Two minutes later,
“Where exactly are you taking us?!” Cole, who had been following Mo Tan, finally couldn’t help but shout. This young Thief, who had single-handedly tangled with two Red Ridge Beasts for nearly five minutes, was now at his limit both mentally and physically. Numerous wounds on his body were bursting open, and the toxins invading his body were gradually numbing his senses and limbs.
Mo Tan stopped when he heard the question, nodded at him, and said in a low voice, “This is about right. You can rest for a bit, then tell me…”
“I don’t care about any of that!” The moment Mo Tan’s voice faded, Cole’s legs uncontrollably collapsed to the ground, and the corpse he had been carrying on his back fell to the side. He weakly interrupted Mo Tan, hugging the lifeless body beside him, and looked up to ask, “Why did you save me? Why did you make me bring Luo Na?”
Mo Tan leaned down and handed him a healing potion. The small part of his face visible beneath his hood smiled playfully. “Luo Na, such a beautiful name indeed has a, oh, let me see~”
He brushed aside a few strands of hair from Luo Na’s left half of her face, not caring how terrifying the corpse was at this moment, despite its original beauty on one side, with the other half almost a Disappearance. He nodded and continued, “Yes, she has a beautiful owner.”
“What are you doing?!” Cole, having regained a little strength, shouted angrily, “Don’t insult her!”
“Insult?” Mo Tan repeated in a low voice, then shook his head at Cole, saying, “Only insincere praise is an insult, my friend. Words from the heart are not. Can’t you see how pure and beautiful her soul is?”
Cole was slightly startled and looked down at the girl he had secretly loved for many years in his arms. “Her… soul…?”
According to Cole’s knowledge, there were a few types of people in this world who constantly spoke of souls. First were the priests and shamans of various sects, but the man in front of him did not look like a person of faith, despite no concrete evidence, he was very sure of this point…
Of course, as we all know, Mo Tan’s Incredulous talent was enough to make any preacher keep their distance from him, and naturally, it also made others immediately conclude that this guy was definitely not a person of faith.
Of course, for players, such straightforward talent information would transform into ‘temperament,’ ‘feeling,’ or a truly meaningful ‘talent’ in the eyes of NPCs—something vague and unexplainable, but it wouldn't seem too abrupt.
Excluding the possibility of a person of faith, there were only crazy people whose brains weren’t quite right, and those who spent a lot of time dealing with the dead.
Although Mo Tan did give Cole the feeling of being somewhat crazy, at this moment, he was more inclined towards the latter…
Necromancers, spiritualists, cultists, and the like all fell into this category. The minds of these people were filled with various broadly ‘forbidden’ knowledge. Although they were regarded as monsters, Chaotic madmen, and walking Evil by ordinary people in many places, many people secretly befriended them, giving them countless support and help, just to obtain the so-called ‘eternal life.’
If Cole’s attitude towards such people was no different from others before, then at this moment, holding Luo Na, whose body had long lost its warmth, a glimmer of hope ignited deep within his heart.
“Can you help me…?” He suddenly grabbed the hem of Mo Tan’s robe and said tremblingly, “Help me revive Luo Na! You just said it, didn’t you! She has a beautiful soul! A beautiful soul shouldn’t just Disappearance like this, right?!”
Mo Tan smiled with satisfaction. Although his understanding of this world was currently far less than any native from a village, this guy was very good at making others use their own knowledge and experiences to convince themselves, preparing countless logically clear steps for them to firmly tread on.
“Do you know what this is?” Mo Tan did not answer Cole’s question. Instead, he took out a grayish-white small jar from his satchel and handed it to the young Thief, asking back. The jar was covered with countless constantly twisting and changing characters. If you looked closely, you could even see countless human faces with various expressions on it, but if your attention relaxed even a little, you would never be able to distinguish them again.
Soul-Guiding Bottle
Quality: Epic
Usage: Absorb Soul / Release Soul
Special Restriction: Non-【Orderly】 Faction
Effect: Absorbs a soul from a life form that has died within 13 hours and stores it within. No storage time limit. The shorter the death time, the higher the soul’s completeness. Only one soul can be held in the Soul-Guiding Bottle.
