Facing the incoming claws, he only had time to shield his head with his arms before a tremendous force struck him. With a clang, he slid more than a dozen steps before finally regaining his footing.
[Health -10%]
[You blocked a 'Claw Attack.' Strength Check failed. Strength -1 for 30 minutes. Stamina Check failed. You were knocked back.]
He threw himself sideways again, dodging the claws as they suddenly stretched longer. His eyes fell on the three-foot-long gouges in the concrete wall.
His heart jolted. He raised a hand, sending several fruit knives flying straight at the Formless Child's head.
"Shhk, shhk~"
Five or six fruit knives sank neatly into its head, but didn't cause it the slightest harm.
He rolled across the ground, sprang up, and charged toward Instructor Liu.
Shoot the horse before the rider. Capture the king to stop the bandits. Kill the summoner, and it'll all be over!
But the instructor only gave him a strange smile, then began chanting under his breath.
"Утебясегодня"
The Formless Child suddenly separated one of its tentacles, black and oily.
With a whoosh, it yanked Wang Changle back. Then the claws slashed across him.
[Health -20%]
[Your Armor of Toughness lost 10 durability.]
[Constitution Check failed. You were whipped, reducing your movement speed by 20%.]
BOOM!
Amid the concrete rubble, he struggled to his feet. That last blow had left his chest aching fiercely.
Now all he could do was dodge the black tentacles shooting toward him from a distance, along with the claws.
After receiving the second command, the Formless Child before him became a shifting mass of slime,
constantly taking on new shapes and launching all kinds of attacks.
Jabs, thrusts, chops, lashes, slashes—it used them all!
Wang Changle was driven into a frantic retreat, unable to find an opening to counterattack.
But he kept watching the instructor, and soon noticed something was wrong.
As the second command was given, the instructor's body began to change.
The cracks across his face seemed to widen, and black, oily fluid began seeping from his wounds.
Two of the six people sitting on the ground had also collapsed, seemingly reduced to mummies.
Could the price of casting spells be paid in wounds and lives?
With that suspicion in mind, he acted at once, raising a hand as green light flickered.
"Call of Nature!"
The moss carpeting the ground gathered together, transforming into a dark green Treant. It swung its wooden palms at the instructor.
A flash of surprise crossed Instructor Liu's eyes at the sudden appearance of the Treant.
Then he raised one hand to his mouth, fingers curled. Waves of low-frequency sound, carrying green qi, spread in every direction.
"Phantom Sound Wave!"
As the moss gathered, the pattern carved into the ground was fully revealed.
It depicted a gigantic Toad, with blood flowing through countless grooves in its outline.
"Ying~~"
As the instructor cast his spell, Wang Changle instantly drank the Moon Dew.
[Notice: Your magic recovered by 20. Intelligence +1.]
[You were attacked by 'Phantom Sound Wave.' Make an Intelligence/Constitution Check. Intelligence over 10: You are immune to hypnosis. Constitution 10: You are afflicted with Sluggishness.]
[Sluggishness: Your coordination is impaired and your movement speed is reduced by 50% for 5 minutes.]
He suddenly felt weak, his legs as heavy as lead. Even taking a step was a struggle.
As the attack came at him, he abruptly fell backward and rolled away like a tumbling gourd.
"Root Entanglement!"
BOOM!
CLANG!
Two sounds rang out at once. Four vines instantly wrapped around and restrained the enormous black crawler, while its claws skimmed past his Armor of Toughness.
Meanwhile, the Treant's massive fist pounded the four kneeling figures into a heap of wreckage, and its palm sent the instructor flying.
"чтобыпобить"
A ball of brown light shot from the instructor's hand. As he raised it, layer upon layer of tiny wounds appeared across his hands, while oily filth seeped from all over his body.
The Treant turned into a lifelike stone statue beneath the brown light.
[Your Intelligence is 11 times the opponent's. Forced immobilization for 26.4 seconds. Nature Mark applied.]
"Eek, eek~~"
The Formless Child, bound fast by the vines, let out a shrill cry. Its black, oily body quivered, but a force of rules held it firmly suspended in the air, unable to move.
