Chapter 3: Tan Mo of Chaotic Neutral
Most cases of split personality manifest and transition without any warning, but after years of conscious training, Mo Tan has managed to secure himself a buffer time of about five minutes. These five minutes are not to be underestimated—they are the countless critical five minutes that keep him from being forcibly sent to a mental hospital.
During this period, he briefly possesses two personalities simultaneously, and the one about to emerge will immediately suppress its own distinctly abnormal traits and emotions, smoothly carrying out a transition...
After all, every personality is essentially Mo Tan himself, sharing the same memories, identity, and intelligence. Despite their different temperaments, they are not several completely different people crammed into a single shell.
Strictly speaking, there are four.
The first personality is one Mo Tan crafted in his later years—relatively moderate and gentle, with hobbies similar to those of his peers, quite attentive, and possessing a few ordinary friends who get along with him. This is also the Hei Fan of True Neutral from earlier in [Innocent Realm].
The second personality has a mind that drifts across countless channels. Unlike the former, everything he does lacks any purpose. If one had to say what he seeks, it would only be the indescribable joy and satisfaction he speaks of. Born in a different era, such a person would either be a carefree libertine drifting through life or a mad, deranged terrorist or revolutionary.
The third personality is harder to define. Calling it a "saintly mother" is awkward since Mo Tan is male, and "saintly father" risks copyright infringement. In short, it is a moral paragon in every sense. Forget about hating evil like an enemy—if Mo Tan could maintain this personality, with his intelligence, he could get a green card and run for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in some wretched capitalist nation. At the very least, time-traveling to become a paladin punishing evil would be no problem. But one thing must be emphasized: righteousness does not mean foolishness. Justice backed by intelligence not only avoids being exploited but often exposes the filth lurking in every dark corner even more thoroughly.
As for the last...
No one wants to recall it. It is the personality Mo Tan sealed away from the very beginning. It may indeed exist, but it is the most unnecessary one of all. Every version of Mo Tan shares absolute consensus on this point.
Back to the main topic...
Mo Tan had played mental simulation games before, but because his spirit fluctuates violently during personality transitions—even with a five-minute buffer—he would still be forcibly disconnected afterward. This time, however, he guessed wrong about both the beginning and the end.
The disconnection was correct, but it was an instant disconnect with no buffer.
The re-login was also correct, but the system prompted him to go through the character creation process again...
"Hahaha~! This is absolutely hilarious!" After standing on the stone platform for the second time and gazing at the void around him, Mo Tan paused for a long moment before bursting into laughter. "This game may not have helped me find any 'true self,' but it's surprisingly fun!!"
Like a sense of déjà vu, nine massive doors descended from the sky.
This time, however, Mo Tan didn't hesitate at all. He walked straight to the door he had tried before, the one inscribed with [Chaotic Neutral], and chuckled lightly.
Rumble!!
As if it had been waiting for this moment, the door trembled and swung open, its rapidly parting panels seeming to welcome him inside.
"Or perhaps the real 'me'..." Mo Tan muttered with a low laugh, "Can be summed up in those two words: [Chaotic Neutral]?"
He rolled his neck, as if eager to step inside, and strode through the doorway.
The system's voice echoed from the darkness...
[Your alignment is — Chaotic Neutral. This stance is irreversible. Beginning calculation of your initial talents, race, and abilities.]
"A complete individualist, evading authority, hating restrictions, challenging tradition..." Mo Tan softly recited the definition of [Chaotic Neutral] from the D&D rules as he remembered it. "So it's 'true chaos,' huh..."
[Calculation complete. Your initial character data is as follows:]
Race: Half-Elf
Gender: Male
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Talents: Chaos (Extreme emotions grant you additional damage and success rate), Guile (School of Guile level +3), Sophistry (Makes it easier for others to believe you)
Base Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 8, Intelligence 9, Constitution 4
Civil Attributes: Eloquence 8, Charm 8, Knowledge 8, Leadership 5
Combat Attributes: Guile Level 3
"It's all still me, but the difference is no joke~" Mo Tan didn't seem the least bit aggrieved this time, and it was unclear why he was so delighted.
[Please name your character.]
"Tan Mo. No need to double-check; even if it's misspelled, it's fine~" Mo Tan said cheerfully offhand, actually just testing the system's intelligence. He didn't care about the name at all.
[Would you like to adjust your appearance?]
A slender man with mostly human traits, save for his emerald-green hair and eyes, appeared before Mo Tan, naturally looking exactly like him.
"So you didn't double-check the name after all. Smart~" Mo Tan praised, then added, "No major changes needed. Just dye my hair black."
The half-elf model's long green locks instantly turned jet-black, and Mo Tan was finally satisfied.
