radicalducati Page 153
Page 153
The protective magic array is now activated. Although the magic output is low, it's enough to keep the roaming insect-like monsters at bay. Watching the swarm of cockroaches being driven out of the city, you can't help but breathe a sigh of relief. At least you won't be dreaming about cockroaches tonight.
At the city gate, you happen to run into Gan Gan, who is returning from the mine with her dog. Upon seeing you, she immediately shouts angrily, "You two actually abandoned Gan Gan to go out and have some alone time! What a despicable couple!"
"Don't rush." You calmly pulled a bunch of small stones from your pocket and held them in your hand, saying mysteriously, "Life is like a box of pebbles; you never know whether you'll find a silver mine or a gold-devouring dog next."
[Gan Gan was silent for a moment, then took all the pebbles from your hand. Then, to your stunned surprise, she took a soft, mineral-like substance from her bag and placed it in your hand.]
"You might like the story of the gold-devouring dog!" Gan Gan laughed heartily, hands on her hips.
You stared speechlessly at Gan Gan's sincere smile. You considered throwing away the book, but remembering that Musk was offering a hefty sum for it, you sighed and put it away.
On the way back to the house, Gan Gan shared her experiences of the day with you. Hearing her estimate that the overall mine production had doubled, you felt a sense of relief; Silverway Town should now be able to weather this seasonal tornado.
Thinking of this, you decided to immediately head to the dwarven ruins in Teacher Yin's photo to scout the location. Although going tomorrow would be perfectly fine, that's just your personality—you're the kind of person who acts on impulse and never hesitates when it comes to doing something.
After letting your tired teammates rest, you gave them a few brief instructions and then left the town alone, without your eagle or steed, walking steadily towards the desolate mountains.
A cold wind swept through the treeless depths of the mountains, whipping up your robes. You patted the insect-like monster that the wind had blown onto you, and before it could react, you used your Super Digestion technique to devour it.
"Chicken flavor, crunchy..." You said, reciting an old joke, but looking at the small tornado below the hillside, you still chose to take a detour. You shook your head and complained, "Speaking of which, I have a feeling that if a warrior's circumnavigation team came to the Wilderness Territory, they could easily devour all these rampaging monsters..."
[After thinking about it, you realize that the warriors' journey does indeed pass through the Mountain Wasteland, but it seems that after entering the Mountain Wasteland, they head west towards Siyuan Flower Castle. And roughly speaking, it's been several days since you met the vanguard team of the journey in Cugen Village. Perhaps the vanguard team will reach the Mountain Wasteland soon.]
"I could try crouching in the bushes along the border, but I'm not very familiar with them...tsk, I wonder if Ge Ying will join the warriors' travel group..." Thinking of the adorable snake, you couldn't help but miss it a little. Shaking your head to dispel the distracting thoughts, you continued:
"She's just a young girl. Even if she joins the round-the-world trip, she probably won't be able to keep up with the vanguard team's pace. She'll probably be moving slowly with the main group. Sigh, I wonder when I'll see her again..."
Putting the soldiers' affairs aside for the moment, you gaze at the dilapidated mine at the end of the dark mountain road, and your spirits lift, you enter combat readiness.
[“The mine was abandoned because the dwarven tower sank, blocking the mine tunnels inside…” You walked along the rusted minecart tracks to the mine entrance, peered into the tunnel blocked by rocks, scratched your head, tentatively dug a little, and after confirming it wasn't hollow, decisively gave up.]
You climb to the top of the hill, take out Teacher Yin's photo, and follow the path to the corresponding location, gazing at the background of the photo. Then you put the photo down, look at the starkly different, empty valley, and stroke your chin.
"Wow, this tower is amazing, it can expand and contract..." You bent down, touched the ground covered with thick soil, walked around the original location of the tower, and murmured, "Such a powerful technology tree. I really want to find a dwarf to help me build one too. I'll name it 'Bull Brother Tower,' but that seems a bit too straightforward. Let's call it 'Armstrong Cyclone Acceleration Armstrong Tower' instead..."
Although you were uttering nonsensical words, you didn't stop observing and thinking about your surroundings. Suddenly, you looked up at the withered tree roots that occasionally broke through the ground in the desolate mountains under the light of the rising moon, and you immediately squinted.
"Tree roots?... Is it that ancient Morning Glory Tree?" You walk towards the nearest tree root, crouch down, and touch its rough surface, thinking, "Jennifer said that the legendary tree roots are said to have entwined this land, which is why the monsters from underground couldn't come out before. Could this be related to the Dwarven Tower? Underground, tree roots, the sinking tower..."
