Volume 3 Chapter 41: Hundred-Kill Slayer

Apostle 70053, your Apostle Soul Mark has returned to the Boundary Dimension. Settlement of the rewards for this Otherworld Mission began, and task evaluation was about to be assigned.

Apostle 70053 completed the Otherworld Mission “Time-Space Core”. The Mission Completion Rate was 6 out of 17, and all Time-Space Cores were of low quality. The “Death Hunting Mission” was also completed, involving killing one unranked Reincarnator. From these two missions, the base rewards included: two Law of Shattering Fusion Crystals, 18,000 Shattered Crystals, 48 Contribution Points, and 30 Soul Lifespan points recovered.

Tip: During the “Time-Space Core” mission, Apostle 70053 triggered the “Death Hunting Mission”, raising the task evaluation by one level. The Time-Space Core mission provided 0.272% World Exploration Degree, the “Phantom Demon Rumors Record” gave 0.212% World Exploration Degree, totaling 0.284% World Exploration Degree.

Tip: The World Exploration Degree from the “Phantom Demon Rumors Record” did not affect the World Origin, with only 6 points of World Origin looted overall. Its indirect impact on Phantom Demon World history was negligible, leading to a final overall task evaluation of Bronze Level.

Tip: The extra rewards for World Exploration Degree and Bronze Level task evaluation are listed below. As part of the Bronze Level evaluation reward, choose four options out of six. If you miss the deadline, rewards will be given randomly.

One: 5,000 Shattered Crystals and 300 Exchange Voucher points.

Two: A low-level Reflex Training Scroll.

Three: Based on Apostle combat data in the Phantom Demon World, a quantifiable enhancement of the Law Body.

Four: Randomly give one Apostle item (equipment quality capped below purple).

Five: Increase the Soul Life Limit by 5 points.

Six: A Bronze-Level Mission Card for a Low Magic World (special for Bronze-Level task evaluations).

The six options weren’t hard to choose. Qin Lun picked options 1, 2, 3, and 6 quickly, giving up options 4 and 5. He couldn’t skip the Bronze-Level Card or the body enhancement, as FN-500 had been a big help in the Phantom Demon World. This time, he planned to use the Reflex Training Scroll to develop FN-500’s second form skill.

From some mistakes in the Phantom Demon World, Qin Lun realized the importance of saving Shattered Crystals. He preferred to give up a random purple item to gather more Apostle currency instead. Boosting the Soul Life Limit was crucial, but it wasn’t urgent right now, so he had to let it go this time.

After the choices were made, dots of starlight floated near Qin Lun’s soul shadow. The starlight gathered and soaked into the soul shadow, making him feel refreshed and at ease. The enhancement of the Law Body was simpler this time than last, clearly with a smaller boost.

Compared to the last orphan world, Qin Lun got far fewer extra rewards from the Phantom Demon World. Almost every reward was much smaller, but he didn’t feel very disappointed.

Actually, Qin Lun’s main gains this time weren’t from task rewards; they came from other areas. Besides the possible Bloodline Item extractable from the black bear BEN, he got an important Skill Scroll from Junko and two pieces of equipment from Matthew, including one Dark Gold item.

What he was most looking forward to was the many Remnant Souls inside the Phantom Demon Pearls. These Remnant Souls could improve the quality of the Dagger of Sin.

Apostle 70053, you now have 83 Shattered Starry Sky Contribution points, meeting the title promotion requirement. You are at the fourth level of the first tier. Your chosen military title is “Non-Commissioned Officer”.

Tip: Apostle 70053 has reached the highest level of the first-tier primary rank. Please improve your skill system quickly to unlock the Class Change battle profession.

Now that the Otherworld Mission settlement was over, the Apostle had 23,000 Shattered Crystals, 300 Exchange Voucher points, 80 Soul Lifespan points, and 83 Contribution points left.

Cost settlement: No Plot Identity modification fees, no body repair fees.

Remaining recovery items: World Tree Dew (three drops), Moonlight Recovery Ointment, Self-Healing Crystal, Phantom Demon Tenderloin.

Storage Space balance: Maiar Crystal Ball, Exemption Token, two fusion crystals, Grudge Soul Orb (74 Remnant Souls), Phantom Demon Pearl (219 Remnant Souls), Time-Space Core (6), Bronze Evaluation Card, “Encyclopedia of Low Magic World Monsters”, “Molde Research Specimen Atlas”, “Phantom Demon Rumors Record”.

Equipment, skill, and item status: Dagger of Sin, FN-500, Shahbakh Ring, two Magic Eyes, low-level Reflex Training Scroll, Crystal Mirror Magic Array Scroll, Dark Gold Boots (not appraised), Dark Gold Helmet (not appraised).

Missions completed: Time-Space Core, Death Hunt.

Tip: Apostle 70053, you will return to Shattered Starry Sky in 10 seconds. Countdown is starting…

A flash of light occurred. When Qin Lun opened his eyes again, his Law Body was fully formed in the teleport room of Devil’s Horn.

“We’re back!” Qin Lun rubbed his forehead, stood up, and pushed open the door.

