Chapter 35: Probing

"Come here, my darlings."

Dave whispered in a voice suppressed to an unnatural degree. The mist in his hands had completely permeated the area, acting like a medium that allowed his low murmurs to echo frantically throughout the clearing at a startlingly high frequency. It sounded as if thousands of people were whispering in unison, yet they were eerily synchronized, devoid of any jarring noise.

The two Red-Spined Beasts took two steps forward simultaneously, lowering their bodies until they were inches from Dave, remaining motionless.

"Very good," the temporary paladin smiled slightly. He gripped his holy silver greatsword with both hands, raised it high above his head, and laughed wildly. "You are joyful! You are happy!"

With a gust of wind, the giant sword, imbued with divine power, whistled through the air and crashed down, shattering the forepaw of one of the monsters. A follow-up horizontal sweep sliced several bone spurs off the back of the other.

"You are peaceful! You are obedient!"

Splattered blood fell toward Dave, but was repelled by the invisible force radiating from his silver armor. As he channeled this unknown power, the radiance surrounding him—resembling the grace of a deity—grew even more intense.

He continued to mutter softly, his blade dancing and wreaking havoc—or rather, inflicting torture—upon the two Red-Spined Beasts. Yet, the creatures maintained an eerie sense of serenity. Even as blood flowed from them in streams and the wounds Dave inflicted appeared gruesome beyond measure, they remained prone, as if fast asleep. If one looked closely, it was truly bizarre to see them appearing as if they were enjoying the experience.

"You sing! You praise!"

The greatsword in his hands flipped and turned as if weightless, continuously hacking and gouging the two beasts. Dave’s strength was already formidable, and bolstered by that seemingly effective temporary enhancement, he was like a man possessed, quickly torturing the two beasts—which showed no signs of resistance—to the brink of death. Even so, they harbored no intent to fight back, peacefully allowing themselves to be slaughtered.

"You are devout! You bow in submission!" Dave leapt into the air, flipping downward to swing his sword. For a fleeting moment, a holy emblem appeared behind him—the emblem of the God of Courage and Justice, whom he ‘worshipped’!

Two massive monster heads rolled to the ground. Dave planted his greatsword beside him, his eyes clouded and intoxicated. He spread his arms and groaned hoarsely, "We, who are devout..."

Then, he exploded.

Well, to be precise, half of the armor on Dave’s body shattered with a loud bang. A multitude of ghastly, terrifying wounds appeared on his person, and even the greatsword, which had been pristine save for the blood, became covered in countless scratches. In the blink of an eye, Dave was severely wounded, looking as though he might breathe his last at any moment.

Yet, there was no trace of pain on his face; instead, he looked radiant.

"Hmm, it would be better if it were more severe." Dave examined his battered body and ruined armor for a moment, then frowned and raised his intact left arm. "My arm is about to break..."

*Bang!!*

As if struck by an invisible warhammer, Dave’s previously unharmed arm was instantly twisted into a grotesque angle, and even his shoulder and arm guards manifested several deep dents. It looked exactly as if he had been struck by a massive force.

"That’s about right." Dave nodded with satisfaction, used his remaining good hand to pull the greatsword from the ground and sheath it on his back, then walked over to pick up the head of one of the Red-Spined Beasts, turning to leave.

Unexpectedly...

"Is there a need to be in such a hurry?"

A frivolous voice drifted from nearby. Dave turned sharply to see a figure cloaked entirely in grey robes slowly emerging from behind a tree, nodding slightly in greeting.

As everyone has likely guessed by now, over twelve hundred words into this chapter, the main character has finally made his entrance.

But Dave, lacking an omniscient perspective, was stunned, eyeing this stranger who had appeared out of nowhere with suspicion. "Who are you?"

"Does it really matter who I am?" Mo Tan shrugged. "I think what’s more important to you is what I have seen and heard, and how much of it."

Sweat beaded on Dave’s forehead, but he forced himself to remain calm and sneered, "It seems you know quite a bit, then?"

