Volume 3: The Crypt Chapter 5 Salvation or Death?
In a dark underground cave, a group of young adventurers were listening attentively to a skeleton monster talking. The scene looked really weird.
"...My name is Robert Willanster, I used to be a dwarf, my friends call me 'Quencher'..." the skeleton said faintly. We can vaguely guess what he said, especially because his name and his figure are very consistent with the legendary dwarf "Quencher".
"...A year ago, I discovered this vein and dug a mine here. At that time, I didn't know what kind of terrible things were buried underneath, nor did I think that I was digging a grave for myself and everyone else..."
"...Everything went smoothly. A large amount of precious metals were mined, bringing us a steady stream of huge wealth. We thought we had found a treasure, so we worked harder and quickened the pace of releasing the demon..."
"…During the excavation, we broke a stone wall and discovered this huge underground cave. Stupidity, greed, and curiosity made me make a decision that I will always regret. I decided to build a passage leading to here and continue digging in this cave…"
"...we dug out these caves..." Then, "The Undead Robert Willanster" pointed to the caves at the bottom of the cave, and continued, "...we found some sealed boxes. Like all fools who deserve retribution for their greed, we tore off the seals and released a huge devil. No, even the devil is no more terrifying than him. He is the lord of evil spirits who resists death, the master of the corrupt, the most loyal and cruel lackey of the king of the last days, the great soul lich - Mackenskar..."
"...He drained the life out of everyone. No one was spared. He drained our souls and turned the dead into corrupt monsters that wandered between life and death, as his most humble slaves. He destroyed the entire mine and buried all the secrets here..."
"... Fortunately, I have an amulet guarded by the Supreme God on me. It cannot save me from death, but it protects my soul from the torture of the great lich. However, the amulet cannot protect me forever. I can feel that my soul is dissipating. I pray to the Supreme God, asking him to give me a warrior so that I can have the opportunity to make this terrible secret public. My soul is already very weak, and I can't hold on for much longer. But, fortunately, you are here..."
"…Go to Valen Fortress and report the news of Mackenskar's escape to Marquis Meneval. Time is running out. The Great Lich seems to have a way to guide the Withered Land back to the Falvi Continent. The army of the King of the Last Days will spread across the entire continent. The war is about to begin, and we must prepare early!"
"Besides that, I would like to ask you to do me a small favor..." Just when I thought that the dwarf corrupt had finished speaking, he made another request to us:
"...If my soul dissipates, my body will also become a monster, just like my companions. Dwarves are not afraid of death, but they must die with dignity. I cannot let my body become the enemy of my soul." At this point, his voice paused for a moment. Although as a corrupted being, he could no longer change any expression or voice, but I seemed to be able to feel that he was making an important decision.
"Destroy me after I become a monster!" he said.
"I will give up my soul and no longer cling to life. I only ask you to stop me and kill my dead body again, so that I can die peacefully like a dwarf."
"...I have lived...for too long..."
"Would you like to... help me..."
The Dwarf Corrupter raised his thick, strong head and looked at me with his empty but earnest black eyes.
I can't answer that.
Shouldn't I do this? Stop the birth of a monster and let the soul of a good man rest in peace. Reason tells me that I should accept his request and use my sword to free him from his long-lasting pain. No one should refuse this request, because it concerns the fate of a good man's soul.
But, it's difficult.
This rotten man has a complete soul. He can feel pain and regret. I can't tell myself that he is dead. If a person's body is incomplete but his soul is complete, can we say that he is dead? Can we say that those people with broken hands and feet and only one eye are dead? Compared with them, the dead soul in front of me has only lost more flesh. He is still a "person", a "person" with life, wisdom, and nobility.
Could you watch a person like this commit suicide in front of you and then destroy his body without hesitation?
"Accept the task!" Niu Baiwan's voice came from behind me. I looked back and he seemed to be a little impatient waiting.
"Don't worry, just retreat as soon as you accept the mission. We can defeat the level 15 monster!" Nocturne in B flat minor also said eagerly.
"... You... are... not... stuck... either..." Even the slow-reacting Tintin couldn't help but urge me on. Seeing them rubbing their hands and impatiently trying, I really couldn't understand: Is killing a monster who used to be a human so exciting?
