Represents Happiness, Represents Joy

I'm already a desperate illiterate.

Gong Qiying flipped through the manuscript, with only one thought in his mind—he couldn't understand it.

It wasn't that he couldn't understand it at all, but rather like a middle-of-the-road student in class seeing an extremely difficult problem solved by a top student, he couldn't bring himself to read it.

Thanks to Godwyn's memories, Gong Qiying could understand every technical term in the manuscript, and he could also understand the connections between the terms and the experimental steps. However, halfway through, he would feel dizzy, and some content required careful thought to comprehend. The consequence of this was that the more he read, the more annoyed he became, eventually unable to continue.

The general meaning of this manuscript was to transfer one's Soul to the corpse of the same race through a certain magical ritual. Under the effect of the magic, the corpse would completely transform to resemble the Soul, in terms of appearance, voice, and even more intrinsic aspects, such as genetic makeup.

The only thing that remained unchanged, perhaps, was that it was still essentially a lump of flesh.

Magic, how wondrous!

Gong Qiying felt that this manuscript was very useful to him; perhaps he could leave the Dungeon by means of reincarnation.

He had tried to leave the Dungeon, but whenever he approached the exit, he would be stopped by some inexplicable force, as if there were an invisible wall in front of him.

Watching the Adventurers come and go every day, he felt incredibly depressed.

The sacred land you yearn for but cannot obtain is actually a place people enter and exit without a second thought (fog).

He didn't know what Sain Underground City used to identify the Dungeon Lord. If it identified Souls, Godwyn's Soul had long since perished, so why would the Dungeon Lord choose him, Gong Qiying?

If it identified the physical body, would he lose his Dungeon Lord status if he left Godwyn's body?

Upon careful consideration, he felt that being the Dungeon Lord was better than leaving.

But one needed hope to live, and he still needed to study this manuscript.

"Deep Blue, add points!"

For the sake of efficiency, he decided to use his Mental Power to add points to his Intelligence!

The Intelligence on the panel had nothing to do with his personal IQ. Increasing Intelligence actually increased the damage he dealt when using magic.

But every effect has a cause. The increase in magic damage was the result of multiple factors, such as casting speed, total magic power, magic circulation efficiency, and

his comprehension of magic and the speed at which he learned it!

Gong Qiying leveled up his Intelligence to improve his ability to understand magic-related matters, helping him comprehend the contents of the manuscript.

E+, D-, D, D+

He poured all his Intelligence points in one go until it reached the C- level. These were all points he had painstakingly added himself, one by one. Looking back at his Mental Power, he had already spent the equivalent of one Furnace Knight.

The Mental Power spent was surprisingly not that much; Gong Qiying had been prepared to feel the pain.

"Oh wow, I can actually understand it now."

Not only could he understand it, but at this moment, he deeply grasped why certain steps were done a certain way, why certain symbols were drawn in specific places, and a series of previously half-understood questions.

After he could understand it, he realized that the Corpse Rebirth technique had some discrepancies with his understanding.

When performing Corpse Rebirth, the Soul needed to be transferred to a new body, but this did not mean the original body would be discarded. The original body still existed, and the Soul could shuttle back and forth between the two bodies.

However, the original body would experience a few minor issues during this process.

The handwriting in the manuscript describing this issue was very messy, the strokes were angry, and it was even written in red ink several times: "Unsolvable, Unsolvable, Unsolvable!!!"

Gong Qiying was initially a bit apprehensive, but when he truly saw what the side effect was, he suddenly burst out laughing.

The side effect was—the original body would become a ghoul!

Hahaha, I'm already a ghoul anyway.

Now he was relieved.

Since the Soul could shuttle between two bodies, it didn't matter to him whether the Dungeon's identification mechanism identified Souls or physical bodies.

What he needed to consider now was where to get a suitable corpse and the corresponding magical materials.

Unfortunately, to thank the two strangers for the manuscript, he had already placed their corpses in the Curse Frog group for a water burial. He estimated that not even dregs remained.

As for the magical materials, some items were not in Godwyn's memories. They must be new things that had appeared over the years and needed to be purchased from the outside world.