"Not that much, really," Mo Tan said, spreading his hands. "I just learned what kind of person you are from someone I happened to save, and I saw some interesting things just now. It’s nowhere near the level of needing to silence me."

*Are you kidding me?! You call this not needing to be silenced?!*

Regardless of whether that was truly what Dave was thinking, his expression was certainly unpleasant.

"Don’t worry, those two little fellows were already done for when I found them," Mo Tan lied casually, speaking with great composure. "And they don’t have the strength to crawl back to the city to expose you anytime soon, so don’t be so nervous."

Upon hearing this, Dave’s complexion improved significantly. He forced a strained smile. "Is... is that so? I’m sure there must be some misunderstanding. Actually, I..."

"A misunderstanding?" Mo Tan raised an eyebrow, sighing helplessly. "This is truly beyond my expectations. You wouldn't... really only be at this level, would you?"

Dave had already set down the head of the Red-Spined Beast and was quietly moving his right hand behind his back, laughing dryly. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Is this the level of guile and sophistication of a near-single-celled organism..." Mo Tan sighed softly and shook his head at the other man. "Very well, let’s proceed to the second test."

Where Mo Tan could not see, the wounds on Dave’s body were recovering at a visible rate. Pale-faced, he asked, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"I saw you finish off those two monsters." Mo Tan gestured to the two headless, dead Red-Spined Beasts nearby and shrugged. "I’m just curious how you did it. If it’s for some interesting reason, I think I could help you out, provided you satisfy my curiosity..."

Dave immediately put on a devout face. "That was the power granted to me by the God of Courage and Justice. He allowed me, in the process of seeking vengeance for my companions, to have..."

"Enough." Mo Tan cut him off crudely, his voice suddenly turning cold. "I think I’m wasting my time. Then, one last confirmation..."

"You!"

"Let’s have a moment of silence..."

Skill activated—[Coax]!

Dave stopped speaking. He didn’t know why he had suddenly gone silent, but he felt that the person before him certainly didn’t want to harm him, that he wanted what was best for him...

The bizarre silence between the two lasted for nearly a minute!

Only then did Dave snap out of it, exclaiming, "What did you do?!"

"Ah... nothing much..." Mo Tan’s voice sounded listless. "I just learned exactly how pitiful your intelligence is."

Let us recall the effect of the [Coax] skill:
[Coax a target into viewing you as a friendly unit. Success rate and duration depend on the target’s mental state and the intelligence of both parties. Cooldown: 1 hour.]

Everything was implied...

"You cannot resist!!" Dave suddenly roared, charging toward Mo Tan. His greatsword was unsheathed in an instant, sweeping toward the latter with a bright silver trail.

A powerful sense of helplessness washed over him. For some reason, Mo Tan suddenly felt that this battered man before him was invincible—incredibly, terrifyingly strong!

But what of it?

"I never thought I could beat you anyway~" Mo Tan rolled his eyes, drew a dagger from his waist with his backhand, held it in front of him, and whispered, "But your power seems quite interesting~"

Reverse-grip spin strike!

*Clang!*

A harsh clashing sound erupted. Having lost a portion of his health in an instant, Mo Tan turned and slashed out a cold glint, his short dagger stabbing straight at Dave’s left eye.

"Your struggle is in vain!" Seeing Mo Tan’s bravado was just a front, Dave didn’t dodge, simply whispering those words.

Mo Tan’s dagger strangely slid past his cheek; the strike that should have pierced the eyeball left only a faint bloodstain on Dave’s face.

"Interesting!"

Mo Tan was, after all, faster than the armored knight. He ducked and darted behind Dave, his dagger dancing as it slashed toward Dave’s neck.

[Throat Slit]
Subterfuge School active skill.
Requirement: Subterfuge School Level 1.
Cost/Restriction: 20 Acuity, equipped with a bladed short weapon.
Effect: Performs a rapid cut to the target’s throat, gaining a bonus from Weak Point Strike, with a chance to inflict 2 seconds of Silence. Attacking from behind guarantees Silence and triggers a Bleed effect. Cooldown: 2 minutes.
[Note: There are many ways to make someone shut up, and the simplest and most direct is to deliver a heavy blow to their trachea.]

