their target.

It was indeed a mini boss battle. The Lord of The Manor seemed to have a taste for gaming, Nol thought, somewhat helplessly.

He was more concerned with the fact that this creature, no matter how you looked at it, was a “Thousand-Hands Nightmare” from the Black Forest.

Upon seeing the monster appear out of nowhere, Eugene gave Nol a meaningful look. “…A monster of the Demon King.”

[It’s your midnight snack,] Teest exclaimed at the same time.

Damori’s brown skin paled at his first encounter with such a sinister creature. “A monster of the Demon King—how come it’s here? Isn’t it said that they are only on Desolation Island?!”

“The Manor is very likely working together with the Demon King.” Eugene also drew his long sword. “Mr. Damori, cover our rear. Everyone else, attack!”

Nol, who was assigned to the Investigation Knight’s camp: “.…..”

Nol: [It might have intelligence. Teest, why don’t you try talking to it?]

No sooner had he spoken than the creature bit off a marble statue beside it with a snap.

A thick metal wire went through its mouth, making it look comically as if it were smoking. However, the creature didn’t move at all, not even reacting to the pain, just staring maliciously at everyone.

There was not a drop of blood from the wound. This thing was even drier than a Thousand-Hands Nightmare.

[Hey, what did you just say?] Teest cupped his hand to his ear, posing as if listening intently.

[…Nothing. Forget it.] Nol sighed.

The creature’s movements were stiff, more like a machine left with only fixed behaviors than a living being.

The only relief was that the anti-magic crystal’s power had weakened, and now they could use some simple magic.

Nol took a deep breath and launched into a flurry of game-like footwork and esoteric sword techniques, sweeping up to the monster.

Up close, the creature’s “fur” was layers of protruding fingers constructed from the corruption. Used to being a fixed artillery, Nol felt awkward up close to such a disgusting enemy, nearly failing to connect his movements.

Eugene flashed to the side of the monster before Nol, his glowing longsword sweeping across the creature’s head and neck.

But just as the head was about to fall, the fingers on the creature’s body intertwined. Accompanied by the sickening sound of flesh and blood intertwining, the head instantly returned to its original state.

The creature leapt up in anger, charging at Eugene like a specter, nearly stepping on Nol beneath it. Nol dodged ungracefully. Luckily, the others were too busy dealing with the monster to notice.

Eugene kept a focused gaze on that bizarre carcass.

He leapt up, landing on the creature’s head and driving his longsword fiercely into its skull. The other two Investigation Knights, one on each side, bombarded that wound.

The glow of holy magic shone within the creature’s skull, the Demon King’s corruption temporarily faded, and the dry bones cracked to the ground. But the creature’s body was unaffected. Its neck’s black fingers, like flowing blood, wrapped around that head, pushing it back into place.

Under the four moons, the creature’s eyes flickered with a pale light, leaping at them again with movements that were unpredictably fast and slow, as if weightless.

This was a monster that the world had spawned on its own, and now they could only brace themselves to confront it.

Nol’s fingers gently brushed the blade, and the sword instantly ignited in flames—since the flag of the magic swordsman had been raised, if physical damage wasn’t enough, they would make up for it with magical damage!

Teest’s small hunting knife spun in his hand, transforming into a long sword with the dim moonlight flowing along the blade.

Eugene was still attempting to destroy the monster’s head, while Nol, raising his flaming longsword, struck at the monster’s foreleg. In the shadow of the flames, the long sword “Betrayer” followed like a shadow.

The two stood back-to-back, their presence nearly touching, as they spun on the battlefield, close yet apart.

Both swords struck the monster’s right forelimb simultaneously. The limb, like a tree trunk, instantly flew off, and the sound of searing flesh hissed from the wound. Fingers made of corruption tried to flow again to restore the monster’s limb, but they curled up at the charred wound, hesitating to advance.

The corrupted monster lost its balance, falling to one side, not forgetting to open its mouth to bite at Nol. The latter narrowly dodged and lunged with another sword strike at the monster’s remaining forelimb.

Teest gracefully carried Nol around his waist, elegantly moving back and forth amidst the monster’s frenzied onslaught. Brought near the monster’s hind legs, Nol intuitively thrust his sword—

With one of the monster’s hind limbs severed, Eugene immediately switched from offense to support, diverting the monster’s attention to allow “Drake” to strike easily.

Lastly were the double arms on the monster’s chest.

The flaming longsword rose and fell, and the fractured bones quietly burned in the garden.

