Sacred Souls: Genesis

Chapter 128: Chapter 127: Are You Worthy? (Fourth Update! 1000 Monthly Tickets Extra!)

“`

“This… this is impossible.”

Even after Jiang Qiao’s explanation, Lyla refused to believe that all of this was true, although her intellect told her it was the fact.

But this was tantamount to telling Lyla that the beliefs she had upheld all her life were nothing but trash, and not just any trash, but that found in the sewers.

From birth, Lyla had taken pride in being a member of the Radiant Nation, and even now, she regarded this identity as her highest honor, but… what had it brought her?

“Bishop Senna! You were kidnapped by these despicable Magic Thieves, weren’t you?” Lyla still tried to find a reason for herself.

But the old bishop couldn’t bear to watch and simply turned away and left.

“It’s that look on your face, the despair over everything past, little girl, you remind me of my former self,” Denghis continued mercilessly to provoke Lyla’s inner turmoil with his words.

At that moment, Lyla’s hand trembled as she held her sword.

“That… evil speech of yours, could you save it for later? I’ve come today to have something confirmed with you.”

Jiang Qiao interrupted Denghis, who was playing the role of the villain and shaking the psyche of Lyla, the ‘heroine.’ The Magic Thief Jiang Qiao had seen, and also discerned the rank of that Magic Thief leader with his scouting spell.

“Name: Denghis Puxian, Level: 57, Mutant Creature, Species: Primate, Description: There’s a strange aura about him, not the kind that should be found in a human from this world.”

“I know about you, you appeared on Biland Island a few days ago without any warning,” said Denghis, his evil speech interrupted by Jiang Qiao as he focused his attention on Jiang Qiao, “I assume your aim is also for the endless energy on this island, just as we came for it, why not share with everyone?”

“Share together? That’s a good suggestion, I quite agree, but whether the others agree or not, I don’t know,” Jiang Qiao shrugged helplessly.

What a joke! Share resources with the players? The eight major guilds might even PK each other over resource competition, and you, an NPC, want to share with the players?

Jiang Qiao remembered the times he played strategy games, whether playing alone or in teams, every tile on the map had to be his own, and other NPC forces either became his vassals or were wiped out altogether.

This was the logic of most players.

“You are smart, and your group holds powers that I find very troublesome, but you must be thinking about calling for reinforcements now?” Denghis pondered Jiang Qiao’s thinking.

“Regarding that, I didn’t come to exterminate you this time.”

Jiang Qiao was considering whether to issue a mission called ‘The Villainous Sect Harassing Fureya Found!’

Still, Jiang Qiao held back the urge to flatten this group of Magic Thieves. Their combat strength remained a mystery to Jiang Qiao, and considering Denghis’s confidence and his knowledge of Jiang Qiao’s arrival date, Jiang Qiao suspected he might have set up an ambush around the starting point. After many players had left the starting area, he might have planned to attack.

Although Queen Mei and the Lion Heart Knight were there to maintain order, Jiang Qiao saw no need to take this risk right now.

“Then it’s a pity, I’ll have to execute you all first,” said Denghis. The moment his voice fell, thirteen Magic Thieves surrounded Jiang Qiao.

Their average level ranged from thirty to forty-five… it seemed they had benefited quite a lot from this island.

“So this is what your powers are about?” Jiang Qiao didn’t mind much being surrounded by this group of people; what he cared about was what the ‘Magic Theft’ they held was really all about.

If these Magic Thieves could really steal abilities from players’ hands, then that would make the game experience so poor it would drive people to complain.

However, according to Jiang Qiao’s testing, their capabilities were not as he had imagined.

One of the thirteen Magic Thieves, showing off their power, intentionally simulated Jiang Qiao’s Fire Spirit, except the flames burning on the summoned Fire Spirits were a color between white and cyan.

Jiang Qiao’s Fire Spirit skill was still usable, and his MP hadn’t decreased at all, which indicated that they had not managed to ‘steal’ the Fire Spirit skill from Jiang Qiao. More precisely, they had simulated the Fire Spirit skill, but the effect was less than half as effective as Jiang Qiao’s. It was uncertain whether the legendary Magic Thief was any better.

“Hey, why do you call yourselves Magic Thieves? Wouldn’t Imitators or Copycats be more appropriate for this kind of knock-off ability?” Jiang Qiao pointed at one of the Fire Spirits summoned by the Magic Thieves.

