Chaos and Evil

Adult Sand Goblin

Race: Sand Goblin

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Level: Warrior 3

Talents: None

Basic Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Wisdom 2, Constitution 2

Combat Attributes: Mace Mastery Level 1

Skill: Bash

That was the character sheet of one of the Sand Goblins. Hmm, it really was incredibly mediocre... The Mud Fishmen were somewhat stronger in their four attributes, but not by much.

Obviously, even Mo Tan, who had yet to acquire a combat class, could easily defeat any one of them in single combat. Even taking on two or three at once would not be a problem.

Zephyr Saine's starting attributes were not much different. His situation was roughly the same.

As for the people from the Savage Earth Dragon Mercenary Group, any one of them could casually knock down several of these dirty, scrawny little things. But that did not mean the caravan was out of danger. In fact, the battle was still extremely difficult—far more difficult than expected.

Once numbers accumulated to a certain point, they could often overwhelm quality. Unless there was an absolute difference in combat power, even heroes could not withstand a sea of soldiers.

Even Mag, the strongest of them all, could only cut down four or five monsters with a single strike. Even when he used more exhausting skills, he could kill at most a dozen Sand Goblins or Mud Fishmen. But there were simply too many enemies...

The Sylphs were not a race without any combat power. In fact, in dense forests, they were even more dangerous than elves. These slender branch-like people could freely merge with any tree over ten years old and resonate with it, making the forest extraordinarily aggressive. They even possessed many unique wood-element spells...

But in this damned place, it was impossible to find more than a few trees!

Otherwise, they would not have needed to hire a mercenary group. If they had been a little more vicious, they might even have robbed the mercenaries instead.

Thus, the only true combat power consisted of the twenty-three members of the Savage Earth Dragon Mercenary Group and that Earth Dragon.

The enemy outnumbered them by dozens of times!

If that was not the greatest problem, then the archer who had nearly killed the mustached man at the beginning was what truly gave everyone a headache.

From the start of the battle until now, the other side had used archery without ever showing themselves, reducing the Savage Earth Dragon Mercenary Group's numbers by three and placing enormous psychological pressure on the caravan. Everyone was forced to spare some attention to guard against him.

And the harmful effects brought about by that threat were gradually expanding.

Mo Tan stood beside the red-robed woman supporting the defensive barrier, protecting the spellcaster. With an ordinary iron sword in each hand, he hacked and smashed his way into forcing two Sand Goblins back, nearly tripping himself in the process. Even now, he still had not adapted to suddenly having a tail behind him.

Although he had the gaming experience of two characters, and the memories and experience of each personality were shared, unfortunately, neither Hei Fan nor Tan Mo had ever truly fought anyone.

The former had logged off immediately after reporting to the military camp...

Although the latter had completed his tutorial quest and even dealt with a fairly powerful necromancer despite the level difference, he had relied on wisdom and acting to scheme the necromancer to death. He had no combat experience either.

By now, Mo Tan was covered in wounds, and his health had fallen to only sixty percent. That was thanks to the other mercenaries frequently looking after him. Otherwise, the situation would have been even worse.

At that moment, the entire path had been completely surrounded by Sand Goblins and Mud Fishmen. What was despairing was that these creatures still seemed endless, stretching beyond sight.

A surging stream of flames swept past Mo Tan and engulfed more than twenty Sand Goblins along the way...

Flame Dragon's Breath

Active Fire School Skill

Requirement: Fire School Level 5, Wisdom 15

Cost/Restriction: 60 Mana

Effect: Create and launch a cone of flames in front of you, dealing fire damage equal to [blank] to all targets and causing them to become confused for 1 to 3 seconds due to the sudden heat. Also inflicts Burning. Cooldown: 10 minutes.

Note: Long, long ago, the Red Dragon race once sued the founder of this spell—the great Gnome Archmage Tongtong Shaomei—before the Tribunal over copyright issues and extorted a huge fine from him. Three days later, Chilin Dragon Peak was turned into an active volcano by a certain Gnome mage who wished to remain anonymous. The Red Dragon race suffered heavy casualties.

The Sand Goblins, whose magic resistance was pitifully low, instantly became balls of moving fire beneath the flames. The nearby Mud Fishmen, who also had extremely low fire resistance, shoved one another around and fell into chaos.

"You've done more than enough! Run!" The female mage, having exhausted her final trace of mana, smiled at Mo Tan and Zephyr Saine, who was guarding her back. "I've cleared a path. This is your last chance!"

As she pointed toward the temporarily empty, scorched path, a system notification rang in the ears of both players at the same time.

