"Huff~!"
"That was close, but no harm done."
"This Mysterious Evil is indeed much more terrifying, luckily I outsmarted it by upgrading the Black Blade a few levels."
'Alert: Apostle of Fate "Black Blade" has slain the Mysterious Evil alone, gaining +0.2 Mystery.'
'Alert: The Mysterious Evil has been added to the bestiary.'
A Mystery value of 0.2 further proves the power of this Mysterious Evil.
And the bestiary...
Fang You was surprised to find that the entry for this Mysterious Evil wasn't just a black silhouette, but fully illustrated.
But he wished it was still just an outline.
It was so ugly!
Especially since the bestiary was extra detailed, even the sweat hairs were clearly visible.
Fang You almost couldn't take it, the creature's image lingering persistently in his mind.
He felt contaminated.
He was no longer pure.
He wished for a pair of eyes that had never seen this Mysterious Evil.
"But why was the appearance of this Mysterious Evil recorded this time?"
"It wasn't due to Mysterious Evil tracking."
"The upgraded skills only show traces similar to water stains, not the entire Mysterious Evil's shape. However..."
He remembered the methods used by those two young men in black windbreakers.
They sprinkled some powder.
Pulled out a string of Buddha Beads.
The Buddha Beads had a strong effect, exuding golden light; he even thought it was a legendary golden item, not expecting that the beads would be gone after just a glimpse.
All the effect must have been in their special effects.
"The Buddha Beads did have an effect. The Mysterious Evil was invisible to begin with, and only after the beads broke did it show its terrifying form, albeit not very clearly, leaving only a shadowy outline quickly."
"But even just a shadowy outline is better than seeing nothing at all."
"Thinking deeper, maybe the Buddha Beads didn't just force out the shadow of the Mysterious Evil, but also harmed it? Otherwise, the Black Blade would have needed to exert much more strength to slay it?"
"Those two men did have some skills, not completely ordinary."
"What a pity..."
He actually wanted to delve deeper and learn more from these two men, about the secrets hidden beneath the surface, unknown to ordinary people.
However, the commands he could issue to the Black Blade were few and repetitive.
Getting the Black Blade to strike someone down was one thing, asking questions? That option wasn't available.
He was also worried that the Black Blade might go as far as to really slash someone, so he decided not to ask anything.
There was plenty of time.
With the world-saving game in hand, he would surely meet more and more Angels, come into contact with more Mysterious Evils, people, and events, and he would be able to find out the whole truth sooner or later.
No rush for the moment.
The immediate goal set by Fang You was to have means to protect himself in front of Mysterious Evils, then assign the Black Blade and other Angels to eliminate the Mysterious Evils, complete missions, and collect rewards.
Just by playing the game, he could get stronger,
Just by playing the game, he could save the world,
Such a joyful thing to do, he mused that he could definitely pull it off as long as he had hands.
Fang You entered the dispatch module.
'Alert: One-star dispatch mission completed, rewards include "Fate Points × 0.6," "Skill Cultivation Card (White) × 1."'
'Alert: Due to the use of a Double Earnings Card, the rewards for this mission are doubled.'
'Fate Points × 1.2'
'Skill Cultivation Card (White) × 2'
The earnings were actually quite good!
Skill Cultivation Cards are valuable commodities, one can never have too many, and the strength of the Black Blade stands as evidence.
And as for Fate Points,
Adding to the balance previously saved up, there are now a full 3.2 units, enough to afford a second Fate Ten-Pull!
"Fate Draw!"
"Just as the name suggests, it concerns my fate."
Fang You did not take this lightly and prepared thoroughly.
His preparations included, but were not limited to, washing his face, hands, bathing, changing clothes, lighting incense... and so on.
He solemnly picked up his phone.
My turn, come forth, legendary gold!
Woong~!
Woong~!
The vortex of fate filled the entire screen, within it seemed to whisk by countless scenes.
Fang You still couldn't see clearly, only glimpsing streaks of white light interspersed with hints of green.
Well, there goes the blue sky, all that's left is a stretch of green grass!
"Notice: Obtained 'Physical Fitness Elixir (White)', 'Double Benefit Card (White)', 'Skill Training Card (White)'...."
"Notice: Obtained 'Mysterious Evil Tracking (Green)'"
"Notice: Obtained 'Palm Thunder (Green)'"
Eight white, two green.
Naturally, he didn't manage to draw the Apostle of Fate.
Fang You was slightly disappointed, but it was mostly within his expectations—he was used to it!
"Two Physical Fitness Elixirs."
"Two Double Benefit Cards."
"Three Skill Training Cards."
"And now for the main event... three Skill Books."
'Basic Swordsmanship (White)'
'Mysterious Evil Tracking (Green)'
'Palm Thunder (Green)'
Fang You revealed a smile, "With these three skills, I'll be nearly equivalent to Black Blade. As long as I learn all of this, I can have a complete combat system."
Almost just like Black Blade.
Enough to protect my life, or even to kill Mysterious Evil!
Here we go, the next second I will become incredibly strong!
Woohoo~!
Fang You clicked to use 'Basic Swordsmanship (White)' on himself.
In an instant,
the Skill Book in the game disappeared, and he himself...
felt the world spin before his eyes. When he snapped back to reality, Fang You realized he was in a dilapidated training ground, empty except for himself.
In his hands, he held a sword.
A Wooden Sword.
He began practicing on his own.
Draw! Carry! Lift! Parry! Strike! Stab! Point...
Each move, each stance was unfamiliar yet precise, like a puppet on strings.
Not like one!
He was being controlled, forced to complete each standard move.
Fang You discovered he couldn't control his own body anymore, but he still felt fatigued. The swordplay varied from light to forceful and from fast to slow. The forceful movements engaged all his muscles, and his body flowed with the sword without a hint of slack.
After completing one set of sword moves, he continued tirelessly into a second, then a third round...
Over and over again, giving his all each time.
Before long, Fang You felt his muscles were sour and swollen, his breath heavy.
But his body didn't wish to rest, remaining earnest, continuing to execute one move after another.
'No, no, no, nooooo—'
Fang You roared inside, yet his expression remained serious and focused.
He had no choice.
But he was utterly desperate.
How long would he have to practice? How long would he remain a marionette?
Despite the exhaustion—he was so tired that not even a comforting beauty could rouse him—his body kept performing the sword techniques perfectly.
Yet he didn't fall.
It was as if his stamina had locked up, leaving just a drop left.
Endless practice was all there was.
When would it end? Probably only when he truly mastered this Swordsmanship could he stop.
Fang You was in agony.
Fang You was dazed and confused.
Fang You gradually lost himself.
Slowly forgetting, forgetting the passage of time, he delved into his own body, focusing intently on each and every move of the sword technique.
For a long time,
for a very long time,
when he came back to his senses, the dilapidated training ground was gone, and he was lying spread-eagled.
Drenched in sweat.
Muscles weak.
As if days, maybe tens of days had passed.
At the same time,
two investigators who had witnessed Black Blade slaughtering Mysterious Evil quickly rushed back to their agency.