Perhaps, my fellow spacefarers have an optimistic understanding of "death". According to their description, people do not disappear after death, but have a chance to be resurrected. Perhaps, this dwarf metallurgist named Robert Willanster will also be like this.
But I still don't like this feeling.
"Okay, I'm willing to help you!" I gritted my teeth and nodded in agreement to his request.
"I cannot express my gratitude to you, brave adventurer. May the Supreme God Darimos bless you forever..." The undead Robert Willanster said to me gratefully, his pale chin slightly pulled back, revealing a strange and relieved smile. He gently stretched out his hands, holding the pendant hanging on his chest, knelt on the ground with a low voice, and bowed his head reverently. As his hollow mechanical voice gradually became lower, I seemed to be able to see a faint glow gradually dissipating from his body, gently disappearing in the air, until there was no trace of it at all. These lights were different from any light I had seen before - I mean, it was obviously not the so-called "ghost fire" - they were truly magical things, and what supported it to flicker was the most fundamental power of life.
When all the light faded, I smelled the scent of danger from the dwarf skeleton in front of me.
It was a cold smell of killing. I knew that the skeleton kneeling in front of me had turned into a ruthless machine that created death, without any breath of life.
This is a battle I don't want to recall.
It's not so much that I've tried to forget the feeling at that time, but rather that I have never had any memory of that battle.
The dwarf metallurgist, Robert the Quencher, who had completely transformed into a monster, swung his battle axe at me without hesitation. His mind, which was originally full of knowledge of mineralogy and metallurgy, was now completely replaced by the frenzy of killing. The battle axe hit the shield, making a "clang" sound, which made my arm numb.
I didn't fight back from beginning to end, but subconsciously used the shield to block my head and face. I even felt that I did this not because I was afraid of his battle axe, but because I didn't dare to look directly at his face - that bony face with dark and deep eye sockets.
At one point, I thought about abandoning all thoughts of weakness and facing the rotten monster like a true warrior, swinging my sword without mercy. But every time I saw his numb and stiff face, I couldn't help but think of his earnest hope when he begged me to destroy him. He hoped to atone for his sins, and he had paid enough for what he had done. He begged me to destroy his body, and I agreed, but in fact, I didn't have the right to do so - there was nothing about him that needed others to save him.
So, I could only hide behind my shield weakly, betraying his wishes and my promise, and allowing the evil power to control his body and commit atrocities that he would never want to do in his nature.
Fortunately, I still have my companions. They are not as sentimental and hesitant as I am. It is not difficult for them to destroy a level 15 corrupted one. Not long after, the sturdy dwarf skeleton was frozen into a lump of ice by Tintin Xiaoge's ice witch, and then smashed into pieces. Broken bones and ice slag were scattered all over the ground, mixed with the remains of the original skeleton monsters.
The battle is over.
Having completed Robert Willanster's request, my fellow skydivers seemed very happy - I had no right to blame them, they had saved a soul, fulfilled a dwarf's last wish, and brought him a decent and honorable death. They had every reason to be happy.
But, I really can't be happy about this matter at all.
Was he "killed" or "saved"?
I have never wanted to think about this question.
In the cave behind Robert Willanster, we found an Advanced Miner's Manual and an iron pickaxe called "Metal Picker" that could increase mining skills by thirty points. These two items made Ding Ding Xiaoge, the only miner among us, very jealous.
“…These two…things…can you…give me both…” His inner excitement was completely masked by his slow voice, and no one could hear a trace of joy in his voice.
Although these two items were the most valuable in this adventure, they were meaningless to others, and no one objected to giving them to Tintin. In this way, our orc warlock not only completed the task, but also significantly improved his mining ability, becoming the lucky one with the most abundant harvest in this adventure.
In his joy, Tintin generously said that if we needed it, he could give us some metals and ores, which was exactly what I needed to learn alchemy. In addition to me, Nocturne in B-flat minor was also a beneficiary of the orc warlock's generous decision - the life skill he learned was to make armor.
The elven druid fairy girl came down to earth face down and got the "Amulet of Faith" from Robert Wellanst's neck. This amulet was originally supposed to be worn by the most devout believers of the Supreme God Darimos. It embodies the power of faith, which can increase the wearer's mana by 30 points and enhance the wearer's ability to resist soul magic.