[Character creation complete. Welcome to the Innocent Realm, Tan Mo of Chaotic Neutral.]
Control over his body returned, a familiar sense of déjà vu, but this time, both the surroundings and Mo Tan's own mindset were entirely different.
Opening his eyes, he found himself standing on an ordinary town street. There weren't many people around—mostly farmers carrying hoes or hunters in simple gear. The races were quite diverse: dwarves, halflings, trolls, lizardmen—some Mo Tan recognized, others he didn't—yet they all seemed to coexist harmoniously.
"Tsk, compared to that reality where even skin color can be a reason for attack, this place is truly a simple and pure world~" Mo Tan muttered softly to himself as he strolled along. "Though it seems trouble will show up soon enough..."
He said this because he saw the tutorial quest assigned by the system.
【—Stop the Necromancer Medi from triggering the Bone Plague in Maple Sugar Town—】
No matter how you looked at it, it didn't seem like a normal newbie tutorial quest...
But Mo Tan didn't mind; in fact, he was a bit excited~
"Hey, buddy!" He suddenly greeted a human man who was bent over picking through some kind of red vegetable, flashing him a smile. "Can I trouble you for a moment?"
The man looked at Mo Tan with some confusion. "And you are?"
"A bard, from a place far away." Mo Tan rambled naturally, then his tone suddenly turned somber. "Of course, before I started wandering, I had a stable place to call home—a warm place known as home... until... oh, Ellie, why did it have to be you..."
He let out a faint sigh, cutting himself off, then gave an apologetic bitter smile to the middle-aged man, who was already visibly bewildered. "Sorry, I can't help but think of those things sometimes..."
"No, buddy, I'm the one who should apologize." The man sighed with an expression that screamed 'I've got stories too.' "So, what can I do for you?"
Mo Tan lowered his voice. "I heard there's a mage in our Maple Sugar Town. If possible, I'd like to have a chat with him. You see, even bards run out of inspiration sometimes, and kids will eventually get tired of stories about dragons and knights, so..."
"A mage?" The man frowned, hesitating. "In our Maple Sugar Town?"
"That's what I heard." Mo Tan said without changing his expression.
Perhaps it was because his facial expressions were so rich and his acting so superb, or maybe it was due to his Initial Charm of 8 points, but this human uncle, who was originally in a hurry to buy groceries and head home, actually took it seriously. He stroked his chin, muttering while thinking, "I really don't recall there being a mage in town..."
"Oh, right!" Mo Tan slapped his forehead. "I think his name was... Medi?"
"Mr. Medi?" The man exclaimed softly. "He lives outside town, a gentle old man who occasionally comes here to buy some necessities. He... he's a mage?"
Mo Tan blinked. "Where does he live?"
"The two-story wooden house east of town. He... huh? Where'd he go?" The uncle had just handed two copper coins to the shop owner, and when he turned back, the young man with a story had already vanished.
Medi Levin was sketching something on a crumpled piece of parchment with a quill, his expression focused and earnest. Two minutes later, the old man let out a long sigh, stretched, and then turned around with a smile. "Sorry to keep you waiting."
Mo Tan, who had been leaning against the doorframe for quite some time, shook his head. "I haven't been here long. Besides, watching you busy yourself with such futile efforts isn't exactly boring."
"Futile efforts?" Medi scoffed. "Do you think I'm just taking notes, young man?"
Mo Tan walked into the room without any guard, stopped in front of Medi, and raised an index finger to wag it. "Since you've never heard of the Deductive Method, I won't bother explaining too much. In short, I deduced from certain features about you and the items in this room that your wife passed away from illness several years ago. Earlier, I also confirmed by circling the decorative tombstone in your backyard that there's nothing buried beneath it. Add to that..."
"Add to what?" Medi's gaze turned cold as he casually stroked his ring.
"Add to the aura of death I sensed before I even stepped into the house." Mo Tan walked around Medi, sat down in his chair, and crossed his legs. "That's enough to prove you're preparing a foolish Resurrection Ritual."
Only this last part was a lie. Given Mo Tan's current strength, he couldn't sense a damn thing. The so-called "aura of death" was entirely a fabrication based on his Tutorial Quest.
But Medi didn't know that...
For the first time in seven years since he became a Necromancer three months after his beloved wife's death, someone had called him out to his face!
【Medi Levin】
Race: Human (NPC)
Gender: Male
Level: Bone Controller 9, Priest 11
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Attributes: Strength 10, Dexterity 3, Intelligence 41, Constitution 15
Combat Attributes: Necromancy Knowledge 7, Holy Light School 15, Arcane School 10
Skills: Flesh Perception, Bone Split, Bone Spear, Bone Shield, Pain Curse, Undead Summon, Insight, Strong Prismatic Ray, Purification (Unusable), Radiance (Unusable), Wisdom Blessing (Unusable).
