NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 163: Empire Puppet?
"Roy, are you okay?"
The man asks in concern upon seeing that Roy retained silence for a couple of minutes, noticing that his eyes look uneasy as they occasionally glance in the direction of the kitchen.
"I, yes... I'm fine, don't worry."
Regaining his senses, Roy took a long last glance in the direction of the kitchen before unhurriedly gazing toward the two.
Pondering for a second before silently peeking at the outside, beholding the darkness beyond- quietly mixing with the thick grey fog as it greatly hindered their vision, as if someone was deliberately locking them within the place.
"We need to find Andress and Khael, I don't have good feelings toward this place- this very place."
He added with bated breath, staring at the eyes of the two with seriousness as he began to move forward... Not waiting for their reply as he was desperate to escape this place- wanting to avoid meeting the thing beneath the kitchen, hiding within this house.
Making him feel as if an enormous being was silently peeking toward their beings beneath the earth- salivating as if couldn't wait to consume their lives, flesh, and souls!
...
Creak, Creak.
Upon stepping outside, the cold energy within the fog quickly entered their pores, making them quiver in coldness as the teenager's teeth began to uncontrollably chatter.
Flame.
Muttering within his mind, the man wearing leather armour summoned a flame within his palm, slightly dispersing the cold energy within their body as it slightly illuminated the short distance, unfolding the wet yet bland grasses on the ground followed by silhouettes of countless niches in the far.
Caw!
Slowly, in a short period of time, the sight of a slow slithering black crow entered their senses, making the group halt as they started toward it in bewilderment...
"This! What kind of crow is this?'
They thought in unison, exchanging glances toward each other before again glancing toward the failed crow on the ground- not knowing what to do as they halted for seconds... Only the flickering of the red mesmerizing flame exposed that time was still running.
"Puff~ This, how pitiful this crow was!"
After a minute of complete silence, the loud chuckle of the teenager breaks the momentary serenity of the place, bending his knees slightly as he pokes the figure of the black crow in fun- causing the crow to stare at Drake's figure with murderous intent.
"Puff~ this crow wants to kill me, Hehe~"
Seeing this, Drake laughed out loud, not noticing that the expression of the two behind him slowly turned unnatural, staring toward afar in aghast as their body slowly became stiff in trepidation.
"Drake..."
Roy weakly called, not blinking as he warily stared at the countless pairs of eyes beyond the fog, feeling deep chills within his being upon noticing that their number almost reached 30s!
Meow~
The next second, another crow, strangely hopping using its single leg appeared within their vision- making the expression of the group ugly, not knowing whether to laugh or cry due to the strangeness of the things...
Unfortunately, probably due to the eyes staring at them, they could only helplessly conceal their expression.
"This, what should we do? Should we hack them all?" The man wearing leather armour weakly whispered to Roy beside him, clenching his fist, ready to destroy the two black crows if they showed malice.
Meow~?
As Roy was hesitating whether to destroy them or not- a sudden premonition appeared within his consciousness, making his eyes shrink as cold sweats poured down his back.
"Don't!" He replied with gritted teeth, unfolding the twitching vein within his forehead as if suppressing something...
Meow~~
Seeing this, the black crow shook its little head in regret, staring at them with a profound look as it pointed its beak toward the far distance- gesturing toward the three to follow it.
Not waiting for the three, the black crow began hopping toward the far distance, cawing occasionally as it often glanced toward its back.
"This, should we follow them?" The teenager said with a conflicted expression- staring at the slithering black crow in the far distance in amusement.
Gupled...
"Y~yes..."
Looking at the eyes beyond the fog, still staring at them with those emotionless glints- Roy gritted his teeth, suppressing his instinct to escape as he weakly began to follow the black crows in the distance...
Praying above to protect them.
***
"Hmm, there's something wrong within that failed crow of mine...'
Leo thought as he shifted his gaze toward the meowing crow in the front of the group- feeling that something was amiss with its being as he could detect a fleeting soul within its puppet body.
Although it was extremely faint, nonetheless, it was still a real soul, a genuine soul!
