The Roguelike System's Initial Application

Soul Eaters, the iconic monsters of the Abyss.

Given what the Grave Keeper had said earlier—that there was a kingdom corrupted by the abyss deep within the tomb—it's not surprising that soul-devouring ghosts would appear there.

Faced with the hideous and terrifying Soul-Sucking Demon, Jia Paer waved his hand and said, "You go."

As a senior, he naturally wanted to give the younger generation some opportunities to learn, and he enjoyed that feeling.

In the mountains where he lived in seclusion, the only younger generation he saw each day was his daughter. However, his daughter showed no respect or awe for her father and rebelled against him every day, leading to arguments.

If he wanted to earn the respect of his juniors, he only needed to come out of seclusion, but Jia Paer didn't need the praise from strangers.

What he wanted was the respect of outstanding juniors like Leon, whom he recognized.

She's quite picky even at her age.

With the Soul Eaters right in front of him, Leon instinctively reached for the Backhand Sword at his waist.

Wrong!

He quickly withdrew his hand and pulled out an ordinary straight sword from his back, covered with battle ash. "Great Carian!"

The Swift Slash is just too convenient. People with weak willpower will quickly degenerate into ruthless Swift Slash launchers, thus losing all the virtues that humanity should have.

Having realized this, Leon vowed never to use Swift Slash lightly.

Compared to Swift Slash, the even more corrupting Ring Toss was sealed away in a secret room of the mansion. Once an ordinary person experienced the feeling of Ring Toss, they could not let go. Leon only managed to break free from Ring Toss with the help of calming magic.

"Let's go, everyone," Leon said through gritted teeth, like someone who had overused Blood Therapy Potion and was trying to quit.

This was the first official battle since the Strategy Team reunited, and everyone was full of enthusiasm, even though the enemy was a terrifying soul-devouring demon.

Of course, their confidence seems to stem more from Jia Paer behind them; even if they can't win, Japal will be there to back them up.

The battle was about to begin, and Jia Paer was very satisfied with the sight of everyone fighting. These people had all undergone his special training and their skills were far superior to before.

It seems they have all put my teachings into practice. Very good, very good.

Jia Paer felt a sense of pride similar to that of a teacher seeing their outstanding students shine.

Suddenly I feel like I need to mentor more outstanding young people.

During Strategy Team, he would occasionally offer guidance, correcting techniques such as stance and combo execution.

The battle ended quickly.

"Huh?"

Malu couldn't believe it; how could it have ended so quickly?

Besides the guidance of the Sword Saint, it's also because the Soul Eaters here are weaker than those in Farron Keep.

She noticed this, but couldn't understand why the soul-devouring ghosts in the grave were weaker.

It can't be because there are no souls to absorb in the grave that they became weaker.

Just then, everyone involved in the battle received the same item, even Jia Paer, who had only given verbal instructions.

It was a palm-sized object, resembling an awl, dark in color with a white gleam around the outside.

[Human nature]

The feel of a human body is quite peculiar. It feels like you're squeezing a ball of air in terms of weight, but it has a gel-like texture when you touch it. If you could melt it, it would probably be a moist, viscous substance.

Leon didn't have Hunting Handbook, so he looked at Malu, who turned to the page on humanity, only to find—

There was absolutely no introduction!

It has only one name, and this item belongs to the prop category.

Since their purpose was unclear, everyone put it away for the time being.

After defeating the Soul Eater, continue deeper into the path. There are no further obstacles along the way, but you can see corpses lying dead by the roadside.

Perhaps he was an unlucky soul who was sucked to death by a soul-devouring ghost.

This reveals that elements supporting the narrative have begun to appear in the Zane Dungeon. Whether it's props, scenes, or corpses, they can all help to enhance the realism of the narrative to some extent.

Both Gong Qiying and Sain are making progress.

"There's no way out?"

The Strategy Team's steps suddenly came to a halt, because ahead lay rough rock walls, and there was no further path forward.

After walking for ages, it turned out to be a dead end!

Jia Paer clenched his fist. Was he planning to carve a road out of the mountain with his bare hands?

Leon quickly stopped the overly energetic old man, pointing to the ground and saying, "Wait a minute, teacher, look over there."

Hidden among the weeds, a treasure chest lay there.

Not only that, there's also a white mark in front of the treasure chest; touching it will display the following message:

[There's Teleportation Trap ahead, but the reward is there.]

"."

A moment of silence fell over everyone.

Malu asked, "Should we open it or not?"

Leon glanced at Jia Paer, steeled his resolve, and said, "Open!"

Whether this is a new trick by the Zane Dungeon or not, adventurers are naturally inclined to explore the unknown and satisfy their curiosity.

If they don't rush to try something new, who will?

Besides, they're the Strategy Team! Strategy Team don't desert their posts!

The treasure chest was suddenly opened, and a large amount of thick fog gushed out, completely engulfing the group. Then came a dizzying teleportation.

