Prelude

The storm is receding.

A man and a woman stood in front of a dilapidated hotel, preparing to head to their next destination.

After a brief conversation, it was learned that the white-haired girl's name was Agatha Strasser, and she was Iron Pillar Nun, a member of the Order of the Prologue.

Luo Di briefly told Mr. Hook his name and how he met him.

Ga~

After leaving the inn, the raven perched on Luo Di's shoulder quickly condensed into a crow-foal form.

Agatha had no mount; she appears to have arrived on foot.

Just as Luo Di was considering whether to invite the other party to ride the crow colt together.

Agatha crouched down and placed her palms on the ground.

Visible to the naked eye, streams of molten metal flowed between the veins and converged toward the palm, seemingly resonating with the matter beneath the ground.

As her arm gradually rose...

A large amount of metallic material was found peeled off from the ground.

The result was a thick iron rod over two meters long, larger and thicker than the one she had used to destroy rats, and more like a vertical pillar used in construction.

Agatha immediately followed up with a throwing motion, aiming it towards the Bridge of Sins.

"You ride the crow colt first, and once we've determined your speed, I'll catch up."

"OK."

Luo Di, gripping the chains on the raven colt, transformed into a ghostly black shadow and dashed away.

After determining the raven's running speed, Agatha immediately tensed all her muscles and threw the large Iron Rod in her hand with almost all her might.

The moment she threw the Iron Rod, her lower limbs exploded with even greater instantaneous speed, leaping up and landing steadily on the surface of the high-speed flying Iron Rod.

Flying close to the ground while stepping on the Iron Rod, its speed was just enough to catch up with the crow, and the two were completely parallel.

"This..."

Luo Di was shocked by the opponent's power and also discovered the peculiarity of this method of movement.

Pure force cannot sustain the Iron Rod in flight; it merely provides an initial velocity.

The entire Pain Plains has a high metal content. The Iron Rod that Agatha peeled off should have been given some kind of magnetism, which would allow it to fly continuously through magnetic force, just like a maglev train.

Just as Luo Di was observing the other's peculiar way of moving, Agatha pointed ahead and said:

"The torture chambers under Lord Hook's control are located at the deepest part. After we cross the Bridge of Sins, you just need to go straight along the west avenue. If you encounter prisoner transport vehicles along the way, it means you're on the right track."

The rat is dead; I only need to return to the Grand Monastery to report.

Luo Di picked up on a keyword and, taking advantage of the moment while on the move, inquired about it:

"Grand Monastery? Could you please explain the composition of the introductory group?"

I only had contact with Mr. Hook through a "node" in our world, and could only move within the torture chamber; I knew nothing about the structure of the entire protogroup.

"Lord Hook didn't tell you about such basic things... In fact, the composition of the Order is very simple."

The so-called "Order" corresponds to the 26 letters of Hell, which is the lifelong goal pursued by Hell Monk, and some have already gained the recognition of the letters and become members of the Order group.

It is important to note that the alphabetical order is unrelated to their strength or authority; it merely represents their characteristics.

In the beginning of the creation of the True Hell.

The meaning of the letters was thus established and remains unchanged.

Currently, ten monks have successfully acquired letters, discarding their former names and becoming true "prologue members".

Lord Hook is one of them, having acquired the letter H (hook), which represents a hook, and is the spokesperson for punishment.

Some of the sinners in the True Hell will be sent to his torture chamber.

"You're not a member?"

"I am merely Iron Pillar Nun, with less than three years of cultivation experience. I haven't even crossed the ' Gate of Demon Ascension,' and my cultivation journey is far from over."

"Do the other members of the Order also control territories similar to torture chambers, like Mr. Hook?"

There are only three people in charge of the [special agency].

The rest of the members all stayed in one place, which could be considered the main city of the entire prologue – the Grand Monastery. This was the final destination of the Suffering Pilgrimage, and also the place where I mainly lived and experienced suffering.

If you're interested, Luo Di, you can come and take a look after you go to the torture chamber.

"You are Lord Hook's disciple. Even without becoming a monk by proper channels, the Grand Monastery will welcome you."

"Okay, I'll come and take a look then..."

