Ina Town, Blockade
"Please wait a moment and let the child relax."
Mo Tan whispered to a pale Beastman woman, then raised the cross in his hand and gently shook it.
A faint golden holy light gradually lit up on the cross, emanating warmth, and Mo Tan's pure black eyes also began to overflow with streaks of light.
His originally clear vision gradually became somewhat blurry, and the target Mo Tan looked at gradually became indistinct; the Beastman child, trembling in his mother's arms, had already transformed into a hazy white outline in his eyes.
"Fortunately, it's just malnutrition..."
Mo Tan slowly lowered the cross, smiled at the boy who became clear again in his vision, and then nodded to the Beastman woman: "No problem."
"Thank goodness! Thank goodness!" The haggard Beastman woman immediately wept with joy. Her legs gave way, and she knelt on the spot, tightly hugging her child while whispering to Mo Tan: "Thank you, esteemed Pastor, thank you, thank you!"
Mo Tan merely shook his head: "It's just a small favor. So, who's next...?"
"My husband!" The woman bent down to pick up her child, pointed to the tall Beastman man at the very front of the line, and softly said to Mo Tan: "Since my child and I are fine, then he should also be healthy, right?"
Mo Tan nodded slightly: "I hope so. Please wait a moment... Are you ready?"
The last sentence was addressed to the tall Beastman man who had already walked up to him.
"Yes, I am ready, Pastor," the other party nodded respectfully, then gave a simple, honest smile to the mother and daughter who had already crossed the blockade line.
"Be careful..."
Dice's voice reached Mo Tan's ears at this moment: "The guy in front of you has a weapon in his sleeve. You'd best call him over to me and Basa!"
Mo Tan saw the Dwarf Thief not far away vigilantly looking in their direction in his peripheral vision, and also made a few gestures to him, but he seemed not to have heard. He merely raised the cross in his hand again, quite unskillfully operating the little remaining 'magic power' in his body simultaneously to his right hand and eyes, and then activated the skill.
Dawn's Eye
Holy Light School Active Skill
Requirements: Possess Holy Light knowledge, believe in 'Dawn Goddess Pakesi', possess a Pastor-class profession
Consumption/Restriction: 15 magic power/second, non-scattering light
Effect: Activate Dawn's Eye on a target, granting you the 'Obscure Light Gaze' effect for the duration. During the duration of this effect, your perception of all units other than the current target decreases by 90%. The moment the skill is activated, you can randomly observe one buff or debuff on the target. Every five seconds the 'Obscure Light Gaze' duration increases, there is a certain chance to provide you with a small amount of information about the target. Cooldown: 30 minutes
※Hyperlink※
1. This skill will definitely advance after its proficiency reaches 300. Current proficiency: 3.6/300
2. If you choose to reject the observation conclusion directly provided by the system, this skill's cooldown time will be reduced by 99%
3. During the activation of this skill, you will lose the ability to see normally
【Note: True purity is no mosaic in the eyes, but mosaic in the heart】
The note had a profound charm, but that wasn't the point...
The Dawn's Eye skill was taught to Mo Tan by Pastor Owen, who had been responsible for examining everyone earlier. Because about ten minutes ago, the old Pastor had almost exhausted all the magic power in his body, and Mo Tan immediately stopped the former, who wanted to continue performing his duties, and asked if he, as a fellow Pastor, could help...
Then he learned the Dawn's Eye skill and triggered a side quest, the content of which was to replace Owen in the identification work during the upcoming examination period, and not to make any wrong judgments.
Thus, the scene at the beginning of this chapter unfolded...
Dawn's Eye cannot be described as a super cool skill, and its practical combat value is almost zero. Firstly, it can only be cast on one target, and during this process, the caster's vision will undergo a mutation, where everything except the current target will become pixelated, and the target will become... less blurry pixelation, and the consumption is not small.
However, in this kind of simple identification work, the effect is quite good, and Mo Tan also has the 'Piety' talent which allows him to quickly restore magic power while remaining stationary, ensuring his endurance.
There was only one problem...
