The deal was struck.
Only then did Isolde look back at the corpse in the tree.
She raised her hand, her palm aimed at Han Jin.
【Target's last successfully cast skill in life detected: Skimming Shadow Step.】
【Do you wish to consume 50% of your current mana to use the skill "Deathrattle Deconstruction"?】
“Yes.”
【Mana deduction successful.】
【Current Mana: 70/140.】
Isolde knew that using 【Deathrattle Deconstruction】 in front of Kolo was equivalent to hand-delivering another piece of leverage to her.
But since the deal had already been made, letting Kolo see a glimpse of the truth would instead make her realize more clearly the price of breaking it.
The corpse hanging in the tree shook slightly. Kolo's long ears suddenly pressed backward as she watched the body warily.
The lingering power within the flesh was quickly stripped away by invisible threads.
The remaining skin, flesh, and bones began to shrivel, then disintegrated into fine black ash, rustling down from the branches.
System prompts surfaced before Isolde's eyes one after another.
【Deathrattle Deconstruction successful】
【Obtained: Malice Fragment ×2】
【Obtained: Shadow Attribute Fragment ×3】
【Obtained Basic Skill Framework: Skimming Shadow Step】
【This basic skill cannot be learned directly.】
【Do you wish to consume Shadow Attribute Fragment ×3 to complete the skill framework?】
Isolde did not hesitate.
“Complete it.”
As she made her choice, the fragments disintegrated silently.
【Shadow Attribute Fragment ×3 consumed.】
【Skill framework completed successfully. Converted to learnable state.】
【Do you wish to learn the basic skill: Skimming Shadow Step?】
“Learn.”
The complete spell framework quickly contracted, turning into a streak of grayish-black light that sank into Isolde's body.
【Learning successful.】
【Skimming Shadow Step】
【Skill Type: Basic / Movement / Burst】
【Mana Cost: 10 points】
【Skill Effect: Lock onto a stable foothold within an eight-meter range of your field of vision, then rapidly dash along the shortest passable path. Dash speed is unaffected by base Agility.】
【Skill Restrictions: Direction cannot be changed mid-dash once activated. If the target area has no foothold, or if the foothold is too soft, collapsing, or destroyed during the dash, the skill will be forcibly interrupted, causing the user to briefly lose their balance. Cannot be activated while under strong crowd control.】
【Tip: When activated consecutively within ten seconds, each cast consumes an additional 5 mana and adds one stack of Leg Strain.】
【Once Strain reaches three stacks, the skill will be temporarily disabled, and movement speed will decrease by 10% for thirty seconds.】
Isolde scanned the skill description.
Back then, Han Jin had sunk into the black mud and had been unable to escape.
It was precisely because he had no stable foothold that he couldn't use 【Skimming Shadow Step】.
Eight meters was not particularly far, but for her current self, it perfectly made up for her lack of movement options during close-quarters combat.
Isolde was quite satisfied with this.
When she looked up, she met Kolo's wary gaze.
Kolo couldn't see the system prompts, but she clearly felt that some kind of power had been stripped from the corpse and entered Rena's body.
That unfamiliar, dark, cold aura appeared for only an instant before vanishing completely.
The night wind blew, sweeping the last traces of black ash on the tree deep into the decaying leaves.
Kolo looked at the empty branches, then back at Rena.
“You just said you were Rena.”
Rena lowered her hand.
“I'm still saying it now.”
Kolo stared at her.
“Then why did you dare to do this right in front of me?”
Rena's tone was calm:
“You know my secret, and I know your identity. This is fairer.”
Kolo did not like being threatened.
But compared to a hidden malice that could bite her at any moment, this approach of laying out all the chips and prices in the open was actually easier to deal with.
Kolo suddenly remembered something and said, “I have one more question.”
Rena looked at her, the moonlight spilling over her face, softening her features into a blur.
“What question?”
“Was that unicorn your doing? Does the treant actually exist? What is your purpose in doing all this?”
Rena smiled faintly, slowly walking up to her side.
