Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 119: God Remains Silent

This might be the longest time Teest and Nol have had “skin-to-skin” contact.

First, Teest found a comfortable spot among the twisting and entwining dragon horns, where he sweetly slept for a while. Then, he climbed down along Nol’s claws, using magic to press and relieve the numbness in the Dracolich’s claws.

Their telepathic connection never broke while they were awake—it was boring to keep flying forward. In this world without electronics, Nol really needed communication.

So, the Mad Monk turned over all his years’ worth of cases, giving a killer’s version of case commentary.

[…Viscount Gragg was indifferent to gender—he was fond of hunting attractive young people.]

Teest lay excitedly on the dragon’s mouth, gesturing to Nol’s huge blue eyes.

[The second before he realized he was tricked, he tried to grab my hand—I stuffed a dead hand in my sleeve, tightly wrapped in a glove. He pulled hard, tearing it right off! The cross-section of the corpse’s hand was all gold wire. His expression at that moment was priceless. It’s a pity I didn’t have a recording crystal.]

[I styled him as ‘Chaste Patricia’, when the bishop of Circle City came out, he saw the old viscount dressed in a white gown and a floral crown… Haha, the bishop’s face was the color of olive skin.]

[You’ve never been discovered?]

Nol, not wanting to imagine a cross-dressing old pervert, quickly changed the topic.

It was hard to imagine that Teest, when he first became the Mad Monk, was only in his teens and so adept.

[What a cruel question.]

The once-excited person deflated, flipping over to lie in a spread-eagle position on the dragon’s mouth.

[Why do you think I hate Painter so much?]

[He caught you? Tell me.] Nol was surprised. As far as he knew, Painter was no longer the Pope at that time.

Since his beloved God requested it, Teest reluctantly narrated—

Back then, the Mad Monk was not yet eighteen, indeed just starting out. His crime rate wasn’t high, and there were few victims, so neither the Temple nor the Church could figure out his criteria for choosing victims.

His third victim had an unsuspecting noble lover. After learning of the lover’s murder, the noblewoman hired a mercenary group.

[…Don’t be fooled by Painter’s smiling face. He’s full of bad water. Of course, it doesn’t matter to me now. I was no match for him back then,] Teest unhappily stated. [He investigated for half a year and found me just as I was about to strike my fourth target—I had replaced a maid in the target’s mansion, and he disguised himself as the gardener, infiltrating even earlier than me.]

[Maid.] Nol immediately caught the key point.

[Well, it was dark in the iron cage, and the Eternal Church’s food was really bad.] Teest nonchalantly shrugged. [Back then, I was less than 1.7 meters tall and not very robust. If I pretended to be a male servant, it would have aroused suspicion.]

[He still found you.]

[Yeah, but luckily he did his own investigation and found that my fourth target wasn’t simple. When Painter encountered me, I was in the target’s sacrificial chamber dealing with the body.]

Nol listened attentively, almost forgetting to flap his wings. [Then what?]

[Then the guy opened the door, saw the scene inside, exclaimed “Wow,” said “Excuse me,” and closed the door himself. I was so surprised I almost didn’t react, forgetting to pull the gold thread.]

[I was still pondering whether to flee or continue when he opened the door again and said to me—] Teest cleared his throat and imitated Painter’s tone. [“I’ve investigated. Your first three targets were all from the Eternal Church. If it’s just a coincidence, the day you kill an innocent, I will definitely catch you. If it’s not a coincidence… keep up the good work, Mr. Maid!”]

[Then he gently closed the door, and that was that.]

[Hahaha!] Nol laughed mercilessly.

[You’re so cruel.] Teest complained, patting the scales. [That was the only time I’ve been discovered.]

[I can understand your hatred for him now, Mr. Maid.]

Nol thought with a smile. For the young Mad Monk, being let off lightly must have been a great humiliation—back then, the former Pope was in his prime, easily capturing a minor like Teest.

[If you want, I can dress like that and pray for you,] Teest said meaningfully.

[Forget it. There definitely isn’t your size. You’re more suited to knight attire.] Nol laughed.

Teest was no longer the skinny figure of the past—his facial features was much more rugged. With his current height and physique, even a three-year-old could easily distinguish his gender.

It was a pity he never seriously wore knightly gear. The “Knight’s Will” would have suited him well.

Thinking this, Nol sped up his flight.

Teest calmed down, looking into the joyful giant dragon pupils.

[Sleep for a while,] Nol thought tenderly. [I haven’t finished the breakfast you made yet—when we arrive, I’ll finish the jam biscuits.]

The moonlight was bright, with stars twinkling. Nol’s breath in the high sky condensed into white mist, the black scales emitting a dream-like soft glow. The clouds became dense and thick, no longer showing the starlight from the ground.

Everything really felt like a dream.

Teest’s cheek pressed against the warm scales, slowly closing his eyes, feeling the breath of the giant dragon beneath him.

That surging desire for closeness appeared again—this time not towards a gentle and handsome youth but a huge Dracolich.

[Good night, Nol.]

Teest turned his face, his lips pressing against the hard scales.

‘This feeling is really strange,’ he thought.

Everything about himself seemed to turn into an hourglass, slowly falling towards Nol. Gentle, slow, irreversible. Interests, hobbies, beliefs, life, desires… Every time he thought he had nothing more to give, the hourglass still slowly turned.

What would come next? Teest had a subtle expectation.

The Mad Monk wasn’t a restrained person. Since he was interested in Nol, why not find a chance to get closer to him? They might have a good night.

Yes, that’s settled. Next time the atmosphere was right, he would definitely try.

……

At noon, the carriage landed, and the dragon reverted back to his human form.

Nol fetched a hot towel, grimacing as he applied it to his hands. Although healing spells could remove abnormal conditions, the numb and stiff sensation lingered.

Painter watched the towel curiously, aware that the carriage’s astonishing speed to the destination meant Nol and Teest must have done something. However, he couldn’t figure out what magic would be so taxing on the hands.

Considering the ongoing influence of “Drake”, the group chose not to go to Eternal Day City but instead to Gravel Town, which was closer to the Brick Mountains.

Unlike Resin Town, Gravel Town, further north and bordering the territories of New Gemino and Shiva, hadn’t been affected by their marauding—even the Mad Monk knew not to provoke two major countries at once.

Painter tamed a wild horse and attached it to an empty carriage. Pretending to be travelers, they leisurely entered the town.

The midday sun was just right, though the blue sky wasn’t clear, tinted with an unsettling dark red at the edges. The air was polluted with a strange, pungent odor.

However, the town was livelier than expected. Before even fully entering the town, they saw the Temple’s fluttering flags.

Learning from past mistakes, Abandon paid a local merchant to let the group stay in a private residence.

Painter discreetly changed his red hair to a common local deep brown and aged his face by ten years with makeup. Thus disguised, they split up to gather supplies and information. After a busy day, they decided to fend for themselves for dinner.

As evening fell, Teest prepared warm jam biscuits and sweet wine-filled chocolates, hoping for a pleasant atmosphere. His tail wagged happily under his manservant uniform.

But the moment Teest opened the door, he was startled by the scene before him.

Nol, looking weak and unusually pale, was drawing in bed.

“What’s going on?” Teest asked, setting down the tray and striding forward.

“I feel a bit unwell,” Nol replied, fiddling with his sketches. “Nothing serious.”

Teest, forgetting his playful plans, incredulously poked Nol. “Honey, you’re undead—can anything be more absurd than a dead person falling ill?”

“It’s just some pain. I’ve checked, and my magic is stable… Maybe it’s from staying in dragon form too long.”

For the overworked Mr. Nol, this discomfort was trivial, hardly worth a sick note.

Teest let out a long “Hmm”, swiftly snatching Nol’s feather pen.

“Give it back!” Nol reached to grab it.

“Rest.” Teest, using his Death Knight strength, pressed Nol down. “I’ll make some milk. Let’s sleep early tonight.”

“I’m undead. I don’t need sleep.” Nol clutched his drafts. “I’m almost done with the spell for that knight… Mmph!”

Teest’s succubus tail found its way into Nol’s mouth again, leaving him torn between pulling and biting it.

“I bet a gold wheel you’ll go out of your way to save that Hot Ash.” Teest wiggled the tip of his tail. “Eugene is there too. Who knows what we’ll face—you need to be at your best. Think of your poor knight. My life is in your hands.”

At those words, Nol stopped struggling and reluctantly handed over his drafts.

Teest withdrew his tail, brushing it across his lips.

That night, what should have been passionate, turned into a bedtime story. Nol, sipping warm milk, ate biscuits laced with the undead knight’s strands.

The milk eased his internal pain. The jam biscuits tasted good, and Nol drowsily awaited the new skill from the undead knight.

The system’s popup was late, barely visible, and silent. Nol struggled to read it.

Strange. Could it be the influence of the Demon King’s power?

He identified the blurry pop-up window for a long time before finding the new skill he had acquired.

[Crimson Plunder]

It inflicted wounds on the enemy while restoring 60% of the damage value as health. It wasn’t a Death Knight skill, likely a holdover from the prince knight’s life.

Useful, but limited for Nol, who had only 100 health and knew healing spells.

If only he could transfer the skill to Teest, Nol thought, storing it and drifting off, leaning on his knight.

Unfortunately, Nol’s pain persisted through the night. It rooted deep, neither worsening nor improving.

Nol tried to resolve it by being disembodied, but the pain remained. He knew he should investigate further before proceeding, but then—

“Our preparations are ahead of schedule.” Anakin arrived early in the morning, worried. “I want to go to Brick Shadow with Solo first. Just two days. We’ll return quickly, not delaying our mission.”

“The Hot Ash matter?” Nol pressed his abdomen.

“Yes. It’s rare that you brought us here so early. I don’t want to delay too long,” Anakin said. “Yesterday, everyone went out and found that the Fifth Brigade is stationed here—they seem unable to contact Eugene, and they’re very anxious. Something must have happened in Brick Shadow.”

“That group of pups isn’t rushing over the mountains to save people, which is unlike them.” Teest shrugged.

Anakin bit her lip. “Fischer mentally induced a Temple’s bishop. It’s said that the Temple’s divinations failed, so they resorted to sacrificing Chosen Ones to ask God.”

The sacrifice of the Chosen Ones.

Nol immediately recalled the sight of Eugene impaled by two swords during the search for The Manor—the bloody and sinister sacrifice ended, and the so-called “God” immediately pointed the way with a meteor. A quick response indeed.

He also remembered the spectacular sight of the meteor falling and the system’s strange but serious prompt. Yes, the Temple of Life really had a “God”. How could it fail like that?

“What was the result of asking God?” Nol frowned, sensing a premonition.

“They sacrificed two Chosen Ones, but God remained silent. When they asked about other major events, the signs appeared again. Brick Shadow is just so strange.” Anakin’s voice was bitter. “Such a situation has never occurred before, so the Fifth Regiment doesn’t dare to act rashly…”

“…Just waiting for you Players from another world to go and face death.” The Mad Monk summarized, glancing at Nol. “Didn’t you ever think of just following us and avoiding Brick Shadow?”

“No.” Anakin forced a smile, still unable to look directly at Teest. “I’m a top-tier healer built by everyone’s efforts. I can’t just sit back now. I wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully for the rest of my life.”

“Moreover, if Hot Ash’s elite team doesn’t return, our hope of returning home becomes even more remote… I want to go home.”

Nol looked down.

“I rushed here, not for you to go ahead. We should go together. It’s a big taboo to act separately in the face of the unknown.”

Nol moved his hand away from his abdomen, saying calmly, “Anyway, we also need to go to the Endless Sea Island. Crossing Brick Shadow is the shortest way.”

“Thank you,” Anakin said gratefully, bowing her head.

“Don’t be so formal. We have our own purpose—we also want to investigate the truth.” Nol smiled. “Right, remember to ask Abandon and Painter. If they’re unwilling, they can wait in Gravel Town.”

“No problem!” Anakin readily agreed.

“Did you or Solo experience any discomfort?” Nol asked seemingly casually.

“Ah? No, we’re all fine.” Anakin asked confusedly, “What’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable?”

“Nothing, just a routine check. If anyone else feels unwell, tell me immediately.”

“I’m not feeling too well,” Teest said softly. As soon as Anakin left, his succubus tail swayed in front of Nol.

“Stop it.” Nol chuckled, but his smile faded as he looked at Teest.

Teest looked a bit pale, his lips lacking their usual color. Before Nol could think further, he cast a healing spell.

“It’s useless. I drank a potion this morning.” Teest shook his head. “Fortunately, it’s just dizziness and a heavy feeling in my organs, not pain.”

What’s going on? Did he infect Teest? He had never seen Teest fall ill during their journey!

“Lie down and rest!” Nol pushed Teest onto the bed, pressing his aching temples. “Or don’t go. We’ll just take a look… If the situation is bad, I’ll retreat immediately.”

“This time I’ll prepare a mid-range teleport. I promise to return…”

Nol was interrupted as warm fingers pressed against his lips.

Teest smiled from his pillow, his long hair flowing, and firmly mouthed, “Impossible.”

He only uttered that word, but they both knew what he was answering.

“I personally think, with a weak me accompanying you, you’ll be more cautious.”

Teest’s tail stretched out from under the blanket, lying across Nol’s thighs. “Besides, I’m chasing not just you, but the truth itself.”

Nol moved his lips without making a sound, finally sighing heavily. “Is there anything I can do for you? Anything you want to eat, or—”

“Look at you. You’re in worse shape than me.” Teest’s eyes curved. “Since you’ve promised, I do have a good idea—I want a kiss.”

He withdrew his hand, pointing to his lips. “We both need a bit of warmth, don’t we? I haven’t kissed you like this yet.”

In his eyes, the golden-haired, golden-eyed “Drake” smiled helplessly. Nol slowly leaned down, clumsily lifting his half-long pale golden hair, and kissed Teest’s lips.

Teest agilely clasped the back of his neck, deepening the kiss. For a moment, their breaths grew hot, and the ambiguous sounds continued uninterrupted.

“A new ritual you devised?”

Minutes later, Nol propped himself up, still in pain but feeling a bit better. He touched his lips and half-jokingly said, “Morning and evening prayers are over. Are you adding a noon prayer, or—”

“I just wanted to kiss you.” Teest curled his tail, answering quickly and lightly.

Nol paused.

That wasn’t something the Mad Monk would say. He could feel their once-stabilized, ambiguous balance beginning to sway dangerously at this moment.

“I’m always willing to kiss you, whatever pretext you put on it.” Nol prodded the curled succubus tail. “But before you decide on the ‘ending’ you want, we should be honest with each other.”

“Alright, alright.” Teest laughed, his tail tip burrowing into Nol’s palm. “Then let me tell the truth—”

Nol sat on the edge of the bed, curiously watching Teest’s lips.

“I just wanted to kiss you,” Teest said.

……

At the same time, in another room.

“Of course I’m going!” Painter bit into an apple, giving a muffled answer. “That’s the Demon King. Even if you don’t tell me, Miss, I will still follow.”

Abandon nervously licked his lips, glancing at Siren Fischer. “Are we all going?”

“The Demon King and my God… my God, mm, are enemies.” Fischer hugged his arms, unusually not whining. “Stop looking, I’m definitely going too.”

Anakin was somewhat surprised. Painter was expected, but Fischer’s decision really caught her off guard. Despite the Eternal Church’s many misdeeds, she didn’t expect them to have even a semblance of a bottom line in this regard.

Abandon’s pupils shook dramatically—this meant he would be the only one waiting in Gravel Town? That sounded cowardly! If girls were charging ahead, he—he couldn’t possibly become the literal meaning of “abandon”…

“I understand, then Abandon will wait here.” Anakin nodded, walking towards the door.

“Wait, wait!” Abandon stood up, raising his voice. “Of course I’m going too. Don’t underestimate me!”

Anakin paused. “…Are you sure? The situation is very serious, you know?”

“I’m sure!”

Thus the “Demon King Crusade Squad” in history was officially formed amidst this somewhat hesitant shout.

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The author has something to say:

Here we go!!! Little lovebirds, smooch smooch smooch.

Abandon: Better to die than lose face (closes eyes)

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 118: The Moon

When Nol woke up, it was already dawn.

Before even opening his eyes, he reached out beside him. Teest’s bed was a bit cold, indicating he had been up for a while. Nol rolled over, and his arm touched something fluffy—

He quickly opened his eyes, only to see the shadow wolf sleeping upside down next to the bed with its tongue hanging out.

It seemed everything was alright last night.

“Good morning, Nol.”

Teest emerged from the bathroom with a towel draped around his neck. He sat on the edge of the bed, leaned over, and gave Nol a good morning kiss on the forehead.

Fresh from his shower, Teest’s skin was still damp, and his shirt collar was wide open. From this angle, Nol could see his chest. Nol uncomfortably shifted his gaze and went through the motions of his morning routine.

Stay calm, stay calm. Everything is normal this morning too!

“The servants at this inn are too stingy with breakfast.”

For some reason, Teest’s morning kiss lingered longer than usual. His hands remained on Nol’s shoulders, not moving away for a while.

“They only provided bean sauce, stale boiled eggs, and black bread, claiming the good stuff is reserved for noble lords—I tried them, and they’re more suited for feeding wolves.”

Teest gazed at Nol, enthusiastically sharing these trivial matters. Lately, his urge to share seemed to have increased.

“I’ve prepared ham sandwiches, jam biscuits, and hot chocolate instead. Do you like them? Your biscuits have monster hair in them.”

‘…It would have been quite warm without the last part,’ Nol thought, choking up a bit.

“Thank you.” Nol stood up, casually ruffling Teest’s hair. Teest narrowed his eyes, seemingly enjoying it.

It was no wonder Teest was so eager. Since Nol turned his [Bloodline Suppression] into his own [Breath of a False God], his external skill slot only had [To My Compatriot] and [Sniff], with an extra slot still empty.

Teest had ground the bone shards of an undead giant into powder to make pancakes for Nol. It added considerable attributes, but the only skill it granted was [Feign Death].

It seemed unnecessary. Nol sighed, giving it up.

And just yesterday, Nol had swallowed the bone ash of the Undead Serpent King with his tea, only to unfortunately draw the [Laying Eggs] skill. It stayed in the prompt box for only a second before Nol swiftly discarded it.

Clearly, gaining strength didn’t improve his luck.

“By the way, whose hair is it?” Nol asked casually while changing clothes.

“The hair of the undead knight,” Teest cheerfully said. “I plucked one just now. He didn’t mind. He’s a monster from a high-level quest, so he must have something good.”

Nol: “……”

I knew it!

No wonder then. The undead knight had been very strong in life. But thinking about how he personally turned him into an undead, Nol always felt a peculiar sense of guilt.

Meanwhile, Teest brought over the cold, subpar breakfast. Shadow Wolf Ben rolled over and skillfully returned to the shadows, its large mouth stretching out from under Teest’s feet, wide open.

Teest tilted the plate, dumping the vomit-like food into the wolf’s mouth.

“By the way, I went out and talked with that knight last night.”

Nol paused while putting on his coat. “Talked?”

Intelligence among undead creatures was generally low, with only higher-level beings like liches or undead giants showing semblance of intelligence. Undead knights typically just mutter about their past obsessions, so having a conversation with one was rare.

“Yes, although he’s sometimes incoherent, there’s still a hint—just a hint of rationality.” Teest drawled, pouring another plate of beans. “It’s interesting. He’s confused whether there was one moon or four in the past.”

Nol stopped moving entirely.

That again.

He remembered the unsettling four moons when he first arrived. With so much happening lately, he had pushed this question to the back of his mind.

“What did he say?” Nol asked more seriously.

Teest hummed, “He said his War King brother once took him to see the full moon, and they stood under the same moon. Then his mind got muddled, struggling with whether it was one or four moons.”

Nol immediately grabbed Kando, still dozing on the bedside table, and cast five layers of soundproof magic. Teest was startled, almost dropping the plate into the wolf’s mouth.

“Lynn, how’s the analysis of the underground ruins?” Nol activated the communication doll, getting straight to the point.

In the communication screen, Lynn was eating pan-fried dumplings in her office. Nol’s call caught her off guard, causing her to choke on her dumpling, leading to fits of coughs for a while.

“Were you this abrupt when you were working?”

After finally stopping her cough, the witch sighed. “The data analysis is almost done. I’m using magic to build a database. Integrating them… Except for some vague records about gods, everything else is ready. Do you need something urgent?”

“Check the number of moons,” Nol said. “Sorry, I want to confirm as soon as possible.”

Lynn nodded. She tapped the table, and the dolls in the room busily activated various props and magic circles. Crystals twinkled and gears creaked, making her room resemble the interior of a mechanical clock, separate yet unified.

