Sacred Souls: Genesis

Chapter 191: Chapter 190: July 13th – Clear (2nd Update)

“The Snow Plain Master? Saint Spirits, our duty is merely to annihilate the Magic Thieves on this island; we really can’t be of any help with the monsters here.”

Upon hearing that a Saint Spirit wanted to drag them hunting the island’s monsters, the God-chosen warrior from the Flowing Water faction instantly turned timid; he didn’t want to be bitten by the island’s monsters and contract the Crystal Plague.

But before the God-chosen could voice a word of refusal, a hearty laugh came from behind him—it was the laugh of the God-chosen warrior from the Daylight faction.

“Isn’t our duty also to purify this island of its plague? The Saint Spirits are so enthusiastically inviting us to hunt the strongest monsters on the island, how can we, chosen by the gods, be cowards!”

The Daylight God-chosen really hit it off with the president of the Gray Eyes Association… Jiang Qiao listening on the side couldn’t help but think that this bald God-chosen and the Lion Heart Knight must have a lot to discuss as well.

“Don’t forget we’re here to bring Sheral back,” the Shadow Sect God-chosen reminded her boisterous colleague.

“Leaving Sheral in the care of the Saint Spirits for a while poses no harm, I shall speak for the High Priest on this matter.”

The Daylight God-chosen was the first to lead the president of the Gray Eyes Association towards the edge of the forest; among the six God-chosen warriors, only the Daylight God-chosen had agreed so swiftly, while the other four simply stood still, indicating ‘sorry, sorry’ and ‘no, thanks.’ The Shadow Sect God-chosen stood silently in place for a moment…

She realized her legs were trembling—it was not the time for fear!

The Shadow Sect God-chosen pinched her thigh and used the pain to forcefully suppress the trembling in her legs, then she hastily followed the Daylight God-chosen.

“Shary, I had thought that you Shadow Sect people were all cowards, yet it turns out you’re the bravest among them.”

The Daylight God-chosen swung himself up onto his warhorse tied at the side of the trees…

“Do you really believe that the Crystal Plague can be cured?” The Shadow Sect God-chosen didn’t rush to get on her own mount but walked over to the Daylight God-chosen and asked.

“Why not? The Saint Spirits have thoroughly purified a seventh of the island of the Crystal Plague in less than ten days of arriving. It’s not difficult to purify the remaining six-sevenths. Moreover, I have an accurate eye for people, and every one of them is a valiant warrior.”

The Daylight God-chosen had a very high opinion of the Saint Spirits… The Shadow Sect God-chosen listened to this assessment and her gaze shifted to a player walking by, one wearing a pixelated mask and a round, puffy snowman costume.

“Huh? What is it? Looking for a fight?” MacCoffee noticed the focus of these two NPCs on him.

“You define this as valiant in the Daylight Sect?” The more the Shadow Sect God-chosen interacted with these Saint Spirits, the more uncertain she became.

“The dress from another world is always different from ours! You mustn’t be prejudiced about the attire of people from another world; look at their mounts, Shary…even Nightmares, creatures that reside in hell, have been tamed by them,” said the Daylight God-chosen, pointing at the Cola Fanatic Guild’s president Bubble, whose mount was a Nightmare exuding a faint blue flame.

In the legends of their world, there were also Nightmares; it was said that any powerful being who tamed a Nightmare wouldn’t be scorched by the hellfire upon them.

Bubble was riding a Nightmare that was just standard modeling with a blue flame graphic effect, but Jiang Qiao’s modeling and effects were done exceptionally well. This Nightmare looked so formidable that one would worry if the flames creeping through its bones might scorch the rider’s behind.

“They also have dragons; is that a Netherworld Dragon? It doesn’t quite resemble one, but no matter what, you know, Shary, that these mystical creatures can’t be tamed by strength alone,” said the Daylight God-chosen, trying to win over the Shadow Sect God-chosen with the various mounts of the Saint Spirits. These strangely dressed Saint Spirits, in terms of their combat capabilities and the demeanor of a strong person, surpassed her wildest imaginations.

What the Daylight God-chosen intended to express…was nothing more than the Saint Spirits’ flair. He wanted the Shadow Sect God-chosen to believe that the Saint Spirits had the power to save the world and purify the Crystal Plague, as they were great heroes summoned by the gods.

But the other God-chosen didn’t see it that way… and neither did the Shadow Sect God-chosen.

The peculiar costumes worn by the Saint Spirits made it difficult for them to associate with the image of ‘heroes’, and what shattered their image even further was the around-the-clock, ceaseless Mahjong and dance parties they held at the starting base.

Before formally approaching these Saint Spirits, the Shadow Sect God-chosen did indeed stake out the starting base for twenty-four hours to see if they had any ulterior motives coming to the island.

But there weren’t any… The only things these Saint Spirits did on the island when not hunting were:

Play cards.

Dance.

Drink beverages and then continue playing cards.

Play Ludo.

Form groups and play cards together.

Play cards.

The Shadow Chosen really wanted to grab a saint halfway through the surveillance and yell, “Did Mother Earth summon you here just to play cards? Scram and farm some mobs!”

Now, finally, the saints have emerged en masse to farm the mobs, and they’ve dragged him along… but the Shadow Chosen couldn’t feel happy about it at all.

