Shadow World: Secret Tale of the Withered Sacred Rite

The morning air was slightly cool, and a few scattered stars lingered on the gray-blue horizon.

The Beautiful Minds Trio are walking around the school with Cat Teacher.

Winter mornings are especially cold.

And it's currently a holiday season.

Along the way, there were almost no students to be seen, only a few school staff.

Normally, no student would want to get up so early and go out during the holidays.

However, because Dekan had previously obtained intelligence—

The unscrupulous merchant Morion would regularly match with Shadow World at 7:00 AM on the first day of every even-numbered month to Taunt the Resurrection Church.

So today, February 1st, the Beautiful Soul Squad wants to step into the Void Gate leading to the Shadow World at 7 AM, attempting to match with Morion into the same Shadow World.

Before dawn, the three people and the cat headed to the giant building that served as the entrance to the Shadow World.

Although Croix still cannot team up with Dekan Cornelia this time, he has gotten used to acting with the squad in important events.

Once Dekan and the others enter the Shadow World, Croix will also go to the Observation Hall to watch.

"I should be able to reach Tier 4 after this run, then we can team up next time."

Dekan said with a somewhat helpless smile.

Okay, good luck to you guys!

"Sigh, I hope we can find Morion this time."

"Dekan sighed."

Contacting missionaries was one of their main objectives in this missionary journey to the Shadow World.

But car accidents are all about luck.

There is no guarantee that you will encounter Morion.

"Morion?"

Croix frowned.

Dekan suddenly realized that they hadn't told Croix about Morion yet.

After obtaining information about Morion, Dekan rushed to Tristin.

What followed was a great battle and a relaxing trip. When they returned, Dekan and Cornelia were like conjoined twins studying for final exams, and they didn't have a chance to chat with Croix about the details of their trip to the Shadow World.

"I forgot to tell you, one of our main objectives in this Shadow World is to crash into this guy named Morion... Wait, judging from your expression, do you know Morion Hanover?"

Dekan was surprised to find that Croix, who was usually a good-natured person, was now gritting his teeth.

Dekan looked exactly the same when he first heard Morion's name!

"That guy! He invited me to his territory, then he took pity on an elf and wanted to save it, and in the end I healed the elf..."

Croix spoke with a hint of exasperation, as if recalling someone who had run away with their debts.

"Who knew he would later cause such a huge disaster! And I was, to some extent, considered an accomplice, and my father locked me up in solitary confinement for a week..."

"Well."

Dekan and Cornelia exchanged a glance.

They recalled the story of Morion causing internal strife in the territory, in which Morion did indeed find a miraculous healer who cured the seriously ill elf, which led to the subsequent series of risk-free and highly profitable operations.

It turns out he tricked Croix!

Although what Croix did in this incident can only be described as doing good deeds.

However, considering the overall outcome of the event, Croix was an accomplice and became a key figure in Morion's instigation of civil unrest.

Fortunately, Croix was unaware of the situation, so she only received a symbolic punishment in the end.

"How do you know Morion? He's been missing for so long."

"I can't believe it, "Croix asked, puzzled.

He and Morion were both from noble families and were of similar age, having been in contact since childhood.

Croix had no idea when Morion had provoked Dekan again.

"Ha, that unscrupulous merchant used sweet talk to buy a batch of [Bandit Goblin] from me for 100 Mint Coin each."

Dekan couldn't help but feel both angry and amused whenever he thought about it.

K: "Are you trying to recruit him?"

De: "Well, but if you don't agree, then forget it."

For Dekan, Croix, a trustworthy partner, was more important than Morion.

"No, I don't mind. But you all must be careful. Even if you become teammates with Morion, you must be wary of him, and don't hesitate to sabotage him when the opportunity arises!"

"Understood."

Dekan and Cornelia both nodded.

They felt that if necessary, Morion could be captured in a more brutal manner.

Since Morion has tricked Dekan and Croix...

From the moment they confronted Morion, they had already positioned themselves on the moral high ground!

Meow~

The Cat Teacher lazily nestled in Cornelia's arms and yawned.

"How much longer, meow?"

It was still sleepy-eyed; it wouldn't have wanted to wake up so early if it weren't for needing to catch the early bus for the tour.

"Almost there, almost there. We'll call you when we get there."

Dekan checked the time and said.

This time, they need to enter the Void Gate precisely at 7 o'clock to have a better chance of running into Morion.

Cornelia stroked the Cat Teacher's back, making it let out a comfortable snort.

At the precise second, the two people and the cat finally stepped into the Void Gate together at exactly 7 o'clock.

What followed was the familiar darkness and silence.

Unlike usual.

The field of vision quickly became clear and bright, which meant that they had directly entered the Shadow World.

Even though the matchmaking in the Shadow World was fast before, it still took a few seconds to get in.

However, this time, the match seemed to be completed the instant they stepped into the Void Gate.

Unsurprisingly, there are probably a lot of Resurrection Cultist trying to crash into Morion right now.

Dekan even suspected that even if he couldn't encounter Morion in this Shadow World, most of the other challengers would be Resurrection Cultist.

It's practically a train to the Underworld.

[Shadow World: The Secret Tale of the Withered Sacred Rite]

[Level: 6]

[There are 13 challengers]

[All of this happened on the Southern Border of the Holy Kingdom. This was not only the southernmost point of the Holy Kingdom, but also known as the end of the world. In this kingdom, the Holy Rite Church was revered by most of its citizens, yet there were also voices of doubt and resistance. Something seemed to be brewing in this city-state and its neighboring towns, already approaching a tipping point.]

[Mission Objective 1: Survive for 10 days.]

[Mission objectives 2 and 3 are currently hidden and must be explored and their information exchanged by the challenger to unlock them.]

[Note: Recklessly harming the native inhabitants of the Shadow World, or severely damaging their favorability, may lead to mission failure and trigger unimaginable consequences.]

[Remaining time: 9 days, 23 hours, and 59 minutes.]

[Due to the large size and open-world nature of this map, the starting point may vary depending on the challenger's assigned role.]