<<That is the Most Beautiful Flower I Am Looking For>>

Warning: This chapter contains scenes of violence that may be disturbing to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.

The Jomustin Manor, located far from the downtown area of Arkham, still retains the decorative style of the last century, while also reflecting the Gothic characteristics of the city itself. The interior of the main villa in the manor is an elegant and tranquil black.

Here, Joel carefully selected the tombstones for the guests present. At the moment the coffin closed, blood and slaughter occurred naturally, and the stench of death wafted in the air.

Amos stood in the least conspicuous shadow on the second floor, looking down through the solid wood railing, admiring the performance he had prepared.

“Plantain, bullrush, mustard flower, Arab weed…” He scanned the people present with a discerning eye, “just a bunch of boring wildflowers.”

Only the one called Karens had a bit of interest, but he didn’t like the fragrance of the rue.

Finally, Amos fixed his gaze on the only person present whom he could see nothing of.

Ranen.

His appearance was enough to dazzle everyone present, and Amos was no exception. He admired Ranen’s extraordinarily handsome face but wanted more than anything to see the essence of his soul.

What kind of flower would his soul be?

—-

The butterfly specimen came back to life.

At first, its wings fluttered gently, then the entire butterfly began to flap its wings. Under its light touch, the glass case surprisingly turned to fine sand. The butterfly was no longer confined and freely flitted around the hall.

Only the players and Ranen understood that this was not a beautiful and fragile life.

An A-level anomaly, which even when fully armed and armed with spells, players could only avoid.

It was a monster that should not have appeared in this “newbie dungeon.” In players’ terms, it was a plot kill; it couldn’t be passed. In a previous life, this quest’s final stage was the same. The reason this bonus pool quest only involved investigating the reasons behind the appearance of the Soul-Eating Butterfly specimen, rather than preventing its hatching, was that players simply couldn’t stop it. Ultimately, the conclusion of this quest was the butterfly leaving after its resurrection.

Even though there was only one Soul-Eating Butterfly now, its intimidation factor was not as high as a swarm of them, but its attack power was at least B+ level, and no one present was a match for it.

Once the butterfly specimen revived, it needed to continue feeding on life force and souls, which made Ranen ponder whether this was the final deadly trap.

Sure enough, after the butterfly revived, it flapped its wings and flew toward Ranen. Edmund, about to swing his knife, was stopped by Ranen.

“Stop, don’t worry about it.”

Ranen knew that even if Edmund could handle the ghoul, it would be useless against the Soul-Eating Butterfly. He simply stopped him from seeking his own death and sighed as he stepped forward.

The butterfly landed on his shoulder, its antennae moving slightly, as if it were sensing something.

Ranen had already prepared himself to have his life force drained and to become a corpse at any moment, but then… there was nothing further.

The Soul-Eating Butterfly made no further moves, as if it had taken Ranen as its home, pretending to be an ornament as it sat still on his shoulder.

Ranen: ?

Edmund seemed to have no surprise, gazing at Ranen with bright, sparkling eyes: “As expected of my lord.”

In his view, Ranen had already anticipated this scene and had a way to tame the Soul-Eating Butterfly, which was why he had stopped him earlier.

It was only natural for his lord to be able to tame the infamous Soul-Eating Butterfly.

Ranen opened his mouth, but ultimately closed it again, squeezing out a muffled, “Mm.”

Did he really tame it?

He glanced at the butterfly resting on his shoulder, which twitched its antennae and leaned in a bit closer.

Is he moved?

He doesn’t dare to move!

Ranen: … inexplicably feels like an ancestral presence had arrived.

He recalled that it seemed the same in the hospital; during the day, there was the red-haired nurse, and at night, there were the bizarre Spider Woman and the ghoul from the neighboring ward. It felt like they were all… how to put it? Obsessed with him?

Of course, this obsession didn’t stop them from wanting to kill him; if anything, it made their intentions even more determined, mixed with a murderous intent that humans couldn’t comprehend.

