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Chapter 445 - 442: "You Will Definitely See the Ocean." (Kasiert Alliance Hierarch Additional 2/3)

Chapter 445: Chapter 442: "You Will Definitely See the Ocean." (Kasiert Alliance Hierarch Additional 2/3)

"This thing, called a Soul Stone, can protect us from the Black Mist at night. It’s very scarce, so use it sparingly," Xiber, cloaked in a red robe, said as she took out a transparent stone.

"Click." A soft sound.

The stone suddenly burst into transparent flames.

The light was warm and gentle, giving a strong sense of reassurance. Once illuminated by this light, Su Ming’an found that the strange and chilly feeling from the surroundings, emanating from the whole world, had abruptly vanished.

The pervasive black particles and fog around them gradually steered clear of them.

...It was magical.

"When traveling at night in Qiongdi, we must light this stone. Its light can dispel the Black Mist. Otherwise, staying in the Black Mist for too long will curse you," Xiber continued, "The Soul Stone is very precious; I have only this small piece left. I’ve already used it for a long time, and the remaining bit can only burn for about a dozen hours, which means it can only protect you for about two nights."

"How can I obtain a Soul Stone?" Su Ming’an asked.

Xiber paused, "... It’s troublesome to obtain, and you don’t need to know. After this stone is used up, you should just rest during the nights."

She raised her hand.

The transparent flame burned in her hand, casting a faint halo on her body, repelling the surrounding Black Mist.

She led Su Ming’an through the silent forest, like holding a transparent torch.

Su Ming’an’s choice to travel at night was out of necessity.

Communicating with Xiber had consumed the most precious first hour of the instance. He still hadn’t figured out the specifics of the instance and didn’t have a single Silver Star in his possession.

Considering the broad daylight would provide clear visibility and more players would be around, making situations even more chaotic, he wanted to grasp the situation while he still had the chance.

The place he had just awakened seemed to be a small cabin where Xiber lived. Due to her status as a heretic, she was exiled by her tribe, which is why she resided near a dangerous forest frequented by wild beasts.

If they crossed this secluded forest, they would see plains and fields with a clear view. Walking around there for a while might allow them to encounter other players.

As they walked, he looked at Xiber ahead of him, "Xiber, are you familiar with this area?"

"Yes," Xiber replied, "I grew up here. Every Guide here is a native of Qiongdi."

Su Ming’an didn’t ask her about her family, considering her ostracized heretic status—her family’s situation was surely not good.

Perhaps, she had been exiled by her own family.

In this world of blind faith and feudal superstition, even killing one’s own child was possible.

That’s why she, who seemed not yet of age, lived alone in such a remote corner of the world, at the edge of a forest cut off from society.

Though she appeared to be a child who hadn’t grown up, her wariness was already so strong, she dared not even firmly grasp a helping hand offered to her.

"I saw sweet potatoes and various seeds in your house; do you also farm?" Su Ming’an asked.

Xiber turned around. With a somewhat contemptuous look, she glanced at him briefly.

"Is there any arable land nearby?" she countered, "Where would I have land to grow crops?"

Su Ming’an recalled—the ground around the cabin was covered in black mud, with heaps of black mud as large as garbage mounds; the environment was extremely harsh with no fertile soil.

So Xiber likely survived by hunting.

In that case, she did possess some Combat Power, at least capable of setting traps and subduing small game.

During their earlier conversation, Xiber mentioned that those black mud heaps around the house were rubbish dumped by other tribe members. They treated this remote area where she lived as a pollution processing site, tossing everything towards it.

The black mud was radioactive and living there long-term was detrimental to one’s health. But Xiber had no choice.

As an outcast, she could only live in such an extremely harsh environment.

"Why do you believe in Jiu Shen?" Su Ming’an asked.

He realized that all of Xiber’s misfortune stemmed from her belief in "Jiu Shen," her status as a heretic.

—Because she worshipped the Evil God,

she was abandoned, exiled,

shunned, driven away, looked down upon by others,

forced to live in such a harsh environment, having to hunt for survival before she was even of age,

reduced to... not having a single person to talk to, even doubting him when they met.

"..."

Xiber’s steps hesitated.

"...Because when I was a child," she said, "Jiu Shen saved me."

