A deeply ominous Premonition swept over Mo Tan. Without the slightest hesitation, he threw away the wooden board and paste in his hand, stomped his feet hard on the ground, and leaped back about four or five meters. Then he heard a loud ‘boom’ as a heavy object fell to the ground, followed by…
He was crushed to the ground by falling rocks and timber from all directions!
He lost twenty percent of his health points and was afflicted with a daze lasting over ten seconds. He tried hard but couldn't get up…
Regardless of what that thing that suddenly dropped from the sky was, one thing was certain: the prototype of the main house that Mo Tan had painstakingly built for half a day had collapsed again. Although it wasn't the destructive collapse caused by Jia Deka and Ya Ya earlier, it could basically be considered that his afternoon's efforts were wasted.
“Gah!” The Old Orc, who had just been startled awake in the distance, opened his eyes, saw what happened, and immediately fainted again.
It was a good thing that this old man was still quite robust, otherwise, with his mental fortitude, he would have probably died of anger several times over…
Mo Tan, who had finally crawled out of the rubble, didn't plan to wake his employer for now. Firstly, he wasn't sure if the Old Orc would faint again after waking up, and secondly, he wanted to confirm if the sky-fallen object that had just cried out ‘what the heck’ was still alive.
In other circumstances, seeing his half-day’s hard work destroyed, Mo Tan would probably have found a way to kill the guy who crashed down, even if he was still alive. However, he was currently in his lawful good personality state, and building things in this game wasn't as difficult as in reality (you just needed to get the basic shape and structure right, and the system would make some corrections). So, while he was a little unhappy, he still somewhat hoped that the person would survive safely…
As the smoke and dust cleared, a tall, half-crouching figure slowly emerged. The scene was strikingly similar to the T800 from an old movie from a long time ago…
Snap… snap!
The figure slowly stood up, stretched his body slightly, and then, after a series of subtle crackling sounds, sighed deeply: “I thought I was going to die again…”
With that, the fellow who had fallen from the sky slowly turned around, and with a magnetic voice that carried a hint of mechanical sound, he smiled slightly at Mo Tan: “Hello, I’m here for my kidney~”
“Gah?” Mo Tan was slightly stunned, then carefully sized up the guy in front of him who appeared to be a human.
The newcomer looked like a humanoid creature, no doubt, but upon closer inspection, he differed somewhat from normal humans. There were many light bands with a faint light blue glow subtly flowing across his body, but they didn't seem like magic or similar existences. Not only that, although this fellow had a face extremely similar to a human’s, if one observed carefully, they would find that it didn't look like real skin or human structure, giving the impression more of a highly anthropomorphic robot.
Although describing it this way felt a bit strange, the ceramic-like texture of his face, the numerous glowing seams at his neck and arms, and his slightly stiff movements truly didn't resemble a pure ‘biological being’.
“What are you…?” Mo Tan asked awkwardly, “What were you asking me for just now?”
“My name is Cordova~” The other party smiled at him, then stretched out a finger and pointed to his lower back: “I’m here for my kidney.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the system notification sound rang in Mo Tan’s ears.
【World Quest ‘Escort the eternal crystal’ content changed: Hand over the eternal crystal to Cordova】
His expression immediately became very interesting. He then quickly took out the crystal prism he had previously obtained from the Forest Sprite elder from his backpack, tilted his head, and gestured: “This?”
“That’s right, it’s my kidney.” Cordova smiled and extended his hand to Mo Tan: “Thank you.”
“If possible…” Mo Tan didn't immediately hand it to him but instead glanced around slightly, then said: “I hope you can help deal with the aftermath first, um, at least lend a hand~”
Cordova was stunned, then looked at the surrounding ruins, pointed at himself with a gaping mouth: “This… all of this was caused by me?”
“Not really, you only smashed a small part.” Mo Tan said truthfully: “Most of it was done by me… and my companions. But if you’re not in too much of a hurry, it would be best if you could help clean up. Of course, I’ll give you this first.”
With that, he handed over the eternal crystal in his hand.
【Quest: Escort the eternal crystal, Completed】
“Thank you.” Cordova reached out and took it, then immediately stuffed it into a square compartment on his waist (presumably a spatial item), and then smiled and nodded at Mo Tan: “I’d be happy to help, buddy, anyway, due to some accidents, I can’t leave for now.”
