666, No More Pretending

Corrupted Cave, Su Li was standing by the pool, thinking about how to explore.

"Since the quest prompt is to explore underground in the Corrupted Cave, the entrance must be around here."

"Is there some hidden mechanism?"

As a veteran RPG player, Su Li's first reaction was to look for a conspicuously placed lever or a brick of a different color.

However, ten minutes passed, and he found nothing except sticky hands.

"This shouldn't be..." Su Li was unwilling to give up and simply jumped into the pool to feel around with his hands, but still found nothing.

"This is wrong, isn't it? Is the system lying to me?" Su Li fell into thought.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him. "Could it be that?"

He remembered in Old Man Ring, there were often settings where a dead end would appear, but as long as you rolled towards a wall or the ground, a hidden path would appear.

"Try it?" Su Li started rolling towards the rock wall.

"Rumble--" But there was no reaction.

Su Li didn't believe it and rolled around on the ground again.

"Rumble--" Still nothing happened.

"Damn it! A liar!!" Su Li angrily got up from the ground and gave a middle finger to the air.

Just then, a familiar magical fluctuation echoed deep within his soul.

"My companion... please come..."

"Huh? Rosalia?" Su Li paused.

"Why is this girl calling me again? Did she run into danger?" He calmed himself and sensed along the connection of the contract.

"It doesn't sound like she's in danger..." Su Li scratched his skull.

He was busy solving a puzzle and really didn't want to run back and forth.

"Right! How about trying this?" A bold idea formed in Su Li's mind.

"It's you, Pipi Axe!" Su Li's will moved, controlling the summoned magic to connect to Pipi Axe.

"Whoosh--"

Pipi Axe, who was bored, didn't even have time to react to what was happening before its entire skeleton disappeared.

"Holy crap! It actually worked?!"

Su Li stared at the empty cave entrance, his jawbone agape in surprise.

At the same time, in Twilight Town.

"Buzz--!"

Accompanied by a spatial fluctuation, a tall figure appeared in the center of the magic array.

"Su Liya?!" Rosalia exclaimed in surprise and was about to rush forward.

However, when she clearly saw the skeletal berserker without any "girlishness" in front of her, her movement froze in mid-air.

"Uh...?" Rosalia blinked and sensed carefully again.

There was indeed Su Liya's magical fluctuation, but the appearance was clearly wrong!

"Su Liya must be busy, so she sent a subordinate?" The girl quickly found an excuse for herself. "Even her subordinate is this strong, Su Liya is truly the most powerful!"

On the other side, Karonna was completely stunned.

"This... this this this..." Karonna's eyes widened, staring intently at Pipi Axe.

"This is a skeletal berserker?! And judging by its strength, it's at least an elite undead of level 10 or higher?!"

Madness! This world has gone mad!

"Could this child really be a born necromancer?" Karonna's gaze instantly became fervent.

She walked up to Rosalia, forcing a smile that looked worse than crying.

"Child, tell Grandma, what's your name?"

Rosalia instinctively straightened her body. "I, I'm Rosalia!"

"Good, good, good, Rosalia, a good name."

Karonna looked at the purple-haired girl, finding her more and more pleasing to the eye. "Then tell Grandma, why do you want to learn undead magic? Is it for power? Authority? Or do you simply want to destroy?"

Rosalia's eyes were incredibly firm: "No! I just want to resurrect my friend!"

"Resurrect a friend?..." Karonna fell silent for a moment.

She had a similar experience before. To resurrect her lover, she broke ties with her family and teacher, resolutely embarking on the path of a necromancer, a path of no return.

Unfortunately, this path was too difficult, too difficult, so difficult that she eventually chose to give up, ending up living in this remote small town, becoming a grumpy, crazy old woman.

And now, another young girl was embarking on the same path, and her talent was a hundred times stronger than her own back then! Perhaps she could really achieve what she couldn't?

"Good! Well said, Rosalia!" Karonna slapped her thigh, and a flame reignited in her eyes.

"Since you have this resolve, then starting today, you'll follow me! I will teach you everything I've learned in my lifetime, without reservation!"

"But let me get this straight," the old woman chuckled sinisterly, "my training is beyond your imagination. Don't come crying to your mommy later."

Rosalia's eyes instantly lit up, "I'll definitely work hard, Grandma Karonna!"

"Still calling me Grandma?" Karonna put on a stern face.

Rosalia was stunned for a moment, then reacted, "Yes! Master!"

"Hahahaha! Good child!!" Karonna laughed heartily, about to reach out and pat her disciple's head.

"Plop."

Rosalia, who had been looking resolute just moments ago, suddenly rolled her eyes and fainted on the ground. Pipi Axe also vanished with a "whoosh."