Buying them wasn't a problem; he could just have Jack make a trip.

However.

"This way, Mr. Jack, Boss Leon is waiting for you."

Led by Tel, Jack nervously walked into a tall building—the Adventurer's Guild.

It wasn't his first time in the Guild, but it was his first time on the second floor. The Guild had a rule that unless invited, only Silver-ranked Adventurers and above could enter the second floor.

The second floor was as he imagined: quiet and majestic, completely different from the noisy first floor. Once on the second floor, soundproofing magic would block out the noise from below, ensuring that the elites' rest would not be disturbed.

"You don't need to be so nervous; I'm just inviting you to meet a companion," Tel said with a smile.

"Mm," cold sweat beaded on Jack's forehead.

He had impulsively accepted Tel's invitation and joined the strategy group. That was a strategy group! Only the most elite of the elite Adventurers were qualified to join. Who hadn't dreamed of embarking on a thrilling adventure in the Dungeon with the elites of the strategy group?

Yet today, he was called to meet everyone. Thinking that the people he was about to meet were all "big shots" in his eyes, Jack regretted his impulsiveness yesterday.

The door to the lounge opened, and a sunny, handsome, and gentle-looking young man sat in the center. Upon seeing Jack, he flashed a warm smile and said, "You must be Mr. Jack. Tel has already introduced you to us. I'm Leon, 'Lion' Leon."

"A pleasure to meet you," the moment Jack stepped into the room, he felt inferiority welling up inside him, unable to even stand up straight.

Adventurers sat in small groups around the room, each exuding the aura of a strong warrior. Their fighting spirit and patience were astonishing, clearly capable of surprising any enemy.

"Let me introduce them," Tel said proactively. "This masked man is 'Black Fist' Betang. The dwarf sitting next to him is 'Rock' Dru. That little one over there is 'Silver Cat' Maru, and..."

"Who are you calling a little one!" Maru protested indignantly, waving her small fists.

"Alright, alright, we can finish the introductions later,"

Leon waved his hand, and the lounge immediately fell silent.

"Mr. Jack, I've heard you know this Dungeon very well. You often lead teams in and out, and you've even found rare specialties that no one has discovered yet. You must surely be a Dungeon exploration master."

"I dare not accept such praise," Jack shook his head repeatedly. "I've just been lucky enough to follow the right path. A master, really, I'm not worthy."

Leon narrowed his eyes.

"I have a few questions I'd like to ask. Would it be convenient for you to clear up my doubts?"

"Convenient, convenient."

The morning passed quickly. When Jack left the Adventurer's Guild, his back was drenched in cold sweat, and his hands were trembling slightly.

Having spent years in the lower echelons, he thought he had become quite adept at handling people. He never expected to reveal such a pathetic state after spending a morning with Silver-rank adventurers.

Ultimately, it was his own inferiority complex at play. When he met people of his own social standing, he could be glib and deceptive, but when he encountered those of a higher rank, he would tremble uncontrollably.

Still, at least they hadn't seen through his facade.

Jack breathed a sigh of relief, a faint smile returning to his lips.

These people were strong, and Leon was even stronger.

If he had their help, perhaps he could even take down that guy!

The grotesque face of a Gargoyle flashed through his mind, causing him a moment of hesitation, but he quickly firmed his resolve.

At this point, there was no need to mention any life debts. His new life was just beginning, and he absolutely didn't want to be bound by Monsters!

Jack looked up at the sky, feeling the bright sun shining down, representing happiness, joy, and vibrant life.

"My new life is just beginning..."

He couldn't help but sigh, and his eyes suddenly caught sight of something.

Huh? Why is that person running?

Is he... coming for me?

"Pfft—"

As the sharp object pierced his heart, Jack's mind went blank.

(PS: After reader feedback, I realized the protagonist shouldn't appear as much, or perhaps should appear less. However, I can't change it now. I will significantly reduce the plot points of the protagonist leaving the Dungeon later. This is a lapse in my first attempt at writing this genre. My apologies.)

Feeling the rewards and monthly votes from my esteemed readers!