In less than ten seconds, numerous pale red magic screens lit up.

Lynn picked up a wand resembling a screwdriver, entering several runes into the air. The dolls clicked and clacked with the mechanisms, eventually selecting a representative to bring a screen to Lynn.

“Interesting…” Lynn gasped as she read the results on the screen.

“There are missing records in the Teddy Bear World. The Near Future World has two moons, and the Ancient World has three,” Lynn said. “I guess everyone took it for granted, so there’s less documentation.”

As she wrote more magic runes, her brows furrowed. “There’s another point I’m concerned about. The ‘protagonists’ of the Near Future World and some important figures have questioned the number of moons. In the Ancient World, someone even wrote a poem expressing doubt—they all seem to think there should be only one moon.”

“No follow-up?” Teest asked curiously.

“No follow-up.” Lynn shook her head. “What concerns me more is something else. The Near Future World seems very developed, yet there are no records related to astronomy.”

In Lynn’s tone, there was a mix of confusion and surprise—she thought it was strange but, at the same time, didn’t see it as a high priority.

Nol could understand her thinking.

People needed to live grounded in reality, prioritizing immediate issues. After all, whether there was one moon or ten in the sky didn’t affect their lives, especially since they had already transmigrated.

If he weren’t a producer, this issue might have been lightly set aside. But…

“So far, I’ve encountered situations involving ‘only one moon’ twice.” Nol glanced at Teest and summarized succinctly, “Once was in the Novice Village near the Dragon’s Lair, where there was only one moon in the sky; the other time was just now, with an NPC—no—a key character in a quest experiencing an illusion of ‘one moon’.”

To an outsider, these two incidents might seem unrelated. But for Nol, their commonality was too obvious—

“The Dragon’s Lair has Subelbot. In the setting, it’s a very ancient silver dragon.” Nol explained, “Its lair is right under the moon. In its appearance design, there’s a clear scene of ‘the silver dragon spreading its wings under the moon’.”

“The War King and the Knight Prince in the Age of Strife were also characters we clearly set up ‘scene images’ for. At the end, the knight’s bones rest in the Endless Sea, his spirit concentrated in three treasures—when the quest is completed, Players see snippets of his life.”

“Let me guess. There’s a scene of ‘the brother showing the younger brother a full moon’.”

“Yes.” Nol nodded. “For them, that was a very important day.”

The unruly brother, gazing at the only moon, had a calculating conversation.

The elder brother said, “We will be the sun and moon of this kingdom. My glory will also shine on you. I will lead the brave towards the light, and you will guide the lost.”

At that time, they were young, and the younger brother didn’t understand his brother’s determination for the throne, simply promising happily—

Sounds wonderful. I will be loyal to you, dear brother.

That was just a snippet, appearing amidst a typical, orderly family tragedy, adding a touch of lament.

But it did exist, specifically designed by the production team.

“Wait, let me get this straight.” Lynn pressed her temples. “Even though there are clearly four moons in the sky, the characters you designed still remember the setting of ‘only one moon’.”

“Yes, it’s similar to the situation you’re concerned about,” Nol said.

“This discovery is really great.” Teest casually put his hand on Nol’s shoulder, excitedly expressing. Nol turned his head in confusion—Teest wasn’t the type to give superficial compliments.

Teest leaned in close to Nol’s ear, his voice just loud enough for Lynn to hear. “It means this is 100% ‘real’. If everything was false, why would the mastermind behind it leave such an obvious loophole?”

“Having traveled through four worlds and still maintaining such a loophole suggests their ability is limited—if the opponent isn’t omnipotent, they can be dealt with.”

Seeing the two heads getting closer, Lynn looked hesitant.

Finally, she coughed vigorously. “I agree with Teest’s view. It’s a good discovery. This matter is likely related to the ‘truth of the world’, and I’ll take it as a reference.”

Nol let Teest stay close to him and looked at Lynn. “I’ll contact you if there’s a new discovery.”

“Mm, I’m looking forward to it.” Lynn sped up her speech as if she was in a hurry. “Remember to leave more surveillance dolls along the way.”

With that, she immediately ended the communication.

“I think I need to have a good talk with that knight,” Nol sighed.

“Now?”

“No, I need to find a way to increase his intelligence—to perfect a new spell first. Let’s have breakfast.”

Unfortunately, the breakfast was ultimately left uneaten. Nol had just started on his sandwich when he heard a commotion downstairs.

“We’ve paid. Why should we leave the room!” Solo shouted from the first floor of the inn.

As a “butler”, Nol frowned and grabbed Teest as they left the room—Teest quickly put on his glasses, not forgetting to grab the last piece of the sandwich.

In the lobby, the fat innkeeper’s beard kept trembling as he tried to stand upright. “There’s only one luxury suite, and I’m a businessman. I can’t let the representative of the Alva Merchant Group stay in a servant’s room.”

“So I deserve to stay in a servant’s room? Don’t you understand first come, first served?” Solo played the role of the spoiled young master to the hilt that Nol wondered if he was really a bit angry.

The butler Painter and maid Anakin were superficially soothing everyone, each with their own disdain. Abandon and Fischer weren’t there, probably busy with other things.

“The Alva Merchant Group again.” Teest struggled to swallow half a sandwich and handed the other half to Nol. “I didn’t think it could get any busier here.”

The representative of the Alva Merchant Group versus an unknown little noble—it was pretty clear which side the owner would choose.

Just as the situation was about to spiral out of control, the so-called “representative of the Alva Merchant Group” walked in.

She was a very beautiful young lady. Her ears dangled with huge pearl earrings, a pearl hairnet held her golden hair, and her eyes were like olivine stones, clear and moist. She was petite and shapely, wearing a dress that was perfectly tailored to her.

Solo immediately shut up. He stared blankly at the beautiful girl, forgetting all about “playing the dissolute”, and was moved aside by Painter like a statue.

The girl scanned the room, seemingly guessing the situation. She stepped forward with a smile, approaching Solo.

“Sir,” the girl cooed, her eyes pleading. “If you are willing to give up the room, we will compensate you five times the amount. What do you say…”

Solo’s face turned red, as if he had lost the ability to speak. “Uh, uh…”

Nol: “……”

Teest: “……”

Both of them stopped chewing simultaneously, retreating two steps.

It wasn’t so much that they were stunned by the beauty, but rather, they had seen this “girl” before—

Wasn’t this Mr. Barto from the novice village? He seemed to have recovered quite a bit and was up to his old tricks again.

“You go down first,” Anakin told the innkeeper. “Look, we’ll handle it ourselves.”

The innkeeper left with a look of “I knew it”, satisfied with himself. For a moment, the hall was left with only the girl and the five members of the “noble tour group”.

“And Mr. Pai, could you check on Abandon and the others? You two…” Anakin looked at Nol, desperately signaling with her eyes, “Just find somewhere nearby to stay.”

Mr. Painter, of the Light Faction, tactfully retreated. As representatives of the Evil Forces, Nol and Teest exchanged glances, cast an invisibility spell around the corner, and quickly returned to the scene.

“Stop acting,” Anakin said with a pinch of her brow. “You’re a man, right? A Player?”

Solo and Barto both stiffened, one turning from red to green, the other from white to red.

“Barto, Homeward Saint Guild. From the central city of Old Gemino. Responsible for caravan liaison.”

Barto awkwardly stepped back, trying to sound more composed. “Sister, we didn’t really meet in the novice village, did we? How did you figure it out?”

Anakin clicked her tongue loudly. “Being a representative of the Alva Merchant Group, a normal person would handle things professionally without needing to ‘flatter’ like that.”

“Besides, with so many of our people inside the inn, you just walked in, showing no caution. Used to it, huh? This level of deception works only on male college students—alright, now that we’re clear, let’s get down to business.”

Solo slowly backed away, looking up at the ceiling as if he wanted to bury himself in a hole.

Barto glanced at Anakin, still a bit upset, but said nothing. He casually pulled up a chair and sat down. “I’m here to find you.”

“Hmm.”

“Amazon asked me to tell you to drop everything and go to Brick Shadow to support the elite squad—Hot Ash and the others are in trouble.”

“What?!” Anakin and Solo almost spoke at the same time.

Barto revealed a slightly satisfied expression at regaining some control. “Eugene and Hot Ash went to Brick Shadow for a quest—something about scouting the Demon King’s situation. Recently, they sent a distress signal to Amazon.”

“Dude, would you die if you said everything at once?” Solo bared his teeth at him angrily.

Barto glanced at him, dropped a soundproofing charm on the floor, and took out a recording crystal, activating its contents on the spot.

It was a frantic narrative.

They could recognize it as a human voice, but that was all they could discern.

Everyone present had the Player’s innate “Language Mastery”, but none could understand what the distress call was saying—it was like listening to a mentally ill patient with a language disorder.

“There’s no doubt this message came from Hot Ash, and Amazon considers the situation critical.” Barto explained, “Communication near Desolation Island is getting worse. They couldn’t contact you and had to divine your location to send me. That’s the gist of it.”

“Tell them I’m on my way to the Desolation Island area and will handle it as soon as possible,” Anakin said gravely.

“That’s fine. I’m leaving—I’ve got real work to do.” Barto spoke with an annoyingly casual tone. “Continue having fun with your handsome guys. I noticed just now. You’ve got a nice variety.”

Solo’s forehead vein throbbed, and he reflexively grabbed a dart, but Anakin held him back.

“Don’t mind him.” Anakin shook her head lightly.

[I thought Bly would continue following him,] Nol thought.

[You see, emotions are quite fragile,] Teest replied.

Nol sighed inwardly.

“It looks like we need to speed up our journey,” Nol said, dispelling the invisibility as Barto left the hall. “I’m going to use a riskier method of travel.”

“Like what?” Anakin still looked serious.

“I’ll figure out a way to take everyone with me.” Nol turned his face uncomfortably. “I have a method to reach the Brick Mountains in one day.”

……

“Holy shit—this is like magic—!” That night, Solo stuck his head out of the carriage, shouting down at the clouds.

The ordinary carriage was flying through the night sky. The harnesses for the horses hung empty, looking unsupported. Six people were crammed inside the carriage, with only Nol and Teest missing.

Above the carriage, a huge Dracolich spread his wings, his claws firmly gripping the toy-like carriage. Under the four moons, using the double protection of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Invisibility, Nol flew rapidly towards the Brick Mountains.

Only Teest sat next to Nol’s dragon horn, happily swinging his legs—the Death Knight had erected a protective barrier, shielding them from the cold wind and low temperatures.

[You should have used this method earlier.] Teest caressed the flickering blue dragon horn beside him. It was warmer than he had imagined.

[Taking ten thousand steps back, it would have been easier without Painter, but now there’s no choice.] Nol expressed with difficulty. [Talk to me more. My claws are a bit numb.]

[Of course, no problem.] Teest relaxed, leaning against the dragon horn. [I have ten thousand thoughts to share…]

The thick clouds, like the sea, floated restlessly, quickly receding beside them. Above the carriage, the silver undead knight looked up at the four moons.

He reached out towards one of the moons, stiffly and carefully closing his fingers, as if trying to grasp something.

In the end, he only managed to catch a wisp of cold wind.

---

The author has something to say:

Teest, dragon knight status acquired√

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 117: Under the Moonlight

How should a tall knight’s body, fully clad in armor, be transported?

If the knight lay in a coffin, there would be too many complications. Entering any city would require the knight’s identification, territorial proof, and an officially notarized inventory of belongings to ensure it wasn’t a ploy by some malicious people to stir up trouble or transport stolen goods.

Especially since the armor of the War King’s brother was ancient and elegant, adorned with rubies arranged in a bloodstain pattern on the metal, obviously very valuable. Seeing such a knight, the guards would definitely need to contact the territory through a communication crystal.

Thus, for Players to fulfill [The Ancient Knight’s Last Wish] normally, they basically couldn’t enter cities or stay anywhere casually—whether they disguised themselves as a funeral procession or disguised the body as oversized luggage, it meant thieves could profit.

However, if the knight stood on his own, there were no prohibitions. He just needed a forged identity.

Like now, Abandon had arranged a stay in advance, and the group, under the name of the “Aquinas family”, checked into the best rooms of an inn.

This place was at the border of Shiva and New Gemino. With recent Demon King activities, the number of visitors had dwindled, so even the servants got double rooms.

The dead knight stood in the courtyard, motionless, watching the night fall.

“Is it okay to let that guy stand there?” Abandon leaned against the window. “The gems on him are dazzling. Someone might get greedy…”

Sharing a room with him was the siren boy. Abandon, curious about his first encounter with a creature from Paradise, started a conversation.

The siren completely ignored him.

He glanced at the sky, instinctively placing his hand on his chest, as if to gesture something. The next second, he frowned in distress, and his hand reluctantly fell back.

Throughout the journey, the siren boy had been moody. His eyes were always slightly swollen, often lost in thought and not listening, sometimes staring blankly and shedding tears.

Abandon wondered why the Master of Paradise would bring such a person. The boy’s curse magic was indeed stunning, but he was still too young—look how immature his heart was!

“Hey, if someone really gets greedy, don’t worry.” Abandon patted his chest. “I’m a Ranger, after all. At this close distance, I’ll be the first to notice! So don’t worry. Staying with me is safe.”

Siren Fischer looked at him as if he were a fool.

After silently watching Abandon for a few seconds, he turned his face away, not uttering a word.

Ah, the teenage years. Abandon consoled himself internally, continuing to gaze at the knight outside the window.

As night deepened, the knight no longer needed an umbrella.

The spot where the knight stood was the inn’s garden, filled with herbs, vegetables, and beautiful shrubs.

The grass at the knight’s boots was green, with a few small white flowers gently swaying. The stars shone brightly, and the four moons scattered across the sky. All living things thrived, and thinking of the knight’s death, Abandon felt a pang of sadness.

Better to make some buttered potatoes for a late-night snack. Since a while ago, he had been smelling the tantalizing aroma of barbecue, which was irresistible.

In the room upstairs of Abandon’s room.

Teest lay by the window, with two pieces of grilled veal on a plate beside him. It was covered in spices, their steam melting into the air.

He ate the meat absentmindedly, gazing at the undead knight in the garden.

“Does he still think?” Teest asked distractedly.

“Not much left.” Nol, reading <A Hundred Years of Business in Tahe> by the bedside, replied, “He’s been dead too long. He probably only has instincts left—maybe a bit of basic language ability.”

“Oh, how sad,” Teest said. “No wonder ‘resurrecting ancestors through necromancy’ isn’t popular.”

Nol closed his book. “Death is irreversible. In our world, someone who’s just died might be revived, but if the body has decayed, it’s hopeless.”

In fact, whether on Earth or Tahe, trying to do something after death, no matter how much one clung to it, would only lead to “continual loss”.

In comparison, his system management was much more efficient—there was hope as long as one was alive.

How the system acquired such a function, Nol wondered, tossing the book aside and crawling into bed first.

The inn’s bedding was quite clean, but Nol still cast a few purification and drying spells on it for safety. Now, with the outside cold and the bedding warm and fluffy, it provided a rare sense of comfort.

Seeing Nol lie down, Mr. Teest seemed to receive a signal. He quickly finished the veal, brushed his teeth at the speed of light, and then dove into Nol’s bed, bringing a chill with him.

He left a warm, moist kiss on Nol’s forehead. Nol smelled the scent of mint toothpaste.

He turned his back as usual, closing his eyes.

Teest’s hand slid along his waist, holding Nol tightly. With his back against Teest’s chest, Nol could feel the other’s heartbeat and the hard wedding ring on his chest.

This had become their standard sleeping posture.

Not because Nol was indifferent, but simply because of one reason—

Day by day, Teest held him tighter. His arms occasionally adjusted their position, and sometimes even his legs came over.

Nol didn’t know how outrageous the Mad Monk’s religious methods were. He only knew that, as a healthy young man sharing a bed with someone he liked, he found it hard not to react.

Refreshing before sleep, refreshing in the morning, healthy and decent. He was almost used to it.

Thank the ecology of undead monsters!

Nol shifted in the warm chest, closing his eyes peacefully. The boiling blood disappeared into the void, and he soon fell asleep.

Teest nuzzled Nol’s light golden hair, sniffing softly.

It was a comforting scent, but he couldn’t sleep peacefully. He had achieved his goal—their relationship was now in balance.

He believed even if he changed the overly intimate morning and evening prayers, Nol would have no objections.

But he didn’t want to change.

Teest shifted his arm. Their skin was separated only by a thin layer of fabric. Nol’s warmth permeated unobstructed, making the bed too hot.

As an experienced adult, he understood what the restlessness meant, but it shouldn’t be happening!

Teest moved closer in confusion, lightly kissing Nol’s nape through his hair.

He kissed slowly and carefully, a soft strand of hair sticking to his lips.

Before, they had indeed had accidental intimate moments, but those were during intimate actions. Teest didn’t mind, casually attributing it to “normal physiological reactions”.

Now, Nol was sleeping peacefully, breathing as light as falling leaves, more harmless than the silver knife he just washed.

Teest lay wide-eyed in the dark, recalling his not-so-long life—

Even as a Mad Monk, he occasionally found something “likable”, like a cute cat, on the street.

To him, there was no difference between the two. The Mad Monk wasn’t crazy enough to want anything with a cat, just as he had no similar impulses towards “others”.

Normally, such desires shouldn’t exist in faith, right?

Teest shockingly realized his adolescence had arrived a decade late.

Holding Nol, he lay restlessly, waiting for the heat to fade. Nearly an hour later, unable to bear it, he crawled out of the bed, shivering in the cold air.

“Ah.” Teest sighed towards the shadows, heading to the bathroom.

Shadow Wolf Ben heard the movement. Thinking it was time for a nighttime walk, it poked its head out happily, its mouth fur still greasy from veal.

“Go back.” Teest tapped its nose, leaving the puzzled wolf outside.

When Teest emerged from the room again, he was damp. He wiped water droplets on the shadow wolf’s fur, looking at the bed for a long time.

After another sigh of confusion, Teest opened the window, leaping lightly onto the grass. Finally, he tightened the golden threads on the window, keeping the cold air out.

He approached the War King’s brother, the statue-like undead knight.

At midnight, the moonlight was exceptionally bright. The garden was fragrant, and the starry sky was so breathtaking that even Teest stopped to admire it.

“Watching the moon?” Teest glanced at the undead knight, tossing a word without hope.

“…Moon.” The knight repeated in a vague, hoarse voice. “I remember… the moon.”

“Well, aren’t you amazing.”

“Three more moons.” The long-dead knight murmured to himself. “Why… more?”

Teest’s eyebrows twitched. “What do you mean?”

“My brother once… showed me the full moon…” the knight said. “We stood under… one moon—no… four moons…?”

More incomprehensible ramblings followed.

Sure enough, this dead man was confused.

The War King’s territory wasn’t near the Dragon’s Lair. How could there be only one moon?

“You really do miss your brother.”

Teest took a deep breath in the chilly night, continuing to admire the stars. “Do you know your brother killed you? Not only that, he didn’t fulfill your last wish, and now we have to do it for him.”

He spoke without any psychological pressure—the Mad Monk had little sympathy for the living, let alone the dead.

“……” The undead knight was silent for a long time.

“I remember…” he said.

“The consequences of loyalty.” Teest shrugged.

The knight looked up at the sky with him. He removed his ridiculous sunglasses. The blue fire was burning steadily in his helmet.

“It’s not… like this…” he hissed. “I have no regrets…”

Teest pinched his frozen ears and raised his eyebrows.

The knight struggled to twist his neck, turning the face hidden under the helmet towards Teest. Although the helmet only revealed two blue lights, it emitted an unusually peaceful aura.

“You are… a knight…” he said.

“So what?” Teest replied.

“You understand…” the undead knight murmured dreamily. “When the time comes… you’ll understand…”

Teest: “……”

‘Forget it. Better not to communicate with the dead,’ Teest thought. He blew into the cold wind for a while longer, then slipped back under the covers with a chill. Before closing his eyes, he glanced at the moonlight on the bedside.

The long-dead knight, perhaps still gazing at the moon, chewed on his scant past.

Teest curled up under the blanket while his arm hovered over Nol for a long time, finally gently covering Nol’s hand with his palm.

Nol frowned slightly, murmuring “Teest.” Unknowingly, he turned over and embraced Teest. The latter’s body stiffened, then relaxed, his breathing evening out.

Shadow Wolf Ben emerged from the shadows, curiously watching the two for a while. Then it shrank in size and curled up at the foot of the bed.

The pitch-black wolf fur completely covered the window, leaving only a gentle darkness in the room.

Above their room, in the so-called “noble young master’s” room, things were different.