The reason for switching to God's Perspective to display Medi's attribute data is mainly for the following purposes.
First, if Medi wanted to, he could obliterate Mo Tan in an instant.
Second, with his mere level 7 Necromancy Knowledge, trying to resurrect someone who had been dead for years was nothing short of a pipe dream.
And finally, what I want to say is that under certain circumstances, data is not the only standard that determines the outcome...
"Give me one reason not to kill you, young man." Medi stared into Mo Tan's emerald eyes and spoke softly. The ring on his left middle finger glimmered faintly, and the barrier he had set up around the hut over the years had already activated, cutting off any chance of Mo Tan escaping.
But the latter had no intention of running away. Instead, he suddenly burst into laughter!
"Ha! Hahaha~!" Mo Tan, who had been wearing a calm and composed expression, suddenly covered his cheeks in an exaggerated manner, his other hand trembling as he pointed at Medi, laughing so hard he could barely breathe. "Ha, you... you actually... hahaha... asked the most foolish question. This is utterly disappointing, I tell you, Medi, you've let me down so much!"
Medi stared at him coldly, his withered right hand grasping at empty air as a pale white Bone Spear materialized in an instant, aimed squarely at Mo Tan's heart. He said in a low voice, "What do you think I should ask?"
The reason he hadn't killed Mo Tan immediately was that, when the latter first entered the room, he had secretly activated [Flesh Perception] and [Insight] on him, yet received no abnormal feedback whatsoever. This proved that the other party was either supremely confident or completely insane. Out of caution, Medi refrained from striking and continued to probe instead.
"I think you should ask me if, aside from those clumsy futile efforts, there's a real way to resurrect your wife..." Mo Tan shook his head, his face full of a look of exasperation. "Or better yet, if you were a bit smarter, you'd simply beg me to revive her."
His demeanor was relaxed and natural, his tone as calm as still water, his heart rate normal, muscles loose, smile unhurried, and gaze steady.
The feedback from Insight and Perception told Medi the same thing: this man wasn't lying. He was merely stating a fact—one that made his burning heart slowly sink...
"Please don't make that face~" Mo Tan shook his head. "The bond between soul and body is incredibly complex, leaving no room for the slightest carelessness. The knowledge and resources needed to resurrect someone far exceed your meager imagination, Medi."
The old man's composure finally cracked. His face twisted in a snarl as he roared, "Are you saying I'm bound to fail? That Manna will never come back?!"
It had to be said, Mo Tan's blend of miscellaneous knowledge and ambiguous bluffs, combined with his Oscar-worthy acting, had already thrown Medi off balance...
"You'll have to ask her that first." Mo Tan, banking on the fact that the other party likely couldn't do it, said with a highly persuasive, leisurely tone, "That way, you can create a highly compatible vessel without causing your beloved's soul to scatter into nothing."
Medi's eyes instantly dimmed. He gently stroked the ring on his finger and said in a trembling voice, "I can't do it. Though I can sense her, I simply cannot communicate with Manna's remnant soul. Even after becoming a Necromancer, I still can't..."
"See, that's where your foolishness lies." Mo Tan sneered. "With things spelled out this clearly, don't you understand why I'm here?"
"You..." Medi suddenly lifted his head. "You're going to help me?"
"Drink this~" Mo Tan casually tossed out a bottle, and after the other caught it instinctively, he said, "It'll let you temporarily communicate with souls. You have five minutes. After that, I'll help you complete that Resurrection Ritual."
Medi's expression shifted between uncertainty and suspicion as he stared at the flask filled with clear liquid in his hand. He narrowed his eyes at Mo Tan and asked, "Why should I trust you?"
"You have no choice." The latter smiled confidently. "Or you could try attacking me, and then meet your wife in a few seconds as you wish. Of course, I'm not sure if she'll still have a soul left to exist by then."
Medi fell silent. Rather than dismissing all this as some madman's prank, he would rather believe that the unfathomable young man before him was telling the truth...
"I'm not a philanthropist." Mo Tan's expression grew cold. "After your long-cherished wish is fulfilled, there will be many new tasks waiting for you to complete. So, stop wasting time..."
"If my wife is resurrected, I will be at your command until my life burns out." Medi nodded, pulled out the cork, and drank the bottle in one gulp.
Mo Tan smiled, a very happy smile.
[Holy Water]
One-time consumable
Effect: Increases your mana recovery speed for 10 minutes.
[Note: Devout individuals can transform ordinary water into holy water through prayer.]
...
Chapter 3: The End