The teleport hall in Devil’s Horn was still busy with people coming and going, showing no changes. But Qin Lun sensed a feeling that things were the same but people felt different inside him. He knew this was a side effect of adventuring in the other worlds; switching between world environments often caused strange effects in the apostle’s body and mind.

Qin Lun had a feeling that completing Otherworld Missions every half-month might not be a good thing in some ways. Even he couldn’t get his mental state back to its calm, pre-mission level in just two weeks. Perhaps he should consider spacing out the missions longer to get more rest time.

After hiring a carriage with his Identity Plate, Qin Lun quickly reached his villa in Devil’s Horn. The little goblin Didi hadn’t returned yet. Qin Lun threw himself onto the big bed in his room and soon fell deep asleep.

Two days later…

“Master, breakfast is ready!” A young, soft shout came from outside the door.

“I’ll be right out!” Qin Lun rubbed his eyes and got up lazily. Over the past two days, he had spent most of the time lying in bed, barely moving until he was bored to death. Only then did he think about handling necessary tasks.

After breakfast, Qin Lun dumped everything from his Storage Space onto the bed and started organizing it. The recovery items in Storage Space were running low; he had to restock before the next Otherworld Mission. But before that, he needed to deal with the two unappraised equipment pieces.

First, Qin Lun spent 2,000 Shattered Crystals to appraise the dark blue boots, essentially asking Shattered Starry Sky to remove the superstring laws from the item.

Leather Army Boots (Shoe armor)

Quality: Deep blue

Materials: Calf leather, rubber

Weight: 420 grams

Passive Skill: Sturdy tread. These thick, long leg army boots protected feet well, with soft cowhide boosting Explosive Power around the ankles and slightly increasing movement speed and Agility.

Equipment Requirements: Leather Army Boots work in most Quest Worlds; anyone with feet can wear them.

Good boots! Qin Lun raised his eyebrows, then took out the Dark Gold Helmet and looked it over for a moment but tossed it back into Storage Space.

He planned to put the Dark Gold Helmet directly into the Auction House to trade for more blue and purple equipment; it wasn’t worth appraising. Last time in the Phantom Demon World, he noticed that apart from Life-Taking Relics, Apostle equipment faced big limits in Quest Worlds.

Apostle equipment mustn’t only aim for high quality; at least, attack and defense gear need to be complete. This completeness wasn’t about variety in types but targeting different Quest Worlds—tech equipment, magic items, biological gear—all had to be ready. With too limited equipment, entering a world with totally unsuitable World Laws would cripple you.

In the last world, if the Shahbakh Ring hadn’t stopped working, leaving him without any Protective items, he wouldn’t have had to be so careful. He could have joined a Side Mission with the Oni Warrior, potentially earning better rewards and evaluations.

Remember, his triggered Death Hunt Mission boosted the task evaluation by one level. Completing a major plotline could have given him another Gold task evaluation.

Ignoring the broken Gene Potion and Dark Gold gear he picked up at the Undersea Temple, Qin Lun’s Phantom Demon World haul wasn’t as good as Shepherd Hill’s. That Serial Killer priest had killed the Oni Warrior Michele—a Phantom Demon World protag Jacques Brown’s wife—creating huge plot shifts and unthinkable world-history ripples.

Qin Lun himself had a chance to follow the Oni Warrior Akechi Samanosuke in the Undersea Temple. But with no Shahbakh Ring Protection, he didn’t even think about trying to kill Akechi Samanosuke. One bitter lesson was enough; this time, he’d rather trade the Dark Gold Helmet for more low-quality items to carry.

After dealing with the unappraised equipment, Qin Lun gripped the Dagger of Sin and used the tip to lift a hornet Phantom Demon Pearl. The blood-red pearl shrank visibly smaller and vanished into thin air. The Remnant Souls quality in the Dagger of Sin became 49.

As more Phantom Demon Pearls disappeared, the Remnant Souls quality in the Dagger of Sin climbed. Once it passed 100 Remnant Souls points, the scary pair-of-scissors-like dagger finally changed in form.

The sharp, serrated edge of the blade spine grew a deep misty glow, like a dark, gleaming pool. It looked much sharper, as if nothing could block it. In the Death Notice, the Dagger of Sin upgraded from “Ten-Kill” to “Hundred-Kill Slayer”. Its Soul Devour ability rose, and it gained a new equipment skill.

Dagger of Sin: (a short dagger)

Type: Life-Taking Relic (Chaotic Evil)

Remnant Souls quality: 253 (Hundred-Kill Slayer)

Weight: 215 grams

Length: 230 millimeters

Equipment Abilities: Fate Severance, Soul Devour

Fate Severance: This item has extremely sharp blades that can kill enemy bodies and even slice through enemy items. Can damage almost any item equipment below Legendary tier.

Soul Devour (special skill for Life-Taking Relics): Can absorb soul energy from victims and use most related powers. It auto-devours souls of lower to middle-tier creatures, capping at fifth tier max. In specific moments, like when an enemy can’t defend, it may siphon some soul energy from beings above fifth tier.

Tip: If it clashes with Dark Gold or higher equipment, the blade could get damaged. Use Remnant Souls energy to mend sharpness.