Chapter Four: The Lawful Good Silence

If a necromancer were to drink holy water, what do you suppose the consequences would be?

Bang!

"Aghhhhh!" Medy suddenly let out a loud shriek, but due to the barrier he had previously activated, his voice was unable to escape the confines of the small cabin. Pale flames erupted from within his body, scorching his flesh and soul. In other words, his health points were plummeting rapidly.

With this, Mo Tan’s plan was ninety percent complete.

Before leaving that street, he hadn't come here immediately. Instead, he found a small shop and used the coins from the vegetable vendor’s wallet to buy a flask. He filled it with clear water, prayed piously, and successfully crafted a rudimentary version of [Holy Water].

Then, using various excuses, he gathered enough information about Medy from the townsfolk and set off.

An hour later, the former priest and current necromancer, Medy Levin, was burning inside his own cabin, looking as if his time was nearing its end.

But...

"You despicable... vile... bastard! Maggot! Scum!" Medy shrieked in a hoarse voice, struggling step by step toward Mo Tan. "Pay the price! Do you think you can kill me just by tricking me into drinking this bit of holy water? You must know that I am..."

"A former priest, right? I learned from others that you preach to the children every Sunday." Mo Tan’s voice sounded like a devil to Medy. He chuckled lightly, "Your knowledge of the Holy Light far exceeds your research into necromancy. That is the reason you haven't been 'purified' all these years, and it is the source of your confidence that you wouldn't be destroyed by holy water. However..."

Pfft!

Medy fell to his knees, spitting out threads of pitch-black blood.

"Who told you this was just ordinary holy water?"

[Holy Water (Fake)]
Consumable
Effect: Unknown
[Note: Created by the hypocritical prayer of a non-believer.]

Medy, who had attempted to channel the power of piety to neutralize the effect of the holy water, suffered a secondary, devastating blow—one on the level of his soul.

If drinking holy water caused massive damage to an undead-affinity constitution, then this bottle of fake holy water not only possessed the former’s efficacy but also triggered a backlash from any god-given power.

Of course, it would be useless against high-level beings—those at the High Priest level (at least 35th-level Holy Light school)—or fanatics, but Medy clearly did not fall into that category. A moment later, he was already at death's door.

"Mana..." the old man on his knees reached out his arm, as if trying to grasp something, murmuring weakly. The pain on his face vanished at the very last moment, replaced by a sense of relief. He smiled.

"She has been waiting for you for a long time." Mo Tan crouched in front of Medy, his voice gentler than ever. "You can rest now, Mr. Medy."

"This moment... I have waited for it for too long..."

The instant he stopped breathing, Medy Levin crumbled into a pile of black ash.

The next second, the system’s voice rang in Mo Tan’s mind:

[You have unlocked the class: Trickster, Level 2, EXP 77/150]
[You have gained new skills and attribute points]
[You have gained the talent: Unbeliever]
[Tutorial quest completed. You may choose a reward class: Rogue/Warrior/Mage, and gain 60 EXP]
[Tutorial quest completion rate 300%. Reward: one piece of equipment, optional 150 EXP]
[Unlocked Item Codex, Character Codex, Story Codex]
[Holy Water, Holy Water (Fake), Medy Levin, "Medy's Love" added to Codex]
[You have received a unique quest; unique quest unlocked]

"Well, quite rewarding..." Mo Tan said distractedly, then picked up a ring from the pile of ash on the ground. As expected, it was a piece of equipment of quite high quality.

[Medy's Wedding Ring]
Type: Ring - Set
Quality: Fine - Unique
Attributes: Intelligence +5, Constitution +5, Strength -1, Undead Lore +1
Trait: Additional skill: Medy's Persistence
Requirement: None
Set Effect: [Medy's Wedding Ring] / [Mana's Wedding Ring] — Increase Constitution by 10%
[Note: The matching rings exchanged when Medy Levin and Mana Aine were married. It once held a wisp of Mana Aine’s soul and was never removed.]

As the text implied, this fine-quality ring was a rare treasure in the early stages of the game, the kind that could definitely be bragged about on social media. Moreover, it was part of a set; with Mo Tan’s intelligence, it wasn't hard to guess where the other piece was. Without a doubt, the corresponding [Mana's Wedding Ring] was buried under the gravestone in the backyard that didn't actually mark anyone's resting place.

However...

Mo Tan did not put it on. Instead, he found a jar in the house to collect the ashes Medy left behind. He brought the ashes and the ring to the backyard, dug up the other ring, and reburied the pair of wedding rings along with the jar.

Such an action was clearly incomprehensible to most, just as baffling as Mo Tan’s ability to kill that lovestruck necromancer without the slightest psychological burden.

But he didn't care. Or rather, the personality known as Tan Mo didn't care. He simply wanted to do it, so he did. As for the loss of two decent pieces of equipment or the fact that dead NPCs don't have a concept of "resting in peace," he couldn't have cared less.

From this, we can see that no description fits him better than the words [Chaotic Neutral].