The monster could no longer leap to attack. It stood in place, mechanically stretching and retracting its head, trying to bite the closest person. Its movements were stiff and repetitive, making everyone uncomfortable to watch.

“Your purification abilities are indeed stronger than ours.” Eugene took a long breath of relief. “Mr. Damori was right. Such a corrupted monster of this level should have appeared deep within Desolation Island… We can’t proceed further. We must go back immediately!”

Nol ignored Eugene, reaching first for the edge of the stone platform—the wall of air trapping them was indeed slowly dissipating.

He couldn’t help but look up again at the castle at the very top.

The Lord of The Manor… Could it be a colleague?

The author has something to say:

The Paradise banners were posted overnight—Colleagues, do not enter; repel the indecent (x

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Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 99: Moon and Dragon

That night, everyone was fast asleep.

Nol turned the power of his earrings up to the maximum, set up an illusion on the spot, and teleported to a certain rocky area a hundred miles away. Only after confirming that no spells or mechanisms had been triggered did he reignite Kando and temporarily return to the Lost Tower with Teest.

Most of the neighbors were asleep. Only Lynn and Gatekeeper Uncle Ma were still awake. Fortunately, the unique shuttling of the black candle allowed Nol to come in with his shiny new look, narrowly avoiding being kicked out on the spot by Uncle Ma.

Hearing the news of The Manor, Lynn woke up Officer Luo and held an impromptu meeting on the spot.

Teest kept his promise.

He made two cups of hot cocoa, deliberately adding a lot of cotton candy. He was the first to sit in the soft armchair and sighed.

“This is comfortable. I really hate the wilderness.”

The Mad Monk leaned against the fireplace in the meeting room, took a sip of the hot cocoa, and melted into the chair.

Nol looked at him helplessly and then cleared his throat, detailing the eerie manor and the bottomless rift.

“Didn’t you go up and look? You just came down like that?” Lynn asked curiously.

“Eugene tried, but there are anti-magic crystals placed beneath the castle.”

Nol held the warm ceramic cup. Not needing to play “Drake” here, he and Teest were a pair, looking soft like two shell-less oysters.

“Flight spells and magical flying objects can’t be used, and below there’s a rift. It’s really too dangerous. Those Investigation Knights drew the topography of the castle, then we descended the mountain.”

“Hey, these foreigners just know about magic and don’t have real experience,” Uncle Ma said with disdain.

The succubi had been freely active lately, well-fed and watered. Uncle Ma’s shell was no longer a living skeleton but a female warrior as fit and agile as a leopard.

But as soon as she opened her mouth, that captivating beauty disappeared without a trace.

“We can set up a temporary cable car.” He gestured enthusiastically. “If that doesn’t work, we can build a ladder out of wood and stone. If all else fails, put some explosives at the bottom. You hide in armor, fly upwards—then throw a grappling hook, hey.”

“That makes too much noise and would be easily discovered by the target—the people of The Manor,” Officer Luo immediately objected.

“I can make an adaptable soft ladder. I just need one person to go up and connect the route.” Lynn pondered. “The problem is, we need to get up there quietly.”

Nol nodded.

The bottom of The Manor was a bottomless abyss, and there was no leverage point in mid-air, making it very difficult to ascend by physical means. If there were other protections at the bottom of The Manor, it would be even more dangerous.

We need to think of a sufficiently reasonable method that can also conceal our movements…

“I want ten parachutes with strong light bulbs attached at the bottom,” Teest casually suggested as he savored his hot cocoa.

Nol turned his head curiously. “Are you talking about those toys?”

The parachute toys were about palm size and were shaped like deformed umbrellas. Merchants would paint the top with bright colors, then stick trinkets like flowers or dolls on the counterweight below.

Children liked to throw it into the sky, watch it unfold in the air, and then slowly descend vertically to the ground. Nol had seen it a few times in Grape Collar, where it was popular to stick grape leaves on the counterweight.

This thing was cheap and indeed employed pure physical means.

“It descends very slowly, creating a brief ‘floating platform’.” Teest put down his cup. “You just step on the top to go up.”

Wow, listen to what this guy is saying.

Just step on the parachute’s surface and go up? Not to mention a palm-sized air parachute, even stepping on plum blossom piles nailed to the ground, Nol was confident he’d take a spill. Such bizarre maneuvers, he had only seen in martial arts films.

Sure enough, the neighbors all looked at Teest with varying degrees of skepticism in their eyes.

