Owen’s sword swing faltered for half a second. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes before he immediately snapped back to reality.
This was the same Lily who usually took great care of her appearance, both in speech and in battle.
But now, her hair was disheveled, her face stained with bone dust and the ashen remains of dissipated Specters.
Her clothes were torn in several places, and her hands were smeared with dark red bone stains. She looked like a frenzied beast that had completely broken its shackles.
Standing where he was, Bai Xuan felt his heart skip a beat. It turned out that the emotional amplification of Pain Empowerment wasn't the combat morale he had assumed it would be.
Instead, it was the amplification of suppressed primal combat instincts—it was even a sense of losing control.
“Follow her! Use this momentum to push back!” Owen was the first to recover, shouting as he swung his heavy sword again.
He unleashed a 【Wolf Strike】, directly cleaving through the body of a Skeleton Wanderer, and followed closely in Lily’s footsteps.
Karl also snapped out of it, roaring as he charged forward with his axe. His 【Cleave】 swept through the undead ranks again and again, clearing a space.
The rhythm of the battle was completely dictated by Lily. She charged at the very front; her sword pierced the skulls of Skeleton Wanderers, and she grabbed Specters only to tear them apart. Even as new wounds appeared on her body, she showed no signs of slowing down.
Bai Xuan followed behind her, seemingly casually finishing off enemies, but he was actually keeping a close eye on her condition.
Those undead that Lily had left half-dead were easily dispatched with a single strike of his rod. The experience and Pleasure notifications on his status panel flickered incessantly, increasing several times faster than when he fought alone.
【Experience +6, Pleasure +5】, 【Experience +8, Pleasure +7】, 【Experience +5, Pleasure +5】...
Bai Xuan occasionally looked up at Lily, who was dealing massive damage ahead. His hands didn't stop moving; with a swing of his iron rod, he finished off another dying Skeleton Wanderer.
After an unknown amount of time, Lily’s roars gradually quieted down, and no new undead emerged from the black mist.
When the last Specter was crushed by Bai Xuan, silence finally returned to the mining tunnels. All that remained was the sound of heavy breathing and bone fragments scattered across the ground.
Lily stood in the middle of the tunnel, dazed for a long time.
Then, her legs gave way, and she slumped to the ground, shaking her head as she regained her senses.
She slowly lowered her head, looking at her hands covered in bone dust and filth, and then at the carnage around her.
Finally, she slowly looked up, meeting the shocked and complex gazes of her teammates. The frenzy in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by bewilderment and confusion.
Her face turned beet red from the base of her neck to the tips of her ears.
She opened her mouth as if to say something, but no words came out.
Bai Xuan stood nearby, unsure of what to say.
In theory, his support effect was extremely successful. Lily’s wounds were healed without the side effect of pain, her combat power had soared, and her killing efficiency had more than doubled.
But her image had taken quite a hit...
He glanced at Lily, and she happened to look at him at the same time.
There was no anger in that gaze, only bewilderment and a hint of resentment.
Owen cleared his throat and spoke up. “Um... Sir, your support effect is indeed very powerful. Lily’s combat strength just now was much higher than usual.”
He spoke very seriously, not as if he were merely flattering.
“It’s just...” He paused, choosing his words carefully. “It would be even better if that... side effect could be a bit smaller.”
Kieran added in a low voice from the side, “Actually, it was pretty useful. Those undead were probably terrified...”
Lily glared at him, and Kieran immediately shut his mouth.
Lily used her hands to pull back her messy hair, her face still flushed with a lingering blush.
Bai Xuan said nothing.
He leaned against a rock, watching Lily as she worked hard to restore her appearance.
He had thought the pain side effect of Holy Light Catalyst was solved by using Pain Empowerment to convert the pain into a buff, creating a perfect loop.
As it turned out, the side effect had simply changed.
He couldn't say it was useless; if anything, the effect was even stronger. But...
Silence spread through the mining tunnel.
“There’s something I need to make clear to everyone,” Bai Xuan said, breaking the post-battle silence.
The others, who were resting, looked up, their gazes falling on him in unison.
“My healing magic has a side effect. The wounds will cause intense pain during treatment, as you all know.” Bai Xuan hid nothing.
After a pause, he continued, “But I have another spell that can convert that pain into an all-around self-enhancement, so there won't be any side effect of pain.”