It was significantly larger than the servants’ quarters, with unnecessary tassels decorating the bedding. Anakin, still in her daytime clothes, had fallen asleep on the bed. “Young Master” Solo lay on the sofa, hugging a pillow, snoring, with half-eaten grapes on the side table.

The watch for the night was voluntarily taken up by former Pope Painter.

Painter glanced at the undead knight downstairs, then silently closed the curtains and sat back at the desk. He set up a one-way sound barrier around him and pulled out a fist-sized communication crystal from his waist bag.

“Captain!” “Ah, it’s the captain!” “Are you alright, captain?”

As soon as the communication connected, a wave of noisy greetings came from the other side. Painter instinctively moved away from the crystal, as if spit could cross through the magic.

“How are you all doing?” he asked with a smile.

“We separated from Paradise! Those guys went back to the Lost Tower.”

“Yes, yes, a Puppet Witch sister came to greet us and gave us a bunch of supplies, even sweet fruit wine. Little Darby’s eyes were glued! Captain, let me tell you, all those outside propagandas are bullshit. Paradise is really generous.”

“We plan to roam around the Black Forest again. The monsters here are too fat—”

“Fuck you, Kenny, don’t spit on me! I’m talking to the captain!!!”

Another wave of noisy chatter ensued.

The former Pope shook his head helplessly. “Everything is going smoothly here. Oh, about the investigation into Enbillick Alva…”

“Oh, oh.”

A young voice, sounding like a teenager, came closer. “The Golden Sword hasn’t made any special moves recently. Captain, are you overthinking? Maybe he just wanted to invite you to dinner that day.”

“As a shrewd businessman, he shouldn’t bring someone as dangerous as me to his wife and children.” Painter said calmly, “I just want to make sure whether Enbillick’s target is me or those two with me.”

“Silly squirrel, what are you thinking? How could someone like the ‘Golden Sword’ casually entertain people?”

“I’ll keep investigating!” the boy called “Squirrel” quickly said.

“Don’t worry, kid. You might want to pay more attention to Eternal Day City.”

Painter smiled and advised, “With the fall of The Manor, the Alva Merchant Group must be paying close attention.”

“Okay, okay, sir! No, captain!” The boy spoke rapidly, eliciting a wave of good-natured laughter.

“Everyone, stay safe. It’s best not to approach the depths of the Black Forest without me.” At this point, Painter’s voice became serious. “I can feel something wrong with Brick Shadow. During this special period, everyone should be careful.”

The Drifting Mercenaries chattered for a while longer, discussing their impressions of the various monsters in Paradise, and debating whether tonight’s stew was salty or bland and who grabbed the most.

Painter listened intently, smiling.

“By the way, this ‘God Selection’ has ended,” finally, a cheerful voice said. “Captain, none of us drew the divine lot. You’re the ‘God’ this time!”

“Really, I swear we didn’t tamper with it! We can make an honesty oath!” another female voice interjected.

“So you have to come back and get the divine statue,” the cheerful voice added. “We pray for your safety!”

“Haha, I will definitely fulfill everyone’s wishes.” Painter winked at the communication crystal and cut off the connection.

Outside the window, the moonlight flowed quietly. Painter stood up, stretching his shoulders and waist.

“Paradise influences the system, the Mad Monk and his God,” he muttered. “Golden Sword must have smelled something. Eugene hasn’t reacted yet. Interesting… Isn’t there a corresponding oracle in the Temple?”

As he said “oracle”, a flicker of scorn flashed in his green eyes.

……

Hot Ash withdrew his gaze from the night sky.

The nights in Brick Shadow were more unbearable than the days. The night sky here was a brownish-red color, like rotten blood. No stars were visible, and the four moons were blurry and seemed more distant than usual.

The entire team felt as if they were swallowed by a monster. Everything was dark and damp, surrounded by murky red.

The nearby magic was too chaotic, preventing direct communication with the people from Amazon. They could only send messages via pure audio. Now, they had been sending out distress signals for half a day, but there was still no response from Amazon.

Giving up easily wasn’t Hot Ash’s style, nor was sitting idly by. He immediately ordered the Saints Guild to establish a base and sent the best scouts to explore, moving forward at a slow jog.

Hot Ash, unable to sleep, squatted outside the tent, drinking strong coffee, waiting for the night-shift scout to report.

A figure approached from the woods. Hot Ash put down his cup and stood up to greet him.

The shadow approached faster, and Hot Ash’s steps slowed. He recognized the silhouette of weapons and equipment from the figure, but…

…But the “human” shape itself, wasn’t it a bit strange?

Hot Ash made a snap decision. He drew his sword and activated the camp alarm.

Amidst the shrill alarm, the figure finally revealed his face—it was indeed a scout from the Saints Guild, with strikingly individualistic hair and eye color, bright deep green paired with light green.

At this moment, Hot Ash could only recognize the person’s hair and eye color.

The man seemed to be melting.

The skin of his exposed arms had turned a corrupted black, surrounded by a massive amount of corruption clinging to him and spreading wildly over his body.

The scout’s facial features were distorted, like a roughly pulled clay figure. Hot Ash saw a plea for help and despair in his eyes.

No, this wasn’t right. Such bizarre corruption had never occurred before!

Since entering the game, the Saints Guild had long fought against corrupted monsters, and injuries from corruption weren’t uncommon. To the Players, a corrupted wound simply took longer to heal and required powerful purification magic. They always considered it some kind of stubborn curse.

It could at most cause deformities in the natives, but such phenomena had never happened to Players.

“Priest—!” Hot Ash shouted, sheathing his sword and raising his shield. “We need a high-level priest here!”

As he spoke, a mottled and distorted system popup flew in front of him. It was surrounded by error-like mosaics with blurred writing, and the originally clean blue was now muddied with reddish-brown.

The popup flickered wildly, appearing both far and near, leaving countless error-like afterimages in the air.

[You have triggered the %#@ event.]

[You have triggered the %￥@ mission: The Corrupt False God.]

[Completion Condition: Survive for 7 days.]

[Mission Reward: Survival]

[Refusal Penalty: Death]

[※Don’t leave? Don’t leave? Don’t leave.]

[Accept #@?]

[Mission automatically accepted.]

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 116: The Endless Sea Tour

[King of Sleep: You will twist the minds of your enemies, luring all beings into slumber. You know, sleep is but a momentary death. 

※Cooldown 30 minutes, actual effects vary based on individual mental resistance.]

Nol’s attention was momentarily captured by the skill description.

Teest was clever. Having witnessed Nol enhance his skill earlier, he surely wouldn’t foolishly choose a normal Player skill that could be upgraded regularly. So his choice of skills was very limited—as far as Nol knew, Teest’s monster abilities included [Dream Manipulation], [Charm], and another skill he claimed wasn’t very useful.

The higher-tier skill of [Dream Manipulation] was the Succubus Queen’s [Dream Dominion]. Could it be…

Nol remembered clearly that [Charm] indeed had no higher-tier skill. But then again, wasn’t Teest a bit too free-spirited? [Charm] was no small skill. Wasn’t he afraid of enhancing it into something bizarre?

[You enhanced the Charm skill?!] Nol asked in shock.

[Yes.]

Teest shook the rotten blood off his sword. [It’s usually not useful, has no higher-tier skill, and is a mental magic, making it the most suitable choice.]

Nol had no words. [King of Sleep] was undoubtedly a powerful mental control skill, though the name was a bit odd. Just by its effects, calling it [Sleep] would be enough. Where did that “King” come from?

But now that it was done, he didn’t feel it was right to nag his knight.

[That useless skill of yours…] Nol trailed off.

[It really is useless, at least for now.] Teest looked up, adjusting his jumping posture.

He raised his small round shield with his left hand and plunged the long sword into the “War King’s” only remaining eyeball. Foul, toxic liquid splashed out. Teest protected his head with the round shield, while Nol’s protective magic provided double assurance.

Even so, the toxic liquid quickly evaporated upon hitting the ground, turning into a deadly vapor.

Fischer grimaced as he cast dark magic. Before the poisonous mist could disperse, he gathered it into a one-square area with his [Toxin Gather].

A few steps away, Anakin was prepared. The moment [Toxin Gather] finished, the brilliance of the “Festival of New Green” surged, turning the brown-black fog light and dense and transforming it into a pool of clear water.

Abandon dared not breathe, his limbs numb, as he threw status effect spells upwards.

The War King’s head woke up from the severe pain. It opened its gaping mouth, letting out an inhuman roar of anger, and shook its head wildly. The ground trembled as dozens of exquisitely armored skeletons rose from the ground, attacking Teest who hadn’t yet landed.

Teest pulled out his sword and elegantly somersaulted in the air for leverage, pinning it into a crevice in the bricks. He twisted around and blew a kiss towards Nol below.

Nol helplessly raised his staff, tapping the ground twice with its end. Invisible ripples spread out, and the death knight skeletons chasing Teest instantly froze in place, turning into statues.

This was one of the reasons Nol chose the War King dungeon for leveling—

Most of this boss’ skills were of the necromancy type!

According to system settings, these undead were absolutely obedient to the monsterized War King.

According to system settings, ordinary undead were absolutely obedient to the Dracolich, who was at the pinnacle of necromancy.

…Of course, the system couldn’t comprehend why an idle Dracolich would join Players in a dungeon.

Thus, the undead were perfectly stuck.

They couldn’t decide whether to assist their mad king or submit to the higher-ranked undead overlord. So they wracked their non-existent brains and chose the most helpless ostrich strategy—let the two leaders sort it out themselves; a mere worker couldn’t take such a risk.

So, to outsiders, it seemed the Master of Paradise did virtually nothing, and the undead petrified themselves.

Painter raised his eyebrows and let out a soft “oh” in surprise.

Completely incomprehensible. Abandon was sweating profusely. Even if Hot Ash himself were here, a fierce battle would be unavoidable. With the sleeping boss first and the frozen undead after, what was the deal with this master and servant?

The monsterized War King, not very intelligent, noticed that the knights didn’t come to its aid and continued to roar and summon in rage. The death knight skeletons popped up like bamboo shoots after rain, solidifying and piling up into a small hill on the platform.

Teest used these human-shaped stepping stones, making his movements even more dazzling.

Each strike of his sword hit a weak spot, taking away a chunk of health. The War King’s huge head was now a vulnerability, and no matter how it tried to evade, it couldn’t escape fast enough.

When it tried to attack Teest directly, Nol’s magic always arrived timely, either decisively protecting Teest or directly interrupting the boss’s big moves.

Teest threw [King of Sleep] as soon as it was off cooldown, and while the head fell into slumber, Nol prepared a burst of magic for a combined heavy hit.

The entire battle was controlled in the upper area of the field, with the remaining five people just picking up the slack and dealing with the AOE attacks.

Initially, Painter could cooperate in attacks. But as the number of death knights on the ground increased, he found it inconvenient to act.

Painter’s holy magic was too strong and widespread. Teest’s undead stepping stones melted like snow. The Mad Monk almost slipped and shot Painter an extremely displeased look.

So Painter blatantly started slacking off, twirling his brush with a cheerful smile. Only when the head came into his attack range did he symbolically strike once—and that strike was always precise and fierce, leaving no room for error.

What should have been an extremely dangerous battle ended in a cycle of high-frequency attacks—sleep burst—high-frequency attacks, taking less than two hours.

This was a prelude to an S-level side quest!

Abandon hadn’t fought it himself, but he had heard about it. As far as he knew, once an S-level side quest battle began, it took at least six hours, testing Players’ overall skills. Moreover, this was pioneering, and for such a high-level task, “Nothing achieved even after days” was the norm.

Not to mention, only those two people were leading the fight, and by all appearances, neither of the two monsters had exerted their full strength—

At the end of the fight, Abandon looked the most disheveled.

He sat on the ground by the wall, his clothes soaked enough to wring out water. The others seemed fine, just showing signs of fatigue. The most exaggerated were the master and servant pair.

The succubus knight asked the Master for some purification spells to clean his clothing corners. He looked no different from before the battle began, his hair fresh and fluffy, and he barely sweated. He sheathed his long sword and cozily approached the Master.

The Master, too, was composed, not showing any sign of having blasted the head apart. The scattered fangs were still at his feet, and Abandon didn’t want to look too closely.

All he knew was that the master and servant stood amid the wreckage, as relaxed as if on a spring outing.

…True monsters.

Curious about the Master’s race, Abandon strained to see under the cloak. Unfortunately, the Master seemed to have used some magic to shroud his face in shadows.

He reached out to arrange his succubus knight’s hair. The hand was slender, pale, and beautiful, with no strange scales, much like a young man’s hand. Beyond that, Abandon couldn’t guess.

Perhaps he observed them too long, for the succubus glanced at him again. Those golden eyes held no softness, and Abandon felt as if he’d been shot by a golden bullet.

So, Mr. Abandon quickly averted his gaze, turning instead to the grotesque, shattered giant head.

“Come and accept the quest.” The Master of Paradise pointed to a piece of debris.

It was the War King’s skull, the pure gold crown deeply embedded into the flesh, nailed together with the bone.

The crown was luxurious, intricately designed, inlaid with gems of various sizes. The central red gem was as tall as a person, attracting the attention of all creatures present, its brilliance almost blinding.

But the Master was pointing inside the crown.

Carefully turning it over, they saw a knight’s corpse.

The corpse was clad in silver-white armor with a crimson cloak wrapped around it. His sword and shield were present, covered in patchy bloodstains. The knight’s limbs were pierced by golden chains, their ends firmly fixed inside the crown, “back-to-back” with the outer red gems.

“So this is the ‘gem’ embedded inside the crown.” Teest admired. “The color match is perfect.”

“According to legend, this was the War King’s brother.” Nol gazed at the knight’s remains.

A common story.

Two princes of the era of strife, both smart and close in age. Only the elder brother was cruel and suspicious, while the younger was kind and compassionate.

To dispel his brother’s doubts and wariness, the loyal younger brother publicly swore to become his knight.

But what awaited him was endless chaotic war.

The War King was never satisfied, but his knight could no longer bear the bloodshed. After winning a hundred battles, the younger brother pleaded with the king day and night, refusing to go to battle again.

The king said, “If you are truly loyal to me, choose between war and death.”

The knight replied, “Please bury me in the Endless Sea. These eyes have seen too much bloodshed. I only wish to sleep in the endless blue.”

After that, the loyal knight was never seen again.

These backgrounds, Nol had told Teest as a bedtime story. His knight tilted his head. “I can’t understand. That guy’s ‘loyalty’ is meaningless. It’s so stupid.”

…A very Mad Monk’s statement. Nol couldn’t help but sigh.

He lowered his magic staff, cut the chains off the knight’s limbs, and then touched the exquisitely beautiful silver-white helmet.

[You have triggered an S-level side quest: The Ancient Knight’s Last Wish.]

[Completion conditions: Deliver the Ancient Knight’s skeleton intact to the circular deserted island in the Endless Sea and sink it in the center of the circle.]

[Reward: A large amount of experience points; Ancient Silver Light Armor “Knight’s Will” × 1; White Steel Longsword “Knight’s Loyalty” × 1; Royal Crest Iron-Shaped Shield “Knight’s Benevolence” × 1.]

[Failure penalty: Cannot accept this quest again.]

[※ This task is limited to 1-6 people (including hired NPCs), no team requirements.]

“Everyone, touch the helmet in turn.” Nol moved aside to make space. “By the way, Fischer, stay away.”

In theory, Painter was a player’s hired NPC, but Fischer didn’t get a penny from start to finish. If they treat him as a “good person” who draws his sword to help others in a crisis, the system can’t do anything.

Fischer let out a dissatisfied sob, sadly glanced at Teest, and walked away dejectedly.

Abandon was the last to stand in front of the knight’s corpse, extending a trembling hand to touch the helmet’s brow.

Ding, the system issued a “team full” prompt.

Although he only needed to be a scout, Abandon’s blood boiled for a second—

Here comes the real S-level side quest!

As long as they succeeded in the mission, when he returned to the “Homeward Saints Guild’s” headquarters, it would be glorious. The reward was rare knight equipment. Boss Hot Ash would definitely be happy.

Imagining that scene, Abandon couldn’t help but grin with a silly smile.

Just then, the corpse suddenly tilted its head and stiffly moved. Abandon’s mouth hadn’t yet closed when he let out a hiccup-like loud “Eh” sound.

In his terrified gaze, the long-dead knight stood up, supporting the crown. He stood there for a while, slowly holding the helmet and straightening his head.

In the narrow slits of the helmet, two blue lights suddenly lit up.

It’s all over. There’s a backup plan! Abandon fumbled for his bow and arrow, and Solo slowly pressed his shoulder.

“It’s okay,” he said. “This makes transportation easier.”

After that, Solo pulled out a pair of oversized sunglasses and a delicate powder blue large sun umbrella from the props bar. He walked over to the silent Ancient Knight, put on the sunglasses for him, and signaled it to hold the lace umbrella.

In less than half a minute, the Ancient Knight went from a “historical undead monster” to a “suspected knight player with questionable aesthetics”.

Abandon: “…”

How to say, this kind of noticeable yet unnoticeable feeling…

Anyway, their group was strange enough. He wanted to see what else this group could pretend to be.

As it turned out, he completely underestimated Paradise’s understanding of human society.

When they set off again, he got a servant’s outfit that could be seen everywhere. Looking up at the remaining six… no, seven people, he could hardly recognize them.

The Ancient Knight with the sunglasses and sun umbrella was the easiest to recognize. Beside it stood Solo, dressed as a noble young master, Anakin dressed as a maid, and a red-haired man dressed as a butler.

The young siren transformed into a human, wearing servant clothes almost as shabby as Abandon’s.

The succubus hid his horns, dyed his silver hair black, loosely tied his hair in a braid, and wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, followed by a pair of blue eyes. He wore a manservant outfit, much fancier than Abandon’s servant outfit.

However, Abandon still found a tail swaying back and forth under the hem of his clothes, occasionally brushing against people nearby—

Beside the succubus, stood a handsome young man with light golden hair and golden eyes, his hair hanging to his collarbone, with a cold expression.

Just by height, he looked like the previous Master of Paradise. He wore the same manservant outfit as the succubus, standing shoulder to shoulder.

…This must be a modified appearance after an illusion! How could the Master of Paradise be human?

But looking at that face, it really doesn’t look like an ordinary human. Does that guy have other creature’s blood?

Abandon’s mind raced as he walked step by step towards his new team.

“Next, we’ll go with the ‘capricious young master going to the Endless Sea for sightseeing’ script.”

Anakin tilted her head towards the red-haired butler. “This gentleman here, you can call him ‘Pai’.”

“Um… Paradise’s three; you can call them ‘Fischer’, ‘Blanco’, and ‘Drake’.”

She cleared her throat and pointed to the siren, and the succubus and Master stuck together.

Abandon choked. In this brain-overloading introduction, he keenly grasped the key point. “Only an idiot would go to the Endless Sea at this time!”

“That’s why I’m the ‘adventurous capricious noble young master’.” Solo’s eyes were vacant. “Do you have a better suggestion? Even the boldest merchant convoys don’t want to go near the Endless Sea anymore.”

Abandon fell silent.

Well, this isn’t bad. He tugged at his servant outfit, resigning himself to his fate.

At least they were disguised as a small noble’s servants, and they wouldn’t suffer too much on the way… probably.

By the way, Boss Hot Ash has always been leveling up near the Endless Sea. I wonder how they are doing now?

……

“Is Brick Shadow really this kind of place?!”

Hot Ash spoke with added anger. “This is totally different from the Temple’s records. It’s only been a few days, and my people have already died five times!”

Brick Shadow was known to be as dangerous as the Black Forest, so Hot Ash was somewhat prepared. What he hadn’t expected was the emergence of corrupted monsters even before the Demon King’s arrival, making the area more perilous.

These corrupted monsters were much tougher to deal with than ordinary ones, seemingly having a sixth sense. No matter where the Players moved or what defense tactics they used, the monsters could accurately locate the elite team’s position.

This forced the elite team to split into two groups: one to sleep and the other to fight and defend. This strategy, while safe, significantly slowed down their exploration efficiency.

Under intense combat, they hadn’t even managed to penetrate deep into Brick Shadow before they encountered level drops.

Eugene calmly lowered his gaze. “As the Demon King draws closer, discrepancies in the information are inevitable.”

“No wonder you didn’t bring your own Fifth Regiment.” Hot Ash couldn’t hold back and threw in a jab. “I guess someone anticipated this.”

“You know as well as I do that this exploration is necessary.” Unperturbed by Hot Ash’s sarcasm, Eugene responded calmly. “If we delay further, once these monsters cross the Brick Mountains, it will be much harder to pinpoint the Demon King’s exact location… You in order to return home, I for my god—that’s why we stand here.”

