Trial

"Come here~ my dears~"

Dave whispered in a voice that was unnaturally restrained. The mist around his hands had completely spread out, acting like some kind of medium that made his whispers echo wildly across the clearing at an astonishing frequency...

It was as if hundreds of people were whispering at the same time, yet their voices fell into an eerie rhythm and did not seem noisy or grating.

The two Crimson Ridge Beasts simultaneously stepped forward twice, lowered themselves, and lay motionless barely a foot in front of Dave.

"Very good~" The temporary Holy Knight smiled faintly, tightened both hands around the holy silver greatsword, raised it high above his head, and laughed madly. "You are joyous! You are happy!"

Accompanied by a fierce gust of wind, the enormous sword imbued with holy power howled through the air and crashed down, brutally shattering one monster's foreclaw. Then, with another horizontal sweep, it sliced off several of the bone spines on the other's back.

"You are serene! You are obedient!"

The splashing blood landed on Dave's body, but was blocked from reaching him by the invisible force radiating from his silver armor. At the same time, as he drove that unknown power, the radiance around Dave—like the grace of a god—grew increasingly intense.

He softly muttered as the blade in his hands danced, crazily destroying... or rather, torturing the two Crimson Ridge Beasts. Yet the latter maintained an eerie serenity throughout. Even though blood poured from their bodies, even though the wounds Dave inflicted were hideous beyond description, they still lay in place as though asleep.

If one looked closely, one could even see that they seemed to be enjoying something. It was deeply bizarre.

"You sing praises! You exalt!"

The greatsword in his hands seemed as light as nothing as it swung up and down, repeatedly hacking into the bodies of the two Crimson Ridge Beasts. Dave was not weak to begin with, and now he had received a seemingly highly effective temporary enhancement. He looked as if he had eaten some miraculous fertilizer, and soon tortured the two completely unresisting Crimson Ridge Beasts to the verge of death.

Even so, they still showed no intention of resisting, serenely allowing themselves to be butchered.

"You are devout! You bow your heads and submit!" Dave leaped into the air, swung his sword downward while hanging upside down, and in that instant, a holy radiance appeared behind him—the holy radiance of the God of Courage and Justice he "worshiped"!

The two enormous monster heads rolled to the ground. Dave reversed his grip and planted the greatsword beside him, his eyes clouded and intoxicated. He spread his arms and rasped, "We are devout..."

Then he exploded.

Well, more precisely, half the armor covering Dave's body suddenly exploded. Countless hideous wounds then appeared across his body, and even the greatsword beside him—which was otherwise intact apart from being covered in blood—developed countless scratches.

In the blink of an eye, Dave was gravely wounded, looking as though he might die at any moment.

Yet there was not the slightest trace of pain on his face. Instead, he looked full of vigor.

"Hmm, it'd be best if it were a little more severe." Dave examined his battered body and ruined armor for a while, then suddenly frowned and raised his intact left arm.

"My arm is going to break..."

Bang!!

As though it had been smashed by an invisible war hammer, Dave's previously uninjured arm was instantly twisted into a bizarre angle. Even the shoulder guard and arm guard developed several dents.

It looked exactly as though something had struck him with tremendous force.

"That should do it." Dave nodded in satisfaction. With the hand that was still intact, he pulled out the greatsword and sheathed it on his back. He then walked over, bent down, and picked up one of the Crimson Ridge Beasts' heads before turning to leave.

Unexpectedly...

"Is there really a need to hurry so much?"

A frivolous voice came from nearby. Dave abruptly turned his head and saw a figure entirely concealed beneath a gray robe slowly emerge from behind a tree. The figure even gave him a slight nod in greeting.

By now, everyone had probably guessed it. More than twelve hundred words had passed since the beginning of the chapter, and the main character had finally made his appearance.

But Dave, lacking an omniscient perspective, froze completely. He eyed the fellow who had appeared from who-knew-where with suspicion. "Who are you?"

"Is who I am really that important?" Mo Tan shrugged. "I think what matters more to you is what I saw and what I know, and how much of it I saw and know."

