Chapter 181: True Name

"Hey!"

"Walk away, don't come closer!"

This was Xia Nan's first reaction.

He was in the middle of an intense battle, and the thought in his brain a second ago was still about the next countermeasure.

The thin, long figure approaching suddenly on the side of the field made him instinctively think it was a slum resident living nearby, and he shouted a warning.

Although it was not as exaggerated as the barbarian Fugang, whose battle aftermath destroyed nearly half of Kalanfur.

But it could still be considered a professional-level battle; if an ordinary person were involved, and accidentally scratched by something, losing an arm or a leg would be considered lucky.

And even if it was just a minor injury, if infected with Beastification Syndrome, then for these poor slum residents who had difficulty even filling their stomachs... it was no different from dying directly.

It was just that, perhaps influenced by the beast roars on the field, he didn't hear it; or perhaps because he was a drunkard himself.

That figure, walking staggeringly and slowly approaching, although his steps were unsteady, did not stop at all.

As if aiming at Xia Nan's position, step by step, slowly approaching.

His eyebrows frowned subconsciously.

He already had the thought of letting the other party fend for themselves.

Xia Nan might be exceptionally relaxed in battle due to 【Tooth Hunt】 and 【Gravity Control】.

But if he added a drag... he couldn't guarantee that he could protect the other party under the bear beast's sharp claws.

Anyway, he had already warned him; if the other party insisted on not listening, then he could only...

His thoughts paused suddenly.

The soft and bright moonlight forced its way into the cramped corner where the dilapidated buildings on both sides merged.

The fair face of the elf shrouded in shadow became clear in an instant of swaying.

The feeling of familiarity increased, and fragmented images emerged in his mind.

At this moment, he seemed to have returned to a few months ago, at the Adventurer Association shortly after the Hunting Day began.

Behind him came the urging of "Green Blood" Adeline and teammate Abi, and in front was that senior adventurer team that walked down from the second floor of the Association.

The elegant blue-robed mage, the wild and reckless orc, the silent and firm heavy-armored warrior, and the one walking at the end of the team...

The tall male elf with long golden hair.

"It's him!?"

Xia Nan wondered in his heart.

Having obtained a professional level, his perception ability was significantly improved, and he knew that the other party should be a high-level professional.

But at this time point, in this position...

Was he sent by the Association to support him?

Or was it just a coincidence?

Xia Nan's gaze wandered over him, and his heart, which had always remained calm since the battle began, couldn't help but ripple slightly.

And at the same time, on the other side of the field.

Baku, who had completely completed beastification, transforming from the originally burly and robust human into a giant brown bear that was on all fours and larger than an ordinary bungalow.

Would not care about the involvement in it.

The severe pain coming from his back where the blade entered his body, and the increasingly rich smell of blood in the air, made Baku, whose human rationality had long been swallowed by beastliness, almost fall into a state of rage.

In a pair of bloodshot scarlet beast eyes, was the bloodthirst and violence peculiar to an enraged beast.

That subtle and clear sound of footsteps coming from the edge of the field was like some kind of invisible fuse, completely detonating the anger he had accumulated in his heart.

Roar—

He didn't care about Xia Nan, who was standing opposite him and maintaining vigilance.

His mane shook, and his sturdy body, like a small meat tank, rushed toward the direction of the blonde elf in the roar.

His brain raced, Xia Nan thought.

Under normal circumstances, facing such a reckless beast that even he, who had just obtained a professional level, could easily handle.

As a high-level professional, the blonde elf probably wouldn't feel it was very thorny.

Solving the opponent would probably only take a few rounds.

But now, I don't know what happened, the state of this high-level professional was clearly wrong.

He could naturally take no action and just watch the two fight.

If the elf still retained some combat power and solved Baku directly, that would naturally be the best, and it would save him from having to risk infection with Beastification Syndrome and engage in close-quarters combat.

And if the other party didn't have enough ability to deal with the brown bear right now, then he...

While his thoughts flowed, Xia Nan's gaze paused suddenly.

Just seeing not far ahead, the giant brown bear that was rushing toward the edge of the field.

I don't know when, it had already stopped in place.

Not just that.

Just like a video that was suddenly paused, time and space seemed to freeze at this moment.

Baku, who had transformed into a brown bear, still maintained the posture of roaring and lunging forward.

