Why did Red Hood, Lumpena, Elaine, and the others have to wait for the player’s mage to appear before they infiltrated the arena?
That was because killing monsters was irrelevant, without the Wrist of Sacrifice or Hand of Salvation of Mage.
Any slain monster that was not dealt with by Mage would be refreshed again shortly after they were killed, or they could even be immediately resurrected with full health.
As mages, Red Hood and her team appeared to have performed sacrifices or salvation for countless monsters in the past, as evident from their injured hands. However, perhaps due to the game set up, that task could now only be done by Mage, the main character.
Caroline, who had been saved, watched as Mage granted the civilians in the Blood Monsters salvation, then took a set of fried chicken out of nowhere, for the civilians to eat. She was immensely surprised and said:
[You can even make fried chicken appear with magic now?]
It seemed too absurd of a bug if he could actually create things out of nothing, so Ren Suo had no choice but to let Mage reply: [This is my space spell. I am able to retrieve the fried chicken that I kept in storage previously.]
Caroline asked: [Why is it fried chicken, though?]
Mage explained: [It is because fried chicken is the most easily obtainable food which you humans invented, that was also high in calories and would supplement you with the most energy.]
At that juncture, Mage told Elaine something, and they started using their offerings to treat the injured Practitioners of the Federation.
When the Blood Monster turned berserk, several Practitioners of the Federation had been severely injured. Although some of the Practitioners also seemed to possess healing abilities, they were still helpless when faced with major injuries such as rib fractures, organ damage, and massive bleeding.
Mage said: [Let me help you.]
The plump, black-haired mage pushed the healing Practitioner away, but Caroline, their commander on site, stopped the Federation’s Practitioners from acting impulsively. They watched as the black-haired mage placed his hand on their dying comrade’s chest. He prolonged the life of that Practitioner of the Federation!
After the mages healed all of the wounded troops, Caroline went up to the black-haired mage. She blushed as she gritted her teeth and bowed suddenly:
[Thank you, thank you very much for your help.]
The black-haired mage turned to look at her and said: [Under the World Tree, magic protects everyone.]
[Why were so many people sent in here? When did you mortals become so impulsive and reckless to infiltrate the arena of the Evil Demon??]
Caroline remained silent for a moment and said: [Sir… We received information that you and your companions had cleared the mystery portal in Xuan Nation, similar to the one here.]
The black-haired mage replied emotionlessly: [Yes, that is indeed the case, and our companion from there has already been sacrificed. It is both to protect and preserve. Since you received information about another mystery portal, you should already know that you would be unable to leave the mystery portal once you come in, until we, mages finish cleansing this arena.]
The mage that Ren Suo was controlling at that point looked very different from the silver-haired mage he controlled in the first arena.
To the people from Xuan Nation, it appeared that the silver-haired mage was ‘sacrificed’. As such, Ren Suo adapted by changing the appearance of Mage after clearing every arena—after all, Mage would always be on the verge of death after using Forbidden Abilities to defeat the boss in each arena.
Caroline nodded and said: [We know that.]
The mage questioned: [Then, why did you still choose to come in?]
Caroline stared intently at the black-haired mage. After a short pause, she said slowly: [Mage, Sir, you seem to be unaware…]
[The mystery portal that appeared in Xuan Nation, which is what you call an arena… After you, mages, cleansed it, monsters would still emerge in the arena. Although only Extraordinaires are able to enter and exit, just as before, they may enter and exit the portal at will.]
[Unlike the monsters here, those that emerged through that portal would not revive themselves, and each wave only appeared after a period of time. It is said that they are extremely strong and powerful. However, after those monsters were slain, the Extraordinaires who took part in killing them would gain more magic power and become stronger. Moreover, the effectiveness of that was tens to hundreds of times higher than us, Extraordinaires, merely practicing meditation. In addition, they would occasionally receive some legendary items too.]
[That is the reason why we came in—for one, we wanted to eliminate the monsters in this arena. Secondly, we also wanted to become stronger as Extraordinaires.]
Caroline smiled bitterly and added: [However, it now seems to us that we were overly confident.]
Truly, Ren Suo had not expected that there were still such benefits to cleansed arenas.
He already knew that the arena was likely to remain after it was cleansed because Red Hood had mentioned before that the Forbidden Fruit would be firmly anchored after it fell. Mages could only cleanse and purify the Forbidden Fruit, and if they did not do so, the Forbidden Fruit would explode when it matures. When that happened, only tragedy would ensue.
