: Odin's Pursuit

..............................

Fingel instantly replicated the move that Lin Zhiying had just used.

What? You're a copy ninja too?

The Dark Demon Blade was originally Fingel's technique, but at this point in time, he absolutely cannot use it.

The only variable was Lin Zhiying, who demonstrated this move, which was then learned by Fingel.

In the original story, Fingel used this slash to cut through an overpass. Now that it's being used earlier, even if its power isn't as great as it was back then, it's still something Lin Zhiying can't block.

Lin Zhiying kept her eyes closed, as if she had completely resigned herself to her fate.

Fingel's speed increased, and although there was no "Time Zero," his strike was even faster than Lin Zhiying's previous use of "Time Zero"!

"Bang!"

Just as the blade was about to intensify, Lin Zhiying opened his eyes. He took the longsword back from his alchemy backpack and pushed "Time Zero" to its limit.

The effects of acceleration and deceleration were released simultaneously, and in that instant, Lin Zhiying found a way out and swung his sword.

The B-grade longsword from the Execution Department groaned under the strain. As the blades clashed, tiny cracks appeared at the point of contact, spreading across the blade until it remained partially severed.

Just one more stroke and this B-grade longsword, still warm in his hands, would have been completely severed. Even with its "living weapon" characteristic, it was unknown when it would be fully repaired.

Did Lin Zhiying win with his next strike?

No, not yet.

The long sword in his hand, held by his own, was forced down by Fingel's immense strength and slashed towards himself.

At this moment, the weapon in his hand became the death-binding pen of Yama!

"Ugh."

Lin Zhiying heard a sigh coming from Fingel's mouth, as if he was regretting that he was so close to success.

The back of the blade slashed at himself, and the next moment, Lin Zhiying's entire body emitted a dazzling golden light.

"Word of Power: Blazing Sun", activated!

He unleashed a 0.1-second period of invincibility, the back of the blade struck his body, but nothing happened. His last bit of mana was completely drained, and a feeling of exhaustion surged from all over his limbs. He almost collapsed to the ground.

Then, a pair of strong and powerful hands caught him steadily; it was Fingel.

He helped Lin Zhiying stand up straight so he wouldn't fall. Lin Zhiying pushed his hand away, swayed a few times, and leaned against the wall to steady himself.

"Very good, I approve of you."

Although the words came from Fingel's mouth, a system notification sounded on Lin Zhiying's panel.

[Ding! You have perfectly completed the mission "Prank" and have received an extra reward: 20 points of Fingal's favorability.]

The "prank" mission was finally completed at this moment. Lin Zhiying instantly realized that Fingel was probably the one who gave the order.

That's why he was able to block the road so accurately, and the target of this "prank" was not only Tang Wei, but also him!

[Ding! You have successfully mastered the skill "Dawnbreaker Flame Demon Blade" by directly confronting "Fingal's" "Dawnbreaker Flame Demon Blade" and combining it with your own combat experience.]

What was originally a move he used himself has now been recognized by the system and transformed into a stream of light, becoming a skill on the panel.

"Are you still able to walk?"

Fingel looked at him, who was swaying precariously.

Lin Zhiying nodded, but as soon as she took a step, she almost fell over.

"Never mind, never mind, I'll do it."

Fingel grabbed his arm and slung Lin Zhiying over his back.

Lin Zhiying felt as if he had hit a solid iron plate; no wonder his previous attacks couldn't break through his defenses.

"I'll see you out. Where are you going?"

Fingel turned around and asked.

"No need, just go to the first floor."

Lin Zhiying said weakly as the surrounding elements slowly gathered in his body, relieving his pain somewhat.

"Ha, what a stubborn fool!"

Fingel said, lifting him up slightly to appear more stable, the unspoken half of his sentence remaining unsaid: "Just like me."

Fingel led him quickly down the stairs. He didn't intend to take the elevator, as it might not be as fast as him and they might run into other people.

"Tap tap tap".

With quick, alternating footsteps, Fingel had already gone down the stairs two or three times. When he looked up again, the floor indicator in front of him was still showing the 15th floor.

"Ha ha."

Fingel chuckled softly, "Looks like someone isn't planning on leaving with us."

Lin Zhiying also noticed this, because just a moment ago, the system notification sounded in his ear again.

[Sudden Mission: The Hunt for Odin (Rank B)]

[Mission Description: Your repeated escapes are a provocation to the gods. This time, He has sent His guards to hunt you down. As the prey, can you escape this time?]

[Mission Requirements: Successfully escape the hunt! Return to the real world]

[Quest Rewards: 100,000 Experience Points, 5 Legendary Reputation Points]

[Note: This is part of the "Odin's Abyss" quest series; it is mandatory and cannot be refused.]

..............................

Old Tang, who had been running wildly from the first floor of the mall, kept his eyes glued to the display screen in his hand. The red dot on the screen represented Lin Zhiying's location, which was the tracking device he had secretly attached to Lin Zhiying.

After all, this was his first mission, and Old Tang installed this as an extra layer of insurance, so that even if Lin Zhiying was captured, he would have a general direction for rescue.

The red dot representing Lin Zhiying on the monitor had been stuck on the 15th floor, which clearly indicates that he encountered an obstacle there.

But now, when Lao Tang looked over at the screen again, the red dot representing Lin Zhiying had disappeared!

The red dot that was originally on the 15th floor was completely erased, as if it had never existed at all.

"Wait a minute, how could this be?"

Old Tang paused, a worst-case scenario flashing through his mind: Lin Zhiying might have been drawn into the inner world by some unknown force!

As a seasoned hunter, he naturally knew about the existence of the underworld, but this mission was only an "E-rank" mission and shouldn't involve the underworld.

..............................

"How are you doing? Can you still hold on?"

Fingel had already let go of him at Lin Zhiying's request.

Otherwise, neither of them would have been able to escape.

Fingel sighed, took a bottle of light blue potion out of his pocket, took a sip himself, and then handed it to Lin Zhiying.

[Blue Potion (Medium)]

[Effect: Restores 100000 mana points upon use; can be used multiple times.]

[Description: Extracted from herbs through alchemy, this essence possesses the power to invigorate the body.]

Lin Zhiying's eyes lit up, and he drank it down without hesitation.

After his mana was fully restored, he still had about half a bottle left, which he put into his bag.

Why not take advantage of this NPC's freebies!

In the corridor in front of the two, several Deadpools of various shapes had crawled out from who-knows-where.

....................................

I was planning to take the day off today because I was feeling really unwell. My stomach was growling as I typed, but if I took the day off today, I might not feel better tomorrow, and I couldn't very well take the day off tomorrow too, could I? So I finished typing anyway.