Chương 197: Chapter One-Hundred-and-Ninety-Seven

By the time they had cleared the camp, the sun had almost set completely. Not counting the eleven bandits they'd killed before reaching Red Rian, there had been fifty-one spread about the camp and village ruins. Natalia and Adam had both taken out sixteen, Heiner had killed eleven, and Seo-Yoon had killed eight.

As a result of how each of Adam's kills inflicted bleed and venom by default, his affliction bonus had risen by 28% to reach 257% because of the glass sapling boost, and his antivenom resistance had dropped to -36%. Adam had made sure to collect the scarves from the ones they'd killed previously, which meant they had a total of sixty-two trophies.

< < Collectible Relic > > < Red Scarf (Common) — The scarf belonging to a member of Red Rian's gang > Split six ways, that's about ten for each of us, which probably isn't really worth it, since common trophies won't sell for much. Carrying all of the scarves was also quite burdensome, especially since the flesh sack that Chien carried and Adam's backpack were both already full.

Maybe we should leave the trophies somewhere and come back for them later, Adam considered as he made a third sack to store most of the scarves in. Alongside the scarves, they had also found a combined 4, 300 Silvers, putting their current total at 5, 415. With the 10, 000 they were due to receive for bringing proof of Red Rian's death to one of the big cities, they would have quite a lot to splurge with in the markets, though the epic options would not appear until day five.

Since Adam had absorbed all of the bodies after looting their scarves, his raiment bonus had gone up to an astounding 562%. There were definitely diminishing returns the more he absorbed, but thanks to the way his sapling bonus applied last, it meant that Adam's speed was now over 750%, and his damage was over 900%. I don't think I even need to rely on my magic to kill things at this point. I could just punch and slash my way through everything, while moving with enough speed to dodge anything thrown at me.

The only thing he lacked to make it a reality was stamina, since he only had sixty points in the stat, so he would struggle to put his physical speed to much use before exhausting himself.

"I can't believe we tied…" Natalia complained.

"You did better than I expected," he replied. She'd been able to back up her confidence, which had surprised him, and her efficient movements and attacks had made him want to try out a melee-based build as well, since it seemed a lot more powerful than he'd realised. In truth, Adam had been slowed down by the constant backlash of pain he felt thanks to the mantle. Even the hobgoblin pendant hadn't been able to numb the pain.

Maybe it doesn't work because the pendant is a lower rarity than the mantle, meaning the pain-sharing effect cannot be subdued unless it's done by a relic that's also legendary, or even divine. With the camp cleared, the quest completed as well, and the area turned into a safe zone. < < Quest Complete > > < Red Rian must die!

> < Took down Red Rian and his gang > < < Settlement Discovered > > < The Forgotten Village > Chien and Diwa had found two wooden relic chests inside the church while they waited, and Natalia seemed eager to open them.

"Since no one decisively won the wager, I think the next pick of relics should just follow the order from before," Adam said. The others could agree with that.

"That means it's my turn to pick," Seo-Yoon said, since Chien had indicated he was fine with being last in line, and all the others had already received new relics. Natalia had technically not gotten a relic from the stage yet, but they were counting her taking the mantle and running off, which was a fitting punishment, Adam thought. Natalia wore the choice ring that Adam had lent to her as she pushed open the lid of the first chest.

A spyglass clearly meant to attach to something, a red scarf like those they'd collected several dozen of already, and a tight-looking yellow corset with black accents appeared.

< < Relics Available > > < Ranger's Scope (Epic) — Doubles maximum effective range of a bow or crossbow, but halves projectile speed > < Red Scarf (Rare) — Red Scarves are no longer hostile to you | Surprise attacks deal double damage > < Corset of the Afflictionist (Rare) — Applying an Affliction identical to one already on a target makes the effect stack instead of renewing its duration | All Afflictions you apply have their durations halved > Huh, it's actually possible to join with the bandits?

I wonder what the point of that would be, but it might unlock some interesting secrets perhaps, or maybe a unique quest. I'm willing to bet a hidden effect of the scarf is that ordinary people become hostile or unfriendly to the wearer. The corset was by far the strongest item on offer, but the scope would have a lot of utility for the stage, given how open it was and because Heiner had the barrage skill.

"I want the red scarf," Seo-Yoon said. Diwa and Chien gave her confused looks.

"Really?" Natalia asked, also surprised.

"No." Adam laughed.

"But I will take the corset and give it to Adam," she then said. His laughter immediately stopped.

"It'll look ridiculous on me."

"Good thing you've got armour to hide it," she replied with a grin.

"I want your first strike earrings though." Adam considered it. The effect from the earrings likely didn't make a huge difference, but he also hadn't noticed whether the demerit from them actually affected his power all that much. Given that the damage stat wasn't that important for most of his blood-based attacks, he was fine with the trade. Besides, the effect from the crimson shirt couldn't trigger effectively with his raiment active, making it kind of a useless item for his build.