※ If a second soul is absorbed, the first soul will immediately dissipate ※
Note: Only powerful soul knowledge masters can create it. This advanced soul-binding creation can be an essential material for various forbidden items, and the soul within it will not suffer any torment. Whether you are a skilled Alchemist, a Necromancer in urgent need of a temporary soul box, or a wealthy person who can afford such a special ‘urn,’ it is an excellent choice. PS: Even good people don’t mind dealing with it, but those rigid fellows clearly don’t think so.
Cole honestly shook his head. At this moment, even the most astute Thief would not choose to lie, but his gaze had gradually become fervent. After all, something that looked so significant could obviously not be something a madman could casually pull out.
“Of course, you wouldn’t know~” Mo Tan shrugged. “To be frank with you, this thing is called a Soul-Guiding Bottle. It has many uses and is simple to operate. One of its functions I find very useful, for example… storing a soul that hasn’t had time to dissipate, allowing it to one day bathe in that annoying sunlight again.”
Cole was trembling with ecstasy and excitement, though there might have been a slight bit of pain from his wounds, but that wasn’t important. What was most important to him now was…
“I am just an insignificant Thief apprentice, but if you can help me…” Cole knelt before Mo Tan and said in a deep voice, “I can pay any price, including my life!”
Although different, these words were somewhat familiar…
Mo Tan suddenly thought of Medi’s words before his death. Everything before him was so similar to that time, except this time he didn’t have any tasks that were detrimental to Cole, and if the Soul-Guiding Bottle were used now, this soul named Luo Na would undoubtedly be relatively complete, unlike the remnant soul residing in Medi’s ring, which had no hope of revival.
So, he was not stingy about helping this infatuated young man a little.
“Remember what you said.” Mo Tan’s voice suddenly turned a little cold. He pointed the Soul-Guiding Bottle at Luo Na’s corpse and said slowly, “I’m not a philanthropist.”
A faint white light glowed from the corpse in Cole’s arms, then floated up about half a meter. After circling briefly beside him, it was ‘whoosh’ absorbed into the bottle in Mo Tan’s hand, emitting an ethereal murmur before Disappearance.
The system prompt sounded in Mo Tan’s ear:
Soul-Guiding Bottle has absorbed a new soul, its completeness is 94%
It seems it was successful…
“What did you do?” Cole also felt a very obvious change. The fleeting white light earlier gave him a strange tremor, as if Luo Na had come back to life and was whispering something in his ear. But when he looked down, the cold corpse still lay peacefully in his arms, without any sign of life.
Mo Tan gestured to the Soul-Guiding Bottle in his hand, then put it into his satchel, and said leisurely, “I helped you preserve her soul, leaving a glimmer of possibility. As for whether this possibility will become reality, that depends on your performance… Don’t ask me too many questions. I am neither obligated to tell you everything, nor do I possess a noble enough character to maintain my patience…”
“Yes!” Cole quickly replied, then stood up and gave Mo Tan the highest salute he knew. Although a Thief holding a dagger vertically over his heart and bowing ninety degrees was somewhat unconventional, this slightly awkward knight’s oath of allegiance still conveyed his feelings well.
Mo Tan nodded with satisfaction, found a relatively flat spot nearby and sat down, then gestured to Cole that he didn’t need to stand there foolishly, and asked, “Now tell me, who are you, and why were you attacked in this place? You can be detailed.”
“My name is Cole Shulen, and I am a student at Pading Knight Academy.” Cole immediately replied, then glanced at the Dark Elf girl’s corpse in his arms, and continued in a slightly hoarse voice, “She is my classmate—Luo Na Yuehui, and like me, she is a second-year member of the Warm Sun Squad. We…”
Mo Tan sighed and interrupted, “Put her down first. The corpse in your arms is just a shell now. If you wish, you can bury her here later.”
Cole reluctantly put Luo Na’s body aside, forcing himself to calm down, and continued to recount the whole story of the accident to Mo Tan…
After Cole’s explanation, Mo Tan finally understood what had happened, and he also gained some unexpected insights!
The Months of Gale and Stars each year were the times for Pading Knight Academy’s comprehensive assessment, which consisted of two parts: theoretical written tests for each corresponding subject and team combat. The Warm Sun Squad was attacked on their way back after completing their combat assessment.