As she spoke, a rustling sound came from the bushes nearby.

Something seemed to be wriggling through the leaves.

She turned sharply, noticing that Su Ming’an’s back had left the range of the light, exposed to the dense Black Mist.

"Come here!" Fear flashed across her eyes as she shouted sharply, reaching out to grab him.

In that instant, a distorted shadow, like black mud, suddenly leapt out from the bushes, rushing straight toward Su Ming’an’s back!

Su Ming’an stepped forward directly, swiftly entering the range of the halo.

"Sizzle—"

The moment the shadow encountered the light, it melted immediately, emitting a sound like oil dissolving.

It wriggled, falling to the ground, and disappeared like melting snow.

"—Didn’t I tell you not to leave the range of the light? Didn’t you hear me!"

Xiber frowned as he observed Su Ming’an, who was still watching.

If this self-proclaimed strongest adventurer continued to court death, her already limited trust would be completely exhausted.

... Did he think he was extremely powerful? Was he actually trying to resist the curse directly?

"What is that?" Su Ming’an asked, seeing the weird black mud dissolve into the light.

"This creature lurks in the forest, tainted by the curse; it gradually transformed into this form. If bitten by such a ghastly thing, you too would be afflicted with the curse," Xiber said, visibly impatient but still answering: "Bai Shen in Qiongdi, besides representing perfection and singularity, also symbolizes ’the sun and the light.’ However, His firmament cannot protect during the night. At night, Qiongdi sees the emergence of Black Mist containing curse energy. Without the dispelling of a Soul Stone, staying too long in the Black Mist will contaminate you with the curse."

She didn’t know why this traveler was so keen on questioning to the smallest detail, but his clearly suicidal behavior was already wearing down her patience.

If he had been bitten just now and contracted the curse, she wouldn’t keep a ticking time bomb close to her.

"Why does your world have curses?" Su Ming’an wondered.

Indeed, his stepping out of the halo’s range was deliberate.

Firstly, it was to test Xiber’s current level of trust in him, and secondly, it was to extract more information from her.

If she wanted him to survive, she definitely would stop his suicidal actions and clearly explain the dangers of this "curse" to him.

That way, he could gather more intelligence.

This inexplicably appearing Black Mist, these distorted black creatures, and the curse-like entity beyond the firmament... It was clear none of these were things that should exist in a normal world.

"Just like why there is air, our Qiongdi just happens to have curses," Xiber said nonchalantly: "Curse is something unique to our Qiongdi, and every one of us here is a ’Guardian’ of the curse."

"Hmm?" This was the first time Su Ming’an had heard of the term "Guardian" of a curse.

Did a curse need guarding too?

Xiber turned around and looked at him.

Her hand held a transparent flame which soared, its radiance painting her pale face, and within her light-colored eyes, there lay profound exhaustion.

"In any world, there will be trash, right?" Xiber said: "The unnecessary, that which should be disposed of, this is trash.

And where there is trash, there must be a landfill.

... Our Qiongdi, is the outside world’s landfill."

"Landfill?" Su Ming’an was puzzled.

He indeed noticed that this world was extremely ominous, with disgusting black mud flowing everywhere, as if contaminated.

Logically speaking, a normal world shouldn’t be like this.

Xiber spoke indifferently: "This so-called ’curse,’ in fact, is something unique to our Qiongdi.

We, the people of Qiongdi, have carried the curse generation after generation. Our living environment often has Black Mist carrying curse energy spreading.

No one knows its origin, nor can anyone completely remove it. Once a curse outbreak occurs, no one can escape death.

This kind of bio-weapon... once released, would also bring calamity to the outside world.

Therefore, our ancestors..."

Xiber paused.

She turned back, looking at him, the light from her hand illuminating her light-colored eyes.

"Our ancestors self-constructed the ’Black Wall’ that isolates Qiongdi from the outside world. The ’Black Wall’ separates Qiongdi and the external world, preventing the escape of the curse." She spoke calmly:

"... Therefore, for hundreds of years, none of us have been able to leave here. From birth to death, we all live on this contaminated land, each of us—carrying an indelible curse."

Su Ming’an was somewhat shocked upon hearing this.

He hadn’t expected that the people living in this Qiongdi bore such a mission.

These people voluntarily built a barrier, guarding the dangerous curse, not letting it contaminate the outside world.

