Chapter 137: The Shady Reward for Clearing the Stage (Part 1)

The 3D holographic projection screen underwent a staggering transformation.

The seven vivid figures representing the Barbarian, Sorceress, Paladin, Assassin, Amazon, Druid, and Necromancer remained, with no significant changes. However, even the weakest Necromancer among them had now reached Level 19. The poorest equipment worn by each character was Level 5 blue Magical Equipment. The Sorceress stood out the most, adorned with a complete Level 8 green Set Items called Arcana’s Trick. A blue aura enveloped the entire character, clearly surpassing the chaotic rainbow colors emitted by the mismatched equipment of the other characters by several tiers.

Set Items were truly Set Items. Putting their power aside, just their appearance alone radiated a sharp, unique edge.

Yet what astonished Sun Fei the most was not the character appearances, but… a line of ancient, blood-red words that spread across the entire 3D holographic projection screen, clearly reflecting in his pupils—

“Congratulations, young adventurer. You have faced trials of blood and fire, contests of life and death, and choices of love and hate. Having completed all missions of Act I in the World of Diablo, you shall receive mysterious rewards including an upgrade to the Divine Skill Summoning, an upgrade to the ultimate skill Bestowal, an upgrade to exchange permissions, an upgrade to parallel space, and an overlay of Mercenary strength—eleven skill enhancements in total. Slowly uncover the mysteries of the World of Diablo, young one. A new adventure lies ahead. Like a true warrior, prove with the blade and sword in your hands that you are a lucky one worthy of divine favor!”

These words left Sun Fei somewhat baffled.

Hidden between the lines was an unprecedented warmth, as if a kindly elder had appeared before Sun Fei with a serene expression, stretched out a lean hand to grant him a blessing, and then offered earnest teachings.

The moment Sun Fei finished reading the sentence, the entire 3D space seemed to sense something. The blood-red words transformed—each character gradually faded in color, then shrunk into red specks, like enchanting fireflies dancing joyfully in the pitch-black night. Suddenly, as if iron filings were drawn to a magnet, they all rushed toward Sun Fei with a roaring sound.

Sun Fei could not dodge in time. All the red light clusters instantly merged into his body.

The sensation was incredibly strange, like embracing another soul.

The next moment, as if it were innate, Sun Fei immediately felt something new inside him—a force, and a string of vast information brimming with ancient wisdom and eerie mystery.

Sun Fei closed his eyes, carefully “reading” every bit of this information in his mind.

Suddenly—

“This is bad… The overlay of strength is like this… It’s ruined…” A short piece of information in his mind shocked Sun Fei greatly. He no longer had the time to “read” the rest of the information and immediately exited the 3D holographic projection space.

Time was short.

…

The Back Mountain of Shampoo City.

The autumn weather was mild, with a crisp, clear sky.

The azure sky was cloudless, like a vast, translucent blue gemstone inverted over the distant firmament. From the depths of the distant mountains came the faint yet resonant roars of fearsome beasts, causing yellow leaves to drift from the branches. The fluttering leaves concealed countless hidden mysteries.

The hills and plains were painted with endless shades of green and yellow, as the beauty of golden autumn unfolded wildly and unrestrained.

Nearby, on a flat rock platform covered with pale yellow vines, Sister Acarra, dressed in purple robes, smiled warmly as she patiently taught Angela and a group of children to identify types of herbs and their uses in potion-making. The atmosphere was cheerful, filled with laughter and exclamations as Angela and the children gasped in amazement at the magical properties of seemingly ordinary wild grasses.

Sister Acarra seemed quite pleased with the lively atmosphere and taught with great care.

Not far away, the valiant Ileena, resembling a Valkyrie, stood on a protruding large rock with her Longbow in hand. The mountain breeze rustled her red hair, making it look like enchanting flames. She remained vigilant, scanning her surroundings. Although there were no large beasts on the Back Mountain, her long-term habits from the perilous World of Diablo made her particularly sensitive to her environment. Moreover, she knew what the girl who was as delicate as a chrysanthemum meant to Sun Fei.

Thus, Ileena felt she must protect that girl for Sun Fei.

The Big Black Dog, Black Whirlwind, lay lazily at Ileena’s feet, drowsy and occasionally opening its mouth to yawn out of boredom. The warm autumn sunlight and the cool mountain breeze filled this clever creature with unprecedented contentment.

The moment was wonderfully serene.

Suddenly, the Big Black Dog twitched its nose.

Its eyes grew puzzled. It lifted its head slightly and focused its gaze on the source of the abnormality beside it—Ileena. Although the autumn sun was not particularly intense, beads of sweat emerged on Ileena’s smooth, fair forehead. The glistening sweat droplets refracted colorful light under the sun.

Drip! Drip!!

The sparkling sweat droplets fell onto the rock beneath her feet.

“Woof woof woof…” The Big Black Dog immediately stood up, barking inquisitively.

In the distance, Sister Acarra, who had been explaining the principles of alchemy to Angela and the children, also stopped speaking and looked up abruptly.

