"Leaving the labyrinth is forbidden! Return at once! Return at once!"
The powerful ntal surge jolted their very souls, causing Shiro and Shirazawa to freeze in their tracks simultaneously.
Shiro's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Is this... Mother's ntal frequency?"
"Indeed." Shirazawa nodded. "Mother's mission is to guard the system core in the deepest part of the labyrinth, so she doesn't allow her kin to leave the labyrinth without permission."
"Oh." Realization dawned on Shiro. No wonder she felt like she'd forgotten sothing. "Does this an Mother actually cares about us?"
Shirazawa's expression stiffened slightly. He twitched the corner of his mouth. "You're overthinking it. It's simply that we've slipped out of her control, and she's extrely displeased about it."
Hearing this, Shiro gave a small snort. "I won't give up this hard-won freedom so easily."
"Well~ we have Heresy Nullification anyway, so we can just ignore her orders. Kin Control doesn't work on us." She dusted off her claws and turned to leave with a flourish.
It had to be said—the Ruler skill Perseverance was a true god-tier skill. Not only did it co with a health-lock, but it also granted Heresy Nullification, the highest tier of ntal defense. Those 500 skill points were worth every penny.
Watching Shiro, who clearly didn't give a damn about Mother, Shirazawa kept his lips tight and followed in silence. He knew very well that Mother wouldn't be dealt with so easily.
Body Mind: (Information Mind, do we need to step in?)
Magic Mind No. 1: (Chipping away at Mother's ntal energy is our only way, plus we can plunder all her abilities. Info, what's the verdict?)
Information Mind: (No rush. Let the bullet fly for a bit.)
Magic Mind No. 2: (Info, are you saying... we use the kin Mother sends as training fodder?)
Information Mind: (Heh heh, they're quite excellent experience packs, aren't they?)
Body Mind: (Oh~~ as expected of the Information Lead.)
Information Mind: (You flatter ...)
...
[Individual: Ede Saine evolved into: Zana Horowa.]
[All attributes increased. Skill proficiency reached. Massive skill upgrades. Skill points obtained...]
[Obtained skill .]
As they trekked through the forest, the two naturally evolved into their sixth stage. Due to the skill Decadence—a sub-skill of Sloth—they were immune to all forms of sleep. Thus, they didn't need to enter the usual brief slumber to evolve; it happened seamlessly while they walked.
"Immortality?!" Shiro exclaid excitedly. "Shirazawa, we seem to have gained sothing incredible!"
"True." Shirazawa nodded with a smile. From this mont on, possessing Immortality ant they stood on invincible ground.
"Wa-ha-ha! In that case, can't we just waltz up to Mother and she won't be able to do anything to us?" She rubbed her claws together, looking ready for a fight.
"Calm down." Shirazawa pressed a hand to his forehead. "Even though we have Immortality, it doesn't an we can be completely reckless. First of all, Immortality only applies to the physical body. The soul can still perish."
"However," he continued, "Heresy Nullification can block all soul-based attacks. Theoretically speaking, our souls cannot be extinguished."
Hearing this, Shiro beca even more ecstatic. Her face bead with joy. "Then what's there to be afraid of? Body and soul are both indestructible—who could possibly be our match?"
Watching Shiro's excitent, Shirazawa couldn't help but sigh. "You're being too naive."
"Eh?" Shiro tilted her head, her big cute eyes blinking with confusion. "Why?"
"Heresy attacks attempt to annihilate the soul directly, causing permanent death—we can indeed block that. But we cannot block Abyss Magic!" Shirazawa looked at her with a serious, earnest expression.
"Abyss Magic doesn't damage the soul. Instead, it returns the soul directly to the system. Therefore, Heresy Nullification won't trigger."
"Huh? Return to the system?!" Shiro's eyes widened, looking completely bewildered.
"After you maxed out Taboo, didn't you see the truth of this world? When humans die, the energy in their souls is absorbed by the system to repair this collapsing world. The soul then continues to reincarnate, gaining energy through skills, dying, and being absorbed again in a perpetual cycle. Abyss Magic essentially forces a soul into the system to enter reincarnation imdiately. Otherwise, where do you think the energy absorbed by goes?"
Shiro: "..."
She blinked, wearing a blank, dazed expression. Fine—this girl had completely given up on thinking.
"Sigh~" Shirazawa let out a long sigh and explained it in simpler terms. "Basically, if you see Abyss Magic, run. Otherwise, fight whoever you want."
"Got it!" Shiro clenched her claw in a victory pose.
Sighing again, Shirazawa suddenly felt that his presence had limited Shiro's critical thinking. *Shirazawa will solve everything anyway, so I don't need to worry about these annoying things!* That was the current true reflection of Shiro's inner thoughts.
She had officially "laid flat." If there's trouble, find Shirazawa. If there's no trouble, don't bother him. Aside from calling him when it's ti to eat, she intended to be a quiet, beautiful girl—after all, socializing was just too exhausting.
"Gurgle gurgle~"
"Shirazawa, I'm hungry," Shiro said, rubbing her belly with a pitiful look.
"Let's look ahead. In a forest this big, there should be sothing to eat." Shirazawa patted her head affectionately and led her deeper into the lush woods.
"Yay! Let's have roasted suckling pig tonight!" Shiro chirped, her eyes sparkling with excitent.
Shirazawa smiled. "Okay."
In reality, through Clairvoyance, the two had spotted a dieval-style town not far away. However, as spiders, their appearance was too fearso; they clearly wouldn't be allowed inside. Through detection, the information of the mountain was gathered into a 3D virtual image in their minds. They quickly found tonight's dinner—the Peppa family.
"Hehe~" Shiro bared two sharp fangs and pounced forward.
Then ca the fire, the firewood, and finally, the fragrant roasted suckling pig was ready.
"Mmm~ it's been so long since I've eaten sothing this sweet and savory." Shiro took a bite of at and squinted her eyes with a happy, satisfied smile.
Shirazawa: "..."
*You said the sa thing when we found the giant catfish.* And the result? The catfish are gone... Hopefully, the "Peppas" in this mountain can last a bit longer.
"So good! Om-nom-nom!" Shiro praised as she ate. She licked her greasy, rosy lips, her eyes curving into crescent moons. Under the moonlight, Shirazawa watched her charmingly naive behavior, the corners of his mouth curving into a gentle, tender smile. He hoped this tranquility could last forever.
...
In the early morning, sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, forming dappled shadows.
*Chirp—chirp chirp—*
The birds were singing. But what ca into view was a group of massive... spider monsters.
---
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