Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 209: Breakthrough

“The aura of a Pillar of the World.”

Perradat stared at the glowing strand of hair with a complex gaze. “The ideal symbiotic species of our race—I can never mistake it. All Floating Cocoons instinctively seek out this scent.”

She stared at the strand of hair sadly for a while.

“But how would Lord Nol know this? His original form is just a human.” A few minutes later, Perradat came to her senses.

Teest clenched the strand of hair, looking towards the mutating, deformed flesh mass.

The Pillar of the World. Kando had mentioned this species, and according to him, it was a being that Perradat “wouldn’t dare to confront even in death”. It seemed, this so-called “Pillar of the World” was far stronger than both Star Stealer Sol and the Floating Cocoon.

“He must have a fragment of the Pillar of the World on him. Possibly it’s influencing him.”

Teest recalled the white scale on the chest of the Gods Corpses. “The premise is, you’re sure that Nol’s spirit belongs to a human.”

“Absolutely.” Perradat shook her head emphatically. “The Pillar of the World is indeed very powerful, but their most distinct characteristic is ‘lack of emotion’. You can imagine them as precise biological machines.”

“Only species that need social interactions—like the two of you, like me—require rich emotions. Lord Nol’s emotions are abundant. He definitely isn’t a Pillar of the World.”

That’s not right. Teest bit his lower lip hard. Nol wouldn’t have specifically called Perradat to show him a piece of the corpse of a Pillar of the World.

“What characteristics does that species have?” Teest patiently continued, “I’ve been ‘fused’ with a succubus, successfully acquiring the succubus’ skills. Since the Pillar of the World is so powerful, maybe Nol gained some special abilities.”

…Even a portion of their power.

When it came to species she was familiar with, Perradat’s head excitedly spun twice. “You’ve asked the right person. Our race knows the myth of the Pillar of the World from birth…”

“Get to the point.” Teest ruthlessly interrupted.

“The power of the Pillar of the World is ‘recording’ and ‘immortality’.”

Perradat summarized obediently.

“The Pillar of the World can naturally remember countless pieces of information. They are keen on cultivating, analyzing, and researching, strengthening themselves based on research results. Simply put, they are the most brilliant researchers.”

That’s not it, Teest thought.

Nol indeed had an excellent memory, but his interest in research was limited on ordinary days. Compared to a calm “researcher”, his Nol was more like a “creator” full of love. There was a subtle difference between the two.

“As for ‘immortality’. As long as they don’t encounter disease or injury, the lifespan of the Pillar of the World is infinite.”

“Once they die, their corpses don’t rot but shatter into countless fragments. New Pillars of the World are born from the gathered fragments of their kin, starting their journey of research anew.”

Perradat’s voice got softer and softer towards the end, gradually tinged with disbelief.

“You don’t mean to say…”

“There are also a bunch of fragments here, in a similar state,” Teest said softly.

“It’s just similar. They are a mess of fragments from various sources, not the Pillar of the World.” Perradat shouted, “Even if that piece of the Pillar of the World’s corpse contains power, it wouldn’t obey Lord Nol’s will!”

“I know what you’re thinking. This isn’t something on the same level as a Supplement Demon. With so much interference, it’s hard enough for Lord Nol to maintain rationality. Star Stealer Sol simply brutishly assembled divine corpses. That guy couldn’t manipulate powers—”

In the dark room, the newly born flesh mass was still trembling. The eyes that were revealed opened and closed, and the eyeballs turned chaotically under the flesh membrane. At that moment, Nol was probably dreaming.

He resisted the madness and darkness, forcibly constructing a busy life full of sunlight.

The black and red threads belonging to Star Stealer Sol were embedded in his flesh, gathering into a bundle at the end, disappearing into the air. Nol’s power flowed out along them, towards an unknown space.

Like the umbilical cord absorbing nutrients.

On the other end, presumably, was the planet where Tahe was nurtured. They witnessed the creation of a god, the truth far more unbearable than Teest imagined.

“Honey, I suddenly realized, you and I are actually quite similar.”

Teest, enduring the mad pressure, approached that terrifying god-like creature. He placed a hand on the mass of the monster. It was extremely cold, reminding him of Lich Nol when they first got together.

So you were also imprisoned and tormented by that guy for so long, buried in the abyss of despair.

I once took you to visit my past. Now it’s your turn to show your true self. We were forced to become monsters, doomed to death. If you are like me—

“I guess this is just the beginning. You’ve tried to escape, haven’t you?”

Teest leaned forward. Under Perradat’s shocked gaze, he gently kissed the formless monster.

“Go on. I’m looking forward to it, honey.”

Like responding to the kiss, the flesh mass quickly began to wriggle.

The enormous monster seemed to suddenly notice Teest’s presence, its surface sprouting countless tentacles, wrapping around Teest’s limbs, pulling him back to its side.

The flesh membrane trembled and split open, revealing an eyeball the size of a head in front of Teest. That eye overflowed with madness, yet it contained a hint of gentleness.

Those tentacles gently patted Teest’s body, running down his spine.

The next moment, memories suddenly accelerated, with day and night wildly alternating outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.

……

After moving into the house, Xu Yue’s new life could be described as perfect, except for one flaw—he had nightmares every night.

In the dreams were countless claws and tentacles of various shapes, constricting his limbs and neck, tearing and pulling in different directions, trying to rip him to pieces. He heard indistinct moans and screams, roars and whispers. Each time he woke up, Xu Yue was drenched in cold sweat.

Initially, these dreams would fade gradually after waking up. But as time passed, they became increasingly vivid. The tearing in the dreams left bruises, and the pulling was accompanied by dislocations and severe pain. After waking from the dreams, he still remembered the rot and wrinkles on those monstrous hands.

This is terrible. Xu Yue sighed as he walked past the crawling flesh on the ground.

It was all because of these dreams, his mind was filled with inexplicable voices and images, incessantly noisy day and night. It was okay when he was working, but the moment he stopped to rest, those voices made it impossible for him to think.

“You’re too noisy.” One day, he couldn’t help but say to them. “I’ll create a group for you guys first and check the messages after work.”

Saying that, he picked up his phone, and inserted the data cable into the gap in his spine. As his skin split open, the voices in his head eerily quieted for a moment, then the volume lowered, turning from chaotic screams to whispering.

Xu Yue satisfactorily closed this new work group.

Night fell again. Before going to sleep, Xu Yue picked up his blood-stained phone and scrolled through the messages.

They were in pain. They couldn’t rest. They didn’t want to stay together.

They said the dreams were real. They said he was being deceived. They suggested he end it sooner.

No. Xu Yue firmly replied to them. I don’t want to die.

In that night’s nightmare, one of the tentacles was particularly furious. It crushed his limbs, repeatedly slamming him in the darkness. It really hurts. Xu Yue listened to the buzzing in his head. It’s too painful.

But his life had just begun. His work wasn’t yet finished, and he had designed a very beautiful dragon. This was just a fucking nightmare. He could deal with it.

So, Xu Yue bit down hard on that mad tentacle, tearing and swallowing with all his might. His thought was simple—without hands or feet, he couldn’t open it. So as long as he ate it, it wouldn’t come back to torment him again.

Slippery, rotten—it was as if he was swallowing strong acid mouthful by mouthful. The pain boiled his brain, burning his internal organs. But it was okay, the tentacle was gradually diminishing. The nightmare would always end. He was sure he could finish eating it.

At sunrise, everything would return to normal. He would make a cup of coffee, water the flowers, and go to work as usual.

Daytime life was always beautiful, and the game production was going smoothly. Only the messages in that work group were becoming crazier and crazier, and more and more monsters came to torment him in the nightmare.

They hoped he would break down sooner. They hoped he could lead them to die together.

No matter how Xu Yue fought them off, they would come back again and again. Only by swallowing them could his mind get some peace.

Maybe he was crazy. When swallowing those chunks of flesh, Xu Yue thought so. How could dreams hurt so much? Why were there more and more miscellaneous items in his place? Perhaps there was a little problem with his life.

He had tried going to the hospital for an examination or asking colleagues. But the feedback he always got was “everything is normal”.

Then he had to investigate by himself.

[Let’s talk. What do you really want?]

Nol rarely opened the work group, deciding to slack off for a while. He extended his two hands and tapped on the keyboard, throwing out questions into the dark screen.

Those beings were fierce when they tore at him, but communicating with them was difficult, as if their thoughts weren’t clear. Many of the members could only express simple “yes” or “no” answers and were often spaced out or disconnected.

Day after day passed, and Xu Yue finally pieced together the answer.

[According to you, I’m being used to create a world.]

Xu Yue typed rapidly. [You are the remnants of gods, forced to merge with me, so that I could have tremendous power. But in this process, we must all endure pain—you wish for rest, and I wish to live.]

Perhaps it was his calm attitude, but those voices just gave a uniform “affirmative” response.

[And according to you, I am doomed to die. Even if I consume your spirits, your bodies will still decay, weakening me as well.]

[This is a bit troublesome. I still don’t want to die.]

There was silence in the work group.

[Don’t you resent this?] After a while, a relatively clear voice posed the question.

[You want to die, I want to live. Everyone is striving for their own goals. There’s nothing to be angry about.] Xu Yue said, [I am indeed angry at the one who stitched us together, but it won’t easily harm me before the world is completed. During this time, we can think of a solution together.]

[…A way to let you all rest and let me live.]

Having said that, Xu Yue smiled at the black hole-like screen. His body was oozing with decaying juice, the pain spreading from night to day, and the situation was worsening. Sometimes while watering the flowers, his wrist would break off limply.

What should he do?

Xu Yue poured a cup of coffee, contemplating as he looked at the snowflakes outside. The snowflakes fell, and his body was slowly disintegrating, the noise in his head becoming more chaotic.

Fortunately, he still had time, and his mind could catch a breath—

Whether it was a world or a game, he wanted to complete it. He was really happy when making it. Even if he had actually gone mad or was truly caught in some god’s prank.

The world he created with his own hands was still beautiful.

Finally, as the game’s production was nearing its end, Xu Yue noticed something unusual. Different from those noisy wills wishing for death, there was a will inside him that was always silent. It was like an observer, standing at the edge of his nightmare. It wouldn’t tear his body apart, nor would it spam the work group.

It just coldly observed, and Xu Yue wasn’t even sure if it was conscious. But Xu Yue could be sure of one thing—those randomly scrambling limbs specifically avoided it, as if in fear.

During this time, to find a way to survive, he specifically learned about those noisy monsters inside him. Unfortunately, it was like trying his luck at a second-hand book stall with his eyes closed. The knowledge he gained was mostly useless, only making his thoughts more chaotic.

But it wasn’t time to give up yet.

One night, Xu Yue dragged his broken body and organs, crawling towards that silver light in the darkness.

[What are you?] He ignored the limbs tearing at his organs, barely protecting his head.

[A fragment of the Pillar of the World.]

Xu Yue didn’t know what “a fragment of the Pillar of the World” was, but it sounded powerful enough.

[You don’t want to die?] he asked in pain.

[I have no preference,] it said. Its expression was surprisingly clear, but it lacked the emotions a living being should have. [I await completeness, await to record.]

[I don’t understand…]

The fragment didn’t answer again. Just as Nol was about to continue, a memory suddenly pierced his mind. It was information about “the Pillar of the World”, very detailed explanations.

The thing in front of him was more like a set of programs set in advance, just waiting for the system to operate.

Immortal power, corpse rebirth… his own unsolvable body that was collapsing…

Xu Yue reached out his blood-soaked hand towards that fragment, only to be blocked by a silver-white light screen in the blink of an eye.

[Invalid invitation,] it said.

The next second, Xu Yue was grabbed into a pulp by the surging limbs behind him. He suddenly opened his eyes and saw the familiar ceiling of his bedroom—the thick blood vessels throbbing, the mattress beneath him rising and falling.

Xu Yue decisively picked up his phone, swiftly took a day off, and went back to sleep immediately.

It seemed he had found a breakthrough.

The world quickly fell into darkness, and the pain of being torn apart struck again. Xu Yue, accustomed to ignoring his shattered body, made a beeline for that fragment.

[I have a proposal. I can let you collect brand-new information.] He said, [I am creating a special world that carries civilizations, and my body is covered with countless fragments of corpses. Obey me, and you can obtain a unique sample of records.]

The fragment didn’t respond immediately. It seemed to be considering.

Amidst the splattering of flesh and blood, Xu Yue’s tone was calm and confident. [Under such similar yet different conditions, what will I become? The environment is filled with madness and the unknown, how should I escape it. By missing this deal, you will lose this special case forever.]

[Obey me, repair me, record me.]

After a long silence, the fragment finally gave an answer.

[Prove your value,] it said.

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The author has a message:

Well, Star Stealer Sol might have lost because he wasn’t crazy enough (.

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 208: God of Creation

Nol… Xu Yue stood in the center of the living room.

Through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the living room, he could see the beautiful greenery within the community. He had saved quite a bit of money during his university years and disliked sharing a home with strangers, so this house was just right for him.

He had already received a satisfactory offer. The place was very close to the company and satisfied him in every aspect.

“If you like this one, you might want to sign the contract sooner rather than later. The housing supply is tight during the graduation season.” The faceless agent rambled on. “In this area, this set of rooms is the lowest priced, and you can furnish it yourself…”

A very nice house. Xu Yue became more satisfied the more he looked. If he really lived comfortably and work went smoothly, he could buy it.

The floor-to-ceiling windows weren’t equipped with curtains, and the brilliant sunlight scattered all over the floor, illuminating the differently colored chunks of flesh on the ground. Xu Yue accidentally stepped on two pieces, and the room was filled with sticky, squelching sounds. An empty flower pot was placed on the windowsill, containing only blood-red soil.

“I’ll take it.” He suddenly had an inexplicable headache.

He seemed to have forgotten something important.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Teest hovered in midair. Beside him was Perradat’s head. Her long golden hair flowed down from that beautiful head, making her look like a strangely shaped golden jellyfish.

The expression on both of their faces was terribly pale. Teest’s forehead was covered in cold sweat. The surrounding scenery was unfamiliar and beautiful, but the atmosphere was suffocating—he felt like he was being toyed with in the teeth of a giant beast. At any moment he could become a lump of minced meat.

“What’s happening?”

Teest’s expression was grim. This wasn’t the familiar white space, nor was it the “Gods Corpses Nol” he had seen before. The Nol in front of him did indeed have black eyes, but his body seemed relatively normal.

Everything in front of them was like a scene on a membrane, colors on a soap bubble. No one knew what would happen when it burst, but they were all clear that it wouldn’t be anything good.

“This is the edge of Lord Nol’s memory.”

Perradat’s long hair swayed. Her head floated back and forth in mid-air. “Your previous attempts, including the dragon’s intervention, were all to probe the memory seal. In other words, you’ve been directly attacking it.”

“My power is ‘concealment’. Now, we are intentionally circumventing the seal. Even with all my strength, we can only stay on the edge.”

Nol, in a white shirt, stood among many grotesque and terrifying chunks of corpses, looking out through the floor-to-ceiling windows. His blank gaze passed through Teest, looking towards a point in the void.

The room was half filled with densely packed chunks of flesh, each the size of a fist, loosely stacked together. Some of the flesh chunks had already rotted, while some were still twitching non-stop. Teest recognized several parts from the dead gods on them, which had appeared on the “Memory Seal” incarnation of Nol.

Teest disliked this scene. Nol stood there alone, as if he had fallen into this swamp of flesh and blood, ready to be devoured at any moment.

“What do you mean by ‘the edge of memory’?” Teest suppressed the turmoil in his heart.

“What we see is all an illusion. This is Lord Nol forcibly rationalizing reality to maintain his sanity.” Perradat said, “This place is too oppressive. It’s better to observe from afar—best not to touch the ‘reality’.”

But that was far from enough, Teest thought.

Nol’s memory was very dangerous. He understood this more than anyone. But if they were to guess wildly based on appearances, they would become the second Star Stealer Sol—unaware of the truth hidden at the deepest level, basing their plans only on superficial clues. That guy’s failure in the Lost Tower was still fresh.

The Memory-Sealed Nol had him look for Perradat’s core, certainly not to see “delusional memories”. Could it be that by using Perradat’s power, they intended to awaken Nol himself, trying to change the current situation?

However, Teest couldn’t communicate with Nol at all now.