Upon careful reflection, it seemed that after leaving the hospital, this inexplicable attraction from the abnormalities had disappeared. As long as he didn’t stare at the strange beings on the streets, they wouldn’t engage in any bizarre behaviors, nor would they block his door like the creatures in the hospital, declaring their affection for him.

He had originally thought that the abnormality in the hospital was simply due to it being a special instance, where people’s daytime fondness for him was merely shifted to the nighttime.

But now, it didn’t seem to be the case?

But why did he have this kind of constitution? Why was the attitude of the abnormalities toward him so strange? Speaking of which, could abnormalities even feel emotions like affection? Would they really become infatuated with humans?

A series of questions flooded his mind, and Ranen couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

The only two people awake on the scene, Edmund and Karens, noticed Ranen’s contemplative demeanor and chose to remain silent.

In their eyes, Ranen must be pondering the motivations behind this trap. There was no doubt that it was a setup, but given the considerable costs incurred by the mastermind, the target couldn’t possibly be the other organizations present. The only one of value here was Ranen himself.

They might have been caught up in a deeper, darker conspiracy.

“Is it all over? Your Excellency Ranen?” Karens’s tone was more respectful and humble, his voice trembling with weakness.

Ranen looked back at him, surprised. “You’re still awake?”

That was unexpected. All the ordinary people present had collapsed from the loss of vitality, so it was understandable that Edmund, who could tear ghouls apart, was fine. But Karens, aside from gaining a few gray hairs, seemed to be unharmed.

“Yes…”

Ranen withdrew his gaze, looking at the unconscious bodies scattered around. “Whether this is over or not isn’t for us to decide.”

At this point, if he couldn’t see that he had been set up, then Ranen had wasted those years of his life.

In this trap laid specifically for him, the butterfly specimen should have been the final kill shot. Yet, for unknown reasons, the Soul-Eating Butterfly posed no threat to him at the moment.

What would the mastermind do next?

Would he give up, lurking to wait for the next opportunity? Or…

At that moment, Ranen sharply caught the sound of whispering.

The voice seemed to be right beside him, murmuring phrases that were both unfamiliar and familiar to Ranen.

“Did you hear that?”

Edmund and Karens looked confused. They listened carefully but heard nothing. Following the direction of the voice, Ranen noticed a shadowy figure on the second floor of the banquet hall.

When did they get here?

It seemed that the figure sensed it had been discovered, as the incantation grew increasingly rapid.

The bodies around them stirred.

To the astonishment of the three, those killed by the ghouls began to move. Their scattered innards and severed limbs wriggled on the ground like decapitated eels. Hair fell out, and clothes dissolved in the black liquid oozing from their bodies. The first corpse opened its eyes.

Then came the second, the third…

All the deceased on the scene were being transformed into ghouls under the influence of this incantation. 

A chill crept from Karens’s feet to his heart as he looked at Ranen.

This number of ghouls would be overwhelming, even for the disciple who just took down two. The only one capable of breaking this deadlock is Ranen.

But would he act?

Ranen felt a tingling sensation at the back of his head. He recognized the incantation—Reanimation, one of the forbidden dark magic spells capable of instantly summoning countless D-grade ghouls from the dead.

But how could it appear here?! Even in the later stages of the game, there were very few wizards capable of casting such spells, and those were all well-known villains in the player forums.

Who would appear here at this time?

“Ranen, Your Grace…” Karens instinctively moved closer to Ranen, like a drowning person grasping for a last straw.

Faced with the situation, Ranen suddenly relaxed his expression and even chuckled lightly.

“Just in time.”

Just in time? Just in time for what?

Karens looked completely bewildered, and Amos, who was watching Ranen from the second floor, also sensed something was off. He immediately lifted his head and looked outside the manor.

The ghouls stationed outside had been taken out.

At this moment, noisy footsteps echoed, and Karens couldn’t help but glance outside.

He saw a group of excited people rushing toward them, the leader shouting, “Finally, we’ve got monsters to fight!”

Karens: ???