Blood splattered, but it had no substantial effect. The cut on the throat caused him no real harm; the gap in their strength was simply too great. Even setting Dave aside, Mo Tan likely couldn't even beat Cole at this stage.

But he had never intended to kill Dave here; he just wanted to confirm a few things...

The moment Dave turned around, two daggers were already deeply embedded in his shoulders!

[Swift Stab]
Subterfuge School active skill.
Requirement: Subterfuge School Level 4, 10 Dexterity.
Cost/Restriction: 60 Acuity.
Effect: Performs a rapid thrust at a target within a 5-meter radius, dealing moderate damage and instantly returning to the original position. During the process, you have a 100% chance to dodge any physical attack that is not theoretically unavoidable. Cooldown: 1 hour.
[Note: Once upon a time, the word 'fast' was used to praise one another, not to mock.]

This strike allowed Mo Tan to dodge the sword Dave swung upon turning and successfully inflicted some damage.

And...

[So it’s useless while in a Silenced state, I see~]

After the strike, Mo Tan withdrew and retreated immediately, simultaneously activating the escape skill that had kept him confident.

Mo Tan’s figure flickered in place and vanished from Dave’s field of vision. Only a hysterical, echoing laughter remained in the air~

"Ha... Hahaha! Tremble! Shudder! Be afraid! Oh 'Hero' favored by the gods, return to your fragile and cheap stage, strike the final knell for yourself, and open your arms to embrace true glory!!"

[Escape]
Subterfuge School active skill.
Requirement: Subterfuge School Level 5.
Cost/Restriction: 50% of current maximum HP.
Effect: Cloaks all your presence, raising stealth level to the maximum. Duration: 10 seconds. During this time, movement speed increases by 150%. Using skills or making any offensive moves will cancel this effect. Once the escape duration ends, your Stamina and Acuity caps and movement speed will drop to 10% of their normal values, recovering at a rate of 5%/minute. Cooldown: 12 hours.
[Note: If you are going to run, please focus. Worrying about what happens after you are caught is just adding unnecessary trouble.]

...

[Mental connection detected. Synchronizing personal information.]
[Connection complete. Reading character information.]
[Welcome back, Lawful Good Mo. Loading into Innocence World. Good night.]

When Mo Tan appeared at No. 11 Incense Boulevard in the Anka Bazaar, the time in the game was just past noon. The fragrance of soil and the warm sunlight in the courtyard made him feel a bit sleepy...

Wait...

Fragrance of soil?!

Recalling the scene of chaos in his memory just before this character was kicked offline, Mo Tan gasped, quickly looked up...

"Huh?"

The giant carnivorous plants that were too wide for two orcs to reach around, the thorny, fanged vines, and countless other unnameable plants that Mo Tan remembered were all gone!

[I guess this quest was completed by someone else...]

He sighed at the barren courtyard, deeply feeling his own lack of power, and turned to leave.

Mo Tan planned to return to the Adventurers' Guild first. There had been too many unexpected developments during this time; his original plan had been completely derailed. Not only had he failed to complete a single quest, but his strength had seen absolutely zero improvement.

He felt truly melancholy...

And then, just over ten minutes later, the moment he stepped into the first-floor hall of the Adventurers' Guild, something even more melancholy awaited him!

"That’s him!!!"

A joyous roar came from somewhere, and Mo Tan was instantly swamped by the crowd.

In the midst of the chaos, he heard several shouts...

"Is that his dog?!"
"Yes, yes! I saw them together!"
"Damn, the victims of Ms. Molly and the Gulu family have finally been found!"
"I heard Lady Molly is about to go insane."
"Of course. If you pushed open your door and found half your house demolished, you’d go crazy too."
"A half-dragon, a dog, that’s him!"
"Hold him down!"

Mo Tan: "???"

Chapter 35: End