With that, he took two steps forward, casually picked up two long pieces of wood used as beams, and humming a tune, prepared to start working…
Meanwhile, Mo Tan stared dumbfounded at his two arms, which seemed to feel no weight at all, and didn't react for a long time.
…
Innocent World, around seven in the evening
“Heave-ho~” Cordova quickly and firmly inserted several wooden fences into the ground like a pile driver, then turned back and winked at Mo Tan: “You take a break, I’ll finish this circle in a bit.”
At this moment, he was carrying a large stack of wooden stakes on his shoulder, piled higher than himself by half a head, and not far behind him was the farmhouse main house, already seven or eight tenths built.
“I’m really troubling you.” Mo Tan smiled awkwardly, panting, and sat down on the spot: “I should rest for a bit…”
Over the preceding period, the two had collaborated to complete almost seventy percent of the farm's restoration work. The materials had been delivered by the Adventurer Association along with the compensation money later in the afternoon, and by now, there wasn't much left.
This guy named Cordova was simply a monster; his work efficiency alone was almost ten times higher than Mo Tan’s. Thanks to him, the reconstruction work, which would have originally taken at least two days to show initial results, was now almost complete.
The farm owner was still lying on the ground, covered with some fabric Mo Tan had found from who knows where, sleeping soundly.
He actually woke up once in the middle, but Cordova immediately knocked him out again. In the latter’s words, it was ‘to give this Old Orc a surprise’.
Although Mo Tan was a bit speechless that the premise of the surprise was based on unconsciousness, it didn't matter anymore…
“Speaking of which.” Mo Tan suddenly asked Cordova, who was still bustling about: “Why did you fall from the sky earlier?”
He hadn't asked about this before, but after working together for a while, Mo Tan felt that this fellow had a very optimistic personality and wouldn't dwell on such matters, so he decided to ask.
“Ah~ that thing.” Cordova shrugged: “It’s a long story~~”
Let’s rewind time a little…
Five minutes before Cordova's fall, south side of Anka Market, high altitude
A giant ice-blue dragon was leisurely circling above the clouds. Its body was covered in magic patterns emitting a cyan flow of light, and waves of faint pressure emanated around it. From its appearance, this should be an Azure Dragon, residing in the northeast of the continent, and an adult one at that. Both its unique Dragon Language Magic and its physical strength were of extremely high caliber. When enraged, it could easily destroy a small city, though it still had no power against a place like Anka Market… even several adult giant dragons combined would struggle…
However, it wasn't there to cause trouble. If you zoomed in, you could see that there was actually a person sitting on the broad back of this Azure Dragon.
A humanoid creature with an extremely excited expression!
“I’m telling you, Feimigeer!” Cordova exclaimed, gesticulating wildly: “If I hadn’t yelled that time, that senior who looked like a goblin would have sliced me up. It was really scary, but now I’ve finally overcome the hardship and found happiness~~ Ah haha, oh hahahaha~”
The giant dragon carrying him rolled its eyes, huffing: “Alright, we’re here. I have something else to do after I drop you off. Once you get the eternal crystal, immediately activate the teleportation crystal and return to Tian Zhu Mountain, then… Hey! Cordova, are you listening to me?”
“I am listening.” Cordova mumbled, holding a silver crystal and examining it closely: “But how do you use this thing? There’s no instruction.”
The giant dragon sighed, fixed itself in mid-air using magic, and said helplessly: “Throw it to me, I’ll teach you.”
“Oh.” Cordova obediently threw the crystal downwards.
“Listen carefully.” The Azure Dragon named Feimigeer scooped up the crystal with a front claw and patiently instructed: “First, you need to guide the original force within your body…”
Cordova nodded.
“Then concentrate the original force in the hand holding the crystal until it glows, see? Just like this.”
Cordova nodded.
“Finally, silently recite the location you want to go to in your mind. This crystal only has one place recorded, so you just need to think of Tian Zhu…”
Whoosh!!!
A silver light suddenly enveloped Feimigeer.
“Hey!” Cordova cried out in alarm: “What do you mean by this!?”
The light grew brighter and brighter!
