I was already a hopeless illiterate.
As Gong Qiying flipped through the manuscript, he had only one thought—he couldn't understand it.
It wasn't that he couldn't understand any of it. It was more like an average student staring at an impossibly difficult problem solved by the top student and being unable to keep reading.
Thanks to Godwyn's memories, Gong Qiying could understand every technical term in the manuscript and grasp the connections between them, as well as the experimental procedures. But halfway through, he would often feel dizzy and overwhelmed. Some parts required careful thought before he could understand them, and the result was that the more he read, the more irritated he became, until he could no longer continue.
The manuscript's general idea was to use a certain magical ritual to transfer one's soul into the corpse of a member of the same race. Under the effects of magic, the corpse would completely transform into the soul's likeness—appearance, voice, and even deeper things such as genetic makeup would all change.
The only thing that remained unchanged was that, fundamentally, it was still just a lump of flesh.
Magic was pretty amazing, huh!
Gong Qiying felt that this manuscript would be very useful to him. Maybe he could use rebirth to leave the dungeon.
He had tried to leave the dungeon, but whenever he approached the exit, some inexplicable force stopped him, as though there were an invisible wall in front of him.
Watching adventurers come and go every day made him unbearably frustrated.
The holy land you longed for but could never reach was actually somewhere people casually entered and left every day. (Fog)
He didn't know how Zane Dungeon identified the City Lord. If it recognized souls, then Godwyn's soul had long since vanished. Why would the dungeon choose Gong Qiying?
If it recognized the body, then would he lose his identity as City Lord after leaving Godwyn's body?
After thinking it over carefully, he felt that being the City Lord was still happier than leaving.
But people needed hope to live. He still needed to study this manuscript.
"Deep Blue, add points!"
For the sake of efficiency, he decided to use Spirit Power to add points to his intelligence!
The intelligence on the panel had nothing to do with his actual IQ. Raising intelligence actually increased the damage he dealt when using magic.
But every effect had its cause. Increased magical damage resulted from many factors, such as casting speed, total mana, mana circulation efficiency, and—
One's understanding of magic and the speed at which one learned it!
Gong Qiying was raising his intelligence to improve his ability to comprehend matters related to magic and help him understand the manuscript.
E+, D-, D, D+
In one go, he raised his intelligence to C-. He had steadily added every single point himself, one at a time. Looking back at his Spirit Power, he had already spent the equivalent of one Crucible Knight.
The Spirit Power expenditure was unexpectedly low. Gong Qiying had already prepared himself for the pain of it.
"Oh-ho, I really can understand it now."
It was more than just being able to read it. At that moment, he deeply understood why certain steps had to be done that way, why certain symbols had to be drawn in certain places, and a whole series of things he had only half understood before.
Only after understanding it did he realize that the Corpse Rebirth Technique differed somewhat from what he had imagined.
During Corpse Rebirth, the soul needed to be transferred into a new body, but that did not mean the original body would be discarded. The original body would still exist, and the soul could move freely between the two bodies.
It was just that the original body would develop a tiny problem during the process.
The handwriting describing that problem was extremely messy, the strokes furious. Several lines of red ink even read, "Cannot be solved, cannot be solved, cannot be solved!!!"
Gong Qiying had been somewhat uneasy, but when he saw what the side effect actually was, he suddenly laughed out loud.
So the side effect was—the original body would turn into a Living Dead!
This is killing me. I was already a Living Dead to begin with.
Now he was relieved.
Since his soul could travel between the two bodies, it made no difference to him whether the dungeon's identification mechanism recognized souls or bodies.
What he needed to consider now was where to find a suitable corpse, as well as the necessary magical materials.
Unfortunately, to repay the kindness of the two strangers who had brought him the manuscript, he had already given their corpses a water burial in the Curse Frog Swarm. They were probably not even scraps by now.
As for magical materials, some things did not exist in Godwyn's memories. They were probably new items that had emerged over the years and needed to be purchased outside.