The cost was that all of them, generation after generation, including their parents, their children, and their children’s children... all had to live in a world filled with curses.

They would never see the beautiful and pure world outside in their lifetimes.

Perhaps seeing his complexion wasn’t very good, Xiber approached him, holding up the burning Soul Stone in her hand.

"Actually, curses aren’t entirely bad," she said. "Because of them, many of us have gained powerful abilities that outsiders can’t possess, like the ability to control fire or ice elements... Those Guides are among the most outstanding ability users among us. Of course, to use these powers is to stir the curse within us, which is why we are reluctant to act."

"Do you also have a curse within you?" Su Ming’an asked.

Xiber was silent for a while.

The night wind lifted her bright red hood, revealing a few strands of her wispy white hair.

A moment later, she uttered a light "hmm".

"We locals... are born with a curse, a curse that lurks within us until it strikes, and when it does, one is certain to die," she said. "However, before the curse strikes, we locals also use some methods to delay the inevitable onset of the curse. For most people, the curse might never strike in their lifetime, and they only experience the strength it provides before its onset. Of course, you foreigners have no resistance and will die swiftly if afflicted by the curse, so I hope you take my words seriously."

Su Ming’an slightly furrowed his brow.

For a moment, he didn’t know how to respond.

People in this small world lived with a time-bomb-like curse from birth, never knowing when it would trigger and abruptly claim their lives...

They had no control over their own lives and could only exert all their might to delay the onset of the curse. Even though they enjoyed the power it brought before it triggered, they had to live in constant fear.

This inseparable bomb, hanging over them, could reap their lives at any moment.

Death seemed incredibly close to them.

And it was the same for Xiber.

Suddenly, Su Ming’an understood why she had that defiant stance against the world when they first met.

This kind of world... indeed made living an excruciating ordeal.

He thought this as he suddenly saw her lean in closely, staring into his eyes.

"So," she said, "—do not underestimate those Black Mists and cursed beings, you will die, understand? If you contract the curse and die, I will lose my mind too. Don’t think just because you are the ’strongest’ adventurer that you can ignore the curse—even the strongest Guide among us will die if the curse is triggered. Death is fair to everyone."

"Then... what you said about the Guide who survives this battle being able to go to the outside world, is that true?" Su Ming’an asked.

"Yes," Xiber nodded. "Actually, this Hundred-Person Battle isn’t the first of its kind."

...Not the first instance?

"In the past, Qiongdi held such a Hundred-Person Battle every twenty years, and the last survivor truly passed through that Black Wall and went to the outside world," Xiber explained.

Hearing this, Su Ming’an realized that the worldview of this world wasn’t as simple as he had imagined.

Initially, he thought it was just a small-scale world meant for a hundred players to kill each other. Those so-called "Guides" were just additions to embellish the experience for the players and to add more fun to this instance.

But now he realized that was not the case.

This was clearly a world with a complete worldview, incredibly independent.

And those Guides were alive, native people of Qiongdi.

They all had their own thoughts and desires. They weren’t participating in this battle to glorify the players but had their own faith and purposes.

Their relationship with the players was cooperative, not subordinate.

And such battles had not just occurred once but many times, more than a dozen, more than twenty...

As for Xiber’s session, it was the most special because they suddenly had a group of summoned players to assist them. In previous sessions, the contestants fought each other solo without any Guides.

"Every twenty years, Bai Shen issues an oracle to select a hundred contestants from various tribes. And the last one who survives can dispel the curse on them, pass through that Black Wall, and go to a curse-free exterior," Xiber said. "As for the death of Bai Shen... that happened five years ago."

Su Ming’an listened quietly.

He knew this was critical global information he had won after gaining Xiber’s trust, and Xiber would only tell him once.

Once he lost her trust, she would not speak of it again.

"Five years ago, a large, living-like curse suddenly appeared in the sky, and Qiongdi was on the brink of disaster," Xiber continued. "At that time, Bai Shen, who previously existed only in legends and oracles, truly appeared before the tribe members, shrouded in intense white light, unrecognizable. Amid the prayers of the tribe members, Bai Shen transformed into the firmament that blocked the curse, sacrificing itself to save all the believers..."

Her narration was very slow, her tone more soothing than ever before.