“Sometimes, thinking too much only brings unnecessary trouble. It's better to let nature take its course and let the answers come with the wind.”
With that, Rena walked past her and headed toward the camp.
Only at this moment did Kolo realize something in hindsight.
The meager amount of money Milo had paid her seemed far from enough to deal with the trouble before her.
By the time the two returned to camp, the campfire was nearly out.
Damon was sitting on the outermost edge. Seeing them return, he glanced behind them first and asked:
“Is the corpse dealt with?”
Rena walked over and sat by the fire. “Thrown into the black mud. The roots there will clean it up for us.”
Severn leaned against a tree trunk, his grayish-blue robes covered in decaying leaves, his staff resting across his knees.
Ryan sat on the other side, checking his arrowheads.
Reece leaned back at the very rear of the group, his broadsword placed within arm's reach. Even while resting, he did not let his guard down completely.
Xu Zhiheng sat on another side, holding a clean piece of cloth and wiping his longsword.
Zhou Yi and Su Xiaoman sat close together.
Han Jin's death meant they were down one person, allowing the unease they had previously hidden so well to bubble to the surface.
Milo had not slept at all since Damon dragged him back.
He looked at Kolo first, then past her to Rena.
“What took you two so long? What did she say to you?”
Kolo walked back to her spot, sat down, and leaned the weapon from her back against a tree.
“Disposing of the corpse.”
“I wasn't asking about the corpse!”
Seeing the irritated looks from everyone around, Milo immediately lowered his voice, his speech quickening.
“Did she do anything strange? Did she leave your sight? Have you also noticed that something is wrong with her?”
Kolo looked up and glanced at Rena across the campfire.
“There is indeed something wrong with her.”
Milo whipped around to face the others, shouting impatiently:
“Did you hear that? Kolo said so too! She isn't at all—”
“But my feelings can't be used as evidence, and neither can what I saw.”
Kolo interrupted him and continued, “I only said I would speak up for you. But if you want others to believe you, you have to present facts that everyone can see.”
Milo looked at her in disbelief. “You clearly promised to help me.”
“I am helping you.” Kolo pulled her cloak tighter around herself. “So you need to survive until tomorrow and find the evidence yourself.”
Milo opened his mouth, wanting to press further.
Damon had already impatiently thrown a dry cloth onto his face.
“Shut up. Keep arguing, and no one gets any sleep tonight.”
Milo could only swallow his remaining words.
He clutched the cloth, but his eyes never left Rena.
Rena seemed entirely unbothered, merely casting her eyes down and using a dry branch to poke at the dying embers.
Sparks rose from the ashes, briefly illuminating her face.
This face had already fooled the mercenaries and the villagers.
But while a face could be disguised, skills could not.
The real Rena was a Night Patrol Assassin.
She was familiar with short blades, stealth, and poison arts, and possessed combat habits forged from long-term hunting.
Isolde could obtain class information from Rena's remnant soul, but she couldn't steal the skills honed over years of practice along with it.
Once they engaged in real combat, flaws would eventually show.
This was also why she had insisted on finalizing the deal with Kolo before returning.
That deal did not bring Kolo over to her side, but it restricted what Kolo could do.
Consequently, this force—which could have disrupted her plans at any moment—was temporarily confined within the boundaries they had mutually drawn.
Isolde looked at the remaining people in the camp.
After Han Jin's death, only ten people remained in the party.
Four mercenaries, Milo, three Descenders, Kolo, and herself.
The information she had on the treant was pitifully scarce, and she could not expose her Soul Thread or her Holy and Malice abilities.
First, there were the restrictions of the deal; second, she needed Rena's identity as a cover to hide her own identity as a witch, thereby minimizing the risks.
As long as there were still so many eyes watching her in the group, she could only continue to play the role of Rena, who had an injured right arm and incomplete combat capabilities.
Fortunately, she had never expected to rely on Rena's skills to kill the treant.
Isolde pushed the last dry branch into the fire.
The people before her were the external skills she could utilize.
Rate on N.U.
