Yang Qizhou shifted his position on the couch, looking at the text on his phone, an involuntary aunt-like smile spreading across his face.
Was it an illusion, or were the game characters becoming increasingly despicable and shameless, especially their talent for deceit? With the empowerment of "Destiny Revelation," it seemed that they had mastered "Fate misleads you" to its pinnacle. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
"But I can’t deny that freeloading a thug with ’Angel God’-level combat strength is a pretty decent haul."
Yang Qizhou’s smile grew even brighter.
From the moment he had entered "Polluted Mountain Edge" until now, the game character may not have obtained any high-tier artifacts, but in some sense, the free henchman "Kandar" was more valuable than a legendary item. The reason was simple: Kandar was living, a Gatekeeper who could wield the authority and power of the "Wisdom God," unlike a singularly functional mystical artifact. When faced with danger, he could respond much more adaptively and effectively.
Of course, once the realm gate journey concluded, convincing Kandar to continue serving would rely entirely on the game character’s eloquence.
"My alter ego in another world, I trust in your shamelessness. I’ve got high hopes for you."
Soon, the text on his phone refreshed again.
"After bidding farewell to the locals, you and ’Kandar’ quickly left what was called ’Guardian King City,’ which was actually just a camp made of several shacks."
"You embarked on the filthy and unclean land of the polluted earth..."
"A thought flickered in your mind."
"You realized you hadn’t activated the effects of the ’Hidden God’s Clothes,’ and the aura of the ’Wizard’ was leaking freely."
"Keep in mind that the unknown horrors in ’Polluted Mountain Edge’ are neither as guileless as Kandar nor as loyal as the Ancient Gods still serving the ’Wizard,’ and their faithful followers."
"These creatures, distorting and mutating into grotesque horrors due to filth and uncleanness, inherently detest and show hostility toward the presence of a ’Wizard,’ as if they carried a Taunt Aura, attacking en masse wherever they go."
"Not wanting to experience a mob assault, you decided to activate the ’Hidden God’s Clothes.’
"Just then, you heard Kandar’s urgent voice."
"Unfortunately, it was too late. Just as you left the boundary of Guardian King City’s second sector, you saw a hundred-meter-tall tentacle dripping with filthy mucus and reeking of a foul stench sweeping toward you."
"Damn it, this bastard again. Am I really going to experience getting squashed into meat paste once more?"
"You remembered the terrifying moment when you first entered ’Polluted Mountain Edge,’ being slapped into a bloody mess by this same ’horrific creature,’ a wave of desolation washing over you."
"You shut your eyes, resigning yourself to the arrival of misfortune."
"Wait, why hasn’t my soul crossed over to the River of Death yet?"
"Just as you wondered, you opened your eyes again. Kandar was standing in front of you, and somehow, the terrifying tentacle—hundred meters long and dripping with filthy mucus—had been sliced into two pieces. While emitting a pained howl, the part connected to the body quickly retreated."
"Holy crap, scared the life out of me. Thought I’d be taking another stroll in the River of Death."
"This free henchman sure wasn’t swindled in vain."
"When there’s trouble, he really steps up."
"Obviously, you were rattled, but as the successor of the great ’Lord of Blasphemy,’ there’s no way you could lose your composure."
"Feigning an air of calm, you asked Kandar, who had just epically sliced the massive tentacle, ’What was that?’
"Kandar replied, his voice carrying a hint of seriousness... ’These were once beings of ’Wisdom’s Edge.’ After being polluted by the filthy and unclean forces seeping from ’Polluted Mountain and Sea,’ they twisted into monstrous abominations. With characteristics somewhat similar to the ’Lord of Filth,’ they are effectively extensions of the Lord’s own body, possessing a high rank and capable of channeling the powers of filth and uncleanness. Their standing surpasses the ’Star Spirit God,’ though they fall short of ’Angel God.’
"Oh, so they aren’t at ’Angel God’ rank, are they? But if I shepherded the ’God of Victory’ and carried the ’Star Spirit’ rank, why am I still getting squashed like a bug? Damn it."
"You fumed inwardly, vowing to spend some cash and further digest the ’Winning God Potion,’ refusing to believe you’d always be stuck as a weakling."
"Despite your inner turmoil, as the successor of the ’Lord of Blasphemy,’ maintaining your dignity was paramount. Outwardly, you kept your cool, nodding without showing any emotion."
"You could clearly see admiration surfacing on Kandar’s face."
"This filled you with satisfaction."
"At that moment, Kandar seemed to have thought of something. With a slightly solemn expression, he said... ’Wizard, you have already shepherded a god. The aura of the ’Wizard’ around you is far too strong and could easily provoke attacks from unknown horrors. Although I have the combat strength of an ’Angel God,’ I am not a god myself and find it difficult to invoke symbolic characteristics to protect you.’
"Deeply absorbed in Kandar’s words, suddenly, the ground beneath your feet cracked open, and a massive, dragon-like bloody maw swallowed you whole."