Teest floated close to the floor-to-ceiling window, one hand pressing against the huge glass, almost face to face with the Nol inside. His hand created ripples on the glass like water waves, but he couldn’t reach inside.

Just a few steps away, Nol in the flesh and blood swamp turned away, leaving only a backlit silhouette.

“Nol!” Teest knocked on the glass hard, but the people in the room didn’t even look back.

[Honey, I’ve found Perradat’s core. What exactly do you want me to do?]

There was no response to the telepathic call.

Seeing Teest’s displeasure leaking crazily, Perradat slowly backed away. “Don’t be too anxious. Lord Nol himself can’t bear the truth of the memories. This isn’t something that can be easily resolved.”

“Yes, he can’t bear it himself.” Teest muttered to himself. “He knows about your situation too. If it was just a blind attempt, he wouldn’t have made such arrangements…”

Perradat bypassed the memory seal through her power, successfully touching the edge of Nol’s memories.

Nol’s memories were very dangerous. The last time he touched the seal, Teest was lucky to briefly contact a moment of memory. He knew how difficult that thing was to deal with—let alone Nol, who grew up in a peaceful environment, he himself couldn’t handle those crazy memories and knowledge.

What exactly did he miss…?

“You really trust Him wholeheartedly.” Looking at Teest, who was leaning on the glass in contemplation, Perradat couldn’t help but speak up. “You, such a cunning and suspicious person, haven’t even considered the possibility of Lord Nol being wrong.”

Teest ignored her, just concentrating on thinking.

So far, their deepest inquiry into Nol’s memories was using the “Bystander’s Tongue” on a neighbor. The neighbor recounted events related to Nol, unaffected by the memory seal.

For Nol himself to recover his memories, he would have to face that madness-inducing memory storm. “Others” risk exploring a small part of the memory fragments and then narrating them to Nol, seemingly without issue.

Could it be…

Teest lifted his head, and suddenly, the shadow in front of him shifted direction—the sun behind him moved instantaneously, and Nol once again opened the door, entering the living room.

“If you like this one, you might want to sign the contract sooner rather than later. The housing supply is tight during the graduation season.”

The faceless broker spoke again; everything was developing just as before. Nol and the end entered one after the other. The broker cheerfully introduced the home, while Nol stood in a swamp of flesh and blood, looking out the window.

The memory fragments of about fifteen minutes looped over and over.

As if waiting for something.

Teest put all his effort into breaking the glass. He used all his strength, and the power of destruction exploded outside the floor-to-ceiling window. But that unfortunate window only rippled, unmoved.

“Don’t do this!” In the midst of the explosion, Perradat screamed. “Don’t delve into His memory!”

“No, he wants me to delve into it.” Teest touched the glass. “The memory seal can only ‘unlock’ or ‘maintain’. For Nol to uncover the truth, it’s impossible to just recover a specific bit of memory.”

The last time Nol gave him the permission to view memories was precisely for him to understand the horror of ‘Xu Yue’s memories’.

“Only ‘others’ can safely view memory fragments.” Teest said softly, “He even prepared the key memories for us, and specifically looped them over and over. I don’t plan to stay here watching illusions. I want to go in.”

“You’re crazy!” Perradat flew a bit farther away.

Teest glanced at her with a “You’re just realizing this?” expression. “As long as I can find a way to break through the illusions, plus your ‘concealment’ power, the memory seal won’t attack me immediately.”

Perradat angrily bit her hair causing her delicate features to become twisted. “Illusions aren’t so easily broken through. This is a God of Creation. My power isn’t omnipotent. Unless He specifically left a loophole.”

Teest was stunned.

Right.

The last time they met, the Gods Corpses Nol had dug a bit of white scale debris from his chest and attached it to him. At that time, Teest felt much better, thinking it was just a simple healing act.

But it indeed helped him eliminate some of the memory’s influence. Nol did this after instructing him to find Perradat… Could that be the “loophole” Nol specifically left?

That power then twined around his hair.

Teest simply pulled out a strand of silver hair, wrapped it around his finger, then placed his hand on the large floor-to-ceiling window. Before he could exert force, the glass of the floor-to-ceiling window suddenly emitted a gentle silver-white glow.

Perradat was petrified in midair. “This aura… Impossible!”

The glass melted like sugar in flames, revealing a large hole big enough for a person to pass through. Beyond the hole, Nol, with lifeless eyes, suddenly moved.

He stiffly raised his wrist, extending his right hand towards Teest outside the window, palm up.

As if inviting to dance atop a pile of corpses.

At the same moment, everything in the room began to warp. All things lost their fixed shapes, as if the world itself had erred. The peaceful yet chaotic illusion was on the verge of collapse, with reality about to break through.

Perradat’s head shook violently. She looked utterly unwilling to enter the room.

Teest stopped in front of the shattered glass, cheerfully stepping forward without a hint of hesitation.

“Lunatic! I can’t deal with this!” Perradat cried miserably, trying hard to protect herself and Teest with the power of “concealment”. She flew towards Teest’s back with difficulty and finally entered the room.

The next moment, the atmosphere in the room changed completely.

Gone were the warm sunlight and bright room. The interior was dark, filled with a strange, rotting smell, becoming as sticky as glue.

Teest stopped amidst the chaotic pieces of corpses, holding his breath. Perradat shivered and hid behind Teest, her head peeking out slightly from beside Teest’s arm.

As False Gods, they could witness everything before them—the real memories of Nol; what had once happened. The memories sealed were about to reveal the truth to them.

Before them, “Xu Yue” was undergoing changes.

Xu Yue’s eyes, black as night, were wide open, unblinking, and bloodshot. His skin had the pallor of a corpse, and if not for the rise and fall of his chest, he would look no different from a dead body.

He was still wearing that simple white shirt, which was now corroded by unnamed corpses to shreds, with only a few pieces of cloth hanging on Nol’s shoulders.

Below Xu Yue’s chest, he was completely sewn together with those pieces of flesh.

Countless black and red-light threads weaved through the corpse pieces, sealing them onto the living Xu Yue. Xu Yue convulsed from time to time without making a sound, as if trapped in some sort of dream.

Chunks of flesh moved and stuck together. The black and red light flickered on and off, gradually enveloping Xu Yue at the center, like rotten flesh crowding around a core.

Among them, a piece of gray-white remains was particularly eye-catching.

With strange magical fluctuations, it was sewn at the position of Xu Yue’s heart. At first, Xu Yue’s chest, arms, and head were still exposed, then his chest was buried by the flesh, his head sewn up, followed by his arms.

In the end, only one hand lay powerless on the outside of the flesh.

The forcibly sewn together flesh emitted chaotic powers, like numerous paints mixed together. These powers devoured and merged with each other, eventually becoming strong, cold, and terrifying.

The flesh ball moved and continued to merge. Finally, Xu Yue’s last hand also disappeared among the chunks of flesh.

He was completely swallowed by the fleshly marsh.

As the powers merged, the colorful flesh gradually turned into a unified hue of green and red. The mass began to fill the entire room, expanding and changing like a monster embryo trapped in an eggshell.

Sticky membranes parted, and bizarre eyeballs moved erratically. The thing emitted strange, dream-like sounds. As it wriggled unconsciously, a dark black slime spread out.

The space in the room grew smaller. Teest pulled the dazed Perradat back step by step.

There were few scattered pieces of flesh left in the room, with the black and red light flickering on and off above them. Teest casually picked up a light thread, feeling a familiar magical fluctuation on it.

“The power of the Blood Potion,” Perradat said through gritted teeth. “This is the authority of Star Stealer Sol… Damn, he dared to do such a blasphemous act. How despicable!”

“I guess these pieces are the remnants of other ‘gods’.”

Teest looked at the oddly shaped corpses on the ground, expressionless. “Enbillick used his power to merge the remnants of other ‘gods’ into Nol.”

No wonder the Supplement Demon Potion required a special mix of Enbillick’s blood.

Just as Perradat controlled “prophecy” and “concealment”, the authority of Star Stealer Sol was “reversion” and “fusion”.

Merging local monsters with humans resulted in shockingly powerful yet generally short-lived augmentations. So, what kind of “creature” would result from the merger of countless divine remains with a human?

From his own experience, Teest knew that before considering the strength, first, Nol would suffer unimaginable pain.

“These gods were definitely not killed by Star Stealer Sol himself. Before he came to Tahe, he must have wandered the universe, stealing many corpse fragments.”

Perradat’s voice was full of disgust. “No wonder I’ve never encountered his kind—creatures that shun the light.”

Teest stood still, statue-like.

“All these remains contain residual power and spirit, but they’re too diverse and too small to be able to disperse Lord Nol’s consciousness in the short term… Star Stealer Sol is forcibly creating a ‘god’!”

Perradat, no longer caring about appearances, continued cursing and grumbling. “That guy is too weak. He couldn’t handle Earth himself, nor could he cultivate a civilization on his own. So, he simply created a short-lived ‘god’ to steal the existing civilization of this planet.”

“…A short-lived god.”

The monstrous flesh within the room slowly expanded. The dark black liquid reached Teest’s feet, submerging the soles of his shoes. Teest stepped back twice more, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible.

“Right. Even if it’s just corpses, a god is still a god. The deeper the integration, the greater the power and spiritual influence of the corpse pieces. Lord Nol is just an unfortunate human, utterly unable to suppress it. Sooner or later, his body will collapse, and his mind will become disordered… He’s just a one-time God of Creation,” Perradat said, her words tinged with sympathy.

“In Nol’s perception, he was creating a game.” Teest’s tone was eerily calm. “Is this how Star Stealer Sol steals civilizations?”

“Don’t underestimate the creations of the locals.” Perradat spoke with complexity. “The ecological situation of this planet, the types of species, the forms of society… Whatever Lord Nol has created, these pieces of information will be reflected in his work.”

“If the Creator’s ability meets the standard, the created world can operate stably. If it fails, Star Stealer Sol just needs to make another ‘God of Creation’. The case of replicating Earth is much more convenient than ‘spending billions of years cultivating a new civilization’.”

One of Star Stealer Sol’s powers was “fusion”, and Nol was a “God of Creation Tool” he forcibly constructed from countless divine remains, destined not to live long.

If Nol successfully created Tahe, Star Stealer Sol only needed to completely annihilate Nol to comfortably take over the ownership of Tahe. As for others in the Joy Garden being implicated and dying, Enbillick probably wouldn’t care. However, this didn’t explain Nol’s resurrection.

Teest raised his head, looking at the sorrowful and deformed god in front of him.

“Is this all your speculation?”

Teest stared unblinkingly at Nol’s huge eyeball, his voice growing increasingly grave. The degree of integration of those corpses was getting higher, their power stronger, making “directly looking at Nol” increasingly difficult.

It turned out, Perradat indeed possessed much knowledge from the stars. However, having discussed similar topics with Nol themselves, if this were the only conclusion, they could have come up with it on their own.

Teest then plucked another strand of hair, which floated up in the palm of his hand, emitting a faint silver light. In response, a weak silver light appeared on the monster as well. “This is a ‘loophole’ specifically entrusted to me by Nol. He expressly asked you to speculate. Maybe you should look more closely—like, what exactly is this thing that surprised you just now?”

Perradat was sulking over the corpses strewn across the ground, turning her head irritably, nearly getting brushed by the floating strand of hair.

The moment she clearly saw it, Perradat froze.

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The author has something to say:

Teest: In this world, only I’m the one who excels at tailoring (×

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Kinky Thoughts:

Holy shit, this twist… I have to say out of all of Nian Zhong’s works, this is probably the biggest twist I’ve read. The development, the pieces coming together (kind of like how Nol is formed)… I’m quite mind blown.

Well, this is probably why he is called Star Stealer Sol.

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 207: The God of Fate

Even though he was accustomed to seeing Players create beautiful avatars, Nol was still taken aback by that beautiful face. Since arriving in this world, this was the first time he had encountered such a beautiful girl’s… head.

Fortunately, his knight’s appearance was also exceptional. Thinking of Teest’s face for two seconds, Nol quickly recovered from his shock. Then, his attention shifted to the surging power emanating from the head.

This power was on a completely different level from “possession”, even more oppressive than the headless torso. The eyes, emitting a blue glow, stared directly at Nol. The pressure felt like a cold swamp.

Nol suddenly realized that Perradat was indeed a False God in her own right.

After Perradat spoke, her followers maintained absolute silence. The greeters remained in their welcoming posture, motionless like wax figures.

The residents of Paradise, having never seen such a bizarre scene, crowded together like quails, silently maintaining a consensus. Even Lynn, responsible for diplomacy, didn’t step forward, instead desperately making eye contact with Nol.

Perradat’s personal appearance meant this was a direct conversation between gods, and any “representative” would be considered disrespectful.

Nol steadied his mind, readying his opening statement. “You—”

“Your head doesn’t match your body model.” Teest sighed in surprise and commented as if the beautiful girl wasn’t carrying a bouquet, but a large potato. “Won’t it look very strange if you connect it like this?”

Nol: “……”

Perradat: “……”

The voluptuous lady holding the bouquet’s hands trembled slightly, and the solemn atmosphere in the air vanished.

“…This woman is my Pope, Lady Dusty.” Perradat tried to ignore Teest, who was peering curiously, and continued, “You might not be accustomed to my church. She will guide you back to the Lost Tower.”

Nol sighed in relief. He had given the correct coordinates, but upon arrival, he hadn’t seen the Lost Tower and had worried for a few minutes. Now, it seemed it was likely hidden by Perradat’s powers.

Against Star Stealer Sol, whose eyes peered from the heavens, this was indeed safer.

Perhaps feeling more powerful on her own territory, Perradat dared to outright ignore Teest’s question.

Unfortunately, the Mad Monk didn’t like the phrase “let bygones be bygones”.

Teest: “A very interesting power. It seems this is your ‘core’. Perradat, won’t ordinary people have problems just by looking at you directly?”

He used honorifics, but there was no reverence in his question.

In fact, if Teest wanted, he could act more devout than the purest believer. Nol probably knew where Teest’s hostility came from—not from the arrogance of power inflation but from the wariness of a beast towards an invader.

At this moment, Teest was positioned slightly in front of Nol. If there was any movement from the other side, the “Betrayer’s” blade could protect Nol in an instant.

Perradat was silent for a moment before speaking again, her tone now carrying a hint of profundity. “It seems you really care about Paradise. Don’t worry. Everyone who sees me won’t have any problems. Just like Enbillick, who walks among the world, we have disguised our true self.”

She explained in a down-to-earth manner. “I’ve said before, my species prefers conversation over war. Compared to Star Stealer Sol, my disguise is even more perfect.”

“Perfect? Your disguise is currently a head.” Teest shrugged.

“I don’t mean to disrespect Lord Nol. I will explain this properly, but not here.”

Perradat emphasized “Lord Nol”. “Follow me first.”

[Don’t lower your guard.]

Just as Nol took a step, Teest’s reminder entered his head. [That head’s power is strong. From this distance, she has the capability to harm both of us.]

[This is Perradat’s home ground. Even if that guy agrees to cooperate, it doesn’t mean she has no other intentions. I’m not doubting your judgment of character, just—]

[Don’t worry. I need your reminder.] Nol smiled, walking up to Teest and grabbing the hand that wasn’t holding the sword. [Rather, I need someone like you the most.]

After betraying Paradise, the betrayer needed to face the thunder called “Teest”. Because of this, he could think lightly and trust and plan boldly.

[I thought you were going to teach me about the beauty of ‘trust’.] Teest grabbed Nol’s hand back, intertwining their fingers together easily.

[Do you enjoy my sermons?] Nol raised an eyebrow.

Teest’s inner voice became pitiful. [No, no, please spare me.]

[Then don’t worry. I have no delusions of training you into a ‘good person’.] Nol said, [You’re already lovable enough as you are.]

Teest paused for half a second, his thoughts joyfully bouncing. [Praise for your bloody tastes.]

Behind them.

Lynn was dumbfounded. Whispers like “What’s the relationship between Xiao Xu and Xiao Teest?”, “Isn’t Xiao Teest from here?”, “Isn’t Xiao Xu a young man?”, “Could it be Xiao Teest, like those others, is actually a girl?” came from the neighbors.

The young neighbors had various expressions, while the older ones began to guess who had disguised their gender.

It was terrifying. She had been worried about how to explain the truth of the world to the neighbors, and now her two irresponsible superiors were publicly displaying affection. They used to know to close the door behind them, but now…

The gossiping hearts of the entire community blazed fiercely. What world issues could compare to the excitement of watching drama?