Sweat appeared at Dave's temples, but he desperately forced himself to calm down. He snorted. "Looks like you know quite a bit, huh?"

"Not that much~" Mo Tan spread his hands. "I merely learned what kind of person you are from someone I happened to save, and saw some interesting things just now. It's nowhere near enough to warrant killing me to silence me."

Are you freaking kidding me?! You call that not enough to warrant killing someone to silence them?!

In any case, Mo Tan did not know whether Dave truly thought that way. All he knew was that Dave's expression looked awful...

"Relax. Those two little fellows were already on the verge of death when I found them." Mo Tan casually spun a lie, speaking with perfect composure. "Besides, they don't have the strength to crawl back to the city and expose you anytime soon, so don't be so tense~"

Dave's expression improved considerably after hearing that. He forced out an unattractive smile. "Is... is that so? There must be some misunderstanding here. Actually, I..."

"Misunderstanding?" Mo Tan raised his brows and said helplessly, "That's rather beyond my expectations. Don't tell me... this is really the extent of your ability?"

Dave had already put down the Crimson Ridge Beast's head in his arms. He quietly moved his right hand behind his back and gave a dry laugh. "I don't understand what you're talking about."

"A mind and scheming on par with a single-celled organism..." Mo Tan sighed softly, then shook his head at him. "Very well. Let's proceed with the second test."

Where Dave could not see, the wounds on his body were visibly recovering. He asked with a pale face, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"I saw you kill those two monsters." Mo Tan pointed at the two headless Crimson Ridge Beasts that were thoroughly dead in the distance and shrugged. "So I'm very interested in how you did it. If it was for some particularly interesting reason, I might be able to lend you a hand—provided you satisfy my goodwill..."

Dave immediately put on a devout expression. "That was the power bestowed upon me by the God of Courage and Justice. He allowed me, in the process of avenging my companions, to..."

"That's enough." Mo Tan rudely cut him off, his voice suddenly turning cold. "I think I'm wasting my time. So, one final confirmation..."

"You!"

"Let's be quiet for a while..."

Skill activated—Bewitch!

Dave stopped speaking. He did not know why he had suddenly fallen silent, but he simply felt that the other man definitely did not want to harm him and instead wanted to help him...

The eerie silence between the two lasted nearly a full minute!

Only then did Dave suddenly come to his senses. He cried out, "What did you do?!"

"Ah... it was nothing..." Mo Tan's voice sounded somewhat listless. "I merely found out exactly how pitiful your intelligence really is."

Let's recall the effect of Bewitch:

Bewitch a target, causing it to regard you as a friendly unit. The success rate and duration depend on the target's mental state and the intelligence of both parties. Cooldown: 1 hour.

Everything was conveyed without words...

"You cannot resist!!" Dave suddenly roared and charged toward Mo Tan. The greatsword on his back instantly left its sheath, sweeping toward Mo Tan in a trail of bright silver.

An intense sense of helplessness surged over him. For some reason, Mo Tan suddenly felt that this battered man before him was utterly invincible—extremely powerful!

But what did that matter?

"I've never thought I could beat you anyway~" Mo Tan rolled his eyes, drew a dagger from his waist with his reverse hand, and held it before him. He whispered, "But your power seems rather interesting~"

Backhand Spin Thrust!

Clang!

A piercing clash rang out. After losing nearly half his health in an instant, Mo Tan twisted around and swept out a cold gleam, stabbing the dagger in his hand straight toward Dave's left eye.

"Your struggle is futile!" Dave saw that Mo Tan was merely strong on the outside and weak within, yet did not dodge. He only suddenly muttered those words.

Mo Tan's dagger strangely slid past Dave's cheek. The strike that should have pierced his eyeball merely left a thin streak of blood across his face.

"Interesting!"

Mo Tan was ultimately still several times faster than the armored knight. He ducked low and darted behind Dave, then sent the dagger in his hand spinning toward Dave's throat.

Gouge Throat

Cunning School active skill

Requirement: Cunning School Level 1

Cost/Restriction: 20 Foresight; must be equipped with a bladed short weapon

Effect: Perform a rapid slash at the target's throat, benefiting from the bonus of a weak-point strike. Has a certain chance to inflict Silence for 2 seconds. A back attack will always trigger Silence and cause bleeding. Cooldown: 2 minutes.