The ferocious mouthparts filled with uneven sharp teeth were wide open, saliva dripped from the surface of the teeth, the coarse long tongue extended and rolled, and one could even see the writhing throat deep inside.

But the manic beast roar that should have burst from his mouth and made the eardrums ache was nowhere to be found.

Replacing it was the brown bear's body, which seemed to be fixed, with all four limbs off the ground, suspended in mid-air in a lunging posture.

And the reason why he fell into this state was just a casual glance from those unfocused, emerald eyes under the fluttering golden long hair.

Seeing this, Xia Nan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Clearly, the blonde elf who appeared abruptly on the edge of the field, even if his state looked a bit strange, his combat ability was still at the level of a high-level professional.

An ordinary Beastification Syndrome infected person like Baku could naturally not be his opponent.

Guessing that the other party might be a powerful spellcaster, Xia Nan thought of turning around and greeting the blonde elf.

And then he discovered that I don't know when it started.

He... seemed to have lost control of his body.

Like the brown bear suspended in mid-air like a specimen ahead, his body also solidified in place.

"Pat."

The subtle and clear sound of footsteps was still in his ears.

The fixed line of sight allowed him to only use the corner of his eye to catch a glimpse of a figure approaching slowly while swaying.

Zzz—

In the air where even the night wind seemed to have disappeared, a weird sound he had never heard before but made his hair stand on end suddenly rang out.

That was the cold, sluggish sound of the thick, tough skin covered with dense brown mane and the flesh and blood underneath being peeled off inch by inch.

At the very center of his line of sight, Baku the brown bear, solidified in mid-air, his huge and burly body trembled suddenly.

Then, just like some kind of animal skin suit in his previous life, from the lower jaw to the chest and abdomen, and finally to the tail, the "zipper" was gently pulled open.

A brown bear's fur was peeled off completely.

It drifted gently to the ground.

Fat mixed with blood was drawn out one by one; muscle fibers turned into thousands of flesh-colored fine threads and were blown away by an inexplicable breeze.

Internal organs, eyeballs, tongue... reflecting the blood color, various organs were neatly stacked on the ground.

But in an instant.

That ferocious brown bear that had killed many humans and was transformed from a burly adventurer.

Was left with only a pale and clean skeleton.

And from beginning to end, not to mention wailing in pain, even his eyeballs didn't turn.

As if it were really just a specimen.

Xia Nan felt terrified in his heart.

Also solidified in place, the horrifying miserable state that happened to Baku made him unable to stop associating.

Although he hadn't felt pain yet, was his skin also being peeled off in the same way?

Fortunately, his solidified body happened to be in a backlit position, and he was still holding his Decapitation Longsword in his hand.

The complete reflection under the moonlight, and the fair back of his hand on the sword hilt at the edge of his line of sight.

Allowed him to confirm the integrity of his body.

"Something's wrong! Something's wrong! Something's wrong!"

"This kind of precise control ability is definitely not something an ordinary professional can achieve."

Even "Transcendence", or even "Legendary" above that, in Xia Nan's cognition, could not be so exaggerated.

Recalling the elf's appearance of seeming to have lost his soul, eyes dull, and limbs stiff.

He only felt a chill rising quietly from the bottom of his heart.

"What the hell is... this thing!?"

Even the stiff state of losing body control at this moment was different from everything he had encountered in the past.

It was completely different from "Petrifying Gaze", and it was not the jelly-like wrapping feeling of 【Human Hold】.

If he had to say, it was similar to the feeling when he first traveled to this world, witnessed his gnome teammate sitting opposite him being smashed to death by a goblin, and then facing the gnome's sneak attack from behind, his brain went blank and he stood there stunned.

Originating from body instinct.

Xia Nan wanted to save himself.

But 【Tooth Hunt】 or 【Fate Coin】.

In the case of completely losing body control, there was no way to display them.

He could only stand there motionless, listening to the slow footsteps in his ears getting closer and closer.

"Tap."

Disheveled golden long hair hung down on his cheeks, and the dim emerald eyes reflected the black-haired figure in front.

As if not accustomed to the way this body moved.

The blonde elf maintained an exceptionally weird and awkward standing posture, left leg bent, knee slanted outward, ankle touching the ground, right leg stretched straight, making the whole body tilt to the side.