“Sister Lynn.” Even Little Piel came trotting over. “Mr. Fairy and them—”

Ahhhhhh. Lynn internally screamed.

“You’ll understand when you grow older.” She maintained a gentle smile on her face, ruffling Little Piel’s head.

“Ah?” Little Piel looked at her confused. “I-I meant, are Mr. Fairy and them alright? That head in the bouquet is very scary…”

Lynn: “……”

Lynn: “Nothing. You go ahead.”

“There are a lot of strange things connected to that head.”

Little Piel’s eyes of truth shimmered, reflecting a reality not of this world. “It’s very strong, almost as strong as Mr. Fairy… No, even stronger…”

“It’s okay.” Lynn forced a smile. “As long as those two guys are together, we don’t need to worry too much. Thank you for your warning, Little Knight.”

Hearing the final address, Little Piel immediately puffed out his chest. He deliberately pulled out the wooden sword he used for practice from his waist and walked back leaving paw prints behind.

Lynn, holding back laughter with her sister, tiredly moved forward.

Damn, why isn’t Painter in the Tower lately? She urgently needed that smooth-talking guy to handle the situation!

Not long after entering the hidden town, everyone saw the towering Lost Tower.

The Lost Tower stood on the edge of the town, in a deserted area. Low buildings scattered around the tower, making it stand out.

The stone doors of the Black Tower on the first floor were tightly closed, and the surrounding tentacles coiled up like a cautious animal. Nol stopped and nodded at Anakin, who was ready, signaling him to lead.

Although he and Teest hadn’t received a quest, Mentor, Anakin, and Solo—these three players, had perfectly received one. According to the system’s judgment, they all qualified for the reward.

Their acquaintance with Mentor was too brief, and he had too many tricks up his sleeve. Solo wasn’t decisive enough, which could easily cause unnecessary complications. Thus, Anakin was the best choice—

Anakin focused and earnestly made her way to the top of the tower.

She stretched out her hands, and white light gathered in them, gradually forming into a small black key. This was the symbol of the Lost Tower’s usage rights, identical to the one Nol had.

Watching that key, a rekindled fury smoldered in Nol’s heart.

Star Stealer Sol didn’t expect the Players to immediately conquer the Lost Tower and drive the neighbors away. He only hoped that Players outside Paradise could obtain the rights through a “legally valid” system route—

Regardless of whether the key was treasured, fought over, or sold, as long as outsiders had the qualifications to interfere with the Lost Tower, Paradise could no longer hide perfectly.

Once the mission reward was distributed, Anakin carefully clutched the small key, looking towards Nol.

Nol’s expression was solemn. “First, choose to destroy the item. The system will prompt you, ‘Do you want to give up the rights related to the Lost Tower’, then select ‘Yes’… Once this is done, I’ll provide a satisfactory compensation.”

Anakin executed the command promptly. The small key, just born less than thirty seconds ago, turned into light dust in her palm.

The quest ended, and the hidden danger was completely removed.

Nol nodded towards Lynn’s direction.

“Have the agriculture department check the condition of the farmland on the third floor, the livestock department to inspect the animals bred inside the Tower, and the logistics department to tally the storage conditions on each floor. Bring the reports to me as soon as possible.”

Lynn immediately understood. “If you’re tired, you can return to your rooms to rest. No need to panic. I estimate the losses are within 50%. The Lost Tower can still sustain itself.”

“I’ve wanted to say this before, this is indeed a good stronghold,” Perradat softly said from within the bouquet. “Both the stronghold itself and its members.”

Really? Nol could feel the curious glances of the neighbors nearly burning through him and Teest.

He had never intended to hide their relationship, but frankly, their romantic relationship was quite abnormal. Coming out to the entire neighborhood suddenly seemed a bit abrupt.

Eventually, it led to this situation.

“Teest and I will take a walk to Perradat’s side.”

Nol turned to Lynn, ignoring the pained wrinkles on her face, and smiled a bit guiltily. “The task of explaining is yours.”

“Do you mean explaining the situation of the world, or explaining your situation?” Lynn’s hands slowly moved towards her gun.

The nearby Officer Luo and Dr. Zhu pretended not to hear, having already run far away. Uncle Ma sighed, feigning a naïve face of “I’m an elder, so I don’t understand”.

“Just handle it as you see fit. Mentor will help you.”

Nol cleared his throat. “Everyone’s mentality is also very stable now, and we have a very clear enemy. It won’t be too much trouble.”

Compared to the initial chaos, the neighbors’ lives were quite rich. Outside Paradise, the three major Player factions were basically sorted out.

With Mentor as an external intelligence leader, Lynn didn’t need to explain the conflict between the “God of Creation” and “Star Stealer Sol” too clearly. They just needed to let everyone know that their compatriots had a powerful enemy to defeat—defeating that guy would give them information to go home.

Overall, the neighbors were in good spirits, had reliable companions, and stable short-term goals. All the necessary preparations had been made.

“It’s up to you,” Nol sincerely repeated to Lynn.

“The hard part isn’t that.” Lynn’s face was pale. “Do you know how many people have planned to catch you for a blind date when they return to Earth?”

Teest raised an eyebrow. Nol quickly grabbed his knight, and they took off running.

From beginning to end, Perradat and her people quietly waited outside the Tower. As soon as Nol and Teest exited the Tower, they saw a blue fire passageway open up out of thin air.

Facing Perradat, Kando spoke much less, almost reverting back to the original hero Drake.

“Stay here and make sure to meet any needs the guests might have.”

Perradat’s Pope—Lady Dusty spoke up, her voice as melodious as a lyre. “My Lords, I will lead you to the depths of the church.”

……

Nol recognized the space before him. He had seen it in Kando… Drake’s memories.

It was still the dimly lit stone chamber with walls that were twisted and soft as if they were melting. Candles burned in a pile in the corner, their shadows dancing silently on the walls.

This place was broader than he had imagined, resembling a royal-designed king’s tomb. The chamber was circular, and directly in front of them was placed a peculiar monster statue.

To call it a monster might not be quite right; it more resembled a divine beast—a graceful leopard with wings on its back and strange horns on its head. It was entirely white, sitting nobly on a divine platform, its eyes carved from large sapphires, draped in gold ornaments that emitted a mysterious aura.

The statue had mottled cracks on its edges, showing its age.

Below the divine platform, countless candles emitting a faint, sweet scent slowly burned. These candles were carved into the shape of flowers, melting slowly, their shapes carrying a bizarre beauty.

Under the candlelight, the divine beast statue seemed to be looking down on everyone.

“An idol,” Teest said softly.

Its appearance here must mean it was the true idol of Perradat, the God of Fate.

“That is one form of my incarnation.” Perradat said, “Since Enbillick stole most of humanity’s faith, I had to lean more towards non-human races.”

“If Enbillick wished, he could also take on the appearance of Tilia or Anstis,” she added disdainfully. “Women and children always tend to give a more relaxing feeling. My current appearance is also specially chosen for easier communication.”

Pope Dusty quietly stepped forward, placing the bouquet vertically at the statue’s feet. With the height of the divine platform, Perradat could easily make eye contact with them.

The memory seal within him demanded the core of Perradat, and now they had found it.

The truth was only a step away.

Nol clenched his fists a bit nervously, his palms slightly sweaty.

“Now it’s your turn to fulfill your promise.” Nol took out the “Essence” from his pocket, which he hadn’t been able to successfully identify last time.

“Please examine my condition, Miss Perradat.”

“Dusty, step back,” Perradat ordered crisply. “Seal this place completely. Until I allow it, no one is to enter.”

“Yes, my God.”

“I need to have my knight leave as well. Please allow it.” Perradat shifted her gaze to Kando on Nol’s shoulder. “If possible, you’d better have your shadow wolf leave as well.”

“What we’re about to do is very dangerous. It’s better not to approach for those below the level of a False God.”

“No problem,” Nol answered just as crisply.

With Teest still here, there definitely wouldn’t be a problem.

Soon, only the two of them and one beast remained in the stone chamber. Nol and Teest stood side by side in front of the massive divine statue, facing the head in the bouquet. The scene was both sacred and comical.

“First, I need to make an explanation.”

Perradat began. “Years ago, Enbillick destroyed my incarnation and eroded my powers. The remaining part of my core managed to escape, brought here by my followers.”

“As you see, most of my body has decayed. Now, I am connected to this land, unable to split my core any further, only able to survive in this state.”

“Just speak directly.” Teest crossed his arms, tapping his forearm with his fingers.

“The me before you represents all my power. If something goes wrong later, please protect me in time—if this head is destroyed, I will completely perish.”

There was a bit more sincerity in Perradat’s voice.

Nol: “I promise.”

Perradat’s gaze shifted to Teest, who smirked. “I promise.”

“Thank you.”

The beautiful head took a deep breath. “Let’s begin now.”

“Let me see your memory seal, Lord Nol.”

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 206: Fate’s Poet Society

Perradat knew Nol planned to move the Lost Tower away. She thought there would be a follow-up plan after moving the Tower, but the quest ended up being simply completed—Star Stealer Sol knew about the Lost Tower’s situation, and with his caution, he definitely wouldn’t set such an easily exploitable loophole.

Nol must have used other means.

Nol looked at the empty black land in front of him and the neighbors who were huddled together, unsure of what to do next. “Are you sure you want me to explain now?”

Perradat nodded. “I’ve already notified my people, but opening the passage still requires preparation. I don’t intend to use guiding as a threat. I’m just curious.”

Hearing this, Nol retracted his dragon horns and wings. “Just having everyone leave the Tower, or completely destroying the Lost Tower, indeed wouldn’t be considered as completing the quest. Enbillick must have known this, which is why he dared to designate the Lost Tower as a dungeon.”

When designing dungeons initially, he of course considered various Player exploits.

Luring bosses to strange places or forcefully destroying the map were the most common tricks Players used.

Perradat: “Then how…”

“Because Star Stealer Sol only knows the outcome, not the underlying rules.” Nol rubbed his nose. “After the quest starts, the kill targets within the dungeon are marked. After that, the system judges the quest’s status through a simple rule—’within the dungeon boundary’ of the ‘quest area’, whether these marks exist.”

In other words, even if Players forcibly destroy the quest building, the system can determine the location of the “quest area” through records. As long as Players can’t drag the monsters out of the dungeon boundary, they have to fight the monsters honestly.

And the “dungeon boundary” only disappeared after the quest was completed, leaving not so many loopholes for Players to exploit.

Perradat looked confused.

Nol extended a finger and drew a blue light sphere in the air. He then drew a golden cross in the center of the light sphere. Next to the golden cross, hundreds of silver-white light dots floated.

“Assume this layer of blue light is the dungeon boundary, the golden cross is the quest area, and the white dots are the kill targets. This is a normal situation for an area kill quest—”

In Nol’s hand, the white dots in the light sphere disappeared one by one. In the center of the sphere, only the golden cross quietly rotated.

“The problem is, Star Stealer Sol designated the ‘quest area’ as the Lost Tower. The Lost Tower itself is an unopened stronghold, and we didn’t consider its compatibility with dungeon missions, so its movements are unrestricted.”

“Just now, I asked you to conceal my magical fluctuations, allowing me to remotely change its geographical coordinates.”

Nol moved his finger, and the golden cross flew out of the light sphere. Inside the blue light sphere, only the hundreds of light dots reignited.

“I know all this, but shouldn’t this be considered a quest error?” Perradat furrowed her brows.

As soon as she finished speaking, her eyes suddenly widened. “Could it be—”

Nol lifted the light sphere. “Some quests have the potential to change and merge. So my design was ‘within the dungeon boundary’ of the ‘quest area’, not ‘within a specific dungeon.”

Saying that, he poked the golden cross that left the blue light sphere.

“The boundary itself is just a membrane. The inside and outside are relative. The moment the Lost Tower crossed the boundary, the system judged the space to become the side where the ‘Lost Tower’ was.”

Even if “the other side” was “the entire world excluding the original dungeon space”.

This way, the neighbors and the Lost Tower were perfectly isolated, belonging to “outside the boundary”. The system couldn’t find the marks in the space where the Lost Tower was, so it judged according to the rules as “quest completed”.

Perradat gasped.

“That guy doesn’t understand the basic rules, nor does he understand the thought process of setting rules. It’s fine to copy, but daring to change quest elements inevitably leads to loopholes.”

Nol crushed the blue light sphere, his tone carrying a bit of professional dissatisfaction.

“Having suffered such a huge loss, he definitely won’t dare next time.”

Teest yawned. “This time he has exposed quite a bit.”

Nol hummed, his initially lifted mood slowly deflating.

When Star Stealer Sol possessed the Duke, his reversion needed time to prepare. And he could only revert to a specific time point of the Duke, taking over consciousness to “reload”.

Enbillick, however, was different.

Not long ago, that guy used “reversion” to escape right in front of them—

This meant that in battle, Star Stealer Sol could instantly revert, covering his own consciousness time and time again. If the battle turns disadvantageous, he could physically travel through time and disappear on the spot.

Simply put, Star Stealer Sol could save and load during a battle, and if he couldn’t win, he could abandon the save and start over.

Right, they once used Star Stealer Sol’s “Time Reversal” potion to go back in time. At that time, Teest just shrank but could still run around everywhere; his consciousness didn’t descend into Young Teest.

If the potion had such an effect, it wasn’t strange for Star Stealer Sol himself to have this ability.

What a troublesome power.

Let alone the information asymmetry brought by reversion, this guy could just revert and escape if he sees the situation turning bad. Nol couldn’t figure out how to kill him for the moment.

This headache almost overshadowed the joy of new information obtained.

Nol sighed deeply, leaning towards Teest beside him. His knight seemed to never worry about enemies. At this moment, the face of the Mad Monk only showed the excitement of victory.

Seeing that face that was hard to tell if it was happy or smug, Nol’s accumulating melancholy dissipated in an instant.

Well, there will always be a way, Nol thought.

Perradat’s reinforcements hadn’t arrived yet, and without the Tower, the neighbors were visibly confused. It would be best for him to talk to a few of Paradise’s higher-ups first to stabilize the situation…

Before Nol could move, Teest’s arms reached out from behind him, wrapping around his shoulders and neck.

“Where’s your letter opener?” Teest deliberately didn’t use telepathy, whispering in his ear, “Just relying on magic to reduce levels, the deterrence is quite limited. Dragons can achieve similar effects. I think, selecting a few deeply sinful individuals to pulverize would make the situation more interesting.”

“Your neighbors believe in your kindness and purity, but I know you have a little bit of evil in you… Even if you really can’t bring yourself to do it, you would consider accidents and take them out as a precaution. I’ve been watching you.”

Nol felt a tingling sensation on his scalp.

The Mad Monk was still the same Mad Monk. This guy really noticed.

Since he was discovered, Nol didn’t intend to fob him off with lies. “I just—”

“Let me guess, you must have given it to that old fox, Painter.” Teest’s embrace tightened. “To ‘balance us out’, right?”

“……” Sometimes this guy was really terrifying. Nol choked. “How did you know?”

“Because that old fox keeps going in and out of the Lost Tower, relaxed as if it’s his own home.” Teest said softly, “That guy wouldn’t trust anyone easily, not even his own God.”

Nol: “Sorry, Teest.”

“Even if I opposed, you would still have given it away, wouldn’t you?” Teest’s voice grew softer. “Just like with that deadly sword.”

“Yes.” Nol admitted frankly.

It was something he had to do, even though he knew Teest preferred to keep dangerous elements tightly in his grasp. With the great battle approaching, instead of using absolute power to suppress, he hoped the beings of Tahe would follow him without any reservations.

“My God, you’re even more wicked than I thought.” Teest expressed his grievances. “This makes me feel very insecure. You need to explain this matter thoroughly, make amends, and protect me by your side.”

He knew it!

Nol fumbled with Teest’s arm. Feeling insecure? Who was it that gleamed with excitement after beating up Star Stealer Sol just now?

But indeed, this was the Mad Monk version of “I don’t mind”. If it had been Teest when they first met, he definitely wouldn’t have been so… accommodating.

“I understand.” Nol bowed his head and kissed Teest’s wrist. “In the upcoming battles, I will advance and retreat with you.”

Their series of actions clearly went beyond the “close friends” category.

Curious glances from the neighbors came from all directions, and Nol obediently let his knight embrace him. There was no choice. Teest was just short of carving “grievance” on his forehead. Let others think what they may.