“That was Lily’s state just now. The stronger the pain, the more obvious the enhancement effect.”
He instinctively looked at Lily, but she had already awkwardly turned her face away. The tips of her ears were faintly red, clearly still bothered by her loss of control.
“As for the details of this enhancement spell’s side effects, I only just found out myself, as I only recently learned it.”
Bai Xuan’s tone remained flat. “It amplifies the user’s emotions. As for what that looks like... you all saw it just now.”
When he finished speaking, the mining tunnel fell into a brief silence. No one spoke; only the sound of their slightly heavy breathing echoed in the air.
Bai Xuan broke the silence. “In the future, whoever needs this enhancement, tell me in advance. I will cast the spell. If you don't want to risk the emotional amplification, then we will stick to simple healing.”
He paused again and added, “However, I must state one thing. If we only use healing, that pain side effect will still be there. Your injuries aren't too serious; you should be able to endure it.”
As soon as he finished, Karl stood up from the ground, patting the dust and gravel off his backside with an eager expression.
“I’ll try it!” he said readily, his eyes full of curiosity. “I saw you use healing magic at the post house before. I want to see exactly how much it hurts.”
Bai Xuan glanced at him, his gaze sweeping over the few shallow wounds on his body.
These were scratches from a Skeleton Wanderer’s bone claws. They weren't very deep, but they had bled quite a bit.
“Stand still,” Bai Xuan instructed, raising his hand to gather mana.
The golden light of Holy Light Catalyst lit up, softly covering Karl’s wounds. The mana slowly permeated, beginning to repair the damaged skin.
In the next second, Karl’s expression changed instantly.
His whole body tensed up, his teeth chattering. He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white, but he forced himself not to cry out, enduring it through sheer will.
The wounds on his body healed at a rate visible to the naked eye until they were completely smooth.
When the golden light finally dissipated, Karl stood staggered, gasping for air. Fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead, and his back was already soaked with cold sweat.
Seeing this, Kieran hurried over and asked curiously in a low voice, “How was it? How was it? How much does it hurt?”
Karl glared at him, his voice still carrying the remnants of his heavy breathing. “Try it yourself and you’ll know.”
Kieran was so startled he immediately waved his hands, shaking his head like a rattle. “No thanks! Seeing you like that, I know it must hurt like hell!”
Bai Xuan ignored their interaction and turned to Owen, asking softly, “What about you? Do you need healing?”
Owen shook his head gently, his tone steady. “I don't have any injuries. It’s mainly just exhaustion. I’ll be fine after a short rest.”
Bai Xuan then turned his gaze to Simon, who understood and slowly raised his shield, shaking it slightly to indicate he didn't need healing either.
Finally, Bai Xuan’s gaze fell on Lily. She had been the most heavily injured and was the only one who had experienced the side effects of Pain Empowerment.
Lily was sitting there with her eyes closed, regulating her breathing. Sensing Bai Xuan’s gaze, her body stiffened slightly, and she instinctively moved back a bit, deliberately avoiding his eyes.
“I’m fine,” she said muffledly, her tone a bit awkward. “It’s just exhaustion. I’ll recover after resting for a bit. No need for healing.”
Bai Xuan didn't insist. He quietly withdrew his mana and walked to the side of the rock wall, sitting down against the cold stone to take a moment to rest as well.
The group rested for a while, each having some dry rations and water. Their depleted stamina and mana gradually recovered, and the fatigue on their faces faded slightly.
Kieran was the first to stand up. After the previous ambush, he had learned his lesson and took every step with extreme care.
His gaze constantly swept over every shadow in the mining tunnel, his hand gripping his short blade, ready to handle any sudden situation.
He carefully scouted the surrounding area and, after confirming there was nothing unusual, walked back and shook his head slightly.
“There’s nothing unusual around here anymore,” he said seriously, his tone less impulsive than before and more cautious.
Owen nodded and was the first to stand. “Let’s go. Keep moving. The source of pollution should be just ahead.”
The team followed close behind, setting off once more.
The mining tunnel extended downward. The deeper they went, the more humid the air became. Cold water vapor clung to the rock walls, condensing into tiny droplets that slowly slid down.
Before long, a pungent, rotting stench suddenly hit them. It was so strong it was sickening, making everyone frown and instinctively shallow their breathing.