Hot Ash clenched his teeth.

Eugene was right. Even he had to admit, this task indeed required Players—should the worst scenario occur, the immortal Players still had a chance to send out a message. If it were locals, they would likely be wiped out silently.

“I need to call for reinforcements.” After a while, Hot Ash awkwardly changed the subject.

“Those faithless from Amazon?”

“It has to be Amazon.” Hot Ash frowned. “All the elites of the Saints Guild are here. Anyone else coming wouldn’t help.”

“I understand.” To Hot Ash’s surprise, Eugene agreed promptly.

“I’ll contact them. You first… please step out.”

“Okay.” Eugene readily stood up and left the tent.

Outside the tent, the sky was a bloody red, and twisted trees completely surrounded the camp. The land here was unnaturally black, emitting an unsettling chill.

Eugene took a few steps forward, looking towards the direction of the Endless Sea.

“May the Goddess bless this land.”

He bowed his head, praying fervently. “Supreme Lady Tilia, please witness all this.”

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 115: New Skill

Two days passed, and, combining the vague words of Miss Anakin, Abandon firmly believed he had seen through everything.

This team must be Paradise’s secret force; otherwise, their high level of coordination was inexplicable. Abandon now understood that if the monsters collaborated in raiding dungeons, Players would essentially have no role to play—

Usually, to open the doors of high-level tombs in the era of conflict, the team needed a “Grave Robber” or a higher profession, with a “Curse Unlocking” skill requiring a proficiency level above 80, and it came with a 50% failure rate. Failure meant waiting for a 24-hour reset.

As soon as they entered the tomb and saw the two rows of splendid and magnificent doors, Abandon nearly lost his cool. Seeing the Master of Paradise’s action, he felt the urge to strangle someone in a different sense—

A Corrosive Slime was invited out. It grumbled as it slowly infiltrated the complex and massive door lock mechanism, throwing corrosion skills at critical components.

Fifteen minutes later, a grating sound of distortion came from inside the door, and the Corrosive Slime struggled to squeeze out a part of its body. The blob of slime formed a small hand and gave a thumbs-up to everyone.

Next, “Night Ranger” Solo stepped up. Facing the damaged tomb door, he managed to pry it open with just the basic [Lockpicking] skill of the rogue profession.

As the door slowly opened, the slime dropped to the ground with a plop. It proudly rejoined the team, even giving a high-five to the little ghost girl with its not yet retracted hand.

But that wasn’t all. The Ironbone Bear and the Steel Armored Giant Lizard moved forward on their own. They leisurely stepped into the tomb passage, only to be greeted by whizzing poison arrows and a face-full of poison mist, with walls closing in from both sides.

The cloaked Master of Paradise waved his hand, and a dark protective shield enveloped the two monsters. The fierce curse light struck the shield and dissipated in vain.

Both types of monsters were notorious for their extremely high defense, and with the addition of magic protection, they were as tough as ten stacked Paladins. Now, no one complained about their slow movement. The two leisurely traversed the tomb passage a few times, neatly disabling all traps.

The team continued forward, and in just half an hour, Paradise had perfectly cleared a path through the tomb entrance.

Abandon was dumbfounded.

So that was it. Triggering all traps was also a way to clear them, but normal Players would never dare to play like this.

The following process—though Abandon didn’t like to describe it this way—was like an assembly line. The Master of Paradise effortlessly took down enemies, the mercenary group and the strong monsters of Paradise split the medium monsters, and the lower monsters were left for the weaker members of Paradise for the final blow.

Anakin didn’t even need to support the big shots. Those in the vanguard didn’t lose a drop of blood. The top healer spent more time tending to the monsters of Paradise, promptly healing any minor scrapes and bruises they suffered.

Of course, there was an exception in this harmonious scene.

The beautiful succubus remained motionless, just watching the battle with a sweet and pleasant smile. His tail seemed glued to the Master’s hand, occasionally caressing it.

“Is that succubus a relative?” The Archer approached to gossip.

“It doesn’t seem like it,” the Paladin whispered honestly. “When they first discovered us, Paradise sent him to scout. This person must be skilled.”

“Come on, skilled? That Master is definitely a big shot. He was so close to us then, doesn’t he know our capabilities?” the Archer huffed. “If that’s skill, it’s just for racking up achievements.”

“The succubus’s weapon is indeed not impressive.” The Priest joined the gossip. “I’ve noticed he only has a small hunting knife and a small round shield, both looking quite ordinary, not on our list of important weapons.”

“What can he hide in those clothes?” The Archer scoffed. “I hate men who sell their looks.”

“Shut up. If you want to upset Paradise, do you believe the boss won’t make us go dig potatoes?” Abandon immediately interrupted the conversation, which was veering off track.

Abandon also had doubts about the succubus, but his were less malicious.

Paradise’s division of labor was very clear. Even the red-haired gentleman occasionally took action, but the succubus did nothing at all, looking simply… simply not like one of Paradise’s people. Anakin was tight-lipped about his identity, which meant his position in Paradise must be very special.

If he was just selling his looks, Anakin wouldn’t have been so serious. She warned them repeatedly, almost etching “Stay away from the succubus” on their faces.

Unfortunately, such things were like the monkeys of the Himalayas. The more Anakin warned, the more curious Abandon became.

He intently watched the back of the succubus’s silver-white head, who still stood beside the Master, his tail affectionately winding around the Master’s hand.

The succubus looked at the Master, smiling sweetly and happily. If you were to say he and the Master of Paradise had nothing between them, Abandon wouldn’t really believe it.

After all, those golden eyes were too bright, and the gaze couldn’t lie.

In the front of the team.

[There are outsiders here. You’d better join the fight,] Nol advised earnestly. [Anakin and the others won’t say anything, but that four-person team will definitely notice something’s wrong.]

Teest had been sticking to him the whole way, acting even more like a relative than a close friend. Not just Abandon and his team, but many neighbors’ eyes were becoming subtly strange.

[No, no, no, honey. If I expose too much strength, it would be easy to associate me with the “Mad Monk”.]

Teest walked cheerfully, as if he wasn’t in a dark tomb but a sunny garden.

[If that’s the case, dressing up as a succubus would be pointless.]

Aren’t you the one who wanted to dress up? I see you’re quite enjoying it. Nol pursed his lips, tempted to pinch the slippery tip of the tail.

[You can join the rear battle. Your strength fits the position of a normal succubus and won’t arouse suspicion,] Nol said fairly.

[No! That means I have to leave you alone with that red-haired fox.] Teest immediately objected, his tail tightening around Nol’s wrist. [If I’m not here, who knows what nonsense he’ll tell you. That guy’s known for his manipulative tactics.]

As he spoke, Mr. Painter elegantly lifted his paintbrush wand.

A beam of holy light enveloped the approaching sticky spider, erasing the creature on the spot. The effect was like clearing a layer in an image editing program; Nol hardly had time to see its health bar. In an instant, the sticky tomb passage became clean and tidy, as if washed with disinfectant water eighty times over.

Noticing Nol’s gaze, Painter turned his head and nodded amicably.

In terms of politeness, sense of distance, and reliability, the former Pope was perfect—a candidate for Tahe’s Top Ten Most Touching Companions.

It was really hard to dislike him, worthy of someone who had been a Pope.

Nol looked down at the warm tail in his hand, which was now tensely alert. It was obvious that Teest really disliked Painter.

So Nol gripped the tip of the tail with his other hand, changing the topic easily. [Have you thought about which skill to strengthen?]

He himself gained [Breath of a False God] through enhancement, but there were two skill enhancement stones in total for the mission, and one was still with Teest.

[Ah, I was keeping it for you.] Teest felt the warmth on his tail, and his thoughts brightened.

[No need,] Nol refused. [It was agreed that it’s yours, so it’s yours.]

Teest was silent for a few seconds, looking somewhat puzzled. [You don’t like it? Or you don’t need it? I’ll allow you to plunder me.]

He seemed completely unable to understand Nol’s refusal.

[Whether you see me as a husband, lord, or God, keeping promises is necessary.] Nol became serious. [If you can’t understand, just take it as my way of being, uh, being a God.]

[You don’t like my gift.] Teest muttered, puzzled.

[I prefer the withered flower over it,] Nol said. [Don’t let go of something that can make you stronger so easily.]

Nol certainly knew that another skill enhancement would indeed raise his abilities by a large margin. But such things shouldn’t be built on Teest’s sacrifice—not that it was a complex matter of interest entanglement. He just didn’t like it that way.

[I thought it would make you feel secure, but if you say so, I’ll really use it.] Teest turned his face. [Even if I might use this power to betray you?]

[Even if you might use this power to betray me.]

The Mad Monk tapped his chin with a finger, not insisting anymore. After a dozen seconds, he let out a long hum, as if nothing had happened, and continued, [I’ve decided what to strengthen.]

[What?]

[I’ll keep it a secret for now.] Teest curled up his golden eyes.

……

Finally, the tomb doors on both sides were thoroughly cleared.

The tomb of the “War King” had thirteen doors on each side, and each corresponded to a side quest. These branches offered incredibly generous experience points. Even before entering the last branch, several neighbors had already reached the maximum level.

Abandon sought out Anakin and managed to join a B-level side quest, ensuring at least not failing the task. The experience points from this mission were unexpectedly high, and as a result, both the Archer and the Paladin reached max level.

Once the basic quest was completed, the atmosphere within the four-person team became somewhat delicate.

“There’s only that one door left.”

The Priest pointed at the twenty-seventh tomb door—the one directly facing the entrance of the tomb, much larger than the other twenty-six. The door was square, adorned with complex and terrifying skeletal reliefs, clearly indicating it led to the final boss.

“I’ll bet a gold wheel, that’s definitely an S-level quest.” he declared confidently.

“Who’s going to bet with you on that?”

The Archer scoffed. “I’m saying, why don’t we just wait outside—me and the Paladin are already maxed out. Going in would be pointless. An S-level side quest involves at least two locations and can’t be interrupted. Just thinking about it is exhausting.”

“But there’s something related to the perfect completion requirements…” the Priest said quietly. His level was still a bit short of max.

“What do you need a +10 attack for? You’re a Priest.” The Archer immediately retorted.

The Priest fell silent, looking anxiously at Abandon, who was again plagued by a headache. Following the principle of “better safe than sorry”, he was actually not very keen on getting involved in this side quest.

This time, the Master of Paradise left the monsters outside. Only six people planned to go in—

The Master of Paradise and his succubus, the red-haired man, Anakin and her brother, and an unremarkable young siren from the pile of monsters.

The mercenary group didn’t plan to enter either. About a dozen of them set up tents and pots in the tomb courtyard and started cooking leg of lamb right there.

Their closest member—a robust young barbarian—wore a flower crown and a faceless god amulet on his chest. He stayed beside the most severely injured mercenary, gripping his wrist tightly, listening to him laugh and complain. The two shared a cup of berry beer, occasionally bursting into cheerful laughter.

The others picked some spoils of war for the young man with the flower crown. He cheerfully pulled out a large burlap sack, added his own share, shuffled it randomly, and distributed it. He hugged those who received gifts tightly, happily muttering “God’s gift”.

How nice the atmosphere of the mercenary group was, Abandon envied.

But then again, if his team of four were really useful, they wouldn’t have been sent to such a place.

“I want to go, anyway.” After hesitating for a long time, he still spoke up quietly.

The Archer was a bit surprised. “Dude, are you serious?”

“I want the attack bonus, and maybe I’ll get a good class transfer book. Besides, my experience points aren’t maxed out yet,” Abandon said. “But I’m only speaking for myself. Everyone else can do as they please.”

The remaining three looked at each other.

The Paladin hesitated for a while. “Bro, it’s not that I don’t want to go with you, but my experience points are maxed out. It’s really inconvenient. An S-level quest is too long, and my girlfriend is waiting for me to go back…”

The Priest who first brought up the “perfect condition” was especially shaken. “If the Paladin isn’t going, uh, I’ll pass. I prefer a tank I can trust, and Anakin’s already there. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to join.”

“You see.” The Archer nudged the first two who opted out. “I’ll go with the majority.”

As expected, it was the same old lackluster team he was familiar with.

Under normal circumstances, Abandon would definitely have joined his teammates in a leisurely manner. But the S-level quest was just steps away, and the +10 attack from the perfect reward was alluring.

The reward was one aspect… If he backed down now, when they report back, it would look like they just followed along and were useless. Returning with information about Paradise, he could only cobble together trivial news like “Paradise monsters have broad tactics” or “the Master of Paradise likes male succubi”.

The team members might be excused, but as the captain, Abandon really couldn’t swallow this.

He exhaled sharply. “Then I’ll hand over the captaincy to the Paladin and go ask Anakin and the others.”

“Are you serious?” The Archer raised an eyebrow.

“Yes.”

Abandon closed his eyes and steeled his heart, making the most important decision of his life.

……

To Abandon’s surprise, the Paradise team agreed quite straightforwardly.

“You’re a Ranger, so you and Solo will take on the support roles,” Anakin said. “Perfect, since Solo is an upgraded Rogue, the Ranger’s skills are somewhat lacking.”

“About the Paradise team—” Things going too smoothly made Abandon a bit uneasy.

“Just keep your mouth shut and don’t cause trouble, and there won’t be any problems,” Anakin said. “There’s only one requirement: once you successfully accept the second phase of the quest, help everyone as a scout for the rest of the journey. You don’t even have to participate in the final battle.”

“…What?”

“Don’t you want the +10 attack bonus? As long as you accept the quest and don’t stray too far, once we complete it on our side, it will be considered successful on your side as well.”

Anakin glanced at Abandon. She had experience leading leveling groups. This kind of thing was nothing new to her.

Nol, as their fellow native of Earth, didn’t mind letting Abandon leech some experience points. The quest was nominally a six-person team, but it was no problem to throw in a utility person like Fischer.

If it weren’t for the quest’s restrictions on the movement range of the escort team, Nol would have preferred to leave the experience leeching position to Lynn or Officer Luo.

Abandon was dumbfounded by the unexpected windfall and almost floated through the final door.

The space behind the door was surprisingly small.

The entire space was tall and cylindrical, resembling a stone tower, with peeling bricks revealing rough dark red bark underneath. It took him a few seconds to realize that this was the hollow inside of the red-barked spruce.

Abandon looked up into the dark void above.

…This is the final boss room? Where’s the boss?

“Everyone needs to be serious this time,” the Master of Paradise said gently. “I’ve explained the general situation to you all.”

Abandon: “……”

I haven’t heard anything! Wait! Does it mean it’s unnecessary to explain it to me again?

“This Villain is ready,” said the red-haired man, holding a wand resembling a paintbrush, emitting a warm milky-white glow.

Anakin also pulled out her wand, inlaid with the “Festival of New Green”, and nodded solemnly. Solo licked his lips nervously, but he still put on a serious face, picked up the crossbow, and stood at the edge of the circular floor.

The siren’s eyes were red, looking utterly dejected, perhaps scared. He didn’t pull out any weapons, just listlessly guarding the entrance.

For a moment, only the cloaked person, the succubus, and Abandon were left in the center of the platform.

“Holy crap, come here!” Seeing this, Solo hastily called to him, not daring to raise his voice too much. “Do you want to die? We two supporters should stick together!”

“Oh, okay.” Abandon jogged over to Solo, his mind short-circuiting from the sudden turn of events.

In the next instant, Abandon’s heart nearly stopped—

Just as he steadied himself beside Solo, something brushed past his heel and slammed into the floor. He nearly lost his balance.

It was a giant human mouth.

A fat old man’s head with a crown—fitting perfectly into the cylindrical tower—smashed down from the darkness above.

It buried deep into the ground, swallowing the Master and the succubus who were standing there. The head tried to close its jaw but couldn’t manage.

At the same time, the red-haired man decisively acted. Blinding holy light pierced its throat. Anakin waved her wand, reinforcing the holy light attack. Solo’s [Mud], [Emergency Trap], [Slow] were thrown in succession, slowing the old man’s head considerably, its health bar gradually dropping.

The creature clearly sensed something amiss. After a grating sound of flesh and blood, it slowly retracted into the darkness above.

This time, Abandon clearly saw the boss “War King” for what it was—

The head’s skin was loose, covered in age spots, the crown deeply embedded in the skull, with one eye open and the other filled with various swords and spears. Its facial proportions were completely distorted, looking inhuman and making one’s skin crawl.

Especially that mouth. The head’s mouth opened as wide as a snake’s, with sharp teeth, and the corners of the mouth torn raggedly. Drool, murky and black, flowed down the sharp teeth, emitting a strong stench of decay.

What kind of thing is this!

Being looked down upon by such a creature, Abandon felt weak in the knees. He had seen the red-haired man’s holy light magic—ordinary bosses couldn’t withstand a second hit, but this head endured over ten seconds of attack, losing less than 10% of its health.

Not to mention the cramped space, just the sheer pressure from its fall could crush them to death!

Is this a dungeon meant for humans? Is this something he could handle? Abandon suddenly felt like an ordinary office worker who had mistakenly entered an Olympic arena.

“Just throw debuffs at it!” Solo kicked him hard in the shin. “Just keep throwing—mindlessly throw—throw whenever your skills are ready—apart from adding debuffs, don’t do anything else!”

“But, but…”

The red-haired man was a mage, Anakin a healer, both Solo and himself were support… Who would tank? The Master of Paradise looked like a mage. Could it be a DPS rush???

Thinking this, he remembered to look towards the center of the platform.

The cloaked person pulled out a strangely shaped staff, supporting a protective shield. And beside him, the succubus finally let his tail go—somehow, a long sword appeared in his hand.

The sword was dripping with blood and purple flesh. Lying beside them was a huge tongue, cleanly severed.

The succubus glanced at Abandon, lifted the cloaked person’s hand, and kissed the back of it.

…Unquestionably a knightly gesture.

In the next moment, the person’s fighting and killing intent completely exploded, and for a second, Abandon thought another boss had entered the scene.

Abandon completely choked up.

To hell with the “meat-selling succubus”. This guy was way too strong! Can a succubus be this powerful?

This might be the scantily clad, strangest-acting knight he had ever seen… but this succubus might also be the strongest knight he had ever encountered.

A few steps away, Nol had no time to bother with the storm in Abandon’s mind.

[Well done. With the tongue cut like that, it won’t be able to use its “Greedy Lick” for a while,] he thought. [Next, continue attacking inside its mouth. Aim for its eye…]

[I want to attack from the outside,] Teest suddenly said.

[We’ve talked about this. A frontal collision is not in our favor.] Nol frowned. [This space is too limited. We don’t have a pure strength warrior, and we can’t withstand a direct hit.]

[I want to try my new skill.] Teest looked up at the old man’s head, eager to move.

In Nol’s surprised gaze, Teest raised his hand—the one not holding the sword—with a sly smile in the corner of his mouth.

The Mad Monk retracted his fingers, and with a crack, something quietly shattered in his palm.

Golden flames ignited from Teest’s body, and Nol instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes from the blinding light.

This guy dared to enhance his skills right in front of the boss!

Before the light dissipated, Nol raised the protective shield, quickly looking up to check the enemy’s status.

The War King’s head was submerged in darkness, its health bar unchanged.

As Teest fiddled in front of him, it didn’t make any attack moves—the previously wide-open eye and mouth were now closed. For some reason, it seemed to have fallen into a near-death slumber, its already scarce vitality dissipating even more.

A translucent system pop-up window floated in front of Nol, displaying a brand new skill.

[King of Sleep]!

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 114: A Peaceful Prelude

Ranger Abandon was heartbroken.

He jokingly chose “Abandon” as his ID, and ironically, his name came true. His team got lost in the vast Black Forest.

A member of the Homeward Saints Guild and somewhat of a team leader, his four-person team comprised older amateur Players with a mobile combat style.

They couldn’t compete with professional gamers and had no aspirations for the frontline, making their leveling pace lag behind the main force. Their leader, Hot Ash, sensibly assigned them to exploration, studying dungeons.

Fairly, it was a sound decision. Eager to prove his worth, Abandon chose the legendary “Paradise” in the Black Forest.

However, he underestimated the difficulty!

They accidentally entered a terrain dungeon called [Ancient Battlefield Miasma] and wandered for fourteen days without finding a way out.

The gray fog obscured their vision; the ground was a mix of rotting mud and skeletons. A misstep could lead them into black-green marshes, sinking their boots into stench. Trees hung with vines and cobwebs, and amidst the fog created a scenery that looked eerily similar.