***

Mo Tan returned to Medy’s cabin and sat in a chair to examine his new class.

[Class: Trickster]
EXP: 77/150
Category: Deception School
Attribute Bonuses: Intelligence +5, Dexterity +2
Weapon Requirement: None
Exclusive Skills: [Confuse], [Beguile]
Description: The perfect lie is one that, the moment it is spoken, succeeds in deceiving even oneself.
[Note: If one day you find you cannot even trust yourself, please immediately undergo a rigorous psychological evaluation.]

"Ha~ definitely a support class~~" Mo Tan smiled, then muttered to himself, "If I became an actor, I might have a promising future..."

He intended to check his new talents and skills and browse those codices, but unexpectedly...

A sudden wave of self-reproach struck him, and then...

[You have been disconnected from the server. Please choose whether to reconnect.]

"Yes."
[Reconnection starting...]
[Connection complete, reading character information]
[The Realm of Innocence has opened for you; the character creation process is about to begin...]

...

The same prompts, the same stone platform, the same nine doors, but a different... Mo Tan.

He did not immediately choose the door that suited him, but rather crouched in place, holding his head and sighing.

"What is this mess!" Mo Tan slumped his shoulders, his face full of gloom. "Must I spend a large portion of my life in depression and regret? What was I doing just a moment ago!!"

He was agonizing over his actions toward Medy while in the persona of Tan Mo...

In the eyes of the current Mo Tan, before the system's "Bone-Melting Plague" occurred, Medy likely hadn't harmed any innocent people, and his story was quite sympathetic. Although he had thrown himself into the embrace of so-called "evil magic" to resurrect his wife, he was certainly not a bad person.

Yet, a person like that had been easily killed by his own hand. Even though the final outcome gave the current Mo Tan some comfort, he still felt unsettled.

He felt that if it had been him, there would surely have been a better way to solve the problem...

The quest required stopping the plague, not killing Medy Levin.

There were many ways to achieve that goal. The simplest would have been to find an excuse to lure Medy away from home and then sneak in to destroy his spell models.

Alternatively, he could have found evidence that Medy was a necromancer and then located the "Rabid Jackal" mercenary group passing through the town tavern to have him driven out—information Mo Tan had already gathered while wandering the town.

The current Mo Tan would have preferred to frankly tell Medy that resurrection would surely fail and then try to think of other solutions with him. After all, he didn't know much about the Realm of Innocence; perhaps there really was a way to resurrect Medy's wife...

Unfortunately, the Chaotic Neutral Tan Mo chose the simplest and most brutal method, which did reunite Medy with his wife, just in a different form.

Mo Tan sighed again, then looked at the pure golden door that had long since swung open, and stepped inside.

Possessing the same memories but constantly dissatisfied with "his own" methods, this moral-paragon version of Mo Tan had quite strong opinions about his [Chaotic Neutral] self...

The door of [Lawful Good] slowly closed, hiding his back.

The process of character creation will not be detailed here; let’s look directly at the character profile this time...

[Calculation complete. Your initial character profile is:]
Race: Half-Dragon (Thunder Dragon lineage)
Gender: Male
Alignment: Lawful Good
Talents: Spirit of Devotion (Health increased by 5% when fighting alongside friendly targets; chance to be critically hit increased by 5% when attacked), Iron Spirit (Gains additional defense bonus when health is below 30%, specific value depends on lost physical stamina)
Base Attributes: Strength 7, Dexterity 5, Intelligence 9, Constitution 7
Civilization Attributes: Eloquence 5, Charisma 5, Knowledge 8, Leadership 8
Combat Attributes: None

"Sigh, I'm actually not that great..." Mo Tan scratched his hair, his expression somewhat irritating.

[Please name your character?]
"Mo, no need to confirm again," Mo Tan replied. He felt a single-character nickname wasn't bad.

[Perform appearance adjustments?]
A Half-Dragon’s appearance was similar to a human’s, except for fine purple scales on the neck and wrists, a slightly sturdier build, and... a tail...

Mo Tan frowned slightly: "Can we make a deal and remove the tail?"

[Certain racial traits cannot be eliminated, only adjusted within a certain range.]
The system replied mechanically, and the tail, about half a meter long behind the Half-Dragon in front of Mo Tan, shortened by four-fifths.

"Ugh, it looks like my butt is swollen. Let's change it back..." After pondering for a long time, Mo Tan decided not to make changes. After all, the Realm of Innocence was a bit overbearing; from alignment to race, there wasn't much he could decide himself...

[Character creation complete. Lawful Good Mo, welcome to the Realm of Innocence.]

For the third time...

Mo Tan opened his eyes and found himself on the back of a creature that... by his estimation, was a terrestrial dragon. And he wasn't the only one there.

Glancing around briefly, there were seven or eight people sitting on this five-meter-long sub-drake. Behind them were several carriages and people riding horses and various exotic beasts, all appearing to have some combat capability.