Two Red Ridge Beasts, which absolutely should not have appeared in this place, came at once, and despite their natural visual impairment, they relentlessly targeted the Warm Sun Squad, not even leaving them a chance to escape. Everyone tried every method, from sound interference to diversion tactics, but they could never shake off these two monsters, being forced from the wilderness all the way into this forest…
Then, the wind mage apprentice Luo Na died, and the other three members, under Cole’s cover, were trying their best to escape towards Pato City, where the academy was located. As for what happened next, Mo Tan, who had been observing from the shadows for a while, basically already knew.
Side Quest Triggered: Save the Warm Sun Squad, Reward: Optional Experience 200
Hidden Quest Triggered: Revive Luo Na Yuehui, Reward: ???
The expected system prompt sounded in Mo Tan’s ear. Although he had browsed the forums for a while earlier and didn’t know about the hidden quest setting, he was quite confident that his actions this time could trigger a side quest. Another unexpected gain was… the composition of Cole’s own Warm Sun Squad!
Mage Luo Na Yuehui, Thief Cole Shulen, Priest Ai Fan Ye, Greatsword User La Da Dona, and Knight Dave Sager.
“Dave…” Mo Tan gently rubbed his forehead, then stood up and said to Cole, “You go back to Pato City first, find the cheapest inn, and don’t contact anyone.”
Cole was stunned. “Then you…”
“I will find you.” Mo Tan replied indifferently, then activated his Stealth state and quickly dashed into the distance, relying on his high Agility.
He had a clue, but he still needed to verify it.
…
Reconnection Starting…
Connection Complete, Reading Character Information
Chaos Evil Mo, Welcome to Innocent World
A desolate sky…
Silent ruins…
Endless corpses and pools of blood…
Mo looked at the ‘city’ behind him, wailing incessantly from curses and pain, and let out an extremely suppressed roar of laughter. Then he tightened the gray cloak on his body and continued walking on the path, leaving the ghost-like scene behind him.
The years of suppression before had been mostly released, and equipment and experience had accumulated somewhat in that extremely joyful slaughter. What he needed to do now was to leave this place as soon as possible. As for the destination… who cared… at least for now, there was no rush to think about such things…
But there was a general goal.
A cold drop of murky water hit Mo’s face. The sky began to weep without warning… It was raining.
A roar suddenly echoed by the quiet mountain path. A strangely shaped beast galloped from not far away, and it seemed to have no intention of bypassing Mo, who stood on the path, charging straight at him.
Then, a hand wreathed in black flames emerged from under the cloak and pressed onto the head of the beast, which was three parts pig and seven parts cow.
Dark Ignition
Active Skill
Mastery Requirements: Intelligence 40, Constitution 50, Possesses the ‘Black Wizard’ Profession
Cost/Restriction: 30 Mana/second, 30 Health/second, Chaos Faction
Effect: Releases black demonic flames from your body, dealing a large amount of fire/dark elemental damage to the target and applying the ‘Dark Ignition’ effect. Effect halved and special effects not triggered against Undead creatures. Cooldown: None
Note: This is a hybrid magic created by my grandfather, the famous theoretical Black Wizard Spoon Riddle, but no one, including himself, has ever been able to use it, because from a wizard’s perspective, a spell that requires even higher physical fitness than magic is simply a scam! —Riddle III, who burned off his right hand.
Accompanied by a wail, the monster instantly turned into a pile of charred dry bones. Mo, as the caster, did not even stop for half a second, simply retracting his hand into his cloak and continuing forward.
Then he was blocked…
A tall figure, dressed in simple leather armor with large areas of fair skin exposed, stood in front of him.
“That’s my prey.” The beautiful Dark Elf frowned slightly, her long silver hair swaying in the wind behind her. She glanced at the pile of dry bones behind Mo, then asked him coldly, “Did you kill it?”
Mo did not answer, merely looking up slightly at this silver-haired woman who seemed to be courting death, and was actually stunned for a moment.
This cold, pretty face seemed familiar.
If he remembered correctly…
This girl should be a player named Ji Xiaodao, and he had eaten at the same table with her not long ago.
…
Chapter Ten: The End
