Soul-Guiding and Clues

Two minutes later.

"Where exactly are you taking us!" Cole, who had been following behind Mo Tan, finally couldn't help but shout. This young rogue, who had been entangled with two Crimson Ridge Beasts for nearly five minutes on his own, had reached his limit both mentally and physically. Many wounds on his body were bursting open, and the toxins that had invaded his system were gradually paralyzing his senses and limbs.

Mo Tan stopped upon hearing this, nodded at him, and said in a low voice, "This place is about right. You can rest for a while, and then tell me about..."

"I don't care about that!" Cole's legs gave way the moment the other man finished speaking, and he collapsed to the ground. The corpse that had been strapped to his back also fell to the side. He weakly interrupted Mo Tan, hugged the already lifeless shell beside him, and looked up to ask, "Why did you save me? Why did you make me bring Rona?"

Mo Tan bent down and handed him a healing potion, a playful smile on the small part of his face visible under his hood, "Rona, that beautiful name certainly has one, oh, let me see~"

He brushed aside a few strands of hair from the left side of Rona's face, not minding how terrifying the corpse, which was originally quite beautiful but now had half its face nearly gone, looked at the moment, and nodded, continuing, "Indeed, she has a beautiful owner."

"What are you doing!" Cole, who had recovered a little strength, shouted angrily, "Don't you dare insult her!"

"Insult?" Mo Tan repeated in a low voice, then shook his head at Cole, "Only hypocritical praise is an insult, my friend. Sincere words are not. Can't you see how pure and beautiful her soul is?"

Cole was slightly stunned, and looked down at the girl he had secretly loved for many years in his arms, "Her... soul...?"

As far as Cole knew, there were several types of people in this world who constantly talked about souls. First, there were the priests and priestesses of various religions, but the man in front of him didn't seem like a religious person at all. Although he had no evidence, he was very certain of this...

Of course, we all know that Mo Tan's [Unbeliever] talent was enough to make any evangelist keep a respectful distance from him, and naturally, it could also make others recognize at a glance that this guy was definitely not a religious person.

Of course, for players, this simple and clear talent information would turn into 'temperament', 'feeling', or a real 'talent' in the eyes of NPCs, something that couldn't be explained clearly, so it wouldn't seem too abrupt.

So, excluding the possibility of a religious person, only crazy people with unstable minds and people who spent a lot of time dealing with the dead were left.

Although Mo Tan did give Cole the feeling of being quite crazy, he was more inclined towards the latter at this moment...

Necromancers, spiritists, and cultists all fell into this category. These people's minds were filled with all kinds of broadly defined 'forbidden' knowledge. Although they were regarded as monstrous floods and beasts, chaotic lunatics, and walking evils in many places, there were also many people who secretly associated with them, giving them countless support and help, just to obtain the so-called 'eternity'.

If Cole's attitude towards such people was no different from others before, then now, holding Rona, who had already lost her body temperature, a spark of hope couldn't help but ignite in the depths of his heart.

"Can you help me..." He suddenly grabbed the hem of Mo Tan's robe and said in a trembling voice, "Help me revive Rona! You said it just now, didn't you! She has a beautiful soul! A beautiful soul shouldn't disappear like this, right!!"

Mo Tan smiled with satisfaction. Although his understanding of this world was currently far inferior to any native from a village, this guy was very good at letting others use their own knowledge and experience to convince themselves, preparing countless clear and logical steps for himself to step on firmly.

"Do you know what this is?" Mo Tan didn't answer Cole's question, but instead took out a small gray-white jar from his backpack and handed it to the young rogue, asking. The jar was covered with countless twisting and transforming characters. If you looked closely, you could even see countless faces with different expressions on it, but as long as your attention relaxed even a little, you would never be able to distinguish them again.

[Soul-Guiding Bottle]

Epic Item

Use: Capture Soul / Release Soul

Special Restriction: Non-[Lawful] Alignment

Effect: Capture the soul from a life that has died within 13 hours and store it inside. There is no storage time limit. The shorter the time since death, the higher the integrity of the soul. The Soul-Guiding Bottle can only hold one soul.

