Chapter 5: Chaos and Evil
[Adult Sand Goblin]
Race: Sand Goblin
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Level: Warrior 3
Talent: None
Base Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Intelligence 2, Constitution 2
Combat Attributes: Club Proficiency Level 1
Skill: Smash
...
The above are the attributes of one of those sand goblins. Indeed, they are quite weak... while the mud fishmen have slightly stronger four-dimensional stats, but only to a limited extent.
Clearly, even Mo Tan, who has yet to obtain a combat class, could easily take on any one of them in a one-on-one fight, or even handle two or three without issue.
Gale Sean's initial attributes are also similar, and the situation is roughly the same.
As for the members of the Manticore Mercenary Company, they could easily take down several of these dirty, shriveled little creatures in one go. However, this does not mean the caravan is safe. In fact, the battle is still being fought with great difficulty—unexpectedly so.
When numbers accumulate to a certain level, they can often overwhelm quality. Unless there is an absolute crushing force, even the most heroic class cannot withstand a sea of troops.
Even Meg, the strongest among them, can only cut down four or five monsters with a single strike. Even with a high-cost skill, she can at most blast a dozen sand goblins or mud fishmen. But the number of enemies is simply too great...
The Forest Spirits are not a race without combat capability. In fact, in dense forests, they are even more dangerous than elves. These slender, branch-like beings can merge into any tree over ten years old, resonate with it, make the jungle highly aggressive, and even possess many unique forest spells...
But in this damned place, there are hardly any trees to be found!
Otherwise, they wouldn't have needed to hire a mercenary company. The more malicious ones might have considered robbing a mercenary company instead.
So the real fighting force consists only of the twenty-three members of the Manticore Mercenary Company and that Land Dragon.
The enemy outnumbers them by dozens of times, which is completely unreasonable!
If that weren't the biggest problem, then the archer who nearly killed Mustache at the very beginning is the one truly giving everyone a headache.
From the start of the battle until now, that archer has managed to reduce the Manticore Mercenary Company by three members without even showing his face, creating immense psychological pressure on the caravan and forcing everyone to divert some of their attention to guarding against him.
And the negative impact of this intimidation is gradually spreading.
Mo Tan is currently standing beside the woman in the red robe who is maintaining the defensive barrier, protecting this spellcaster. He holds two ordinary iron swords, alternating between slashing and smashing to drive back two sand goblins, nearly tripping in the process. He still hasn't gotten used to the tail that suddenly appeared behind him.
Despite having experience playing two characters, with their memories and experiences shared between each personality, it was a pity that neither Hei Fan nor Tan Mo had ever had a proper fight with anyone.
The former had logged off right after reporting to the military camp...
The latter, though having completed the tutorial quest and even taken down a formidable Necromancer across levels, had done so by outsmarting them with intelligence and acting skills, without any actual combat experience.
At this moment, Mo Tan was already covered in wounds, with his health reduced to just sixty percent. This was even with the other mercenary group members frequently looking out for him; otherwise, the situation would have been far worse.
By now, the entire path was completely "swarmed" by Sand Goblins and Mud Fishmen, and what was truly despairing was that these creatures seemed endless, stretching beyond sight.
A surging torrent of flame swept past Mo Tan, engulfing over twenty Sand Goblins along the way...
【Flame Dragon Breath】
Fire School Active Skill
Mastery Requirement: Fire School Level 5, Intelligence 15
Cost/Restriction: 60 Mana
Effect: Creates a cone of flame in front of you, dealing medium fire damage to all targets, causing them to be confused for 1 to 3 seconds due to the sudden heat, and inflicting a burning effect. Cooldown: 10 minutes.
【Note: A long, long time ago, the Red Dragon Clan sued the creator of this spell—the great Legendary Gnome Mage God, Ketone Shaomei—at the Tribunal over copyright issues, extorting a massive fine. Three days later, Crimson Scale Dragon Peak was turned into an active volcano by an anonymous gnome mage, resulting in heavy casualties for the Red Dragon Clan.】
Those Sand Goblins, with their extremely low magic resistance, instantly turned into moving fireballs under the blaze, while the nearby Mud Fishmen, also highly vulnerable to fire, pushed and shoved each other in chaos.
"You've done enough, now run!" The female mage, having exhausted her last bit of mana, smiled at Mo Tan and Gale Sean, who was guarding behind her. "I've cleared a path; this is your last chance!"
Just as she pointed to the temporarily clear, scorched path, a system prompt sounded in both players' ears.
【Tutorial Quest Completed】
The two exchanged glances, finding the answer in each other's eyes, and quickly opened their character and skill panels.
