The hand holding the soup stopped in midair.
His forehead was covered in cold sweat.
Was this for real? The soup was poisoned?
Damn System, were you really not going to give new players a chance to survive?
Thinking about how close he'd come to gulping down the poison, Fang Yue was speechless.
After all, dying once in the game meant waiting 24 hours before you could log in again. What's more, your previous character would be permanently dead, and you'd have to start over with a new one.
It meant starting from scratch. The death penalty was ridiculously harsh.
And they still threw in a death trap right at the start. How was a newbie supposed to play?
"Big Brother, drink your soup."
The sweet voice rang in Fang Yue's ears.
He looked up. The little girl's smile no longer seemed warm and adorable. Now it looked sinister and malicious!
Outside the Ruined Temple, the downpour continued.
Crash!
Another peal of thunder boomed.
At that instant, Fang Yue suddenly froze.
The flash of lightning had let him see clearly.
The little girl in front of him still held out the bowl, but her open palm was covered in fingernails.
Every fingertip on both sides of a person's hand had a nail!
The scraping sound from when she'd held the bowl had clearly been her nails rubbing against the porcelain!
-1!
His body stiffened.
Fang Yue held the scalding poisoned soup as an untimely hp-1 notification appeared above his head.
W-was she even human?
"Big Brother, why haven't you drunk your soup yet?"
The little girl's cute voice sounded again, like a harbinger of death.
Behind her, the little boy's face was deathly pale, and his whole body trembled.
Fang Yue understood now.
The little boy hadn't been afraid of him from the start. He'd been afraid of the Female Ghost beside him!
Thinking of his pathetic stats and 4/50 health, Fang Yue was sure he had no chance of beating her!
He looked up and forced a stiff smile. "Thank you for your kindness, miss. It's just that the soup is a bit hot. I'll drink it in a moment..."
"No, Big Brother. Hot soup warms your stomach. It's best to drink it now."
The little girl smiled at him. Her expression was so adorable, yet cold sweat kept beading on Fang Yue's forehead.
If he died today, the Game Watch he'd fought so hard to get would be pointless.
If he couldn't get ahead of everyone else, how was he supposed to make big money in the game?
"R-right. Okay, I'll drink it now."
-1.
Another notification that his hp had decreased appeared above his head.
Health: 3/50 (Critical).
But Fang Yue had already calmed down.
Holding the poisoned soup steady in both hands, he smiled at the Little Female Ghost, who stood right in front of him.
Under the Little Female Ghost's expectant gaze, he slowly raised the bowl toward his mouth.
The Little Female Ghost leaned forward along with it, as if she wanted to watch Fang Yue drink the soup with her own eyes.
If he hadn't known the truth, he would've thought the little girl was simply eager for someone to taste the rich soup she'd made herself. It would've seemed like an adorable reaction.
But now, Fang Yue could only see a ghost urging him to his death!
He watched her calmly, his muscles and nerves taut.
Just as the poisoned soup was about to reach his mouth, he suddenly thrust out a hand!
Before the Little Female Ghost could react, he clamped a hand over her mouth and, as fast as he could, forcefully poured the poisoned soup down her throat!
You want to kill me? I'll kill you first!
"Mmph?!!"
The sudden move caught the Little Female Ghost off guard.
Her eyes went wide as she struggled in terror. Her strength was frightening; in one motion, she flung Fang Yue away.
Thud!
Pain shot through Fang Yue's back as he slammed hard into a pillar in the Ruined Temple.
-1!
Hp: 2/50 (Critical).
His life was hanging by a thread, but Fang Yue had no time to worry about himself. He immediately looked up at the Little Female Ghost.
He hadn't had time to pour down more than half a bowl before she flung him away. He didn't know if that would be enough to kill her.
When Fang Yue looked up, he saw the Little Female Ghost clutching her throat and silently howling. The most terrifying thing was what appeared above her head.
-1!
-1!
-1!
-1!