What I find a little puzzling is that the druid girl is obviously a loyal believer of the goddess of nature, Nachnia, but she doesn't mind wearing an amulet belonging to a believer of the Supreme God.
However, looking at the elf girl's excitement, I think she may not know what the amulet means, but just wants to hang an ornament around her neck for the sake of beauty. We all know that women of all races have an endless demand for ornaments. I dare to bet with anyone that if there is only one choice, even a female priest who believes in order and light and is extremely pious to the Supreme God would rather hang a skull pendant that symbolizes despair and death than leave her neck empty.
In addition to some herbs and food, the skeleton monsters in the mines also dropped some coins - these should be the coins they carried with them when they were alive. When the soul lich Mackenskar turned them into corrupted ones, these unfortunate miners obviously did not have time to change their clothes. Now, they probably don't need these things anymore.
In addition to the sundries and coins that everyone gets, Niu Baiwan didn't get anything else. But in my opinion, he is not disappointed at all. On the contrary, he may now feel that he is the one who has gained the most:
"...What's so great about this? I ran here from Hardhoof Valley alone when I just reached level one. I saw many high-level monsters on the road. These skeletons are nothing..." I don't think he would tell the druid girl that he ran to Campnavia City because he was lost.
"...I have also seen a dragon, a green dragon. When you reach a higher level, I will take you to kill it..." Niu Baiwan was still boasting. Although the men around the girl were always very tough, when a level 12 Tauren warrior boasted about going to "slay a dragon", it was no longer tough, but shameless bragging.
Niu Baiwan walked in front with the fairy. He seemed to speed up his pace intentionally, increasing the distance between us. The elven druid seemed to have forgotten our existence and followed him closely, often making us laugh. Soon, their bodies disappeared in the darkness, and only their names could be seen vaguely above their heads. Niu Baiwan wrote his long name on his head, like a signboard that could walk upright, which looked a bit funny. After a while, we couldn't even see their names.
"If someone is being nice to you for no reason, he is either a traitor or a thief!" Nocturne in B-flat minor said indignantly while gritting his teeth as he watched their figures gradually disappear.
"...These words...are only said by those who want to...show their kindness...but can't do so..." I have gradually become accustomed to Ding Ding Xiaoge's timely expression of his brilliant opinions at times like this.
"..." The dwarf bard who was rebuked rolled his eyes and glared at the orc warlock with resentment:
"Ding Ding Xiao Ge, it wasn't until I met you that I realized there were two things I had been doing wrong since I was a child."
"……What's up?"
"First, sometimes, people who tell the truth are very annoying; second..." Having said this, he suddenly lowered his voice and moved closer to Ding Ding Xiaoge.
"...The second one is...what?" After a while, Ding Ding Xiaoge asked hesitantly.
"…The second point is that when you talk close to someone, it is easy to step on their feet!" Having said that, Nocturne in B-flat minor stepped hard on the instep of the orc warlock, then strode forward with a whoosh.
With Ding Ding Xiao Ge's extremely slow reaction speed, he did not react to the kick at that time. It was not until the bard walked more than ten steps away...
"Ah..." The orc expressed the pain on his toes with his unique slow and long voice:
"...You are definitely... narrow-minded... and are seeking revenge..."
"Ah..." Just as the dwarf bard and the orc warlock were walking in the back and bickering, the sharp screams of a fairy descending from the earth and Niu Baiwan's panicked cry for help suddenly rang out in front of them again: "Help..."
We immediately guessed that the Tauren warrior and the elven female druid had once again been ambushed by the enemy.
Although I was complaining about not being able to attract the elf girl's attention, when I heard the cry for help, Nocturne in B-flat minor and I immediately rushed out and ran straight to the direction of the sound. Ding Ding Xiaoge once again used his irregular instant movement steps, sometimes appearing in front of , sometimes falling behind us, moving erratically like a ghost.
"You idiot, I told you not to run too fast and to keep a certain distance from us. If something goes wrong with you, how can we save you..." Nocturne complained loudly to Niu Baiwan while jumping and running as fast as he could. However, when Niu Baiwan and the fairy appeared in front of him again, his complaints stopped immediately.
