Chapter 31: What is... Spending Money?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 31: What is... Spending Money?
The moment the girl finished speaking, Hermann realized that these people had never respected him at all.
As her voice trailed off, Hermann instantly teleported in front of her, finally showing his hand.
"Since that's how it is, don't blame me for what happens next!"
With a snarl, Hermann raised a dagger and lunged.
[Profane Dagger]
[Quality: Mythic]
[Consumable Curse-type Item]
[Targets struck by this blade are permanently afflicted with the 'Profane' status, which cannot be purified. Under this status, the target loses half of their current Sanity every day until they descend into total madness. Furthermore, they cannot be resurrected after death.]
The Profane Dagger was one of Hermann's ultimate trump cards.
It wasn't lethal in the traditional sense, but it could plunge a person into irreversible insanity. He had originally intended to save this for Atoris to prevent the Emperor from turning the tables on him, but he was forced to use it here.
Hermann knew that with that unfathomable gray-clad powerhouse present, he wouldn't be leaving this place safely today.
Fortunately, he had a Resurrection Soul Lamp stored within the Church. Even if he was cut down, he would simply respawn back at the headquarters.
But before that, he was going to make these arrogant fools pay!
Especially this girl and her big mouth!
Seeing that she made no move to dodge, Hermann’s expression grew increasingly smug.
"Hmph. I thought you were someone special, but it turns out you're just paralyzed with fear."
"You probably just used some trick to hide your aura, but your reaction speed is pathetic."
"To think such a cute girl will spend the rest of her life in madness... what a pity."
Just as the Profane Dagger was about to pierce the girl, Hermann suddenly felt the entire world spin.
Swish!
A violent storm of slashes erupted.
By the time he realized he was being attacked, his body had already been hacked into pieces.
"Wha... what? So fast?!"
He hadn't seen a thing.
The girl had unleashed several slashes, and Hermann hadn't been able to track a single one!
This terrifying speed was something even Julius likely couldn't match.
Before Hermann could even process the shock, he had been reduced to a fruit platter without the container, his remains scattered everywhere.
Thud.
Hermann’s head rolled to a stop next to a Void Insect. Even then, his mouth continued to move.
"Damn it... I underestimated you this time. But it doesn't matter! You can't kill me! Just you wait—when I resurrect and come back, I'll make sure you realize the price of provoking me!"
With those final words, Hermann breathed his last.
His body parts were dragged away and devoured by the surrounding Insects. Not a single scrap remained.
*
Meanwhile, inside the Chaos Church, the Resurrection Soul Lamp that had been lit for Hermann suddenly flickered and died, turning into an ordinary kerosene lamp.
The Cult Leader, who happened to be passing by, paused in surprise.
"Hermann’s soul has completely dissipated?"
The extinguishing of a Resurrection Soul Lamp signified that the soul of the person bound to it had been utterly erased.
Resurrection was no longer possible.
"Strange. Hermann was always so cautious. How did he provoke a powerhouse capable of soul erasure?"
In the Cult Leader's memory, there were only three beings in the Aodu Empire who could be called true powerhouses: Emperor Atoris, the Alchemist Roland, and the Grand Marshal who was currently on his way back.
Yet none of those three possessed the ability to erase a soul.
"It seems an unexpected variable has appeared in the plan. No matter. Hermann wasn't essential anyway."
The Cult Leader turned to Julius, who stood nearby.
"Julius, go to Carlos Lilanka. Take over Hermann’s mission."
Julius bowed his head. "Understood."
*
[Killed Hermann, Lv.90]
[Triggered Gluttony's Blessing: Strength +200,000, Constitution +1,520,000, Intelligence +1,620,000, Agility +830,000]
[Triggered Harvest: Obtained Spirit Mass * 2,000]
[Triggered Inscription: Uncrowned King has inscribed the Talent 'Fooler']
[Obtained 200,000,000 Gold Coins]
[Obtained 10,000,000 Experience Points]
[Obtained Chaos Seal 2, Proof of Cunning and Insidiousness 2, Profane Dagger * 2... 200,000 Free Attribute Points, 2,000 Skill Points]
"Eh? The drop rate for a Level 90 NPC is this high?"
