---Third POV---
It couldn't be said that there was nothing at all. When Garble's emotions fluctuated too strongly, it was clear that Claude became more confident.
The opponent's ability seemed more like emotion detection.
He recalled his interaction with the other party earlier, making sure there were no mistakes.
At most, it changed his character setting from a ruthless thug to a "ruthless and inhuman thug."
It didn't have much impact on his infiltration plan.
Besides that, the "client" he needed to serve was also worth paying attention to. Based on his many years of experience dealing with people from these underground industries, the look in Claude's eyes when he ordered someone to strike with a blade showed he really intended to cut off two of his fingers!
As a pure magic user, he didn't rely on physical combat, so losing two fingers wouldn't be much of a cost, but it would effectively help Claude establish authority.
He had never expected to get in completely unscathed.
Yet somehow, he actually did.
This completely contradicted the usual recruitment style of underground casinos. There could only be a third party involved. He touched the scratches on his left pinky and ring finger, eyes growing deep.
That 'client,' who exactly are they referring to?
The thought flashed by quickly.
Then he turned over and got into bed, preparing to log off. After all, the magic-depletion debuff was no joke. It wouldn't be too late to investigate after the negative buff wore off.
---
NeverShowOff opened his eyes from the couch. Next to him, Hedgehog instantly lit up like he'd seen a savior.
"You're finally back online! That siren woke up once just now, but passed out again quickly!"
NeverShowOff looked at the unconscious child on the couch.
"Did he say anything when he woke up?"
Nearby, LootGoblin yawned lazily and replied, "He gave us a rough map of the Scarlet Casino, including a passage connecting to the surface, said it was from Edgar."
He looked a bit moved.
"Gotta say, Edgar's efficiency is impressive."
"Found the sirens on his own, made a rescue plan, and even mapped out the underground passages."
LootGoblin shoved a filthy bundle on the coffee table toward NeverShowOff.
"Also, this is what Child gave to the siren, he told us to pass it to you for safekeeping. Said he used six low-grade teleport scrolls, everything else was untouched."
"Low-grade teleport scrolls?"
NeverShowOff searched his memory for a while before finally recalling their function.
"Oh, that's the item that teleports the user to a random location within 100 meters when torn?"
Because the teleportation range was short and uncontrollable, most players considered it useless. Even though they'd confiscated quite a few from the goblin warehouse, and they didn't sell for much in the magic scroll section of the store, still, no players wanted to buy them.
Later on, a few stubborn and rich newbies bought some anyway.
That's when everyone discovered: not only was the teleportation location truly random, but the scroll could even get you stuck in a wall, or buried underground.
That "random location within 100 meters" wasn't exaggerated at all. No one wanted to pay to get themselves entombed alive.
So, the item became completely abandoned.
Who would've thought Child actually bought a bunch?
LootGoblin nodded.
"Yeah, that siren actually survived using six of them, that's amazing."
Although it did result in a trail of enemies chasing after him, they had to spend quite some time dealing with all that aftermath.
NeverShowOff rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
He wasn't someone who really believed in probability.
Maybe… Using magic scrolls wasn't just about tearing them open…
"By the way, did you get any messages while you were offline?" Hedgehog asked.
NeverShowOff snapped out of his thoughts and set aside the items from Child's backpack.
Then his expression turned serious. "Players from Honeyvale Town reported that Viktor collapsed and fell apart for unknown reasons. No idea when he'll wake up."
"Our progress on this side probably won't sync up with his for a while."
LootGoblin frowned, "Collapsed again? Do undead have some kind of racial trait where they faint for a few days every month?"
Hedgehog nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, and we were counting on him for emergencies!"
If Viktor ended up unconscious for two whole weeks, then the Level 80+ Magus they'll have to face, wouldn't that be left to just the players and Edgar to deal with?
NeverShowOff was just as helpless.
"We'll just have to take it one step at a time."
Honestly, the people balancing this game must be inhuman.
What kind of game throws beginner players into boss fights five times their level?
"Also, Garble sent word, he's successfully infiltrated the Scarlet Casino."
That was one of the few good pieces of news NeverShowOff received while offline. He relayed everything Garble had told him to the others…
Hedgehog twitched his lips. "So divine blessings can actually grant special abilities?"
They'd been getting showered in golden rain at the church like it was a daily bath, yet not a single ability came from it?
That vague, fleeting luck buff? It was one-time use!