The composed expression on Denghis’s face was somewhat… disturbed by Jiang Qiao’s remark, but the Magic Thieves around him had already controlled their Fire Spirits to attack Jiang Qiao.

“Now for the second test! I’ll send you something nice!”

In that instant, a dark purple soul orb appeared in Jiang Qiao’s hand, costing him nearly three hundred Creation Energy.

“`

“Hai Lan!”

“What?” Hai Lan was currently hiding behind Jiang Qiao, and Jiang Qiao had just turned around and implanted the soul sphere into Hai Lan’s body.

The fusion of spirits, cough…

Well, this soul sphere was actually the skill tree from “Ghost Cry” at level fifty; after consuming it, Hai Lan could control all the skills of the level fifty “Ghost Cry” class, and the three hundred units of Creation Energy that had been depleted were also restored.

Ordinary people’s souls couldn’t bear such immense energy, but Hai Lan had no problem at all withstanding this power.

“What have you done now?” Hai Lan felt a strange force surge within her but didn’t have time to listen to Jiang Qiao’s explanation, for Hai Lan’s body started moving on its own!

“Go! Hai Lan Beast!”

Jiang Qiao was a Summoner and had just made a contract with Hai Lan that was not exactly a summoning contract, after he stuffed a level fifty epic katana into her hands.

A deep purple Ghost God Mark erupted on Hai Lan’s left hand!

The “Ghost Cry” class was a derivative profession of the Swordsman, its specialty being mastery over various Powers of Ghost God.

The deep purple Ghost God Mark on Hai Lan’s left hand instantly turned ice blue at Jiang Qiao’s signal, and the moment Hai Lan swung her left hand, a deep blue phantom emerged above the battlefield.

Ice Ghost God!

Centered around the phantom, the temperature in the vicinity rapidly dropped to freezing, and the fire sprites attacking Jiang Qiao were instantly frozen.

The Magic Thieves, seeing Hai Lan unleash such formidable strength, naturally would not let go… but it was only a moment before the Magic Thieves’ arms also flashed with deep blue Ghost God Marks.

And then… there was no after.

“Damn it! Stop right there!” Denghis Puxian realized something was wrong in an instant and shouted loudly, trying to stop his apprentices from attempting to mimic the Ice Ghost God power released by Hai Lan.

But it was too late; these Magic Thieves, consumed by their insatiable desire for power, were mindless.

The moment the Ice Ghost God Marks appeared on their left arms, twelve out of the thirteen people developed a thick layer of frost on their bodies, clutching their throats, dropping to their knees, and convulsing non-stop.

“Quite impressive, even the negative effects are perfectly mimicked,” Jiang Qiao said with a smile as he watched the scene unfold.

The Power of Ghost God wasn’t like Jiang Qiao’s Elemental Power, which had no side effects – in the background story, those with the “Ghost Cry” profession were constantly eroded and influenced by the Power of Ghost God, only somewhat mitigated after their awakening.

These negative settings that were supposed to exist only in the backstory were something the “Ghost Cry” players wouldn’t be affected by. But these Magic Thieves or copycats, or whatever they were called, were excellent at emulation! So excellent that not only did they materialize the Power of Ghost God into reality, but they also inherited all of the power’s side effects.

The result was…

You think you’re worthy to associate with the Ghost God?

Are you? You’re not.

The consequence of not being qualified was that the moment they simulated the Ice Ghost God, they were instantly backlashed by the Ice Ghost God’s power.

“How can you wield such evil power?” Denghis Puxian saw his own apprentices lying lifeless on the ground and cried out at Jiang Qiao.

“Why do I seem like the villain here? They couldn’t control themselves; oh, this is troublesome.”

Jiang Qiao felt the ground start to tremble slightly, and now that he had tested everything he wanted, a portal appeared behind him.

“Time to slip away!”

Jiang Qiao had the Water Spirit stretch out a tendril to grab Lyla by the waist and another to seize the neck of Lyla’s fiercely loyal soldier.

“Let me go!” Lyla seemed somewhat out of control, but her resistance was futile, as she was dragged into the portal by the Water Spirit.

Jiang Qiao then grabbed hold of Hai Lan’s collar and threw her into the portal as well.