Mo Tan lunged sideways, his iron sword held horizontally before him, crashing into several Sand Goblins crowding beside the fire-scorched path!
【Charge Smash】
Weapon School Active Skill
Mastery Requirement: Sword Mastery Level 1, Strength 5
Cost/Restriction: 20 Stamina, Melee Weapon Equipped
Effect: Charge 1–10 meters, dealing minor physical damage to enemies in the path and knocking them back. Cooldown: 3 minutes.
[Note: Generally, for fresh recruits just starting training, we always tell them: Go all out! As long as you’re reckless enough, that’s all that matters! — A certain Dark Souls training camp instructor who died in his first battle.]
“I think the people in this training camp must be a suicide squad…” Mo Tan rolled his eyes and muttered a complaint, sweeping his longsword to cut down a Sand Goblin. "This name is way too unlucky."
By now, readers have probably guessed that Mo Tan chose Warrior as his class reward the moment the system quest was completed, immediately gaining several basic skills and attribute bonuses, leading to the scene above.
On the other side, Gale Sean did the same, except he chose Mage as his class.
A gentle breeze swept by, and a low, mysterious rhythm spread from Sean’s mouth. Mo Tan and all the warriors of the Manticore Mercenary Company felt their bodies lighten, their movements becoming quicker and more agile.
[Song of the Great Wind]
Wind Element School Active Skill
Requirements: Wind Element Knowledge Level 1, Intelligence 5
Cost/Restriction: 8 Mana, Complete Five Tones, Mandarin Level 7
Effect: Increases Dexterity by 5, movement speed by 3%, and dodge rate by 2% for friendly units within a 60-meter radius for 10 minutes. Cooldown: 15 minutes.
[Note: The wind rises, clouds fly; might spreads across the seas, I return to my homeland; where can I find brave warriors to guard the four corners! PS: Letting an intern majoring in Ancient Chinese participate in the skill design team was absolutely a brain-dead decision!]
“You two!” Meg, who had fought his way back from the front, stared at them in surprise. “You’re no ordinary travelers!”
“No time to explain!” Mo Tan said urgently, though his next words weren’t telling the dwarf warrior to get in the car. Instead, he said seriously, “We’ll break out from the left and open this path!”
He was referring to the small path cleared earlier by the Flame Dragon Breath. The dense fire element aura instinctively intimidated the Sand Goblins and Mud Fishmen.
“Alright!” Meg knew this wasn’t the time for talk, and Mo Tan’s suggestion was quite reliable. He immediately made the decision and began organizing everyone to widen the breakout route.
Meanwhile, on the hillside…
“Looks like it’s not this group.” A figure clad in cyan plate armor, holding a heavy crossbow, muttered to himself. “We can prepare to pull those cannon fodder back… Huh!?”
Pfft!
He suddenly spat out a mouthful of old blood, and at the same time, the large number of Sand Goblins and Mud Fishmen below collapsed to the ground as if struck by a heavy blow, their lives unknown…
…
[You have been forcibly disconnected. Please choose whether to reconnect.]
“…”
[You have been forcibly disconnected. Please choose whether to reconnect.]
“…Yes…”
[Reconnection beginning…]
[Connection complete, loading character information…]
[Innocent Realm is open for you. Character creation process is about to begin…]
Standing on the stone slab, Mo Tan regained consciousness and looked around with a somewhat dazed expression...
"Is it... me?" He raised his hand unnaturally before his eyes, murmuring, "What is happening..."
A rumbling sound echoed as nine massive doors stood around him, awaiting Mo Tan's choice.
"Choice?" Mo Tan's eyes seemed to have regained clarity, and he asked softly, "Is it necessary?"
Of course, no one in this place would answer him.
"Is it necessary?" He lifted his head, spread his hands, and a sinister curve formed at the corner of his mouth as he repeated, "Is it necessary?!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Eight of the doors directly exploded, shattering into pieces on the ground, and even the remnants dissolved into part of the void. Only the blood-red door, constantly emitting a black halo, trembled slightly... and swung open...
"Are you afraid of me?" Mo Tan walked up to it and, as if to soothe it, patted the frame of the [Chaotic Evil] door, then smiled: "Take it easy~"
After he walked inside, the only blood-red giant door remaining on the stone platform continued to tremble faintly, as if it had encountered something terrifying...
...
[Calculation complete. Your initial character data is:]
Race: Original Sin
Gender: Male
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Talents:
Madness (A true madman ignores all pain and treats it as pleasure. You have no sense of pain, and each time you take an attack, it restores your Stamina proportionally.)
