On the western edge of Emerald Town, a towering, solemn Gothic building stood, its spires adorned with two angel reliefs on the exterior walls.
The angels held a basket of fruits, filled with bountiful red apples, crowding around a goddess whose face was unclear.
An elderly man with brown hair, dressed in a deep red robe, slowly walked along the desolate street.
He wore a gold apple pendant on his chest and held a large tome of scriptures in his hands.
The elderly man finally stopped at the entrance of the church.
"The Moon has many believers, missing a few doesn't matter, does it..."
He chuckled, pulling out a vial the size of a pinky finger from his bosom, filled about two-thirds with blood.
The blood gently swirled inside the vial, emitting faintly glowing bubbles.
"Hopefully, it will enjoy this delicacy."
The old man stepped onto the stairs and strode into the church.
The next morning, Chen Lun was awakened by the slap of Brother Will.
Well, in fact, he had been awake earlier, but since it was all part of the act, one shouldn't give up on the last day.
However, Chen Lun decided he shouldn't suffer without payback, so he noted this in his little book against Brother Will.
"Lazy swine! Get up, it's time to fulfill your great endeavor!"
Brother Will looked at the foolish young man and disgustedly kicked him twice.
He adjusted his monk's robe, stood up straight and confidently, and left the cell.
Floey pressed her lips tightly, glanced at Chen Lun, and followed closely behind with a cold expression.
The small mustache blew the whistle, Chen Lun grinned foolishly, and obediently walked out.
When everyone re-entered the Basement No. 7, Chen Lun suddenly felt a bit reluctant.
What a great place for leveling, and they were about to leave it.
He was very familiar with the workflow, and upon hearing the whistle, he immediately got to work.
Pretending to be controlled, he obediently climbed onto the altar and went through the notes, his actions so sincere he could be called a model sacrifice.
[By reading carefully, you gained 70 Experience Points]
[You have completely read the Mystic Book "Beast Tamer's Handbook" (Progress 100％)!]
[You have earned 1 Skill Point and 2 Attribute Points]
[Through careful reading, you have realized the skill "Friend of Animals"!]
[Friend of Animals LVMAX] (Passive)
Skill Description: You seem to have a unique attraction that makes animals very close to you.
Even the most cold-blooded and irritable beasts are willing to befriend you.
When interacting with animals, Charm +10.
Hey, friend, I believe you have finished my book and learned my skills.
No need to thank me, I just want to benefit more people, allowing them to experience a wonderful life different from others...
For some reason, every time Chen Lun saw Philip's message, he felt a violent urge.
He flipped to the last page of the notes, and the content of the diary was also nearing its end.
"Solar Calendar 4407, February 4th, cloudy... Ahaha, Queller that old fellow truly is a big shot in the rats' nest, I totally couldn't match him after he transformed.
[Gargoyle's Skin] greatly restrains me, not to mention he is a Sequence higher than me..."
"...They stole everything from my teacher, honor, status, even Life!
They are the most disgusting thieves in this world!"
"But I may not have a chance for revenge anymore, because I am about to die...
To kill me, those stinky rats really spared no expense!
Endless Alchemical Potions worth hundreds of Gold Pounds each were thrown at my face, oh heavens, they even ruined my handsome looks!"
"...Maybe this is Destiny, stepping onto this extraordinary path of the Destiny Faction, I knew this day would come.
I will miss the days of traveling, my dear Maggie, I will think of you. ——Philip"
"Oh yes, I have hidden all my savings and the extraordinary items I collected over the years in the backyard underground of Viscount Pompey's house, I dug a——"
The diary abruptly ended there, the ink trailing off into a long slanted line as if the writer's hand had dragged the pen down while falling.
Chen Lun closed the notebook, sighing softly.
The timeline in the diary was considerably long, spanning about 8 years from the beginning to the end.
It essentially recorded the adventurous journey of a foreigner named Philip after he stepped onto the mystical and extraordinary path.
How lamentable! How poignant!
"I just don't know if Philip's Legacy is still around..."
Chen Lun thought to himself.
He remembered that the official launch of version 1.0, when the game actually began, was in the year 4419 of the Solar Calendar.
Counting back one year and one month, the current time was approximately the year 4418 of the Solar Calendar.
This meant that the content recorded in this journal was all a decade-old story—god knows what had happened during this period.
[Triggered a C-level hidden quest: Philip's Legacy]
Quest description: Based on the content recorded in the quest item "Philip's Diary," Philip had already anticipated his own death.
On the eve of the battle, he hid all his savings from over the years underground in the backyard of the Pompey Viscount's house in Amber City.
Do you want my treasure? If you want it, then it's yours! Go find it— I've placed it all there!
Quest reward: Unknown.
Chen Lun accepted the quest and immediately felt that his power to complain had risen again.
He just wanted to know the real reason Philip was killed—was it because he had drawn too much hate?
Monk Will saw Chen Lun closing the notebook, walked up expectantly, and gestured for Floey to start writing at any time.
"Good, it looks like the notebook has been fully deciphered..."
He revealed a cruel smile.
"Nun, after he dictates the last part of these notes, take him to basement number 4.
Feed him to that pot of plant, consider it recycling waste..."
Floey turned to look at him with a strange expression on her attractive face.
Will's smile paused, and he couldn't help frowning.
"What are you staring at me for, Nun?"
Floey did not answer him.
Will suddenly realized something and sharply turned his head.
After a screeching sound of breaking wind, there was a crisp snap.
Will only saw a swiftly moving blur, and the next second, he was choked by the hand of the dark-haired young man.
What was horrifying was that the other's arm, like a writhing snake, illogically coiled around his neck again and again, tightly locking it.
[Serpentine Incarnation]
[You have learned to temporarily twist your body like a snake, along with other partial serpentine characteristics.]
Will stared at Chen Lun's disappearing grin, his face emotionless, and he immediately realized he had been tricked.
The other was not being manipulated at all!
All these days had been an act, all a pretense!
When had he gained such strong power...?
It must have been that notebook!
Will tried to speak, staring fiercely with bloodshot eyes, but he couldn't utter a single word.
Incapacitated by the sensation of suffocation, he fell into an unparalleled fear.
He grabbed at Chen Lun's snake-arm with both hands, desperately pounding, but it was to no avail.
"I really should thank you for sending the guards away to keep the secret... It saved me a lot of energy."
Chen Lun exerted force with his hand; the coiled snake-arm suddenly jerked, instantly twisting Will's neck around.
Bright red fatal damage popped up above Monk Will's head, and his life bar was instantly emptied.
Monk Will collapsed to the ground.
His body faced down while his head was turned up in a bizarre posture.