Masks and Departure

Lu Li selected a string of connected masks. These masks were monotonous, round, white faces with nothing remarkable about them, strung together through their eye sockets by a rope and hung against the wall. Lu Li even distracted himself to count them; there were nine in total.

"If you want them, just take them!" The Mermaid glanced at the masks and said directly, "These masks don't have any real function; they can only store a bit of energy, and the amount is pitifully small."

Upon hearing this, Lu Li took down one mask, examined it, and put it on his face. He clumsily controlled the Shadow Magic within his body to move slowly, and then Lu Li discovered that when the Shadow Magic reached his face, it suddenly became much more agile. With a thought, he injected it into the mask. Unfortunately, one mask could only hold a little magic; Lu Li roughly calculated that the magic injected into a single mask was only about one unit.

When he took off the mask, Lu Li felt a pulling force between the mask and his face, though it wasn't strong; a slight tug was enough to peel it off. However, by this time, the mask had already changed its appearance.

The originally pure white mask was now covered in black veins, and two small horns had sprouted on the forehead. Where there had been a simple hole for a mouth, a set of ferocious teeth had appeared, and in the hollow eye sockets, it felt as if something was constantly staring at you. The whole thing was now a demon mask, and Lu Li could faintly sense a connection emanating from it.

Putting the mask on again, Lu Li could sense the Shadow Magic inside. There was some loss, but most of it remained. Following the sensation, Lu Li drew the Shadow Magic back into himself and sensed it carefully. He had injected 1 unit of Shadow Magic earlier, and now he had recovered only about 0.6. Of course, he did not rule out the possibility that the transformation of the mask had consumed some magic.

Lu Li set the mask down, but it did not revert to its pure white state; it remained that terrifying demon face. Even that faint connection was something Lu Li could still feel, as if he had already bound it to himself.

Thinking of this, Lu Li chose to bundle up all nine masks and take them with him. These masks could greatly compensate for his endurance and might even allow him to realize some of his ideas. Returning to the Ice Palace beneath the lake, the Mermaid Princess and the Witch had entered the inner chamber to perform the species transformation ritual. Xu Haoran was pacing back and forth with an irritable expression; Lu Li suddenly felt he looked a bit like a father waiting outside a delivery room.

Lu Li picked up another blank mask and began to inject Shadow Magic into it. By the time he reached the seventh mask, his magic was completely exhausted. He waited quietly for about an hour before filling the remaining two with magic, though looking at these masks, Lu Li's expression was somewhat strange.

Even though he had injected the same Shadow Magic into all of them, the nine masks had all transformed differently. Some had horns, some had only a single horn, some had teeth, some did not, and some had become half-masks due to having too many features. In short, the nine masks had become completely distinct, and all of them shared a secret connection with Lu Li.

Stacking the nine masks together, Lu Li tied them up with the rope he had taken earlier and hung them at his waist. Although it was a bit inconvenient, at least it wouldn't get in his way.

Suddenly, a sound came from inside. The Witch walked out first, followed by the maid, and then the Mermaid Princess, who walked out slowly and uncomfortably. Looking at her, it seemed as if she would collapse if a breeze blew on her.

The Mermaid Princess kept her mouth shut, making no sound. Her expression was strange; it held the awkwardness of walking for the first time, as well as the guilt and joy of having transformed her species. This meant that one more obstacle between her and Prince William had been removed.

"Please come with me to the land and help me expose the impostor's conspiracy!"

The next moment, the Mermaid Princess's voice rang out in Lu Li's mind, as if she were speaking directly inside his head. This feeling was strange; those unaccustomed to it might immediately experience dizziness or nausea.

The Mermaid Princess walked with extreme difficulty. She also tried stopping for the first time, feeling the sensation of standing still. The three faint markings on her face smoothed out, and she became immersed in a beautiful fantasy, smiling and revealing her sharp canine teeth.

The merfolk outside had already prepared the boats and such. This was the third time Lu Li and his group had started a boat journey. Lu Li was already somewhat weary of boat travel and hoped this would be the last time. Lu Li looked at the sea surface, which kept changing yet seemed to never change, and thought to himself.

On the other side, the Witch was also sailing away with the maid. It was worth mentioning that Xu Haoran had actually abandoned the mission and chosen to stay with the Witch. He was currently standing on the Witch's boat with a satisfied expression; the fate awaiting this guy probably wouldn't be a good one.

The two boats looked at each other. The Witch had a calm expression, as calm as if she had accepted her fate. She touched the small box inside her witch's robe. All the factors were in place: the gender provided by the Deep One, the voice provided by the Mermaid Princess, the spiritual transformation provided by the Ghoul clan, the inner essence provided by that woman, and some items that had been collected long ago.

As long as she performed the final ritual, absorbed all the factors into her own body, and found a vessel for the excess, she would succeed. Thinking of this, the Witch suddenly looked up at the satisfied Xu Haoran on the side and smiled. Xu Haoran was struck by this smile and lowered his head, his face flushed red.

On the other boat, Lu Li asked with a bored expression, "The mission difficulty should be proportional to all of us, right? Is it really okay to be one person short?"

"I just feel sorry for his share of the goods..." Gao Xiaowen sneered, "It seems that although you are not simple, you haven't been through many instances and don't understand the ins and outs of this. You should know that the sources of modules are, first, clearing instances and mission rewards, second, purchasing from the game store, and third, killing powerful demons and monsters. Actually, there is another way to obtain modules more easily."

"That is to kill other players. Their skill slots will collapse upon death, and the modules that make up their skills will be scattered. At this moment, if you interfere a little, it is possible to intercept those modules..." Gao Xiaowen spilled the secrets directly, "This game is about the strong getting stronger, while the weak become nutrients to supply the strong. At the beginning, everyone is probing each other's bottom line; isn't it all for the final harvest?"

"Then why are you telling me everything now?" Lu Li asked with great interest. This game was truly becoming more and more interesting. Was this so-called multiplayer instance actually just raising poisonous insects?