[Tutorial quest triggered—Protect the Dryad Caravan]

"Hey, kid." A large hand patted Mo Tan’s shoulder heavily. He turned his head to see a red-faced, bearded dwarf smiling at him.

Mo Tan nodded, feeling a bit dazed: "Hello, may I ask..."

"Mag, Mag Rolliron," the dwarf made a funny face. "We were too rushed when we set off, didn't have time to introduce ourselves. I'm the captain of the Savage Earth Dragon mercenary group, and the escort leader for these... uh... green-skinned little sticks."

Mo Tan nodded slightly, not venturing to speak further, as the other party hadn't told him his "current" identity...

"You guys are lucky~" Mag winked at Mo Tan and the direction behind him. "Since we're all heading to Kuxi City, you caught our ride~"

You guys?!

A hypothesis immediately surfaced in Mo Tan’s mind. He turned around and, sure enough, saw a handsome, resolute-looking young man winking at him. The young man was wearing hemp clothes similar to his, empty-handed, but without scales or a tail.

From every angle, he was a player just like himself.

"Trouble you, Mr. Rolliron." Mo Tan returned a knowing look to the young man, then turned back and extended his hand to Gray Rolliron: "My name is Mo."

"Swift Cecil!" the human youth also raised his hand and said cheerfully.

The dwarf warrior in chainmail hugged Mo Tan hard, which caused him to lose a bit of health, and then high-fived the Swift Cecil: "Just call me Mag. By the way, you kid..."

He glanced at Swift Cecil: "What are you looking around for?"

"Uh..." the young man was at a loss for words, but Mo Tan had already guessed that he must have received the same tutorial quest. That previous action was likely him being vigilant against unknown enemies.

Just then, a mustached man riding a highland pony came to the side of the terrestrial dragon, laughing and cursing: "Mag! You bastard, just because you're the captain, you think you can drink on duty?!"

"If you beat me, I'll share a drink with you~" Mag rolled his eyes, brandishing an axe that was almost as tall as he was, and bared his teeth at the mustached man.

"Get lost, I'm afraid your 'low-stance slash' will cut off my privates!" The man spat on the ground and shrugged: "But there shouldn't be any danger on this road anyway~"

As everyone knows, in this time, this place, and this situation... such words are a glaringly obvious flag, much like when a main character in a horror movie jumps out to court death, sighing, "Turns out there were no ghosts after all~"

Then, they get crushed.

"Look out!" Mo Tan suddenly leaped up and kicked the mustached man away. His innate 7 points of Strength, combined with his Half-Dragon bloodline, actually managed to kick a mercenary who had experienced... ten... uh... many battles, completely off guard.

"You son of a..." Mag’s eyes went wide, and just as he reached out to grab Mo Tan’s collar, a feathered arrow whistled through the air, grazing the back of the pony and embedding itself deep into the ground!

Seeing this, Mag roared, "Alert!" He flipped off the terrestrial dragon and landed steadily on the ground, not forgetting to give a thumbs-up behind his back.

"Whew, I owe you one, buddy." The mustached man scrambled up from the ground and nodded at Mo Tan: "Thanks."

Mo Tan smiled at him. He didn't have particularly keen senses; he had simply observed the environment subconsciously when the mustached man was "planting the flag," noticed this area was a perfect ambush spot, and felt uneasy. When he looked up, he saw a strange glint in mid-air—which he realized in hindsight was the arrowhead—pointing directly at the mustached man...

As for why this modern person had such experience... that was a debt to be charged to the guy named "Tan Mo" in the game~ After all, memories and experiences were shared.

"It's Sand Goblins!" the elven ranger kneeling on the back of the terrestrial dragon shouted loudly: "Numbers, many! A lot!"

"How many is 'a lot,' damn it!" Mag shouted back in dissatisfaction: "Second Captain, bring me my Idari musket!"

A lizardman riding a giant lizard sped past him, shouting without looking back: "Get it yourself, you old drunkard! I'm going to check it out!"

"You two, you can handle swords, right?" the elven ranger with a scar on his face turned back to ask.

Mo Tan and Swift Cecil nodded simultaneously. Whether to complete the quest or from a personal standpoint, neither would stand idly by at this moment.

"Weapons are under the board. Stay back as much as possible later and look after yourselves!" the elf said at high speed, while drawing three black-feathered arrows simultaneously and firing them together.

The enemy’s first wave of attacks had arrived!

This stretch of road was a gentle slope. The caravan’s current position had poor visibility. To the right was a low cliff, which was the source of that first arrow, and to the left, as Mo Tan observed, was a rare plain swamp...

Just as Mo Tan and Swift Cecil grabbed their weapons, a large number of black figures appeared vaguely in his vision. At the same time, several bursts of black mud, accompanied by murky black water, came from the left!

"Mud Murlocs!"

A thin barrier unfolded around the caravan. A woman holding a red-gold magic staff, wearing a bright red robe, ran over from the back and exclaimed: "How could there be Mud Murlocs here!"

Chapter Four: End