Ma Lou

Biodata

Power Progression

Appearance

Ma Lou deliberately customizes his avatar to look exceptionally thin, hunched, and suspicious rather than conventionally heroic 9.

• Build: Lowest available body-size setting, with scrawny limbs and a slight hunch 9 27.
• Face: Narrowed eyes, constantly darting glances, and a conspicuously shifty expression 9.
• Clothing: Starter linen shorts; the original party initially fights bare-chested with improvised weapons 21 36.
• Advancement effect: His First-Tier transformation leaves his appearance largely unchanged, but adds a subtly dangerous quality to his bearing 22 23.

Personality

Ma Lou is intensely competitive about levels, achievements, and loot. After agreeing to rest with his teammates, he secretly logs back in at midnight to pursue the server’s first level-one character. He then broadcasts his hidden achievement to the veterans’ chat and public forum, openly enjoying their jealousy 17 20 21.

His curiosity often overrides caution. He eats Mutated Corpse pus hoping for a poison-resistance buff, grabs suspicious fungi despite Ji Luo’s warning, and attacks a spectral monster while ignoring a critical Sanity alert. Even after nearly dying during the ensuing chase, he praises the encounter as an exhilarating gaming experience 4 12 19.

He is also practical and inventive when pursuing rewards. He studies hunting techniques outside the game, develops attacks against vulnerable body parts, volunteers as bait for the group’s trap, and turns free resurrection into a way to replenish mental energy 18 22 27 37.

Abilities & Skills

Ashen Missile

An offensive Ash Apostle skill that launches black smoke flecked with sparks, dealing minor damage and bursting into a blinding ash cloud 23.

• Can damage both physical creatures and spirit-type horrors 23.
• Blinds enemies for approximately three to five seconds, creating openings for melee teammates 23.
• Hits a Blackwood Tree thirty meters away during his first demonstration, leaving a scorched crater 23.
• Helps blind the Cave Stalker during the party’s rematch and suppress groups of monsters at the Church breach 24 37.
• Consumes mental energy; three consecutive missiles exhaust him during the siege 37.

Ashen Shaping

Allows Ma Lou to manipulate nearby ash into constructed objects. Their hardness and duration depend on his available mental energy 23.

• Can form weapons or defensive barriers 23.
• His first ash short sword lasts less than three seconds; creating it after one missile completely drains his mental energy 23.
• Works alongside Jiahao to create two-meter Ash Spears for the frontline fighters attacking Flesh Fusion 39.
• Creates stumbling blocks while the party tries to prevent Flesh Fusion from feeding on lesser monsters 39.

Spear Combat and Weak-Point Attacks

Ma Lou favors opportunistic strikes against exposed anatomy, calling his approach “Localized Necrosis Style” and one attack “Chrysanthemum-Breaking Strike” 22.

• Uses distraction, surprise, and vulnerable-body-part attacks to kill Corrupted Villagers 18 22.
• Exploits a stone pillar to evade a monster, then attacks its knee and the back of its head 18.
• Designs a long, thin, slightly barbed stone spear specifically for his preferred fighting style 22.
• Physical spear attacks cannot harm the Lantern Night Terror 19.

Scouting, Stealth, and Monster Luring

His mobility makes him the original party’s regular bait runner and an effective forward scout 27 33.

• Lures seven or eight Corrupted Villagers and a First-Tier Mutant Hound toward a concealed pit in one run 27.
• Uses a ground-hugging roll to escape the pursuing villagers at the trap’s edge 27.
• Moves quietly through a narrow village alley and scouts the cultists’ ritual through a damaged window 33.
• Later directs newer players to block a Human-Faced Poison Spider’s venom from the front while spearmen flank it 49.

Resurrection and Resource Management

Like the other summoned players, Ma Lou can return through the Church’s Resurrection Array. Revival availability depends on the current rules and resources 3 14 36.

• Early free-revival limits make reckless deaths costly; after exhausting them, the group needs Ash Coins to obtain further lives 3 14.
• During the Church-defense event, unlimited free revivals let him deliberately die to restore both health and mental energy 36 37.
• Calls this tactic his “suicide-for-mana build,” which Jiahao immediately adopts 37.
• Without revival, his depleted mental energy takes approximately half an hour to recover fully 23.
• Nighttime mental corruption remains dangerous: the Lantern Night Terror reduces his Sanity to zero and paralyzes him 18 19.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Wooden Spear — A sharpened, fire-hardened improvised weapon used during his nighttime hunt. He abandons it while fleeing the Lantern Night Terror and later carries a wooden spear during the Church defense 18 19 36.
• Barbed Stone Spear — A homemade spear with a long, thin point and slight barb, used for finishing blows and attacking trapped monsters 22 27.
• Evil God Flesh Remnant — An epic-grade material looted from Flesh Fusion. The fist-sized, dark-red crystal bears vein-like markings and contains an ancient evil god’s authority over devouring. Its exact use is unknown; the item description suggests it may help unlock a hidden class or serve as a divine offering 41.