Ranen was the quicker thinker. As the players rushed in, he pulled Karens to one side. As for Edmund, he was already eager to engage the ghouls in battle.

—-

As soon as the players saw this, they became even more anxious!

Damn, this game didn’t even have monster-fighting segments; it had always been about investigation, investigation, reasoning, and more investigation. The restless players were so bored they could count ants. Finally, they had a chance, and now an NPC was going to steal it from them? 

They didn’t care about anything else. When they caught sight of a ghoul, they charged in recklessly, relying on the fact that they wouldn’t actually die. At worst, they could just switch to another character card and adopt various strategies of trading injury for injury.

To outsiders, this looked especially brave.

For example, Karens watched in astonishment, particularly when he saw the players desperately blocking the ghouls from getting too close to Edmund and Ranen (to prevent the NPC from stealing the kill). He no longer doubted the players’ fervent dedication.

Although this group wasn’t as strong as Edmund, they were truly devoted!

Moreover, unlike the unprepared players before, this group of players had come fully equipped with handguns, bombs, shields, and all sorts of gear.

What? You’re asking how they got this equipment? Of course, they received it as rewards from Karens when they took on missions. It was indeed difficult for an ordinary person to obtain weapons, but it wasn’t a problem for a gang, especially since the Black Poker was in that business.

Thus, as the number of players overwhelmed the ghouls present, the situation gradually tilted in their favor.

A-Long also jumped out from under the table, excitedly waving a brick he’d found somewhere as he charged toward the nearest ghoul.

The barrage of comments in the chat also erupted in excitement.

[Ahhhhh, you guys fight slower! I’m not there yet.]

[The battle has started, the battle has started! Hhhh ^[1] Laughing , it’s been a while since I felt this monster-fighting vibe!]

[Is the streamer trying to kill me with this ridiculous punchline?]

[Damn, this game actually has a combat system! Okay, it’s no longer an obscure game; this is quite mainstream, right? (laugh)]

When in combat mode, players could turn off the dice mode and manually fight monsters like in other holographic MMORPGs ^[2]Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games, are a genre of video games that combine elements of role-playing games (RPGs) with a large number of players interacting with one another in a virtual … Continue reading. However, untrained ordinary people wouldn’t be very good at it at first. After A-Long missed with his brick, he was embarrassingly kicked away by a ghoul, then angrily switched back to dice mode.

[Brawl: Great Success]*l

A-Long was instantly overjoyed. At the same time, he felt his body move naturally. As the ghouls were entangled with other players, he suddenly jumped up and latched onto a ghoul, moving his body and twisting his arm.

[Strength Contest: Success]

With a fluid and stylish motion, he directly decapitated the ghoul.

The nearby players were dumbfounded, looking at A-Long, who was still holding the ghoul’s head: “Nice job, brother! A hidden master?”

A-Long humbly replied, “This level is nothing, just a piece of cake.”

He remembered he was still live-streaming and confidently looked at the chat: “So, was this worth a 6?”

[ohhhhhhh!]

[66666666 ^[3]In the context of online gaming and live streaming, especially in the Chinese gaming community, “6” (pronounced “liù”) is often used as slang to mean “awesome” or … Continue reading]

[6, streamer, the game mechanics are really good (thumbs up)]

[hhhh, great success! I could do it too!]

[Have the guts to turn off dice mode (dog head)]

The players’ battle mode left Karens greatly shocked. In the later stages of battle, casualties were inevitable, with even companions being torn apart right before their eyes. Yet, not a single person retreated. They acted as if they felt no fear; as long as they could still move, even if they had to step over their fallen companions, they would tear a piece of flesh from the ghouls.

Black Cat and Druid were more meticulous, following closely behind Edmund to pick up the scraps and seizing the opportunity to snatch several last hits. Their experience and combat proficiency shot up, and they were grinning from ear to ear.

Heaven must have taken pity; in this game, players usually couldn’t gain experience by fighting monsters, relying instead on completing quests. However, for group quests, as anyone who understood would know, completing one could take anywhere from a day to several days—leveling up wasn’t that easy!