“The strong light is necessary. It can create shadows. When the time comes, Ben can kick towards the sky with its claws, and it’ll be able to kick Nol up,” Teest continued leisurely. “And I’ll go up first, hanging Nol with the thinnest silk line, just in case. The strong light can help me disrupt the knights’ vision.”

It turned out to be special effects with wires. The neighbors suddenly understood.

Nol remained silent. The shadow wolf’s ability to travel through shadows was a trait of its own and wouldn’t be blocked by anti-magic crystals. Teest’s idea was theoretically feasible, but the problem was…

“What if, cough, in case I don’t stand steady, flailing in mid-air, or being hung up like a dead person? Eugene will definitely notice something wrong.” Nol’s hand holding the cup trembled slightly. This was scarier than having to perform a talent at a team-building event.

“Don’t worry, honey. We can handle this.” Teest cruelly ignored Nol’s opinion. “Miss Lynn, can you provide such props?”

Lynn looked at Nol worriedly—the Master of Paradise had lost his mood for cocoa, sweat appearing on his forehead, yet in the end, he didn’t speak again. So she sighed deeply. “No problem. But I need two hours to adjust the strong light ball.”

After speaking, she pursed her lips. “During the time you were away, Grape Collar got a new bishop.”

“That guy recently came to visit and brought four neighbors back with him. I pretended to be the Master of Paradise to meet him. Compared to the previous old man, this new bishop isn’t easy to deal with… The Temple of Life is very sensitive. You must be careful with Eugene.”

Nol nodded gravely.

“Anakin also came by. We gave her the backup copy you left.” Officer Luo took over the conversation. “The little girl is quite vigilant. She said some things can only be discussed with you in person. For now, we can only carry some idle conversation—she has secured the rights to the ‘Festival of New Green’, telling you to rest assured. There’s nothing much happening on the Players’ side.”

“Got it. Once The Manor issue is settled, I’ll find an opportunity to talk to her,” Nol said.

Uncle Ma looked left and right. In the end, he also frowned and spoke seriously about “important matters”. “Xiao Xu, the pickled cabbage is ready. Want to eat it? There’s some pork belly left in the kitchen. Let’s roast it together.”

Nol: “.…..”

Nol: “I’ll have some.”

After the little exchange with the neighbors concluded, Teest also helped himself to quite a few ingredients from the kitchen. While waiting for Lynn to make the props, Nol was caught by him outside the Lost Tower.

Looking at the towering giant tower, Nol had a bad premonition. The Lost Tower was crawling slowly, its thick limbs occasionally coiling and stretching, carrying the tower body with a gentle undulation, smoothly gliding along.

“I told you before, you lack coordination.” Teest said, “As long as you practice in advance, our Mr. ‘Drake’ won’t easily embarrass himself.”

“I… uh…” Nol hugged his magic staff tightly.

For so long, he had relied entirely on magic to move around and never thought he’d need to practice physical fitness like a warrior. Keep in mind, when he was still on Earth, he could barely pass the pull-up test.

“Don’t be afraid. You have talent.” Teest walked behind him. “You can completely control your own body, remember?”

“This is a different matter,” Nol said dryly.

“You just need to remember the movement patterns.” Teest’s tone became even sweeter. “Your memory is as miraculous as you are. I’ve seen it.”

Then he quieted down, waiting for Nol to mentally prepare himself—his dear Lich would always pay any price for his “neighbors” and “the truth”. This was something Teest was well aware of.

Nol turned to look at him, and Teest could just see a full profile of his face.

Nol’s hair had been dyed a pale gold by him, almost silvery white under the moonlight. Coupled with those golden eyes, it was as if Nol had been “eroded” by Teest… leaving continuous marks on him—a sensation so intense it made one’s scalp tingle.

Even hanging the high-ups of the Eternal Church on golden threads hadn’t given Teest such a satisfying feeling.

“…I understand.” As expected, in the end, Nol compromised.

Such a terrible sense of responsibility. Teest clicked his tongue. He spread his arms and touched Nol’s wrists from behind with both hands.

“Relax, relax… It’s actually quite simple,” Teest whispered in Nol’s ear. “Imagine you are a falling leaf, drifting with the wind.”

The golden threads crawled up Nol’s skin from Teest’s fingertips, neither too light nor too heavy, guiding Nol’s bodily movements. Their body heat mingled, their limbs softly breaking through the night breeze.

Nol’s body tensed up. This kind of “marionette” teaching obviously made it difficult for him to relax. This tension lasted for a dozen seconds before Nol’s muscles gradually relaxed again.

