Volume 4 Chapter 54: The Truth

Qin Lun had reached the career threshold in just three Quest Worlds, a path ordinary Apostles usually took over ten worlds to complete. It seemed incredibly legendary. However, he himself knew exactly how many hidden dangers lurked beneath this glorious surface.

Take equipment, for example. The Death Notice and the Dagger of Sin were his own property. The Knight’s Cross Medal and the Combat Gauge were support items.

Especially the Knight’s Cross Medal. While it had reached Sub-Legendary grade, some of its skills were sealed. The 10% boost to physical attributes wasn’t that useful in practice. His Law Body foundation was too weak. Only when he became a High-Rank Apostle would its true value show.

The Burial of Light and Darkness met his attack needs, but for armor, he only had Leather Army Boots and a Shahbakh Ring. Skin, pants, bracers, shoulder guards, belt, shield – all other slots had no equipment at all. It was almost like running nearly naked in a Quest World.

Compared to ordinary Apostles who’d accumulated power over ten worlds, even those covered in blue and purple gear, plus over ten Law Body enhancements, their combined Health Points and defense were much higher. Their lives were far more secure.

After the Phantom Demon World, Qin Lun had actually realized this problem. Unfortunately, the Moon Night Elf Bloodline and the Inferno Hound had drained him completely, leaving him also saddled with a debt of one hundred thousand Shattered Crystals.

Just look at recovery items. Before entering a Quest World, Qin Lun always spent over ten thousand Shattered Crystals and several hundred Exchange Vouchers on recovery supplies.

Still, that was clearly far from enough. One Self-Healing Crystal cost 4,500 Shattered Crystals or 450 Exchange Vouchers. One ordinary Healing Bandage cost 2,000 Shattered Crystals. Even a single oil-scallion pancake cost 1,000. How much could he really buy with just over ten thousand crystals and a few hundred vouchers?

His fight against Witch Maiar in the Orphan World, using gaming terms, was basically picking off an enemy already half-dead; he just snatched a monster with low health out of a Demon Hunter’s hands. Even then, without the World Tree Dew gifted by Mafa and the Sacred Spirit Potion from Saint Healer Totti, he might not have survived.

In the Phantom Demon World, he had coasted entirely by luck and opportunity, never fighting a single tough battle. It was only in the last world that he truly fought a life-and-death battle against Professor Green, Kathleen, who was without equipment and operating at less than half her usual strength.

Even so, Qin Lun ended up with only one Phantom Demon Tenderloin left after the fight. Other items like Healing Bandages, Self-Healing Crystals, World Tree Dew, wheat cakes – all were completely used up. After the battle, he even cunningly returned to Munich to receive medical treatment, exhausting every possible recovery method.

Calculating it out, with the current Quest difficulty, he needed to prepare thirty thousand Shattered Crystals and a thousand Exchange Vouchers worth of recovery items per Quest World to barely support two proper, full-scale fights.

Imagine if Qin Lun hadn’t had the favor and sponsorship from the Elven Race and the Demon Clan, and if he wasn’t primarily a long-range attacker like an Archer. Would he really have been able to touch the career threshold and reach his current level in just three Quest Worlds?

The answer to this was already out there. Qin Lun absolutely could!

Because Shepherd Hill, Disciple Hansen, and Clown Grant had already done it. Aside from Shepherd Hill, both Disciple Hansen and Clown Grant specialized in close combat, which demanded even more recovery items and equipment than he did. If they could do it, there was no reason Qin Lun couldn’t.

The catch was, for Qin Lun to learn from those Serial Killers, he couldn’t possibly rely on gentle methods.

Who was Shepherd Hill? A cannibalistic, twisted Priest! Who was Disciple Hansen? Someone who became a child mercenary in his youth and as an adult, claimed countless lives, calling himself Satan’s Disciple and a professional hitman!

Even back on Earth Federation, where surveillance cameras filled the streets, they killed with reckless abandon, even playing cat-and-mouse games with Federation SWAT teams. What made anyone think they’d hold back after entering Shattered Starry Sky and Devil’s Horn?

Shepherd Hill viewed fellow humans as mere lambs in God’s pen, privately seeing himself as a Shepherd sneaking a feast. Upon arriving in Devil’s Horn and seeing so many different races and Apostles, wouldn’t he be tempted to compile recipes for… new flavors?

Devil’s Horn had tens of thousands of Apostles and hundreds of Apostle teams. Conflicts were constant. The highest-paying tasks at the Mercenary Guild were always assassinations. Would Disciple Hansen, the professional assassin ingrained with killer instincts, be able to suppress that urge?

Clown Grant’s sick obsession with beautiful things drove him to fulfil his victims’ last wishes, even selling clues of his whereabouts to the police, just to craft Human Skin Masks from beautiful girls and boys. When he saw even more stunning Succubi, Rakshasi Women, and Elves, wouldn’t ideas about upgrading his collection fill his mind?