“Right, Perradat… Perradat?”

Just as Nol raised his gaze, he stiffened for a moment. Perradat, with her four blue eyes, was nowhere to be seen, leaving only Lilith with a nuanced look at them.

“Ah, the God of Fate has gone back.” Lilith’s curious gaze swept over the two. “She said her people would be here soon, and she didn’t want to continue watching you two… uh, flirt.”

She shrugged, lightly tapping the ground with the tip of her tail.

“Hehe.” Kando chuckled dryly in Nol’s pocket.

Not far away, magical fluctuations became more distinct. Nol, dragging his Teest-branded cloak, took a few steps forward.

Before them was nothing but deep red sky, pitch-black soil, and a gray sea, resembling a roughly modeled basic scene that hadn’t yet been decorated with buildings. Staring too long instilled an inexplicable fear.

He had moved the Lost Tower according to the coordinates given by Perradat, yet now he could see no protrusions. The ground was like a swamp, without even large stones.

Nol could feel the power of the “land” under his feet, which was Perradat’s lifeless body.

Could it be that the Lost Tower was swallowed underground? Or…

Suddenly, the air vibrated.

The view in front of everyone split in the middle, pushing aside countless wrinkles to both sides. It was like a giant curtain being drawn, revealing the scene behind—

It was a small town.

The architectural style of the town vastly differed from that of the Tahe continent, looking more like strangely shaped ant hills. The building materials were black tinged with gray, mixed with protruding suspicious tendrils, probably built from materials found on this land.

In the center of the town stood a relatively regular, completely symmetrical twisted building.

If the world’s largest cathedral was cast in black wax and then the model melted, you might get something similar.

The air was filled with a faint bitter scent as well as an elegant aromatic fragrance.

In front of Nol, about a dozen shadowy figures gradually revealed themselves. The newcomers wore pitch-black cloaks, their faces hidden in darkness, with several burning black candles on their shoulders and heads. Their movements left the orange-red candle flames undisturbed.

The twisted candle drips seeped into the cloaks, almost blending with the fabric. At first glance, it seemed as if these people were burning themselves.

These people bowed deeply, silently splitting into two rows. A larger figure approached slowly, emerging from the mist, becoming clearer as it neared.

Nol stood still. Teest naturally released his shoulder, and subtly adopted a defensive stance.

They both sensed it. The other side used some unfamiliar power—not the invisibility magic known to Nol. It was softer, finer, more like Perradat’s “concealment” power.

Within less than five meters, the approaching large figure stopped. It—or rather, “she”—revealed herself completely to those from Tahe.

She was a plump, middle-aged lady.

Her skin was snow-white, dressed in a black gown with soft wavy pleats. A ring of candle heads burned on her wide-brimmed hat, interspersed with pale beautiful flowers. Countless black candle drips hung from the brim, connected by fine black veils.

The black veil covered the lady’s features, revealing only her brightly painted red lips.

This lady moved with utmost grace, emitting a pleasant fragrance, like an exceptionally rich cream cake. However, what was most eye-catching wasn’t the lady herself but what she held in her arms—

It was a large bunch of white flowers, wrapped somewhat strangely, like a misshapen swaddle. In the center of the bouquet, the flowers clustered around an unusually beautiful girl’s head.

Her neck was obscured by the flowers, revealing only her face. Her golden hair, like molten gold, spilled over the flowers, cascading down like the finest satin. The girl’s blue eyes slowly moved, looking at Nol in front of her.

“Welcome to Fate’s Poet Society.”

She said, her voice was even more ethereal and divine than Lilith’s.

“This is our first formal meeting, Mr. Nol, Mr. Teest.”

“I am the God of Fate, Perradat.”

---

The author has something to say:

Surprise, Perradat’s head is really Perradat’s head.

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 205: The Final Boss?

Lost Tower, third floor.

The map of the third floor was a jungle and grassland, with traces of cultivated land and a rather decent-looking village.

Worthy of a high-difficulty dungeon. Even the map was incredibly varied.

Demon Player Pike, backed by a few magic classes, was having a great time fighting a Centaur General—after changing opponents several times, he finally found one he could clash with head-on.

Despite magical healing, the monster’s wounds grew deeper. The cloaked NPC guide was an expert. He wouldn’t join the fight personally, yet always provided the clearest guidance at critical moments.

The Players, initially shocked by the difficulty, had gradually settled down.

Even if monsters respawned over and over, by the wee hours, they had successfully reached the third floor. With such a formidable NPC for guidance, perhaps there was a deeper meaning behind this quest!

The debates between “surviving the fight counts as a kill” and “no corpse means no death” were endless, with some even trying to bypass monsters to look for shortcuts within the rooms.

Pike couldn’t be bothered with these underhanded tactics. He just wanted to take down the formidable red-haired Centaur General in front of him—the Centaur General, clad in heavy armor with a long spear and a huge shield, was like a mobile fortress.

This monster’s growth magic was equally troublesome, with black and red vines occasionally shooting out of the ground, tripping them up. Those slightly weaker would be instantly bound by those damn vines.

A perfect opponent. Pike’s blood was boiling.

The Centaur General would occasionally let out a neigh, with white, scorching breath spilling out from his helmet. The heavy armor couldn’t conceal the beast’s scent, and Pike was convinced the opponent must also be enjoying this battle.

“This guy is so annoying, like a stalker! Anyone would think I’ve aggroed him.” Centaur General Xiao Wu complained while fighting. “When do we get off work this wave?”

“It’s shift work—about seven or eight more minutes,” the Swamp Witch next to him grimly said while casting curse magic.

Despite their complaints, they were both decisive in their actions.

“Wait, I’ve received a notice from above… Huh?” Centaur Xiao Wu voiced his confusion. “This is…”

“Just do as it says!”

The Swamp Witch, also frustrated by the battle, immediately summoned a thick swamp fog to protect all the teammates on site.

Their instructions were simple, with just three words—

[Leave the Tower]

The bosses already had an advantage in direct confrontation with Players. Escaping under defense was even easier. While the Players were preparing their attack formation, the neighbors used the dense fog as cover and dashed out of the Tower without looking back.

The Players preparing for a prolonged battle: “?”

What happened to the agreed rotation of bosses for tower climbing?

The neighbors didn’t care about the Demon Players’ gaming experience anymore and rushed out of the Tower in the blink of an eye. Outside the Tower, many Players who hadn’t managed to enter or had died and de-leveled were left standing, resulting in an awkward stand-off.

Pike was the first to chase out of the tower, ready to continue attacking the Centaur General when a shadow suddenly landed at his feet.

Not just one shadow.

Pike looked up. For the first time since arriving at Tahe, he was so shocked that he forgot to breathe.

Under the moonlight, hundreds of boss-level monsters flew in the air, with the rumored succubi and dog-headed beastmen in tow.

Some monsters had wings of their own, while others floated via magic or magical items. Under the bright moonlight, countless shadows crashed into the ground. Time seemed to freeze as the huge and deformed monsters densely populated midair.

An absolutely lethal legion, with the low growls of monsters echoing, waiting for a command to “attack”.

“All the monsters in the Tower are out!”

Pike heard someone cursing. “Is this even a playable dungeon?”

“Hey, guide, what do we do next?” Some of the more impatient ones had already rushed towards the cloaked NPC.

Midair.

“Ahh, ahh. I’m afraid of heights!” The Spider Girl closed all eight eyes, trying not to let her legs tremble.

“How long do we have to stay like this? I’ve got dough rising in the kitchen.” The Banshee mother, in charge of food, was very anxious.

“We didn’t have to bring the kids out if we just wanted to scare them away,” the Crow father flew beside his wife. “Xiao Xu and the others must have considered it. Don’t worry.”

Little Piel skillfully flapped his griffin’s wings, firmly grasping a short sword in his hands, curiously looking around. “Haven’t the Mr. Fairies arrived yet?”

As both sides stood bewildered, the ground suddenly began to tremble.

The cloaked NPC—Enbillick adjusted his hood. An unnaturally powerful magic was rapidly activating. That power did not come from Nol. It was the system’s own power.

Amidst the trembling, the Lost Tower gradually became transparent, its outline twisting like smoke.

It was about to forcibly move. Enbillick clenched his teeth.

As an “unofficial feature”, the Lost Tower could be hidden by the system. In hidden state, provided with explicit coordinate parameters, it could move to a specific location.

Enbillick knew all this.

He also knew that the reason Paradise hadn’t moved before was purely because the Black Forest was rich in resources and dungeons, and it could stay away from human interference.

At this moment, the higher-ups of Paradise must have used some method to modify the Tower’s location coordinates.

The problem was, such an action was meaningless.

Being the core of the dungeon, the “monsters” were still here. Without the Lost Tower as support, they would actually be at a disadvantage.

As for the empty Tower, once the Players killed all monsters and left, they could still take partial control—Star Stealer Sol had confirmed, the Lost Tower was a standard guild base. Its permissions inherently allow it to be invaded and seized.

And that was precisely what he did best.

He would cleanly strip everything from Nol, shake his spirit, and erode his stronghold. He would make that guy return to death effortlessly.

…His plan was straightforward. Nothing was supposed to go wrong.

Suddenly abandoning their stronghold, what was Paradise planning to do?

As expected, accompanied by flickers and thunderous noise, the massive Lost Tower disappeared into thin air. With the black tower gone, the vicinity suddenly became empty, making even the airborne army of monsters seem somewhat diminished.

They turned their heads in unison, seemingly surprised by the disappearance of the Lost Tower.

“Attack—!” Enbillick immediately ordered. “Without terrain interference, this is a good opportunity!”

Regardless, targeting a portion of the people first was the best strategy. The succubi and dog-headed beastmen had all come out, making them perfect targets.

No one moved.

“Why…”

Before Enbillick could finish his question, a blood-red popup appeared in front of him.

[Players have completed the hidden dungeon quest: Assault on the Lost Tower.]

[Players have met the conditions: Kill all monsters within the Tower.]

[Mission rewards: The unique system guild base “Lost Tower”; all treasures and items within the Lost Tower; clues about the Demon King will be settled after subsequent events.]

[※The first Player to reach the top of the Lost Tower will gain relevant permissions.]

The quest was completed?

How is that possible?

But… regardless of where the issue was, quest completion meant one thing—the “dungeon boundary” set up by the system would disappear due to the completion of the quest.

Enbillick looked up, his silver-gray pupils reflecting the night sky as a clump of blue fire ignited.

Nol had arrived.

The circle of blue fire burned fiercely, tearing through space, and two figures appeared at the forefront of the monster army.

The God of Creation maintained his Dracolich form—Nol was mostly in human shape, except for the huge dragon wings behind him and the crown-like dragon horns on his head. In the darkness, those blue eyes were more piercing than the moon itself.

Rage boiled in those eyes, with killing intent uncontrollably spreading.

Beside him, a white knight floated in mid-air with wind magic blowing through his long hair. Teest raised his long sword, pointing its tip towards Enbillick in a highly insulting manner.

[Did you enjoy the grape frosted sweets? I sincerely recommend it, Mr. Star Stealer Sol.]

His voice resonated in Enbillick’s ears. [Now, give me back my gold wheel.]

The next moment, Teest’s figure vanished, his long sword piercing through Enbillick’s chest, the destructive force spreading like poison.

Amidst the intense pain, Enbillick instantly activated reversion. The moment the blue fire ignited, he crushed the magic crystal in his pocket, teleporting to Grape Collar.

After this short reversion ended, Enbillick activated a longer reversion. This time, he went back to the afternoon.

He discreetly returned to the fountain square, witnessing “another self” initiating reversion, disappearing among the crowd at the grape frosted sweets stall.

With a flash, Enbillick returned to his original spot in line. The transition was seamless, with the person behind him not noticing anything amiss.

The afternoon sun was exceptionally warm, with children’s laughter and the melodious sound of the fountain statue filling his ears.

Enbillick opened his pocket watch to check the time.

At this moment, “another self” was near the Black Forest, planning this quest doomed to fail. Theoretically, he could initiate reversion again, replacing that oblivious self.

But that would be pointless.

Nol made a grand entrance in front of thousands of Demon Players. The course of fate was set, and the plan was declared a total failure.

Enbillick couldn’t figure out how the quest had mysteriously succeeded.

He wasn’t unfamiliar with Players trying to exploit loopholes in quest texts—facing quests like “eliminate monsters in a specific area”, some had tried luring monsters out of the target area or outright destroying quest buildings, to achieve the “no monsters in a specific area” effect.

But they all failed.

In Enbillick’s view, Nol did something similar.

He had peeked into the system internals before, but alas, he couldn’t understand those deadly mysterious codes. Blindly using the system against the creator was too risky. Next time, he’d minimize system interference, and the plan had to be more meticulous…

“Respected sir, what would you like?”

Lost in thought, Enbillick inadvertently reached the front of the stall. Hearing the greeting, he sighed deeply and casually scratched the back of his head.

“Four grape frosted sweets,” he said.

The sun slowly slid across the sky, with the shadow of the fountain statue rotating like a clock hand. The shadow of the Goddess of Life statue stretched longer, creeping to Enbillick’s feet, merging with his own shadow.

People passed by, paying no mind.

……

The Black Forest at night.

With the quest suddenly completed and the guide NPC vanishing on the spot, the Demon Players looked at each other, unsure of what to do next.

“It must be bugged,” someone behind Pike muttered cluelessly. “None of them died, right?”

“What are you waiting for? Run!” Someone seemed to have snapped back to reality.

But it was too late.

Ensuring those on the ground were all Demon Players, Nol raised his hand and waved downwards. Countless cyan meteors fell like hail, with the Players’ resurrection effects flickering amidst the dust and smoke.

Above the Black Forest, a deadly cyan meteor shower lit up the sky. It was as clean and swift as a guillotine; before the pain could even register, the Demon Players’ levels vanished along with their HP.

Nol’s casting hand didn’t tremble in the slightest.

He didn’t mind reducing the levels of these folks, just as he didn’t mind strengthening factions like Amazon.

Teest whistled satisfactorily and leaped down. He skillfully avoided the cyan fires, with golden threads spreading out, turning into fireworks blooming on the ground.

Blood splattered, and the death rate of the Demon Players doubled instantly.

A one-sided absolute slaughter.

“Fuck, it’s a big boss!”

The Players who had come to their senses began to flee, even if the outside was still filled with an unknown, destructive corruption.

For those who didn’t value their lives, there might have been a slight chance against the monster army. But it was clear to everyone that the blue-eyed demon wasn’t a target they could handle at this stage.

Perhaps this bug in the mission was also facilitated by him! After all, one of the rewards was “clues about the Demon King”.

Such a powerful monster could very well be…

“The Demon King…”

In less than a minute, Pike lost eight levels. In his hasty escape, he looked back at that terrifying figure surrounded by blue fire.

But it was that look back that prevented him from seeing the golden thread appearing in front of him. The next second, his head flew off.

The system’s death sound effect played once more.

Indeed, that person must be the Demon King.

Only the Demon King could possess such terrifying power. Only the Demon King could disrupt the quest so forcefully.

The whole cooperation between Paradise and humans was a giant trap! He needed to get back safely and sell this information as soon as possible…

As his head returned to its place, Pike ran even more desperately, tumbling into the depths of the night.

That night, the sky above the Black Forest was as bright as day, with participating Players generally losing 40% to 60% of their levels.

It was said that no one received the Lost Tower rewards, but they indeed obtained “clues about the Demon King”.

According to the last Demon Player to leave, the Demon King opened a terrifyingly large circle of blue fire. Beyond any doubt, a massive spatial gate. Beyond the circle of fire was blood-red, emitting a corrupt, sweet smell. It was likely something akin to hell.

When leaving the Black Forest, the Demon King and his knight walked at the back of the army. Those two beautiful monsters were clearly aware of his presence as an observer—

In the end, the pale knight turned his head, casually reducing his last level.

After doing all this, the guy wrapped his arm around the Demon King’s waist and made a face at his rolling head.

Then the blue fire extinguished, and the Black Forest returned to its usual tranquility.

…Far away, over the Endless Sea.

Through the blue fire circle. Before them was a blood-red sky and a land as dark as the void.

“Welcome.”

Perradat said listlessly.

“Before I explain, I’d like to hear your explanations first—what exactly happened just now?”

---

The author has something to say:

Let’s pay homage to Perradat’s head (?

