Chapter 226: Talismans and Spells Are Important

"Halt! Sun the thief!"

With a roar from the shield warrior, the sprinting figure suddenly froze, then spun around and charged back, shrieking wildly.

Only then did the others finally see what this "elite mob" looked like.

At first glance, it appeared no different from other demon-type trash mobs—humanoid bodies with animal or monster features.

But unlike most mobs on this map, which bore demonic traits, this one resembled an old-school werewolf, yet upon closer inspection, its details were entirely different: the werewolf had broad shoulders and a thick torso, forming an inverted triangle, and standing there it exuded the aura of a double-door giant, radiating intimidation.

This one, however, looked like a petty thief with a dog's head attached—its dog paws scraped against the shield, yet not even a spark flew out.

"This elite mob is way too weak!"

The shield warrior glanced at his health bar—no damage taken—and his lip twitched; beside him, the elemental mage casually conjured a fireball and slammed it straight into the dog's head.

But…

"No effect? How is that possible!"

While it was normal for a single hit not to one-shot trash mobs, a mob that couldn't even be pierced by an attack could withstand a fully charged fireball? That was absurd.

As the players exchanged bewildered glances and launched more attacks—all utterly ineffective—the taunt duration finally ended. But what awaited them wasn't the elite mob's ultimate skill or the reward mob's escape…

"Great heroes, spare my life! I have an eighty-year-old mother bedridden with illness, and a three-year-old child crying for milk—I'm the only one who can support my family! Please, great heroes, let me go!"

"What the hell is this?" the cultivation player turned to his teammates, his lip twitching:

"Are all your game mobs like this?"

"I don't know—I've never seen one like this," the shield warrior tilted his head, while the elemental mage muttered:

"After two full rounds of focused fire, no change at all—who's really controlling whom?"

But this was still a game, and since the enemy could interact, it instantly became an NPC. The elemental mage adjusted his mood, then asked:

"Who are you? Whose subordinate are you? Why are you here?"

"Will he even understand that?" the cultivation player whispered. The elemental mage nodded:

"The game's storyline NPCs have high AI—look, he's already stopped bowing."

The cultivation player glanced over—sure enough, the mob had stopped bowing, his face twisted in struggle, then he gritted his teeth and said:

"I won't hide it from you, great heroes—I'm a minor demon transformed by the Demon Dragon King, tasked with searching for Spirit-Infused Talismans and Spells."

"Spirit-Infused Talismans and Spells? You mean the 'Demon Dragon Spirit Energy' the previous NPC mentioned?" The cultivation player's eyes flickered, then he asked:

"How are you searching? Have you found any?"

"The King gave me a device to locate Spirit Energy," the dog-headed soldier said, as if resigned. He pulled out a compass—the kind used by feng shui masters in movies. The shield warrior reached out, and to his surprise, actually took it.

"What stats?" The cultivation player immediately leaned in. The shield warrior shook his head:

"No stats. Just junk."

As the group turned back to the demon, the soldier suddenly leapt backward, shouting:

"There's an opening!"

"Boom!"

A puff of white smoke rose—the elemental mage instantly cast "Dispel," but the soldier had vanished, leaving only a paper doll on the ground.

"What's this? A substitution technique?" The shield warrior rushed forward, picked up the paper doll, examined it, then shook his head:

"Also junk."

"This game doesn't set up useless plotlines. Let's follow the compass's direction," the elemental mage mused. Since his daily dungeon quota was used up anyway, and he needed to level his alt, why not kill some mobs while searching?

Hearing this, the shield warrior said:

"There might be a hidden quest here. Are the three of us enough? Should we call more people?"

"No. Junk means no loot drop. If we hit trouble, just stash it in the bag and respawn—lose a bit of XP. What if there's a time limit?" The elemental mage shook his head and stepped forward toward the compass's pointer. The shield warrior couldn't let a fragile caster go first, so he followed.

The cultivation alt had no say—both seniors had moved, so he had to follow too.

"The needle's trembling—that means it's nearby."

Though he said that, the three saw nothing unusual—just a few demon sentry posts.

"Anyway, clear the trash mobs first!" The elemental mage cast an Inferno and launched it—this time, no surprises. With the explosion's sound effect, the mobs instantly vaporized, turning into experience for the cultivation alt.

But…

"Hmm? Drop? Again, junk?"

The shield warrior spotted the item left behind after the mobs vanished, his expression puzzled.

It looked like a short, eight-sided pillar. The front bore a pattern of three horizontal lines; the back was covered in dense, utterly incomprehensible script.

"The compass is spinning—this must be what the soldier was looking for. But if it's junk, how do you use it? Should we give it to the NPC?" The elemental mage took the Talisman and Spell, examined the back—the script looked like demonic scribbles. He snapped several screenshots, planning to ask an AI after logging off. Then, suddenly, an idea struck him—he turned and handed the Talisman and Spell to the cultivation alt:

"Can you use it?"

"Use it? How?" The cultivation alt took the Talisman and Spell, equally baffled. But as a newbie, he lacked the mental constraints of veterans—he opened his talent tree, skill tree, and character panel, checking each in turn. What he saw made him freeze—then he said:

"My physical damage and the attack power of my equipped flying sword increased—but the values are low."

The elemental mage's expression twisted. He snatched the Talisman and Spell back—his own stat boost was Magic Penetration.

"Is this like an old-school amulet? Wear it to gain stats? It doesn't even need to go in the bag… Wait, let me try putting it in my bag." The elemental mage mentioned this. Seeing no objections, he stowed it.

"No effect—boost vanished. But if I keep it in my pocket, it works." The mage pulled it out and handed it to the shield warrior, who examined it:

"My counterattack ratio increased. So this is the game's new stat-boosting item? No wonder the Demon Dragon boss had such insane stats—he needed this kind of supplement!"

(End of Chapter)