LootGoblin crossed his arms and pondered, "So they sent a newly recruited, completely deranged subordinate… to have dinner with the client… Why does that job sound so sketchy?"
Hedgehog turned to him. "...I truly envy your talent."
No matter what the topic was, LootGoblin always managed to derail it straight into innuendo.
Looks like his days in Nary Town had been quite... fulfilling.
NeverShowOff leaned back on the sofa, deep in thought.
"That casino boss' identity is also suspicious. The ability to sense emotions, would a nature-type god really bestow that kind of power?"
"Who knows?" Hedgehog shrugged.
"Maybe he's a heretic, and in Nary Town, the name of the Goddess of Spring just works better, so he's putting on an act?"
Chronicles of Aeltia wasn't a typical game. Almost every NPC had their own secrets and backstories. Most of them were unrelated to the main quest, just distractions.
Their goal was the auction. The Scarlet Casino was just a stepping stone, not something to get too invested in.
Just as their conversation wrapped up and they were about to leave with Gaeman, Hedgehog suddenly slapped his forehead, finally remembering something.
"Oh right! The siren found an area underground with a strong siren presence. He marked it on the map!"
NeverShowOff looked at the simplified map, noting the bold circle marking the location, and nodded.
"I'll let Garble know about it later."
The sirens in the underground city weren't just their rescue targets, they might also include the enemy sirens Viktor mentioned before, those who worship the Goddess of Love.
Best to have Garble, who was already inside, scout it out first.
---Viktor's POV---
In my inner sanctum, the outer layer of my mental membrane was slowly repairing itself, stopping the constant leaking of spiritual energy.
The surface of the sea at the edges was gradually calming. Through the roaring hurricane and tsunami, the center of my inner sanctum slowly revealed land.
On more than a thousand cold, eerie crosses sat the spiritual shadows of the gods, eyes closed in silence.
Including the God of Light.
Only compared to the others, his spiritual projection was noticeably fainter. As if the slightest breeze could blow it away...
At present, I still had no way to completely eradicate the divine avatars parasitizing my body.
Even if I eliminated them thousands upon thousands of times in my inner sanctum, as long as I didn't remove the "seeds" they had planted in me, these avatars would continue to reappear, fueled by the divine power constantly offered by their believers, returning with implanted memories from before...
At this moment, I was like a drifting rose on the water's surface, tossed helplessly across the ocean.
My body, struck repeatedly by waves, gradually sank into the depths of the sea.
Countless memory fragments crashed toward me.
---
"Come on, say Daddy, Da~ddy."
A white skeleton flexed its finger bones.
The blurred male voice from memory sounded joyful.
"Hahaha! My son called me first, I win this time!"
A charming female figure appeared beside the man, leaning over to look at the baby on the bed.
"But he called me 'Mom' twice. If we're counting, I'm not losing!"
---
A six-year-old child in overalls dashed out the door. A hoarse woman's voice yelled from behind, hands on her hips.
"Viktor! Drink the milk on the table! Do you know how expensive milk is now?!"
A tall figure shook the snow off his hat, opening his arms to the mother and child inside with a laugh.
"Heh, come here, let Dad hug you, you're heavier again!"
---
A high ponytail girl in a white school uniform tilted her head, her face blurred, as she spoke to the boy beside her.
"Which university do you want to go to?"
There was also melting ice cream on the road, and my awakening in a foreign city...
The memory fragments began to flash by faster, like a scratched disc, leaving behind only blurry outlines and large patches of color.
"That's a battle between Magi. What are you doing getting involved as an ordinary person? Trying to die?!"
"No identity? Hmm... then we'll have to send you to the nearest foundling academy."
"Why do you keep coming to us? Take over the world? Hahahaha, brilliant idea! Except you're not even a mage..."
"No need for prayer, yet you advance at the same speed as the Church's blessed disciples... such powerful magical talent..."
"Shh! Stop talking about your heretical theories!"
"Without gods, how could humanity even survive?"
"Without gods, the world itself wouldn't even exist!"
---
I stood at the edge of a cliff, gazing up at the magnificent floating city in the sky, feeling as small as a speck of dust. Beside me was a skinny figure with braided hair. She wore tattered, rough linen clothing and hopped excitedly, reaching up to try to touch the fortress in the sky.
"Wow! Lord Kalil really came! Our century-long effort building the floating castle wasn't in vain!"
---
Countless stone fragments rained down like meteors. The same figure, now thinner, hugged her knees in a mountain cave. She stared unblinkingly at the sky outside.