He could not rely on the conclusions directly given by the system, otherwise Dawn's Eye would enter a 30-minute cooldown, which undoubtedly significantly increased the difficulty of the task.
You know, clicking a keyboard to activate a skill in front of a computer is completely different from crossing into a magical Different World and casting a big fireball. The former only requires you to choose a position and move your fingers, but the latter requires sensing elements of unknown nature and then strictly following the correct steps for casting, the difficulty of which is absolutely two different concepts.
So at first, Mo Tan was even a little desperate...
But facts proved that actual operation was not as difficult as he imagined.
First, regardless of whether the system provides a conclusion, the judgment that 'a buff or debuff effect will be observed the moment the skill is activated' is absolute. So, if the other party shows no abnormality after the skill is activated, then they are fine.
And when some unknown effect is observed, the outline of the current target in Mo Tan's vision will change. Based on repeated confirmation with Father Owen, he has basically been able to determine the specific characteristics of Plague infected individuals, which is—green!
If any part of the pure white outline appears green, whether it's dark green, light green, grass green, or emerald green, it basically indicates that the person is infected. Those with advanced illness will be entirely green, while those with localized infections that haven't spread yet will have green in specific areas...
Fortunately, no one has been unlucky enough to have their forehead infected so far, otherwise, it would be too tragic.
As for other characteristics, Mo Tan was not yet good at judging, but combined with the observer's situation, such as the many emaciated refugees from before, he could roughly guess some. The specific manifestation of malnutrition was the outline, which originally emitted fluorescent white, gradually turning transparent. If the starvation period was particularly long, the stomach would turn gray, just like the Beastman child before.
And his father...
"As expected..."
Mo Tan only observed for a few seconds before lowering the cross in his hand, sighing softly, and shaking his head at the Beastman man who was still smiling: "I'm very sorry."
"What!?"
"Daddy!"
The Beastman woman, who had just slightly relaxed, was instantly struck by lightning. Her hands, tightly holding her son, trembled uncontrollably, her swollen brown eyes instantly filled with bloodshot veins, and her hoarse voice carried a hint of a sob: "Impossible, no, Pastor... You must have seen wrong. My child and I are fine, my husband couldn't possibly be infected! Right! Right?"
By the last few words, the wife was in tears.
"Mommy?" The boy, startled by his mother, asked in a panic: "What's wrong? Can Daddy not come with us...?"
The Beastman man, however, shrugged and gave a doting smile to his child not far away: "Yes, Daddy can't go with you. You must listen to your mom, even though she often makes unreasonable demands, loses her temper, is illogical, makes a big deal out of nothing, overreacts, and throws tantrums for no reason... But as her cub, you still have to bear with her a bit."
"You come here!" The wife said loudly with red eyes: "I'll beat you to death, you #$@%..."
"I can't come over," the husband put on an incredibly punchable expression, chuckling, "You can't hit me~"
Mo Tan quietly activated Dawn's Eye again, gazing at the tall and strong Beastman man in front of him, but the result was no different from before. In fact, as the skill's duration increased, the scattered, faint patches of pale green on his outline gradually merged into a single mass...
Undoubtedly, a severe infection.
"Pastor! Please take another look, please... please examine him again..." The wife could no longer maintain her fierce expression, sobbing as she pleaded with Mo Tan: "Just once, just once..."
But her husband waved his hand at Mo Tan, then turned to the woman and said, "Don't make the Pastor waste his effort. I know my body very well... I just never told you two. I've been spitting blood since the night before last, and my left arm started going numb around noon yesterday. I reckon it'll rot in a couple of days. Don't bother, just take the child and go."
"I'll stay with..." The wife staggered forward a step, and then...
"Don't come over!" The husband let out a sharp cry, reaching into his sleeve and pulling out a tattered wooden-handled short knife. And before Dice, who was flying over, could reach him...
He aimed it at his own chest.
The wife was stunned.
The Dwarf Thief, who had already drawn his short blade and run in front of him, was also stunned.
"Sorry, shrew," he made a face at his wife and laughed, "Take good care of that Xiao Wangba. He's like you; if you don't keep him in line, he'll easily get beaten to death outside."