"While being chewed and swallowed, your bones and flesh were crushed. You were devoured, soon digested into excrement."
This abrupt twist nearly threw out Yang Qizhou’s back... Escaped one calamity, only to inevitably meet another. Unsurprisingly yet frustratingly, the game character died, and the cause of death remained as grisly and tragic as ever.
"Damn it all, screw this, I refuse to accept it. The game character was about to activate ’Hidden God’s Clothes,’ just a few seconds late, so why did he still have to die?"
"This feels targeted, blatantly targeted."
"I’m lodging a complaint."
Just when he was cursing fervently, Yang Qizhou suddenly had a realization.
The [Deceit World] seemed to have been constructed by ’Fate,’ most likely the handiwork of the ’Lord of Blasphemy.’ And as the successor—or possibly even the ’Lord of Blasphemy’ himself—swearing at the GM effectively meant swearing at himself.
After all, this was a Lovecraftian-style game. Dying once or twice wasn’t unusual, and besides, with so many [Destiny Fire Bottles] at his disposal... sorry, freeloading does mean playing by your own rules.
"Muttering under your breath, you grumbled, ’In the end, I still have to pass through here.’ With the proficiency of strolling through your backyard, you arrived once more at the River of Death."
"The [Destiny Fire Bottles] worked. The extinguished Blessing Fire reignited, and the power of destiny rewrote your death."
"You reopened your eyes on the filthy, unclean soil of ’Polluted Mountain Edge’ and spotted Kandar squatting in front of you, his face full of guilt."
"’Honorable Wizard, my apologies, just now I...’"
"You were in no mood to listen to the Gatekeeper’s apologies. After experiencing the grim nature of death, you acutely felt the hostility the ’Old Earth’s’ forces held toward wizards. Not daring to delay, you immediately activated the third effect of the ’Hidden God’s Clothes.’
"Your ’Wizard’ aura was concealed."
"Once you completed this and felt safe again, you let out a long breath and said to Kandar... ’Please continue with your earlier apology.’
"Kandar coughed repeatedly, as if caught off guard by the audacity of your remark. Despite being tiger-like in stature, he had the delicacy of sniffing roses, feigning wonder and subtly changing the subject."
"’The aura of the wizard has vanished completely. Honorable Wizard, how did you achieve this?’
"Hey, hey, hey, I’m still waiting for your apology here."
"While inwardly complaining, you didn’t conceal the truth. You explained part of the ’Hidden God’s Clothes’ effects. Not because you trusted Kandar per se, but because using this quasi-legendary ancient artifact was a necessity for survival in ’Polluted Mountain Edge,’ making it impossible to conceal. Being upfront cut the risk of fostering resentment between you."
"Kandar marveled at your good fortune and expressed relief that without the wizard’s aura attracting hatred, the journey could finally proceed peacefully."
"You casually asked about the creature that had killed you earlier, still harboring resentment about being digested into feces."
"’That was a Scavenger’s Tooth.’
"Kandar’s voice carried a hint of gravity... ’This too was polluted by the filthy and unclean forces from ’Polluted Mountain and Sea,’ eventually mutating into a monstrous abomination. Although not highly ranked—falling within the ’Star Spirit God’ category—its biting strength and digestive capabilities are terrifying. It also excels at hiding beneath the polluted waters. If targeted, even a god who contains five minimum threshold symbolic units, standing at the peak of ’Star Spirit God,’ would fall.’
"The description sounded horrifying, but essentially, it was just a run-of-the-mill elite monster in ’Polluted Mountain Edge,’ wasn’t it?"
"You thought grimly."
"This sense of urgency to raise your own rank surged within you."
Yang Qizhou found himself deep in a dilemma.
With the [Destiny Fire Bottles] sold at the Destiny Exchange, along with the faith-generated Old Sacrifice from Fire Stealing Village, his total Old Sacrifice count had now surpassed 30,000, enough to allow his ’game character’ to further digest a potion and upgrade the ’God of Victory’s’ rank.
But another issue loomed...
If he spent all 30,000 Old Sacrifices, freeloading from the Destiny Store would become far less effective, massively slowing down his initial capital accumulation. It seemed a poor trade-off.
"Better to wait a bit longer. There’s no immediate need to raise the rank yet. Once I’ve gathered more Old Sacrifices, spending 30,000 won’t impact my freeloading of the Destiny Store as severely. Or I’ll wait until it’s absolutely necessary to raise rank, then consider digesting Desecration Potion."
With this decision made, Yang Qizhou continued refreshing the game text.
"Under Kandar’s guidance, you moved toward the direction where the ’realm gate’ was located."
"You kept walking further."
"Suddenly, you stopped in your tracks, seeing something far off to the left-front—a vast, indescribably magnificent city rising to a height of ten thousand meters. It emanated a terrifying oppressive aura, enough to make even gods feel insignificant next to its city walls."
"You recognized this colossal city. You’d seen it before in the polluted dreamscape constructed by the ’Mother Tree.’
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