The dungeon’s monsters were various undead creatures—will-o’-wisps or skeletons with rotting flesh hanging off them. Day and night made no difference here, and even after clearing them out, new ones emerged after a few hours, aimlessly wandering.

The torment seemed endless.

While water needs were met with magic, their food supply dwindled. The area lacked even insects, let alone edible prey. On this day, they could only muster two finger-length pieces of jerky and a walnut-sized pack of butter.

“We can’t possibly die here. That would be too embarrassing,” lamented the team’s Paladin, near tears.

“Should’ve read the task prompt before accepting… it’s all Abba’s fault, saying he could clear the maze in seconds. Can he clear this thirty-day mission in seconds?” The Forest Archer, the attack output, complained weakly.

“It’s not all his fault. Who knew there’d be no supplies? Even some mushrooms would’ve been nice.”

The Priest leaned on his staff, barely standing. “Do you smell instant noodles? Beef flavor… though I prefer shrimp and fish cake flavor…”

Abandon trudged forward, nearly tripping over bones. Death wasn’t the issue, but their exhaustion, pain, and hunger were very real. Worst-case scenario, they might become eternally immobile living corpses due to “starvation”.

Upon encountering the same giant rock for the twentieth time, the team couldn’t go on. Everyone nibbled on a bit of butter, lethargically swallowing. Abandon didn’t dare to eat. He climbed atop the rock, hoping to glean some insight from the rolling fog.

That was when he saw something remarkable.

Far off, another team seemed to be advancing. Years later, Abandon couldn’t forget that scene—

“This is the periphery of the ‘Ancient Battlefield Tombs’, where the number of undead is relatively constant, and they’re not very strong.”

A young man’s gentle voice explained. “Everyone can take a few hits, then let the younger members handle them.”

His voice was pleasant, but the shadows in the fog were not. Abandon immediately spotted the large Ironbone Bear, his hair standing on end.

How could so many monsters suddenly appear?

“Once we enter the Ancient Battlefield, there will be more undead and high-level carrion creatures. We’ll split the enemies in half—half for us, half for your mercenary group,” the young voice said politely.

“Sure, we’ll take good care of your subordinates,” a rich, pleasant male voice responded.

A mercenary group!

Abandon was overjoyed—regardless of the monster count, mercenaries could only mean humans! He slid down the rock, grabbing his teammates and rushing towards the source of the voices.

“Help!” he called hoarsely. “We’re trapped here, help us!”

The conversation stopped abruptly, and a figure approached them through the fog.

The moment they saw the newcomer, Abandon was nearly moved to tears—

Before him was a man who seemed to slowly emerge from the gray ocean, his silver-white hair almost blending with the fog. He was extremely handsome, and if not for the lack of a Player’s earring, Abandon would’ve mistaken him for a highly skilled Player.

It was like a divine messenger had arrived.

But soon, he noticed something odd. The man had a pair of hard black horns on his head and a glossy, full tail swaying behind him.

…A male succubus?

Well, it’s not strange! Succubi love socializing, and Abandon had heard of mercenary groups with succubus members.

The golden eyes moved through the fog, locking onto the trembling four. They looked like four desperate kiwis, having rolled in mud and avoiding excessive magic use for cleanliness.

The succubus let go of his hand gripping the hunting knife. “Pfft!”

Abandon’s good impression shattered in seconds at the merciless laugh.

“We can’t find the way out,” he said dryly. “Please ask your mercenary group to help us. We’ll pay handsomely!”

“I’m not part of any mercenary group.”

The golden eyes glanced at their mud-spattered Player earrings, showing disdain. “Never mind, come here, Miss Prude.”

Another figure soon emerged from the fog.

This time, Abandon almost burst into tears—

Heaven be praised, it was Miss Anakin, the Homeward Saints Guild’s top healer Anakin!

He ran up to her, almost tripping. “Fellow countryman, give us something to eat. We haven’t eaten for three days!”

Hearing this classic scam line, Anakin instinctively stepped back. “……”

Anakin: “You are…?”

“The 42^nd Exploration Team of the Homeward Saints Guild.” Abandon sobbed, his voice cracking. “I’m Abandon.”

“Oh!” Anakin immediately remembered upon hearing the peculiar ID. “You’re exploring the Black Forest?”

“Yes, yes. We’ve been trapped for half a month. We can’t contact the outside world! Are you on a mission nearby? Can you take us with you? We’ll be useful!” Abandon’s voice was tearful.

If they were just sent out of the dungeon, it would be too humiliating. They wouldn’t meet their monthly work goals. Better to ride on this big shot’s coattail and submit a decent report.

In Abandon’s mind, healers were high-status, especially a top-three Player like Anakin. Whatever task Anakin was on, if she agreed to help, it was almost a sure deal.

But Anakin seemed nervous.

She inhaled sharply, glancing at the succubus, who remained silent. She hesitated before saying, “Okay, I can ask for you. But I can’t promise you can join the quest.”

She then handed out four ham sandwiches and two large cans of sugary milk, retreating back into the fog. The succubus remained at a distance, scrutinizing them.

“What are you looking at… Mmph!” The typically irritable archer was about to retort, but Abandon quickly covered his mouth.

The others didn’t see, but he did. When Anakin looked at the succubus, her eyes held fear and caution.

Although succubi weren’t the most powerful, caution was warranted.

The succubus’s tail twitched slightly, and after another glance at the four, he disappeared back into the fog.

On the other side.

Nol had a bit of a headache.

The locals had to be saved, but he couldn’t let them freely join the team—Paradise’s neighbors had no hobbies other than chatting. If these four stayed among the monsters for fifteen minutes, unless they were fools, they’d guess Paradise’s true situation.

But isolating them left only one option—stuffing them into the Drifting Mercenary Group.

And they were from the Homeward Saints Guild of the Temple of Life, making the situation delicate, like asking someone to take care of an ex’s child.

To be honest, Nol didn’t want to speculate on Painter’s view of him at this moment.

Just a few days ago, Teest openly gave him roses and remnants of a Supplement Demon, with Painter smiling politely but saying nothing.

Today, as the team set off, Teest, citing the need to “conceal his identity in front of the Drifting Mercenary Group”, excitedly dressed up as a succubus. He donned the traditional scanty succubus attire, and his tail frequently coiled around Nol’s wrist.

Anakin and Solo seemed indifferent, but Painter’s gaze was intriguing. Nol’s face burned, forcing himself to act normal.

Was it that he seduced the Mad Monk, or that the Mad Monk seduced him?

Either way, it was far from the “upright and reliable” image Nol wanted to show. Now he had to trouble Painter further—

“Little one, I think your Paradise might not be convenient for human guests.” Painter smiled, suggesting, “Give us some more supplies, and we’ll handle this for you.”

“You don’t mind them being…”

“Oh, I didn’t leave the Temple of Life because I hated the Goddess. She’s indifferent to mortals, so I didn’t want to wait around, that’s all.” Painter shook his head speaking in a casual tone. “Besides, the Saints come from afar, unfamiliar with the land. I would’ve relied on the Temple too if I was in their place. Why mind? It’s all business.”

“I’ll give you supplies for ten more people,” Nol promised earnestly.

With only sixteen members in Painter’s Drifting Mercenary Group, Paradise was being very generous.

“You’re so generous. I’m deeply grateful!”

As the atmosphere seemed to be getting better, Mr. Succubus Teest moved closer, his plump tail coiling around Nol’s wrist again. Painter made an “ah” sound, smilingly closing his mouth.

[Those four people will barely not hold us back.] Teest’s tail tip caressed between Nol’s fingers. [The Paladin and Ranger are passable, the Archer is too impulsive, and the Priest is indecisive and not very useful. It would be best to let Painter take care of them. After all, you don’t need a second knight.]

[Mr. Painter has already agreed to take care of them.]

[Truly, he’s a cunning red-haired fox.] Teest glanced at Painter.

……

At the beginning, Abandon was ushered into a dream-like life.

As expected, the healing profession held significant weight. Anakin led them to a small mercenary group of about a dozen people. They were provided with tents, potions, and food.

The faces in the mercenary group were unfamiliar, but they were cheerful and friendly. Except for their extra closeness to one of the members, they seemed no different from a normal mercenary group.

It seemed the danger level of this mission wasn’t high.

The team moved forward at a relaxed pace, with someone handling the monsters ahead. Abandon and his companions, sipping corn soup from their cups, had almost nothing to do—apart from the sweet soup, they also received steaming meat pies and apple cider.

“Sister, what kind of mission is this?” Abandon couldn’t help but ask Anakin.

With food and drink provided and someone leading the way, it felt like being carried in an online game—if it weren’t for the mercenaries laughing and eating meat, Abandon might have felt too comfortable.

“A joint mission between Paradise and the human mercenary group,” Anakin whispered. “Just grinding for experience points, nothing much.”

“That succubus is from Paradise?!” Abandon was shocked. “Hey, apart from him, how many other monsters came?”

Anakin looked at him with a nearly pitying gaze.

“You guys just follow along and level up. Don’t think about anything else,” she said. “I’m here to show the Players’ sincerity to Paradise. Remember, no matter what happens next, everyone will be safe.”

…Anakin’s words were a bit subtle, and Abandon was taken aback. They already felt safe. Was this something that needed to be specifically mentioned?

The dream-like life ended on the second day.

As the fog cleared, the team arrived at the center of an Ancient Battlefield Tomb—

The sky was dark and lightless, and the air was damp and cold, seeping into one’s bones.

A giant’s skeleton lay scattered there, its eye sockets filled with numerous ferns collecting water. A thin stream of water trickled down from its eye socket. Various giant beast carcasses were piled in its ribcage, and among them grew a tall, slender red pine, like a blood arrow piercing through the heart.

Centered around this skeleton, rough graves were scattered around, easily numbering in the thousands.

Some graves barely had tombstones with names, others were marked simply with a sword and shield, making for makeshift graves. The more unfortunate dead had their bones scattered by wild animals, exposed to the elements.

Poison-feathered giant vultures perched on tall trees, skeleton soldiers slept amidst the dry bones, and zombie rats scurried rapidly among the remains, emitting an extremely foul smell.

Their destination wasn’t far away—by the right rib of the skeleton, there was a clearly visible underground entrance.

Abandon gulped. This was definitely a new dungeon, and they hadn’t received any information about it. It was a pure exploration mission. Normally, he would have turned back and left the opportunity to someone more capable.

But what could he do now? This place was found by Paradise.

He hadn’t finished his dilemma when the system’s notification happily popped up—

[You have entered a hidden area.]

[You have triggered the hidden dungeon quest: The End of the War King.]

[Normal completion condition: Enter the tomb of the War King, successfully trigger, and complete at least one E-level side quest.]

[Perfect completion condition: Enter the tomb of the War King, successfully trigger, and complete at least one S-level side quest.]

[Mission reward: A large amount of experience points [Normal]; 10% permanent increase in attack power [Perfect]]

[Rejection/Failure Penalty: Unable to accept any tasks within ‘The End of the War King’ dungeon again.]

[Do you accept the quest?]

…It’s actually a series of tasks?! Abandon’s mouth fell open.

Usually, such hidden locations involved only 1-2 related tasks, but a series of tasks was another matter—

Once tasks were graded, it meant there were at least 10 or more side quests to explore on the map.

And more tasks meant more content to uncover. The quality of related tasks was definitely not low, perhaps even better than ordinary hidden tasks. Of course, it also meant geometrically increasing danger.

But it was hard to refuse. Could they just leave them outside? Anxiously, Abandon chose “Yes”, praying Paradise would grant them a trivial side quest.

“Speaking of which,” as they approached the entrance, Abandon moved closer to the nearest Paladin. “Why does the task specifically state ‘enter the tomb of the War King’? I haven’t seen such descriptions before.”

“Maybe there are side quests outside too.” The Paladin swept away a zombie rat with his sword. “Maybe it means ‘outside quests don’t count’?”

“I find it strange…” Abandon muttered.

At this moment, the vanguard of the large group had already reached the right hand of the skeleton.

Abandon tiptoed. The handsome male succubus was standing at the front, affectionately holding a thin-cloaked person, almost poking his tail tip into the person.

The cloaked person’s aura was unremarkable, but just looking at his back, Abandon felt a chill. That must be a high-ranking leader of Paradise, he thought.

Wait, do the high-ranking monsters of Paradise like handsome men?

…Monsters have such tastes too?

Beside the cloaked person stood Anakin, Solo, and a red-haired man he hadn’t seen before. After them were various very well-behaved monsters. Between the monsters and the four, the noisy mercenary group separated them, and Abandon could hardly hear the conversation at the front.

He just saw the cloaked person step over the giant’s right finger, and the ground rumbled loudly.

Hundreds of giant vultures flew into the sky, and zombie rats scurried madly across the ground. Skeleton soldiers hadn’t time to stand up before they were crushed into dust—

The giant’s stone-like fingers reassembled into a huge bone hand.

Its jaw bone opened and closed, and the skull was slightly turning. Its face turned towards the people, and the spring water in its eye sockets flowed faster. In the other eye socket, not filled with ferns, a sun-sized blue fire suddenly ignited.

To Abandon’s surprise, the monsters at the front didn’t panic or avoid, their animal instincts seemingly lost. The mercenaries at the front also jumped and whistled, as if watching an exciting show. Only the four of them stood there shivering.

The undead giant, pinned by the red pine, could only slightly lift its upper body. It raised its right hand, seemingly about to slap down on the people.

The cloaked person moved.

He stretched out his unencumbered hand, slightly reaching upwards, gently making a “stop” gesture.

At that moment, the giant hand, falling like a mountain, came to an abrupt halt, awkwardly frozen in mid-air. After a few seconds of internal struggle, the undead giant withdrew its hand, slowly lying back in its original position, pretending nothing had happened.

It even adjusted its angle a few times, ensuring the waterfall in its eye socket looked picturesque.

Abandon: “Huh?”

It wasn’t that he couldn’t understand that “entering the tomb of the War King” was a quest point in itself, but he couldn’t comprehend this solution… Why? How was he supposed to report this to the Saints Guild? Was the undead giant that reasonable???

While he was still in a daze, a huge cyan-purple snake emerged from the mouth of the necromantic giant. Clearly, the giant was uncooperative. It struggled hard, almost shedding a layer of skin, confusion evident in its snake eyes.

The Undead Serpent King—Abandon recognized it at a glance. This one was definitely high-level. He had only seen lower-level black individuals in burial dungeons, and those with a cyan-purple halo were rare.

The one in front of them was over three meters in diameter, conservatively estimated to be level 100. If it had teamed up with the undead giant, Abandon would have immediately abandoned the mission—this wasn’t a job for humans! It would require the elite team led by Boss Ash to fight a team battle!

Unfortunately, the undead giant lay more peacefully than death, leaving the Undead Serpent King to fight alone.

The Undead Serpent King opened its mouth wide, spewing a large cloud of poison. Before the dark purple mist could spread, it bit towards the cloaked person.

The cloaked person didn’t even use his staff. Still holding the succubus’s tail with his left hand, he only lifted his right hand to push out a ping-pong ball-sized blue fireball.

As soon as the mist touched the fireball, it instantly burned away in reverse. The Undead Serpent King didn’t have time to retract its head and inhaled the fireball.

In an instant, it froze like the undead giant.

But it didn’t have the chance to go back to playing dead—it remained in its attacking posture, turning from head to toe into snowflake-like ashes. The succubus even grabbed a handful of ashes in the air, happily plucking a small amount.

The entire process took less than two minutes.

The team moved forward again, the mercenaries in front no longer making noise, seriously discussing something. Abandon overheard a few words—they were estimating whether the group leader or that mage was faster, arguing heatedly.

For a moment, Abandon deeply doubted the “absolute strength” of the Players.

…What is the background of this mercenary group?

…And what exactly is the background of Paradise?

At first, several big shots said that they should be cautious about approaching “Paradise”, and many Players scoffed at this. Now, looking back, Abandon felt a chill down his spine.

That was definitely main storyline level strength!

He dared not to be overconfident anymore and could only obediently puff out his chest and hold his head high, following the main force into the underground.

In just a few minutes, this team of about sixty “people” disappeared into the darkness.

……

In the distant Eternal Day City, Knight Eugene led his team into the city. Accompanying them was the leader of the “Homeward Saints Guild”, Hot Ash, and his elite force of a hundred men.

In the records of the Temple of Life, “Hot Ash” was noted as phonetically similar to “Hot Ash”*.

*Clarity: The leader, Hot Ash, is named (热灰) while the name recorded in the Temple of Life is (霍塔什). They both mean hot ash.

Mr. Hot Ash, whose face was still hidden in his helmet, spoke with a muffled voice. “You didn’t set this place before.”

“Eternal Day City has been harassed by The Manor and wasn’t open before,” Eugene replied gently. “Actually, it has always been the most suitable city for a supply point. In the past, the Dragonblood Hero Drake started his journey from here to Desolation Island.”

At this point, Eugene paused for a few seconds.

“This time, the person who saved Eternal Day City is also called Drake. What a sacred coincidence.”

Hot Ash chuckled dryly. “It’s a pity that Mr. Drake didn’t stay.”

From south to north, the Fini Empire, New Gemino, Shiva, and Gratice bordered the Endless Sea. Among them, New Gemino was the closest and the most severely corrupted by the Demon King.

Before, the elite team of the Saints Guild had been roaming the borders of these four countries, on the one hand dealing with the Demon King’s corruption and, on the other, frantically leveling up.

Hot Ash thought such peaceful days would last a little longer, but after the Players arrived, the Demon King became more and more insane. It had been quietly staying on Desolation Island for thousands of years, but in the past few months, it suddenly wanted to come over and take a look.

“…Our astrologers have precisely calculated that the Demon King is moving from Desolation Island to Brick Shadow.”

Eugene said seriously, “The number of monsters following it is countless. If it really lands in Brick Shadow, it will cause a huge disaster.”

‘Indeed.’ Hot Ash sighed softly inside his helmet.

Gratice and the Fini Empire were a bit better off, but New Gemino and Shiva were the first to be hit. To say that it was disastrous was an understatement. Especially in New Gemino, where they were, it was possible for the country to be completely destroyed.

“But I still have to say, we are here to confirm the situation.” Hot Ash glanced at Eugene, speaking rapidly. “Combat is not the priority. These are the core combat forces of the Saints Guild. I cannot risk them—if necessary, I will prioritize the protection of my people, not the civilians here, nor you.”

“I completely understand.” Eugene nodded sincerely. “Please believe me. If necessary, I will also prioritize the protection of everyone, not myself.”

“So let’s regroup for a few days and then head to Brick Shadow.” Hot Ash looked toward the nearby mountains.

The Temple of Life had their prophesied “God-slaying Hero” in their party. It was interesting, whether it was for surveillance, protection, or both.

It was noon, and the sky above the Brick Mountain Range was cloudless, with the sun shining brilliantly. Under the scorching sun, the light-colored stones of Eternal Day City glittered like snow.

Knight Hot Ash squinted his eyes and quickly averted his gaze. He tightened the reins and led his team forward.

In just a few minutes, the team melted into the light.

To everyone, it was just an ordinary day. A small adventure, necessary observation, and everything proceeding as usual. This land had been peaceful for thousands of years, and the impending disaster was still far away.

At that time, no one could have imagined that, much later, this day would become a critically important node in the history of Tahe—

The prelude to the “Demon King War” was thus unveiled.

---

The author has something to say:

The Succubus Knight returns to the stage.

Teest: I am disguising my identity, not because I want to wear it, mm.

Nol: ……

Teest: And definitely not because the tail is very useful ^w^

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 113: The Concept of God

Painter’s group of drifting mercenaries was still on vacation and needed time to arrive at the Black Forest. The former Pope decided to stay in Paradise and wandered around the Lost Tower when he had nothing else to do.

Initially, Teest insisted that Nol should lock up this slippery character, preferably sealing the windows too. Unfortunately, though Painter appeared untrustworthy, he was actually well respected. Even the reclusive General was willing to trust him, so Nol didn’t want to be too heavy-handed.

He was still hoping to extract information about the dragons from Painter.

Thus, the former Pope received a set of new clothes and could use the Lost Tower’s cafeteria for free, restricted to the first floor only.

The Mad Monk was cautious, and so was his Lord.

Painter wasn’t allowed to access other floors, and the monsters wouldn’t speak freely in his presence. Most of the time, the former Pope would nibble on half a sausage, reading romance novels in the first-floor hall.

Since the global announcement, including those who came on their own, sent back by the Temple of Life, or discovered and rescued by Paradise, the number of monsters here approached that of a medium-sized mercenary group.

The most commendable part was that these monsters, regardless of their type or strength, were very cooperative.

