Chapter 108: Free Ride.
“By the way, if you come across any other Gondorians in need of help, please assist them as well...”
Upon hearing this, Colin did not immediately agree but said, “Unless they agree to be completely under my control, I won’t help.”
“Of course, after all, human nature is the hardest to test. You just need to provide a safe environment. Safety, to us, is already the most luxurious thing...”
Russell nodded and then asked, “Then there’s another question... Mr. Colin, how did you survive the ‘Sanction’?”
He already knew that Colin had been ‘sanctioned’ by the system a few days ago, and he was curious how he managed to endure it.
Colin shook his head. “It’s still about three days away, right next to the countdown.”
He briefly explained the situation regarding the sanction.
Russell’s expression then turned strangely peculiar, and with some disbelief, he said, “It only arrives seven days later?”
“Is there something unusual about that?”
“That... that’s impossible. Once the sanction appears, it must come on the same day, within twenty-four hours at most, and death is inevitable...”
Russell shared what he knew.
The ‘Sanction’ is one of the most perplexing enigmas within the system.
Once it appears, it generally comes the same day, and nobody can be nearby...
Otherwise, those around would also be erased along with the target.
Hence, no one knows exactly what happens when the sanction arrives.
The death it brings is absolute...
The manner of death caused by the sanction is easy to recognize.
Most victims appear as if something has torn their heads off...
This was why Lady Bluebell chose to leave this place.
She had once been watched but the sanction never appeared until recently, when something unknown happened...
The sanction suddenly manifested in her mind, and she immediately chose to leave the territory, going somewhere alone to await death...
But with Colin’s exception, Russell’s long-held impression was shattered...
“...Moreover, the sanction isn’t broadcast server-wide, only a forced mission is accepted. The mission itself doesn’t include a countdown, but a random death within twenty-four hours after one hour...”
Listening to Russell, Colin fell into deep thought. His sanction seemed off?
However, as a strange, unknowable aura enveloped the place, both of them wisely chose to act on instinct and dropped the topic.
What Colin could now be sure of was...
The sanction’s timing was wrong; it had been delayed by at least six days!
At that moment, Colin couldn’t help but recall the global terrifying countdown...
That crucial message transmitted through the system by an unknown party.
Could the sanction’s delay be connected to that person?
No, he couldn’t think further...
His heart felt uneasy.
The sanction was the system’s most sensitive point, and even Colin dared not provoke it too much.
Taking a deep breath, Colin asked, “...What do you know about the history of this world?”
The previous generation of investigators had only completed 19% of the task; to get less than that without paying was simply unreasonable.
“As for me personally, I don’t know much either. I estimate I can add about three percent to your progress.”
That was already quite a lot, Colin muttered to himself.
Their current task progress was below one percent.
Mainly because everyone in their group encountered lord-level aberrations no matter what daily task they undertook.
The mission descriptions were also insufficient...
Thus, their progress was extremely difficult...
But no matter how hard it was, they had to continue.
Because this mission’s title granted a thirty-meter-range ‘Blink’ skill...
That is, the ability Colin suddenly used behind Russell during their fight...
If everyone obtained this skill now, survival chances would undoubtedly rise greatly.
“Let’s start with the miracles. During the age of suffering, the people of this world widely worshipped a deity named ‘Mother of Suffering and Thorns’...”
“The first miracle, called the ‘Twisted Holy Father,’ was obtained through self-inflicted torment by praying to the ‘Mother of Suffering and Thorns.’ From then on, the era of suffering centered on ‘miracles’ began...”
“People believed that as long as their body and soul endured suffering, this deity would bestow ‘miracles’ known to mortals as ‘Suffering Miracles’...”
“Over time, as only one deity manifested miracles across this land, the ‘Church of Suffering’ emerged...”
“Under the aura of countless ‘miracles,’ it quickly became the sole faith worldwide. However, from our perspective, these ‘miracles’ are deeply twisted...”
“We divide miracles into two categories: ‘Great Miracles’ and ‘Lesser Miracles.’”
“There are very few ‘Great Miracles,’ estimated to be around thirteen. Although few in number, their impact is vast...”
“But we only know of six: the First Miracle ‘Twisted Holy Father,’ the Second Miracle ‘Mother of Mothers,’ the Seventh Miracle ‘The Undying,’ the Tenth Miracle ‘The Wailing Wall,’ the Twelfth Miracle ‘Wound Licker,’ and the Thirteenth Miracle ‘Ashes and Silver’...”
“Excluding the ‘Mother of Suffering and Thorns,’ the ultimate source of all suffering faiths, most ‘Great Miracles’ formed their own branches...”
“We know three of them, for example, the mainstream root of the ‘Church of Suffering’ faith is the First Miracle ‘Twisted Holy Father,’ representing the church’s pinnacle...”
“All aberrations nowadays are inseparable from this ‘Twisted Holy Father.’ Our information indicates that the ‘miracle’ he embodies exudes ‘Golden Hot Oil’...”
“You’re probably unfamiliar with this term, but in other words, it’s ‘Corrupt Blood’...”
“Early ‘Golden Hot Oil’ seemed to be a sacred substance, but something went wrong later, triggering a worldwide catastrophe...”
“However, we don’t know the exact cause, as we’ve never actually encountered any of the ‘Great Miracles’...”
“Then there is the ‘Holy Mother Society,’ titled by the church as the ‘Mother of Mothers.’ I don’t know why they dared to give it such a name, but it seems the ‘Mother of Suffering and Thorns’ paid no heed to her...”
“Interestingly, the ‘Holy Mother Society’ does not worship the ‘Mother of Suffering and Thorns,’ but rather the ‘Twisted Holy Father’ itself...”
“There is much to uncover there...”
“The third is the ‘Licking Saints Society,’ a branch that can fully restore the body by kissing wounds...”
“Those are roughly the main details we know about the ‘Great Miracles.’ I’ll tell you more as I think of it...”