Some unexpected scenes completely shut the bard's mouth, and immediately left this eloquent guy speechless.
He wasn't the only one who was surprised. I also stood there in a daze, my eyes wide open, unable to believe what was happening.
The two people walking alone in front did not encounter any danger - to be exact, our Minotaur warrior was actually unharmed. He was just like us at this moment, with his mouth wide open, looking at the scene in surprise, completely unaware that his big tongue had subconsciously stretched out of his mouth and was almost licking his neck.
Only one person was fighting, and that was our elven druid girl who had fallen to the ground on her face. It was hard for me to describe her expression at this moment: she closed her eyes in horror, and her hands kept raking and pulling in front of her body. Although she had turned into a sturdy giant bear, she still looked like a little girl who was unable to struggle when she was scared and cowered.
The weak and clumsy struggle of a little girl might be hilarious, but the instinctive reaction of a frightened giant bear is much more terrifying. Now, there are two skeleton monsters holding pickaxes and shovels standing in front of the elven druid. Rather than being terrifying undead spirits, they are a pair of poor creatures who are being tortured. Every time the giant bear's claws swing, some broken bones fall off their bodies, and the blunt weapons in their hands can cause very little damage to the druid who has transformed into a giant bear. Until now, the druid giant bear has just lost less than one-third of his life, and the ground is already full of broken bones and skeletons.
"What happened?" I asked Niu Baiwan, who had just recovered from the shock.
"Just now... we were walking, and this group of skeleton monsters, about five in number, suddenly turned out from the corner. We were caught off guard, and one of the skeleton monsters came face to face with her. Then... she screamed, and I almost scared myself to death. And then... it wasn't even my turn to take action, and it turned out like this..." Niu Baiwan spread his hands forward, motioning me to look at the current scene.
"Ah... Help... It's so scary, so scary..." The druid girl shouted for help in her sharp soprano voice, and slapped the last skeleton monster into a pile of bone fragments. It seemed that she didn't know what she had done until she killed the last enemy. Her hands... well, claws... were still waving in front of her chest, and it seemed that if no one stopped her, she would keep waving like this.
Someone once said that fear can sometimes stimulate the great potential in the human body, allowing people to exert unexpectedly powerful strength. I always thought this statement was ridiculous - a coward can never become a warrior no matter how he changes - but now, I suddenly feel that the power of fear may be greater than people imagine.
Seeing this, we all sighed helplessly. Niu Baiwan blushed slightly, and under our gaze, he came forward and patted the druid girl on the shoulder from behind:
"It's okay, it's okay, those skeletons are all dead..."
It seemed that the elven female druid heard Niu Baiwan's words. She stopped waving her claws doubtfully, and her tightly closed eyes opened slightly. After making sure that everything was safe, she finally opened her eyes.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. They suddenly appeared just now and scared me. I'm very timid. I'm afraid of the dark and ghosts. I'm sure you made a fool of yourself." She turned into an elf girl again, her little face flushed with shame.
Our faces seemed to be redder than hers.
"How did they... die?" The elf girl looked around and asked in surprise. She looked at us and finally stopped her gaze on Niu Baiwan:
"You didn't beat them all to death, did you?"
"Hmm...uh..." At this time Niu Baiwan was probably shocked by the amazing performance of the fairy who had descended to the earth. He didn't react at all and just hummed a few times hesitantly.
Unfortunately, the elf girl seemed to take his hesitation as a tacit agreement:
"I knew it was you, you're so awesome!" The elf girl's look of infinite admiration made Niu Baiwan at a loss, his face flushed red.
I don't know why she always thinks that Niu Baiwan is the strongest among us - there is a huge discrepancy between the facts. I guess, maybe for those girls with weak temperaments, a rough and bold appearance can really give them a sense of security.
I have to say, this was a beautiful mistake.
Before long, we returned to the underground hall and were about to return to the surface from the mine.
Niu Baiwan and the elf girl were still walking side by side in front, the bats in the mines no longer posed a threat to them. The three of us followed far behind them, keeping their figures within sight.
At this time, the half-orc warlock Ding Ding Xiaoge, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke:
"I think... even if that druid girl is alone... she can clean out the underground cave..."
We must admit that what he said was a terrible fact that made us men feel embarrassed and ashamed.
