Chapter 151: Toying with You Until You Doubt Your Life

By now, Lu Kuan was half-sprawled on the ground, too weak even to roll aside. The only things he could move were his fingers and his eyes.

So he gave up struggling altogether. As the giant skeleton swung its great axe down toward his skull, Lu Kuan pulled a face at it.

“System Notice: You have been attacked by a Giant Skeleton! Critical hit! You take 290 damage!”

“You have died!”

“You are protected by the Radiance of Pelor. The effects of death have been nullified. Your character’s status is fully restored.”

“Congratulations! You have completed the quest ‘Under the Gaze of the Eye of Light’ and gained 150 experience.”

“You have successfully attracted the attention of Pelor, God of the Sun.”

…

Like a bolt of electricity, lights and shadows flickered before Lu Kuan’s eyes. The character selection screen flashed past, and the next moment he was dragged back into the game, confronted by a screen full of system notices.

At the same time, golden light burst through the temple hall. Lu Kuan felt a gentle breeze pass before him, and every undead creature was reduced to dust and scattered away!

“Whew…” Strength flooded back into Lu Kuan’s body. He looked down at his hands, elated and still a little shaken.

“Thank goodness… That post from the big shot wasn’t lying. If I hadn’t known beforehand that this trial was endless, I probably would’ve run away halfway through… What a nerve-racking ordeal.”

Lu Kuan rubbed his skull, which had just been split in two, and let out a grateful sigh.

The entire room was now bathed in holy light, as though nothing had happened. Lu Kuan sprang to his feet and strode forward.

Amid the heap of gray ash on the floor, something formed a distinct column-shaped mound. Lu Kuan snatched it up and blew away the dust, revealing what it really was: a candlestick made of pure gold, with half a candle still unburned.

“System Notice: You have obtained ‘Golden Prayer Candlestick.’”

“Heh. I’ve been hacking at skeletons all this time just for you!” Lu Kuan grinned. He took out his flint, lit the candle, and held it high before Pelor’s statue.

After a few breaths, the golden light filling the hall gathered above the candle, forming a sphere that steadily grew larger. Within it appeared a scene from an ancient war.

A gigantic wolf, its body blue-black, soared through the sky, locked in a fight to the death with an enormous red dragon.

Frenzied dragonfire collided with the icy power radiating from the wolf, exploding on impact. Fangs clashed silently with claws, unleashing visible shock waves that swept a mountain peak away with ease.

The boulders tumbling down were brushed aside by the wolf’s tail, sent hurtling straight toward the roaring dragon in the sky. Judging by the trees in the vision, the boulder was at least ten meters across.

Though the sphere gave off no sound at all, Lu Kuan could still feel its world-shattering force. The sight filled him with fierce excitement.

A hoarse old man’s voice spoke beside Lu Kuan’s ear.

“This temple before you was built by Pelor’s avatar himself, to honor the great wolf Dom, who a thousand years ago helped fight back the world-ending dragons. He was fierce and tenacious, and never surrendered—as you were just now.

“As for how the temple fell into ruin… that is what you must discover, adventurer. Go to Whitewater Village and speak with the old man there. He may be able to offer you a clue.”

As the voice faded, the sphere gradually vanished.

Throughout the entire quest, Lu Kuan had kept his recording device running, capturing every detail.

The game company was so shameless it charged players even for recording, but what had just happened was absolutely worth the money.

As soon as the sphere disappeared completely, Lu Kuan stowed his weapon and headed for the door, intending to return to the village and find the old man.

But when he reached the entrance, he suddenly stopped and ducked out of sight.

A hundred meters ahead, several players were hunched over, cautiously making their way toward the hall. A few of them were old acquaintances of Lu Kuan’s.

“Blazing Sword…” A cold glint crossed Lu Kuan’s eyes as he murmured the name.

…

Blazing Sword moved swiftly and quietly, surrounding the hall from three directions. But after a thorough search, they found no sign of Lu Kuan.

“The footprints in the dust lead all the way out of the building and into the swamp. He must have left,” Grasshopper said after examining the tracks carefully.

The others looked frustrated. They’d chased him for ages and lost so many people, yet hadn’t even brushed his leg hair… Old Deer was as slippery as a rabbit!

Master Red frowned slightly. “Any quest clues in the hall?”

“Nothing so far. But this is clearly a temple of Pelor, so it should be more promising than the last ruin. We may find something after the boss finishes that quest step,” someone replied.

Master Red nodded, surveyed the area, then quickly gave an order. “Mark it on the map. We’re pulling out. Keep the people on the perimeter alert.”

The group moved quickly, leaving the hall one after another and heading back the way they had come.

“Ah!”

The sudden scream made everyone jerk around in unison. They only had time to catch a glimpse of a flash of white light.

At the rear of the party, the monk responsible for watching their backs had dropped helplessly to his knees in the muck. The tips of two arrows protruded from his cheeks. Before he could even close his eyes, he was dead.

“It’s Old Deer!”

A ranger in the group shouted, pointing toward the nearby ruins. They saw a figure flicker through the ruined hall, then race toward the jungle on the left.

With the temple ruins obscuring the open ground, Lu Kuan needed only a few bounds before vanishing from sight.

Rage surged in Master Red’s heart. That bastard… Had he waited until their people left, then slipped back out of the jungle to harass them?

He was asking for death!

“Split into two squads! Advance from both sides!”

Master Red roared and charged ahead. Apart from Grasshopper, who went to check the monk’s dropped items, the others split into two squads and sprinted toward the hall from either side.

But the swamp was treacherous terrain. One step sank them into mud and water up to their knees, severely slowing them down. By the time they reached the jungle on the left side of the clearing, Lu Kuan had vanished without a trace.

“Keep chasing!”

Master Red gave the order without hesitation and charged toward the jungle opposite.

The enemy was hidden, while they were exposed. Pursuing him was bound to be dangerous, but Master Red had no choice. First, there was the quest. And second, if Old Deer got away so easily, it would deal a devastating blow to the team’s morale.

The whole group hated the human ranger by now, and none of them spared their strength as they prepared to plunge into the dense jungle.

Just then, another despairing scream rang out behind them.