[An accessible exploration path has been detected. Should we activate the "Integration Strategy" assistance system?]
A clear prompt appeared in the simulated text. Latis exclaimed in surprise, glanced back at the previous text, and began to think.
"The integrated strategy can be activated, which means there really is a small instance here. Should I go all in again and enter the instance?"
"First, as we've seen from our previous experiences, without this integrated strategy, many levels would be impossible to pass. It's like the emulator intentionally cheated me; although it consumed a lot of Goddess Water, the gains were more than worth the price."
He stroked his chin, nodded, then shook his head.
"From a roguelike perspective, before entering a dungeon, I should maximize my character's level and bring as many teammates as possible to make it easier to clear. In the last integrated strategy event, there were also many options related to teammates..."
"Should I not go in for now?" Latis murmured. He thought for a moment, raised an eyebrow, and asked:
"The simulator allows us to continue exploring even without entering the dungeon, right? Let's double-check the surroundings and get ready before bringing our teammates along."
The simulated text paused for a moment, then resumed its rapid-fire display.
Instead of acting rashly, you sat on a tree root and pondered for a while before deciding to seek help from outside the area.
"Teacher Yin, are you asleep?" you asked through the beacon. "I'm at the location of the dwarven ruins in your photo, but there's nothing here anymore. I heard the dwarven fortress has sunk underground. Do you know any way I can continue my investigation?"
A few seconds later, Ms. Yin's reply arrived at your beacon. She said, "Little La, I'm looking up my notes. Please wait a moment!"
[After waiting a few minutes, your beacon vibrated, and a magical image appeared inside. In the image, Teacher Yin had underlined a paragraph in his notes that read: "To find the sunken dwarven fortress, you need a dwarf carrying a hammer that serves as a dwarven token. Activate the token using dwarven hammer techniques, and the fortress door will open automatically."]
"That hammer you had earlier must have been some kind of dwarven token, but the other conditions are hard to meet. Dwarves are everywhere, but they rarely leave their homes..." Teacher Yin said in the beacon. "Little Ra, you must be tired from searching for ruins so late. There's no need for you to work so hard, even if... even if it's for me!"
You coughed lightly, and after teasing Teacher Yin a little, you happily turned off the beacon.
Now that you know the conditions, although this trip hasn't yielded any immediate results, your reconnaissance mission is complete. Now, just return to the village and rest well, then bring your teammates to begin the adventure the next day…
Suddenly, your eyes widened as you looked at the small tornado disintegrating and falling to the ground not far away, and you abruptly stood up.
"What's going on?" you murmured to yourself. "Could it be that this seasonal tornado has some hidden mechanism? No, I have to go check it out."
You cautiously approached, hiding behind a large rock, and peered into the chaotic miniature tornado. Suddenly, a notification appeared before your eyes.
[Sixth Ring Racial Spell - Mana Infusion: Gathers active mana from a radius of several hundred meters and infuses it into a friendly unit, increasing its mana level.]
[Cyber Police - Flesh-Eating Stingray (Void Stingray) #Online]
[You were suddenly startled, your eyes widening as you stared at the magical ray, faintly visible within the small tornado. You'd heard of it in previous simulations—a monster cyber policeman from the shallow earth!]
But how did it end up on the surface, infusing these monsters with magic? Could this be a task given to it by the magic network?
Chapter 163 A Family Ethical Comedy Between Malou
Just as you were still surprised to see a familiar... cooked fish, a flying monster with membranous wings was flung in front of you by a chaotic magical tornado.
The flying creature stumbled and rolled around on the ground like it was breakdancing before finally opening its eyes, looking completely bewildered. The moment it opened its eyes, an inexplicable attraction drew its gaze to you.
[“…” You remained silent for a moment. For some reason, the flying monster in front of you seemed to grow increasingly friendly. Looking at its smug, toothy grin, you suddenly felt a chill.]
Suddenly, it dawned on you: "Could it be mistaking me for a relative or a closely related species?! Damn it, don't mistake me for a dog!"
However, the next second, you realize you were wrong, utterly wrong. It didn't just see you as family; it saw you as a mate!
[Looking at the grinning, circling-around-you-with-a-cheek attitude, offering unsolicited advice, you take a deep breath and silently draw your Black Swan Hammer.]