“Mr. Gray Eyes, my friend… Are you ready to embark on an exhilarating Ice Dragon Hunt?” The Day Chosen’s words interrupted her thoughts.

“Why do you speak with such a heavy translation accent?” Gray Eyes, as the President of the Gray Eyes Association, was a Demon Exorcist by profession.

The Demon Exorcist is an advanced profession of the clergy, and its background story originates from the same Far Eastern region as Zhao Mingwei’s Mind Energy Master.

As such, this profession incorporated elements of talismans and summoned spirits from the Heavenly Empire, using talisman magic and summoning spirits to fight for them. In addition to this, Demon Exorcists could choose another path of power, switching their primary weapon to an axe and relying on swinging it to crush enemies into meat paste.

Gray Eyes was a Demon Exorcist specialized in both strength and magic. Like Mo Shigui, he didn’t like wearing fashion items, so his style resembled that of an old Taoist monk.

“Translation accent? There are always one or two parts I cannot comprehend in your saints’ vocabulary,” said the Day Chosen.

“Never mind, I shouldn’t have chosen this boring option. Explain the mission… We’ve roughly located the coordinates of the Snow Plain Master, considering that you Crystal Hunters can’t deal damage to the monsters on the island, your job will be to help prevent avalanches.”

Gray Eyes was the type of guild president who couldn’t stand jokes and was very serious, primarily because… his sense of humor was too high.

And the tasks he was responsible for in the guild were different from those of a commander like Mo Shigui; his tasks were more akin to those of a data analyst.

“Avalanches? Do you often encounter avalanches while hunting in the Snow Plain region?”

“Yes, the geographical disaster mechanics of the Snow Plains are far too frequent. Any large-scale fire attribute skills that can cause massive destruction might trigger avalanches. We had two avalanches out of eight hours while hunting two lord monsters in the Snow Plain, both of which were caused by the neighboring Abyss Temple Guild. Avalanches could reduce our guild members’ health by a third and possibly disrupt our formation.”

Gray Eyes reported the battle situation on the field little by little to the Day Chosen and Shadow Chosen.

Because by then, an option saying, “I hope you can assist me with this,” had popped up in the Day Chosen’s dialogue box.

In Gray Eyes’ view, this NPC, the Day Chosen, was equivalent to a plot NPC that helped players through the map. Such NPCs were either designed as burdens that could do nothing and needed constant protection from the player, or as mighty protectors who could even one-shot instance monsters, giving the player a thrilling experience.

The Day Chosen was obviously somewhere in between. While clearing the Snow Plain map, Gray Eyes wondered why those massive avalanches were too disruptive to the gaming experience, but now it seemed he was lacking a guide NPC.

“I’ll do my best to block the effect of the avalanches on you,” the Day Chosen promised Gray Eyes, then turned his attention to the Shadow Chosen beside him. “See, Shary.”

“See what?” The Shadow Chosen didn’t understand where the Day Chosen’s overwhelming sense of superiority came from.

“While the saints’ attire looks quite odd, they are indeed warriors filled with wisdom and power! If the Crystal Plague is purified by them, I believe their figures, galloping on their mounts across Biland Island, should be immortalized as a statue for all to remember,” bragged the Day Chosen, practically singing his own praises.

“I’m skipping the plot dialogue, and we should get going,” said Gray Eyes, unfazed by the Day Chosen’s bragging. Having played online games for many years, he’d encountered thousands, if not hundreds, of NPCs that excessively flattered players.

Now, Gray Eyes was starting to feel sleepy.

“Of course! My warhorse is prepared for the battlefield, but Mr. Gray Eyes, why are you sitting down?” The Day Chosen looked down and saw that Gray Eyes had plopped down to sit.

“This is my mount. I’ve activated auto-pathing; just make sure you keep up.”

“Your mount?” The Day Chosen looked around and it seemed to him like… a wheelchair?

Could it be that Gray Eyes had difficulty walking? But that wouldn’t affect riding a horse, would it?

“Do you need someone to push that thing?” The Day Chosen still didn’t understand what this wheelchair was all about. Neither Spiritual Vein Forest nor the Snow Plain were easy roads to travel.

“No need, and if you can’t keep up, just shout,” answered Gray Eyes while he continued to pore over the Snow Plain maps and data on the creatures they produced.

“?”

The Day Chosen next to him had a huge question mark over his head, but it was already too late. He heard what sounded like an engine roar and then, whoosh—the wheelchair whisked Gray Eyes out of his sight in an instant.

Had the Day Chosen understood the language of communication among the saints, the thought that would have crossed his mind right now might have been, “Last night, I got beaten by a wheelchair in the Spiritual Vein Forest. It used inertia drift to take corners, and it was really fast…”

“What… exactly was that?” The Day Chosen rubbed his bald head, watching the taillights of Gray Eyes fade away.

“Didn’t you just say that if the Crystal Plague is purified by them, you think their figures galloping on their mounts across Biland Island should be remembered by the world as a statue?”

The Shadow Chosen’s voice rose beside the Day Chosen’s ear, possibly mocking as she repeated what the Day Chosen had said earlier, then she got on her warhorse and followed the departing ranks of saints.