“Aww!!! I’m…”
His answer was a dragon’s roar that abruptly stopped.
Then…
Cordova fell.
And that's how Mo Tan heard the ‘what the heck’ shout from high in the sky earlier~
…
“So…?” Mo Tan’s expression was as colorful as could be: “The dragon that sent you teleported itself away, and then you fell?”
Cordova, having finished the last set of fences, nodded, his expression quite calm.
“My condolences.” Mo Tan said sincerely: “You’ve truly worked hard.”
“Hey~ what’s this?” Cordova shook his head and laughed: “My previous travels… um, my previous lives were truly unlucky, so now I’m already very content, um, that’s basically what I mean, do you understand?”
Mo Tan was momentarily stunned, then exclaimed: “You’re also… a player?!”
“Huh?” Cordova was also surprised: “You too?!”
Mo Tan nodded. He had always thought the other person was an NPC, after all, it involved the world quest he had previously accepted, and Cordova also seemed extremely powerful. Well, powerful was right, because if it were him, falling from such a height would surely have killed him…
“How long have you been playing?” Thinking of this, Mo Tan suddenly asked curiously: “Your strength feels a bit excessively strong.”
“I’ve only played this character for one day~” Cordova chuckled: “As for the reason, it’s not convenient to disclose for now.”
However, even though Cordova had no intention of revealing it to Mo Tan, we can still take a look at his character profile from a god’s-eye perspective:
Cordova
Race: Rune Body
Gender: Preset to Male
Level: Priest 1/1 (Hidden Class: Deputy 1/1)
Alignment: Neutral Good
Talents:
Don't Die: Your will to survive is incredibly strong! (Obtained after second death)
【Note: Yes, this skill gives you no attribute bonuses, it merely describes you】
Indomitable: You will never feel despair! (Obtained after fourth death)
【Note: A difficult life has forged your unyielding will, but what good is it?】
Gifted: Your aptitude is very suitable for cultivating skills like Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, Rulai Divine Palm, Kamehameha, and Pegasus Meteor Fist. When learning the aforementioned skills, ignore their mastery restrictions (Obtained after fourth death)
【Note: These skills don't seem to exist in the game】
Chosen: You are the LeBron James of basketball, the Tiger Woods of golf, the (data deleted) of photography, the Sister Feng of entertainment! Yes! You are the chosen one! Therefore, each of your failures will increase world degradation by 1% (Obtained after fifth death)
【Note: You'd best not fail, the penalty for failure is too great to bear!】
Transcendent: Your attributes are fixed, you cannot level up, you cannot accept regular quests, you cannot use any regular equipment with added attributes, you cannot learn any skills.
【Note: It's good enough, what more do you want?】
Base Attributes: Strength 60, Dexterity 40, Intelligence 30, Constitution 60
Civilization Attributes: Eloquence 1, Charm 1, Knowledge 90, Leadership 1
Combat Attributes:
Rune Iron: Your body is as hard as iron; all physical damage received is reduced by 25%
Rune Might: Your Strength attribute is double the normal value
Rune Resilience: Your stamina recovery rate is increased by 300%
Rune Exorcism: Magic damage you receive is reduced by 25%
Rune Storm: Your speed is increased by 5%, your attacks carry a lightning effect, dealing an additional 10% damage
Hidden Danger - Soul Fusion: Your soul has not fully merged with your body, thus the negative effects of mental spells on you are increased by 25%
Hidden Danger - Loss: Your power comes from pre-infused energy, and is therefore limited. Be sure to return to Tian Zhu Mountain before the energy runs out!
Soul-bound Equipment:
executor's staff
Quality: Unique Excellent
Attack Power: Medium
Attributes: All attributes +1%
Usage Requirement: Rune Body
【Note: This huge staff is more like a long spear. It looks unremarkable, its only advantage might be… that it’s heavy enough? The staff handle is inscribed with an ancient text: There are many ways to protect a friend, such as stabbing their enemies or smashing their enemies flat】
…
Since Cordova wasn't willing to say too much, Mo Tan naturally had no intention of prying, only sighing: “Brother, you have really good luck~”
His response was a dry laugh filled with bitterness and tears.
“Heh heh…”
Chapter 48: The End