Note: There are many ways to make someone shut up. The simplest and most direct is to plunge a blade viciously into their windpipe.

Blood sprayed, but the attack had no substantial effect. The cut across Dave's throat did not affect him at all. After all, the difference in strength between them was still too great. In fact, it was not merely Dave—even Mo Tan probably could not beat Cole in his current state.

But Mo Tan had never intended to kill Dave here or anything of the sort. He merely wanted to confirm a few things...

The instant Dave turned around, two daggers were already buried viciously in his shoulders!

Swift Thrust

Cunning School active skill

Requirement: Cunning School Level 4, 10 Dexterity

Cost/Restriction: 60 Foresight

Effect: Perform a rapid thrust at a target within a five-meter radius, dealing equal damage before immediately returning to your original position. During the process, you have a 100% chance to evade any theoretically unavoidable physical attack. Cooldown: 1 hour.

Note: A very, very long time ago, the word "fast" was something everyone said to praise one another, rather than something used mockingly.

This strike allowed Mo Tan to evade Dave's returning slash while successfully inflicting some damage on him.

And besides...

So it's useless while Silenced? I see~

Mo Tan immediately withdrew after the strike, retreating rapidly while activating the escape skill that had always given him confidence.

Mo Tan's figure blurred in place and directly vanished from Dave's sight. Only a hysterical laugh continued to echo through the air~

"Haha... hahahaha! Tremble! Quake! Fear! Hero blessed by the gods, hurry back to your fragile and cheap stage. After tolling your final death knell, spread your arms and welcome true glory!!"

Escape

Cunning School active skill

Requirement: Cunning School Level 5

Cost/Restriction: 50% of current health limit

Effect: Conceal all traces of yourself and raise your stealth level to maximum for 10 seconds. During this period, movement speed increases by 150%. Using a skill or making any attack will dispel the effect. After Escape ends, your Stamina, Foresight limit, and movement speed will become 10% of their normal values and recover at a rate of 5% per minute. Cooldown: 12 hours.

Note: Since you've decided to run, focus on that. Thinking about what will happen after you're caught will only add to your worries.

Your mental connection has been detected. Synchronizing personal information.

Connection complete. Reading character information.

Welcome back, Lawful Good Mo. Loading Innocent World. Good night.

When Mo Tan appeared at Number 11, Incense Avenue, Anka Market, it happened to be noon in-game. The earthy fragrance and warm sunlight blowing over from the courtyard ahead made him feel somewhat drowsy...

Wait...

The fragrance of earth?!

Recalling the scene that had looked like a riot of demons before this character had been kicked offline, Mo Tan immediately sucked in a cold breath and hurriedly looked up...

"Huh?"

In Mo Tan's memory, the enormous man-eating plants—which had been so large that two Orcs holding hands could not have encircled them—along with the thorn-covered, fang-filled vines and countless other plants whose names he could not identify had all vanished!

Someone else had probably completed the quest...

He looked at the bare courtyard and sighed, deeply feeling the insufficiency of his strength. He then turned and left.

Mo Tan planned to return to the Adventurers' Guild first. Too many unexpected situations had arisen recently, throwing his original plans far off course. Not only had he failed to complete a single quest, but his strength had also remained completely unchanged.

He was truly depressed...

As a result, less than twenty minutes later, the moment he stepped into the first-floor hall of the Adventurers' Guild, something even more depressing happened!

"It's him!!!"

A delighted roar came from somewhere, and Mo Tan was immediately swallowed by the crowd.

Amid the chaos, he heard several remarks...

"Is he the dog's owner?!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! I saw them come together!"

"Holy crap, the victim of Ms. Molly and House Guluo has finally been found!"

"I heard Ms. Molly is almost insane."

"Of course. If you opened your door and found half your house demolished, you'd go insane too."

"A Half-Dragon, and a dog. No mistake!"

"Hold him down!"

Mo Tan: "???"

The End of Trial