When everything returned to normal, people found themselves transported to a square room.

This room is really perfectly square; even someone with OCD would agree. The room is also quite large, about the size of a football field on Earth.

The lighting was poor; the scattered torches could only illuminate a limited area, while the rest of the place was pitch black.

"No monsters?" Leon quickly surveyed his surroundings, gripping his straight sword tightly, but there was no trace of monsters around him.

Opposite them, at the end of the room, was a treasure chest exactly the same as before, but now it was bound by a circle of red magic and seemed impossible to open.

In front of the treasure chest stood a huge tombstone.

"There might be monsters down there, be careful," Jia Paer advised based on his experience. "Bombard them with magic."

Leon dared not listen to him and mess with the tombstone again. He proceeded cautiously, and no monsters appeared until he reached the huge tombstone.

He gestured to his companions behind him, indicating that the alarm was off.

What exactly is the purpose of this tombstone?

Leon looked up at the tombstone; the inscription was completely unreadable, perhaps a lost script from ancient times.

But as he got closer to the tombstone, something strange suddenly occurred to him.

[This is the tombstone of the person who served the King of the Tomb]

When the dark abyss eroded this tranquil tomb, the loyal servants of the Tomb King fought to the death here. The rules of time and space were broken by chaotic forces, and monsters corrupted by the abyss appeared here. Later generations, whether you believe in the Tomb King or not, if you wish to fight the abyss and achieve a sweet victory, then offer your humanity before this tombstone.

[To exchange the humanity gained from defeating monsters for the blessing of the Tomb King, even if the blessing is only effective in this time and space.]

Should we offer up our humanity?

Leon blinked, not quite understanding at first.

Offering up humanity? That must refer to the item he just acquired.

The Blessing of the Tomb King. Could it refer to Tomb King Nite?

That was a great being from the same era as Gwyn Sunlight King, and a king who also obtained the First Flame!

To be blessed by such a king would be such an honor.

But what does it mean that it only works in this specific time and space? Will it disappear when you leave the dungeon?

What's the point of that?

At Leon's invitation, everyone came over and saw the information on the tombstone. They were all hesitant about whether to offer their humanity.

In this world, "blessing" is a term reserved for deities; only gods can bestow blessings upon others.

If they accepted the blessing of the Tomb King, would they have some kind of connection with this ancient deity?

Connecting with deities can sometimes be a very troublesome thing.

Leon was considering whether receiving the blessing counted as making a vow with the Tomb King.

If he were to consider it, he wouldn't have sacrificed his humanity. Although he hasn't made any oaths yet, he still yearns to become Sun Warrior.

However, he has been too busy lately and hasn't had time to make a trip to the Sun Altar.

Everyone has their own concerns, but there is one person who doesn't.

"Let me see what blessing it is,"

Jia Paer threw a human body in front of the tombstone, and everyone who saw his action gasped in shock.

Is this the composure of the strong, able to be so nonchalant even when encountering unfamiliar things?

You have received three blessings from the Tomb King; please choose one.

[Hard Bone: The bones embedded in the body are strengthened, so they will not shatter even when subjected to tremendous force.]

[Eye of the Dead: Gain the eyes of the dead. When an undead is nearby, the eyes will tremble slightly.]

[The Grave Lord's Swordsman: Gains knowledge about the "sword" from the dead, and will possess unparalleled power when wielding the sword, at the cost of a body as fragile as decaying bones.]

"That's interesting,"

Having lived for so many years, this was the first time Jia Paer had ever seen something so novel; nothing like this had ever appeared in other dungeons.

Completely original work by Sain! Plagiarism is strictly prohibited!

He only thought for a moment before choosing "the Grave Lord's Swordsman".

Fragile body? No problem, as long as I don't get hit.

After he made his choice, a black light flashed across his body.

"Teacher," Leon asked nervously, "Has anything changed?"

"."

Jia Paer closed his eyes, gripped the hilt of his sword, and an inexplicable aura emanated from him, followed by—

He suddenly opened his eyes and muttered to himself:

"Fun, really fun,"

Leon stared at him, sensing an indescribable change in the other man, as if he had entered a higher realm.

However, as his cultivation level improved, Jia Paer also began to show signs of decay, his body appearing as if it would shatter at the slightest touch.

This change made everyone even more undecided.

After a period of internal struggle, Leon stepped forward and placed his humanity before the tombstone.

You have received three blessings from the Tomb King; please choose one.

[Miasma Mist: Obtain a black mist sufficient to obscure the enemy's vision. The black mist automatically appears when you dodge enemy attacks. This substance is slightly toxic and will also harm the user.]

[Favor of the Dead: When fighting the undead, enemies will show you mercy.]

[Negative Harvest: When you inflict a negative status effect on your enemy, your morale and combat effectiveness will be boosted.]

Um?

Upon seeing the last blessing, Leon subconsciously touched his waist.

He hung the Dung Pie there.