Of course, aside from quests, there were other activities like medical assistance and searches that could also grant experience, but nothing could compare to the thrill of fighting monsters for leveling up.

The players had held back for so long, and now that they finally had a chance for a limited-time monster-fighting dungeon, they were like wolves pouncing on prey.

—-

Standing on the second floor, Amos had a clearer view than those below. 

He witnessed a person have half their body devoured by a ghoul, yet that person grinned with bared teeth, urging those nearby to open fire, determined to take the ghoul down with them.

Such fervor was rare to see, even for someone who had been part of numerous cults and secret societies.

To gather so many fervent followers in such a short time…

Amos stood in the shadows on the second floor and thought leisurely that the leader had really given him a difficult problem.

He had already concluded that Ranen was the target the leader was seeking.

The group of ghouls he had temporarily assembled probably wouldn’t hold out for much longer.

It is a pity; Amos had originally thought that by pushing Ranen to his limits, he would be able to see him make a move. That way, he could use his “Soul Eye” ability to have a greater chance of observing what Ranen’s soul flower looked like.

He was also quite curious about whether gods had “soul flowers” and what their soul flowers would be like. Would they be more beautiful than those of humans, or would they exhibit even more astonishing variations? Amos was very curious, as the chances of encountering an evil god in the real world were incredibly low; he had only seen one in all these years.

But now, it seemed he had failed.

However, the exploratory task had already been completed, and since Ranen hadn’t made a move for so long, it appeared that the mysterious presence was indeed restrained.

Amos wanted to continue testing, but unfortunately, the leader had given him strict orders not to draw too much attention.

After a moment of hesitation, Amos let out a deep sigh and prepared to retreat.

He was very curious about what Ranen’s soul was like, but the leader was someone he had nurtured for so long. At the point of reaping rewards, he couldn’t afford to break ties with him.

—-

Just as Amos was about to use a spatial movement spell with regret, Ranen seemed to sense that the mastermind behind the scenes was about to flee and cast a glance in his direction.

Karens also looked toward where Ranen was focused. It was as if this was a silent signal, and the players who were constantly keeping an eye on Ranen during the battle turned to look as well.

At that moment, someone finally noticed the figure in the corner of the second floor and excitedly shouted, “The boss is up there!”

As soon as these words were spoken, the players instantly became thrilled and each employed various tricks as they rushed toward the second floor.

Amos, cloaked in black and wearing a hood, smiled, interrupting his spatial movement spell to chant other incantations.

A black swamp appeared beneath the feet of the players trying to approach, and the corrosive liquid caused them to bleed profusely, as if they were truly sinking into a swamp, leaving them completely immobile.

“What the hell! What is this?”

But that wasn’t the end of it. After dealing with the first batch of players attempting to rush up the stairs, Amos cast a charm that confused the following players, causing them to suddenly turn their attacks in the wrong direction.

“Ow! Why are you hitting me?”

“Allies! Friendly fire!”

“This guy can use magic! Be careful, he might be a wizard!”

“Damn, a wizard in a beginner’s dungeon? How are we supposed to fight this?!”

—-

Ranen felt a sinking sensation in his heart as well; this cloaked figure was clearly too much for the players to handle.

To be honest, at this point in the mission, things had deviated from what Ranen remembered, and he wasn’t sure if it was because of his own presence.

In his previous life, this mission indeed had a combat round, but the opponents were not ghouls; rather, they were humans attracted by the Soul-Eating Butterfly. After the players finished fighting this group of humans, the Soul-Eating Butterfly would hatch and leave after absorbing their life force.

But now, both ghouls and wizards had appeared—this was late-game content! Could this really work?

Watching as the players were instantly at a disadvantage, unable even to reach the second floor, many died either in the swamp or at the hands of their own teammates.

Ranen furrowed his brows.

Was he really just going to watch the wizard massacre the players?