They took care of each other in an inconceivable way. Even natural enemies would at most quarrel but never fight or devour each other.

The Master of Paradise wasn’t to be underestimated. Nol’s control over Paradise was evident.

Painter mused seriously, taking another bite of his sausage.

The former Pope’s ignorance was understandable.

Every inch of land in City A was precious, and Joy Garden was a high-class community. Those who could settle in Joy Garden had some abilities and self-respect, not thick-skinned enough to freeload—

After all, Paradise’s leveling plan was too detailed, highly feasible, and even considered everyone’s rest and entertainment. If they still slacked off, sorry, but Paradise would cut off all support.

As former modern people who would get depressed over an unclean toilet, Paradise’s support was too important, and they dared not slack off at this time.

However, since there were more people to deal with, Nol rarely appeared.

He didn’t like crowded places and didn’t want his presence to be too strong to avoid suspicion of being the “Creator”. All the proposals he gave were under the guise of “Player support” and “all managers”.

To other neighbors, this mage was incredibly mysterious. He always stayed and ate with a white-haired knight, rarely visiting the cafeteria and mostly dining in his room.

Like right now.

With the plan set, Nol returned to his work.

He sat at the desk prepared by Teest, with a stack of blank scrolls on his left slowly diminishing as he wrote text and formulas on them, piling them high on the right.

The small pot in the kitchen stewed red wine deer meat, bubbling with aroma. Teest sat beside Nol’s desk, holding a basket of berries, almost as high as the stack of papers.

“You let that red-haired fox wander around outside,” Teest complained softly. “Painter will definitely snoop around.”

“Mr. Painter won’t tell anyone. He promised. Even you can’t deny his credibility.”

Nol dipped his pen in the ink. “I need him to trust Paradise more. Since we’re not involved with the Eternal Son, the innocent need not fear a crooked shadow.”

Teest tossed a berry into his mouth, crunching noisily. “How long do you plan to let him roam around?”

“Until I’m ready; maybe a day,” Nol replied.

Arranging six strong individuals wasn’t too difficult.

But for the initial group battle, Nol had to meticulously plan everyone’s armor setup and tactics, rehearsing them over and over in his mind like a surgical procedure.

This wasn’t just a game. It wasn’t just about clearing a level. He wanted everyone to return safely.

Teest looked like a jellyfish sunburned on the beach for two days. “You stubbornly refuse to go out. Your knight is turning into a private chef.”

The word “docile” wasn’t in the Mad Monk’s dictionary.

“You can go play in Grape Collar. I’ll be fine.” Nol paused his writing, rubbing his eyes. “Actually, I thought you’d go out on your own sooner.”

After saying this, he saw confusion flash in Teest’s eyes.

…Wait, did this guy really not consider the option of “going out on his own”?

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Teest abruptly moved away from the table, jumping down as if his butt was bitten. “Right, I should go to Grape Collar to buy ingredients.”

“Oh, okay.”

Just as he was about to leave, Teest solemnly came back. “The stew will be ready in half an hour. Remember to turn off the fire and leave half for me.”

“Alright.” Nol nodded solemnly, continuing his strategy writing.

Teest sighed with relief. His boot tip hadn’t yet crossed the threshold when he retreated back. He tilted his body, eyes on Nol. “I’ll be back in time for evening prayers.”

“…Understood.”

Nol paused his pen, crossing out the mistakenly written “test”—he had written Teest’s name instead.

……

After a dramatic performance of “looking back three steps”, Teest reluctantly left “home”.

Before Nol spoke, Teest hadn’t considered the option of going out on his own. Faith was terrifying! He absolutely couldn’t become a tasteless fanatic like Eugene.

Teest slapped his face, determined to regain his old rhythm—find a high-ranking member of the Eternal Church, interrogate, and leave them at the Evergreen Church’s door.

Well, he had to be back in time for evening prayers… and now that he was with Paradise, causing trouble between the Temple and Paradise would upset Nol.

Never mind, he could get by without taking that step. Background checks, planning, and detailed interrogations, he was sure to have a fulfilling and enjoyable day!

Half a day later, Teest stared blankly at a bird outside the window, his long hair softly glowing in the midday sun.

The room was a mess, with magic blast holes, curse scorch marks everywhere, and broken attack tools scattered at his feet.

Yet, not a scratch was on Teest, not even a drop of blood.

Suspended beside him was a bloodied and battered body, a man in his forties or fifties, groaning intermittently in mid-air. His limbs were hung high by golden threads, resembling an overly plump puppet.

Next to the man, two knight corpses kneeled on the ground, bowing to Teest. Their former master’s blood kept flowing, blooming on their armor.

…So boring. Teest toyed with a small blood spot on the glass.

The priest of Grape Collar was one of Teest’s earlier targets, holding a significant position within the church. This priest was known for his cruel enjoyment in torturing and consuming young, healthy servants from outside the region.

The priest’s movements were elusive, and Teest had been unable to pinpoint his whereabouts, hence the delay in making a move.

But now?

There was no need for Teest to painstakingly investigate and track him down. He simply had to pick up the whimpering “youth” Fischer and inquire about a name and address.

There was no need for Teest to carefully plan his approach either. The Eternal Church follower’s private knight had lunged at Teest with a sword, failing to even scratch his skin. And with a counterstrike from Teest, the knight instantly turned into a living corpse, clearing the way for him—

With a familiar knight leading the way and the effects of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” for concealment, Teest strode boldly into the mansion.

From the moment he stepped into the estate to finding the Eternal Church priest, the entire process took no more than ten minutes.

Servants in the mansion bustled around, oblivious, while the house’s master lay bleeding in his study, writhing in agony and despair.

“…Haa.” Leaning against the windowsill, Teest sighed. “A pointless interrogation, utterly meaningless.”

Lacking challenge and novelty… the corpse couldn’t even be displayed, leaving Teest devoid of the slightest satisfaction. His mood was no different than accidentally crushing a fat rat while cleaning.

“Urgh… Ah…”

The priest screamed inhumanly, eyes bulging in terror. “Monster… Wu…”

Teest turned around irritably. “You’re a priest of Grape Collar. Why not show a bit more devotion? I’ll have to return empty-handed because of you, with nothing interesting to talk about. It’s all your fault.”

“I’ve… told you… everything…” The Eternal priest trembled, far from his usual dignified appearance. “God… will not forgive… me, nor… you…”

“That’s your god.”

Teest toyed with the blood-stained ‘Betrayer’ in his hand. “My God is much gentler, though not very skilled in kissing.”

The priest stared in terror, his fat, segmented limbs twitching painfully.

His lower half was all tightly packed segments, many of which Teest had ripped off, making him look like an overused pot scrubber.

“So, aside from the ‘Demon King being unusually active’, do you really have nothing interesting to report?”

Teest asked again, his hand lifting and sending the ‘Betrayer’ flying, slicing off another of the priest’s fat segments.

The black-and-white segment bounced on the floor before curling up.

“’Eye of the Storm’… left… the Holy Land…” the priest confessed amidst screams. “Nothing else… truly… Ahhh!”

Teest rolled his eyes. Indeed, their ‘Eye of the Storm’ had left the Holy Land and was now weeping in the Lost Tower.

Hours of questioning proved that the priest knew no more than “Eye of the Storm” Fischer. What they didn’t know, Nol had already shown him.

The only thing these charlatans might know more about than Nol was information related to the “Chosen One” and the “oracles”. Unfortunately, only the Pope had the full details, leaving even Fischer, a High Priest, unable to help.

And this priest knew just as little.

Teest picked up the sharp segment from the ground, weighing it in his hand, before driving it through the priest’s skull. He then carefully burned the scattered remains with golden flames, leaving nothing behind.

“The deer stew must be ready by now. I wonder if it’s to his taste.” Teest commented to himself as he watched the burning remains. “The timing should be just right.”

…It’s so boring, almost less interesting than basking in the sun on dragon scales.

Teest had often pondered the end of the ‘Mad Monk’.

He imagined battles with the two major churches, then losing interest after learning the truth. The one thing he hadn’t considered was becoming bored before uncovering the truth.

Who would enjoy playing a one-sided, crushing game repeatedly? These prey no longer satisfied him. Neither their shallow knowledge nor their unoriginal fighting styles.

He needed new excitement.

Haa, time to head home.

But before setting off, Teest hesitated for a moment, slowing his pace.

……

Nol ate half of the red wine stewed deer meat, accompanied by soda juice, small pieces of cheese, and fresh berries. Teest’s cooking was as exceptional as ever.

However, sitting alone at the dining table felt awkward no matter how he positioned himself. The combination of long hours at the desk and dining alone made him feel as if he had returned to his work life on Earth.

Previously, Nol didn’t think there was anything wrong with such a life. He had seen some restaurants placing dolls opposite single diners and couldn’t understand it at the time.

Now, he suddenly grasped the subtlety of it.

…It’s all because this place is too much like a home!

Nol hurriedly finished his meal and threw himself back into work. This time, however, he occasionally looked up at the slowly setting sun—darkness fell, and his knight hadn’t returned. The stars gradually lit up. Daylight completely vanished from the window, and still, his knight hadn’t returned.

Teest must be in trouble, right?

Nol became restless. As soon as this dreadful thought emerged, his desire to work vanished.

But who could harm a Death Knight? Even Eugene would need his team and enough magical tools. Considering this, the Temple of Life could indeed hurt Teest…

However, Teest had the A Midsummer Night’s Dream and wasn’t the type to cause trouble for no reason. He was the Mad Monk, after all. He must be fine…

But such matters were unpredictable. Teest’s mind wasn’t entirely stable, defying conventional logic. Perhaps he found a uniquely dangerous way to court disaster…

Nol abruptly put down his pen, rubbing his face vigorously.

He knew his worry was unnecessary, but it was hard to control. He stood up and, for the first time, left his room.

Anakin and Solo were already familiar with the Lost Tower and had rushed to the cafeteria to enjoy the food. Fischer was having a mental breakdown in his small room, likely crying for a while.

Painter was still in the hall.

He sat upright in the armchair, almost finishing a romance novel, his sausage replaced with a steaming onion pie. Surprisingly, despite his fondness for greasy food, there wasn’t a single crumb or stain around Mr. Painter.

“Good evening, sir,” Painter greeted Nol, getting up leisurely.

“…Good evening, Mr. Painter.” Nol nodded absently.

“You seem a bit anxious, or maybe I’m mistaken?” Painter put down his book, his pale green eyes filled with concern.

Painter had a way with words. With just a soft question, he exuded a compassionate and tolerant priestly aura, compelling one to open up.

This was different from Teest’s “Dream Manipulation”. In Nol’s view, Painter’s “persuasion” was even more terrifying—because he knew Painter was sincere.

“I’m just a bit worried.” Nol lowered his eyes. “I don’t want to see any losses, whether they’re your people or mine.”

Of course, that was only half of his anxiety. How could he say the other half: “The Mad Monk has been out for twelve hours, and I’m a bit worried he might have run into trouble“?

If he dared say that in front of the former Pope, Painter would never discuss dragons with him again.

Painter seemed to sense something, smiling softly and sitting back down. “You’re a very responsible person.”

“I just don’t want a guilty conscience.” Nol also took a seat, glancing occasionally at the door. “You’re not wearing that little idol today?”

“It seems the Mad Monk told you.” Painter touched his empty chest. “Last time I saw you two, it was my last week as ‘God’. This time, I wasn’t chosen.”

Nol pursed his lips. “If it’s convenient, could you tell me why you do this?”

Painter looked at Nol for a moment, then turned his gaze to the brightly lit first floor of the Lost Tower. “You’re already doing something similar. Life is much happier with someone to rely on, a place to think of as home. My brothers and sisters are also pitiful people, unfit for the world… I can’t provide perfect shelter like you, so I create ‘consolation’ in a cruder form.”

He paused, looking at the magically created night sky above the tower.

“I think that’s the meaning of faith in this world. Unfortunately, nowadays, the essence is often lost.”

Nol initially just wanted to start a casual conversation but was taken aback by such a sincere answer.

“For you,” Nol asked seriously after a while, “is ‘God’ a sort of ‘consolation’?”

“A consolation that brings kindness and happiness,” Painter said softly. “For Paradise, you’re a good ‘God’.”

“And I hope the same for the Mad Monk,” he added meaningfully.

Nol was still pondering a response when the door banged open.

Teest entered, his left hand holding a bulging shopping bag and his right a beautifully wrapped dried flower bouquet, looking excited.

Nol immediately smelled the strong scent of blood on him.

Teest ignored Painter, stopping in front of Nol and handing him the dried flower.

It was a dried blue rose, accompanied by many baby’s-breath, carefully wrapped in golden paper and decorated with black and white stripes—the source of the blood scent.

Nol noticed the blue rose’s head was tied to the stem with golden thread.

“I went back to ‘Old John’ and found it in the drawer. I’ve always remembered it.”

Teest said, looking very satisfied.

“I came back before evening prayers!”

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 112: True Love’s Kiss?

Nol lay despondently in the fog of the early morning.

He had ventured deep into the Black Forest to better adapt to the original form of the Dracolich. Adapting to an alien body was much harder than he had anticipated, and with the immense destructive power of the Dracolich, he dared not flail about recklessly.

With surging power flowing through his veins, Nol simply lay in the leaves with one claw supporting Teest, who was enjoying the dragon scales, and the other holding his achievements from the past few months in Tahe—

[Dracolich [?]—Lv.1]

[HP: 100/100 [Permanently Locked] | MP: 100/100 [Permanently Locked]]

[Strength: 5,700 [-99.35%] | Agility: 1,588 [-99.35%] | Intelligence: 19,322 [+260%] | Physical Defense: 3,375 [-99.35%] | Magical Defense: 5,691 [-99.35%]]

[Status: Curse “Physical Destruction [Undispellable]” Permanently Active; “Staff of Sacrifice” Effect Active; “Guardian Oath” Skill Active]

Of course, the original power of the Dracolich wasn’t that exaggerated.

The attribute increase from [Fallen Death] was added directly to the weakened values, which looked quite intimidating. Nol suspected this was because [Fallen Death] itself didn’t exist within the system, so the enhancement method was so crude.

Nol’s current stats were even stronger than a normal level 20 Fallen Knight.

Having only 100 HP wasn’t an issue. His defense could greatly weaken attacks, so he wouldn’t die from a single hit, and he had a Death Knight by his side.

His mana could be managed with “The Complete Recipe Book”, and now he could use his own body as material to repair the damage in the Dragon Corpse Notebook—strictly speaking, the Dracolich was a form of a dragon corpse.

So even with the annoying curse hindering his performance, Nol’s abilities were still monstrously strong.

Especially his intelligence. This stat was stronger than many adult dragons, and as long as he didn’t encounter an unreasonable opponent like Zhuang Shuhang, who he couldn’t attack decisively, Nol was an unrivaled magic artillery.

After reviewing his full stats, Nol was more concerned with the “?” after Dracolich. He poked at it repeatedly with his claw tip but never got an explanation from the system.

After Teest carefully read Nol’s attributes, he stretched in the fog and summoned his own.

[Player ID: Teest]

[Death Knight—Lv.1]

[HP: 220,534/220,534 | MP: 30,040/30,040]

[Strength: 21,527 [+30%] | Agility: 9,707 [+30%] | Intelligence: 2,804 [+30%] | Physical Defense: 12,868 [+30%] | Magical Defense: 9,950 [+30%]]

[Status: Curse “God’s Forsaken [Undispellable]” Permanently Active; ” Betrayal Overture” Skill Active]

Nol: “…” You’re not weakened by a curse, impressive!

If it weren’t for magical artifacts and armies, in a one-on-one fight, his knight would likely be the strongest in all of Tahe.

Coupled with his own dragon-level intelligence, their awkward, cough, compromised cooperation, they could roam most of Tahe unchallenged.

Nol lowered his gaze, preparing to estimate the approximate stats of other “pre-arranged teammates”, but saw Teest’s panel continuously hovering in front of him.

[What are you doing?] Nol couldn’t help but ask.

[To this world, I’m now more dangerous.] Teest lazily flipped over on the dragon scales. [At this moment, I am willing to be your sword and shield, but you must watch me closely—if I choose to leave in the end, you let me go. Is that really okay?]

Nol was unsure what Teest meant.

He pulled his mouth out of the leaves and poked it towards Teest.

[I left the gold wheel with you. This way, when I think of leaving, I will hesitate… and I hope you will too.] Teest stroked the tip of Nol’s mouth.

So what then?

Was Teest hoping for a gift similar to the gold wheel, or did he feel too free and want additional restraints?

Perhaps sensing the confusion in the dragon’s eyes, Teest leaned forward, kissing the scales on the tip of Nol’s mouth.

[This is just a normal conversation,] Teest said. [I want to talk to you, but don’t want to use the methods taught by the church to persuade, so I can only speak from the heart.]

Nol blinked his large eyes.

Aside from lies, probing, and seduction, Teest rarely ever just talked. After all, since being taken away by the Eternal Church at the age of seven or eight, he had never had someone he could comfortably talk to.

[Then let’s have a normal conversation,] Nol said. [So, did you clean my mouth first before kissing it?]

[Ah, you caught me.] Teest draped himself like a sloth on the dragon claw. [I thought it was very effective.]

[You cleaned too vigorously.]

[You also burrowed quite vigorously. The Black Forest isn’t exactly a clean place.]

[…Your faith is really flexible.]

[Do you really prefer those mindless fanatics?] Teest stretched his arm, ambiguously caressing the fine scales on the dragon claw. [They would shout, dying for their God, but I would only give my life for my own thoughts. I guess you prefer me.]

This conversation was veering off track.

True to his Mad Monk persona, Teest flirted unabashedly, even with a Dracolich. Nol’s claw felt ticklish. Uncomfortably, he drooped his head and reinserted his mouth into the leaves.

[Yes.] He finally responded.

Teest laughed triumphantly, a joy so genuine and nearly sincere.

After a night of turmoil, morning arrived, and the surrounding fog gradually brightened. They slowly moved away, revealing the two figures left behind—

A black dragon and a snow-white man. The latter nestled against the former, admiring the fading stars.

The sunrise in the Black Forest wasn’t particularly spectacular. The burning sky was fragmented by numerous tall trees, with only the morning light streaking through the fog, its path visible.

The surroundings were utterly silent, as if the monsters sensed the dragon’s presence, and even the insects dared not come close. Time seemed slow and thick, as if only the two of them existed in the world.

Teest adjusted his position on the dragon claw, relaxing as if he would melt away. Nol had never seen Teest so relaxed in all the time he had known him.

Nol’s mood softened in turn. Plans and worries, for the moment, vanished.

He had never been in love on Earth, unsure of what “normal” love felt like. He could only be certain that, at this moment, he truly found peace.

Nol lay there, the boiling power inside him gradually calming, his breath and heartbeat as gentle as sleep.

[You still can’t change back?] Teest flipped over on the scales. [You’re too large now. I can’t kiss you all over—although I’d like to.]

[I want to get more familiar with the transformation process,] Nol bravely said.

This was his first time actively controlling the transformation, and if he got stuck halfway, it would be an awkward scene. Even with the Mad Monk’s bizarre tastes, Nol didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of someone he liked.

[So you can’t change back then.] Teest’s tone held a hint of sympathy.

The Dracolich discontentedly blew the leaves around. [I just need a little more time!]

[Open your mouth.]

[…Huh?]

[I have some herbs that can help you focus,] Teest said mysteriously.

Nol looked at him skeptically for a while, but eventually acquiesced and opened his mouth, mimicking a crocodile on dry land. His fangs alone were as tall as a person, allowing Teest to easily climb into Nol’s mouth—after removing his boots and robe and casting several cleansing spells on himself, Teest cautiously stepped onto the tongue.

Nol hoped the herbs wouldn’t be too bitter.

He tensely felt Teest’s palms, trying to open his mouth wider, and became afraid of accidentally biting his knight. But instead of the expected herbs flying into his throat, he felt a tingling sensation all over.

Teest stopped at a bite wound on Nol’s tongue, leaning against a tooth, and began to kiss the slightly open wound.

In that moment, the scales on Nol’s back nearly exploded off. The sensitive wound triggered waves of tingling and numbness. Teest even included some healing ointment, making the kiss both sweet and stimulating, like a wound being nibbled at.

If Teest’s actions were initially somewhat related to healing, by the end, it was unmistakably a genuine kiss—he held Nol’s tongue gently but firmly, kissing with intense focus.

The Dracolich felt like his entire being was thrown into a hot pot. Nol’s mind was overwhelmed with shock and stimulation. He wanted to close his mouth, but Teest stubbornly remained inside.

Nol struggled in place, not daring to move too much—just enough to create a shallow pit.