"This is intolerable! Damn it, take this! My Bull-Slaying Special Attack!" Tears welling in your eyes, you charge forward and smash your hammer into the Flying Malfoy's forehead. The Flying Malfoy instinctively clutches its head, but a sudden, excruciating pain shoots through its lower body. It lets out a bloodcurdling scream and collapses unconscious.
"Damn it, you lecherous worm!" you cursed as you put away your hammer, about to continue observing the small tornado, when you turned around and saw a huge void ray floating behind you.
You subconsciously took a step back, chuckled awkwardly, and said, "Um... would you believe me if I said this was a family conflict or ethical clash?... Haha, look, I am one too..."
"Wee!" the ray shouted, its mouth wide open, then quickly returned to its (?=ω=`) expression. You were silent for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Will we rock you?"
Half a minute later, you look at the tentacles covering your body, struggle to lift your head to look at the ray that's leading you somewhere you don't know, and curse inwardly, "Does this ray have a problem with Queen? No way, I should have sung 'We Are the Champions' to change its perception..."
[But now, you have no choice but to accept your fate. At such close range, even a level four warrior can't outrun a sixth-ring monster. Although you could disconnect it from the internet to try and escape, so many monsters could crush you with their bare bodies. Fortunately, it seems you won't be taken down so quickly...]
"Hopefully Jennifer and the others can understand the mark I left..." You shook your head, tried to struggle a little, and after feeling the tentacles on your body tighten even more, you muttered to yourself, "Why do monsters always like to play bondage games with me!"
Under the dim moonlight, the Void Ray carried you past several small tornadoes, stopping before one or two to cast another spell infusion.
"This guy's really hardworking, working so late at night..." you muttered, then frowned as you watched the monsters being blown about by the chaotic magical energy, thinking to yourself:
"Could it be that the low activity of magical energy in the Wilderness Territory is also related to these demonic creatures? That makes sense, after all, demonic creatures also need to cultivate. But why are they coming to the surface? Is it because the underground magical network doesn't provide complete coverage?"
Shaking your head, you set aside these baseless speculations for the time being. Watching the Void Ray begin to glide towards a cave, you frowned and muttered to yourself, "Is it taking me underground?"
Recalling the previous simulated memories, you weren't too panicked about entering the underground, but being without companions was still a bit tough. Are you going to have to sell your body in the Night Elf territory again for temporary safety...?
["But the Spider Girl does taste pretty good!" Just as you thought this, you suddenly sensed a familiar surge of divine power erupting violently. Instantly, a sharp short spear pierced through one of your tentacles, and amidst the Void Ray's scream, you fell from its back.]
"I've done it!" You exclaimed, your eyes wide. You spun around in mid-air, performing a somersault and landing smoothly. You breathed a sigh of relief, patted your steel-like knees, and exclaimed, "That's the limit!"
【"call out!"】
The sound of a sharp weapon cutting through the air brought you back to your senses. You looked at the dark knight who had been lifted into the air by the rope following the short spear. Your gaze passed over her crimson cloak and fell upon her pale face—it was Holnet!
[Level 4 Divine Spell - Light Spear (Modified)]
"Warrior, leave this place!" Holnet's short, grey-black hair fluttered in the wind. She pulled back her short spear, spun around, and plunged it into the ray's belly, shouting, "Die!"
A sudden flash appeared on the ray's body; the "Slippery Skin" magic effect deflected the short spear. Ignoring Holnet, who had leaped onto its head, it shouted, "Wee!"
[Fifth Ring Race Spell - Void Water Prison: Summons a solid water prison from the void, solidifying the surrounding chaotic magic into an immobile cube.]
A dark cube instantly formed around the ray. Holnet's eyes narrowed, and just as she was about to rise, her feet were bound in place by the solidified water prison. She took a deep breath, about to force herself to activate the broken container despite the discomfort, when she heard you shout from the ground:
"Hey, Holnett, can I help you?"
The woman with gray-black hair frowned, swung her short spear, severing several tentacles that were attacking her, then hurled the spear into the ground. Her arm muscles bulged as she struggled to pull back the rising ray, shouting, "Help!"
You and the Void Ray exchanged a glance. Under its questioning gaze, you grinned, snapped your fingers, and severed its net.
"Wee?!" The Void Ray's body suddenly sank. Sensing the water prison around it vanishing instantly and the magic buff on its body losing its focus, its expression turned panicked. It glanced at you again and shouted, "Wee!..."
Before the panicked screams could even land, Holnet reacted swiftly. She instantly spread her free legs, using the tension of the ropes to slam her body against the ray's back. Then, almost in a split, she clamped her legs together, hooking her strong insteps around the ray's body.