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"Deal."

"I could reroll," Natalia suggested.

"I've got a few of those."

"This is my choice," Seo-Yoon said. Natalia shrugged and grabbed the corset, handing it to her. Then Seo-Yoon handed it to Adam in exchange for his earrings. The moment Adam swapped his shirt for the corset, he felt his body get squeezed uncomfortably.

"How does it fit?" Seo-Yoon teased him.

"Like a glove," he lied.

"I'm opening the next chest," Natalia announced.

"It's Chien's turn to pick." Three new holograms appeared above the second chest. A barnacle-covered shark tooth trinket, a stone ring with a star-shaped ruby gem, and a golden coin. < < Relics Available > > < Barnacle-Encrusted Shark Tooth (Rare) — Your physical attacks inflict wounds that are more difficult to heal | Activate to summon an ephemeral shark jaw to bite a target within 5 metres, penetrating armour and inflicting bleed.

5-minute cooldown > < Power Ring (Epic) — Activate to empower your next attack, quadrupling the impact damage and creating an aftershock that deals 50% of the damage 5 seconds after. 15-minute cooldown > < Wishing Coin (Epic) — Throw into a body of water to obtain a Relic of Rare quality or lower > The coin is an interesting item. The power ring with Heiner's God Spear attack would also be quite insane. He could level a building with that combination or turn a forlorn knight into a fine paste.

"I will take the coin," Chien said. It was an obvious pick, and though it couldn't gift any epic relics, the ability to choose made it worth a lot more than many epic items, especially when most players at this stage had a fairly good idea of what would suit their builds.

"What are you going to wish for?" Seo-Yoon asked. Based on her melody, it was clear she knew exactly what she'd pick if she'd gotten the coin.

"I have a few things in mind," Chien replied. The way to maximise its worth would be to hold on to it, unless you already know the perfect relic to get. It's bound to only become more valuable the further you go.

"Do you think it can be used multiple times?" Diwa wondered.

"It doesn't say that the relic disappears after use."

"I feel like they would've thought of that," Adam replied.

"If it's not stated, then probably something happens when it's used repeatedly."

"Another trap, perhaps?" Chien guessed.

"I'd bet on it," Adam said. The women they had saved from Red Rian's gang were surprisingly helpful when it came to securing the palisade-surrounded church for the night. They had lost their own homes and been held captive since, not to mention that their families were gone, killed off or fled across the hills to an uncertain fate. And still they didn't seem defeated in spirit. It was an admirable response, though Adam couldn't help but feel put off by it.

Once the night fully set, they were prepared to weather the darkness, with braziers and torches lit within and outside the palisade walls, as well as along the watchtowers that dotted the landscape leading out of Oath Spire's mouth.

They would be protected within the settlement, thanks to the light, but if they ventured too far away from the fires, enemies like the forlorn assassins would be lurking and ready to strike, not to mention corrupted animals such as the shadow bird would be there to pick off those foolish enough to go alone. Beck said that only Kat would be strong enough to roam by herself in the dark. Emelia and Beck had both likened it to Moonport's nights, but made it clear that it was a different kind of danger.

While death would always be hot on your tail in the dark of Moonport, in the Forlorn Kingdom it was a stalking monster that struck when you least expected it. It wasn't clear whether it was due to the Forlorn Shadow gaining the ability to stretch further across the land at night or because the absence of the sun allowed its creations to roam far from its embrace, but the result was that the settlements were far more important.

They wouldn't be absolutely safe within the light, but it would give them the ability to more easily defend against anything that attacked, making it a more balanced fight. Once the third day came, they would be best off staying in Old Town, since it marked the moment that the Forlorn Shadow finally crawled across the river behind the old church and began its unrelenting march across the green hills. Perhaps we should just head for the castle as soon as the third day comes.

Everyone except Heiner was blissfully unaware of the coming danger, but Adam was able to convince him to explain what he'd seen in the orb of insight's vision, backing it up with his own information. No one discounted their explanations, because Moonport had left all of its survivors overly cautious and paranoid. Chien's reaction to the news of the black riders that would be hunting him was not one of disbelief or worry, but rather simple determination.

"The angel told me that I will be hunted for my power. Such is the burden of my worship and beliefs."

"Can we escape them in Old Town?" Diwa asked.

"I don't know," Heiner said. Seo-Yoon looked at Adam.

"We have to figure out how to create the true flame."

"We'll need a steady source of holy mana," Adam replied. She looked at Chien.

"You'll do," she said with a grin. He got up from the pew he'd been sitting on, surrounded by many of the women who they'd saved. They seemed to be idolising him because of his patron and holy powers.