Perhaps because she had finally found a rare listener who didn’t reject her for being a Heretic, she spoke in great detail and completeness.

Her appearance under the firelight seemed too young and too pale, like someone chronically ill, weak. As she recounted, she dropped her guard and wildness, appearing just like a young girl.

It was the so-called faith that had driven her to this point.

"Even though Bai Shen had died, according to Its oracle before death, the hundred selected Guides still had to participate in this battle," she stretched out her hand, slightly adjusting her somewhat loose hood to cover her dry hair: "...And I am one of them."

Xiber had been chosen as a contestant shortly after she was born.

Even though Bai Shen had died a few years ago, she still had to participate in this battle according to the previous list of contestants.

The contestants had no right to refuse.

Even if they did not want to leave this world, even if they had no desire to obtain the final victor’s reward, they could not withdraw from this battle.

Weak ones like Xiber, who could not fight, once chosen by the oracle, also had no right to opt out of the competition. Even doomed to be crushed by stronger contenders and end up as cannon fodder, she still had to participate.

And once the competition began, out of the hundred contestants, only one could survive to the end; the other ninety-nine must die.

Only when the other ninety-nine were dead could the sole survivor obtain the enormous power to leave Qiongdi, dispel the curse, and cross through that Black Wall.

...So.

So when the competition started, when Su Ming’an woke up and opened the door, was that why he saw her lonely silhouette?

Because she knew all too well that being so frail, she could never survive until the end.

She was trying so hard to stay alive.

But from the moment she was born and chosen by the oracle, her fate was sealed.

[...She would die in this session’s battle.]

At the moment the war started, she had already crossed into the boundary of death, with the Grim Reaper’s scythe resting on her neck.

Her life had entered a countdown.

"..."

Looking at Xiber’s serene face, Su Ming’an sighed.

She still stood before him, clad in a bright red robe that almost entirely concealed her. The glimpse of her wrist, holding a Soul Stone, was also covered in scars from hunting.

When he had just woken up and pushed the door open to see her for the first time, she, standing under the night sky, was closer to death than she was to him.

Thus, she was on the verge of collapse, looking wild and crazy like a frightened animal, a lonely and alert wild wolf.

...It was his invitation to accompany him, and the embrace from behind, that temporarily made her set aside her self-destructive thoughts.

Su Ming’an had thoroughly figured out her thoughts.

He extended his hand.

"Trust me, you will live to the end," he said.

He thought.

...If this world were real.

...If Xiber’s existence were real.

Then, in fact, they had already borne so much misfortune.

In comparison, before the world game started, all the misfortune he had experienced seemed somewhat trivial.

Forgetting homework, failing exams... in the eyes of someone like Xiber, those could even be considered sweet sorrows, small losses in a peaceful world.

After all, she had struggled on the line between life and death her entire life.

From birth, to death.

She almost had no choice in any other way to live.

Looking at Su Ming’an’s extended hand, Xiber’s gaze slightly wavered.

"If I can live to the end," she said softly, "...I want to see the ocean outside."

Qiongdi has no ocean.

This world, dark, oppressive, filled with curses and beasts, has only endless plains, dangerous forests, and insane tribes.

According to some who have accidentally strayed into Qiongdi from outside the Black Wall, the outside world has oceans.

People inside the Black Wall of Qiongdi cannot go out, but people from outside can come in.

However, generally, no one would come in willingly, because while you can enter, you cannot leave.

These strangers who mistakenly entered Qiongdi and could not leave generally had fuzzy memories.

But they said the outside world has oceans.

Blue, beautiful, boundless.

Xiber wanted to see the ocean.

...She wanted to survive.

"You will definitely see the ocean," Su Ming’an said. "I promise you, I will let you see the ocean."

Xiber didn’t speak, just reached out her hand.

That rough hand, full of hunting scars, clasped his.

And after that, she slightly tugged at her lips and cracked a smile.

...

...She smiled.

...

[...]

[In the forest that day, she suddenly showed a smile.]

[The smile was so pure, like the one she gave her parents before being labeled as a heretic.]

[It was the first time, and the last time,]

[...that he saw her smile so purely.]

[She said.]

[She wanted to see the ocean.]

[— "Jiu Shen·Reincarnation Diary"]]

...