He couldn’t take it anymore. He had to close his mouth. But he couldn’t hurt Teest—absolutely couldn’t hurt…

A dazzling blue-white light flashed, and the giant Dracolich disappeared, leaving only a panting, crouching Nol.

Teest took out a robe from his bag and tossed it to Nol with a smile. “It seems those stories about ‘true love’s kiss’ aren’t completely just tales.”

“You…” Nol wiped his mouth, still in shock. “Your faith is really flexible…”

“At least I was successful.” Teest winked at him.

He extended a hand to Nol in the pile of leaves, his tone light yet gentle.

“It’s time to go home, Nol,” he said.

……

“I want to go home,” “Flawless” Anakin moaned in despair.

The good news was that she could finally meet with the Master of Paradise, Xu Yue, again. Just recently, Lynn contacted her through a doll, saying that Paradise had important matters to discuss and asked her to bring Solo along. The bad news was that the Temple of Life also requested that she negotiate with Paradise about the situation and convey information related to “The Manor”.

The good news was that the Homeward Saints Guild and Amazon would surely protect her in front of the Temple of Life. The bad news was that these two major guilds also wanted to know what exactly happened in The Manor.

Haha, one incident requiring three different reports. Haha, even her tutor had never been this harsh. Anakin seriously doubted whether she had transitioned into a “Flawless” or rather, a “Flawless Reporter”.

But what could she say?

The Temple of Life was unaware of the inside story, but she knew it as clear as day. The fall of “The Manor”, a gathering place for transmigrators, certainly involved Paradise in some role.

Recently, besides her, many other Players had come into contact with Paradise—this “contact” was merely being guided by the monsters of Paradise to discover some outer dungeons of the Black Forest. Apart from her, no other Players had successfully entered the Lost Tower.

For this, Anakin had brushed it off with her +20% luck value.

Thanks to Nol, she was now rightfully a top-tier Player, and having a few tricks up her sleeve was only logical, attracting no suspicion for the time being.

“This is the first time Xu Yue has actively sought us out.”

Anakin fiddled with her new magic wand inlaid with the ‘Festival of New Green’, muttering to herself. “First mission, absolutely can’t mess up… Absolutely can’t mess up…”

Anyway, if bad luck struck, Solo would be unlucky with her, so she might as well go for it!

However, the moment she arrived at the meeting room, Anakin immediately regretted her shallow determination—what in the world was this?!

Around the round table, Nol and Teest sat together, both emanating a much stronger aura than when she last saw them. Besides the glued-together duo, there were two more people in the room.

Coincidentally, she recognized both—from the wanted posters at the top of the Temple.

The notoriously renegade Pope, Godfrey Painter, was eating dried fruit earnestly. His posture was very elegant, yet he ate at a rapid pace, the honeyed fruit disappearing steadily in front of him. When he noticed the new arrivals, Painter lifted his head and smiled warmly at Anakin.

He was dressed in simple linen clothes, devoid of any ornamentation.

The mental state of the Eternal Church’s High Priest, Fischer Reginald, seemed very poor. He dipped his fingers in tea, drawing the holy emblem of the Eternal Church on the table repeatedly—each time he reached a critical point, his finger would slip, preventing the emblem’s completion. He stared at his wrinkled fingers, his expression filled with sorrow, his face marked with tear stains.

How strange—too strange. What the hell was going on?

Anakin’s brain nearly froze. She couldn’t comprehend this combination. What was Xu Yue thinking, bringing these two together?!

Overwhelmed by the chaotic scene, Anakin tried to back out the door, only to bump into Solo following her. Solo covered his nose and yelled “ouch” loudly.

“Please take a seat, Miss Anakin,” Nol said with a smile as Anakin performed a pendulum act at the door.

“Ah, this… Do you know, these two…” Anakin dared not run away. She dragged her equally bewildered cousin to a chair, step by cautious step.

“We know. We’ve already coordinated. Mr. Painter won’t kill Fischer,” Nol said soothingly.

He tried to sound casual, with the confidence of a strong person.

…But who knew the hardships behind it?

If this group of powerhouses really started fighting, it would be more stubborn and hard to manage than kindergarteners.

When Painter first saw Fischer, he calmly pulled out a brush and nearly took Fischer’s life on the spot. The former Pope was skilled. If not for Nol’s forethought, Fischer would have had a few more holes in his head.

Later, with Teest’s passionate encouragement, Fischer tearfully cursed the Eternal Son for half an hour, and Painter finally accepted the fact that “Fischer’s mind is troubled and relatively harmless”.

Fischer, on the other hand, was like a kicked stray dog by the roadside, his spirit broken. He alternated between scornful glances at Painter, confused and persistent stares at Teest, and banging his head on the table.

Of course, Mr. Mad Monk wasn’t very willing to cooperate at first. If not for Nol’s crazy eye-signals, he seemed more inclined to bring out popcorn and watch these two religious figures fight to the death.

‘What a harmonious team, so easy to manage.’ Nol’s heart yearned for death.

So don’t ask too much, Miss Anakin. I just managed to calm them down. Nol struggled to smile, hiding his despairing preschool teacher’s expression.

“It’s not that…” Anakin said weakly, her voice fading.

“We also gave Mr. Painter enough compensation. He’s willing to assist my actions,” Nol added thoughtfully. “Mr. Painter’s reputation is good enough. You two don’t need to worry too much.”

Teest snorted disdainfully, receiving a light kick from Nol on his leg.

“I… I understand.” Anakin relaxed slightly, finding a distant seat on the edge of the chair.

She couldn’t shake off the terrible feeling of a tourist mistakenly entering a wild beast’s cage.

“Miss Anakin is a collaborator we trust,” Nol said, addressing Painter, “so you can speak freely as well.”

Painter gave a slight bow and smiled without saying a word.

Honestly, Painter was more difficult to deal with than Nol had anticipated.

Painter seemed unreliable, but he was actually the leader of the Drifting Mercenary Group. When he heard about the cooperation to tackle a super-difficult dungeon, his requests were very practical—

Painter demanded that Paradise hire the entire group of Drifting Mercenaries, along with the residents of Paradise, to deal with the minor monsters. He claimed it was to help protect the members of Paradise, but in reality, it was a risk-free training and experience-gathering opportunity.

Hiring the leader meant getting the whole group; no separate deals.

“Even for us, ‘cooperating with Paradise’ is a bit sensitive,” Mr. Painter said. “If only the small fries are involved long-term, it will have a negative impact on the group. Better to let everyone see for themselves.”

He needed witnesses, huh? Typical of someone from the Temple of Life.

As for the information about dragons, Painter didn’t agree. Even after Nol increased the compensation tenfold, the former Pope still refused with tearful eyes.

“My Lord, dragons hold grudges,” he said. “Until I’m sure of your character, I can’t just reveal their information—if you do something and get noticed by Subelbot; once he traces the source of the information, everyone in our group will suffer.”

In other words, this former Pope still didn’t trust Paradise.

No problem. “Fighting together” was one of the easiest ways to build trust.

“Now that everyone is here, let me explain the commission details.”

Nol snapped his fingers, and a large magic screen appeared—

[The Ancient Knight’s Last Wish]

The Ancient Knight’s Last Wish was a dual-location linked quest. It was one of Tahe’s high-difficulty group battle dungeons and needed to be triggered in the “Ancient Battlefield Tombs” beneath the Black Forest.

After completing this large dungeon, a six-person team was required to escort “The Ancient Knight’s Skeleton” to the Endless Sea, fulfilling the knight’s wish to be buried at the world’s end.

If the first half of the quest tested the number of Players in a group, the second half assessed the quality of the strong within the group—the destination wasn’t the beaches of the Endless Sea, but a solitary island floating on the sea. If the skeleton was completely destroyed during this period, the quest would end in failure.

Nol presented this quest as a “legend passed among the monsters of the Black Forest”, pretending to be just an innocent and curious leader of the monsters.

“Legend says only a divine envoy can open the tombs,” Nol said. “So I specially invited Miss Anakin and Mr. Solo.”

“What about the final treasure?” Painter raised his hand solemnly. “If I understand you correctly, the six of us will escort the skeleton. The Endless Sea area is now completely dominated by the Demon King, particularly dangerous. Forgive my bluntness, but if the treasure isn’t valuable, this treasure hunt will be more loss than gain.”

Solo nodded vigorously, with Annakin also showing agreement.

The former Pope was quite astute.

Nol glanced at Teest unintentionally.

“When the Ancient Knight returns to the end, his bones will sink into the deep sea, and his armor will rust away. His will shall transform into a shield, a sword, and an armor, eternally unbreakable.”

Nol said softly.

“I need the armor. Mr. Painter, Miss Anakin, you two can divide the shield and sword equally.”

Painter’s gaze wandered between Nol and Teest, then clapped his hands together. “If even the Master of Paradise wants the armor, the matching sword and shield can’t be bad! Okay, okay, please be sure to let me join.”

High Priest Fischer whimpered, and Anakin nodded stiffly—well, at least she still had a salary, so it wasn’t comparatively so bad.

“That’s the general situation. Please rest here for two days. We’ll discuss the details of the operation later.”

……

“You didn’t say you’d give me the armor.”

Teest, hands behind his back, walked backwards in front of Nol, almost floating. “I thought you wanted to upgrade the members of Paradise and take a look at the Demon King’s situation.”

“You never used a shield in the battle against The Manor.”

Nol spoke in a low voice.

Ever since Teest acquired “Curiosity”, he had never seriously used it—the attack from Zhuang Shuhang last time was overwhelming, leaving no room for the shield’s appearance.

“I guess it’s because the defense isn’t complete. Using only a shield would be cumbersome… The ‘Knight’s Will’ armor is light and sturdy, which makes it very suitable for your fighting style.”

This way, Teest could fight fully armed.

“What about the sword and shield?” Teest leaned in closer. “Why give those to others?”

“Oh, because those two pieces of equipment are called ‘Knight’s Loyalty’ and ‘Knight’s Benevolence’… Are you sure you can get along with them?”

“……” Teest visibly deflated.

“See?”

---

The author has something to say:

Teest: Performing a real deep kiss.

Who would have thought, even a dragon could be French kissed by a human! (?

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 111: A Shocking Glimpse

The moment Teest noticed the fire igniting on Nol, he planned to jump away. Nol’s push added fuel to the fire, enabling Teest to successfully leap back several steps.

It wasn’t that the Mad Monk was heartless; he recognized the fluctuation of power emanating from Nol—

Nol’s current “human form” wasn’t his true body. He had been maintaining it with magic.

It was like compressing a large blanket into a tiny bundle using cloth. If the external stimulus was too strong, the thin cloth wrapping would break open, revealing the true contents.

The fluctuation on Nol’s body was a sign of the “transformation magic” breaking.

A huge shadow rose in the mist. Teest looked up, completely focused. He had rarely seen a real dragon, let alone a Dracolich that only existed in legends.

The fog surged, and the silhouette resembled a dragon, but it wasn’t as massive as a real dragon.

From the posture, Nol seemed to be crouching on the ground, shifting occasionally, probably searching for the most suitable position. His body expanded and contracted, likewise searching for the most appropriate form. Teest didn’t feel the unique oppressive aura of a dragon, which meant Nol must be restraining it.

Curious, Teest approached to get a clearer view.

The Mad Monk had his own caution. He seldom approached a massive monster voluntarily. If he did, the purpose was undoubtedly hunting… but now, who’s to say this wasn’t a form of hunting? He had to completely capture the other with the net of his gaze.

As the fog receded layer by layer in front of him, Teest could see the other’s skin. Yes, skin, not the bones or mummy he had imagined. That body looked even plump, just lacking the warmth of a living creature.

The black scales on the Dracolich’s body were extraordinarily beautiful, different from any dragon scales he had seen—whether the natural dragon scales enshrined in the church or the finely polished display pieces in top material shops, none had such shimmering luster.

Surprisingly, Nol had three pairs of overly large wings on his back. The wing membranes were a special bluish-red color, filled with strange patterns, and had a soft, visceral sheen. They also had peculiar folds, with pure black, eye-like moistness exposed in the spindle-shaped gaps.

Those wings wrapped around the body in a disordered manner, twisting into angles that dragon wings shouldn’t have.

It was more like a bizarre embryo—part dragon, part beast—than a dragonling. It had the incomplete feel of a young monster, but that didn’t detract from its surreal beauty.

Who would have thought, Teest only had time to take a brief glance.

He just stared at those strange wings for half a second longer, and his head buzzed as if a hundred fingers were digging into his brain.

Teest felt a warm and then cold sensation in his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. He stumbled back two steps, feeling as if someone had violently squeezed his insides, causing unceasing sourness and numbness. His vision flickered and twisted, like having ingested poison, and his head felt as if it had been roasted, completely unable to think.

He wanted to collapse and retch, but he managed to stay standing.

The fog kept moving. As he retreated, it gently concealed more details, leaving only vague shadows. When Teest finally regained his thoughts, Nol’s claws emerged from the fog.

The black scales were still beautiful. The recent events seemed like an illusion. Nol now appeared as an unmistakable dragon—a not-so-large dragon with eyes burning with blue fire.

It had the shape of a white dragon skilled in magic, looking agile and elegant. It also had the pitch-black scales of a black dragon, mixed with the surreal blue of undead creatures. Teest had never seen such a beautiful dragon, but that near-fatal glimpse still left him disoriented.

Was it a hallucination he saw? Or was it a transitional form during transformation?

Why couldn’t he see the full form? What exactly was it…?

Why did it hurt him?

Teest blinked with effort.

That extraordinary beauty still lingered in his mind, but the impression uncontrollably faded away, like a vivid dream. Only the dried bloodstains on his skin reminded him that the “anomaly” had existed.

[Are you okay?] The burning sensation was gone. Nol worriedly nudged Teest with the tip of his claw.

[What a coincidence. I was about to ask you the same question.] Teest quickly wiped the blood from his face. His head was still a bit dizzy, but fortunately, he still had his strength and sense of direction.

Nol tried to clear his throat to speak, but accidentally spat out a burst of blue flame instead. They immediately burned through the fallen leaves in front of him, creating a small circle of scorched earth. He quickly closed his mouth, his too-sharp fangs accidentally biting into his tongue, causing Mr. Dracolich to whimper.

[I feel okay.] In the end, Nol had to continue the conversation using telepathy. [The skill upgrade was successful.]

It was just that he really wasn’t accustomed to this body. It was too big and too complex. For the moment, Nol could only wriggle around on the ground.

The hearing, smell, and vision of the dragon form were overly sensitive, bombarding his brain with a multitude of information—the rich scent of the forest was almost suffocating, his own breathing sounded like a typhoon landing, and Teest’s heartbeat was deafening.

During his struggle, he plainly demonstrated [Breath of a False God] to Teest.

[So that’s how it is,] Teest quickly read it and responded meaningfully.

[You don’t seem very surprised,] Nol said while wriggling.

[First, I’m your Pope, remember? This isn’t just a role-playing game. I had some mental preparation.] There was a hint of inexplicable pity in Teest’s tone. [Second, you’re now frantically digging in the mud… I’m quite concerned about the atmosphere, sorry.]

He wasn’t the neurotic Eugene, unable to muster religious sentiments at this time. Teest frowned and carefully took two steps back to avoid his “God” flinging mud on him.

Faith should be practical, indeed.

Sensing Teest’s retreat, Nol lay down on the ground in defeat, motionless.

[I don’t want you to worship me,] he said dejectedly. [I just want to ask if you have any discoveries or insights…]

There were indeed some, but Teest wasn’t sure if his brief glimpse could be accurately described—after all, he had only a faint impression left in his mind, unable to be expressed in words.

It was better to keep it to himself for now. The anomalies he had secretly noted weren’t just this one.

[There are indeed insights.] Teest looked at the Dracolich lying on the ground as if dead. [Since the system can grant you almost “god-like” powers—it’s certainly not just a simple world law. It has the ability to give out “god-level powers.”]

[If I were a so-called “God”, I wouldn’t just want to break free from the system’s constraints, I would want to dominate it, to have a share of it.]

[I think so too,] Nol responded listlessly, his mouth buried in the leaves.

But “dominating the system” was no easy task. It seemed the system had its own set of operating logic. Even as its creator, he couldn’t just make the system give him a bonus. He could only exploit some logical loopholes.

For a second, Nol suddenly felt like he was competing with the Goddess of Life and the Eternal Son, scrambling for the “system” as if it was a delicious piece of cake.

Forget it, no more dreaming. Even with [Breath of a False God], his pitiful attributes made him at best a half-god. Not to mention the two ancient gods, he couldn’t even beat a dragon leader.

The joy of skill enhancement gradually faded, and Nol buried his mouth deeper into the leaves.

As someone without ambition, he just wanted to find a way home and create a beautiful ending for Teest. He hoped those two gods wouldn’t come looking for trouble…

[I have another insight,] Teest continued solemnly.

[Oh?]

[Since you feel okay, it seems “help” wasn’t called by you.]

Nol was startled. He moved his head and listened attentively.

Faint cries for help came from under his front paw. He quickly and laboriously moved his paw away.

Nol had only managed to push Teest aside, and Kando was pressed into the leaves and mud. When Teest pulled it out, the candle was close to crying. Seeing the immensely large Nol, it swallowed its cry.

Teest tossed the candle in front of Nol’s nose and found a spot between the dragon’s claws to sit down comfortably.

Nol activated [Ash Remnants] again; his scales were warm and comfortable, smooth and fine to the touch. Skin against the scales felt like being embraced from all directions.

Teest collapsed on the scales, suddenly understanding why Nol always wanted to hug.

“Do you… ahem… have anything to say?” Nol finally managed to speak with his vocal cords, his rumbling voice causing the ground to tremble.

Teest leaned on his front paw, a warm bundle, not daring to move too much for fear of pressing the other.

“Nothing!”

Kando covered its eye with wax tears. Nol couldn’t tell if it was just his imagination, but he felt like it was deliberately showing its bitten-off part.

“I don’t want to interrogate you. If it weren’t for you, the battle at The Manor wouldn’t have gone so smoothly. I just want to talk to you.”

Nol tried to soften his tone, but the dragon’s vocal cords still rumbled. Although it was unlikely that there were people in the depths of the Black Forest, he still cast a soundproofing spell nearby.

The candle peeked out from between the wax tears. “You always use such a terrifying form to chat?”

“.…..”

Nol fell silent, not really wanting to admit that he hadn’t found a way to change back yet… and he was quite enjoying Teest clinging to his claws.

“Fine, ask away. I can’t run anyway,” after a few seconds, the candle said resignedly.

“Do you have dragon blood?” Nol went straight to the point.

“Oh, yes,” the candle said. “There’s a string in my head that tells me to stay away from dragons and the Dragon’s Lair, because they don’t like me as a member—other than that, I know nothing.”

Nol wanted to frown, but instead, he crinkled his nose, revealing all his sharp teeth.

Teest turned around curiously and reached out to touch the row of snow-white teeth.

They felt pretty good.

Seeing those sharp teeth, the candle shuddered and cautiously waved its wax tears. “It seems you don’t understand what ‘forgetting one’s name’ means… Right, the Mad Monk is an exception. Most people aren’t as lucky as him.”

“‘Forgetting your name’ isn’t just forgetting your name. You forget everything related to that name—people you cherish, people you hate, everything you care about as ‘you’. At most, you’re left with some insignificant knowledge, like those amnesiacs who only remember common sense.”

“If it weren’t for ‘dragon-related’ knowledge being a matter of life and death, I wouldn’t have any impression either.”

“But you’re not a Supplement Demon.” The two huge blue dragon eyes stared intently at the candle.

The candle was silent, a tear of wax slowly flowing down its “head”.

“A ‘name’ is one of a person’s most precious possessions.”

In the tranquil darkness, Teest picked up the conversation. “The Eternal Church takes it away to brainwash more easily. I’ve heard that some people use it as a bargaining chip—mortgaging ‘self’ is far more severe than mortgaging property or the body.”

“Mr. Kando, you traded your name with someone, right? Let me guess, your insistence on following my husband is also part of the deal, isn’t it?”

Nol immediately understood.

The candle’s personality had nothing to do with strictness or discipline. In critical moments, there was no need for it to be so tight-lipped—if its name was in someone else’s hands, that would explain it.

Who was the candle’s trading partner?

It openly insulted the Goddess of Life and the Eternal Son, so it probably wasn’t a follower of either. During the time it followed them, it never conveyed any information to the outside world—it was more like a pure tool sent to them, and it had accepted this role.

Moreover, whether it was originally a dragon or a hybrid of a dragon and another species, it shouldn’t be in its current sad state. It’s hard to imagine what it went through to decide to “sell its name”.