He felt an inexplicable discomfort. Logically, he should take advantage of the players’ distraction with the ghouls to leave this place, thereby perfectly navigating this crisis.

But he didn’t. Perhaps it was because he had also been a player in his previous life, or perhaps it was because in this life, he had been saved by the players twice.

The players had indeed caused him a lot of trouble, but at the same time, they had also been continuously helping him.

Ranen’s gaze turned to the man in black as he contemplated a way to break the deadlock.

At that moment, he suddenly noticed that Edmund’s figure had vanished without him realizing when, but he hadn’t run away; he had quietly appeared on the other side of the staircase.

Ranen’s thoughts shifted. It was well known that wizards were stationary classes, making them naturally countered by close combat fighters like Edmund.

In his previous life, he had extensive experience in battling wizards and knew their weaknesses.

Compared to other games, “Wheel of Fate,” as a game focused on humanity’s struggle against evil gods, emphasized the insignificance of humans. Therefore, the upper limits of human classes were not high, and wizards faced more restrictions on their spells. For instance, some spells required the caster to pay a heavy price, and as long as a wizard remained human, their mana pool was limited, making it almost impossible to cast spells simultaneously.

Ranen remembered that in the new rules, the human willpower limit was 90, and the magic points (MP) were one-fifth of their willpower, meaning a maximum of 18 MP.

Previously, the spells cast by the man in black—summoning the swamp and the charm spell—cost 3 MP and 2 MP, respectively.

The corpse-raising spell cost 5 MP, and there had to be a fresh corpse nearby. The casting time was 30 minutes, meaning this spell could not be used a second time.

He had at most 8 MP left, allowing for three to four casts.

Ranen’s heart began to race as he fixed his gaze on the players charging forward without hesitation and on Edmund, who was lurking in the shadows, ready to strike.

It wasn’t the right time yet.

Ranen’s lips moved; he didn’t know how to signal Edmund about this. He could see that Edmund was about to make his move.

In his anxiety, Ranen almost wished he could step in himself.

If only he had 60 points in melee combat right now!

Huh?

Suddenly, Ranen felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. He blinked, and his vision seemed to split in two: one half showed the back of the man in black, while the other half displayed the scene of players charging up to the second floor.

What is happening?

Edmund’s movements came to a halt, and his body suddenly felt uncontrollable.

In its place was a sensation that he couldn’t resist but felt strangely familiar.

“Master?”

“Mm.” Ranen heard Edmund’s voice, feeling a mix of confusion and surprise, but he quickly suppressed his emotions and focused entirely on hiding himself.

—-

The players had certainly not given up on defeating the boss, but as the number of casualties grew, they seemed to sink deeper into despair.

Could this also be a presence that players could not contend with at this stage?

The players on-site began to feel a sense of hopelessness, and for a moment, their attack frequency slowed as they hesitated on whether to continue.

Only Black Cat noticed that a certain figure seemed to be missing from the scene.

A bold guess emerged in his mind, and Black Cat gritted his teeth, shouting in the [Nearby Channel], “Keep going, don’t stop! Exhaust that wizard!”

The already hesitant players exchanged glances, and eventually, one squad leader took the lead, charging forward despite the pressure from the ghouls. As he moved, the other players instinctively followed.

“Charge, charge, charge! What’s there to fear about dying in the game? It’s only the first round of the beta test!” Black Cat shouted as he charged forward, quickly dodging a floating fireball.

The wizard showcased various spells like a flashy performer: corrosive fog, fireball, blue flames. After the wizard entered the scene, the situation, which had previously favored the players, began to teeter once again. The players who had arrived just in time numbered barely two hundred, and as more fell, the pressure on the remaining players only intensified.

Finally, as the fourth spell was cast on the players, Edmund—or rather, Ranen controlling his body—moved.

He wasn’t sure what was happening; it felt as if he was in a peculiar state. He was certain that he shouldn’t be fighting, but while ‘possessing’ Edmund, it was as if he instinctively knew what to do. He naturally tapped into all of this body’s potential, appearing like a ghost behind the black-clad figure, with a dagger slicing through the air, leaving a trail of white light.