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 204: Breaking the Game

Perradat was lounging on the steps, observing the battle.

Initially, the neighbors who went into battle were a bit nervous, but gradually, everyone got into their stride. The first batch of neighbors who fought even piled up bedding and took naps right there.

The dog-headed beastmen and succubi treated it as some sort of game, squeezing in front of the screen with snacks in hand, occasionally letting out exclamations of awe.

Magic flew across the screen as the Players clashed with the neighbors. The Players’ onslaught wasn’t like it was their first encounter with the Lost Tower. Star Stealer Sol had definitely used reversion already.

However, there wasn’t the slightest sign of decline from the neighbors’ side—they weren’t the only ones with a hidden commander. Lynn and Rosen kept a close eye on the battle, sending suggestions to the neighbors now and then.

They weren’t afraid of Star Stealer Sol, nor did they need his power.

Perradat couldn’t help but recall those not-so-distant past days. The battles with Star Stealer Sol then felt more like a struggle for faith among native beings. And these beings, from foreign lands, were the most steadfast followers of the God of Creation.

The God of Creation had also made generous arrangements for them. More than 90% of these fragile creatures hiding in the Tower had evolved into boss-level monsters. This meant they possessed various anti-instant kill resistances granted by the system, undoubtedly forming a terrifying army.

How enviable.

Perradat turned to Lynn and Mentor and let out a long sigh. “How did you know this approach would work against reversion?”

“No, we didn’t know,” Mentor answered lightly. “I only knew Star Stealer Sol’s ‘priority’ isn’t as high as the system’s, so I used a system skill to create a random calculation magical device—this way, it’s a contest between ‘reversion’ and ‘system rules’.”

Perradat bit her nails in confusion. “So what then?”

“If the system’s random rules cannot be shaken, each time Star Stealer Sol activates reversion, it will trigger different random outcomes, making it impossible for that ragtag bunch to defeat us.”

Lynn crossed her arms, still looking at the screen. “And if we assume Star Stealer Sol’s ‘reversion’ is stronger, even able to fix the random outcomes, then changing teams every so often and rethinking strategies will also give him a hard time.”

The Lost Tower naturally possessed various terrains. Once Star Stealer Sol attempted to take advantage of the terrain, they would shift the battlefield. Thanks to Rosen, the neighbors didn’t have a fixed team. For safety reasons, the teams that went out to grind were always different, so everyone meshed well together.

Indeed, they managed to maintain control of the situation smoothly. The problem was finding a way to break the stalemate, as Star Stealer Sol wouldn’t keep losing forever.

Lynn pursed her lips when suddenly she felt a cold, damp touch on her heel. Startled, she looked down to see Ben’s snout poking out.

“Ben?!” She exclaimed in surprise and delight.

The miniaturized Ben jumped out of her shadow, dropping a virus program ball from Nol, which shattered on the ground, instantly turning into thousands of shimmering light particles.

Thinking it had broken an important item, Ben was scared stiff, its fur standing on end. It incredulously lowered its head, its front paws futilely scratching the ground, its nose sniffing around.

Perradat narrowed her eyes—something in the air had changed, and she could feel it. The system’s tight constraints loosened slightly, not enough to let Kando break through the space but sufficient to set up a communication channel.

She touched the frightened shadow wolf, pointing a finger into the void. A blurry blue flame appeared mid-air.

“…can…” A vague voice came from the flame, like whispers in a strong wind. After a few seconds, the voice became clearer.

“…we can communicate now.” Kando’s voice came through, still somewhat muffled, as if through a layer of water film.

“Lynn, can you hear me speaking?” Nol’s voice quickly approached.

Lynn, holding Ben, relaxed her expression slightly. “I can hear you. The Tower is temporarily safe. Star Stealer Sol’s avatar has arrived, and we’ve trapped it at the bottom of the tower.”

“Anakin and the others have received the quest invitation, and I will read the quest details to you next.”

Before Nol could ask, Lynn preemptively answered. She quickly explained the quest restrictions and briefly described the current strategies.

Unlike the puzzled Perradat, as soon as Lynn started, Nol guessed the gist. “Roguelike*? A neat response.”

*The term used here is meat pigeon [rouge] (肉鸽), but it’s the pinyin pronunciation referring to rogue (roguelike games). These are dungeon crawl games that have randomly generated maps/levels and monsters, which is basically what the Lost Tower is currently doing right now.

He sounded relieved, his background noise mixed with Teest’s murmuring. Nol’s voice faded a bit, probably explaining the situation to his knight on the fly.

“We’ve managed to control the situation, but neither of us can break the system’s seal.”

Perradat poked the flame, raising her voice. “I’m not good at direct combat, and you two can’t come in. Once Star Stealer Sol recovers, things won’t be so easy.”

“This dungeon has completely covered the surrounding area of the Lost Tower.”

Nol’s voice came closer again. “Forcing an entry would take time. I must bypass the dungeon’s anti-tampering programs.”

On the other end of the flame, Nol held Kando in his palm, looking at the swaying candle flame. Hearing that the Tower was safe, he almost sat down on the spot. Teest had dragged him under a nearby tree. Nol was in charge of communicating with the inside of the Tower, while Teest checked the surroundings, adding obstacles to the Players coming for the quest.

Nol picked up a stick and began to scribble on the ground.

To prevent instance cheating, the development team designed numerous complex and tricky anti-tampering mechanisms for “Tahe World”. It was created to be unbreakable; Nol himself didn’t know any backdoors.

Furthermore, both he and Teest’s formidable powers clashed with the core rules of the dungeon. If they decided to invade, they’d face the highest level of “security”…

“You don’t need to come in for now.”

Lynn’s voice came through. “We can discuss other strategies.”

Nol’s scribbling stopped.

“I agree with Miss Lynn’s view.” Mentor maintained an impartial tone. “Star Stealer Sol is already inside. Do you think you invading the dungeon or him finding a way to harm us will happen faster?”

Indeed.

Nol clenched the stick. His decision at this moment was extremely crucial—

Whether to invade the dungeon with Teest or to discuss other methods. Every second they spent, Star Stealer Sol was further understanding the neighbors’ situation and thinking of new strategies.

Should they choose wrongly or act too slowly, casualties within the Tower would be inevitable.

As the creator of this world, Nol preferred to have control in his hands. However…

Nol looked towards the destruction shield protecting the Lost Tower and Teest who was mischievously tormenting the Players. Without Teest’s input, he wouldn’t have quickly thought of Ben, nor would he have reestablished contact so soon.

“It’s not that we don’t trust you.” Lynn’s voice carried a hint of amusement. “We just hope you can trust us a bit more.”

“I understand.” Nol closed his eyes. “Next, I’ll provide support from outside the area. Let’s see if there are other methods.”

“Ben will stay with you for now.” Teest popped his head in. “If necessary, you can throw it down as a combat force. It hasn’t been very active lately.”

Ben’s indignant snort immediately emanated from the flame.

“How did you bring the shadow wolf out originally?” Mentor asked curiously. “It was the boss of ‘Night of the Hunt’ dungeon, right?”

“I used an item to sever its link with the dungeon. Without the core of the dungeon, the instance would close due to a system error.”

Nol looked towards the Lost Tower standing in the night sky, like a crack between heaven and earth.

“This time, the same method can’t be used.”

Lynn asked, “Why not?”

“Because everyone in the neighborhood has been designated as a target to be killed. Strictly speaking, everyone is part of the dungeon core… Even if I still had my letter opener, I couldn’t use it on everyone.”

Nol explained bluntly.

Normally, killing the dungeon boss would signify the end of the quest. Star Stealer Sol, not satisfied, set the quest to “kill all monsters inside the Tower”.

Meaning, except for Mentor, Anakin, and Solo—the three pure-blood Players—everyone was designated by the system as a “core target”.

Lynn was momentarily speechless. She remembered the shocking state of Zhuang Shuhang, with only half a head left after one cut.

Now with hundreds of neighbors inside the Tower, even if Nol could poke each one, without the system connection, the combat power of Paradise would virtually reset to zero.

But Nol couldn’t come in now, and the letter opener had been given away, making this path unviable from the start.

They were unable to exploit the same loophole…

Lynn rubbed her knuckles, deep in thought.

“Perradat.” Teest joined the conversation. “That mission counts you as a kill target too. What exactly can you do?”

“My powers are ‘concealment’ and ‘prophecy’.”

Facing Teest, Perradat’s tone turned rigid. “Now that I’m personally involved, I can’t make prophecies. My ‘concealment’ can disrupt the system to some extent, but…”

“But?”

“The system is too strong. My level of interference is limited.” Perradat hummed. “To be precise, my concealment is more ‘I’ll cover for you if you steal candies’, not ‘I’ll help you dispose of the body if you commit murder’.”

“How remarkably useless,” Teest exclaimed.

“That’s because my kind is quite gentle, preferring communication over conflict.” Perradat said sharply, “I am a genteel god, unlike some savages who insult corpses right off the bat—”

Nol quickly cleared his throat. “Sorry, sorry. Just to confirm, your ‘concealment’ power can’t hide my compatriots, deceiving the quest’s death detection.”

“Too many people. Can’t do it.” Perradat’s voice softened. “In my prime, certainly, but I don’t even have an avatar here… Damn, once you’re near my core, you’ll see how powerful I am…”

Everything returned to square one.

So far, aside from Nol and Teest intervening personally, they couldn’t find a better solution.

Lynn summoned the magical records, scanning the lines of text.

[Objective: Kill all monsters inside the tower.]

[Reward: The unique system guild base “Lost Tower”; all treasures and items within the Lost Tower; clues about the Demon King.]

…Huh?

“Nol, wait, let me confirm. According to this quest description, the ‘Lost Tower’ itself isn’t the dungeon core?” Lynn soothingly patted Perradat’s head.

“Yes.”

Nol affirmed. “Like the shadow wolf, the kill targets are the core. According to this quest setup, the Lost Tower is to be given away as a prize.”

Teest clicked his tongue loudly. “Is this quest written by Enbillick personally?”

“Yes, normal quests wouldn’t have such a vague requirement. If the system wanted to severely damage the Lost Tower, specifying the kill of Paradise’s higher-ups would be more effective.”

Mentor analyzed eagerly. “Paradise’s security measures are excellent. I only recently found out who the high-ups are. Star Stealer Sol couldn’t know, so he designated everyone as the target.”

“If only the Lost Tower could hide in the system like before.” A few steps away, Rosen interjected.

Nol’s eyebrows twitched.

Wait, “The Lost Tower isn’t the dungeon core”, “Kill all monsters within the Tower”.

Normally, in a boss fight, the system directly checked the individual boss’ life and death status. But Star Stealer Sol specified “area killing of indeterminate targets”, so the system defaulted to another set of judgment criteria.

This was a bottom-level logic only known to the creator.

To prevent Players from gaming the system or monsters summoning more monsters, leading to an endless enemy situation. He remembered, the judgment standard for area kills seemed to be…

“The quest starts with marking all monsters within the Tower.”

“Defined by the dungeon’s boundary, within and around the specified area, there exists no life reaction from marked monsters.” Nol’s voice carried a hint of amusement. “…To end this quest, such a result must be achieved.”

Teest raised an eyebrow. “Why suddenly mention this?”

“Because Officer Luo just said the Lost Tower usually moves hidden in the system,” Nol answered indirectly.

Inside the command room, Lynn paused for two seconds, then burst into laughter. “Oh my. Don’t tell me there’s such a loophole. Officer Luo, you’re the hero of the day.”

She slapped Rosen’s back, who looked bewildered.

“The Lost Tower isn’t originally part of the dungeon space. Forcibly using it will definitely result in various small loopholes.” Nol laughed. “Miss Perradat, we’re about to steal candies.”

Perradat stiffened defensively. “What are you planning to do?”

Nol extended his hands, and countless characters converged between them. Through telepathy, he quickly explained everything to Teest.

Simultaneously, Lynn stood up, whispering in Perradat’s ear.

“……”

Listening, Perradat’s expression gradually vanished.

After a while, she spat out fiercely. “If you’re really going to do this, can I choose the location?”

“It’s rare for you to be so cooperative.” Teest teased, unable to suppress his smirk after hearing the plan.

“Because I’ve confirmed you’re all mad.” Perradat curled her lips. “But only such lunatics are more suited to deal with Star Stealer Sol.”

“Now that it’s come to this, let me fulfill my promise.”

---

The author has something to say:

The plot is about to start getting devious.

Guess how they’ll break the situation?

By the way, the term “roguelike” refers to a category of games characterized by high randomness.

However, since Players resurrect after dying, it doesn’t strictly count as a classic roguelike…

---

Kinky Thoughts:

One of my favorite roguelike games is Hades. Ah, Zagreus, so hot.

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 203: The Toughest Dungeon

Pike was among the top tier of Demon Players, the apex of the pyramid.

He was a bona fide mercenary who came from Country C solely for the purpose of eliminating his target. Pike agreed to test this game just for a taste of something new and for some fun, never expecting to end up in Tahe.

As a game enthusiast, he quite liked this place. There were no annoying legal regulations, and one didn’t die in combat. Simply by making a few kills, one could have all the weapons, gear, and money one needed.

More importantly, on Earth, the joy of hunting one’s own kind was quite limited, as he had to spend more time on the aftermath. In Tahe, he only needed to focus on the “hunt” itself.

When he received the mission, Pike was hunting large monsters on the outskirts of the Black Forest. He was among the first batch of Demon Players to arrive on the scene.

“Mr. Pike.” A few Players who recognized him greeted him with due respect.

Pike ignored them, his attention fully on the tower before him.

The Lost Tower stood quietly—its base surrounded by numerous deep red monster tentacles. They clung to the ground, trembling occasionally, as if bound tightly in place by invisible restraints.

The black tower pierced the night sky, and at the top of the eerie stairway formed by tentacles, was a massive stone door. The air around the entire tower was cold and sticky, filled with ominousness.

Beside the stone door, a person wearing a hood held up a lantern in his left hand, waiting silently.

“Who are you?” Pike leapt through the air to the front of the stone door.

“May everything be eternal. I am the guide for you all, and the witness to this challenge,” the person, wearing a mask and appearing to be a high-ranking member of the Eternal Church, said.

The person extended his right hand, and the internal magic of the Eternal Church activated instantly. A dark orb of light moved through the air, sketching the divine emblem of the Eternal Church.

Sounding like a middle-aged man, Pike grunted in acknowledgment and nodded nonchalantly.

“May everything be eternal,” he said.

This person was probably here to “witness the quest” or “provide hints”, a friendly NPC type that Pike had seen plenty of. Killing such NPCs was pointless but befriending them might unlock some hidden rewards.

“Tell me what’s going on? Isn’t this the Tower of Paradise? I remember they got along well with Players. Why would they suddenly issue a quest?”

Glancing at the increasing number of Demon Players, Pike casually inquired.

Many Demon Players had tried to form deep connections with Paradise, all to no avail. Paradise was very selective in choosing collaborators—if those monsters had malicious intentions from the start, there was no need to be so picky.

“I came here guided by God, and now all I know is that this tower is extremely dangerous, filled only with enemies,” the cloaked figure said, the lantern in his hand casting a dim yellow light. “Perhaps the administrators of Paradise have sided with the Demon King, or perhaps Paradise has been attacked by a new Demon King… Do you need more details?”

“No need,” Pike responded, placing one hand on the stone door of the Lost Tower.

Background of the quest? Story setting? Pike never cared for those. He knew only one thing—there were enemies inside the tower. The stronger the enemy, the greater the reward.

The massive stone door slowly opened, and a cold wind blew out from the tower, like the caress of the undead. Inside was pitch black. The moonlight halted two steps beyond the doorway, leaving only an impenetrable darkness.

The cloaked NPC turned his body, making a “please” gesture.

Pike glanced back at the Players behind him. Those familiar had already formed teams, nearly all eyes on him, waiting for him to be the first to brave the unknown.

Cowards. Pike readied his battle ax and forcefully threw a detection orb into the tower.

It was supposed to hit the ground, activate upon impact, and quickly detect magical reactions nearby, initially determining the number and strength of enemies. But the orb disappeared into the darkness as if it had fallen into an abyss, without a sound returning.

Pike frowned and pulled out another detection orb. This time, he changed the angle and used about seventy to eighty percent of his strength. The orb shot into the darkness like a cannonball, once again vanishing without a trace.