Although the candle had a venomous mouth and was unruly, without it, their territory wouldn’t have developed so fast, and they wouldn’t have come so far.

“Kando, if you can’t speak because of this, I won’t ask anymore,” Nol suddenly said.

The candle put down its wax tears that covered its eye in surprise.

“Thank you for helping me,” Nol earnestly expressed. “Let’s continue to work together in the future. I hope you can regain your name soon.”

The candle visibly relaxed, its gaze complex, as it looked at Nol for a while. “So it really was just a chat.”

“Were you expecting me to exact revenge?”

“Heavens, no!” Kando exclaimed. “It’s just that you and your knight are too crude. I was just a little worried…”

Nol: “…”

Nol exhaled a breath, blowing the self-satisfied candle away.

[You’re really giving up just like that?] Teest patted his claw.

[Of course not. I don’t want to force it—even if it has its own agenda, it has indeed helped us a lot.] Nol gently moved his claw. [Just confirming ‘it has dragon blood’ and ‘its relationship with dragons is bad’ is enough. I can investigate through other means, which wouldn’t count as Kando breaching the contract.]

Teest sat cross-legged on his claw, eager to hear more.

[Dragons are very rare, and hybrids with other species are even rarer. Human records in this area are indispensable. We just need to verify those missing dragons or hybrids.]

Teest slumped his shoulders. [You make it sound easy, but those are top-secret materials. Even I don’t know about them.]

[But someone should know,] Nol said. [As long as the reward is sufficient, I think he’ll speak.]

[Wait, wait! You’re not going to…] Teest’s body stiffened slightly.

[Before meeting the Demon King, we need to be prepared.] Nol’s thoughts brimmed with a hint of amusement. [There’s a major dungeon in the depths of the Black Forest, and I want to level up with everyone—though it’s particularly dangerous. To clear it without injury, we need external help.]

[Like Miss Anakin, Mr. Solo, and that fake siren… including our knowledgeable Mr. Painter. Together with you, that makes a six-person team.]

[…] Teest was stunned for a few seconds by the overly free composition. [Are you sure you want to put these people together?]

[Why not?]

Death Knight Teest, Dracolich Nol, and Saint Painter could provide different types of magical output.

Night Ranger Solo could be a great support. Flawless Annakin focused on healing… As for the High Priest of the Eternal Church, he could be used as bait in dangerous situations.

A perfect team, all with tight lips, so there were no worries about the secrets of Paradise being exposed. The other neighbors just needed to follow behind them, clearing small monsters and gaining experience.

From the perspective of a raid team, this setup was absolutely reasonable!

[Regarding the secrets of the dragons, Mr. Painter definitely knows something.] Nol nodded in satisfaction.

[Dear Lord Nol, you always make me feel very sane.]

[Uh, that means our emotional relationship is positively progressing.]

…Maybe?

……

Bissus, the holy land of the Temple of Life.

“Lord Eugene, there has been no unusual activity near the Black Forest, and Paradise has made no moves so far.” An Investigation Knight bowed deeply.

Eugene sat upright in his armchair, listening intently.

His wounds had been thoroughly healed by healing magic. Unfortunately, the injuries had been severe and long-standing, sapping his vitality and preventing him from returning immediately to his peak condition.

“We have reviewed the oracles of the last hundred years, ensuring there are no oversights. However, there has been news from the Eternal Church about a Chosen One—they have dispatched a High Priest, reportedly searching for a missing Chosen One of the Eternal Church.”

Another knight stepped forward.

“Which high priest? Are you sure of this information?” Eugene tapped his fingers on the table.

“‘Eye of the Storm’, my lord. The information is almost certain. That High Priest was spotted by our people. He was in the territory of New Gemino, heading towards Gratice.”

The knight bowed. “We couldn’t intercept him, so the content of that oracle…”

“Don’t worry. That’s ‘Eye of the Storm’. Even I might not be able to stop him.” Eugene sighed softly. “I see. They sent ‘Eye of the Storm’. It seems the Eternal Church doesn’t dare to offend this Chosen One.”

“Could that hero Drake be the Chosen One of the Eternal Church?” The reporting knight choked up.

“I thought he was entangled with Paradise.”

The first knight spoke in a low voice. “Paradise promised to handle The Manor issue but never showed up. Something isn’t right. Moreover, for Drake to single-handedly destroy the entire Manor is too exaggerated. None of us know what really happened there.”

Eugene narrowed his eyes, falling silent for half a minute.

“I remember the Homeward Saints were to liaise with Paradise to confirm The Manor’s situation,” Eugene said. “As for the Chosen One…”

He glanced at the two knights. “I will handle the matter of the Eternal Church’s Chosen One. You two can go rest.”

“Yes!” “Yes, my lord!”

The room’s door opened and then closed, leaving it in complete silence. Eugene sipped his cold tea with a trace of fatigue on his face.

He exhaled deeply, pulling out a light green communication crystal from his inner pocket. Soft light filtered through the finely carved gem, casting a patch of emerald green on Eugene’s face.

“That is the person you specifically showed me…”

“I can feel the conflict of light and shadow in that person. They mix with each other, barely in balance… Perhaps he is standing on the edge of darkness, only a step away from the Eternal Evil God.”

Eugene closed his eyes, clutching the crystal tightly.

The muscles on his cheeks moved, as if trying to chew and swallow that piece of darkness.

After a while, he lowered his arms. Knight Eugene clasped his hands together, pressing the communication crystal between his palms, his fingers crossed in a wheat-sheaf-like prayer gesture.

“If there exist Chosen Ones who were selected by God, stood at the pinnacle, but still chose betrayal…”

He murmured.

“Then there must also exist heroes who were initially chosen by evil gods but can still be pulled back into the light… Supreme Lady Tilia, is this also a test you have given me?”

“If you desire him, I will snatch him from the Eternal Son and present him before you.”

……

Gratice, Ice Rock City, the holy land of the Eternal Church.

High Priest Fischer, dragging his weary body, returned to his room. For some reason, on his way back to the city, he suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to “hop back on one foot” to express his loyalty to his God.

It felt almost like some kind of mind-control magic. Mr. Fischer tried a dozen dispelling spells, none of which worked.

What was he supposed to do upon reaching his destination?

Right, he needed to report the anomalies in The Manor battle, inform the Pope about the Chosen One’s situation, and somehow bring the Mad Monk to the Eternal Son…

No! He had to take out the list of Paradise monsters, hand it over to the General of Grape Collar, and then go into seclusion in the Black Forest…

It was as if two versions of himself were arguing. High Priest Fischer stood in the middle of his room, frozen like a statue. For the first time as a fanatic, he had an absurd thought—could he be going mad?

Fischer took several deep breaths and walked to the statue of the Eternal Son. He habitually knelt to pray, only to find that his knees had suddenly lost the ability to bend.

He couldn’t kneel down.

Fischer tried hard but still couldn’t kneel. The statue in front of him became more and more irritating to look at—an infant holding a sphere. What’s so sacred about that?

The person he should follow should have long white hair, brilliant golden eyes, and an extremely wicked smile. That was his master… his god…

As Fischer recalled the appearance of the Chosen One, his knees weakened, and he fell to the ground with a thud.

…Damn it!

“My task is not yet complete. I won’t go to see the Pope,” he heard himself say to someone outside the door. “I need to make a trip to Grape Collar.”

---

The author has something to say:

Teest: Bad news, I believe in a god with a soft heart.

Teest: Good news, sometimes he’s crazier than me.

Nol: Hey, I’m throwing a super cool mix-up of surface forces. Guess who isn’t invited?

Eugene: …

Billy: …

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 110: Skill Upgrade

Witch Lynn awoke in the early dawn. Strictly speaking, Puppet Witches like her didn’t need so much sleep. Still, she strictly adhered to the routine she followed when she was human—crucial for maintaining mental health.

During Nol’s absence, the Lost Tower had become increasingly refined.

Nol had previously confirmed everyone’s race and attributes, tailoring leveling strategies for each of them. He had written detailed guides about resource points and hidden dungeons around them. Everyone had goals, and their vitality and spirits gradually improved.

People had transformed into entirely different creatures, with gender and age becoming blurred and the competitive mentality in society completely disappearing.

Teenagers in their teens and elders in their fifties chatted animatedly, discussing the minutiae of life on Earth; young men and women talked freely, exchanging advanced leveling techniques.

Recently, Lynn heard cheerful conversations and laughter in the cafeteria. Many had transitioned to higher-level races, like Griffin Piel, who, after being well-fed, had grown significantly, running around with a wooden sword every day.

As the number of people increased, a management system was gradually forming.

Nowadays, the security of Paradise was managed by Officer Luo and Dr. Zhu, with Officer Luo occasionally patrolling the tower to reassure everyone with his “official law enforcer” presence.

Uncle Ma, with his factory management experience, took on the tedious tasks of labor distribution and resolving conflicts. The conflicts were efficiently coordinated by the succubus Ma Zhigang—men and women alike became more reserved in the presence of the succubus’s naturally charming face.

As for Lynn herself, as Nol’s designated deputy manager, she took on the tasks of research and diplomacy. She was responsible for the Tower’s infrastructure and external relations.

It sounded burdensome but was actually easier than Lynn had expected. So far, few external forces had specifically visited the Lost Tower. She spent most of her time researching magical artifacts and searching for her sister through surveillance.

Lynn was ready for a new era of stability. Unfortunately, as of last night, her workload increased. The events of the previous night revisited her mind. She lay rigid in bed, unwilling to get up.

Nol—Mr. Xu Yue—emerged unpredictably, like mushrooms after the rain.

Last night, just as Lynn was enjoying her freshly baked egg cake, she was suddenly summoned for a meeting. Nol only called for herself and the Luo-Zhu couple, not even Uncle Ma.

Whenever there was a “management only” meeting, Nol always dropped bombshells. Lynn sensed trouble, suspecting Nol had discovered something at The Manor.

She shared her warm cake with Piel and the little ghost girl, bracing herself before entering the meeting room.

Regrettably, her preparation was still insufficient—

The strange situation after the neighbor was expelled by the letter opener. The suspicion of the Demon King’s corruption was a god’s corpse. Three destroyed worlds and their relics. And the message presumably from the Demon King, “To My Compatriots: Please kill me.”

“…What?” Faced with a barrage of shocking news, Lynn summed it up with a dazed question. In comparison, the issues she prepared to report seemed trivial.

“The research of Zhuang Shuhang, I’m afraid I’ll have to entrust it to you,” Nol continued sincerely. “In a few days, I can take you underground to collect some research samples.”

“I understand,” Lynn responded vaguely. “I’m not very knowledgeable about biology, but I can look into the mechanical aspects.”

Nol nodded. “The corruption itself is dangerous. I’ll handle that research. I ask you all to keep today’s matters confidential.”

Compared to their first meeting, there was a subtle change in Nol’s demeanor.

His tone was steadier, without the excessive caution of looking back and forth, and his gestures carried an odd sense of oppression. Lynn had seen such demeanor in the eyes of her military ancestors.

Whatever Nol had experienced, he must have come to terms with many things. If not for the Mad Monk sitting beside him, Nol might have appeared even more reliable—

Teest sat close to Nol, his face bearing a wary smile. God knows why he attended this kind of internal discussion of Earth.

Lynn originally thought Nol and Teest were only cooperating temporarily, using each other until Paradise took shape. After that, there would be no need to contact such dangerous people.

However, not only did their relationship not drift apart, but the atmosphere between them also grew more intimate.

What on earth had happened between these two in these few months?

Teest’s hand was always on Nol’s knee, as if glued there with superglue. Lynn stared doubtfully at that hand but ultimately decided to remain silent.

“Wait, wait, let me get this straight…” Opposite Lynn, Officer Luo said in a daze, “So, there were three worlds before, and they’re all gone? And these worlds are like games, which Xu Yue doesn’t recognize?”

“Not necessarily games. It could be other things, like novels, movies,” Dr. Zhu added precisely. This couple had been oblivious to the world at first. To them, this world was already absurd enough, and hearing even more ridiculous news, they were relatively calm.

“It seems that something is deliberately replicating the worlds from the works of Earth.” Lynn pressed her temples hard. “If this hypothesis holds, Xu Yue must have been involved. Speaking of which, I have something to report.”

Nol nodded. “Please, go ahead.”

“While you were away, we found a young neighbor. He lives in Building No. 4. That night, he was working overtime at home… He was greatly traumatized before and didn’t speak. Just a few days ago, he started to recover. He saw what happened that night.”

Lynn projected a recorded image with magic. In the image, a scarred zombie sat cautiously. To cover his pale, decaying skin, he was wrapped in a uniform. He wore white gloves and a small round hat to cover his thinning hair. Unfortunately, he couldn’t cover the bloodless, horrifyingly curled flesh on his face.

“I work in advertising and usually sleep late,” the zombie said in a sticky, throaty voice. “That night I was sleepy. I went to the kitchen for tea… then I saw light, not the good kind.”

He struggled to gesture, slurring his speech. “Just in those two seconds, the sky suddenly turned red, extremely bright outside. It felt like an earthquake, but not quite. Something flashed in front of me—a dark shadow. I couldn’t see clearly, then my head hurt, and I woke up here.”

After speaking, he seemed to remember something and shivered several times.

“I thought I’d encountered one of those sudden-death transmigration situations,” he said listlessly. “That’s all I saw.”

“It sounds a bit like an explosion.” Officer Luo furrowed his brows.

“So, what Mrs. Meng said isn’t very reliable. If it started with an explosion in Building No. 7, Building No. 4 wouldn’t have had this situation—unless Xu Yue hacked into the nuclear weapons system, he couldn’t have killed everyone instantly.”

Lynn put away the projection. “I’ll ask around more later, but given Mr. Chen’s testimony, the whole process was too short, so don’t get your hopes up too high.”

“There was a similar incident in City B,” Officer Luo said. “But that was in a suburban detached house, a self-built home. There was a major explosion there, flattening nearby farmland and killing two people.”

“That was many years ago,” he continued, shaking his head. “‘The sky turned completely red’ sounds familiar. At that time, the nearby farmers also said they saw the sky bright red.”

“What happened then?” Nol perked up.

“The public explanation was ‘suspected high-risk explosive made by the homeowner.’ My predecessor said that was the only possibility, as the house was blown to bits, making it difficult to gather evidence. In our view, it’s still somewhat of an unsolved case.”

Officer Luo’s tone became serious when talking about the case.

“That could explain Zhuang Shuhang’s situation.” Lynn shifted the topic. “If it was an explosion, it’s understandable to end up like that. It’s a miracle his brain is still intact.”

Perhaps everyone was already fragmented under the guise of monsters. She didn’t voice this thought, but those present might have guessed something. Nol’s expression darkened, and Officer Luo cleared his throat uncomfortably.

Nearby, Teest’s hand on Nol’s knee moved slightly. Then, as if hearing something, Nol’s expression softened a bit.

“Too bad we can’t verify it,” Nol said with a forced smile. “I can’t exactly go around poking people.”

“Right, let’s set aside unverifiable matters for now. Regarding the worlds, the gods, and the underground research, we’ll do our best. And about that Demon King… what do you plan to do next?”

Officer Luo changed the topic, patting his face. “Brother, you’re not planning to meet the Demon King, are you? It might just be tricking you.”

“I’ll be careful,” Nol said gently, his hand lightly brushing over Teest’s hand on his knee.

As expected. Lynn sighed inwardly.

If Nol only wanted to save everyone’s lives, he wouldn’t need to be so dedicated. He could comfortably stay in Paradise, letting the Players figure out a way home.

But as his power grew, he became more proactive—not being pushed forward for survival, not cautiously moving forward to return home, but willingly charging towards the truth.

A strange person.

Regarding last night, after recalling everything, Miss Lynn turned over a few times on the pillow, finally sitting up—regardless, Nol’s proactiveness was beneficial to her. The more she knew about this world, the more clues she would find about her sister.

For the sake of her cherished ones, she too must be at the forefront… Wait, why did she say “too”?

Teest’s hand on Nol reappeared in her mind, and Lynn squinted, pondering for a full ten seconds.

…It couldn’t be, right? Hmm, definitely not what she was thinking! Lynn got out of bed firmly.

Gossiping about colleagues wasn’t good; work was more important.

……

“You didn’t mention our relationship to them, have you?”

During the night, in the depths of the thicket, Teest sighed heavily.

“The people from our side don’t really believe in God. Even if I spoke of it, they wouldn’t understand,” Nol said, making his way towards the depths of the Black Forest in the darkness. “If I told them you are my ‘knight to whom I would entrust my life’, they would just think I’ve been scammed—those guys know you’re the Mad Monk.”

Teest: “…Tsk.”

Nol glanced back at him. “Don’t tsk at me. That’s what you hurriedly promoted yourself as.”

Teest: “…Tsk!”

Mr. Mad Monk, frustrated, trampled on the leaves under his feet, not knowing exactly what he was upset about. Eventually, he took a few steps forward to walk alongside Nol.

“Why are you leading me into the woods in the middle of the night?” Teest muttered. “If it’s just to change clothes… Ah, I see, you also want to interrogate Kando.”

“Interrogate whom?” Kando screamed in Nol’s arms. “This is biting the hand that feeds you!”

“No, I have something else to confirm,” Nol said, holding down the wildly jumping candle. “Just bring the skill enhancement stone.”

“It’s not necessary to come to the forest for that,” Teest said, casually playing with two crystals.

After walking for two or three hours, Nol finally found his target—a patch of gray-white fog drifting through the depths of the Black Forest, obscuring vision.

Nol stood at the center of the fog, took out a skill enhancement stone, and motioned for Teest to step back.

Upon seeing the “skill enhancement stone” as a reward, Nol’s first thought was to use it to strengthen [Fallen Death]. He suppressed the impulse and, after calmly thinking for a few days, had a new idea.

[Fallen Death] was his most useful skill and his biggest reliance. The current [Fallen Death] perfectly suited his situation, with no waste.

Enhancing a skill would bring changes. If the ability of [Fallen Death] to absorb attributes was enhanced and lost, he would have nowhere to cry, so it was better not to tamper with it lightly.

Teest’s “declaring his body as territory” gimmick came to mind, and Nol suddenly thought of something interesting.

By design, the skill enhancement stone would logically enhance a skill and then write it into the user’s skill bar.

Players’ skills were of course in the skill bar, and they all had corresponding enhanced versions. But he wasn’t like that—he still had skills in the external skill slot of [Fallen Death], which were monster skills that he hadn’t considered strengthening.

What would happen if he used the skill enhancement stone on such skills?

[Bloodline Suppression: As the apex of all creatures, you instill innate fear in other species. Only those with strong wills can resist.]

This skill was designed for dragons. Dragons were the apex of all creatures in Tahe, but in today’s world of Tahe, above dragons, there existed “gods”.

Let’s see how far the system can go.

With a snap, Nol crushed the skill enhancement stone.

[Please designate a skill to enhance.] The system’s voice sounded smooth.

“Bloodline Suppression,” Nol responded softly.

[…] The system fell silent, and the enhancement light didn’t light up immediately.

Nol waited patiently, and after a full five minutes, the system finally responded.

[Enhancement calculation complete. Enhancing this skill involves… involves a significant risk of failure. Please confirm again…]

“Confirm enhancing Bloodline Suppression.” Nol was unhesitant.

He was now a Dracolich. Although his attributes were still suppressed by a curse, with the relentless accumulation of [Fallen Death], they were somewhat respectable. Even if he lost this skill, he could bear the consequences.

[Enhancing skill… Enhancing skill… Enhancing skill…]

Nol waited with anticipation.

Twenty minutes later.

[Enhancing skill… Enhancing skill… Enhancing skill…]

Nol grabbed Teest silently and chased the fog through the forest for a walk.

More than three hours passed—

[Enhancing skill… Enhancing skill… Enhancing skill… Skill enhancement successful…]

A dazzling blue flame ignited on Nol, and he suddenly pushed Teest away, listening to the system’s prompt and holding his breath.

[New skill loading into skill slot…]

[Loading complete]

[Breath of a False God: You possess the authority above all beings, invoking the innate fear of all species. ※Your power hasn’t reached the standard. This skill is a weakened version adapted to you.]

He succeeded!

This skill was definitely not weak and was successfully written into the permanent skill bar.

Nol turned to Teest, intending to share his fresh joy. He had just stepped half a step closer when his bones crackled.

In Teest’s shocked gaze, a huge shadow unfolded before him.

---

The author has something to say:

At the beginning:

Miss Lynn (to Nol): Although a person’s XP is free, you… (hesitates)

Much later:

Miss Lynn (to Teest): Although a person’s XP is free… (omitted)

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