"I'll stay here and guard the place. You go to the church and inform His Holiness the Bishop that this time they absolutely won't let her escape!"
"Yes!"
The man dressed as a handyman agreed and slipped out of the hotel through the side door.
The priest, disguised as the owner, stood guard at the door, listening carefully to the sounds inside. Meanwhile, the [ Dark Archmage ], just a wall away, had already nimbly climbed out the window again, slipped into the forest, and entered the [Cocoon], waiting for night to fall.
Ten minutes later, a group of fully armed priests arrived at the hotel.
The leader looked at his colleague, who had the face of a shop owner, and felt increasingly uncomfortable.
"Are you sure she's in the room?"
The hotel owner nodded firmly.
"I saw her go in with my own eyes, and she never came out again. There was no sound from the window."
"One person stands guard at the back window, the rest of you and I break down the door!"
"Yes!"
"Bang!"
A similar sound to last night rang out again. Looking at the empty room, the priest captain turned to the innkeeper:
"I think you'll have to explain this to Bishop Yiden yourself."
"Let me confirm with you again, I only replaced your eyes and face, I don't think I replaced your brain, right?"
"No."
"Can you provide a reasonable explanation for your actions?"
Yiden slammed his hardwood cane against the ground.
"Why not arrest them on the spot? Why?!"
The middle-aged priest, now with a different face, trembled with fear, yet still concealed parts of the truth.
But he had no choice but to do it; if Yiden found out about the two silver coins, his fate would be even worse.
"That woman... her strength is unfathomable. I plan to wait for the team to come together... that way we'll have a better chance of winning."
Yiden's beard trembled with anger.
"Then why did you let her into the room? Didn't she already disappear once last night?"
"I thought she slipped out the front door..."
The middle-aged male priest flinched again.
This scene infuriated Yiden, but these were the minds of his men, and he had no choice but to accept it.
Although they all looked to be in their thirties, this man, along with several other priests, did not seem to have the experience that would match their age; they were more like simple-minded overgrown children than clergy.
They were completely clueless about many things they had never done before, only having some experience in things like conducting experiments or handling corpses.
Yiden sighed and slowly approached the middle-aged man.
He stretched out his right hand, and a Boston Ivy the size of a thumb slowly grew from under his skin.
The seedling's grayish-white, tender roots quickly twisted and intertwined, forming an object shaped like a pin.
This is your last chance.
With that, the old priest wedged the pin into the middle-aged man's collarbone...
World of Disorder, a forum.
[ Dark Archmage ] updated her previous post, but unfortunately, because the challenge against Duolin was in full swing at the main camp, her post only ranked low in the popular searches, while the posts ahead of her were all strategy guides and descriptions of Duolin.
But some friends who were interested in this storyline still sent her private messages:
[ Howling Pothos ]: "How's it going? I saw you say there's a possibility the residents are being controlled. Can one person handle it?"
[ Dark Archmage ]: "I haven't been exposed yet, but the strange townspeople might report me. I won't be going back to the inn. I'll be more careful when I log back in tonight."
[ Zhongde ]: "It's been confirmed with Duolin that the priest named Aoda didn't see any children or teenagers during his last trip to White Wax Town White Wax Town, nor during their recent visit."
[ The Good Times Don't Last ]: "Could it be what I'm thinking? Will this really air?"
[ Great Wei Boxing Champion ]: "If you can broadcast, twelve years old is considered an adult in the World of Disorder."
[ The Good Times Don't Last ]: "I'm obviously not talking about World of Disorder..."
[ Great Wei Boxing Champion ]: "That should be fine. At most, this part won't be able to be posted, but we can still experience it. It's just a pity for the armchair gamers."
[ The Good Times Don't Last ]: "If it's true, then it's a truly heinous crime... This kind of guy should be killed, right? He should be, right?"
[ Howling Pothos ]: "@Dark Archmage In short, it's best not to get too close to the church; that kind of place doesn't look simple."
[ Dark Archmage ]: "OK, does anyone have any other suggestions?"
[Pond Fish and Old Abyss]: "I just cleared the challenge in Duolin, and a question suddenly came to mind."
[ Good Times Don't Last ]: "What?"
[Pond Fish and Old Abyss]: "They're the Tree Worship Church Cult, we have to be careful of their special abilities related to plants."
[ Dark Archmage ]: "Plants?"
[ Pond Fish and Old Abyss ]: "Yes, I talked to Duolin when I was learning about Directed Alienation. Since my main attack method is to coexist with those plants, it should be considered a hidden dialogue triggered. Duolin mentioned to me that members of the Tree Worship Church have compatibility with each type of plant, and many people, once they confirm that they have the best compatibility with a certain plant, will have their Symbiotic Tree Alienation in the direction of that plant. He suggested that I also find the plant species with the best compatibility with myself, so that I can reduce the bleeding speed when summoning."
[ The Good Times Don't Last ]: "There's even this kind of setting? 666 This game is full of surprises."
[ Dark Archmage ]: "Yes, I will be more careful."
After sending that message, the [ Dark Archmage ] in front of the screen fell into thought.
So far, she hasn't discovered any strange plants. Apart from a few common Aberration species, the plants in the forest haven't reached the level of Aberration that could slap someone in the face. They are just ordinary plants, only a bit ugly.
However, since it's information hidden in NPC dialogue, it should come in handy from a game design perspective.
Let's see when it goes live (in the real world) in the morning.
Having figured this out, the [ Dark Archmage ] began staying up all night as if seeking revenge, since this was originally her usual routine, only forcibly corrected for a few days by " World of Disorder ".
With this helmet that forces her into hibernation, she no longer worries about her biological clock Disorder.
Time flew by and morning arrived. The [ Dark Archmage ] once again donned his helmet and entered the World of Disorder.
Emerging from her cocoon, she looked at the fairly bright night sky and began her operation.
Stay away from the church, be aware of people at night, and draw a map.
This is the core of her actions today.
Meanwhile, at the castle twenty kilometers away, Ed was watching the split-screen first-person perspective provided by his non-existent left eye, much like a security guard.
It was 9 PM in the World of Disorder, and 9 AM in my hometown in reality.
At this time, whether you're going to work or school, you need to get up, so there aren't many people online right now, only a handful.
Besides [ Dark Archmage ] who is playing a stealth game, there is [ Epic-Level Giant ] who is night fishing and [ Concrete Mixed with Spaghetti ] who is drawing up blueprints for a log cabin, and so on.
Just then, Duolin knocked on Ed's door, Ed turned to look at the doorway:
"Did you need something?"