Tutorial quest completed

The two exchanged a glance, and they both found the answer in the other's eyes. Then they quickly opened their respective character and skill panels.

Mo Tan rushed out sideways, holding one iron sword horizontally in front of him. He crashed into several Sand Goblins crowding beside the scorched trail!

Crashing Strike

Active Weapon Skill

Requirement: Swordsmanship Proficiency Level 1, Strength 5

Cost/Restriction: 20 Stamina, must possess a melee weapon

Effect: Dash 1–10 meters, dealing minor physical damage to enemies along the path and knocking them back. Cooldown: 3 minutes.

Note: When dealing with newly trained recruits, we generally tell them: Charge! As long as you're reckless enough, that's enough! —A drill instructor from a certain Dark Souls training camp who died in his first battle.

"I think the people in this training camp are probably a reserve suicide squad..." Mo Tan rolled his eyes and muttered a complaint. His longsword swept out, cutting down a Sand Goblin. "That name is way too ominous."

By now, everyone had probably guessed that the instant the system announced the quest's completion, Mo Tan had chosen Warrior as his class reward. He had immediately obtained several basic skills and attribute bonuses, which was why this scene had occurred.

On the other side, Zephyr Saine had made the same choice, except he had chosen Mage as his class.

A breeze swept past. A low, profound rhythm spread from Saine's mouth, and Mo Tan, along with all the warriors of the Savage Earth Dragon Mercenary Group, felt their bodies grow lighter. Their movements became faster and more agile.

Song of the Great Wind

Active Wind Element School Skill

Requirement: Wind Element Knowledge Level 1, Intelligence 5

Cost/Restriction: 8 Mana, must know all five tones, Mandarin Level 7

Effect: For ten minutes, increase the Dexterity of friendly units within a sixty-meter radius by 5, movement speed by 3%, and evasion by 2%. Cooldown: 15 minutes.

Note: The great wind rises, the clouds soar; my might reaches across the seas, and I return to my homeland. Where can I find fierce warriors to guard the four corners? P.S. Letting an intern majoring in Classical Chinese participate in the skill-design team was definitely a brain-dead proposal!

"You two!" Mag, who had fought his way back from the front, stared at them in surprise. "You're not ordinary travelers!"

"There's no time to explain!" Mo Tan said anxiously. Naturally, he did not tell the dwarf warrior his next words in haste. Instead, he said seriously, "We'll break out on the left and open up this path!"

He was referring to the trail that Flame Dragon's Breath had cleared earlier. The dense aura of fire elements made the Sand Goblins and Mud Fishmen instinctively wary.

"Good!" Mag knew that this was not the time for conversation, and Mo Tan's proposal was quite reliable. He immediately made the decision and began organizing everyone to widen the path for their escape.

Meanwhile, on the hillside...

"It seems this isn't the group." A person holding a heavy crossbow, his entire body wrapped in cyan plate armor, muttered, "We can prepare to have those cannon fodder withdraw... Hmm!?"

Pffft!

He suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. At the same time, the countless Sand Goblins and Mud Fishmen below seemed to have suffered a heavy blow and collapsed onto the ground, their fates unknown...

You have been forcibly disconnected. Would you like to reconnect?

"..."

You have been forcibly disconnected. Would you like to reconnect?

"...Yes..."

Reconnection beginning...

Connection established. Reading character information.

Innocent World has opened its gates to you. Character creation will begin shortly...

Standing on a stone platform, Mo Tan regained consciousness. He looked around, seeming somewhat bewildered...

"Is it me...?" He awkwardly raised a hand before his eyes and murmured, "What's going on...?"

A rumbling sound rang out. Nine great doors stood around him, waiting for Mo Tan to choose.

"Choose?" Mo Tan's eyes seemed to have regained their clarity. He asked softly, "Is that necessary?"

Naturally, no one in this place answered him.

"Is it necessary?" He raised his head and spread his hands. A trace of an evil curve appeared at the corners of his mouth as he repeated, "Is it necessary?!"

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!

Eight of the doors exploded outright, shattering across the ground before even their fragments dissolved into nothingness. Only the scarlet door, which continuously radiated a black halo, remained, trembling faintly... open.

"Are you afraid of me?" Mo Tan walked up to it and actually patted its Chaotic Evil doorframe soothingly. Then he smiled. "Relax~"

After he walked inside, the blood-red giant door that alone remained on the stone platform continued trembling faintly, as though it had encountered something terrifying...