The numbers weren't high, but they appeared at an incredible rate. Her health was draining so frantically that the figures crowded together above her head.
Rip!!
The Little Female Ghost suddenly clawed open her own throat.
A blood-red number, like a critical hit, appeared above her head.
-100!
A bloody hole gaped in her throat, and blood gushed out. But the Little Female Ghost still wasn't dead—and she could even make a sound now.
"Cough! Cough! Cough, cough, cough!"
"What are you doing?! What did you do!!!"
Her voice was shrill and grating, nothing like the sweet voice she'd had before!
At the same time, fingernails like fish scales began to emerge all over her arms!
The densely packed nail-like scales covered her entire arms, making her look horrifying.
But her body had already started convulsing, and black blood seeped from her.
This soup really was terrifyingly poisonous!
"You're asking what I'm doing? You brazen monster! I knew at a glance you weren't human!"
Watching the Little Female Ghost weakly convulse on the ground, Fang Yue somehow found the strength to rush over and kick the iron pot over!
His foot hit the pot, but a number appeared above his own head instead.
-1!
Oh man, was this busted body going to kill itself?
The kicked pot rolled away, splashing scalding poisoned soup everywhere. A great deal of it landed on the Little Female Ghost.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!!!
Dozens of numbers shot up from the Little Female Ghost at once, jumping wildly.
-11!
-11!
-11!
-11!
-11!
"Ahhh! Stop! Stop it!!"
Crash!!
Thunder boomed again.
It mingled with her ear-piercing shrieks.
When the thunder faded and darkness returned to the Ruined Temple, silence fell.
The Little Female Ghost had been reduced to a pile of tiny ash-like fragments, like human cremains.
At the same time, a flash of white light burst from Fang Yue.
Familiar music seemed to ring in his ears.
The light of righteousness shone upon the land...
"Ding!"
System Notification: Congratulations to player [Night Dawn] for killing the anomaly [Index Finger Ghoul]. Reward: +10 Force, +10 Deflection, +1 day of Lifespan. Server-Wide Announcement: Congratulations to player [Night Dawn] for killing [Index Finger Ghoul]. As the first player to kill an [anomaly], the system hereby awards [Human-grade Random Talent] and [Lifespan: 10 days]. We encourage all other players to keep striving and do even better!
Holy crap, a server-wide announcement?
He'd gotten the first kill in the entire game!
Didn't that make him the biggest badass around?
"Ding!"
System Notification: Congratulations to player [Night Dawn]. Your Lifespan has increased by 10 days. When your Lifespan reaches zero, the Ghost Messenger will claim your life. Please ensure you always have sufficient Lifespan. Would player [Night Dawn] like to draw [Human-grade Random Talent] now?
Of course he wanted to draw!
A translucent wheel appeared out of nowhere, its pointer spinning rapidly.
The wheel was filled with all kinds of Human-grade talents. There were so many different types that it made his eyes swim.
When Fang Yue silently thought, "Stop," the wheel gradually slowed, finally pointing to...
Congratulations to player [Night Dawn] on obtaining the Human-grade High-grade Talent [Night's Breath]. Name: Night's Breath. Rank: Human Grade High Rank. Effect 1: During the day, Force -20 and Deflection -20. Effect 2: At night, Force +20 and Deflection +20. Effect 3: At night, greatly increases the rate at which health recovers. Effect 4: At night, moderately increases the rate at which injuries heal. Note: Night's Breath: By day, I'm a useless wreck. By night, I'm Superman. Are you a vampire or something?
A Human-grade High-grade Talent!
It looked pretty powerful, but... Wasn't that daytime combat penalty a bit too severe?
Fang Yue opened his stats and immediately narrowed his eyes.
Holy crap!
His health was rapidly ticking up.
1.
5.
15.
30.
50.
His health was recovering at an incredible rate!
His body also felt warm and comfortable, and his injuries were healing quickly.
System Notification: Congratulations. Your Critical status has been removed.
So this was Night's Breath? I love it!
Before you continue