Achievements & Titles

Background / History

Early Beta and the Cave Stalker

Ma Lou is one of the original five players fighting from the ruined Church. He dies during the first Mutated Corpse encounter, then participates in the group’s successful improvised kill. Searching for an unconventional reward afterward, he swallows the creature’s pus and suffers a nearly fatal hallucinogenic toxin 3 4.

During the party’s first village expedition, he mistakes a Cave Stalker’s glowing fungal lure for something worth collecting. Grabbing it exposes the hidden monster, which kills him and wipes out the party. With their free revivals exhausted, the players turn to building Sivir a shelter; Ma Lou climbs the frame, binds crossbeams with vines, and helps lay the roof 12 13 14 15.

The Midnight Hunt

Seeking enough experience to reach level 1 before his teammates, Ma Lou secretly leaves the Church at midnight. He perseveres through Darkmoon Mist Corruption and kills two Corrupted Villagers, raising his experience from 40/100 to 60/100 17 18.

He then mistakes the Lantern Night Terror for a valuable hidden boss. His spear passes through its body, and its psychic attack leaves him helpless. Lin En sends an emergency warning and ultimately expands the sanctuary barrier to break the creature’s chain and save him. Ma Lou receives Night Survivor, logs out, and publicizes the encounter 19 20 21.

Leveling and the Pit-Trap Operation

The veterans prioritize Ma Lou’s advancement so they can discover what Ash Apostles unlock at level 1. After he gains his two ash skills, he serves as rear-line support while the others catch up 22 23.

The group subsequently defeats the Cave Stalker and begins grinding to fund the Ashen Portal’s expansion. Ma Lou repeatedly draws monsters into their concealed stake pit, helping the party reach level 3. The operation eventually eliminates the nearby Corrupted Villagers; his fruitless scouting run reveals that the creatures do not respawn 24 26 27 28 29 32.

Flesh Fusion and the Second Beta

After the nearby hunting grounds are depleted, Ma Lou scouts the abandoned village and discovers cultists preparing Flesh Fusion to destroy the Lord of Ashes’ barrier. The party attacks the incubating creature but is wiped out, then returns to defend the Church against the resulting beast tide 33 34 35 36.

During the defense, Ma Lou supplies ranged support, develops his death-based mental-energy refill tactic, and helps prevent Flesh Fusion from consuming other monsters. Victory raises all five veterans to level 7. He retrieves the Evil God Flesh Remnant before the Ashen Portal opens and the group receives Ash Guide 37 39 40 41.

By the second beta, Ma Lou leads his own hunting team. When it encounters a Human-Faced Poison Spider, he organizes shield bearers and flanking spearmen, hoping to obtain silk for bowstrings and venomous fangs 49.

Relationships

• Ji Luo — Tactical leader of the original party. Coordinates Ma Lou’s advancement, assigns his bait-running duties, and insists that he safeguard the Evil God Flesh Remnant 22 27 41.
• Lu Ziye / Passing Pure-Love Warrior — Teammate and competitive friend. Angrily blames him for triggering the Cave Stalker and secretly grinding overnight, but later gives him finishing blows to accelerate his leveling 13 21 22.
• Kindergarten Boss / Bossy Guy — Frontline teammate who pins enemies for Ma Lou and supports the trap operation 22 27.
• I’m Not Jiahao — Frequent target of Ma Lou’s teasing. Later fights alongside him as an ash-skill support caster and copies his suicide-for-mana tactic 10 11 24 37 39.
• Lin En — Patron deity and hidden administrator. Watches Ma Lou’s nighttime expedition, saves him from the Lantern Night Terror, and awards his hidden achievement to encourage further exploration 17 19 20.
• Sivir — Beneficiary of the shelter Ma Lou helps build. His attempt to coax a hidden quest from her frightens her; she later interprets his bizarre behavior as a consequence of immense supernatural power 15 31.

Notable Quotes

“Who cares if it’s perverted? It works! One more!” 22

“Hahaha! This is my original suicide-for-mana build!” 37