‘…That was trust—Nol’s heartfelt trust in him,’ Teest thought.

That intoxicating sense of comfort appeared once more.

The two revolved and danced on the platform at the entrance of the tower, like a silent pair skating routine.

“This is the first point. Don’t focus too much on specific parts or specific details.” Teest’s voice brushed against the tip of Nol’s ear. “It’s about the sense of coordination…”

The two moved to the edge of the platform, and Teest suddenly flashed elegantly from behind Nol, stopping in front of him. The Mad Monk had a radiant smile. He pressed his finger to his lips and, like blowing a kiss, touched Nol’s forehead.

With a slight force from his fingers, Nol couldn’t withstand the dreadful strength of the Death Knight, and he fell backwards—right into the high altitude of the Black Forest.

The sound of wind passed by his ears, and Nol only had time to widen his eyes. In his panic, he instinctively followed Teest’s teaching. Unfortunately, before Nol could adjust his posture, he was about to crash to the ground.

Since this height wouldn’t kill him, he gave up and closed his eyes.

Then he fell into a warm embrace.

Teest kicked downward from above, reaching the ground before Nol, who fell just right into his arms.

“This is the second point.” Under the moonlight, the Mad Monk’s golden eyes gleefully narrowed. “You panic because of the feeling of weightlessness, which scatters your attention… I want you to get accustomed to falling.”

Nol was breathing heavily, gritting his teeth. But he had to admit, when it came to “hopping up and down”, Teest was indeed an expert.

“Again!” Nol tugged at Teest’s cheek, squeezing out the request through clenched teeth.

“Alright—” Teest said, grinning from ear to ear with a deeper laugh in his voice.

Before sunrise, in the early hours of the morning, Eugene specially checked the status of the temporary knights.

Most of them were still asleep, while a few were awake. These were clearly the more self-disciplined ones, as they were proactively warming up their bodies.

Before finding a way to enter The Manor, Eugene didn’t intend to take these temporary knights near the fissure—having just planted the radiance of God in the hearts of these lambs, he couldn’t let them think that “the Temple of Life would be obstructed by The Manor”.

However, there were some who had seen the situation, and he planned to take them with him.

“Drake, Sean, Damori. Step forward,” Eugene called out the three who were awake. He said with a smile, “This morning, there will be another exploration of the path—same extra bonus as last time.”

“Sir, I’ve rested well. I also want to go!”

“Yes, Sir, they have just been yesterday!”

“I also want to offer my strength for the Goddess—”

“It’s just scouting. They’ve been through it once, so they are more practiced.” Eugene kept smiling. “Everyone will have many opportunities. Next time there’s a similar opportunity, I will consider you all first.”

He glanced seemingly unintentionally at Drake—being a bit late, Sean and Damori were somewhat at a loss, but Drake was as unflappable as ever, albeit a little pale.

Whether in terms of image or capability, he was a person of potential. After the team returned, he would have to confirm the recent oracles again.

It would be a waste for such an excellent person not to serve the Goddess of Life.

Yesterday evening, they hadn’t acted rashly. When they returned to the starting point, The Manor’s defenses were the same as before.

The knights brought equipment this time—a giant grappling hook launcher, its body imbued with silencing magic and explosion magic, capable of shooting the hook high into the air.

They tried to move the launcher beyond the range of the anti-magic crystal’s influence but found that the distance was calculated just right, tightly limiting the shooting range of the launcher.

Subsequently, Eugene tied a safety rope around his waist, stood on the hook, and had the knights launch it from a distance. He then performed a double jump with his strength.

But as soon as he jumped near the lowest platform, a few giant bird monsters burst out from the shadows and slammed him towards the underground fissure.

While in midair, Eugene had no leverage, not even able to counterattack. He could only protect his body and let his teammates pull back the safety rope vigorously so he wouldn’t fall into the fissure.

“This is more useful than a moat.”

Eugene returned to the team with a hint of helplessness. “It’s also unknown how they managed to make the castle float.”

“Captain, we—”

“Continue the experiment,” Eugene decisively said. “If it doesn’t work by nine, we’ll figure out a solution here and continue trying tonight.”

“I heard that Paradise nurtures flying monsters,” a knight murmured softly. “They said they were going to deal with it, but they haven’t shown up yet. Damn, if there are flying monsters out there…”

“The flying monsters are right over there.”

Eugene cast a sharp look and pointed towards the shadows where the giant bird monsters were hiding. “If they suddenly spoke human language, saying they could take you up, would you entrust your life to them? Remember, monsters are the enemies of mankind and must not be trusted.”