Following the scent, the faint sound of water came from ahead—a pitter-patter that was exceptionally clear in the hollow tunnel.
At the end of the tunnel, a wide underground space appeared before them.
A murky underground river lay across their path. The water was almost stagnant, its surface reflecting an eerie pale green glow.
A layer of viscous, semi-transparent slime floated on the surface, moving slowly as if it were alive, emitting bursts of rot.
Owen pulled the map from his chest, took a quick look, and quickly tucked it away, his expression growing grim.
“This is the water source marked on the map,” he said solemnly, pausing before ultimately stopping himself from saying more.
No one had expected that the water source that once supplied the miners would now be in such a foul state.
Bai Xuan stepped forward a few paces and crouched by the river. Mana gathered at his fingertips as he tried to use Purifying Severance to cleanse this contaminated water.
The golden Holy Light slowly spread out, covering a small patch of the water’s surface. The holy mana clashed violently with the filth in the water.
In the area covered by the Holy Light, the water surface instantly began to churn as if it were boiling. The viscous slime on the surface rapidly dissolved, and the murky water grew lighter, revealing the clear sand and stones at the bottom.
But this only lasted for less than twenty seconds before the surrounding murky river water slowly surged back, and the layer of viscous slime covered it once again.
The water surface quickly returned to its previous dark green color, as if the purification had never happened.
Bai Xuan slowly withdrew his hand. Just like the black mist before, such scattered purification was ultimately just a drop in the bucket; it couldn't completely clear the pollution.
Owen walked back and forth along the riverbank with the tracking tool. The light on its surface grew increasingly intense, clearly locking onto the location of the mana.
“The source of the pollution is definitely within this water.” His tone was firm, his voice carrying a hint of irrepressible urgency.
As soon as he finished speaking, the calm water surface suddenly shook violently. The murky river water churned incessantly, and an even stronger stench of rot hit them.
A grayish-white figure slowly rose from beneath the water.
First came a rotting, blackened arm, followed by half of a festering face, the flesh long since ruined.
Pieces of it fell away, revealing the pale bone beneath. Within the hollow eye sockets, eerie green soul flames flickered.
It slowly stood up from the water, the murky river water cascading down its rotting body, bringing with it large chunks of rotten meat and viscous mud that fell to the ground.
“It’s a Rotting Marsh Zombie!” Lily cried out in a low voice. Her rapier left its sheath in an instant, and her expression turned wary.
Before the team could prepare for battle, more undead emerged from the water.
There were humanoid Rotting Marsh Zombies and beast-shaped ones; some were just complete skeletons, while others still had tattered, rotten meat hanging from them. They surged toward the shore from all directions in a terrifying display.
“Fall back!” Owen shouted sharply, his heavy sword leaving its sheath as he prepared for battle. “Don't let them surround us!”
The team immediately retreated, but it was already too late.
Many undead had already crawled out of the water and onto the shore, trapping the entire team by the river, caught between a rock and a hard place.
Seeing this, Simon immediately took a large step forward, his thick shield slamming hard into the face of the leading Rotting Marsh Zombie, the rotten flesh instantly caving in.
The zombie staggered backward, knocking over two other undead rushing up behind it.
But there were many undead, and more Rotting Marsh Zombies swarmed onto the shore, quickly flanking them from both sides and surrounding them.
“There’s a gap on the left!” Karl shouted, gripping his axe with both hands and using Cleave.
The sharp axe blade sent the two leading Rotting Marsh Zombies flying back. Foul-smelling black blood and rotten meat splattered all over him.
Before he could wipe it off, a third Rotting Marsh Zombie lunged at him, its rotting claws reaching straight for his throat.
Karl instinctively leaned back, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow, but he lost his footing and nearly stumbled to the ground.
Seeing this, Owen immediately charged from the side, his heavy sword slashing down. With a flash of cold light, the Rotting Marsh Zombie’s head flew off, black blood erupting.
He took the chance to pull Karl up, turning to block another lunging undead with his sword. His movements were crisp and efficient, without the slightest hesitation.
Lily moved with agility, weaving nimbly through the crowd of zombies. Her sword was fast, her Wind Pierce skill creating air currents.
She dodged a zombie’s swipe, her rapier piercing the opponent’s eye socket. She quickly withdrew her blade and turned to pierce the throat of another.
Rate on N.U.