Ren Suo thought of something and said: [In that case, as capable humans, please assist us in cleansing this arena under the World Tree.]
Before Caroline could reply, a red-haired Extraordinaire of the Federation came forward and said: “Sir, I think it should be you, mages, under your World Tree, who should be assisting us, the Watchmen of the Federation. There are 78 of warriors here who are armed with modern-day weapons, but you and your companions only make up 4 people. Is it not clear who is the leader here?]
[Let me offer you some help, Sir Mage. Tell us, what abilities do you possess that allow you to cleanse the monsters? Would it not be better for us to grant you some help?]
[Fine, the ability to cleanse monsters may be an innate talent—but that does not matter. Sir Mage, since you are able to buy fried chicken sets, it means that you can also appear on Earth. All of the leading scientists in the Federation are fighting to be able to analyze your innate talents, if you are truly… fighting to protect humankind!]
[I would presume that you, mage, with such a great and noble mission on your shoulders, would be able to understand that a lone battle would never match strength in unity and numbers, right?]
Ren Suo could not help but scrutinize that red-haired Practitioner of the Federation. His name was quite ordinary—it was Victor—but he purposely picked on what Mage said previously to set traps. Since Mage said that they were protectors of the world and placed the most importance on benefiting humans, they should hence offer humans the secret behind their powers!
Such ironic flattery was truly hard to react to for an ordinary person, but who was Ren Suo?
He was the founder of extraordinary forces, and no one would be able to see through the lies he fabricated!
The mage replied: [A long time ago, we have already attempted doing as you said.]
[We tried to make the power of the mages widely known, but how it turned out is exactly what you are seeing today.]
The black-haired mage pointed at the destroyed palace in front of them and the monsters that were hovering inside. He continued: [The power of magic stems from desire. Only very few people—us, talented mages—are capable of keeping such strong desires in check to become the hunters who walk on this brutal road of thorns. On the other hand, ordinary mortals who so desire to fulfill their wishes using magic would eventually fall into this tragic state. They would end up turning into monsters who have to be killed. Eventually, they would be trapped in their despair on the ground, causing the world to be corrupt and break down into Forbidden Fruits.]
[Furthermore, the mission of mages is not something which mere mortals can bear. Such a fate should only fall onto us.]
Victor laughed and said: [Oh, really? …Here, however, you should listen carefully to our commands instead. It is us, soldiers, who have been through proper combat training.]
Ren Suo smiled mischievously and activated the offering [Roots of Uncontrollable Growth]!
Within a certain radius from Mage, vines suddenly appeared at the feet of all the Practitioners of the Federation. The vines wrapped around their bodies from their feet to their torso, trapping them firmly in their positions!
After clearing two arenas, Mage now had numerous useful offerings. For example, that offering of tree roots was an area-of-effect ability which restricted targets’ movement. It was essentially useless against bosses and human-form monsters, but it was extremely powerful against lower-leveled monsters. At the least, the monsters would be trapped for a few seconds, and it was relatively effective for fleeing or in a group battle.
The human body was similar to the lower-leveled monsters, and the offering ability was thus effective against the troops.
[Nope–]
Even Victor and Caroline were firmly trapped by the vines, and Caroline’s face turned even redder—the vines curled around her in an intriguing way which further highlighted her curves.
[Numbers are meaningless to us.]
Suddenly, the dark-haired mage flashed to a position behind Victor and Caroline. He said coldly: [Mages exist to protect, but we have dignity too.]
[The World Tree fights for the benefit of humans, and will not be entrapped within what is known as the will of humans. We may cooperate with each other, but there will certainly not be a superior-subordinate relationship.]
[If this is the attitude you wish to maintain, or if you drag us down in battle, our World Tree will choose to cleanse other arenas first. In that case, I cannot guarantee that this arena will not mature into an Evil Fruit before we return. Countless monsters would be released, and they would enter your world to wreak havoc.]
[Do you understand what I’m saying, Mr. Victor and Miss Caroline?]
Upon finishing his sentence, the black-haired mage immediately deactivated the magic of the offering—someone seemed to be about to break free of the vines.
At that juncture, Caroline suddenly reached out to suppress Victor who was next to her. Her cheeks were flushed as she turned to look at the dark-haired mage. She looked down and said:
[I understand, Sir Mage. On behalf of the Commander of the Watchmen, I agree to fight the battle together with you.]
[Also, you may call me Caroline.]