The knight quickly bowed his head. “I was just wondering why Paradise hasn’t appeared yet…”

“Maybe they’re watching in secret,” Eugene said softly.

‘That’s not the case,’ Nol thought. He was watching openly—the Master of Paradise observed the knights busily scurrying about from a close distance with a solemn face.

The sun had made half its journey across the sky. The knights had discovered many defensive measures but still hadn’t found a secret way to infiltrate. Apart from declaring open war, it seemed they had no other choice.

The four moons rose, and the sky was filled with stars. Eugene put away the scroll filled with defensive intelligence.

“Let’s call it a day. You’ve all worked hard. I’ll go back and ponder more,” he said. “Unfortunately, tonight is not the time to take action.”

Nol saw his chance, and with Teest still napping on his back, he took a nervous step forward.

“I’d like to give it a try,” he said.

Eugene stopped what he was doing and looked at Nol for a while, then said, “Alright.”

Nol opened his backpack and took out ten prepared parachutes. The Teest brand cloak on his back woke up with a huge yawn. [Is the show about to start?]

[Almost,] Nol responded in his mind. [As long as I don’t fall.]

[Your invisible lover is with you.] Teest winked at him. [Watch me closely later.]

Nol stood on the edge of the fissure, striving not to look into the darkness. He raised his hand and threw a few parachutes into the sky.

As the parachutes opened at high altitude, a few bright points like stars appeared in the darkness. Teest leaped gracefully, his toes lightly touching the soft canopy, as light as a breeze.

This unique Death Knight soared upwards. Thanks to the blessing of the “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, the strange birds couldn’t sense his presence. In a few seconds, Teest’s shrinking figure disappeared at the edge of the floating stone platform. He popped his head out and waved at Nol.

A thread-like, dim gold line descended from the high altitude, wrapping around Nol’s wrist.

The parachutes were descending, and there wasn’t much time left. Nol took a deep breath and jumped toward the nearest canopy. In the deep night, amidst the shadows beside the bright light, the flesh pad of the shadow wolf threw upwards fiercely, propelling Nol towards another parachute.

…Imagine you’re a falling leaf. Nol’s cloak flowed with the night, creating a ripple of shadow.

…It’s not about the details, but the harmony of the whole. He mimicked Teest’s movements from earlier, adjusting his posture with inertia, like a cat falling from the sky.

…Don’t fear the fall. Nol quietly tightened his grip on the golden line and jumped higher. The strange birds emerged in full force but became stiff under the [Bloodline Suppression], crackling as they fell into the abyss.

Nol’s fingers grabbed the edge of the lowest stone slab.

Teest, with a smile brimming in his eyes, grabbed Nol’s wrist and pulled him up from the void. The wind was cold at such a height, turning Nol’s breath into wisps of white mist.

[Hey, is that dragon’s breath?] Teest teased with his hands behind his back, in a good mood. [Worthy of being the successor to the “Dragonblood Hero”!]

[It was all thanks to you this time.] Nol steadied his heartbeat and sincerely expressed his gratitude.

Test blinked. [If you say that, I might have to think about a reward.]

[No problem.] Nol nodded decisively.

He walked to the edge of the platform and dropped down the soft ladder. The trembling ladder bridge was set up, swaying incessantly in the wind. It stretched out a frightening distance, looking like a thin line from above.

Below.

Eugene was still looking in the direction where “Drake” had disappeared.

That person’s movements were simply not human-like—just by using a few cheap parachutes, he casually cracked the first line of defense of The Manor.

Eugene still remembered the change in the eyes of the two temporary knights.

Under the moonlight, Drake seemed to fly high into the air, stepping on the stars. Gravity lost its hold, and the bird monsters dared not approach. Drake was already handsome, and at that moment, his platinum hair was dazzlingly bright against the darkness, like the incarnation of a silver dragon.

…As perfect as if guided by God.

The joy of “finding a treasure” faded slightly for Eugene.

It seemed that in addition to the oracle of the Temple of Life, he had to confirm the oracle of the Eternal Church as well.

At this point, he couldn’t easily let this person go—whether from the perspective of an “ally” or an “enemy”.

The author has something to say:

Eugene is like the HR of the Temple of Life—

Wow, we’ve recruited a big shot. I’m so happy. The Goddess boss will be pleased! Let me think about how to keep him at the company.

(Husband-husband extreme operation)

Eugene: …

Eugene: Why would such a high-level big shot come to work part-time? Be wary of corporate espionage…

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