"Oh dear!" Karonna slapped her forehead.

"Got too excited and forgot this child is still a beginner. Maintaining such a powerful undead summon must have drained her mana..."

Corrupted Cave.

"Whoosh--" Pipi Axe reappeared at the cave entrance.

Su Li raised an eyebrow as he watched Pipi Axe return after only two minutes.

"Why so fast? Did that girl Rosalia run out of mana?"

"Ah well, as long as she's okay."

Through the information transmitted by Pipi Axe, confirming there was no danger, Su Li refocused his attention on the problem before him.

He looked at the calm Corruption Pool, continuing to ponder.

"What should I do..."

Just then, the system popped up, [The helpless little skeleton wouldn't be able to think of anything even if it racked its brain, because it doesn't have a brain. Detecting player in distress, the following options are available:]

[Option One: Go mining, girl!]

[Description: Mining is said to be a hobby that cultivates one's character. Pick up your pickaxe, or use your hands if you don't have one, and dig through the rock layer between the Corruption Pool and the underground ruins. Difficulty: S]

[Reward: Strength +2.50, Constitution +2.50, Experience +250, possible acquisition of the "Golden Miner" title.]

[Option Two: Forward Roll!]

[Description: It is said that the Corruption Dragon gets excited when it returns to the Corruption Pool, as if returning home. If that's the case, why not let it roll around in there? Use Tina Sanks's tonnage to perform a leap of faith on this fragile floor. Difficulty: E]

[Reward: Strength +2, Faith +2, Experience +250.]

Su Li's eyes twitched as he looked at the two options.

"Why does it feel like this system is subtly mocking me in every line?"

"So, I was rolling around on the ground like an idiot just now because my weight wasn't enough? Cleverness can sometimes lead to folly."

Since there was a simple and crude method, who would bother with the arduous task of mining?

"Come out! Tina Sanks!" Su Li waved his skeletal hand.

"I choose you! Pipi Dragon! Use Up and Down Jump Roll!!"

Pipi Dragon took two steps back and adjusted its stance.

"Roar!!!" Accompanied by a roar, the giant beast leaped into the air and smashed down fiercely onto the Corruption Pool.

Su Li instinctively took two steps back, "Holy crap! Is he going to bomb the latrine?!"

"BOOM!!!" With a deafening sound, the entire cave seemed to tremble.

The dark red Corruption Pool water surged up, spraying throughout the cave walls like a fountain.

Following that was a grating sound of rock layers breaking.

"Crack... Boom!!"

The bottom of the pool, which was still somewhat solid, collapsed, revealing a huge opening.

[Quest Complete: Forward Roll! Reward obtained: Strength +2 (45→47), Faith +2 (6→8), Experience +250 (2210/6400)]

Su Li nodded with satisfaction, "Although the commotion was a bit much, the effect was outstanding."

He glanced at his status panel, "Faith is at 8 points now? Does that mean I can use Prayer?... "

This was a godsend for the upcoming exploration, as underground usually meant darkness and unknown creatures, and fire was often what they feared most.

Su Li went to the edge of the opening and peered down.

It was pitch black below, and he could faintly hear the sound of flowing water and some strange wind.

"Pipi Axe, Pipi Finger, you two stay here and guard." Exploring at this depth would be inconvenient with them.

"Pipi Dragon, let's go!" Su Li climbed onto Pipi Dragon's back.

"Roar!" Pipi Dragon, carrying Su Li, leaped into the dark opening.

The sensation of falling lasted for a few seconds, followed by the sound of a heavy object landing.

"Thump!" Pipi Dragon landed steadily on damp ground.

When Su Li saw the scene before him clearly, he was speechless.

"Holy shit..."

This was a vast underground space, and before him lay a red lake emitting a pungent odor.

A light red poison mist permeated the lake's surface, and occasionally, huge bubbles would burst, letting out a muffled sound.

In the distance across the lake, some ancient architectural ruins were faintly visible.

"Isn't this just the Lake of Rot from Elden Ring?!"

Su Li felt his DNA stir. Back then, he had died countless times in this damned place; it was a nightmare of a memory.

But now...

"Heh heh, sorry, but I'm a revered corrupted knight now."

"Yeah, I'm cheating! What are you gonna do about it?"

With a shout, Pipi Dragon swaggered into the Lake of Rot with Su Li.

They hadn't taken two steps.

"Rumble..." The ground beneath their feet suddenly trembled violently.

"What's going on?"

Before Su Li could react, the next moment, "Splash--!!!"

Accompanied by the sound of a waterfall, a colossal black shadow slowly rose from the lakebed.

Seeing the behemoth before him, Su Li's throat bones clicked.

"666, devs, you're not even pretending anymore, are you?!"

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.