Pike’s pupils contracted, his grip on the battle-ax tightening.

Beside him, the cloaked figure silently observed.

Inside the Tower, in the main hall’s command center.

“That person seems nice. He hasn’t even entered, and he already sent us two balls, huh?” Knight Saint Bernard whispered, eyeing the two orbs intercepted by the first-level guards with envy.

“Don’t talk.” Village Chief Border Collie sighed heavily.

Officer Luo and Dr. Zhu were responsible for dividing the combatants into groups, while Uncle Ma went to manage the succubi, dog-headed beastmen, and other foreign races. Lynn and Mentor stood at the forefront, ready with communication crystals in hand.

All the neighbors watched the footage from the first floor. Lynn, on the surveillance camera, no, on the surveillance puppet, had added the ability to see through darkness, allowing everyone to clearly see the situation in the dark.

At the moment, the defense on the first floor was a team of eight… a quirky squad of eight, strictly divided into 2 tanks, 2 healers, and 4 damage dealers. The damage dealers were further divided into physical damage, magical damage, and support damage, and everyone was equipped with high-end items produced by the instance.

According to Anakin, even the best combat teams in the Saints Guild couldn’t match the equipment of these.

And these items were all personally farmed by the neighbors in the Black Forest; everyone was an old teammate, and their coordination was seamless.

In the darkness, eight giant monsters with nearly a hundred eyes of various sizes focused on the doorway.

“Why haven’t they come in yet?” the Spider Girl whispered. She evolved into the “Venom Queen” and was responsible for magical output. Her eight legs were adorned with rare bracelets with buffs and immunities.

“They’re probably discussing tactics,” the Iron Bear Chief, a tank, responded quietly. “Don’t be nervous. Our level seems higher.”

“I’m not nervous.” Another giant tank—the Golden Armored Dragon Lizard—shivered. “Wait a moment for Lao Cai to give me a buff.”

“Every time you can’t break through, you think about eating buffs!” scoffed the senior Water Sprite, responsible for healing.

“Shh… Keep it down. What if the people outside hear us?”

“They probably don’t understand our language, so just say whatever,” Lynn said confidently as she activated the communication crystal.

Their connection with the outside of the Tower was being interfered with, and it was certain that internal communications would be tampered with as well.

Even though their opponents were the unscrupulous Demon Players, Star Stealer Sol wouldn’t want them to be able to communicate with the residents of Paradise, to minimize uncertainties.

That was to say—

Outside the Tower, Pike heard strange sounds from the darkness. The low growls and hisses of monsters came from the darkness, filled with malice.

Normally, a magic team should be sent up now to dispel this troublesome darkness. But for the lone wolf Mr. Pike, such an action would be tantamount to publicly declaring his weakness.

He simply crushed a black crystal, an expensive item that would grant him 12 hours of vision in the darkness.

Pike smoothly infiltrated the darkness and immediately saw the huge silhouette in the center of the hall.

An Iron Bear Chief.

A superior monster of the Iron Bear type. This monster was massive and immensely strong; its fur as tough as the finest armor, providing it with extremely high physical defense. Such monsters usually appeared as bosses in difficult dungeons and were very challenging to defeat.

At that moment, the Iron Bear’s pair of ember-like red eyes stared straight at him, emitting a low growl from its throat.

Pike felt a headache coming on—dealing with an Iron Bear Chief typically required a proper team of mages, and he was, unfortunately, a physical class.

However, since the Iron Bear Chief appeared, there must be regular Iron Bears around. If he couldn’t handle the big boss, surely he could take on the smaller ones?

Pike vanished into the darkness, looking around but found no trace of any regular Iron Bears.

Strange. Could this be one of those tower-climbing games where defeating an elite boss allows you to ascend a floor?

This would make things easier. He could take the information out and bring a few mages in to deal damage.

While Pike was pondering, the neighbors weren’t idle.

“Should we attack? It’s just one person on the other side. It seems too much for all eight of us to move.” Iron Bear Chief Lao Wang couldn’t help but speak up.

“It does seem a bit much. Why hasn’t he left yet?”

“Lynn said it, the slower our pace, the better. It’s important to maintain an absolute advantage.”

“That’s true… ah!” The Spider Girl suddenly let out a small gasp.

“What happened?”

“That person just suddenly jumped over. I reflexively… uh, I didn’t control my strength well…” The Spider Girl’s tone gradually became embarrassed as she waved her blood-stained leg.

What happened?

Pike didn’t even realize when his head hit the ground.

He had planned to strike the Iron Bear first to secure the first hit bonus, seeing if there were any special rewards. Facing such a terrifying monster, he prepared to circle around and attack the Iron Bear’s neck from above.

Unfortunately, just as he was halfway through his maneuver, he came face-to-face with eight glowing green eyes. In an instant, something scythe-like slashed down, and alerts for poison and physical damage flooded in. In less than a second, his HP was emptied.

Before Pike could react, something hooked onto the back of his armor and threw him out of the door.

“Let’s just throw him out first,” the Spider Girl whispered. “Otherwise, him constantly respawning here will disrupt our team’s rhythm.”

“Yeah, it’s quite annoying.”

“These people don’t seem as strong as we thought?”

In the command room of Paradise, the neighbors murmured about similar issues. Lynn remained silent, staring at the screen without a relieved expression.

The Player just now was definitely not weak.

Normally, an Iron Bear Chief’s territorial instinct was incredibly strong, making it impossible to coexist with other formidable monsters. The man saw the Iron Bear Chief and prematurely misjudged the situation, allocating his skills entirely to physical attack and defense.

Facing the Venom Queen’s magic and poison head-on like that, it was hard not to die.

But such an advantage would soon vanish—

The neighbors didn’t know yet that this battle was a “quest”. Normally, the quest wouldn’t end until all the monsters in the Tower were killed. Either the Players win, or they remain in a deadlock.

And among them was a tricky individual capable of time reversal.

“Haven’t you made plans for that guy’s reversion?”

Perradat was sitting ungracefully on the steps and munching on peanut candy. “Just keep dragging it out with that, until Nol comes up with a solution.”

After being sent drifting by that cursed Teest, this God of Fate became increasingly reckless.

“I’ve said a thousand times, he’s not our God, just our neighbor. You might really struggle to understand.” Lynn glanced at her. “Facing Star Stealer Sol, what he needs are comrades in arms, not fragile beings that need protection distracting him.”

“Even if Star Stealer Sol suppresses his power, he’s not easy to deal with. Without Nol intervening, you’ll be trapped here forever.”

Perradat finished one piece of peanut candy and picked up another. “If your pride doesn’t allow it, think of it as joining forces with him.”

“If we must, I’ll seek help.” Lynn pursed her lips. “But before that, we will do everything in our power to find a solution—a perfect solution.”

“Overconfidence isn’t a good thing.”

“We have the capital to be confident, don’t we? Aren’t you here?”

Perradat paused in licking her fingers. Lynn spun her index finger, and the dish of peanut candy flew towards the younger neighbors.

After distributing the candy, Lynn smiled slightly. “You cherish life immensely and possess a perception of the future of all things. Someone like you wouldn’t be trapped here just because ‘suddenly wanting to eat peanut candy’.”

“That means, victory in the Lost Tower is certain. And…”

“And?” Perradat turned her head in confusion, only to see Lynn’s face rapidly approaching.

“…And you might be useful,” Lynn announced in a tone that was unclear whether it was respectful or mocking.

Perradat swallowed. “I’ve been wanting to say, you really are blasphemous.”

Lynn: “Unfortunately, people here don’t really believe in gods.” Even if they did, they wouldn’t believe in the gods of Tahe.

“Beep beep beep!”

“Beep beep beep!”

Just then, Mentor’s pocket watch suddenly rang. With a snap of his fingers, a beautiful astrolabe-like magical device floated up in front of him.

It emitted a warm golden light, spinning rapidly, then freezing at a certain moment.

“Thirty minutes up. Time to switch the attacking team.”

With a light flick of his finger, lines of golden characters appeared in front of Officer Luo. Without hesitation, Officer Luo immediately began organizing teams according to the golden list.

“First floor transmission begins!” Dr. Zhu commanded.

At that moment, in the first-floor hall.

Underneath his cloak, Enbillick watched the situation inside the hall.

After that fool named Pike was thrown out, the Demon Players became much more cautious. They quickly organized their teams and figured out the opponents on the first floor.

Iron Bear Chief, Golden Armored Dragon Lizard, Advanced Water Elemental, Millennium Wood Elf, Venom Queen, Thousand-Blade Feathered Serpent, Dark Requiem Harpy, and the Cursed Hero Armor.

Eight top-tier bosses, which, under normal circumstances, should each guard a high-level dungeon on their own. Now, these monsters had obviously teamed up, equipped with various items not meant for monsters, with a dreadfully reasonable job distribution.

The Demon Players were attempting to attack, but the two tank bosses in front kept sending them flying around the room. They barely received a scratch before being healed back to full health by the two healing bosses.

Considering the monstrous health bars of these monsters, the scene was utterly hopeless.

At the edge of the battlefield, Enbillick lowered his hood.

The Players at this moment were no match for them, and even inflicting damage was problematic.

But this was just the “first” battle.

Players nearby were continuously arriving, and he had more and more pieces in his hand. Enbillick ignored the screams and deaths around him, inspecting each Player’s skills and attributes.

After all, a little leveling down after reversion wasn’t a problem.

No matter how fierce these monsters were, they couldn’t compare to the two False Gods, Teest and Nol. As long as he used reversion wisely, he could create the perfect strategy.

The Lost Tower would definitely try to delay time, waiting for the Creator to come and save the world. How foolish. What awaits them is only… huh?

Just as he got a grip on the situation on the battlefield, he saw a flash of light, and the eight monsters disappeared from their spots.

In their place appeared eight new monsters—still with a perfect job distribution, but completely different races and skills.

Enbillick’s smile froze on his face.

In the command room.

“Random team dispatch completed.” Officer Luo coughed twice with an air of importance. “Those who’ve returned, take a good rest.”

“Got it!”

Mentor retracted the complex magical device in front of him, smiling as he watched the screen.

“It seems we have ample time to consider a breakthrough. What do you think, Miss Lynn?”

---

The author has something to say:

Monster hunters, indeed (×

You want to memorize strategies? Let’s add a billion little bits of randomness.

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 202: Start of the Tower Defense

“I didn’t receive a system quest. Did Enbillick act on his own?” Teest said, dangling under the dragon’s claw. He applied a dark shield to himself to avoid being disheveled by the wind.

“I also didn’t receive a quest, but that guy can control the system. He might deliberately exclude us.” Nol rushed towards the direction of the Lost Tower.

Aside from leveling up as planned, the neighbors mostly stayed inside the Tower obediently. Enbillick currently had no knowledge of the situation inside the Tower. Personally entering the fray wasn’t his style.

Players were the best guns to use.

After suffering a loss in the Dragon’s Lair quest before, if Star Stealer Sol were to utilize system quests, he would definitely exclude both Nol and Teest first—they were too high-level, so just adding a level restriction to the “quest” would be enough.

“The system lockdown is stronger than during the Dragon’s Lair,” Kando interjected. “I feel like I was targeted.”

“Last time during Ship Island reversion, Star Stealer Sol discovered your existence. Kando, can you contact Perradat?” Nol tore through the air, charging forward.

Star Stealer Sol probably didn’t know about Perradat’s descent through Lilith.

“I can’t contact Her. She is likely also inside the Tower right now,” Kando replied urgently, without wasting any words.

‘Too bad Perradat wouldn’t be of much use,’ Nol thought.

If his guess was correct, Star Stealer Sol must have used the quest to create a sealed dungeon, completely cutting off the Lost Tower’s contact with the outside world. Until the quest is completed, Players could only enter, not leave, and couldn’t send out any messages.

Nol flew through the night sky, stopping where the Lost Tower should be. As expected, the entire Lost Tower was nowhere to be seen, and he could feel the faint force of the system.

“Two possibilities.”

Teest climbed onto Nol’s claw, standing on the dragon’s claw.

“First, Star Stealer Sol lured the Players here and then left, using rewards to attract a large number of Players to come and kill all the monsters in the Tower. The second possibility…”

He didn’t immediately continue, and Nol understood what he meant.

The second possibility, Star Stealer Sol, under the identity of “Golden Sword” Enbillick Alva, intervened in the dungeon as an NPC, guiding Players to attack. With Star Stealer Sol’s ability to reverse time, he would become the most troublesome commander.

Since they left the Lost Tower, six to seven hours had passed.

At this time, the cafeteria in Paradise should be open, with neighbors making midnight snacks together. Before they left, the Banshee mother said she would personally make dumplings, and the beastmen cubs were frolicking in the hall.

“…It’s my negligence.”

Nol hovered in the air, angrily staring at where the Lost Tower should be. “Interfering with the Lost Tower requires administrator permissions. Star Stealer Sol must have tampered with that gold wheel!”

Golden threads shot out, and Teest nimbly stepped through the night, leaping onto Nol’s head.

“As an outstanding villain, I disagree with your statement.” Teest kissed the gem-like dragon horns. “I can probably guess Star Stealer Sol’s plan. He doesn’t dare to confront us directly. ‘Attacking the Lost Tower’ is essentially the same as ‘killing an enemy’s relatives’—just the most basic means of harm.”

“You also know how troublesome the ‘reversion’ skill is. Unless you and I stay in the Lost Tower all the time, this kind of thing was bound to happen sooner or later.”

Nol was so angry that his scales heated up, and Teest couldn’t help but pat the dragon’s head.

What a pity his Nol couldn’t retaliate tit for tat.

“……”

Dracolich Nol took several fiery breaths. “You’re right. The priority is to contact the inside of the Tower.”

And find a way to break this deadlock.

During the Ship Island battle, he was able to break Star Stealer Sol’s reversion with permission as the God of Creation. This time it was trickier, as the reversion was initiated by Star Stealer Sol’s avatar, and Perradat inside the tower wasn’t even an avatar.

Contact the Tower through Players?

No, Star Stealer Sol had been tricked once on Ship Island. If Mentor were still contactable inside the Tower, they would have received a warning in advance.

Find a way through Perradat?

But even Perradat’s knight, Kando, couldn’t contact her, and Perradat’s avatar itself was damaged, with the core far away.

Stay calm, Nol. Stay calm. Yes, inside the tower are Lynn, Mentor, Anakin, Solo, and Perradat. So much time has passed, and the Lost Tower instance hasn’t been breached yet. Don’t panic. Think…

Nol summoned a system popup. The key to the Lost Tower floated up, casting a dim glow. Blue fire burned rapidly in the night sky, spelling out lines of code characters.

Confirm the Tower’s owner and administrator permissions…

Confirm the Lost Tower’s system coordinates…

Send a spatial access request…

[Sorry, the “Lost Tower” instance is locked. The target is in a system closed state, temporarily inaccessible.]

In Nol’s blue eyes, rows of complex, mysterious characters burned to ashes again.

Send a message communication request…

[Sorry, the “Lost Tower” instance is locked. The target is in a system closed state, temporarily inaccessible.]

“…It doesn’t seem to be going well.” Teest sat down on Nol’s head, soothingly stroking the dragon scales.

“Yes. It’s like the sealed dungeon Night of the Hunt. This situation is the hardest to interfere with,” Nol said. “Normal methods simply won’t work—”

He stopped himself mid-sentence.

“When we saw the General recently, you said your life needed a bit of evil,” Teest said with a hint of laughter. “I strongly agree.”

He extended his hand downward, and dark power poured down, contaminating the surrounding land and setting up a semi-transparent black protective barrier.

“If it’s similar to Night of the Hunt, it should have requirements related to the location,” Teest said. “This can stop more Players wanting to approach. Now it’s your turn—trust me, you have a talent for destruction.”

Nol was already deep in thought.

From the beginning, he always considered the system as an ally. He was the system’s administrator and guardian, with “invading the system” Star Stealer Sol being the enemy. As a righteous young man of the new era, this thought was almost branded into his subconscious.

But if the system had already been utilized…

“The ‘level restriction’ rule is too rigid and hard to tamper with. With this level of closure, it’s difficult for us to enter personally,” Nol murmured. “As for instant messaging, it should be doable… but we need to ‘infect’ the Lost Tower with a ‘virus’…”

Blue fire ignited again, and rows of marvelous equations spun and condensed in the air, eventually forming a black sphere emitting a faint blue glow. Under the moonlight, its surface shimmered with fine halos, which, upon closer inspection, were rows of rapidly wriggling character formulas.