At the same time, his shoulders were high and low, drooping, his slender arms were like two dry sticks, hanging down powerlessly, and swinging irregularly with the movement of his body.

He just stood two body lengths in front of Xia Nan.

A pair of dull eyes stared at Xia Nan's eyes.

Static.

As if identifying something.

Then, he raised his left arm stiffly and slowly.

The deep tone of grey-black and blue-green, the simple texture like natural carving, the blurry outline of a standing human, the blurry sheep head with an unclear expression, and those two slender curved horns extending and submerging...

It was only then that Xia Nan finally saw it.

That 【Sheep-Deer Statue】 that was held tightly by him, almost embedded in the flesh of his palm.

And I don't know why.

Just at a glance, he recognized that this was exactly the one he had seen in the "Fairy Wind" grocery store.

"What does it mean?"

Xia Nan was puzzled in his heart.

Regarding the origin of the 【Sheep-Deer Statue】, the owner of the grocery store had already explained it very clearly, it was from Niumu.

And this kind of statue that had appeared out of thin air in every corner of the city recently was also being sought after by high-level people in Niumu City because of its exquisite craftsmanship.

Regarding this point, he had already verified it after so many days.

And at the beginning, he didn't even touch it, because of its weird experience of swallowing spirit like a hallucination, and the blurry introduction on the attribute panel, he just left directly...

Wait!

As if suddenly remembering something, Xia Nan was startled in his heart.

"Is it because I recited half of the... at that time?"

Gurgle—

A weird sound suddenly came from ahead.

Just seeing the elf who had been standing still since he raised his left hand just now, revealing the 【Sheep-Deer Statue】 in his palm.

Seeing Xia Nan not responding for a long time.

His throat suddenly bulged, and his dry, pale lips opened slightly.

Airflow surged, vocal cords vibrated and closed, turning into a difficult sound and spitting out from his mouth.

"Bang!"

As if even the physical fitness of a high-level professional far exceeding ordinary people could not bear this sound itself.

The elf's neck exploded suddenly!

Blood splashed, carrying broken flesh, staining the ground under his feet red.

Exposing the writhing and spasming rotten flesh in the neck, even faintly able to see the pale bone vertebrae deep inside.

This sound did not belong to any language in this world.

That kind of sticky, slow, throat-sound and repetitive syllable-based tone, with irregular pauses.

It was like some kind of decree, or perhaps a spell from another world.

It itself contained some kind of indescribable weird power.

The fine chain mail from the "Rock Hammer" blacksmith shop, which even the most powerful goblin in the entire lair could only leave a shallow scratch on its surface, and which was worth 50 gold coins.

Together with the special leather armor used as a second layer of protection at the bottom, it turned into molten iron in an instant, melting and seeping into the ground.

But strangely, the fragile shirt at the very bottom of the armor was not affected in the slightest.

The two longswords on his body, the 【Deathline】 ring on his right index finger, and even the 【Fate Coin】 hidden in the innermost part of his shirt were all intact.

As if it only targeted the armor itself.

The warm touch of blood flowing in the ear canal was a sharp, stinging pain like a needle.

Dizziness and buzzing filled the cranial cavity.

Xia Nan was incomparably certain that whether it was his previous life or his original body, he had never heard this language.

But weirdly, when the sound of the words that blew up half of the elf's neck entered his ears.

He instinctively understood the meaning of this sentence.

As if some abstract form of hieroglyphics, he "saw" the meaning of the sound with his ears.

That was—

"Recite... His... True Name..."

His gaze condensed instantly, his attention focused on the wooden statue in front, and the attribute panel popped up again.

【Sheep-Deer Statue】

Type: Statue

Level: /

Introduction:

Annual rings and tides, you don't want to know the secrets hidden in those folds.

Note:

"Ef'tisuuHai'lot'vhuVurahkia"

Already out of control.

That sound of words that did not belong to this world forcibly drove Xia Nan's body.

Making him recite the "True Name" that he had recited half of in his heart dozens of days ago, and then terminated by himself, against the note information on the attribute panel.

"Ef'tisuu

Hai'lot'vhu

Vurahkia"

Space twisted suddenly!

The soft moonlight trembled, stacking up a few layers of blurry virtual shadows,

Xia Nan's body standing stiffly in place was like a mirror image in water.

It swelled twice suddenly.

Disappeared from the field.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 182 =====