Chapter 165: Flowers Wither, Leaves Fall
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 165: Flowers Wither, Leaves Fall
As the words fell, the figure known as the "Alchemist" slowly stood up, his tone flat.
"If I didn't have at least that much resolve, I wouldn't have pulled you into this world in the first place."
He paused, then added, "And I must correct what you just said. Humanity will not go extinct, and the world will not end."
Hearing this, the person opposite him couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.
"Oh? And why is that?" Her voice carried a hint of playfulness. "What makes you so certain those things won't happen?"
As she spoke, she walked over to the Alchemist and leaned down slightly, whispering into his ear.
"You should know what I represent. Compared to me, those True Gods might actually be kinder, more worthy of your trust. Don't tell me you think... an ending brought by 'The End' would be better than what those True Gods have in store?"
"No." The Alchemist shook his head. "As I said, I don't believe those things will happen."
Faced with his answer, the other party teased, "Oh? But I might not necessarily follow your script..."
"I know. That's why I'm betting that you will fall in love with this world."
"Eh?" The other person was visibly stunned.
The Alchemist continued, "I'm betting that throughout these millions of eras, you will wander the mortal realm, witnessing countless times where flowers wither and countless times where leaves fall."
"In doing so, you will continuously encounter millions of people. You will learn about them, become familiar with them, and grow close to them." His voice was calm and certain.
"And then, you will understand their love and hate, their good and evil. You will understand the millions of possibilities this world holds. You won't have the heart to let them be confined to the predetermined outcomes set by the True Gods."
"In the end... you will choose to terminate the world's shackles, rather than destroying the world along with them."
Having finished, the Alchemist looked at her. "In this process, I will exhaust everything I have to help you. If, when the time comes, even you cannot save this world..." He paused. "Then just take those True Gods with you toward The End."
As his voice faded, the other party suddenly laughed.
"Hmph~ What a whimsical idea." She sat back down in her chair, resting her cheek on her hand in a languid posture. "Fine, I'll play along with you for a while."
She paused, then asked, "But if we go by your plan, what power should I use to fulfill your wish?"
In response to her inquiry, the Alchemist raised his hand and gently tore open a space rift.
"I've already considered that. Long before you arrived in this world, I discovered a mysterious dimension that is a perfect peer to this world—one that even the True Gods are unaware of."
As he spoke, the Alchemist drew out a wisp of dark purple power from the space rift.
"Only you can accept power of this level. Consider this my welcoming gift to you."
"..."
The historical scene ended there.
Unlike previous times, this Hidden History was exceptionally long. Xie Bai could clearly feel that the amount of information contained within it was anything but low.
The moment it ended, most of her memories regarding this segment of Hidden History immediately became blurred. She could only vaguely remember an Alchemist who had invited a certain someone to arrive.
In terms of timing, it seemed to have happened a very, very long time ago.
"Ugh... my head hurts."
Xie Bai clutched her forehead, her eyes involuntarily drooping. After finishing the viewing of the Hidden History, she felt as if her head had been filled with lead—it was incredibly heavy.
[“Flowers Wither, Leaves Fall” has been further enhanced: Can now nullify up to two Curses; Cooldown reduced to 12h.]
Before Xie Bai could even check the system prompt that had popped up, her eyes closed completely.
Snap.
The moment she fell into a deep sleep, the Book of Truth snapped shut along with her.
"Do you think... Sister Xiaobai is secretly watching us from inside, or is she really asleep?"
"I don't know... but we'd better not pull any stunts. If Sister Xiaobai catches us again, she definitely won't let us off easy."
Looking at the lump in the duvet where Xie Bai was tucked in by the bedside, the Two Little Ones discussed their concerns.
"Alright then... let's not run around until Sister Xiaobai comes out."
Gamie lay by the bed, looking a bit bored. At that moment, Little Gamie held up a Forum light screen and walked over to Gamie, pointing at it.
"Hey, Sister, look at this! Isn't this the scene from back then?"
Hearing this, Gamie hurried over.
[Official · The Light Situated in the High Heavens]
In the footage, Heavenly Mountain had already been leveled by the Sword of Expedition, and massive swarms of Aberrant Angels were beginning to emerge from the ground. It was almost identical to the scene they had witnessed.
Predictably, the following footage showed the arrival of the Void Fleet, the descent of the Archangels, and finally, Virgilis manifesting as the Sacred Light to suppress the entire field.
However, when the Two Little Ones dragged the progress bar forward, a figure appeared in the frame.
[Bai Lv.??]
The moment Xie Bai made her entrance, Funeral Rites had already pierced through the body of the Sacred Light. In the next second, an utterly cold voice came from her lips.
"How noisy."
As soon as the words were spoken, countless bullet-chat comments instantly flooded the entire screen.
...
On the other side.
Maomao looked at the ten players lined up in front of her and fell into deep thought.
"You guys... are the ones Taro Ball recommended?"
Hearing Maomao's words, the player at the head of the group raised a hand and said, "That's right, Sister Maomao! We are the top ten players who contributed the most during the Angel War. We earned the recommendation from the Great Taro Ball!"
"That may be true, but..." Maomao's gaze swept over the ten of them, her tone turning slightly subtle. "It's just your levels..."
Looking at the ten Level 1 players, Maomao didn't know what to say for a moment.
"Forget it, I suppose this is just another mess we have to clean up." As she spoke, she looked at the leading player.
[Xiu Ni Daba Lv.1]
"Present!"
Hearing Maomao call his name, Daba immediately snapped into a salute, his posture as standard as if he were in military training.
"There's no need to be so formal." Maomao took out the ten Soul Proofs Xie Bai had given her earlier and handed one to Daba. "Let's start with you."
After taking the Soul Proof, Daba observed it carefully for a moment, then said respectfully, "Understood, Sister Maomao! I shall now accept the glory bestowed upon me by the organization!"
With that, he immediately clicked 'Use.'
In the next second, within Daba's consciousness, he arrived in a dark space. Since Xie Bai was currently deep in sleep, the matter of the Class inheritance was handled entirely by the Branch and Leaf Entries.
Soon, Daba received a notification.
[Your Class “Mage” has advanced to “Flood Mage”.]
In the next instant, the aura on Daba's body surged violently. An invisible pressure instantly diffused outward, scattering the clouds floating overhead.
Seeing this, Maomao was somewhat surprised. "Wait... what kind of thing did this guy awaken? Why is the commotion so big?"
A moment later, Daba woke up from the Class inheritance. Upon opening his eyes, he immediately blurted out, "Hiss... Sister Maomao, is the Reaper class this fierce even before the actual job change?"
With that, he made his Character Panel public. Aside from the three fixed entries of the Reaper class, the unique class entry of the Flood Mage instantly drew everyone's attention.
[Flood]
[Your Water-type Magic skill levels +1. When you use a Water-type Magic skill, you may consume any amount of additional Mana to turn it into an Area of Effect (AoE) attack. Furthermore, for every additional 100% of Mana consumed, damage increases by 50% and the range increases by 100%.
For every hostile unit killed by this skill, you recover Mana equal to 1% of the target's Max HP.]