After standing up, Chen Luo brushed the dust off himself, though there was no way he could get clean immediately. The soot from the renovation clung tightly to every inch of his clothes, leaving him looking rather disheveled. He reopened the other System interfaces and checked the quest panel. When he saw the series of Apocalypse Saintess quests, he could not help being shocked:
-[Quest 1: Cook for everyone and heal their injuries. Reward: Activate the 「Mother Earth's Aura」 halo—those who meet the Host for the first time will automatically develop at least a minimum level of goodwill. For every good deed performed by the Host that they learn about, the aura will grow stronger and increase the Host's closeness with each Planetary Matriarch. (Completed)]
-[Quest 2: Cure all patients suffering from illness. Reward: Unlock the magic skill 「Track」. (Completed)]
-[Quest 3: Eliminate all targets standing in the way. Pre-quest reward: Ego—Wrath. Post-quest rewards: 「Purifying Hands」 and 「Ego's Eyes」. (Completed)]
-[Quest 4: Wrath Privilege—Apocalypse Saintess, Bloodstained Curse. Quest hint: Every rebirth begins with destruction. The curse buried deep in the heart of one who bears compassion contains the power to destroy an entire planet and usher in a new age of life. Resolve the deep-seated hatred accumulated by the Bloodstained Curse with the Sword of Wrath, and begin a new journey of rebirth.]
-[Quest 5: Complete Quest 4 to unlock the subsequent quests.]
Chen Luo was deeply confused by Quests 3 and 4. He had realized that the quests had changed, but if a series that had originally consisted of purely saintly tasks had turned into this, he had to begin doubting the System he currently possessed. Only these two quests in the entire chain were surrounded by the blood-red characters 「Wrath」, radiating an invisible killing intent that made him shudder.
-"Huh... the Bloodstained Curse? Strange name. But what the hell is this hint? I don't remember the game ever giving hints like this."
Chris noticed Chen Luo muttering about rebirth and destruction and found it strange. His sharp eyes, inherited from his noble lineage, narrowed slightly. Just then, Chen Luo turned and asked him:
-"Hey, Chris, do you know what this means: 'Every rebirth begins with destruction. The curse buried deep in the heart of one who bears compassion contains the power to destroy an entire planet and usher in a new age of life'?" Chen Luo did not repeat the entire message verbatim at first; he wanted to test his calculating younger brother.
When Chris heard the complete sentence, he was deeply shaken. His pupils contracted, and a chill ran down his spine. As a future leader, Chris knew where the words originated. Yet Chen Luo's sudden mention of them left him flustered. Why bring this up while they were renovating the base? Had he noticed something?
-"I do. What's wrong, Big Brother?"
-"Nothing. I just heard it somewhere before. Tell me, what is it?" Chen Luo continued clearing away the renovation debris outside as he asked Chris, feigning casual indifference.
-"It's nothing particularly strange. It began nearly a thousand years ago..."
Gusts of wind swept by as though trying to carry the entire story away across the continent. In a low, gloomy voice, Chris recounted what he knew about those words. They referred to an ancient curse born under the harsh rule of the nobility before the Great Revolution, when ordinary people were plunged into endless misery. The Slave-Control Stone had originated from this history. Back then, nobles did not use control stones; instead, they imposed a cruel slave curse. Even if a person wearing a slave collar later removed it, their descendants would still be slaves. This oppressive cycle of suffering continued for generations.
-"Then a 'hero' appeared—a common-born hero who stood beneath the heavens with his feet planted firmly on the earth, carrying a clay pot, a hammer, and a burning determination to fight back. At first, the fighting went well. But as time passed, those despicable nobles began using slaves as shields in battle. Bound by the curse, the slaves were forced to fight until both body and mind were utterly exhausted."
-"But as the people around him gradually became blades turned against that hero, the world around him became a sea of blood, filled with opposition and unwillingness to accept what was happening. The hero became both a savior and an enemy, and the outcome was no longer what he had once wished for."
-"A man who had once been a hero then brought forth the destruction of Wrath. He destroyed every force the nobles relied upon: the underworld, mysterious organizations, foreign powers... In the end, the hero achieved his original goal and abolished the slave system, but the price was far too great. Ultimately, everything ended in oblivion, and that was the end of the story of the Slave Hero."
-"That's the story. What do you think?"
Chen Luo finally understood the meaning of the System's hint. At its core, the task was still about freeing slaves, but he knew this rescue would be far more dangerous. In short, he needed to use Wrath, but he could not infer from the story where he should use it or what exactly he needed to do. At least he had gained knowledge that had never appeared in the historical records known to the game's player community.
Chen Luo looked at Alvibion again. At that moment, a red exclamation mark began to glow beside the 「Blood Magic - Knowledge and History」 section. When he opened it, detailed instructions for constructing a Blood Altar appeared, with every step laid out. Without thinking further, Chen Luo entered the System's simulation space, where he finally saw what a Blood Altar truly looked like.
Shining Blood Bricks gave off a faint red mist; ancient patterns were carved into Blood Lamp Pillars; Blood Jade Pillars glittered; towering Starlight Pillars shone brilliantly; Blood Runes pulsed with hidden energy; Blood Crystal Jade and a mysterious Magical Stone Pedestal completed the design. Together, they formed a solemn and magnificent Blood Altar. Chen Luo knew from a single glance that it would take considerable effort to gather all these materials. For now, however, he needed to prepare new resources for crafting and reinforcing the base.
Night fell, and dark clouds covered the gloomy apocalyptic world. Chen Luo finally set aside his usual fatigue and worries and soaked in a large bathtub filled with steaming hot water. A comfortable bath was something he had been looking forward to for a long time; if not for all the recent trouble, he would not have been this exhausted.
-"Hey, have you noticed? There's something a little strange about Chen Luo," Helber said, turning toward Ryan as they soaked in the water. He lowered his voice just enough to be heard over the gentle splashing. After living together for a while, some members still regarded Chen Luo with a degree of suspicion. Unlike Galahad or Zhang Zewei, who trusted him more, Helber found it hard to believe that someone like Chen Luo could lead the whole group through this dead land.
-"Yeah. As soon as one thing is over, something else happens to him, and he keeps pulling weird tricks, yet those two old guys still believe him no matter what." Ryan did have some trust in Chen Luo, but Helber's prompting had already begun to sway him. Sometimes, internal discord starts with just a few remarks like these.
Although Chen Luo heard everything thanks to the heightened sensitivity of his senses after leveling up, he chose not to expose them. He simply closed his eyes and relaxed in the warm water. Doing so now would be like handing his opponents the knife by its handle, allowing those who distrusted him to openly badmouth him and create an excuse to split the group.
Chen Luo did not dwell on it and quickly pushed the worry aside. He continued examining the instructions for making an Alchemy Furnace on a secondary interface. The furnace required only sand, gravel, and one absolutely crucial ingredient: Rune Soil. Without it, the furnace would crack and collapse after only a few firings, and Rune Soil had not yet been unlocked in the System Shop. Chen Luo knew he would have to spend the coming days searching for or mining this rare material.
「Notice: 325 days remaining, counted from the next chapter」