Chapter 7: Ten Shadow Magics_2

Of course, morality belongs to morality, and desire to desire.

For some, the general sense of morality may only add to the thrill.

Meanwhile.

Room 506.

"..." Xi Mu looked at the number on the doorplate, raised his hand, and knocked gently, waiting patiently.

Originally, he had planned to complete a side mission that night to enhance his strength, but having triggered a rare invitation, he naturally wouldn't miss it.

In the game, there was a well-known Time Witch, who was Kronos.

Moments later, the door suddenly opened automatically.

Xi Mu walked in calmly and saw a mature and elegant woman sitting in the living room; her cold yet charming temperament exuded an air of mystery.

"Miss Chronos, have you called me here for a reason?" he took the initiative to sit down opposite the woman, his gaze falling on Kronos's face.

An unquestionably beautiful woman, her appearance, however, was indescribable, as one would immediately forget what she looked like as soon as their eyes darted away.

The game's official setting was that if one's strength was insufficient, they would be unable to discern Kronos's face. Even when players cleared the game, no one had the opportunity to see the face of the Time Witch clearly.

It was hard not to suspect whether the game's officials had ever modeled the Time Witch at all, which led to players, even when they became powerful, being unable to find the Time Witch.

"What do you think?" Kronos chuckled, took a sip from her teacup, and looked across at the human player, with a hint of inquisitiveness in her eyes.

To this, Xi Mu shook his head calmly, "I'm not sure."

This was a lie; as a game player, and one who had played through multiple cycles, he naturally knew the reason.

However, he couldn't directly state this, otherwise, it would immediately arouse Kronos's curiosity, who would forcefully search the player's memories.

The result would be the player's death and the severance from Kronos's side mission storyline.

"You have been tainted with the scent of a Witch," Kronos said with an elegant chuckle, withdrawing her curious gaze as she spoke to Xi Mu:

"A follower of the Witch of Death, correct?"

"Yes," Xi Mu made no attempt to hide it; he had indeed come into contact with the Witch of Death and knew she was currently with Kronos.

"Human, you don't attempt to hide it?" Kronos's eyes narrowed slightly, her aura turning dangerous.

To this, Xi Mu rolled his eyes, "You've already directly mentioned the Witch of Death; hiding it would be pointless."

"True," Kronos seemed to accept Xi Mu's argument, then conjured a book and a black card out of thin air.

"Would you like money or knowledge?"

"Both," Xi Mu replied without hesitation.

Kronos was momentarily startled, then suppressed the rising smile at the corners of her mouth, nodding slightly, "If you want both, then you'll need to do something for me."

"What is it?" Xi Mu asked, just as Kronos snapped her fingers nonchalantly, conjuring a silhouette out of nothing.

And then, an unfortunate soul appeared.

There stood a handsome young man with a proud smile, dressed in a suit, a fancy rapier hanging at his waist, his clothing adorned with numerous rose patterns.

Such attire was obviously that of a follower of the God of Beauty and Art.

In the game's setting, beauty and art were closely linked; regular, self-consistent, harmonious entities were considered beautiful and to possess artistic value.

And the God of Beauty and Art was the most beautiful, the deity most representative of art.

"Go kill him, the reason I'd rather not say," Kronos sighed with a melancholy beauty, as if she had been bullied.

However, Xi Mu was well aware that this Witch had simply chosen a city dweller who met the criteria at random to test his abilities.

To the Witch in front of him, anyone's life could be used as long as it served the plan, anyone except her disciples.

"I... do not wish to kill the innocent," Xi Mu said, to which Kronos laughed softly, glancing back at the past.

"If you can make it to his room by deceit, perhaps you'll see his misdeeds," she suggested.

Xi Mu pretended to ponder for a moment, then took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Fine, but I need to take part of the payment first."

"Money or the book, choose one," Kronos nodded, not particularly concerned, as she had intended to give them both away anyway.

Before her, this human being carried an aura close to that of a Witch, not emanating from the Witch of Death but inherent to the human himself.

Thus, he was worthy of a slight investment on her part.

"I'll take the money after I complete the task," Xi Mu chose to pick up the book and asked Kronos, "Where is he?"

"You'll have to find him yourself," Kronos shook her head, opting not to inform him, curious to see how this human would use his intellect.

Xi Mu nodded, taking the book and leaving the room. With just a glimpse of the assassination target's clothing, he could almost figure out a way to find the target.

It would simply involve tracking them through the Church of the God of Beauty and Art; however, as a player of multiple iterations, there was no need to investigate—just head directly to where the target was.

He descended the stairs.

As Xi Mu lifted the book in his hand, his mood couldn't help but improve a lot. The book he now held listed ten spells for summoning different creatures.

Essentially, it exploited the power of the Time Witch to summon reflections of creatures that had passed away, to fight in the present.

Thus, the book was called the Ten Shadow Magics.

For a novice, the Ten Shadow Magics were an extremely precious skill, as poor technique during the novice phase meant that using it as a combat skill launcher was also a valid choice.

Close combat was risky, as one could easily get flustered and get killed by an enemy strike, and using Magic spells with lengthy chants was also risky, as one could easily be cut down by a closer foe.

Utilizing the Ten Shadow Magics to summon different creatures to face various enemies, while hiding in the back and using all kinds of means to support the summoned creatures to kill the enemy, was a very mainstream playstyle.

Even at the stage Xi Mu was currently at, there was still a need for the Ten Shadow Magics, which could help him pass the game more quickly.

Relying purely on one's skill and combat experience to complete the game Mysterious Gate was no easy task.

Especially since the game's power balance was terribly done.

...

…

The gloomy mansion.

"Tap—Tap—Tap—,"

The rhythmic sound of footsteps echoed in the shadowy staircase as a man cloaked in a black robe gradually emerged from the darkness.

He arrived at a door and knocked softly.

"Who is it?" An impatient male voice came from inside the room, along with faint suppressed sobs.

"It's me, Bertrand Tully," Xi Mu's voice was even and emotionless, not betraying any inflection.

There were hurried footsteps inside, then the door was abruptly pulled open, revealing a man with his upper body bare and his lower half wrapped in a white towel.

He looked at the man outside the door, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

He had never seen this man before. While the voice resembled Bertrand Tully's, the face was completely different.

Before he had time to think further, a sharp pain pierced his abdomen, and before he could react, the man in the black robe had already retreated a few steps.

"Who are you!" The man bit his teeth and touched his lower abdomen, and upon looking at his palm, he saw it was smeared with black blood.

Wait... why was the blood black?

His consciousness suddenly grew dim and heavy. He stretched out his hand towards the man not far away, took a step forward, and then collapsed to the ground, powerless.

"..." Xi Mu stood still for a while, ensuring that the man on the ground had completely lost his breath before sheathing his dagger.

In the open-world game Mysterious Gate, victory could be achieved by any means, no matter how despicable tactics like poisoning, seduction, or mobbing were welcomed, as long as the enemy was defeated, experience points were earned.

And at that moment.

"Lord Diniken, are you alright?" A fragile childlike voice called out, and Xi Mu looked in the direction of the voice to see a little boy with red-rimmed eyes holding a blanket, slowly walking out.

No matter the world, it seems that young boys are always very attractive to these clergymen.