It was hard to change nature itself! Back in Moonlight Forest, the Serial Killers didn’t understand Shattered Starry Sky yet. Also caught up in the Apostle City council seat crisis, the Moonlit Elves quickly moved the killers to Devil’s Horn, letting Moonlight Forest luckily avoid a disaster.

In contrast, Devil’s Horn wasn’t so fortunate. The killers had been there several months. They were settling in, and now had access to drugs that restored Health Points, powerful Apostle gear, and combat skills.

Do you think they suddenly decided to cultivate their virtues and eat vegetarian meals?!

Compared to the strictly ordered, lawful Earth Federation, Apostle City – Devil’s Horn – which operated on jungle law, was practically a heaven for convicts and Serial Killers.

The other killers might not have received investments of favor from Elves or Demons, but they had their own survival ways.

Shepherd Hill would scam and trick. Clown Grant preferred brute force and plunder. Disciple Hansen’s way was even simpler. Back on Earth Federation he needed employers; here in Devil’s Horn, he was his own employer.

Once Qin Lun understood all this, Hill and Hansen’s true motivation for seeking a team became obvious. Before Kelly reminded him, Qin Lun had thought about completing the Career Quest without even entering a Quest World, just finishing it directly in Shattered Starry Sky. Could Hill and Hansen not think of that too?

Set aside the Career Quest. Did Hill and Hansen really only want to form a team early to smooth out future cooperation? Wouldn’t that be imagining the relationship between these Serial Killers as far too warm-hearted? Playing house games depended heavily on who you played with!

Peeling back these lies, the single truth underneath was this: the two killers had stumbled into genuine trouble. And the kind of trouble that forced both killers into a tight spot and dragged Qin Lun down – inside Devil’s Horn, there was only one possibility.

They had provoked a powerful Apostle team, and tangled up in it was an unstoppable blood feud! That was what forced the two killers to abandon solo action, form a team early, and prepare for a deadly confrontation.

Common people would desperately avoid this kind of trouble. Even Clown Grant and Firecracker Rand would have heavy concerns. But Qin Lun was different; he had no real goal for survival! With his intense curiosity and passion for adventure, he would never refuse such a thrilling invitation.

Hill and Hansen showed up brimming with confidence precisely because they knew, once Qin Lun figured it all out, he’d still gleefully jump right in. Even the twenty thousand Shattered Crystals were part of their plan. After all, Qin Lun wasn’t a naive, kind person. You could lure him into the trap his way… but paying a price was essential! They might even each pay twenty or thirty thousand crystals – if only they weren’t a bit strapped for cash.

The day after agreeing to the team with Hill and Hansen, Qin Lun returned to the Auction House sporting panda-like dark circles. The unknown, immense danger had excited him so much the previous night… he got insomnia!

Of course, Joey also played a part. Under pressure, the two personalities bounced a lot of wild ideas off each other.

For instance: Facing a cash shortage, Qin Lun considered using raw armor materials directly as protection. But he shot down the idea himself. Armor’s defense relied on law powers infused within the gear, not the raw material. Wearing the materials directly was like wearing scrap metal.

After searching the Auction House for a while, Qin Lun faced a dilemma. His funds only covered blue-tier armor. He could just afford purple gear, but then he wouldn’t have enough crystals left for recovery items.

Blue armor offered good defense, but it didn’t suit a Jungle Hunter. Trading precious agility and movement for defense was a poor strategy. As for lighter blue leather or cloth armor, their defense was so weak that attacks by a Professional Apostle rendered them pointless – having them felt no different than not having them.

Finally, biting the bullet, Qin Lun spent ten thousand Shattered Crystals to buy a Dark Gold-tier Flesh Golem.

Strictly speaking, this Flesh Golem wasn’t gear. It was a consumable. It could perfectly imitate its master’s scent and appearance. Physically speaking, it was flawless – but it lacked the defense and abilities of a Law Body.

Besides imitating its master under the Apostle’s control, this Flesh Golem had no intelligence. Its actions relied entirely on its master’s mental commands. Once enemy attacks depleted its energy, it collapsed into a heap of rotten flesh.

Despite these flaws, its incredibly potent mimicry could even fool the Perception and detection skills of other Apostles. When used wisely, it provided an archer protection almost on par with a piece of Dark Gold armor.

After purchasing the Flesh Golem, the remaining twenty thousand plus Shattered Crystals and one thousand Exchange Vouchers were mostly swapped for recovery items (keeping three thousand Shattered Crystals aside, just in case Cerberus got injured).

His final stash included:

Two High-Grade Healing Bandages,

One box of High-Grade Moonlight Recovery Ointment,

Two Self-Healing Crystals,

A pack of carbon-based protein pills,

Six oil-scallion wheat cakes,

And a flask of High-Grade Royal Jelly.

When night fell, Hill and Hansen visited again. This time, they brought along two strangers Qin Lun had never met! These were the remaining two members of the five-man team.