“We need to get this thing inside,” Nol said. “External personnel can’t enter the instance, so asking a Player is the fastest way.”

But the Players they were on good terms with were all inside the tower. As for Dorothy from Amazon and Hot Ash from the Saints Guild, they were precisely the targets under Star Stealer Sol’s surveillance.

But randomly getting someone in who couldn’t quickly meet with Paradise’s comrades…

“Hmm, you said this place is like ‘Night of the Hunt’.”

Teest prodded his own shadow, casually asking, “Does this guy count as ‘external personnel’?”

Shadow Wolf Ben reflexively opened its mouth, and Teest threw a piece of jerky into it. Immediately after, they found themselves plummeting down with Nol, landing on a patch of grass.

Before Teest could react, his shoulders were grasped by Nol, who planted a firm kiss on him.

“Brilliant!” Nol exhaled. “It can indeed work!”

Shadow Wolf Ben truly wasn’t an “external NPC”. It was indeed born from a dungeon. If it entered the instance, it wouldn’t be detected by the system’s “intercept external NPCs” check.

“Ben!” Nol tapped on the shadow and Shadow Wolf Ben poked out its cold snout again.

With Nol’s permission, the bulky wolf squeezed out of the shadow, vigorously shaking its fur.

“Shrink a bit, grab this, and quietly find Lynn.” Nol handed over his virus program sphere. “Once delivered, stay there to protect everyone—once this is over, we’ll prepare a feast for you.”

The shadow wolf immediately shrank to the size of a large dog, grabbed the virus sphere in its mouth, and excitedly wagged its tail.

“Go.” Nol’s fingers moved, wrapping the shadow wolf with the Creator’s power, and sent it near the top of the Lost Tower.

The little shadow wolf looked back at the two, took a small leap forward, and vanished into thin air.

Hopefully everything will go smoothly. Nol clenched his fist, now back in human form.

……

However, contrary to Nol’s worst fears, the interior of the Lost Tower was peaceful.

This matter started five hours ago.

Solo was blissfully eating lamb hand-pulled rice in the cafeteria when a system popup suddenly obstructed his view of the bowl. Reading the text, Solo nearly lost his grip on his spoon.

[You have entered a hidden area.]

[You have triggered the hidden dungeon quest: Assault on the Lost Tower.]

[Objective: Kill all monsters inside the tower.]

[Reward: The unique system guild base “Lost Tower”; all treasures and items within the Lost Tower; clues about the Demon King.]

[※This mission is limited to human-shaped Players below level 300 (including job levels), with no Player number or party requirements.]

“What—?!” Solo exclaimed, almost choking on a rice grain. “Wasn’t this place well-hidden?”

Anakin left Solo, who was shouting in place, and rushed to the top of the tower. The quest was restricted to “human-shaped Players”—no mistake, this wasn’t a regular Player attack. Star Stealer Sol was making his move.

Only Mentor continued to calmly sip his soup.

“Aren’t you worried, sir?” Solo looked at his boss in shock. “Even if we’re not the target, surely the other side won’t let us off—”

“Mr. Nol is someone who worries a lot,” Mentor said calmly. “He always thinks he’s not doing enough, which isn’t the case. In this Tower, nobody wants to be his burden.”

He knew, of course, that Star Stealer Sol had something akin to a savepoint ability. When Nol was out, Lynn, Officer Luo, and others even specifically discussed this with him.

The Lost Tower indeed didn’t possess nearly godlike powers. However…

“This quest has a level restriction to exclude those two.”

Mentor said leisurely, “Participants’ total level cannot exceed 300, meaning, even if our enemy personally participates in this, it must suppress its power—it’s not the target inside the Tower. It can only infiltrate as an external participant, right?”

It seems to be so. Solo calmed down a bit.

“Believe in this place,” Mentor said after finishing his last sip of soup. “Anakin has gone to send a message. Just finish your meal and follow the arrangements.”

Before he could finish his sentence, the Tower shook.

The central staircase that originally led to all floors was sealed, and a designated short-distance teleportation array appeared under the feet of the people in the cafeteria. After the glow of teleportation vanished, everyone arrived at the level just below the top floor—this place was neither a natural landscape like the other floors nor a rich and magnificent hall, but more like a royal palace somewhere.

Everyone actually knew this place because its decorations were too extravagant. Plus, with its high location and few rooms, nobody wanted to live here.

Lynn stood on one side of the stairs below the throne, with Lilith, whose eyes emitted blue light, standing beside her.

All living beings were teleported to this level of the great hall, including curious neighbors talking to each other, confused succubi, and dog-headed beastmen residents. In the spacious hall, countless magic screens were unfolded in a circular arrangement, broadcasting the situation on various levels from multiple angles.

“Please pay attention, everyone. The wartime emergency plan has been activated.”

Lynn picked up a microphone-like magical device, and her voice echoed from all around the great hall. “The Tower has been invaded by a formidable enemy. For the time being, please stay on this level.”

“There are two servant rooms on the left side: the kitchen and the storeroom; and two on the right: the medical room and the washroom. Supplies are very abundant, so please stay calm.”

Officer Luo sat on his wife’s shoulder, surveying the surroundings with a dignified face.

They all knew that external communications had been completely cut off. Fortunately, the neighbors and monsters inside the tower had little contact with the outside world, so this didn’t cause panic.

“The invaders are humans,” a neighbor close to one of the screens exclaimed in surprise. “They don’t look like knights from the Temple. Each one looks fierce and menacing.”

“What should we do? Are we going to kill people…”

“This would be self-defense, right?”

“Shh, Officer Luo hasn’t spoken yet.”

Near the screen, the large monster neighbors whispered to each other.

“Don’t worry. These people won’t die. Each time they are killed, they will become weaker.” Officer Luo glanced at the invaders. Unsurprisingly, most of the first to arrive were Demon Players.

This group had been treasure hunting in the Black Forest for a long time. Rosen had always been wary of them—Nol was on good terms with two Players leaders, and Hermitage and Amazon wouldn’t interfere with the affairs of Paradise.

People from the Saints Guild wouldn’t act alone, making them easy to distinguish.

“They won’t die, why?” The neighbors were all surprised.

They indeed knew this world was like a game. But to avoid disputes, Paradise had always refrained from publicly disclosing information related to Players—

If the neighbors knew that normal Players existed in this world, they would surely doubt the legitimacy of their own existence and then doubt the reality of this world.

Lynn looked at the agitated neighbors and tugged at her witch’s hat.

Nol always wanted to protect everyone behind him and solve all problems by himself. Unfortunately, as long as the Star Stealer Sol made his move, the neighbors would have to face reality sooner or later.

This was a good opportunity. Nothing was more suitable as a prelude than “a victory”.

“I will explain the specifics to everyone.”

Lynn raised her voice. “…After our victory.”

---

The author has something to say:

The Paw Patrol (?) has made a great contribution!

The neighbors are finally going to fight lol

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 201: Sudden Attack

Adjusting magic circuits was like performing surgery on someone in a severe car accident. Nol held his breath and concentrated, standing for a full five hours before finally fixing the circuit, which was as chaotic as a car accident scene. To ensure foolproof results, his adjustment was even more meticulous than when he treated Piel.

The General was tough, not moving at all from beginning to end.

When Nol straightened up, he could almost hear his spine groaning. The five-hour “magic circuit” surgery saw Nol using his magic power regardless of the cost, nearly depleting all of his mana. As expected, he would have to lean on Teest to get home.

But this caution brought ample rewards—

[You have thoroughly investigated the magic circuit details of existing creatures.]

[You have successfully reset the magic circuits of existing creatures.]

[The system has recorded and intelligently optimized the existing scheme.]

[You have created a new skill: Circuit Manipulation.]

……

[Circuit Manipulation: The Creator’s unique authority, capable of freely adding, eliminating, and modifying the fixed magic circuits within a creature]

[Note: If the target circuit has been maliciously tampered with, it’s necessary to designate a live sacrifice to neutralize the “error”, with a strength comparable to the target.]

[※This authority exceeds system management permissions. Actual effects are based on practice.]

A long-unseen new skill.

Nol tiredly sat back in the armchair, feeling somewhat complex.

This was his first time creating a brand new skill without going through code deduction or skill synthesis. No, perhaps it shouldn’t be called a “skill”. The system referred to it as an “authority” from beginning to end.

This thing seemed even closer to the realm of “God”.

Nol’s gaze lingered on the “note” prompt for a while.

The “error” mentioned in the instructions likely referred to the destructive energy he had transferred earlier. The General’s monster abilities weren’t enough to neutralize this energy, and the residual part had to be personally dealt with by Teest.

Speaking of which, this “destructive power” really did resemble the Demon King’s corruption. It was difficult to remove on its own. It was best to find a “container” to eliminate it altogether.

Nol pressed his temples. Authority was ultimately not a modifier. Using a live sacrifice was a bit troublesome, but it was fine as long as it worked—he could just create a bunch of active flesh puppets himself.

Using them, he should be able to completely reverse the effects brought by the Supplement Demon. Teest had no issues, and once back at the Lost Tower, he could talk to Little Piel about this…

Thinking this, Nol wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the General, who was slumped in the chair.

With ample time, he stripped away most of the monster-related circuits, leaving only a few harmless parts to repair the General’s scarred human circuits.

The General would lose the unreasonable rapid regeneration that belonged to the monster part. From now on, she would only be a human with attributes significantly higher than normal and an especially outstanding healing ability.

Now, that healing ability was taking effect.

The General’s uneven head gradually rounded, and her features returned to their places. Skin grew on her melting-like flesh, freckles appeared on her nose, and lion’s mane-like golden-red fluffy hair sprouted from her scalp.

Her two prosthetic eyes rolled out on their own, and brown-red pupils grew back. The deformed monster’s sharp teeth fell out one by one, and under the normal lips, human teeth resumed their place, with only the canines being somewhat exaggerated.

Her small, twisted body also gradually became robust, like an elderly person hunching over returning to youth, stretching out entirely.

A few minutes later, a tough-looking short-haired woman replaced the frightening monster.

The General slowly removed her gloves, looking at her palms wrapped in normal skin, then at the back of her hands and nails.

Then she rotated her eyeballs, her gaze sweeping over the sparkling wine under the light, the fresh flowers with dew in the vase, and finally resting on the ceiling adorned with reliefs.

Faced with a world she hadn’t observed normally in hundreds of years, the brutal General’s gaze was like that of a newborn baby.

After a while, she grinned and let out a “ha”.

The laughter was full of bitterness and relief.

Then she fell silent, staring blankly at the prosthetic eyes covered in fluff on the carpet.

“You seem to have no intention of asking anything.” Teest stood up and sat on the armrest of Nol’s chair, casually placing a hand on Nol’s shoulder.

With the movement as a cover, his other hand gently rested above the “Betrayer”.

“Knowing information beyond one’s level only invites death.” The General’s voice was no longer the husky tone of before, turning into a pleasant mezzo-soprano. “I originally just wanted to survive. This outcome is really… Forget it.”

She sipped the wine, letting it slowly slide over her restored tongue, and finally sighed deeply.

“From now on, I will not charge any fees for transactions with Paradise. The materials Paradise buys from me, I will not make a penny of profit. If you two are interested in any treasures or want any information in the future, you can get it from me for free.”

She no longer wore gloves, her fingertips stroking the smooth glass.

“As I said before, I don’t like taking too much advantage in transactions.”

“I must clarify with you.” Nol moved Teest’s hand away from the knife and spoke earnestly. “Now, you are no longer a Supplement Demon. Your bodily functions are approximately equivalent to a healthy human in their thirties.”

“That means, from now on, you will age normally, unable to live as long as before. You indeed possess a recovery ability superior to normal people, but you can’t regrow amputated limbs or missing organs.”

The General laughed. “Let me guess. If I insisted on retaining those monster abilities, you could only turn me into a complete monster, rather than a human like this.”

“Yes,” Nol said.

Unless he suddenly went mad and wanted to conduct a brand-new large-scale experiment using the General to create a new species—leaving aside the ethical issues, it was uncertain whether the General could survive.

“I have no complaints about the current situation. I’d rather be a smart, normal person than a long-lived, foolish monster.”

The General continued to curiously scan her surroundings, savoring the normal vision she had missed for so long. “As for more lifespan and power, I’ll find my own way.”

“Then our transaction is over.”

Nol regained some strength, preparing to leave. It must be dark outside by now. They could have dinner for two at the tavern before returning to the Lost Tower to rest.

“Please prepare the information on Enbillick Alva as soon as possible.”

“Wait.”

The General stood up and bowed very formally. It was the first time Nol saw a clear emotion on her face—joy faded away, leaving only seriousness behind.

“I believe you won’t miss those important pieces of intelligence, but regarding Golden Sword, I have a personal hint. I’ve studied that guy, and that guy’s luck is strangely good, impeccable in his actions, except…”

She hesitated for half a second, then still spoke up.

“I’ve carefully reviewed all his schedules and transactions, and sometimes, he seems to appear in two places at the same time… This isn’t evident from the public records, but as a fellow merchant, I find the workload and negotiation arrangements a bit unnatural.”

“I previously thought this suspicion was too crazy, but now it seems, the craziness of this world far exceeds my imagination.”

Saying this, she gently swirled the wine in her glass.

It must be time reversion, Nol thought with a sinking feeling.

They had been back to the past before, and as long as they didn’t interfere with the flow of fate, two “selves” from the same time could coexist, just like the Mad Monk witnessed Young Teest burning the church.

As an owner of the “past” authority, Enbillick merely shortened the time span—

Supposed Billy went back from January 3rd, 00:01, to January 1st, and rushed to another country, staying active there until January 3rd, 00:00, when the reversion ended.

To outsiders, during the time from January 1st to January 3rd early morning, “Golden Sword” indeed appeared in two different locations at the same time.

The problem was…

“Appearing in two places at the same time?” Nol immediately asked, “Were there instances of three or more locations?”

“No, I’m quite sure there were only two places.”

The General’s tone was very certain. “This ‘suspected duplication’ happened more than once or twice. I’ve specifically verified it.”

“Thank you. Your information is very useful.” Nol breathed a sigh of relief.

At least now they could preliminarily confirm that Star Stealer Sol couldn’t do infinite recursions of time reversion.

“I should be the one thanking you.”

The General raised her wine glass towards Nol, showing an almost sincere expression. “I’m very thankful to you, kind sir. Whenever you need information on the Mad Monk, I can even pay you—”

Before she could finish, the empty wine glass by her side shattered on its own. At some point, Teest had flashed to the side of the table, picking up a bottle of unopened fine wine.

“You said it could be for free.” He grinned, shaking the wine bottle deliberately.

The General rolled her eyes and swallowed the rest of her words. “Take it.”

Nol struggled to suppress a smile. “You don’t need to worry about me. Just like I retained a bit of the monster circuit in you, we all need a little evil in our lives to live better.”

The General managed a slight smile, seemingly not quite agreeing with the description of “a little”.

“Best of luck to you both.” In the end, she politely bid them farewell.

“…She’s not really targeting you.” Right after stepping out, Nol immediately expressed.

“I know. If the General really wanted to drive a wedge between us, she wouldn’t have been foolish enough to pick a fight in front of me.”

Teest stored the wine bottle in his necklace. Before leaving, he specifically stole a few more bottles of fine wine, even though they both weren’t particularly fond of drinking. “She can’t stand me but can’t beat me either, so she’s just trying to make a point verbally.”

Nol remained silent. Now, there might not be many on the continent of Tahe who could beat Teest, but the Mad Monk didn’t plan on expanding his pettiness because of it.

[Back to Star Stealer Sol. I still have a bad feeling,] Teest continued through telepathy. [He came to steal my gold wheel. Surely he wasn’t just foolishly provoking?]

[That gold wheel was just made by me, bearing my scent. He might have thought it was a treasure or wanted to study my abilities. Don’t worry, he won’t figure anything out,] Nol said.

Teest was quite fond of that gold wheel, and Nol had considered taking it back on the spot, but there were ordinary people everywhere at that time, and it wasn’t suitable for them to take action.

[That guy can trigger time reversion at will. I still feel uneasy.] Teest naturally held Nol’s hand, muttering as they walked.

Nol’s eyebrows twitched, and he pulled out Kando from his chest. “…Let’s go home and have dinner.”