Frowning, Leo didn't hesitate further as he immediately cast his "Soul Scan" toward it- wanting to see what kind of changes happened to its being causing it to generate a soul.
Ding!
[ Crow Puppet (Living Failed Product) (Nurturing a Soul) - Mortal Level 17: A failed puppet that accidentally grazed by death and life Qi for countless days- due to unstable factors and intense luck, it managed to generate a weak feeble soul!
Innate skill: Dead Object (Elite!)
______Atrributes______
Health: 50/50
Death Qi: 50/50
Stamina: 50/50
Strength: 40
Speed: 50
Qi Power: 35
______Skills______
Monitoring Eyes (Common), Death Ray (Elite), Eyes of Vitality (Elite), Basic Intelligence (Common) ]
...
[ Dead Ray (Elite): Focused an amount of condensed death Qi toward its eyes before firing toward its target!
Activation: 10 Death Qi!
Note: Hitting by it would make the target's body enter a hastened erosion, dealing considerable damage and slowing one's health recovery! ]
[ Eyes of Vitality (Elite): Could discern one's natural life order by looking at the target's vitality. Moreover, it could also used to pry beyond walls, making one discern the living beings beyond!
Activation: Passive! ]
***
"This, Death and Life Qi could possibly generate life!? System, is this really possible?"
Leo asked within his mind, feeling suspicious regarding the possibility of that happening... However, if that was really possible, then Leo could have said to hit the jackpot!
He could even start creating living puppets with a certain amount of intelligence within, causing them to move on their own without him needing to command them!
"I might even... create my own puppet empire!'
Just thinking of it alone already makes Leo's hand itchy- wanting to create more puppets, possibly thousands!
Ding!
[ Consuming 5,000 horror points to answer the question.
(Accept/Delined)?]
"Accept!"
Accepting the deal, Leo didn't forget to curse within his mind, helplessly watching the fifth of his earnings today vanish like that.
"Unfortunately, I couldn't scare them too much or else my plan will become nought."
Ding!
[ Yes, although the chances of that happening are extremely slim, it's still possible... (to be precise "nothing is impossible".)
Mutated Qi or to be exact Qi that carried elements within them have certain rules (of that particular element) fused toward them... Making it possible to create life, understand the rules by absorbing the Qi, and possibly discern the corner of its Dao...
However, the probability of that happening is almost 0.1 to 2%. Depending on it to create life, understand the rules, and grasp the corners of the Dao's is extremely unwise!
Moreover, the lives they created depending solely on them were always imperfect, causing their lifespan and talent to become extremely limited (at least not comparable to low-level species/race!)... However, puppets or items grazed by life are different. ]
Leo slowly read the notification that appeared in front of him, unhurriedly comprehending the information it held- making him feel that the current world carried a vastness of knowledge and secrets that he couldn't reach with his current stage...
Making his desire to increase his life order and realm stage much stronger, filling him with urgency that he couldn't explain.
Ding!
[ Desire of the Dao increases by an amount!
+0.1% overall attributes (non-permanent)! ]
...
Sigh...
Even the Nascent Soul realm cultivators might be unaware of this... How fascinating.
Leo thought, deciding to let most of his puppets stay within that forsaken pit to try their luck from now on.
Although the chances were extremely slim, if there were hundreds of puppets within that pit, it was inevitable that some of them would become luckily grazed by life and death Qi, causing them to generate soul on their own.
Even if that didn't work, then thousands or ten thousand puppets should be! he didn't believe that the jinx skill would hinder his luck, luckily...
Shaking his head, burying those thoughts behind his mind for now. Leo leisurely shifted his gaze from the lucky little black crow in the front toward the tense humans in the distance- watching them warily moving toward the unknown location, smiling lightly as he wondered what kind of expression they would make upon seeing his present.
"Hopefully, they wouldn't run upon seeing it."
With lingering thought, Leo's being in the far distance, beyond the thick fog quickly becomes transparent, vanishing within the sight of the world... Only leaving with nothing.
***