Han Dong carefully examined this female student from the same class.
Messy black hair tied up in a bun,
a gold nose ring,
ivory earrings,
multicolored stone bracelets,
and clothes wrapped in woolen fabric.
Like a young Middle Eastern witch doctor, both her style and appearance made her look more like a Mysticism Apprentice than Han Dong did.
She was probably around Nicholas's age, about nineteen.
The girl stared at the iron box Han Dong was holding, her face full of terror.
"Ah! You've already chosen something? What do we do now... The thing you chose feels dangerous. Weird energy is leaking out from all around the iron box. Can you let me see it?"
"Sure."
After seeing what was inside the iron box, the young girl shuddered violently.
What lay inside was not some "object," but a heap of deeply unsettling things... a large quantity of dried skin, special skin, the layer of skin that covered eyes.
That was precisely why Han Dong had chosen to take the entire iron box with him.
The Middle Eastern girl kept biting her nails as she spoke nervously and fearfully:
"This... this will get people killed.
Why would you choose something like this? Monsters with collecting obsessions are harder to deal with than ordinary evil entities. They're far more obsessive.
It's all your fault. We finally made it through Destiny Space and got the chance to live a good life in the Knight Academy. What are we supposed to do now?"
Han Dong did not care about the girl's attitude or her words at all.
Choosing the iron box had been a decision Han Dong made after careful thought. Looking impatient, he said:
"Hm? This was my choice. What does it have to do with you... Why don't you go to the cabin yourself, pick another item, and pass the test on your own?"
After Han Dong rebuked her so harshly, the girl seemed to realize her mistake. She lowered her head, looking as if she might cry at any moment.
"Well... internal department tests allow teams, and the difficulty doesn't increase.
I've had a terrible sense of direction since I was little. I often got lost in the Holy City and couldn't even find my way home... It took me several days just to get here. I definitely can't make it out alone.
So... I was thinking..."
What caught Han Dong's attention was not the girl's poor sense of direction, but the matter of teaming up, which he had never heard of.
"You said teams are allowed, and the difficulty doesn't increase?"
"Mm-hmm! I asked that administrator when I entered the gates.
So, my original plan was to reach the cabin first, wait for other Knight-Errants to arrive, then choose the test item and team up to clear it... I didn't expect to get lost again and run into you here."
Teaming up did not increase the difficulty.
Without knowing what dangers lay ahead, having one more person in the group would reduce the risk.
Of course... Han Dong also had to consider the potential danger posed by this girl herself.
This test is definitely being monitored by teachers from the Mysticism Department. It would be best not to bring out Miss Chen Li to help, in case I expose information about the prison. But the Ghoul Arm can be used.
The thing inside the iron box really is sinister. If I can clear the test while carrying something this sinister, the evaluation will be much higher. This concerns my future development and resource allocation.
This girl who suddenly appeared has plenty of suspicious points, but there's also a "need" to bring her along.
If she really is a Knight-Errant from the same class, it wouldn't hurt to build a relationship early.
Han Dong recalled his campus life before his death. Despite being an Associate Professor, he had not had a single friend... Whenever he ran into other teachers at the academy, they merely exchanged polite greetings.
Life had been dull.
So much so that when he learned his cancer cells had spread, the only thing he regretted was being unable to complete his research project. As for all the social niceties and personal relationships, there had been nothing worth missing.
"Fine. We'll form a temporary team."
Since gaining the chance to be reborn, Han Dong had gradually begun trying to change himself.
"Great!"
Han Dong suggested, "Introduce yourself first, especially the abilities you currently excel at. Explain them in detail."
Han Dong had experience teaming up with Knight-Errants to resolve dangerous incidents, so he immediately put it to use.
The Middle Eastern girl stuck out her tongue. "Right... I haven't introduced myself yet.
My name is Pasha Buhat. I passed a two-star difficulty Destiny Space a few days ago. Since I learned witchcraft in my tribe for a while, I chose mysticism.
I haven't received systematic training yet... so I only know a few 'divination arts.'"
"Divination arts?"
Han Dong understood what divination was.
It was essentially using external objects—usually specific items such as shells, cards, bamboo slips, and so on—to infer the greater from the lesser and predict what would happen in the future.
"If you only know divination, why do you still get lost?"
Pasha explained:
"Because I'm not very familiar with it yet, so my thoughts get really muddled... Especially after allocating Destiny Points, my divination abilities became stronger. Sometimes I see images from the future in advance, which makes my sense of direction terribly poor.
But don't worry, I'm still 'very useful'!
I can warn us of danger in advance."
Han Dong nodded and began his own introduction. "Mm... My name is Valen Nicholas. I have some combat ability, though I'm not particularly strong."
"A knight specializing in mysticism naturally can't compare with those Crusaders. It's already pretty impressive that you have some combat ability... What I was most worried about was that the two of us would only know divination.
What kind of ability do you have? Can I take a look?"
At Pasha's request,
some sort of green substance flowed through the veins beneath Han Dong's right arm... Swish! His ordinary fingernails suddenly lengthened to around thirty centimeters, sharp and curved.
Just as his entire arm was about to swell and expand, Han Dong immediately stopped the transformation from progressing further.
"Wow! You're a mutated Plague Scholar!?"
"Hm?" Han Dong did not yet understand such professional terminology.
"Hehe, I only read about it in books... I heard that people capable of controlling 'plague' are among the most dangerous types in mysticism, while those capable of 'form transformation' are the most powerful attackers in the field.
I never expected you to possess both traits. That's amazing!"
"Heh heh."
Han Dong wanted to say that it was only a Ghoul Arm. Where had all those explanations come from?
Still, being mistaken for a mysticism ability saved Han Dong the trouble of explaining.
And so, the two formed a team. Han Dong carried the iron box in his backpack as they moved through Dark Moon Forest.
The creaking sounds of branches being squeezed,
the cries of crows,
or the sounds of some enormous insect crawling through the woods, its limbs writhing,
Han Dong and Pasha had already grown accustomed to such noises.
But... mixed among them was another strange sound that made people uncomfortable.
As time passed, the sound grew clearer and clearer.
~Snip~ Snip!
The sound of metal scissors drew nearer from the distance, becoming increasingly distinct. It seemed to be hiding behind the twisted dead tree right beside them.
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