novelraw Chapter 140-2: Child of the Stars, Prepare to Die! (2)
Chapter 140-2: Child of the Stars, Prepare to Die! (2)
[In the presence of the Child of the Stars, you loudly praise the Radiant Stars and swear your oath.]
[Loyal Apostle, you have joined the Radiant Stars Oath.]
[Within this volume (Chapters 82740870-82740879), only one Oath can be sworn. If you betray it, you cannot rejoin this Oath, and will be permanently hostile to this faction.]
[Current Enemy Oath: Omniscient True Knowledge. Current Allied Oath: None.]
Seeing Allied ‘Oath: None’ made Lin Xun scoff. This damn faction didn’t even have any teammates. No wonder the Omniscient True Knowledge had beaten them so badly.
All he could do now was hope the joining reward would be worth it.
In this Hell Difficulty volume, Oath Invasion probably wouldn’t even match him with enemy Apostles. His only hope lay in the sign-on bonus.
[The Child of the Stars writhes its countless tendrils, seemingly overjoyed that you’ve joined the Radiant Stars Oath.]
[A powerful consciousness once again floods your soul…]
Here it comes! The juicy part!Lin Xun’s eyes lit up, eagerly awaiting the reward.
[The Child of the Stars tells you that It is currently sealed here and has nothing of value to give you. However, if you can help free It, It will grant you eternal life and boundless riches!]
[But to free It requires enormous power. If you continue to pretend allegiance to the Omniscient True Knowledge after escaping, you might just succeed in liberating It.]
[When that time comes, you shall be a great hero among the Radiant Stars, and It will bestow upon you the supreme title: Wielder of Star-Guarding Might!]
[For now, It needs you to offer up all your Spirit Essence to help restore Its power.]
[Do you wish to donate 49,515 Spirit Essence to the Child of the Stars?]
???
“Are you serious?! That’s the smoothest con job I’ve ever seen!”
Lin Xun never imagined that instead of getting a reward for joining, he’d have to pay nearly fifty thousand Spirit Essence up front.
Eternal life and riches? Empty promises!
Wielder of Star-Guarding Might? Why not throw in Demacian Might while you’re at it?
The Child of the Stars begging for donations conjured a familiar image in Lin Xun’s mind:
“Hello, I am Qin Shi Huang. I am not actually dead. I have 100 tons of gold in Xianyang, but I need you to transfer me 50 Spirit Essence to unlock it. Once it’s done, I will resurrect tomorrow and appoint you commander of my legions!”
This was no different than those scams: ‘I, Qin Shi Huang, need money!’
Lin Xun didn’t hesitate to press ‘Decline.’
He wasn’t about to be fleeced, nobody alive had ever managed it… Well, except for the time with the blacksmith and that dancer. But they weren’t human.
[The countless tendrils of the Child of the Stars lash toward you…]
What the hell. This guy doesn’t even try to hide his intimidation tactics!
[Just as you believe death is imminent, the tendrils halt beside you. They writhe incessantly, occasionally spraying unknown fluids.]
That line made Lin Xun’s finger freeze mid-tap on the Decline button.
Seriously? Now you’re trying both carrot and stick?
The Child of the Stars had fully adopted a pay me or die gangster attitude.
Lin Xun ground his teeth in frustration.
If he were strong enough to take this thing on, he’d beat it to death a hundred times over just to blow off steam.
But for now, he could only grit his teeth and click Donate.
[You have donated 49,515 Spirit Essence to the Child of the Stars!]
[The Child of the Stars absorbs your offering. Another surge of thought floods your soul…]
[It tells you your offering is far too meager. With such a pitiful contribution, It doubts you can truly help free It.]
[If you have any special eyeballs in your possession, consider offering those as well so that It might regain more strength.]
[The tendrils around you do not retreat. Instead, they writhe even more violently…]
Lin Xun took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed the burning fury in his chest.
It was clear now, unless he fed the Child of the Stars to Its satisfaction, he wouldn’t be leaving this place.
He opened his inventory.
[Do you wish to offer the Giant Stargazing Eyeball *1 (Rare+ Grade Item) to the Child of the Stars?]
[The Child of the Stars coils a tendril around the eyeball, and it vanishes without a trace…]
[The tendrils around you do not retreat. Instead, they writhe even more violently…]
Still not enough?!
Lin Xun couldn’t hold back a curse.
He opened the inventory again.
[Do you wish to offer Eyeball of the Subterranean Oculomass Demon *18 (Epic Grade Items) to the Child of the Stars?]
[The Child of the Stars coils Its tendrils around the pile of eyeballs, and they all vanish…]
[The tendrils surrounding you do not retreat. Instead, they writhe with even greater frenzy…]
“Damn it! Still not enough?! That was my last type of eyeball!”
Eighteen epic-grade eyeballs weren’t enough to satisfy the Child of the Stars. Lin Xun suddenly felt a suffocating sense of helplessness.
He was stuck here, couldn’t even return to the Library. If the Child of the Stars remained unsatisfied, even his life could be at stake.
Clenching his fists tightly, he swallowed his rage.
Eyeballs… were there any special ones left?
[You remain inactive for some time. The tendrils around you writhe and inch closer…]
Suddenly, a flash of insight struck Lin Xun.
He opened the Shell Panel and selected a shell.
[You possess the Corrupted Earth Giant shell!]
He opened the inventory and clicked on a special item.
[Eyeball Extractor (Special Item): A surgical tool capable of removing eyeballs intact, without damage. While carrying this item, you can perform basic eyeball extraction surgery on your shell.]
He had obtained this item along with the Eye Socket Perforator in the basement of the academic building.
Never did he expect he’d be using it under these circumstances.
[You use the Eyeball Extractor to perform surgery on your current shell. Please select the eyeball you wish to extract…]
[Surgery in progress…]
[You have successfully extracted Eyeball of the Pale Dragon of Ancient Sages *1 (Epic+ Grade Item)!]
[This shell has lost the shell skill Knowledge Plunder (Epic Grade Skill)!]
[This shell has lost the special skill Weak Point Insight (Epic+ Grade Skill)!]
Gritting his teeth, Lin Xun continued the operation.
Every click was like carving into his heart.
[Do you wish to offer Eyeball of the Pale Dragon of Ancient Sages *1 (Epic+ Grade Item) to the Child of the Stars?]
[The Child of the Stars coils a tendril around the eyeball, and it vanishes…]
[The tendrils writhing around you finally begin to slowly retreat…]