11. The Lucky Sovereign, Devoid of Humanity

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A unit with a visible health bar and one without creates entirely different feelings of pressure for the player. No matter how majestic the character’s design, the moment a health bar appears above their head, the player’s mind instinctively conjures the option to “take you down,” even if you belong to their own team. Many players act on a pure impulse to “kill you just to see what happens,” and quite a few will strike without hesitation.

In the Seal of Stars, none of the monsters display health bars or show damage numbers when attacked. Players must rely on the monsters’ reactions to hits to gauge their status and adjust their strategies accordingly.

With the kill count recorded, werewolves have become as obvious targets as those with visible health bars in everyone’s minds. As for the Ghost Nun, her current strength still pales in comparison to the werewolf’s.

Upholding the principle of supporting the weaker side, Original Fries gripped her longsword with both hands, raising it high above her head. She imbued the blade with a light-element enchantment, burning through the shield magic, and brought the sword down with a heavy, decisive strike.

True to Original Fries’ reckless, life-for-life combat style, this was a desperate, no-retreat slash.

The dim ruins of the plaza suddenly shone as bright as day, like a rising sun.

The distracted werewolf only intended to block Original Fries’ blade with one hand. The terrifying force pressing down from the palm pushed its center of gravity lower, causing the ground beneath its feet to crack inch by inch. The overwhelming power scattered, turning the shattered stones to dust.

Original Fries struck true and rolled away to safety.

The werewolf’s angry roar tore through the dust and mist. At the moment it prepared to leap with powerful hind legs, a fireball descended from the sky, striking its head with precision. The sparks ignited its thick fur in an instant.

As the werewolf shook itself violently, trying to extinguish the flames, Jiang Heyi’s dagger pierced both of its eyes with deadly accuracy, blood spraying in a crimson mist.

Unlike their first encounter, this time the werewolf suffered a critical injury after only one confrontation. Its prideful strength and explosive power were rendered useless, leaving it blind.

The support player, Orange Tea, flustered and overwhelmed, suddenly realized she hadn’t even acted before the fight ended.

“Was that too forceful?” Zhong Zemo cautioned, eyeing the nun’s spirit floating midair. “Shouldn’t we have let them both take damage before finishing the fight?”

Original Fries brushed dust off her face, nonchalantly tidying her disheveled hair.

“Doesn’t matter. Just cut her down along with it.”

No sooner had she spoken than the werewolf collapsed with a thunderous crash.

The nun, barely maintaining her ethereal form, let out a long, mournful sigh.

Without words, Jiang Heyi sensed the weariness and acceptance in her voice.

Turning her head as if to “watch” the uninvited intruders, the nun revealed her face to Jiang Heyi.

Beneath her drooping hair was an extraordinarily youthful face, no older than fifteen or sixteen.

Her delicate features seemed sculpted by an artist’s meticulous hand, every angle refined.

But where two bright, crystal-clear gems should have been, her eye sockets were now empty.

Her tender lips were tightly sewn shut with fine threads.

One ear was missing entirely.

From beneath her robe, her arms and legs bled a vivid, ephemeral crimson in steady drips—like blood made of illusion—falling to the ground and vanishing as if into foam.

“Do you like this kind of nun too?” Zhong Zemo teased the jailer.

“Full of sacrilege. Perfect score.”

Original Fries seemed to anticipate such a response and swallowed the “weird” comment she had been ready to make.

He might get angry if called a pervert by others, but if it was the jailer, he would take it as a form of approval.

A social misfit—does he even care about being called a pervert?

With the werewolf dying and the nun weakened, the atmosphere became subtle and tense.

Jiang Heyi felt no hostility from the nun. She neither attacked nor spoke, merely staring blankly with hollow eyes.

Though bleeding endlessly, the nun appeared utterly indifferent.

The impulsive Jiang Heyi team regained their composure and chose to wait and see.

After a long standoff, Original Fries began rubbing her palms, itching to act.

Light-element enchantment potions were expensive; she needed to get some kills to make up for it.

Zhong Zemo suggested simply delivering a physical blow to the nun, to put her to rest and maybe trigger some valuable drops… coins or treasures.

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Suddenly, the Ghost Nun moved. She drifted unsteadily toward a corner of the plaza, where the ruins of toppled statues and stone tables formed a heap. A tiny cube-shaped crystal, no bigger than a fingernail, was drawn upward.

Apparently sensing Jiang Heyi and the others’ wariness, she threw the crystal far away and uttered the word “map” before ascending to a higher vantage point.

Jiang Heyi picked up the crystal, and a dizzying array of images and text flashed through his mind.

He immediately pulled up the map panel. In the darkness, which should have been shrouded in fog, a radiant golden light burst forth—sacred flames tracing the entire layout of the underground ruins.

[Clearward Underground Sanctuary]

Jiang Heyi, who had long been confused about his location and direction, suddenly understood.

Looking up, he saw the nun’s spirit dissolving.

“Please, lift my curse.”

As she spoke, blood gushed from her empty eye sockets.

“How?”

“Find my body…”

“Where on the map?”