Why did Red Hood, Lumpena, Elaine, and the others have to wait for the player’s mage to appear before they infiltrated the arena?
That was because killing monsters was irrelevant, without the Wrist of Sacrifice or Hand of Salvation of Mage.
Any slain monster that was not dealt with by Mage would be refreshed again shortly after they were killed, or they could even be immediately resurrected with full health.
As mages, Red Hood and her team appeared to have performed sacrifices or salvation for countless monsters in the past, as evident from their injured hands. However, perhaps due to the game set up, that task could now only be done by Mage, the main character.
Caroline, who had been saved, watched as Mage granted the civilians in the Blood Monsters salvation, then took a set of fried chicken out of nowhere, for the civilians to eat. She was immensely surprised and said:
[You can even make fried chicken appear with magic now?]
It seemed too absurd of a bug if he could actually create things out of nothing, so Ren Suo had no choice but to let Mage reply: [This is my space spell. I am able to retrieve the fried chicken that I kept in storage previously.]
Caroline asked: [Why is it fried chicken, though?]
Mage explained: [It is because fried chicken is the most easily obtainable food which you humans invented, that was also high in calories and would supplement you with the most energy.]
At that juncture, Mage told Elaine something, and they started using their offerings to treat the injured Practitioners of the Federation.
When the Blood Monster turned berserk, several Practitioners of the Federation had been severely injured. Although some of the Practitioners also seemed to possess healing abilities, they were still helpless when faced with major injuries such as rib fractures, organ damage, and massive bleeding.
Mage said: [Let me help you.]
The plump, black-haired mage pushed the healing Practitioner away, but Caroline, their commander on site, stopped the Federation’s Practitioners from acting impulsively. They watched as the black-haired mage placed his hand on their dying comrade’s chest. He prolonged the life of that Practitioner of the Federation!
After the mages healed all of the wounded troops, Caroline went up to the black-haired mage. She blushed as she gritted her teeth and bowed suddenly:
[Thank you, thank you very much for your help.]
The black-haired mage turned to look at her and said: [Under the World Tree, magic protects everyone.]
[Why were so many people sent in here? When did you mortals become so impulsive and reckless to infiltrate the arena of the Evil Demon??]
Caroline remained silent for a moment and said: [Sir… We received information that you and your companions had cleared the mystery portal in Xuan Nation, similar to the one here.]
The black-haired mage replied emotionlessly: [Yes, that is indeed the case, and our companion from there has already been sacrificed. It is both to protect and preserve. Since you received information about another mystery portal, you should already know that you would be unable to leave the mystery portal once you come in, until we, mages finish cleansing this arena.]
The mage that Ren Suo was controlling at that point looked very different from the silver-haired mage he controlled in the first arena.
To the people from Xuan Nation, it appeared that the silver-haired mage was ‘sacrificed’. As such, Ren Suo adapted by changing the appearance of Mage after clearing every arena—after all, Mage would always be on the verge of death after using Forbidden Abilities to defeat the boss in each arena.
Caroline nodded and said: [We know that.]
The mage questioned: [Then, why did you still choose to come in?]
Caroline stared intently at the black-haired mage. After a short pause, she said slowly: [Mage, Sir, you seem to be unaware…]
[The mystery portal that appeared in Xuan Nation, which is what you call an arena… After you, mages, cleansed it, monsters would still emerge in the arena. Although only Extraordinaires are able to enter and exit, just as before, they may enter and exit the portal at will.]
[Unlike the monsters here, those that emerged through that portal would not revive themselves, and each wave only appeared after a period of time. It is said that they are extremely strong and powerful. However, after those monsters were slain, the Extraordinaires who took part in killing them would gain more magic power and become stronger. Moreover, the effectiveness of that was tens to hundreds of times higher than us, Extraordinaires, merely practicing meditation. In addition, they would occasionally receive some legendary items too.]
[That is the reason why we came in—for one, we wanted to eliminate the monsters in this arena. Secondly, we also wanted to become stronger as Extraordinaires.]
Caroline smiled bitterly and added: [However, it now seems to us that we were overly confident.]
Truly, Ren Suo had not expected that there were still such benefits to cleansed arenas.
He already knew that the arena was likely to remain after it was cleansed because Red Hood had mentioned before that the Forbidden Fruit would be firmly anchored after it fell. Mages could only cleanse and purify the Forbidden Fruit, and if they did not do so, the Forbidden Fruit would explode when it matures. When that happened, only tragedy would ensue.