Xie Bai looked at the mountain of rewards from Hermann’s death, feeling a flicker of genuine surprise.
Griffin, whom she had killed earlier, was only Level 87. While his rewards were better than common mobs, they were still just a snack to Xie Bai.
But this Level 90 Hermann was a different story entirely.
While the drops weren't mind-blowing, they provided a visible boost to Xie Bai's strength. Specifically, those 2,000 Skill Points were enough to max out several more skills.
"It looks like Level 90 is a threshold. Once you cross that line, you reach the peak of what the world allows."
The maximum level permitted by the world was Level 99. Anything beyond that entered the realm of Demigods.
"Right, I haven't checked the talents inscribed by Uncrowned King yet."
Xie Bai opened the Uncrowned King’s inscription interface.
[Uncrowned King: Inscriptions]
[Forbidden Ritual: You possess unparalleled talent for rituals. You can easily learn and modify any ritual, elevating them to a Forbidden level while reducing the restrictions imposed by the world. (Source: Griffin)]
[Holy Immunity: You can ignore all Holy Magic and are immune to all attacks possessing Holy attributes. (Source: Holy Undead Soldier)]
[Fooler: Your words possess a stronger power of suggestion. The lower the target's level, the stronger the effect. When the target is ten levels lower than you, the suggestion is guaranteed to succeed. (Source: Hermann)]
[Failed Inscription Records: Undead (Incompatible Race)]
Aside from one race-restricted talent, the other three had been successfully inscribed.
Any one of these talents would be considered incredibly powerful on its own. One for crafting rituals, one for defense against Holy Magic, and one specifically for tricking people.
"The last one seems pretty practical. If I run into other Children of Fate in the future, I can just scam them into my hands."
Next, Xie Bai picked up a dagger radiating an ominous aura.
[Profane Dagger]
A truly sinister curse item. Once struck, the victim suffered an inevitable mental death. There was almost no cure.
"Wait, even the items held by the NPC were doubled by Funeral Rites?"
If that was the case, could she give these two daggers to someone else, kill them, and then use Funeral Rites to duplicate them again?
It seemed worth a try. If she could exploit this bug, she would be truly invincible.
While Xie Bai was pondering how to break the game, Thanatos walked over.
"My Master, here is the food you requested."
Thanatos handed over a large bag of fresh bread. It was straight from the oven, smelling wonderfully of yeast and butter.
"Mmm... smells good. By the way, how much did you pay?"
Thanatos blinked, looking confused.
"What is... 'spending money'?"
Xie Bai suddenly choked.
Great. He just stole it.
"Never mind, forget I asked."
Xie Bai took a bite of a cream bun. "Mmm... Thanatos, was that guy muttering something before he died?"
Thanatos thought for a moment before responding.
"My Master, before he died, he seemed to be shouting something about resurrecting and coming back to take revenge on you."
Coming back for revenge? Resurrection?
Xie Bai looked down at the sword in her hand, Funeral Rites.
[Return to Burial: Units killed by this weapon cannot be resurrected. Rewards dropped upon death are dropped an additional time.]
Pfft...
Why did she feel a sudden urge to laugh?
Xie Bai realized that if Hermann had charged at Thanatos, he actually could have resurrected.
Unfortunately for him, he had underestimated Xie Bai's strength and walked straight down a path of no return.
At that moment, Thanatos asked, "My Master, now that the Void Insect Race has returned to your control, what are your next orders?"
What next?
To be honest, Xie Bai found the prospect of managing the Void Insect Race a bit of a headache.
In her original plan, the Void Insects were supposed to be her experience farm. But now that she controlled them, they were considered friendly units. No more farming.
However, taking control of them wasn't without its uses.
Xie Bai vaguely remembered that the description for the Child of Fate bond mentioned effects that could influence the plot.
And just then, her player panel updated, revealing a new feature.
[Player Forum]