“…”

The nun struggled to speak, but her voice shattered into incoherent notes the moment she tried.

Suddenly, a pair of large hands seemed to grip her neck, twisting it slowly like opening a bottle cap until crisp cracking sounds echoed and her head separated from her body.

After she vanished, even the usually talkative jailer fell silent for a long time.

Although all this could be explained as in-game effects, the immersive atmosphere left them unable to shake the feeling.

For a moment, they all felt as if everything there had truly happened.

A bizarre thought.

“Holy crap, it dropped gold!” The jailer’s voice broke the spell, reminding them they had been so focused on the nun that they forgot the second werewolf had died.

“Isn’t it supposed to be rainbow-colored?” Orange Tea sighed, disappointed.

Next to rainbow-tier drops, anything else felt like a letdown. Lucky players truly had no mercy.

“Orange Tea, go!”

Understanding her role, Orange Tea unrestrained herself. As she touched the glowing orb, she shouted, “Please grant us your best!”

The light intensified, gradually engulfing her figure.

The floating item description made everyone pause.

[Starry Sky Jewel]

Usable 3 times; completely destroyed after use.

Orange Tea was puzzled: “Can this actually be used?”

“…”

“…”

Original Fries silently placed a hand on Orange Tea’s shoulder.

After asking for permission, Zhong Zemo took Orange Tea’s hand while the jailer steadied her shoulder.

“What are you… doing?”

“Don’t mind it—it’s just superstition, trying to borrow some luck.”

Jiang Heyi was curious: “Are you always this… lucky in real life?”

Orange Tea shook her head: “I never thought I was particularly lucky.”

Everyone tacitly understood this as the difference in perception between a lucky player and an unlucky one—after all, lucky players might think not getting double or triple rare cards was bad luck.

Now fully charged, the Starry Sky Jewel with its three uses could allow the team to return safely to Wind Pod City for resupply, which would greatly aid their future exploration.

After confirming the area was safe, they found one of the few intact stone tables amid the ruins and sat down to consolidate the information they had gathered.

First came the map, which Jiang Heyi shared with everyone.

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The area called [Clearward Underground Sanctuary] had only one floor, but it was far larger than what the team had currently explored.

Directly ahead, the blocked cave on the map extended further, leading to a space much wider than the plaza they currently stood in.

As for the “Clearward,” they still didn’t know what organization it was, but they speculated the Ghost Nun belonged to it.

The cause of the nun’s death was unknown. If the image she presented was how she looked before dying, combined with her attempt to reveal her location but being strangled by an unknown force, and her mention of a “curse”…

“Wow, we’ve only been playing this game a short while, and already encountered a top-tier mage or maybe even a god from the game’s lore?” The jailer marveled.

Jiang Heyi noticed Original Fries squinting and immediately spoke for her.

“Stop breaking immersion with those out-of-character comments. This isn’t just the game’s lore—we are inside the game, part of it, and we should become legends recorded in its history.”

“Sorry, used to it.” The jailer complied, sitting upright solemnly.

“What’s the item description for the map crystal?” Zhong Zemo asked.

“A crystal storing important information for the Clearward followers who worship the Boundless Sea.”

Extracting, piecing together, and interpreting the information hidden in item descriptions was a crucial task.

“Where would the nun’s body be?”

Orange Tea manipulated the map projection, zooming in and out, searching for clues.

With no hints at all, they couldn’t very well start digging blindly in such a huge area.

Though new to gaming, Orange Tea was already fully immersed and enjoying herself, eager to begin the next thrilling adventure.

Though she sometimes struggled to sync with the others’ wavelengths, the group’s playful banter was genuinely entertaining.

Thinking this, Orange Tea smiled broadly.

Suddenly aware of everyone’s gaze upon her, she stammered, “W-what is it now?”

“There’s a hint.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Orange Tea’s eyes sparkled. “You found it? Amazing! Where? Where?”

“…”

“…”

“You mean, the Unknown Revelation?”

Orange Tea’s Unknown Revelation was different from the other believers’, and everyone was increasingly convinced of this.

“Just a coincidence. Don’t put too much faith in superstition.”

“Girl, please pray.” Zhong Zemo couldn’t help but reveal his old communist roots.

“Relying too much on superstition might backfire. We still need to carefully search for clues…”

Although she said this, Orange Tea began casting a spell.

“Unknown presence dwelling in chaos, I beseech you, hear my voice. Grant me sight to pierce the fog and glimpse the truth.”

Hands clasped, she waited silently for a reply.

“So?”

“That voice said: underground sanctuary entrance, collapsed earth and stone, magic-forbidden stone slab.”

This revelation was clearer than ever before, and Orange Tea was convinced it was a “bewitching voice.”

…

…

Taking turns digging, continuously casting earth-element magic.

Jiang Heyi and his team cleared the buried entrance to the underground sanctuary, removed the collapsed rubble, and spent the entire night digging three feet deep.

The moment the anti-magic stone slab, which even interfered with the jailer’s magic, was uncovered, Orange Tea was speechless under everyone’s burning gazes.