Ren Suo thought of something and said: [In that case, as capable humans, please assist us in cleansing this arena under the World Tree.]
Before Caroline could reply, a red-haired Extraordinaire of the Federation came forward and said: “Sir, I think it should be you, mages, under your World Tree, who should be assisting us, the Watchmen of the Federation. There are 78 of warriors here who are armed with modern-day weapons, but you and your companions only make up 4 people. Is it not clear who is the leader here?]
[Let me offer you some help, Sir Mage. Tell us, what abilities do you possess that allow you to cleanse the monsters? Would it not be better for us to grant you some help?]
[Fine, the ability to cleanse monsters may be an innate talent—but that does not matter. Sir Mage, since you are able to buy fried chicken sets, it means that you can also appear on Earth. All of the leading scientists in the Federation are fighting to be able to analyze your innate talents, if you are truly… fighting to protect humankind!]
[I would presume that you, mage, with such a great and noble mission on your shoulders, would be able to understand that a lone battle would never match strength in unity and numbers, right?]
Ren Suo could not help but scrutinize that red-haired Practitioner of the Federation. His name was quite ordinary—it was Victor—but he purposely picked on what Mage said previously to set traps. Since Mage said that they were protectors of the world and placed the most importance on benefiting humans, they should hence offer humans the secret behind their powers!
Such ironic flattery was truly hard to react to for an ordinary person, but who was Ren Suo?
He was the founder of extraordinary forces, and no one would be able to see through the lies he fabricated!
The mage replied: [A long time ago, we have already attempted doing as you said.]
[We tried to make the power of the mages widely known, but how it turned out is exactly what you are seeing today.]
The black-haired mage pointed at the destroyed palace in front of them and the monsters that were hovering inside. He continued: [The power of magic stems from desire. Only very few people—us, talented mages—are capable of keeping such strong desires in check to become the hunters who walk on this brutal road of thorns. On the other hand, ordinary mortals who so desire to fulfill their wishes using magic would eventually fall into this tragic state. They would end up turning into monsters who have to be killed. Eventually, they would be trapped in their despair on the ground, causing the world to be corrupt and break down into Forbidden Fruits.]
[Furthermore, the mission of mages is not something which mere mortals can bear. Such a fate should only fall onto us.]
Victor laughed and said: [Oh, really? …Here, however, you should listen carefully to our commands instead. It is us, soldiers, who have been through proper combat training.]
Ren Suo smiled mischievously and activated the offering [Roots of Uncontrollable Growth]!
Within a certain radius from Mage, vines suddenly appeared at the feet of all the Practitioners of the Federation. The vines wrapped around their bodies from their feet to their torso, trapping them firmly in their positions!
After clearing two arenas, Mage now had numerous useful offerings. For example, that offering of tree roots was an area-of-effect ability which restricted targets’ movement. It was essentially useless against bosses and human-form monsters, but it was extremely powerful against lower-leveled monsters. At the least, the monsters would be trapped for a few seconds, and it was relatively effective for fleeing or in a group battle.
The human body was similar to the lower-leveled monsters, and the offering ability was thus effective against the troops.
[Nope–]
Even Victor and Caroline were firmly trapped by the vines, and Caroline’s face turned even redder—the vines curled around her in an intriguing way which further highlighted her curves.
[Numbers are meaningless to us.]
Suddenly, the dark-haired mage flashed to a position behind Victor and Caroline. He said coldly: [Mages exist to protect, but we have dignity too.]
[The World Tree fights for the benefit of humans, and will not be entrapped within what is known as the will of humans. We may cooperate with each other, but there will certainly not be a superior-subordinate relationship.]
[If this is the attitude you wish to maintain, or if you drag us down in battle, our World Tree will choose to cleanse other arenas first. In that case, I cannot guarantee that this arena will not mature into an Evil Fruit before we return. Countless monsters would be released, and they would enter your world to wreak havoc.]
[Do you understand what I’m saying, Mr. Victor and Miss Caroline?]
Upon finishing his sentence, the black-haired mage immediately deactivated the magic of the offering—someone seemed to be about to break free of the vines.
At that juncture, Caroline suddenly reached out to suppress Victor who was next to her. Her cheeks were flushed as she turned to look at the dark-haired mage. She looked down and said:
[I understand, Sir Mage. On behalf of the Commander of the Watchmen, I agree to fight the battle together with you.]
[Also, you may call me Caroline.]
