Chapter 133: Chapter 133: Unsolvable Contamination

After everything was settled, Wang Xi finally had time to inspect the Black Apple Tree.

He tried to absorb the Ethereal Crystals growing around the tree, but since they weren’t mature yet, he couldn’t get a single bit of Energy.

According to Pinocchio, he had found a small Ethereal Crystal vein in a little cave, but the crystals inside were almost completely mined out... It was unclear if the Spinning Wheel Commerce had dug them, or if the Northern People were responsible, or perhaps both.

In any case, Wang Xi’s timing was off, and he had missed out on a huge wave of Energy.

Fortunately, he soon discovered that the Black Apples on the tree also contained Energy, and a very dense amount at that.

Wang Xi reached out and plucked one. It was cool to the touch. The round, deep black apple was heavy, feeling less like a piece of fruit and more like a solid iron ball.

「Black Apple: A fruit borne from an apple tree contaminated by an unknown power. It contains abundant Energy and contamination. Consumption will lead to unforeseeable consequences.」

’Eat it?’

’Who would dare eat this!’

’What if I mutate, just like with the "Weak Goblin," and actually turn into a green-skin?’

He used Kaos to absorb it.

In a flash, the Black Apple in his hand disappeared.

However, with just that one gulp...

It was the first time Wang Xi had seen Kaos get an upset stomach.

It did absorb Energy, and quite a lot of it—a full 1000 points.

「Energy: 3865」

But immediately after, Kaos started to "vomit."

The Energy data fluctuated violently, the numbers jumping up and down and flickering nonstop, as if there was some kind of data malfunction.

Then it plummeted.

It dropped from "3865" to "3365" before stopping, spitting out exactly half of what it had absorbed.

It wasn’t over yet.

Now it was Wang Xi’s turn to feel unwell.

He suddenly felt dizzy, his ears were ringing, his vision turned red, and his killing intent surged.

He instantly realized something was wrong.

’Isn’t this a sign of corruption?!’

’No!’

’I didn’t even eat it!’

’Kaos ate it! It has nothing to do with me!’

Fortunately...

It was unclear whether the 「Pinocchio’s Heart」 was protecting its master, or if the contamination was drawn to something in his body, but it all flooded into the 「Gear Seal」.

KLAKATAK...

He heard the sound of gears turning from his heart.

「Gear Seal has been corrupted」

「Current Corruption Progress: 10/100」

And just like that, Wang Xi was fine.

The corrupting influence receded from his body, and he returned to normal.

’This tree is too wicked...’

Wang Xi broke out in a cold sweat.

Even Kaos couldn’t completely handle this contamination.

He thought about it, but in the end, he didn’t dare reach out to pick another fruit and absorb it. The tree was full of Energy, but it was like a sweet, tempting poison. Who knew what would happen if he continued to absorb it?

To be safe, Wang Xi suppressed his greed.

’Whether it’s the Black Lake or this Black Apple tree, I can’t deal with them for now... They’re practically unsolvable problems.’

Wang Xi thought.

He had a faint feeling that the corrupted scenes in the Main World’s Maze might be reflecting the future of the Otherworld—and the source of it all was likely this unknown contamination.

But at this stage, he was powerless against it.

...

...

Wang Xi didn’t know what consequences the Northern People’s sacrificial ritual would have triggered if it had been completed successfully. No matter how nonchalant he acted, he knew it wouldn’t be anything good.

Fortunately, the overnight raid had successfully interrupted the ritual, wiping out the Northern leadership and their elite troops in the process.

At this point, the battle for the Northern Territory could be considered over.

But the unresolved contamination was like a dark cloud hanging over the Stag Kingdom, and over Wang Xi’s heart.

Wang Xi didn’t plan on personally handling the rest of the affairs. He issued a series of detailed orders for his projection to carry out—to return to Randall, completely reclaim his homeland, and then lead the Mechanical Puppet Legion and the Monster Legion further north.

Cross the frozen river and strike at the enemy’s heart.

With the Northern Elite all but wiped out, the Northern Clans were left with nothing but dregs—the old, weak, sick, and disabled. They could surely be suppressed with ease... At worst, they could be driven out of the Northern Lands.

Wang Xi couldn’t be bothered with the specific battle plans.

He boarded the candy carriage and chose to return.

「Projection has been set to auto-pilot」

「Current World: Fairy Tale」

「Exploration Level: 19.8%」

「Legend Level: 35 (Leading an army of three hundred in the name of the "Queen’s Sword," you rushed to the aid of the Northern Territory, reclaimed the three great Count’s Domains of the Dunkel Duchy, annihilated the Northern Elite, and captured the leaders of the various clans, causing a sensation throughout the Kingdom. People now respectfully call you "Prince Snow.")」

「Descent Cooldown: 12 hours 59 minutes」

「Retirement Preview: You lead reinforcements to continue north, successfully suppressing the Northern Clans.」

「In the process, you discover a jet-black skeleton in the Snow Wolf Tribe, home of the Northern Great Chief. The Northern People call it the "Ancestor Spirit."」

「You then realize the true reason for the Northern People’s madness—they have all been influenced and contaminated by this skeleton, falling into corruption.」

「When you lead your troops back to Daphne, it is already spring. The entire population of the Royal Capital lines the streets to welcome you, with colorful flags waving and handkerchiefs and flowers flying through the air.」

「Under the sun, an honor guard plays horns and beats drums. Queen Xianna and her Court Ministers personally greet you and publicly bestow upon you an honorary award.」

「The good times don’t last. Three months later, an urgent call for help comes from the Magic Forest—the Black Lake has gone berserk!」

...

...

Wang Xi opened his eyes and sat up from the sofa.