Buying them wasn't a problem. He could just send Jack on a trip.
However—
"This way, Mr. Jack. Boss Leon is waiting for you."
Led by Te Er, Jack nervously entered a tall building—the Adventurers' Guild.
It wasn't his first time at the guild, but it was his first time going to the second floor. Guild rules stated that only adventurers of Silver Rank or above could enter the second floor without an invitation.
The second floor was just as he had imagined: quiet and imposing, utterly different from the noisy first floor. The moment one stepped upstairs, soundproofing magic shut out the noise below, ensuring it would never disturb the elites' rest.
"You don't need to be so nervous. We only invited you here to meet your teammates," Te Er said with a smile.
"Mm." Cold sweat streamed down Jack's forehead.
In a moment of impulse, he had accepted Te Er's invitation to join the Strategy Team. It was the Strategy Team! Only the most elite of elite adventurers were qualified to join. Who had never fantasized about experiencing a thrilling dungeon adventure alongside the Strategy Team's elites?
And now he had been called here to meet everyone. Thinking about how every person he was about to meet was a "big shot" to him, Jack was beginning to regret yesterday's impulsiveness.
The lounge door opened. A sunny, handsome young man with gentle features sat in the center. Upon seeing Jack, he gave him a warm smile and said, "You must be Mr. Jack. Te Er has already introduced you to us. I'm Leon, Leon the Lion."
"Pleasure to meet you, pleasure to meet you." The moment Jack stepped into the room, inferiority welled up inside him, and he could barely straighten his back.
Adventurers sat around in small groups, each radiating the presence of a powerhouse. Their fighting spirit and composure were astonishing; one look was enough to tell that they could give any enemy a nasty surprise.
"Let me introduce them," Te Er said proactively. "The masked one is Beidang the Black Fist. The dwarf beside him is Delu the Bedrock. That little one over there is Malu the Silver Cat, and—"
"Who are you calling little?!" Malu waved her tiny fists in protest.
"Alright, alright, introductions can wait."
Leon waved his hand, and the lounge immediately fell silent.
"Mr. Jack, I hear that you know this dungeon well. You often lead teams in and out, and you've even discovered specialties that no one had found before. You must be a master dungeon explorer."
"You flatter me, you flatter me." Jack repeatedly shook his head. "I was merely lucky enough to take the right route. Calling me a master is really too much."
Leon narrowed his eyes.
"I have a few questions I'd like to ask. Would it be convenient for you to clear up my doubts?"
"Of course, of course."
The morning passed in a flash. By the time Jack left the Adventurers' Guild, his back was soaked in cold sweat, and his hands were trembling slightly.
After spending so many years among the lowest ranks, he had thought himself a smooth and worldly man. Yet after spending one morning with Silver Rank adventurers, he had shown such an ugly side of himself.
In the end, it was his inner inferiority at work. He could sweet-talk, deceive, and swindle people of his own level, but the moment he encountered a Great One, he trembled uncontrollably.
Still, at least they hadn't seen through him.
Jack let out a breath, and a faint smile returned to his lips.
These people were strong. Leon was even stronger.
With their help, perhaps he could even kill that guy!
The Gargoyle's savage face flashed through his mind. He hesitated for an instant, but quickly hardened his resolve.
At this point, who cares about some lifesaving benefactor? My new life is just about to begin. I absolutely refuse to remain bound by a monster!
Jack looked up at the sky. The bright sun hung overhead, representing happiness, representing joy, representing vigorous vitality.
"My new life is just about to begin."
He could not help but sigh. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught sight of something.
Huh, why was that person running?
It looked like... they were running toward him?
"Pfft—"
When the sharp object pierced his heart, Jack's mind went completely blank.
(PS: After readers criticized me, I realized that the protagonist should not appear so much, or should appear less. But I can't change it now. Later on, I will greatly reduce the parts where the protagonist leaves the dungeon. This was an oversight from my first time writing this kind of story. Sorry, sorry.)
Thanks to all the big shots for your tips and monthly votes!
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