Thud! Immediately afterward, Linsey heard the sound of something heavy hitting the ground behind him.
He turned around and saw that the corpse which had been relentlessly pursuing him moments ago had already collapsed onto the ground.
After the red light flashed, it lost all ability to move.
Now it lay sprawled on the ground, as though it had returned to its frozen, rigid state as a corpse, as if it had never revived at all.
He...
Was safe? It was help from the town! Realizing this, Linsey, who had been standing on one foot, plopped down onto the ground.
"Phew—"
He let out a heavy breath.
After thinking for a moment, Linsey put his shoes back on before looking ahead.
At that moment, Ju and an elderly Nun dressed in a black clerical robe appeared through a gap in the trees.
The Old Nun's black, clouded eyes stared ahead.
The cold wind of winter stirred the hem of her black robes. Like a drifting dark cloud, she slowly approached Linsey and, just as she had at the church entrance a few days ago, extended her withered hand in aid.
"Linsey, can you stand?"
"Godmother..."
The person Ju had gone to for help was Linsey's Godmother! The red light that had arrived in an instant had also been this Nun of the School of Death, using her own skill to defeat the revived corpse once more.
The moment he saw Red Moon, a wave of reassurance welled up in his heart.
The tension in Linsey's heart finally eased. He nodded, braced his hands against the ground, and stood up again.
Red Moon examined Linsey and naturally noticed the wound on his chest. She then asked slowly and seriously, "Were you hurt by that undead corpse?"
Linsey shook his head.
"No. There was clearly something wrong with that corpse, so I did my best not to get hit by it. As for this wound, I got it when I encountered an Ice Badger earlier. My Life Source Material is resisting the cold's erosion, so it isn't a serious problem for now."
Red Moon made no obvious display of emotion.
She merely placed her hand atop Linsey's head and sensed the condition of her godson. Only after confirming that his Life Source Material was functioning normally did she finally withdraw her hand.
Linsey was fine.
Life Source Material was closely tied to its user's life.
By examining the physical condition of an awakened person who used this type of Essence, one could learn quite a bit from that alone.
After confirming Linsey's condition, Red Moon's tone returned completely to calm. "That's good. Let's go back and treat your wound first."
Ju hurried forward from the side, guilt in his eyes. "Brother Linsey, I ran away first..."
Linsey immediately stopped Ju from blaming himself. "I told you to go get help. That was absolutely not running away!"
"And look, both of us have been saved now. Nobody was hurt—that's the best possible result. And if we're only talking about my safety, I only survived because you went for help... Mm."
Linsey had said too much in one breath.
The injury left by the Ice Cone in his chest made him want to cough, but he did not want the two beside him to worry.
He forcibly held it back, and his last words came out faltering.
"Brother Linsey?" Ju supported Linsey's arm with concern.
"I'm fine." Linsey smiled and shook his head. To show that he was all right, he took the initiative to ask Red Moon, "Godmother, what was going on with that corpse?"
"When I looked at it before, it clearly showed no reaction at all. But then it suddenly started moving, and it was, it was incredibly difficult to deal with."
Red Moon answered in an even tone.
"That was a dead person disturbed by Ancient Sin."
"The School of Death was originally founded to deal with such problems."
Linsey asked curiously, "Ancient Sin? What was that?"
Red Moon explained in her usual tone, "It was history so ancient that it can no longer be traced. Now, only fragments of legend remain in the world. According to the Codex Cosedon, shadows once lurked in the darkness, threatening all the goodness in the world."
"The forces of Justice in the world gathered to resist them and achieved victory. But a certain special influence spread from that time onward, making it impossible for the dead to rest easily."
"..."
Linsey could understand the concept of undead revival. After all, games he had played in his previous life had included such things.
But the place where he was now was a living, breathing world.
Based on the information Red Moon had given him, it meant that in this world, death had once simply been death. There had been no corpses rising or undead reviving.
But because of a war between good and evil.
The rule of the dead reviving had begun to interfere with reality, allowing the dead of countless worlds to rise again...
What level of power did such a force involve? "Linsey? Ju!"
As Linsey pondered this new information.
Dan's voice rang out from the forest.
The Female Hunter darted between the trees, moving so quickly that her actions were almost impossible to see.
A few minutes earlier, she had pursued and killed the magical beast lurking in the woods.
But when she returned, she saw the bodies of three dead Ice Badgers, as well as the missing Linsey and Ju. Her heart nearly leaped into her throat.
Now she rushed over with an anxious expression.
When she saw the two children standing here with Nun Red Moon, she first breathed a sigh of relief, admitted her mistake, and only then explained her actions. "Sorry. This was my failure."
"Earlier in the forest, I discovered an unusually robust Ice Badger. It should have been the leader of this group of Ice Badgers..."
Dan's voice abruptly stopped.
She saw the corpse that should not have been lying here. After a moment of stunned disbelief, Dan suddenly realized what it was. "Wait?! This is an undead corpse?"
Red Moon nodded, giving Dan an affirmative answer.
"That's right. It is an undead corpse."
Dan's eyes widened, her tone filled with utter disbelief. "How is that possible? Leize had been dead for at least three days. How could the corpse of an ordinary person who had never mastered Essence suddenly become active after so long?"
Red Moon analyzed the situation in a calm tone.
"Perhaps the heavy snow and low temperatures preserved the state of his remains. Then, if he encountered the stimulation of Essence at this time, an accident would not be impossible."
Dan thought of the Ice Cone wounds on Leize's corpse, as well as the two young awakened people she had left at the scene.
That could indeed explain what had happened before them.
But it also meant that she had left two children beside a dangerous undead corpse!
Dan clenched both fists and stared intently at Red Moon.
"This is all my responsibility."
But Red Moon did not directly answer the Female Hunter. Instead, in her calm tone, she offered an unbiased response.
"I merely proposed one possibility. I was not describing the truth."
"..."
The two awakened people discussed the undead corpse.
Normally, Linsey would have listened closely to their discussion and committed every piece of knowledge to memory.
But now, his mind wandered.
Because after the Female Hunter appeared and reunited with them.
The mechanical notification belonging to the Game Player sounded in Linsey's mind—twice in succession!
Task Completed RPG Module ability upgraded, level: 3 RPG Module acquired new skill—Personal Baggage. ---- Second Module unlocked Essence successfully inserted Hunting Simulation Module logged in
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