Even at the moment he swung the knife, the timing and force were impeccable, reminiscent of the smoothness with which he had once rolled a successful brawl in his past life. Ranen felt as if he could already see the moment the black-clad man’s head would fly off.

However, the dagger halted in mid-air, stopped by an invisible energy shield.

Amos turned his head and smiled at Edmund. “Of course, how could I forget you, lovely hydrangea? That was quite a beautiful strike.”

“Is that so?” Edmund paused for a moment, then suddenly lifted his head, one of his blue eyes turning green.

“I think so too.”

Edmund and Ranen spoke simultaneously.

Just as Ranen was controlling Edmund to strike, the butterfly on his shoulder seemed to move. The Soul-Eating Butterfly, which had been trying to disguise itself as a harmless ornament, flew from his shoulder to Ranen’s hand.

The Soul-Eating Butterfly had just hatched and was in urgent need of a large amount of life force and high-quality souls to replenish its strength.

The stronger the individual, the more nutritious they were for the Soul-Eating Butterfly.

Ranen formed a vague thought as he raised his hand. The butterfly flew up from his palm, its black and red wings flapping in the air, beautiful yet fragile. It gently fluttered its wings and, just as Ranen had hoped, flew straight toward the second floor.

As the threat of death approached, Amos couldn’t help but turn his head. The remaining ghouls at the scene seemed to go mad as they lunged at the seemingly weak butterfly.

The delicate butterfly landed on a ghoul as if a speck of dust had settled on it.

The ghoul’s tough skin gradually began to disintegrate, ultimately turning into a mound of what appeared to be ashes, glimmering with faint light.

Wherever it flew, small piles of powder formed, creating a scene of quiet slaughter that was too easy, reminiscent of a child toppling a sandcastle built from piles of sand. There was no heart-stopping drama or sudden twists, yet everyone who witnessed this moment held their breath in awe.

This was the Soul-Eating Butterfly, the terror of an A-level anomaly.

Amos didn’t dare take any chances. Just as he was about to cast a spell, Edmund suddenly lunged in, clinging to him tightly despite the corrosive black mist swirling around Amos, preventing him from using his magic.

The delicate and beautiful butterfly brought with it the scent of death.

Edmund disregarded the pain from the encroaching black mist as he bound Amos’s movements.

Using Mr. Clown’s attack to conceal the real killing blow… Isn’t that exactly the little scheme he just devised? Amos couldn’t help but smile faintly.

He had no way to defend against an A-level anomaly’s attack. If the Soul-Eating Butterfly landed on him, he would die.

The premonition of death sent a shiver down Amos’s spine, like an electric current coursing through the neurons in his brain. His eyes reflected the butterfly flying toward him, the flickering rubble created by the ghouls, and the boy who orchestrated it all.

Rationality told him to move, yet Amos remained frozen in place, unable to look away.

His heartbeat quickened without him noticing, adrenaline surging through his veins.

A voice echoed within him, as if whispering:

—It’s him, it’s him.

He was the ultimate flower he had been searching for all along.

Amos did something reckless. He stood still, allowing the Clown’s dagger to pierce his chest. Amidst the pain and the blood splattering around him, he fixed his gaze on Ranen, channeling his origin ability with all his might.

His eyes pierced through the mist, and he seemed to faintly glimpse the shape of a flower, outlined in gold and shimmering with dazzling silver light.

The voice told him this was the most beautiful flower he sought.

The flower’s phantom flickered and vanished.

He struggled to widen his eyes, but he lost his vision; everything became pitch black. Blood tears flowed uncontrollably from his eyes as his heart throbbed violently, each beat stronger than the last, as if he might burst apart from within, reason slipping into an uncontrollable abyss.

As the Soul-Eating Butterfly was about to greet him face-to-face, Amos, teetering on the edge of madness, crushed a white camellia flower in his palm with the last shred of his sanity.

In an instant, the one entangled with Edmund disappeared without a trace.