※If a second soul is absorbed into it, the first soul will immediately collapse※

[Note: Only powerful masters of soul knowledge can create it. This advanced soul-binding creation can be an essential material for various forbidden items. Moreover, the soul inside will not be subjected to any torture. Whether you are a skilled advanced alchemist, a necromancer in urgent need of a temporary soul box, or a rich person who can afford such a special 'urn', it is a very good choice. ps: Even kind people don't mind dealing with it, but those who follow the rules obviously don't think so.]

Cole honestly shook his head. At this time, even the most astute rogue would not choose to lie, but his eyes had gradually become eager. After all, something that looked so impressive was obviously not something a madman could take out casually.

"Of course you don't know~" Mo Tan shrugged, "To tell you bluntly, this thing is called a Soul-Guiding Bottle. It has many uses and is easy to operate. One of its functions I find very useful, such as... storing a soul that hasn't had time to dissipate, so that one day it can bathe in that annoying sunlight again."

Cole's whole body was trembling with ecstasy and excitement. Of course, there might be a little bit of pain caused by his wounds, but that wasn't important. What was most important to him now was...

"I'm just an insignificant rogue apprentice, but if you can help me..." Cole knelt down in front of Mo Tan and said in a deep voice, "I can pay any price, including my life!"

[Although different, these words are somewhat familiar...]

Mo Tan suddenly thought of Medi's last words. Everything in front of him was so similar to that time, except that this time he didn't have any tasks that were detrimental to Cole, and if he used the Soul-Guiding Bottle now, the soul named Rona would undoubtedly be relatively complete, unlike the wisp of remnant soul residing in Medi's ring, which had no hope of revival.

So he wasn't reluctant to give this infatuated human young man a little help now.

"Remember what you said." Mo Tan's voice suddenly became a little cold. He pointed the Soul-Guiding Bottle at Rona's corpse and said slowly, "I'm not a philanthropist."

A hazy white light lit up from the corpse in Cole's arms, then floated up a little bit, circled around him for a moment, and then was sucked into the bottle in Mo Tan's hand with a 'whoosh', disappearing after emitting a spiritual murmur.

The system prompt sounded in Mo Tan's ear:

[The Soul-Guiding Bottle has absorbed a new soul, its integrity is 94%]

It seems to have succeeded...

"What did you do?" Cole also felt a very obvious change. The fleeting white light made him feel a strange palpitation, as if Rona had come back to life and was gently telling him something in his ear, but when he lowered his head, the cold corpse was still lying quietly in his arms, without any vitality.

Mo Tan gestured to the Soul-Guiding Bottle in his hand, then put it into his backpack and said leisurely, "I helped you preserve her soul, leaving a glimmer of possibility. As for whether this possibility will become a reality, it depends on your performance... Don't ask me too many questions. I have neither the obligation to tell you everything nor the noble qualities to maintain my patience..."

"Yes!" Cole replied quickly, then stood up and gave Mo Tan the highest salute he knew. Although it was a bit awkward for a rogue to hold a dagger to his heart and bow ninety degrees, this slightly awkward knight's pledge of allegiance still conveyed his feelings at the moment very well.

Mo Tan nodded with satisfaction, found a relatively flat place nearby to sit down, and gestured to Cole that he didn't need to stand there like an idiot. Then he asked, "Now tell me, who are you people, and why were you attacked in this place? Be as detailed as possible."

"My name is Cole. Shuze, and I'm a student at Pading Knight Academy." Cole replied immediately, then glanced at the corpse of the elven girl in his arms, and continued in a slightly hoarse voice, "She is my classmate—Rona. Yuehui, and like me, a member of the second-year Warm Sun Squad. We..."

Mo Tan sighed and interrupted, "Put her down first. The corpse in your arms is just a shell now. If you're willing, you can bury her here later."

Cole reluctantly put Rona's body aside, forced himself to calm down, and continued to tell Mo Tan the whole story of this accident...

After Cole's explanation, Mo Tan finally understood what had happened, and also gained some unexpected rewards~

Every year, the Month of Gales and the Month of Stars are the times for the Pading Knight Academy's comprehensive tests, which are divided into two parts: a theoretical written test for each corresponding subject and a team combat exercise. The Warm Sun Squad was attacked on the way back after completing the combat exercise.