He didn’t want to ignore Teest’s intuition. And for him, aside from Teest by his side, only the Lost Tower was of the utmost importance.

As they turned into an alley, Nol usually imagined the situation inside the Lost Tower. Kando scratched around in the air for a while, trying to open the teleportation fire circle as usual, but couldn’t manage to do it normally.

“Something’s wrong.” Kando slapped the ground. “My teleportation is being blocked, I—”

Before he could finish, a dragon claw grabbed him. Nol immediately transformed into a medium-sized dragon, hiding his body with an invisibility spell. He grabbed Kando with one claw and Teest with another, quickly heading towards the direction of the Lost Tower.

During the flight, he repeatedly used the doll head left by Lynn, trying to contact the inside of the Tower. Regrettably, there was always no response from the other side.

Something had happened to the Lost Tower.

……

Five hours earlier, by the Wishing Fountain.

“My dear children, follow your mother and father. We’ll buy you something to eat.” Billy patted his children affectionately. “Avra, I’ll line up. You take the kids to play by the fountain. When I come back, we’ll make a wish as a family.”

Avra hugged the two children full of love. “We’ll wait here.”

Billy waved his hand and headed towards the stall selling grape frost sugar, leisurely joining the line. At the same time, his hand slipped into his pocket, fiddling with the gold wheel inside.

This was undoubtedly a gold wheel personally made by the God of Creation Nol, still bearing the God of Creation’s scent. But Billy explored it again and again, failing to find any special magic—this thing was treasured by Teest in the depths of his pocket, and he thought it was a rare artifact.

Why did Nol give a plain gold wheel to the Mad Monk? Billy thought hard but couldn’t figure out the reason.

The scent on the gold wheel rapidly dissipated over time. In the end, apart from being newer, this gold wheel wouldn’t differ from other wheels.

The God of Creation’s scent…

Billy played with the gold wheel, curling his lips. He triggered a time reversion on the spot, going back to half an hour ago, outside the Black Forest.

At this time point, Nol and Teest weren’t in the tower; they were talking to themselves in the “Good Blessings” bakery.

A perfect opportunity.

Billy was very aware that the Lost Tower, representing Paradise, was within the Black Forest. However, the Lost Tower had always been tightly hidden by the system, and its few administrators were extremely cautious, making it impossible for Enbillick to find its location.

Even if he blasted the entire Black Forest, it would be useless without system permission to find that damn tower. To locate it, he needed system authorization.

Billy took out the brand-new gold wheel, letting it wander through his fingers. He gestured with his other hand, bringing up a blood-red system pop-up.

“The location of the Lost Tower.” He commanded.

[The target “Lost Tower” is only viewable by administrators. Your permission is insufficient.] Just like countless attempts before, the system coldly denied him.

Billy’s action of playing with the gold wheel paused. He tossed it into the air, catching it on the back of his hand like flipping a coin. After lifting the hand that caught it, the gold wheel was firmly “sewn” onto the back of his hand.

The side with the leaf and sun faced up and the side with the king’s portrait faced down. The edges of the gold wheel bizarrely merged into his flesh, like a piece of gold nail grown in the wrong place.

The God of Creation’s scent seeped into the flesh around the gold wheel.

“The location of the Lost Tower.” Billy commanded again.

[The target “Lost Tower” is only viewable by administrators. Your permission permission permission]

[Reconfirming your permission.]

[An error occurred.]

[An error occurred.]

[An error occurred.]

Billy nonchalantly tapped the gold wheel, striving to spread the scarce remaining God of Creation’s scent. The skin on the back of his hand quickly reddened and swelled, making a sizzling sound.

“The location of the Lost Tower.” Billy repeated for the third time.

[Reconfirming your permission.]

[Warning, your permissions are incomplete. Triggering the security review mechanism.]

[Emergency plan activated. Providing you with a rough direction. Please contact personnel within the Tower.]

“Enough.”

Billy muttered, slapping the back of his hand, causing the gold wheel to fall off completely. The back of his hand was a bloody mess, but the person himself was indifferent, letting the flesh roll and blood slide over the skin.

“Now, I want to issue a new quest,” Enbillick said softly.

---

The author has something to say:

All gods that have appeared so far have two authorities.

Perradat: “Concealment” and “Prophecy”.

Star Stealer Sol: “Past” and “???”, you can guess~

Nol: “Creation” and “Working Overtime”

Teest: “Destruction” and “Cat Transformation”

…Of course it’s fake (.

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Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 200: Special Bidding

Teest said it quickly, but his actions showed he still cared deeply.

Visibly deflated after losing the newly acquired gold wheel gift, even the delicious peach cake couldn’t lift his spirits. Whenever someone in the street pulled out a gold wheel, he couldn’t help but look twice.

“Why don’t I make you a better one?” Nol couldn’t bear it any longer.

It was likely that Billy sensed the residual fluctuations on the gold wheel, which was why he specifically stole it. Nol was confident that even if the other side studied it back and forth a thousand times, they wouldn’t find anything—

He didn’t think much of it at the time and just casually made a common gold wheel. There was no blessing from the God of Creation on it, nor any powerful magic as a fallback.

“I only want that one,” Teest wiped the cream from the corner of his mouth and said in a firm tone. “It has to be that one.”

Nol’s expression twitched, and he suddenly understood the feelings of those parents who watch their children cry in the street, insisting on their old toys.

“Alright, let’s go see the General.”

Nol couldn’t help using a tone one might use with children, “Let’s take care of Enbillick first, and get it back as soon as possible.”

“Do you think I’m childish?” Teest raised his eyebrows high.

“Ah? No.” Nol slowly shifted his gaze away.

“Your deception needs practice.”

“……”

The two exchanged banter as they made their way to the Black Glove Tavern.

As the air cooled, such small taverns often became livelier. Indeed, the tavern was packed, with not a single chair empty. The smell of roast meat grew richer, mixed with the pungent odor of alcohol.

“After every date, we end up here.” Teest led the way. “Shall we eat first, or meet our old acquaintance?”

“Old acquaintance.” Nol said, eyeing a rough wooden pillar not far away.

There was a new batch of wanted posters, except for the one for Painter’s arrest, whose familiar face was now covered with doodles. Logically, there should have been a notice from the Alva Merchant Group about the pursuit of Golden Sword Billy. But a few days after Ship Island sank, those notices disappeared.

It was hard to say whether the General was too well-informed, or if the Star Stealer Sol’s actions were too swift.

After giving the bartender the secret signal, they once again entered the luxurious Black Glove Exchange.

Last time they were here, they encountered Golden Sword Billy at the entrance. They had used “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” to hide their presence… Nol couldn’t help but wonder if “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” had any real effect on Billy. If not, the Star Stealer Sol was probably laughing at them.

Thinking about it, Golden Sword Billy had many opportunities to kill them.

The only reason he didn’t act was that he was in the midst of reversion, unable to interfere with the flow of fate.

The thought of Enbillick specifically coming to observe them gave Nol a chill. He grabbed Teest’s hand and led the way to the reception desk. “We’re here to see the General. We don’t have an appointment and don’t mind going through the ‘regular guest’ channel. Could you please pass on a message. Ask if the General minds. From what I see, the last time, she was quite heartbroken.”

He rattled off in rapid succession.

The reception desk’s armor remained silent for a long time, finally creaking into motion. “Please follow me.”

This time, they didn’t take the regular guest channel filled with monsters. The armor personally led the way, turning right into the “VIP” channel.

“Why is it you guys again?”

After closing the door, the General greeted them cordially. “Cough, I mean, you could have made an appointment…”

She set down her glass, looking somewhat disinterested.

“We just went on a date but couldn’t get the timing right.” Teest used his infuriatingly innocent tone. “I thought we were good partners, not bothered by such details.”

“By the way, my honey brought you some sweets. You can enjoy them with wine.”

The General’s forehead bulged with veins. She looked like she really wanted to roll her eyes, but she politely restrained herself. She gently raised her hand, and the brawny monster behind her respectfully took the basket of sweets.

“So, the reason for your sudden visit?”

“Sell some items, buy some information.” Teest stood up, tapping the necklace hidden under his clothes. A downward black hole opened in mid-air, and the private collection of Old Duke Alva fell onto the carpet with a clatter—these items were carefully selected by the Mad Monk for their collection value over their power, better suited for sale.

As the treasures fell, the General’s face turned pale.

“So it was you two who destroyed Ship Island.” She forced a smile. “Old Duke Alva…?”

“We killed him,” Teest admitted readily.

“Unfortunately, it seems we won’t be able to trade information about this.” The General sighed deeply. “I’ll take care of these discreetly, but the fee will be 40%. The Alva Merchant Guild is very strict. No one but me can handle these properly.”

“100%.” Nol spoke up. “As long as you can sell them, the profits are all yours.”

The smile vanished from the General’s face. “It seems you have a new request.”

She didn’t believe the Mad Monk would come knocking for charity.

Nol sat up straight. “Our request this time is a bit special. I need all existing information on ‘Golden Sword’ Enbillick Alva.”

“Please note, existing information. I don’t need you to conduct any new investigations.”

“…Strange request.”

The General’s twisted face turned towards Nol. “Normally, people would want me to send everyone out for this kind of money. Are you sure you don’t want a new investigation?”

“I have my reasons.” Nol smiled.

The General wasn’t only Teest’s half-friend but also an important partner for Paradise. Currently, Paradise’s output and dungeon spoils were all handled by the General for resale.

If the General were to send someone to investigate the Star Stealer Sol, it would be tantamount to seeking death.

“Alright.” The General took a sip of wine without asking further. “That guy’s data is quite abundant, both publicly and in the shadows. I’ll have someone compile it and hand it over to Paradise for your people to go through. But…”

“But?” Nol was about to stand up but sat back down.

“Given your attitude, ‘Golden Sword’ seems even more dangerous than I thought. So, I’ll handle the Alva Merchant Group’s collection and not charge any fee—putting it bluntly, I don’t want to be involved in this at all.”

The General put down her glass, her deformed face showing a smirk. “I want to change the condition.”

Nol and Teest exchanged glances, and Teest shrugged. [Her intuition is indeed terrifying.]

“As long as it’s within my capabilities,” Nol responded cautiously.

The General stood up and walked to Nol. Despite her blindness, Nol could still feel a strange gaze from those prosthetic eyes.

“Please treat me,” she said.

Nol was taken aback. “You mean…”

“You know, like that guy, I too am a Supplement Demon.” The General openly stated, “Since you two are, cough, intimate, you must be familiar with my past.”

Nol, of course, remembered the Supplement Demon who escaped the Eternal Church with Teest.

The problem was, since coming to Tahe, he had been busy with his compatriots and struggling against the Star Stealer Sol, never really considering the recovery issue for Supplement Demons.

“That’s a bold request,” Teest interjected. “This is much more excessive than gold wheels. Where did this idea come from?”

The General laughed. “Mad monk, your abilities were stuck at a bottleneck before. After staying with him for less than a year, your powers have transformed. Now, I can’t even guess your level.”

“Since you two didn’t immediately call me a fool, it seems the Master of Paradise is indeed powerful.”

The General’s “price” was indeed unexpected. Nol remained silent, giving Teest a look to continue.

“Of course, I know how you figured it out. I’m just curious, why do you want to give up the identity as a ‘Supplement Demon’? Isn’t your ability quite effective?” Teest continued understandingly, “After all these years, you’ve found a replacement for your sight, and you don’t seem to care about your appearance.”

The General quietly returned to her seat and took a slow sip of wine.

“Because I’m dying,” she said calmly. “I just want to survive and try my luck with you guys.”

Teest’s mocking words were stuck in his throat, and he showed a rare expression of surprise. “You’re dying?”

“Don’t be so surprised. It’s not that soon. I can still live for a year or two. This isn’t something that happened suddenly. Unlike the famous White Demon, my body has been gradually weakening.”

The General spread her hands, her tone as calm as if she were talking about someone else. “There aren’t many free monsters like me, and all of them are short-lived cannon fodder. I’ve looked for other treatments, but the cases are too limited.”

Nol remained silent, quietly activating [Creator] to inspect the General’s physical condition.

Indeed.

Teest had Player privileges and was in excellent health. The General’s body, however, was riddled with holes, almost like a centenarian. Her Supplement Demon ability was “recovery”, yet her organs were gradually weakening and deteriorating.

Nol narrowed his eyes, analyzing even harder—

Finally, he saw more clearly.

The General’s magic circuit was poorly integrated, like a broken pipeline that has been neglected for years. Her monstrous part was rejecting her human part. They were forcibly integrated by the Supplement Demon Potion, and as time passed, the potion’s efficacy weakened.

Nol had a similar feeling when he urgently treated Little Piel last time. Those Supplement Demons all had something akin to a “rejection” reaction.

The General’s monstrous trait was “recovery”, meaning her body’s monstrous part was inherently more active and harder to balance.

He could treat her, just as he had treated Piel before, by finding a way to adjust her magic circuit.

Nol transmitted the findings to Teest through telepathy, also explaining the rejection reaction. He thought Teest would easily steer the conversation, but his knight suddenly froze, staring blankly at the General.

[What’s wrong?] Nol asked curiously.

[…Nothing. I just suddenly thought of something.] Teest still had that contemplative look. [You continue the talk. Whether to treat her or not is up to you.]

“I can treat you, but as you said, there are too few cases, and I can’t make any promises.”

Nol cautiously took over the conversation.

The General’s body trembled slightly, but her tone turned a little more eager. “I know, my request this time is unfair. I will make it up slowly in our dealings with Paradise. I—”

“No need.” Nol raised his hand. “You’re becoming my test subject, and I’m gaining experience.”

Speaking of doing business, the General had always been good to Paradise, even sending them extra supplies at the beginning. “Treatment” was indeed a good bargaining chip, but Nol didn’t want to bargain with lives.

And the thought that the Supplement Demon Potions might be made with his own blood made Nol somewhat uncomfortable.

“If you don’t mind, we can start the treatment now.”

After saying this, Nol looked at the two monstrous giants behind the general.

“They are just mindless flesh. They won’t leak your secrets.”

The General snapped her fingers, and the room’s door locked itself. “Do I need to lie down, or should I sit as I am? If you need any treatment materials—”

“Just sitting is fine.”

Nol moved his fingers, setting up layers of defenses against magical fluctuations within the room. He then approached the General, placing one hand on her grotesque head.

[Creator] was activated, and a breeze stirred up, rustling Nol’s robe.

He needed to reorganize and optimize the crudely patched-up deformed circuit, just like when he treated Little Piel… No, not quite the same.

Nol frowned slightly.

When he treated Little Piel, Piel was in the process of transforming into a Supplement Demon. For example, one second Piel had a stomach ache, and the next second he was under the care of top experts, receiving the highest level of medical service.

Of course, recovery was easy then.

The General’s situation was entirely different.

She had been a Supplement Demon for too long. It was more like a condition that had been dragged on for too long, where ordinary inflammation had turned into cancer.

The poor magic circuit barely functioned and leaked everywhere. Perhaps it violated the natural laws of Tahe, generating destructive forces every moment, causing irreversible damage to her body.

Now, those forces were entrenched in her body, pulling one string would move the whole body, making it difficult for Nol to act rashly.

Without clearing these “years of dirt”, treatment couldn’t start. But forcefully removing them could likely overwhelm the General’s body.

Nol scanned the room, then his gaze settled on a point.

If the essence of the “old dirt” was destructive force and it couldn’t be erased on the spot, what about “transferring” it?

He motioned and a bulky flesh puppet obediently approached. Nol extended his other hand, touching the puppet’s chest. He packaged those deadly forces, transferring them into the puppet’s body.

The next moment, the puppet couldn’t withstand it and exploded into a fireworks of flesh and blood. Some destructive forces remained, dispersing on the spot, turning the nearby sofa and coffee table black and red, collapsing into a soft heap.

Teest suddenly drew his sword, and the dark power of destruction enveloped and eroded the remaining forces.

Nol withdrew his hand, starting to adjust the General’s magic circuit.

Teest sheathed the “Betrayer”, watching Nol’s back expressionlessly.

According to Nol, the essence of Supplement Demon was the violent mixing of species, leading to “rejection”. Mixed creatures possess stronger power but were doomed to perish in a short time.

As the God of Creation, Nol could treat such wretches.

But who could treat that “Corpse of All Gods” Nol he saw in the memory seal—the one sewn together from fragments of countless gods?

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