She finally sensed the change in Ileena—

Just a moment ago, for some unknown reason, several immense forces seemed to have been simultaneously injected into Ileena’s delicate body. These forces were clearly of different attributes and incompatible with each other. As a result, they were now fiercely clashing, making Ileena’s body a battleground for these opposing powers.

For any warrior, such a situation was fatal.

When forces of conflicting attributes clashed within the body, they could easily destroy one’s flesh and bones, turning them into a mist of blood.

Ileena’s jade-like skin had already taken on a faint reddish hue. A mist of blood sprayed from invisible pores, surrounding her like red flames from a distance. The veins on her slender hands, gripping the Longbow tightly, became prominent. Her pearly white teeth had bitten through her crimson lips, and a trickle of blood flowed from the corner of her mouth.

The female Mercenary was clearly enduring immense agony.

“What is happening?” Even the experienced Sister Acarra was taken aback. She could not understand why Ileena had suddenly experienced such a phenomenon. In her long life, she had never before encountered any Rogue facing similar circumstances during training.

Swish, swish, swish, swish!

Without a second thought, Acarra raised her hand and sent a series of white light bursts from her palm into Ileena’s body.

This was the unique healing magic of the World of Diablo.

Sister Acarra actually possessed considerable skill in Magic.

With the support of the healing spells, Ileena’s condition improved slightly. However, the conflict of forces within her body did not cease; instead, it intensified. Soon, more blood mist sprayed wildly from her body. Within moments, the beautiful Mercenary was drenched in blood.

“Woof woof woof…” The Big Black Dog barked frantically at the sight.

“Sister Ileena…” Angela was also terrified by the horrifying scene before her eyes.

Acarra frantically expended her mana, sending a continuous stream of white healing light clusters into Ileena’s delicate form. But the effort was like trying to extinguish a fire with a cup of water—there was no significant improvement.

“Damn it…” Even Sister Acarra, a devout believer, muttered a curse under her breath.

“Ahhh…” The usually resilient Valkyrie, who had endured the pain in silence, could no longer bear the sudden agony within. She threw her head back and let out a hoarse, painful cry.

At that moment—

Whoosh!

A blue Portal suddenly appeared on the rock. Sun Fei stepped out, promptly splashing a large bottle of Full Rejuvenation Potion over Ileena. He then wrapped his arm around the unconscious female Mercenary, stomped his foot, and the massive rock beneath them shattered into dust. Turning into a blur, Sun Fei shot through the sky and vanished from everyone’s sight.

“Don’t worry, I have a solution!”

Sun Fei’s voice echoed from afar.

Sister Acarra felt slightly relieved, yet more puzzled. It seemed Lord Sun Fei knew the reason behind Ileena’s sudden anomaly… What could it be? Meanwhile, Angela clasped her hands tightly over her chest, her eyes filled with worry. The pure-hearted girl showed no displeasure or unease at seeing her fiancé holding another woman.

…

Sun Fei repeatedly activated the Barbarian skill Leap, turning into a whirlwind as he swiftly arrived at the stone chamber within the Underground Grotto Labyrinth beneath the Back Mountain of Shampoo City.

Ordering the guards to secure the chamber and allow no one to enter, Sun Fei carefully poured the last Full Rejuvenation Potion from his Belt Space into Ileena’s red lips.

The Mercenary Beauty’s condition was dire.

Four different forces—ice, fire, lightning, and poison—were raging and clashing violently within her delicate body. Had it not been for Sister Acarra’s earlier healing spells to suppress them and the Full Rejuvenation Potions he had exchanged along the way to neutralize the conflicts, the Valkyrie in his arms might have already been torn apart.

“Damn it, do I really have to go that far?”

Sun Fei looked at the unconscious Ileena, hesitating slightly.

He now understood the cause of Ileena’s strange condition—it was due to one of the mission rewards he received after clearing all tasks of Act I Rogue Encampment with the seven profession characters: the Mercenary strength overlay.

The true meaning of this reward was—

The full strength of the other six female Mercenaries that Sun Fei had obtained in the other six profession parallel spaces would instantly overlay onto Ileena alone. This was not surprising, for aside from Ileena being a living person, the other six Mercenaries appeared more like rigid programs without their own intelligence. Sun Fei had previously suspected that this strange phenomenon might be related to the rewards after completing Act I, but he never dreamed it would be like this. Moreover, what surprised Sun Fei even more was that, according to the information from the World of Diablo, this overlay process was extremely dangerous. If Ileena could not withstand the damage to her body from the conflict and reconciliation of forces during the overlay, she might very well perish.

At this point, the Full Rejuvenation Potions Sun Fei had exchanged were all used up.

Yet Ileena’s condition remained critical.

The four forces within her showed no signs of reconciliation. Instead, like children enraged in a fight, their turmoil intensified. Though deeply unconscious, Ileena was clearly still tormented by pain. Her furrowed brows pained Sun Fei to see. Soon, the stone slab beneath her was stained a deep crimson.

Sun Fei quickly made his decision.

His hand reached out with difficulty and gently touched the fasteners of Ileena’s armor.