"Very well. Let us go outside." As they followed him out through the doors of the church, Diwa and Natalia trailed behind, and Heiner went up the ladder to the belltower to keep watch. They started off by attempting the simplest idea, which was for Seo-Yoon to absorb mana from Chien and fire the sun flare, but it just simply didn't work, because the holy mana did not infuse into the spell. I figured it couldn't be that simple.

Next was Adam's initial idea of playing hot potato with the sun flare spell by using the absorption powers of the aspirant's cowl, but it was clear from the first try that it wouldn't work either, because if Adam didn't immediately use the sun fire, it would degrade down into normal fire, and the same would happen if Seo-Yoon absorbed it back, no matter if she used her Elemental Tamer evolution power or the cowl. If we had two players with the sun flare spell, it might have worked, Adam thought.

"Perhaps mana absorption has a diluting effect," Diwa suggested from the sidelines.

"That makes sense," Adam realised.

"You say a true flame is blessed sun fire, so perhaps this will work," Chien said and went over to Seo-Yoon, placing his rosary on her staff. The relic was glowing with dense holy mana to Adam's sight. When she fired the sun flare again, the flame that came out was golden. It released a vast amount of holy mana around itself, enough to make Diwa and Adam jump for cover to evade its touch, despite them both being several metres away from Seo-Yoon.

"It worked!" she exclaimed. As the flame soared into the air, it briefly turned the night into day. Most bizarrely, its light cast no shadows, because it penetrated right through everything it touched. As a result, Diwa and Adam were both harmed by it, even though they physically couldn't see the golden fire. Fortunately for Adam, his raiment absorbed the damage, eating away about 150% of his bonus from the skill.

Diwa on the other hand was harmed by her amalgam again and her melody warped into agony as she let out a startled cry. The light vanished shortly after and Adam flew over to Diwa's side, finding that the sentient helmet must've consumed part of her ribcage and organs to keep itself alive, since her torso had taken on a deflated shape. She really needs to get rid of this thing, he thought as he poured his last healing potion into her mouth. Seo-Yoon ran over as well, looking down on Diwa who was slowly healing back.

"Sorry," she said. Diwa clearly wanted to scream at her, based on the tumultuous storm inside her melody, but then she got to her feet and just said, "It was my own fault. I shouldn't have been here while you played around with holy magic."

"You should get rid of the helmet," Chien said when he came over.

"It is killing you." Diwa scowled at him.

"You're the one who's killing me!" She stormed out of the palisade gate and Natalia followed after her. Adam glanced up at Heiner on the roof.

"I'll follow them," he said and took off with a flap of his wings.

"Let us continue with the tests," Chien remarked, unperturbed by Diwa's accusation.

"Ice-cold," Seo-Yoon purred.

"You could show some consideration for her," Adam scolded Chien.

"She's not wrong that you almost killed her with your holy nova."

"I am not the one harming her, because if I were, my body would mirror her injuries," he replied. I can't tell if he's a psycho or actually believes that shit… Adam dropped the subject for now and said, "Anyway, I don't think we'll be able to repeat that trick easily."

"Why not?" Seo-Yoon asked.

"Because it requires a full charge of the rosary," Adam replied, looking down at the relic in Chien's hand. It had been filled with power a moment earlier, but now it was empty. He recalled its information from when Emelia had shown him the relic.

< < Relic > > < Rosary (Rare) — Store a mote of holy energy within this Relic with every kill you perform | When the Relic is touched against yourself or someone else, discharge the holy energy within, healing 1 point of Health for every mote of holy energy > Like the ability to 'heal' emotions, the ability to bless weapons was a hidden effect. Chien looked at his rosary as well.

"You appear to be correct."

"Well then charge it back up!" Seo-Yoon insisted.

"It can only refill with kills," Chien replied.

"There is also no telling how much energy is required for the blessing to be effective," Adam added.

"But let's move on to some other tests." While Adam watched from the roof of the church, Chien and Seo-Yoon tried the same trick as before by using the keepsake relic and even the holy nova from his cuirass, but neither worked to bless Seo-Yoon's staff. Their last attempt was to try and use the holy shockwave effect from Chien's headband, but that likewise did nothing.

The conclusion was quite simple: unless they could find an alternate means of imbuing a holy blessing, making a true flame would require Chien to obtain a lot of kills to charge his rosary.

"It's not ideal, but it will give us a trump card at least," Adam said.

"We'll definitely need it if we're going to take on the black riders on day three."

"I should apologise to Diwa again," Seo-Yoon said.

"I'll go find them," Adam replied.

"You two just wait here." From the nearby melodies of the others, it was very clear that Diwa wanted nothing to do with Seo-Yoon and Chien. Adam lifted himself up over the palisade and flew off to join them.