Luo Di was already very interested in the Prelude. Since there was no time limit on the Emissary Journey, he would definitely go to the monks' main city to see the different types of metals and appreciate the so-called painful cultivation. Perhaps he would even have some unexpected gains.

"By the way, what can we get for this head?" Luo Di reached out and patted the dark the Devil head on the side of the horse's back.

"Hold on."

Agatha pulled a parchment Wanted Poster from the side of her clothes, which detailed the Wanted Poster of the rat.

<Hell Wanted Poster - Scylla: The Black Rat Tail>

The relevant information is nothing more than the rat's rank, habits, activity area, and the crimes it committed.

"Reward Requirements": Kill Scylla and throw part of its corpse into any Hell Rift to receive a small amount of Hell Contribution.

Agatha guessed that Luo Di was unfamiliar with these terms and began to explain, "Hell Contribution, you can think of it as a special currency that is directly tied to you."

There are two ways to consume it.

First, you can offset your sins in hell with contributions.

Secondly, you can make purchases directly at the [Hell Merchant Group], where you can buy virtually anything. Judging from your current equipment, it seems to originate from your world. If you accumulate enough contribution points, you could check out the merchant guild; Hell gear might be more suitable for you right now.

How can I join a merchant caravan?

"The merchant guild's location isn't fixed; they're always active in the True Hell, and whether you encounter them depends entirely on luck... Of course, if you happen to receive an invitation from the merchant guild, you can be teleported there directly. I'm not entirely sure how to get it."

"My current contribution probably won't get me much in return, right?"

"Yes, the goods from merchant groups are generally of higher quality, and naturally, the prices are also relatively expensive. I estimate you'll need to kill another 3 to 4 similar Wanted Criminal before you can buy the good stuff that suits you."

"OK, thanks."

Agatha's gaze shifted slightly, and the metal tube inserted into her neck seemed to slow her breathing.

He glanced at Luo Di, noticing his appearance and clothing, which were completely different from those of the Devil.

"It's about a four-hour journey to the Bridge of Sin. Mr. Di, could you share with me your native world? I've never stepped out of Hell, and my activities are basically limited to the vicinity of the Prologue... To be honest, it's a little boring."

"Um."

Seeing Luo Di nod in agreement, Agatha's tiny white pupils slowly widened, revealing a sense of excitement and longing.

Luo Di explained the situation on Earth in a simple, story-like manner, mainly focusing on the structure of the Federated States and the threats in the corners.

Agatha showed great interest when discussing concepts such as the Mind Corner and the Pseudo-Human.

Since he had plenty of time, Luo Di also recounted his first simulation as a story.

Because Agatha lived in Grand Monastery, she was exposed to very bitter and dry content every day. When she first heard this story, she almost fell off the iron pillar when she heard the climax.

As she recounted the tongue-twisting the Devil, she also realized something:

"Luo Di, you inherited this trait too, didn't you? It seems that it was this snapping sound that allowed you to see through the rat's act."

"Um."

"Incredible~ No matter how you look at it, your tongue is related to evil plays, but it doesn't have the characteristics of evil plays itself."

This tongue seems to be linked to the spine; it is the reinforcement provided by the spine that allows the tongue to produce a strong mental cleansing effect.

"Hmm~ I guess my tongue was the trigger for my encounter with hell, and as I've grown, its effects have only increased."

Agatha suddenly realized something, "Maybe one of the important aspects of the 'outing' arranged for you by the Spine Guardians is to let you get a head start on the mischief~ Anyway, let's wait until you meet Lord Hook before we talk about it."

Alright! Now you can continue your story.

How did you survive encountering such a cruel and the Devil?

Luo Di continued to tell the story.

Agatha was completely engrossed in listening.

"This is so interesting... I've never heard a story like this before."

Moreover, your partners are all great; without the cooperation of any one of them, it would be a dead end!

However, the 'class monitor' in this story feels a bit out of place. She doesn't seem like a human being handling an incident for the first time. She seems to know everything about the situation and is just pretending to be unfamiliar with it.

Of course, I might be overthinking it.

Can you give me a sneak peek at what the class monitor is like?

"Let's talk about it later."

"Oh, okay... the Bridge of Sins is just ahead. Time really flies."