I Ascend to the Divine Throne through Arcane Means
Chapter 924 - 559 Testing_2

"Stop thinking about it, how about another drink?"

"Of course, but this time give me two, Old Milo, join me."

Lis smiled and invited Old Milo.

"Haha, sounds good."

Old Milo laughed too, and the shaker in his hand began to dance skillfully.

...

As his face turned slightly red, Lis bid farewell to Old Milo and got up to return to his room.

Taya was already collapsed on the bed, eating the snacks Lis had prepared in small bites, her eyes wandering occasionally in Lis's direction.

Lis doesn't seem to handle liquor well...

Should I prepare some in the future?

While Taya's thoughts drifted, Lis was pondering the problem he had just discovered.

Given Lis's robust constitution, the drinks he had earlier didn't affect him; his slightly tipsy demeanor was mostly a facade.

The harvest this time was much more than he had anticipated.

The biggest discovery undoubtedly was the potential hidden truth within the legendary illusion of this small town of Ihelos.

Undead!

Lis hadn't expected that undead creatures would appear in this secret realm town, especially since he hadn't sensed any undead aura before.

So, could it be that all the residents of this small town, Ihelos, had already become undead?

This is really quite possible!

Lis recalled that he had noticed the pallor of Ihelos's residents' faces before, but he hadn't detected any undead aura at the time, so he didn't connect it to the undead.

Now it seems likely that it's because most of the residents had already become undead, and even with the illusion's cover, a sliver of abnormality showed through.

However...

Isn't this a bit too abnormal?

For example, that Old Milo just now, from his appearance, he didn't seem like an undead at all.

Especially his skilled bartending, there was no sign of stiffness or awkwardness, no different from usual people.

If not for the accident, with Old Milo's arm broken in a crash, Lis wouldn't have discovered that this warm elder had become undead.

If Ihelos is an undead city, the attempt to conceal this truth with an illusion, and the absurd but less likely to be scrutinized "expensive" entrance tax makes sense.

To prevent outsiders from entering the city as much as possible.

Even if a few people enter the city, it's hard to notice that the residents are undead.

First, although the residents are undead, they still need to eat and sleep like normal people, so there's nothing unusual about their actions.

Lis had already examined the food and drinks provided by the inn, and there was nothing abnormal.

So, those visitors to Ihelos might spend several days with a group of undead without discovering anything.

Therefore, no one had uncovered this small town's secret?

However, Lis was still puzzled.

Why was Ihelos maintaining this small town?

To sustain such a number of undead residents and to maintain this legendary illusion, it must require considerable costs.

What is Ihelos's purpose?

In the mission description, this small town stagnates in time due to Ihelos' determination.

If the "dead city" mentioned in the task refers to this town already transformed into an undead city, then what does the "new change" refer to?

Lis browsed the task description, his eyes suddenly catching on the task reward hint.

Task reward: Depending on the task's completion (Hint: Completing this task carries a small chance of obtaining a Legendary Rank item [Love Beyond Life and Death]!)

(Ihelos: Without you, what does having everything mean?)

...

Lis suddenly realized something, feeling a sourness in his teeth.

Especially regarding the Legendary Rank item [Love Beyond Life and Death], the subsequent effect description made Lis's premonitions increasingly real.

This is a method every seasoned player knows, extracting useful information from a brief task description to propel the task to completion.

But wasn't this an infamous legendary strongman?

Lis couldn't imagine what kind of heart-wrenching experience would lead him to make such choices, even "creating" such an undead city.

Although it felt like he'd grasped a few clues, the difficulties Lis faced were far from over.

The Gur Festival was to be held the night after tomorrow.

There were two days left—surely something had to be done instead of idling around?

Lis pondered, looking out at the deepening night outside the window, planning to explore the city.

For instance, the place located in the center of the small town, where Ihelos resided.

According to Old Milo, the city's master, Ihelos, always stayed in the Mage Tower in the city's center.

However, Lis had passed by during his wanderings in the city before and hadn't seen any Mage Tower.

Could the Mage Tower be underground?

Lis felt this might help unravel the illusion's secrets.

...

After waiting in the room for a moment, as night fell deeply.

Lis asked Taya to continue resting in the room, left the room amidst her somewhat dissatisfied gaze.

Utilizing Shadow Power to enter a Stealth State, Lis descended the stairs.

At this time, the tavern on the inn's first floor was no longer as noisy as before; the guests had left in high spirits, leaving a mess of dishes waiting to be cleaned, and Old Milo, who had been behind the bar, was nowhere to be seen.

The inn's servants were bustling on the first floor, clearing the leftover food and spilled liquor from tables and the floor.

Lis noticed the blonde girl, Jue, was also diligently cleaning in the hall.

Even simple, plain clothes couldn't hide the beauty of this blonde girl, Lis gave her a look and slowly approached.

Although his previous speculation was highly likely, it was still just speculation.

This exploration was intended to verify his guesses.

First, he needed to test if everyone was like Old Milo as undead creatures.

When Lis saw Jue, new ideas formed in his mind.

In his view, Jue should be quite special, possibly related to that legendary mage Ihelos.

If so, is she also undead?

Lis drew closer to Jue, planning to conduct a covert experiment.

He was now in Shadow Stealth and couldn't be detected by ordinary people.

Due to the illusion's presence, Lis couldn't perceive whether the other party was undead through external aura.

He had to physically experiment.

If this girl in front of him was indeed an undead creature, she wouldn't notice Lis in Stealth State; even if Lis secretly sliced off her arm, she might not detect anything unusual.

Just like Old Milo before.

If the other party wasn't undead but a living person, Lis could also tell; even if an accident truly severed the girl's arm, Lis had the ability to fully restore it.

Just as Lis reached Jue's side, preparing to make his move.

Suddenly, a terrifying weight fell directly onto Lis's shoulders!

Even though he had prepared himself mentally, Lis almost didn't react in time, his body bending slightly under the massive pressure.

Legendary!

Surely something was wrong!

Lis could feel the pressure on him steadily increasing, and dared not linger, quickly disappearing through Shadow Jump.

Jue, standing at the brink of contact, felt nothing, continuing her diligent work cleaning the stains left on the table.

Lis emerged from the shadows, appearing on the street at the inn's entrance.

He gasped quickly, raising his head to carefully survey the surroundings.

After waiting a moment, the anticipated legendary strongman did not appear.

Strange?

Lis rubbed his chin, finding the situation confusing.

That was definitely the aura of a legendary strongman, right?

Why was there no movement?

Could it be that his previous speculations were all correct?

Was Ihelos really always watching over that blonde girl Jue?