Calculation complete. Your initial character data is:

Race: Original Sin

Gender: Male

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Talents:

Madness (True madmen ignore all pain and regard it as pleasure. You cannot feel pain, and each time you suffer an attack, you recover stamina according to regulations.)

Ruthlessness (You possess not the slightest bit of mercy. As a result, none of your attacks can be evaded.)

Cruelty (Those who are cruel by nature feel no guilt. None of your actions will generate Sin Points.)

Dark Blood (It surges through your body, incessantly muttering and making you unbearably annoyed. The benefit is that all mental attacks, illusions, and hallucinations are ineffective against you, because your mind has long since been tempered into steel.)

Pure Strength (Some forms of strength need no reason. Your basic attributes are always regarded as 300% of normal values. The recovery speeds of health, mana, stamina, perception, and other values increase by 300%.)

Original Sin (The original sin you represent can also erode others. This allows you to make any target obey one command regardless of conditions. Cooldown: 24 hours. It can never again be used on the same target.)

Beyond Limits (1. The experience required to level up all your classes is reduced by 70%; the attribute points gained when leveling up all classes are doubled, and attribute points forcibly reduced by certain classes upon leveling up need not be paid. 2. ???)

Demon Lord (1. The cooldowns of all your skills are reduced by 70%; 2. ???)

Misfortune (You should never have existed. Do not give anyone else—or this world—any opportunity!)

Independent Individual (As a selfish person, you will not share your memories or deeds.)

Basic Attributes: Strength 20, Dexterity 20, Wisdom 35, Constitution 20

Visible Attributes: Eloquence 15, Charisma 60, Knowledge 10, Leadership 60

Combat Attributes: None

"Original Sin and Misfortune..." Mo Tan said indifferently. "I understand a lot now~ And that 'one thing' is worth paying attention to as well."

Please name your character.

"Mo." Mo Tan answered casually.

Character name: Mo. Please confi...

"Hm?"

Would you like to adjust your appearance?

Mo Tan looked at the version of himself before him that was exactly identical to his real-world appearance and slowly shook his head.

Character creation complete. Chaotic Evil Mo, welcome to Innocent World.

When he opened his eyes, Mo Tan found himself standing in a luxurious hall. A band in the corner was playing a lively little tune, while many people nearby held wine glasses and chatted loudly. They were all humans dressed in elegant and expensive formalwear. At a glance, they were clearly the upper class of this society. Obviously, this was a noble banquet.

Tutorial quest triggered.

Mo Tan opened the quest panel and glanced at it. Then, expressionless, he spoke to the air. "Forget it. I think you know what suits me best."

...Bzz... bzzzz...

A burst of interference came through. Mo Tan noticed that everyone around him paused unnaturally for a second before returning to normal.

Meanwhile, his quest panel had quietly changed.

Unique Quest—Destroy Everything

"Heh heh~ I knew it." He smiled, smiling like a child...

A young man dressed as a waiter carried a tray over to him and asked politely, "May I get you anything, sir?"

"Of course. I need many things, very many..." Mo Tan replied with a polite and proper smile. A strange black glint flickered in his eyes. "First of all, could you die in the most ostentatious way you can think of?"

In Innocent World, Year 9571 of the Sacred Calendar, a catastrophe erupted in the Sand Empire at the southernmost tip of the continent. According to investigations, everything began near the end of a certain noble banquet.

A waiter who tore open his own chest and climbed onto a chandelier to spin around wildly frightened everyone senseless.

Over the following three hours, Banse City, where the incident occurred, became a dead city. Blood flowed like rivers, corpses covered the ground, and not a single survivor remained. The few fragments of the scene that survived were already the limit of what the Sand Imperial Court's archmage could reconstruct with the supreme arcane spell, Mirror of the Stars. Yet even that glimpse of hell left the witnesses with immense psychological trauma.

From that day onward, this wealthy city, known as the "Pearl of the Sand" and famed for producing colorful pearls, became a permanent part of history. Even its land turned into a cursed place after bearing the grudges of countless dead souls. The culprit, however, remained at large and vanished without a trace. It was not until a year later, when that person finally became known throughout the world, that people discovered the terrifying legends he could bring were far, far from over...

—Memoirs: The Beginning of the Sin King's Reign, Volume Three

You have exited the game. Your mental connection has been severed. Have a good morning.

When Mo Tan was groggily awakened by the game pod, he looked somewhat dazed.

"I remember I was breaking out with the Sylph Caravan... Why did I suddenly wake up?" he muttered to himself. Then he turned to glance at the phone beside the game pod and was immediately startled.

"How is that possible?! Seven o'clock?! The time doesn't add up!"

The End of Chapter Five