[Her strong waist propelled her upper body upwards, her thoracic spine twisting like a pretzel as she swung her arm high into the air. Then, a burst of black divine power exploded like a thunderclap, and her arm, at its highest point, abruptly stopped. With a loud roar, she slammed the blade at her elbow into the ray's head.]
[“wee…” the ray let out a final, feeble cry, and slumped to the ground.]
[You watched as Holnet flipped and landed in front of you, and couldn't help but clap your hands, shouting, "Barrier, what kind of move is that? Wow!"]
[Hollnit gave you a puzzled look, and after considering which language to use to deal with your dialect, he finally asked in Common, "You know me? Why were you captured by a monster... wait, what's this?"]
She instinctively grabbed your wrist, feeling the residual divine power Jennifer had left within you, and asked with surprise and uncertainty, "Light?...Is this the divine power of the Church? How can it be in this form?"
"I'm part of the Church of Light, I suppose... Anyway, the God of Light didn't say it was wrong." You scratched your head with your other hand and said, "You mean pure light? What's wrong with that power?"
[Hornett withdrew his hand, pondered for a moment, tucked the short spear back into his belt, and asked, "Warrior, no, you should be... a mage? Are you free right now? Could you do me a favor?"]
Having just been saved by her, you naturally agreed, nodding as you stuffed the magic ray's corpse into the dimensional rift right under her nose, and discreetly retrieved the magic network key it dropped, then followed her.
From her hoarse voice, you learn that although she, as a Dark Knight, resides underground, the difficulty in replenishing her Light power means she sometimes returns to the Holy City for supplies when it runs out. Her original intention in returning to the surface this time was to make a trip back to the Holy City, but with your help, she can find another way to replenish her supplies.
"Unfortunately, it's not the mana replenishment you're thinking of," Holnet stated bluntly. "There are many monsters parasitized by the power of light in the shallow underground. They are extremely powerful in direct combat, but they are easily defeated if there are two of us. After killing them, I can directly absorb the power of light from their bodies."
"I see. Because Tina didn't turn evil, Holnet hadn't found his companions yet, so he returned to the surface and rescued me along the way..." You pondered to yourself, finding the world's unpredictable twists and turns amusing. Looking at Holnet's flowing crimson cloak, a flicker of curiosity arose within you.
"Hollnit, haven't you successfully cultivated your perfect vessel yet?" You looked at her suddenly stunned face, thought for a moment, and explained:
“I’ve heard people from the cult mention you before, so I know a little about your situation. If you still need help identifying those vessel fragments, I can help you.”
"Okay." Holnett immediately cast aside all his confusion and said decisively, "What do I need to do for you?"
"I haven't thought about it yet, let me think about it some more." You shook your head. You really couldn't think of anything you needed her help with. After all, judging from the previous simulation, Holnet seemed like a decent person, so helping her this time was just a way of making a good connection.
"Thank you." Holnet stared at your face for a few seconds, then continued walking forward, saying:
"The reason I found the light power emanating from you strange just now is because..."
From her explanation, you learned that the light energy underground is full of impact, like something roaring within it, while the light energy on the surface, although lacking that roaring feeling, is still intensely hot. As for the light energy remaining on you, it is a purer form of light, lacking that intense, aggressive quality, which is why it struck her as somewhat strange.
You enter a cave and begin to traverse through the rough, broad roots of trees. Looking at the withered roots, scarred and damaged, you ask in surprise, "Could it be that the legend of the ancient tree's roots entwining the underground passage is true?"
"It's true, but it's not that exaggerated," Holnet said in a low voice as he searched for a narrow passage among the tree roots.
"In fact, the ancient tree's withering has only occurred within the last twenty years. I learned from underground that since the elven race began to disappear, they have had no time to care about the external natural environment, and the withering of the ancient tree began around that time."
"Of course, based on my deep understanding of the power of light and after comparing it with those histories, I've discovered that the tree roots aren't the only reason the monsters are blocking their way." Holnet grunted, prying open a thick tree root to allow your wider body to pass through, and continued:
"Due to certain natural reasons, the ancient tree has a certain function of absorbing and releasing light energy. When the light energy in the Wilderness Territory is too strong in spring and summer, it will absorb a certain amount of light energy, while the opposite is true in autumn and winter. Although the exact principle is unknown, to a certain extent, the ancient tree makes the climate of the Wilderness Territory less extreme."