This was the first time Wang Changle had encountered a monster with such low Intelligence. It had only 1 point—a fighting force bought at the cost of its brains!
The instructor stared at the suspended crawler, trembling but unable to move, his eyes filled with terror. How could anyone possess the power to restrain a Formless Child? What was this?
"Life Force—Call of Nature!"
After catching his breath, he unleashed a dense burst of green light. Infused with Life Force, the vines writhed and transformed, along with the Formless Child, into two three-meter-tall Treants.
Though his body couldn't move, Heart of Nature allowed him to control the two Treants remotely.
At his mental command, one began pounding the ground, smashing the image carved into it. The other charged at the instructor, carrying the bound Formless Child.
"чтобыпобить"
Another ball of brown light shot from the instructor's hand. A flickering eye appeared on his face, and the Formless Child and both Treants turned to stone.
"I've still got another one! Hah... cough, cough, cough!"
THUD, THUD, THUD—BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!
[You killed Quanxing 'Instructor' Luo Wei. You gained 1,000 Reputation with the World. Current Reputation: 1500/2000.]
[You obtained Treasure Chest (White) *1.]
[You killed the plot character Quanxing 'Instructor' Luo Wei. You gained 1% World Origin.]
[You killed the 'Enkai'-infested Formless Child.]
[You obtained Treasure Chest (Green) *1.]
[You destroyed Sathogua's World Node. You completed the hidden quest: Belonging—Stage One. You gained 3% World Origin. Quest Stage Two has been activated.]
[Hidden Quest: Belonging—Stage Two]
Difficulty: LV9 (Hell)
Quest Description: The Formless Child of "Enkai" is attempting to summon life from the world of "Enkai" through a spatial portal. Complete the quest to unlock the next stage.
Quest Information: Find "Enkai's" world portal and destroy the spatial node to close it, preventing creatures from the world of "Enkai" from invading.
Quest Reward: World Origin
Time Limit: 15 days
Quest Penalty: Forced execution.
In the rubble, he struggled to push himself upright on the steps. He took a Rainbow Fruit Candy from his inventory and ate it. The sweet hard candy melted in his mouth, speeding up his magic recovery.
After collecting the three treasure chests, he suddenly noticed something unusual.
In the center of the carved pattern lay a stone slab completely unlike the others.
The slab was black and red, covered in long lines of writing. Faint glimmers of light shimmered across it, warping the words.
He brushed away the rubble and placed his hand on it:
[You obtained a damaged fragment of the Book of Eibon (copy).]
Origin: Unknown
Type: Book (fragment)
Green: 30+
Effect: After reading, increases Cthulhu Lore by a certain amount. Then make five checks using your primary attribute. Spells are gained based on the results. Can be used 1/3 times.
Description: A copied fragment recording some of Cthulhu's spells. It contains a great many thoughts of madness.
Price: 3000 Paradise Coins (Cannot be taken out of the world of "The Outcast.")
In Wang Changle's eyes, the English words glimmering with eerie light seemed to twist and warp. In the haze, he even thought he heard whispers, faint and indistinct.
As his fingers brushed over the English lettering, Wang Changle began to understand a little of how the "instructor" had become this way. It seemed those strange spells came from this book.
As for what the Formless Child and Sathogua were, he'd have to prepare properly before reading the book. He ought to learn more from it.
Yes, he planned to read the book carefully. Even with the side effect of five checks, skill books related to lore were rare!
Finding the stone slab had immediately piqued his interest.
He began searching the area more thoroughly. In the end, he found only a few scraps of writing, apparently recording some of the instructor's reflections.
"Hello, is this the East China branch of Nato Tong? Yes, hello. I found a cult hideout here, along with a Quanxing villain. Right, right. The address is..."
Once back aboveground, he immediately contacted Nato Tong's East China branch.
After all, it was a quasi-state-owned official organization, and he might need Nato Tong's resources to complete the second-stage quest.
Showing goodwill early would help improve his chances of success.
Before you continue