Two Crimson Ridge Beasts, which would never have appeared in this place, came at once, and despite their inherent lack of vision, they stared at the Warm Sun Squad, not even leaving them a chance to escape. Whether it was sound interference or diverting the tiger away from the mountain, everyone tried everything, but they still couldn't get rid of the entanglement of these two monsters, and were forced all the way from the wilderness to this forest...

Then, the water mage apprentice Rona died, and the other three members were escaping as much as possible towards Pato City, where the academy was located, under Cole's cover. As for what happened next, Mo Tan, who had been observing in the dark for a while, basically already knew.

[Side Quest Triggered: Save the Warm Sun Squad, Reward: Optional Experience 200]

[Hidden quest triggered: Resurrect Rona. Yuehui, Reward: ???]

The unexpected system prompt rang in Mo Tan's ears. Having browsed the forums for a while, he didn't yet know about the hidden quest setting, but he was still quite confident that his actions this time could trigger a side quest. Another unexpected gain was... Cole's own Warm Sun Squad's personnel composition!

The mage Rona. Yuehui, the rogue Cole. Shulen, the cleric Ai. Fanye, the greatsword wielder Lada. Duona, and the knight Dave. Sager.

"Dave..." Mo Tan gently rubbed his forehead, then stood up and said to Cole, "Go back to Pato City first, find the cheapest inn, and don't contact anyone."

Cole was taken aback, "Then what about you..."

"I'll come find you." Mo Tan replied calmly, then activated his stealth and sped away into the distance with his high Dexterity.

He already had a hunch, but he needed to verify it.

[Reconnection starting...]

[Connection complete, reading character information]

[Chaotic Evil Mo, welcome to Innocent World]

A bleak sky...

Desolate ruins...

Endless corpses and blood...

Mo looked at the 'city' behind him, wailing with curses and pain, and let out a suppressed, maniacal laugh. Then, he tightened the gray cloak around him and continued to walk along the path, leaving the ghostly scene behind.

The repression of the past years had been mostly released earlier, and he had accumulated some equipment and experience in that extremely joyful massacre. What he needed to do now was to leave this place as soon as possible. As for the destination... who cares... at least he wasn't in a hurry to think about it now...

But he did have a general goal.

A drop of cool, muddy water hit Mo's face. The sky began to weep without warning... it was raining.

A roar suddenly rang out beside the quiet mountain road. A strange beast with a peculiar appearance came running from not far away, and it didn't seem to intend to avoid Mo, who was standing on the path, as it charged head-on towards him.

Then, a hand wrapped in black flames stretched out from under the cloak and pressed down on the head of the beast that was three parts pig and seven parts bull.

[Dark Ignition]

Active Skill

Mastery requirements: Intelligence 40, Constitution 50, possess the 'Black Warlock' class

Consumption/Restriction: 30 Mana/second, 30 Health/second, [Chaotic] alignment

Effect: Unleash black magic flames from your body, inflicting a large amount of fire/darkness elemental damage on the target and applying the 'Dark Ignition' effect. The effect is halved against undead creatures and will not trigger special effects. Cooldown: None

[Note: This is a mixed magic created by my grandfather, the famous theoretical black warlock Spoon. Riddle, but no one, including himself, has ever been able to use it, because from a warlock's point of view, this spell, which requires even more physical fitness than magic, is simply screwing over his grandson! - Riddle III, who burned off his right hand]

With a wail, the monster instantly turned into a pile of charred bones, and Mo, as the caster, didn't even pause for half a second. He just silently retracted his hand into his cloak and continued forward.

Then he was blocked...

A tall figure wearing simple leather armor, with large areas of fair skin exposed, stood in front of him.

"That was my prey." The beautiful dark elf frowned slightly, her long silver hair swaying in the wind behind her. She glanced at the pile of bones behind Mo, and then coldly asked Mo, "Did you kill it?"

Mo didn't answer, but just looked up slightly at this silver-haired girl who didn't seem to know any better, and was stunned for a moment.

He seemed to have seen this cold, pretty face somewhere before.

If he remembered correctly...

This girl should be a player, named Ji Xiaodao, and she had even eaten at the same table with him not long ago.

Chapter 10: End

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