Goblin Dependency

His chest heaved, and he breathed heavily.

Extending his left hand, palm facing him, the slightly restored spiritual telekinesis began to work, the surface of the iron ring on his thumb shimmering with magical brilliance.

It was evident that the brilliance itself was unstable, as if affected by some interference, flickering as if it might collapse in the next moment.

This continued for just under half a minute, before suddenly swelling, forming a small glass vial containing a finger-thick amount of luminous blue crystalline liquid in Cornell's palm.

With effort, he pulled out the stopper and drank it all in one go.

As the concentration of magic particles in the surrounding air suddenly increased, the mage's originally grim complexion finally calmed down.

Regarding this incident itself, compared to Isidor who was protected by the Moon God "Serenne", it was he who faced the "suspected Evil God" directly, adapting more quickly.

As a mage of the magic school, whose strength was decent and who spent most of his time in his mentor's Mage Tower conducting various experiments, apart from adventuring.

The strange circumstances during experiments and the necessary ability of mages to accept new things.

Made him still feel fearful inside, yet not anxious or uneasy because of it.

He was just a passerby, soon to leave, indifferent to the impact Neum City would face next.

At this moment, what he felt most was a painful heartache, as if it were being twisted by knives.

An association task that was ordinary and simple, which could be seen as tourism, had deceived their team to this kingdom's border.

All these days, not a single gold coin was made, and he even spent several spell scrolls, while the half orc teammate he had barely adapted to working with had died completely, needing to recruit again.

Initially, he planned to stay in Neum for a few days to connect with old friends and, through their channels, hold a resurrection ceremony for the elf teammate who died in the adventure.

But what happened?

Life was indeed brought back, but who was resurrected... nobody knew.

Not only did he spend a fortune, but the ritual materials he had saved went to waste, and the elf "Feng Xian" had little chance of resurrection.

Unlike the temporary position of recruiting half orcs like "Volga" at any time, this meant their team permanently lost a core member.

No time for grief.

The magic particles dissipating from every part of his body gave Cornell a headache.

Two pieces of protective magic equipment, utterly ruined by a mere glance, beyond repair.

The Teleportation Rune engraved on his forehead with the personal assistance of his mentor, which couldn't be bought anywhere regardless of the price, was a product of many years' experiments — improved and optimized from ancient runes — was utterly depleted.

Even his other magic equipment was affected to some extent.

For instance, the special silver ring enchanted with space magic on his left thumb for storage purposes.

Now it was difficult even to use spiritual power to retrieve anything from it.

Repairing various objects would require another substantial expense.

On this journey, no money was made, two teammates died, all his equipment was destroyed, and his fortune significantly shrank.

Cornell felt as though his heart was bleeding.

"Where did it go wrong?" He couldn't help but ask the priest Isidor before him, "We checked the ritual materials many times, can there be any omissions?"

"It's not the materials," the priest shook his head, his eyes thoughtful, recalling the scene when he performed the resurrection spell.

"Everything went smoothly from start to finish."

"I did indeed communicate with 'Feng Xian's' soul, built a connection, and brought him back from the Outer Plane."

Upon hearing this, Cornell nodded slightly.

"I saw his soul at that time, indeed, it was him!"

"But..."

The priest's face revealed helplessness and a deep apprehension.

"If some Evil God truly descended into the Material Realm using his body, the two of us alone would not be able to recognize anything amiss."

"The most crucial question now is how He managed to resurrect and descend right under the goddess's nose, inside the Moon God Church."

"Perhaps..." Cornell hesitated for a moment, before expressing his view.

"He came from outside the Crystal Wall System?"

The encounters in the goblin nest some time ago led him to subconsciously link the two.

But honestly, he was just speaking off the cuff, knowing well upon slight contemplation that there was no connection between them, nor could it be such a coincidence.

He said it merely to cover up the blasphemous thought that briefly surfaced in his mind after the priest raised the doubt.

Cornell, being a mage, had a very broad knowledge base, including an understanding of the gods above.

The[Moon Maiden]Serenne might not rank among the most powerful in terms of divine power level, but as one of the world's oldest gods, her authority and capabilities far exceeded common imagination.

Based on this premise, under the protection of such a god, in the church, during the "Moon Feast," a particularly unique time requiring the moonlight divine power for a special resurrection ceremony.

Attempting to forcibly seize the half-elf's body while avoiding the goddess...

Within Cornell's knowledge, there were no more than five beings capable of such an act.

And he did not believe someone of that level would need such means to descend into the Material Realm.

Thus, in his view, there was actually only one situation left.

The goddess noticed the Evil God who descended through the elf's corpse.

Yet, for some reason, chose not to intervene.

But merely watched silently.

The moonlight that protected the priest after the elf's resurrection seemed to corroborate this viewpoint.

"Why?"

He did not know.

Moreover, considering cautiously, Cornell did not ask his old acquaintance before him about his doubts.

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

Looking at the mage who still seemed somewhat pale, Isidor's calm gaze was actually concealing something.

As the goddess's most devout follower, how could he not be aware of his master's might?

And the so-called "fainting" state in which he received some insights.

Made him aware.

Regarding the incident in the church earlier.

The lady's attitude was somewhat ambiguous.

This was precisely why Isidor, upon awakening, did not choose to use the special cards prepared for emergencies but instead called the sheriff to handle the matter.

As for the rest, once people from Deepwater City arrived, those colleagues closer to the goddess's radiance would take over.

"I should be going."

Cornell's words abruptly broke the slightly silent atmosphere.

"Now?" The priest looked surprised, "Won't you rest for a couple of more days?"

To this, Cornell only showed a somewhat strange smile.

"Even counting from when I first arrived at River Valley Town, my total time spent here amounts to just a few dozen days, and I've nearly forfeited all the wealth accumulated over the years."

"A few more days?"

"I might have to pawn even the magic wand in my hand."

Seeing that he was determined, Isidor no longer persuaded, and accompanied him out of the church.

Before leaving, thinking to exchange a few more words of farewell.

Suddenly, a familiar figure walked past on the street ahead.

"Xia Nan?"

The sudden greeting in his ear snapped Xia Nan back to attention.

His gaze shifted from the attribute panel before him to the other side of the street.

What he saw was the white-robed priest who had received them when he came to the church to seek refuge with Jeff and others two days earlier.

And...

The spellcaster whom he had once met during the adventurer association on Hunting Day?

"How come he is in Neum too?"

Curious.

Xia Nan's expression remained unchanged as he greeted and walked over.

Meanwhile, the shift in attention gradually faded the attribute panel hovering before him in the void.

...

[Gaze into the Abyss]

Category: Specialty

Effect:

1. When resisting enchantment, fear, hypnosis, and other forms of mental control spells, your saving throws get a bonus (affected by Perception Attribute);

2. After successfully resisting a mental control effect, the spellcaster must forcibly make a saving throw, upon failure entering a[Short Distraction]state and suffering certain mental damage

Introduction:

The experience of gazing into the "Abyss" makes your will as resilient as steel.

Remark:

"I saw Him."

——Abyss Lookout·Veiled·Fallen