Chapter 41
Chapter 41
“Hahahaha! Hahaha! In all these years, this is the first time a diamond fiend has ever spoken to me like that.” The black-diamond monster suddenly burst into laughter.
Xiao Huai breathed an inward sigh of relief, though his body remained on high alert. He knew that if the black-diamond monster wanted him dead, killing him might be as easy as crushing an ant.
“How do you intend to help me?”
The monster slowly approached, lowering his gaze to look imperiously down at Xiao Huai.
It was deeply uncomfortable to be watched by those icy eyes. Xiao Huai said quietly, “Let’s make a deal.”
“A deal?” The black-diamond monster arched an eyebrow. “No diamond fiend has ever dared bargain with me.”
The faintest smile tugged at Xiao Huai’s lips. His slightly upturned eyes took on a provocative gleam, one that only added a dangerously captivating edge to his beautiful features.
“True, no player has dared bargain with you. That’s because none of them had value: nothing that made them useful to you. You can kill me, but understand this: if you do, you will never see daylight again. You will never have your revenge.”
The black-diamond monster understood the intent beneath Xiao Huai’s words. The eyes covering his body turned dark and menacing. “Are you threatening me?”
“I’m offering you a deal.”
The black-diamond monster narrowed his eyes and studied him. “Heh. You are an interesting diamond fiend. I admit, you possess a face well suited to conventional standards of beauty. But you should know that a pretty face alone cannot help me. Just what do you intend to use to save me?”
“Why, naturally…” Xiao Huai stepped a little closer. Though far shorter than the black-diamond monster, his presence did not yield by so much as an inch in that moment.
A cold gleam flickered in those bloodred eyes, sharpened by a hint of mockery.
“My talent for manipulating hearts.”
For a moment, the black-diamond monster could not tear his gaze from Xiao Huai’s face.
Xiao Huai’s voice slipped into his ears like poison, compelling the monster to believe that what he said was true.
“How did you do that…” Disbelief surfaced in the black-diamond monster’s eyes. Even he had not expected to find himself believing Xiao Huai.
Naturally, Xiao Huai had no intention of revealing that it was an additional effect of the item he had possessed from the beginning.
God’s Tear.
Perhaps the reason Hanako had trusted him so readily in the first-floor instance was connected to this item’s effect.
He still did not know how he had obtained it, but there was no denying the immense value of its additional effect.
“So, do you accept my deal?” Xiao Huai asked, returning to the point.
The black-diamond monster grew serious. The eyes covering his body returned to normal as he glanced at Old Mo and the others.
“Those foolish diamond fiends fell into a trance from the mere sight of me. You did not. You are different. Perhaps you truly can help me.”
Xiao Huai looked over at them. So they had fallen into a trance…
The black-diamond monster’s strength was every bit as formidable as he had expected. Xiao Huai had made it this far on luck, but there was no guarantee luck would carry him to victory later.
Therefore… that blessing of his.
I want it.
Xiao Huai smiled. “Of course. I am the person who can help you. But in return, you must give me something too.”
“What do you want?”
“Your blessing.”
The black-diamond monster froze. Then one brow rose as he regarded Xiao Huai with interest. “You want my blessing? It seems you really are different from those shortsighted diamond fiends.”
Tang Weiqi had once asked whether Xiao Huai’s Hide-and-Seek was a supernatural ability. Xiao Huai had answered that it was only a friend’s blessing.
That exchange proved players did have opportunities to obtain supernatural abilities. They might receive one as a system reward, or perhaps as a gift from a god.
Although Xiao Huai had not seen any explanation of how supernatural abilities were acquired in the game’s basic rules, he had seen the restriction placed upon them.
Each player could possess only one supernatural ability.
But there was no rule limiting how many gods could bestow their blessings upon a player.
A god’s blessing might carry restrictions, just as Hanako’s Blessing could be used only once a day.
Yet a divine blessing was fundamentally different from a supernatural ability. It was like receiving a portion of a god’s power directly from that god and borrowing it for one’s own use.
The poison gas Hu Jiang released in the Ivy Girls’ School instance and the insects Liu Tongtong summoned should both have been supernatural abilities.
In the end, Liu Tongtong had even been killed by her own ability.
Hu Jiang’s ability had been insignificant compared with Hanako’s Hide-and-Seek.
Within an instance, NPCs were effectively that world’s gods. Their blessings were therefore divine blessings as well.
Even if each blessing had its own restrictions, the more Xiao Huai collected, the more abilities he effectively possessed.
And every one of them would be god-tier.
“So what’s your answer?” Xiao Huai looked calmly at the black-diamond monster.
The monster turned his back to him. “I can give you my blessing. But once I do, a portion of my own power will disappear. You must first show me some sincerity.”
Just as I thought.
Xiao Huai had suspected as much. He had received Hanako’s Blessing only because he had completed the hidden mission and steadily built up her affection by playing with her.
Hanako had given him her blessing of her own free will.
So there had been a deeper meaning behind it all.
Whenever an NPC granted a player a blessing, a portion of the NPC’s power vanished permanently. A blessing was not something they could give away lightly.
“I understand.” Xiao Huai remained perfectly composed. “Give me two days. I’ll show you my sincerity.”
The black-diamond monster snorted. All the eyes growing across his back narrowed as if they were smiling.
“Very well. I shall await it here.”
[Ding! Do you wish to accept Joseph’s limited-time mission? Time limit: two days.]
[Penalty: Unknown.]
A notification appeared on Xiao Huai’s system interface. After selecting Confirm, he said, “My name is Xiao Huai, in case you need to call me.”
The black-diamond monster glanced at him from the corner of his eye. “Joseph Edward.”
It was certainly an old-fashioned name, yet it carried the bearing of medieval nobility.
A cold gust swept through the tunnel, and Joseph vanished from sight. The black diamonds Xiao Huai had tossed him appeared at Xiao Huai’s feet.
Joseph’s voice came from the mound of corpses. “Human, I permit you to use my black diamonds.”
Xiao Huai arched a brow. Joseph had changed how he addressed him. He was no longer calling him a diamond fiend.
Once Joseph disappeared, the others slowly came back to themselves.
“Where am I? What… What happened?” Old Mo muttered.
Tang Weiqi’s head throbbed unbearably, and a wave of nausea swept over him. He finally fell to his knees and vomited.
The sight made Uncle Li feel even worse, and he began vomiting too.
Seeing that they were otherwise unharmed, Xiao Huai could not be bothered to keep watching.
In the darkness, someone’s gaze remained fixed upon him.
Xiao Huai instinctively looked over and found Lu Yuanshi leaning against the wall with his arms folded, studying him.
There was no telling how long he had been watching.