"Don't..."
"Sirs, please help me hold that woman down so she doesn't do anything foolish." The big man glanced at Dice and Mo Tan, gripping the dagger tightly in his hand, then forcefully stabbed it towards his chest: "I'll just go first..."
"No!"
Bang!!
A sharp Condensing Light Arrow precisely struck the dagger, forcefully deflecting it before it could pierce its owner's heart.
The big man stood dumbfounded, as did his wife, his child, Dice... I mean, Dice on the side was also dumbfounded.
"Hmm, it's indeed much stronger than before."
Mo Tan, with a trace of lingering light still on his fingertips, nodded and gave a slight smile to the eight-foot tall man in front of him: "How do you like this Condensing Light Arrow?"
"Pastor..." The man gave a wry smile to Mo Tan, who had just casually deflected his weapon: "That Condensing Light Arrow of yours was powerful, but I finally mustered the courage to do it! With you messing around like this... I have to do some mental work on myself again."
Mo Tan, playing with the cross in his hand, casually glanced at him: "Is that so? Does suicide require a lot of courage?"
"Aren't you talking nonsense...?" The man pouted: "I'm afraid of pain."
"Suicide is simple," Mo Tan shook his head, then pointed at Dice beside him: "Dying painlessly is also very simple. This highly skilled Thief next to me can definitely let you kick the bucket with ease..."
"Hey, hey, hey!?" Dice rolled his eyes: "Do you think I'm addicted to killing?"
"Pastor, you..." The Beastman woman's eyes welled up with tears.
"I don't want Daddy to lie cold on the street!" The child also cried out from the side.
"See?" Mo Tan shrugged at the big man: "I think living requires more courage..."
The other party fell silent.
Mo Tan glanced at him and continued: "Of course, you are already infected with the Plague, and leaving here is definitely not an option. Even if you don't die now, you might die in a few days, dying even more painfully. However... there is still hope."
"What do you want to say?" The big man scratched the back of his head and chuckled dryly: "So, should I die or not?"
"Two Saintesses of the Dawn Sect arrived in Misha County a few days ago," Mo Tan pointed into the distance and said softly, "They are in Hofur City to the north. If..."
Dice coughed dryly from the side: "You mean west, buddy."
"Uh, my apologies." Mo Tan smiled awkwardly, then pointed in the opposite direction from where he had just pointed, and said in a deep voice to the big man in front of him: "So you can go north and try your luck, and then... well, pray for the Dawn Goddess's blessing. Although there's a high probability you'll still die, if you can make it there alive, they will certainly not hesitate to lend a hand."
The Beastman man clenched his fist tightly and said with a wry smile, "This journey might be the last journey of my life..."
Mo Tan nodded: "That's right, it's far from as easy as slitting your throat directly. You might suffer greatly, endure torment along the way, and ultimately die on the road or in a long queue without a miracle occurring. But no matter what... there is still a glimmer of hope."
"I understand." The man nodded forcefully, then turned to his wife and said seriously: "I plan to listen to the Pastor and try my luck in Hofur City. If... I mean if... I'm lucky enough not to die, you must..."
The wife nodded vigorously, sobbing uncontrollably: "I will definitely wait for you to come back..."
"You must forget what I just called you!" The man said painfully: "I really didn't mean it! I just wanted to get a last jab in before I died!"
Wife: "..."
Mo Tan: "..."
Dice: "..."
One minute later
"Hurry up!" The Shaman who had been urgently called over turned to the man of his own race and shouted loudly: "Why is your wife so strong?! I can barely hold her back! Run!"
The Beastman man, his legs weak, nodded stiffly, looking at his wife not far away who was being held back by Dice and the others, sighed softly, and bowed slightly to Mo Tan in front of him: "Thank you, Pastor..."
"You're welcome. Keep going."
"I have one last question."
"Go ahead."
"You kept saying 'go north' earlier, but you never pointed north once. So where exactly should I go...?"
Mo Tan: "..."
Chapter 120: End
