Chapter 10
The man in the black robe hesitated no longer. Taking advantage of the cloak's cover, he reached directly into his robe and crushed the container holding the flesh-colored tentacle.
The translucent test tube shattered, and the jagged shards cut into his fingers, while the flesh-colored tentacle, wriggling like a worm, darted toward the wound.
“Wait... my lady... your grace!”
“I... I have a complete set of ritual notes and potions that I can give you! As my foolish apology!”
The man in the black robe looked up at the red-haired girl, and his gaunt, ugly face began to fill with tiny, fleshy growths...
...
Xia'er watched the half-dead figure of the man in the black robe sprawled on the ground, her heart rate slightly quickening.
When the man had fallen, the hood had been knocked back, revealing his repulsive, nauseating head.
His cheeks were sunken, the skin hanging loose and unable to cover the muscle and bone beneath, and atop his head, pulsating growths like festering boils throbbed.
Just a glance was enough to instill a deep-seated dread, and the footsteps that had been approaching her gradually came to a halt.
This half-human, half-demon visage made Xia'er begin to doubt whether the gun and blade in her hands could inflict any real harm.
In that moment of hesitation, the man in the black robe propped himself up with one hand and trembled as he spoke:
“Wait... my lady... your grace!”
“I... I have a complete set of ritual notes and potions that I can give you! As my foolish apology!”
He slowly raised his head, his yellowed sclera and vacant pupils locking onto Xia'er’s gaze. In that instant, her mind buzzed.
“Blaid was merely a sacrifice for my ritual. After inciting him, I let him act alone, never expecting he would target you.”
“This potion was just a tool to manipulate Blaid. If your grace needs...”
“This potion and the notes are yours...”
The man's voice echoed in Xia'er’s mind, and in her vision, everything blurred into indistinct colors, with only the man’s face, increasingly filled with fleshy growths, remaining clear.
Xia'er felt the murmurs in her mind growing louder, drowning out her thoughts. Her limbs began to stiffen, and she could no longer feel their presence.
What... is this power?
Is this... extraordinary power?
Potion... notes... ritual... incitement...
These phrases struggled to reorganize in Xia'er’s mind.
In her world, even the colors began to twist, leaving only that terrifying face flickering in her vision, drawing closer with each flicker.
No... I need to find a way to move...
A siren blared in Xia'er’s mind. As that face approached, she seemed to hallucinate a horrific scene—fleshy growths bursting through the man’s cheeks, emerging from his face, and using barbed tentacles to gnaw at his own flesh...
And... skills...
Death... reversal...
With the last ounce of her strength, Xia'er pulled the gun pressed against her temple's side.
“Bang—!”
The hammer struck the bullet's primer, igniting the black powder and sending a cloud of smoke with the bullet roaring forth. The flames from the gun scorched her hair, driving the bullet into her skull, swirling in her brain.
The gunshot rang in her ears like a thunderclap, dispelling all the murmurs and buzzing.
As brain matter mixed with blood erupted from her head, everything before her instantly returned to normal.
She saw the man in the black robe, clutching his wound, limping toward her.
On his face, the fleshy growths struggled to tear through his skin, and Xia'er could even see blood seeping from his eyes, along with a barbed growth protruding from his cheek.
Fear and pain did not break Xia'er; instead, she fell into a calmness akin to that of a dead person.
Under the shocked gaze of the man in the black robe, she tossed aside the empty revolver and lunged forward with her knife, her movements swift and precise, slicing across his neck.
Ignoring the dark blood splattering onto her, Xia'er continued to hack at his neck, even as the growths on his face frantically burst forth. She showed no sign of stopping.
At that moment, Xia'er was already a dead woman; and since she was dead, there was nothing left to fear.
“Thud—thud—”
Thick, black blood splattered everywhere, and with each powerful strike, the man’s neck was nearly severed, held together by only a thin strip of flesh.
The man had long since lost all vitality; his skin sagged again, the growths on his head burst, and black blood mixed with scattered, translucent, egg-like substances littered the ground. A flesh-colored tentacle began to coalesce in the blood beside him, quietly emitting a pinkish glow.
Xia'er stopped her assault. She had no heartbeat, no breath, and faced with such a gruesome sight, she felt no fear. Her dark red pupils began to fade.
She gradually lost control of her body, her consciousness drifting away.
Is the simulation about to end...? The thought flashed through Xia'er’s mind.
I wonder if killing them has accumulated enough destiny points... Now that I’m dead, I probably won’t earn many...
Right... the potion...
Xia'er sliced open the black robe of the man, awkwardly retrieving a black, translucent vial from within. It didn’t contain liquid but rather seemed filled with a swirling gas.
Besides the potion, Xia'er also found two notebooks, which she held in her left hand, waiting for the simulation to end so she could see what they were worth in the marketplace.
Suddenly, her peripheral vision caught sight of the flesh-colored tentacle lying in the pool of blood. She slowly extended her right hand, using the tip of her knife to lift the tentacle, mustering all her strength to stand up, albeit stiffly.
Hmm...
Xia'er’s thoughts began to slow, her cognitive abilities sharply declining.
She stared at the tentacle on her blade with vacant eyes, repeatedly pondering one question.
Through the knife... can this thing be sent to the system marketplace?
I need to touch it myself...
But my left hand is full, and my right hand is holding the knife. If I let go, I won’t be able to grab it again...
Xia'er slowly raised her hand, extending the knife’s tip, inching the pink tentacle toward her mouth.
I touched it... great...
“Ah——————!”
A shrill scream erupted from the tavern entrance.
With her thinking faculties completely gone, Xia'er awkwardly turned her head to look toward the door.
Then, she froze in place, maintaining that tilted posture.
The once stagnant street began to boil with life, stirred by that scream.
---
**Chapter Nine: Unveiling the Veil of the Extraordinary**
“Reality”
“Year 741 of the Holy Calendar, June 17, 18:45”
“Evaluation: Battle! Thrilling!”
“Having consecutively killed two adult men stronger than you and a near-supernatural being, you unleashed a power beyond your own imagination in a desperate situation against an unprepared foe!”
“Accept this; it is what you deserve based on your performance.”
“Reward: Destiny Points *20, [Precognitive Vision Lv.1], [Calm Mind Lv.1]”
“Destiny Points: 24”
“Ha—”
On a rickety iron bed, a red-haired girl jolted upright as if suffocating in a dream, clutching her chest and gasping for air.
Xia'er greedily inhaled the fresh air, slowly pulling herself away from the cold, suffocating sensation she had just experienced.
Compared to the instant death she had faced before, the feeling of gradually losing body heat and consciousness after using the “Death Reversal” ability brought a deeper sense of despair, one that felt utterly inescapable.
Not long after regaining her composure, Xia'er looked up at the flickering silver-white screen before her.
“20 points...”
Seeing the destiny points she had earned, Xia'er let out a slow breath, raising her hand to rub her temples.
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