Heartless (You have no trace of mercy, making any of your attacks impossible to dodge.)
Cruelty (A naturally cruel person feels no guilt. None of your actions will generate sin value.)
Dark Blood (It surges within you, constantly whispering without cease, annoying you endlessly. However, the benefit is that any mental attacks, illusions, or hallucinations are ineffective against you, as your mind has been tempered to be as hard as steel.)
Simply Powerful (There is a kind of power that needs no reason. Your base attributes are always considered 300% of normal values, and the recovery speed of HP, Mana, Stamina, and Acuity is increased by 300%.)
Original Sin (The sin you represent can also corrupt others, allowing you to make a target follow one of your commands without any conditions. Cooldown: 24 hours. Cannot be used on the same target again permanently.)
Transcendence (1. The experience required for leveling up all your professions is reduced by 70%; attribute points gained from leveling up all professions are doubled; penalty attributes forced by certain professions during leveling are negated; 2. ???)
Demon Lord (1. The cooldown of all your skills is reduced by 70%; 2. ???)
Misfortune (You should not exist. Do not give others or this world any chance!)
Independent Individual (Your selfishness prevents you from sharing your memories or deeds.)
Base Attributes: Strength 20, Dexterity 20, Intelligence 35, Constitution 20
Civil Attributes: Eloquence 15, Charm 60, Knowledge 10, Leadership 60
Combat Attributes: None
"Original Sin and Misfortune, huh..." Mo Tan said faintly. "I understand a lot now~ And 'That One' is also quite worth paying attention to."
[Please name your character.]
"Mo," Mo Tan said casually.
[Character name: Mo, please confirm—]
"Hm?"
[Would you like to adjust your appearance?]
Mo Tan looked at the figure before him, identical to his real-world self, and shook his head slightly.
[Character creation complete. Mo, Chaotic Evil, welcome to the Innocent Realm.]
...
Opening his eyes, Mo Tan found himself standing in a luxurious hall. A band in the corner was playing a lively, upbeat tune, and many people around him were chatting loudly while holding wine glasses. They were all humans, dressed in elegant and expensive formal attire, clearly the "upper class" of this society. It was obviously the scene of some noble's banquet.
[Tutorial Quest triggered.]
Mo Tan opened his quest panel, glanced at it briefly, then said expressionlessly to the air, "Forget it. I think you know what suits me best."
[...Buzz... Zzzz...]
A burst of static noise came through, and Mo Tan noticed that everyone around him paused unnaturally for a single second before returning to normal.
Meanwhile, his quest log had quietly changed.
[Unique Quest — Destroy Everything]
"Heh~ I knew it." He smiled, smiling like a child...
A young man dressed as a servant walked up to him with a tray and asked politely, "May I ask what you need, sir?"
"Of course, I need a lot, a very lot..." Mo Tan smiled politely and gracefully, a faint, unnatural black light flickering in his eyes. "So first, could you please die in the most ostentatious way you can think of?"
...
In the Innocent Realm, Holy Calendar 9571, a catastrophe erupted in the Chauvin Empire, located at the extreme south of the continent. Investigations revealed that everything began at the end of a certain noble's banquet.
A servant who tore open his own chest and climbed onto a chandelier, spinning wildly, terrified everyone present.
In the following three hours, Banser City, the site of the incident, was reduced to a dead zone. Rivers of blood flowed, corpses littered the ground, and there were no survivors. The few fragments of the scene that could be reconstructed were the limit of the top-tier arcane spell — the Mirror of the Stars — cast by the Chauvin court archmages. Yet even this glimpse of hell left immense psychological trauma on those who witnessed it.
From that day on, this prosperous city, known as the "Pearl of Chauvin" and famed for its colorful pearls, became history forever. Even its land, burdened by countless restless souls, turned into a cursed land. The perpetrator, however, remained at large, vanishing without a trace. It wasn't until a year later, when the world finally came to know that person, that people realized the terror he could bring was far, far greater than the legends suggested...
— *Memoirs: Beginning of the Sin King, Volume 3*
...
[You have logged out of the game. Neural connection has been terminated. Good morning.]
When Mo Tan was groggily awakened by the game pod, he looked somewhat dazed.
"I remember I was supposed to be breaking out with the Forest Spirit Merchant Caravan... how did I suddenly wake up?" he muttered to himself, then turned his head to glance at the phone beside the game pod, immediately startled.
"How is that possible! Seven o'clock!? The timing doesn't add up!"
Chapter 5: The End