"Sigh... the floating castle crashed during the gods' aerial race."
"But if it made Lord Kalil happy, then rebuilding it is worth it!"
"Just a shame about the new clothes I left at home... another harsh winter this year..."
Later, only voices remained.
"You were a mistake that should never have existed."
"I'm quite interested in this godless human civilization you speak of. Want to join us, and become a historical catastrophe of the future?"
"Bad news. You're a perfect match for our divine ascension project... maybe too perfect."
"Due to their personalities and preferences, every sentient being can only awaken part of the divine laws when becoming a god. For example, peace-loving elves can never receive the God of Slaughter's divinity."
"Why don't you reject any law?"
"The divine ascension project is canceled. This must never be discovered by the Divine Realm!"
"It's too late. You have to destroy your power and rebuild your spiritual strength!"
"Damn, they've found out!"
"You're traitors to humanity!"
"Don't worry, I've got plenty of experience being betrayed by everyone. Just remember, run to the right when you get out."
"Cough... The God of Light survived. So why couldn't he stop the War of Fallen Gods?"
"Looks like... this is the end. Take this, and live!"
"..."
---
Splash!
My spiritual form surfaced from the water again, and at the same time, I opened my eyes in the real world.
I stared up at a familiar ceiling.
As I moved my arm, my whole body ached with the kind of exhaustion that made it feel like I'd been taken apart and poorly put back together again.
Okay, maybe I had been taken apart and reassembled.
But this feeling... was a hundred times worse than when I'd buried myself in the Frostwind Plains, waiting for my unreliable subordinates to come rescue me.
I held my head.
"Cough cough, the aftereffects of a mental attack really are worse than physical ones."
What was even more frustrating was that it always forced me to watch my life flash before my eyes like some kind of spiritual slideshow.
My own inner sanctum, did it have to mess with my own memories too?
I leaned against the bedhead and slowly sat up, then looked around.
Good.
Whoever found me had returned me to my bedroom. That was a far better outcome than I'd expected.
I straightened my neck and began shifting my dislocated bones back into place one by one. Just as I was about to use the system to notify Alyanne, the bedroom door opened first.
Click.
A floating orb of light, flapping tiny wings that didn't match its size at all, struggled to push open the door.
It looked up and locked eyes with me as I sat on the bed cracking my bones back into place.
After two seconds of eye contact, the orb instantly burst into a tearful voice.
"Undead! You're finally awake!"
With a speed utterly mismatched to its small body, it whooshed over to the bed.
It circled me over and over again.
"You know you've been unconscious for two whole days?!"
"...I do now."
Crack!
I reset the final joint, finally in the mood to answer. The unconscious period had been shorter than I expected.
The fact that Luminaris could rush over so quickly, and only talk about trivial stuff, meant that nothing too serious had happened recently with the territory or the players.
I glanced at the faint image of wings on Luminaris's back.
"Your wings grew back again?"
Luminaris nodded furiously: "Just a little after we got separated two days ago! Hurry up and remove them!"
The newly grown wings were very small, and their material was unclear.
Rather than resembling the feathered wings of Skyborn, they looked more like the insectile wings of a dragonfly beastkin.
"Alright, alright, hold on."
Not wanting to suffer an auditory barrage right after waking up, I didn't mind spending a little divine power to fulfill this small wish.
I opened the system panel, immediately blocked the flood of flagged urgent matters, and went to the character customization interface for the game mascot...
Huh?
Insufficient balance?
My eyes narrowed slightly.
If this were just the influence of newly formed divine power, modifying it shouldn't cost more than 10 points.
Why would it take a nine-digit amount of divine power just to remove a pair of wings from Luminaris?
It was not even the default character model.
Wait a second, I pulled up my latest body status data.
---
[Name: Viktor von Vinesse]
[Race: Undead]
[Level: 71 (Grand Mage) / 159 (Demigod)]
[Skills: Divine Insight, Shapeshifter, Multiple Avatars (988/1000)]
[Authority: Life Revival, Life Purification, Eternal Light (34%)]
[Divine Power: 188,620]
[Followers: 988]
[Special Items: Int??dim??Net??Spirit??, Divine Contract (Reversed), Game Console]
[Status: Severely Injured, Weakness, Frostbite, Burns, Poisoning, Inner Sanctum Collapse, ...]
[Summary: Critically injured Undead]
---
"Eternal Light?"
I stared at the "Authority" section.
A new authority?!
---
---
60 Advance Chapters!
Visit my profile page for more information.