He rubbed his temples.

The Black Lake has gone berserk...

’Did the contamination erupt?’

Wang Xi frowned as he speculated.

He couldn’t think of any other possibility. His expression couldn’t help but turn grim.

This trip to the Fairy Tale Otherworld and his close contact with the Black Apple Tree had given him a direct understanding of how terrifying the source of the corruption was.

No wonder even the Three Witches were powerless against the Black Lake.

From the large-scale corruption in the Northern Lands to the Black Lake going berserk in the Magic Forest, this series of events gave Wang Xi an ominous premonition...

It felt like a massive disaster that would sweep across the entire Fairy Tale World was brewing.

With these thoughts weighing on his mind, Wang Xi ordered some simple food and had a meal with Liuli. He kept his word and ordered two extra bottles of ice-cold Demon Child Soda for Liuli, which made the kid jump for joy.

In the afternoon, Wang Xi sat on the living room sofa and started drawing cards.

Two Card Pools, Northern Warriors and Shaman, for a total of twenty Universal Cards.

As usual, he started by drawing from the lower-Quality ones first.

Wang Xi didn’t believe in superstitions, nor did he practice "fodder-pulls."

He simply had a habit of saving the good stuff for last. It was like eating sunflower seeds—you eat the small ones first and save the plump, round ones for later... Even in his past life when playing games, he would never touch the high-quality items in his warehouse until the durability of his white-quality weapons was completely used up.

He would finish the game with a pile of brand-new, top-tier weapons he had never even touched.

「Consumed 1400 Energy (1965 remaining)」

In his mind, fourteen green orbs of light bloomed one after another.

VMMMMM—

A series of Universal Cards hovered before him.

Wang Xi scanned them one by one.

Half were junk.

Seven were decent.

「Frenzy」, 「Blood Fury」, 「Long Axe Mastery」, 「Flying Axe Mastery」, 「Riding and Shooting Mastery」, 「Blood Glory」, and 「Extreme Cold Bloodline」.

"Mastery" was a higher tier of Passive Skill Card than "Proficiency."

The abilities 「Frenzy」 and 「Blood Fury」 were very similar. The former was an active skill that greatly increased strength and speed while reducing pain; the latter was a passive skill triggered by the sight of blood, with similar effects.

The drawbacks were also obvious. Both skills would make the user go berserk and lose their sanity. Due to the massive stamina consumption, they didn’t last long and were followed by a period of weakness.

「Blood Glory」 was similar to one of the enhancement paths for the 「Randall Body Refining Technique」. If Wang Xi remembered correctly, it was called 「Fierce Battle」—the more injured you were, the stronger you became.

「Extreme Cold Bloodline」, as the name implied, provided strong resistance to cold environments and could reduce damage from low temperatures to a certain extent.

All of these fit Wang Xi’s stereotype of a Barbarian Berserker.

He set these cards aside for the time being.

And continued drawing from the Shaman Card Pool.

「Consumed 600 Energy (1365 remaining)」

VMMMMM—

First to pop out were five Deep Green Cards.

「Frozen Injuries」, 「Cold-blooded Divination」, 「Ancestral Spirit Blessing」, 「Cold Breath」, and 「Ice Wall」.

What Wang Xi didn’t expect was that Deep Green Cards could also be junk.

He couldn’t use the two cards 「Cold-blooded Divination」 and 「Ancestral Spirit Blessing」 at all.

Because Wang Xi didn’t have ancestors?

Of course not.

It was because he had no faith in Ancestor Spirits. Or rather, such a thing didn’t even exist in the Main World.

The former allowed for divination and foresight, and while its accuracy was another matter, it had some reference value. The latter was the buffing magic the Shamans used on the Warriors during the lakeside battle, giving them beast-like combat prowess.

But both required the power of an Ancestor Spirit.

It wasn’t necessarily true that they were completely unusable.

The Maze was vast and full of strange things.

Maybe someone had drawn an "Ancestor Spirit" card and could pull out someone else’s ancestor to act as a support.

Wang Xi set these Deep Green Cards aside as well and picked up the last card—a Blue Card from the head Shaman.

「Frost Curse Fire (Skill Card)」

「Quality: Blue One Star (Upgradeable)」

「A forbidden Secret Technique that only the most talented of the Northern Shamans can master. It does not burn flesh and blood, but greedily devours Magic Power and life, coiling around its target like a conscious living being until it is drained into a hollow shell.」

「Upon use, you will master this Secret Technique. It has a slight casting delay. Once released, it will lock onto an enemy and burn the target’s internal Magic Power. If there is no Magic Power, it will burn their Life Force. Each use consumes a large amount of Magic Power.」

"Eh?"

Wang Xi was stunned.

He hadn’t expected to draw the head Shaman’s trump card.

This was the very move that had nearly burned him to death. Fortunately, he had survived the night by enduring it with his whale-like reserves of Magic Power.

Anyone else would most likely not have survived.

Wang Xi thought for a moment.

In the end, he listed the three Green Cards 「Long Axe Mastery」, 「Flying Axe Mastery」, and 「Riding and Shooting Mastery」, as well as the two Deep Green Cards 「Cold-blooded Divination」 and 「Ancestral Spirit Blessing」, for sale on the "Hat Cave" board.

He had no use for them, and it felt like a waste to just shatter them into Experience Points. Selling them for money was a less wasteful way to convert resources.

After doing all this, Wang Xi thought for a good while.

He planned to create a combo with the Northern Warriors cards, but he had to find a way to compensate for their flaws.

So, he went back to the platform and carefully filtered through the listings, eventually finding two cards he liked:

—「Blue Mood」 and 「Delayed Gratification」

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