Chapter 71: Chapter71-The Vessel
Chapter 71: Chapter71-The Vessel
"Again... it's happening again..."
Inside the palace, Elaria lay on her side on the bed, her breathing becoming increasingly rapid.
Her cheeks flushed, her legs involuntarily rubbing against each other, emitting enticing moans.
The desire struck her so suddenly that she was completely unprepared.
According to past experiences, at the quickest, it would only occur every three days. But now, only a single day had passed.
"It must be some mysterious presence deep within the labyrinth..."
Elaria's body grew hotter, and her mind started to blur, but she vividly remembered that to uncover the reason behind the monsters' agitation, she had to leave her dwelling and venture into the labyrinth.
Given Elaria's strength, the monsters within the labyrinth were no match for her. She almost effortlessly swept through, reaching the final layer.
However, at the deepest part of the labyrinth, something she had never seen before suddenly appeared—a strange magic circle.
Having lived in the Deep Forest for so many years and entered the labyrinth countless times, Elaria was certain that this peculiar magic circle had never appeared in the labyrinth before.
Perhaps it was the appearance of this magic circle that had stirred the monsters near the labyrinth, subsequently affecting the elves.
With this thought, Elaria intended to remove the magic circle. However, with her knowledge, she had never seen such a formation and had no idea how to remove it. Unable to figure it out, she had no choice but to add another layer of magic to reinforce the seal.
But during this process, a wisp of ashen mist entered Elaria's body. Perhaps this was the cause of her current predicament.
"What kind of existence is that, truly?"
Just a wisp of that mist was enough to affect her to this extent. If, one day, the being sealed within were to re-emerge into the world, what kind of disaster would it bring?
Elaria dared not think about it, as she was already in unbearable agony.
Perhaps it was due to the intimate encounter with John that she felt the effects even more this time. Her mind was in complete disarray.
"Jo-John."
In her daze, Elaria seemed to see a figure approaching, a bitter smile playing on his lips.
"How did you end up like this?"
"Y-You... How did you get here?"
"Seeing the palace completely sealed off with vines, I found a way to sneak in. As expected, it's happening again, and this time seems worse than the last."
Looking at Elaria, her eyes filled with seductive allure and her gaze muddled with desire, John let out a long sigh.
"Calm down. You are the Queen of the Elves. Do not let yourself be ruled by desire."
Seeing her like this, John felt a pang of heartache but was also reluctant to cross his boundaries again.
It wasn't that John was indifferent to Elaria. On the contrary, watching her enchanting body writhe before him stirred something within him.
But he did not want to take advantage of her in this state.
With this thought, John sat at the edge of the bed, gently holding Elaria's hand. His expression remained unchanged as he spoke in a deep voice, "Take a deep breath. Steady your rhythm."
"I... I can't look at you."
Elaria bit her lip hard, even breaking the skin and drawing blood, yet she continued to endure.
"Seraphina, is there any way to help Elaria calm down?"
"This is an [Apostle]'s authority. What do you expect me to do? Either she toughs it out until the authority's influence passes, or you strip down, and I won't watch this time."
"Is there really no way? Not even to alleviate it a little?"
"You're surprisingly principled. Well...actually, easing it isn't too hard. I'm just afraid you might not have the guts."
John's eyes lit up at this, and he pressed further, "What method?"
"Knock her out. Once she's unconscious, her body's sensory perception won't be as sharp, naturally relieving her."
John: "...What a brilliant idea!"
What kind of joke was this?
Setting aside whether John could bring himself to do it, Elaria was one of the strongest warriors in the second district, at level 60. How was John supposed to knock her out?
"Then there's nothing I can do. Once under an authority's power, unless you deal with the authority's source or the [Apostle] willingly releases it, no one can interfere."
"I understand..."
John sighed deeply, gently freeing himself from Elaria's grasp.
"I'll leave now. Hang in there; it will pass soon."
"Don't...don't go..."
Looking into Elaria's eyes, now glazed with a layer of moisture, John steeled himself and turned away.
After leaving the palace, one thought dominated John's mind.
Find a vessel for that [Deception Apostle] right now, then quickly deal with this bastard [Lust]!
Since the intervals between the authority's activations were shortening, it meant that [Lust] was about to awaken, and trouble was imminent!
"A vessel, a vessel...Finding a player as a vessel isn't a good choice. Players' bodies disappear upon death. So, it has to be a creature already existing in the game world."
The elves were too familiar, and considering what had transpired with Elaria, John couldn't bring himself to target them...
"But, if it's just a simple vessel, goblins should do, right? After all, we don't need to rely on the vessel's abilities...
Yes, goblins it is!"
Goblins were numerous, virtually everywhere, and incredibly resilient. Even if half-dead, they could fully recover in just a few days, making them the perfect choice!
With this in mind, John didn't hesitate any longer. He crushed the teleportation scroll to Adela Village, and moments later, he appeared outside the village.
This time, John didn't return to the village but headed in the opposite direction, intending to enter the Monster Cave.
As the lowest-level dungeon for novice players, the Monster Cave was filled with basic monsters like slimes and cave goblins in overwhelming numbers. Catching a few dozen was no problem at all.
As expected, within ten minutes of entering the Monster Cave, John encountered a whole group of cave goblins, about fifteen or sixteen in total.
However, what puzzled John was that these cave goblins were higher level than he had anticipated.
Their average level was over fifteen, a strength sufficient even for the dungeons in Calia City.
But given the urgency of the situation, John didn't dwell on it. He assumed it was an adaptive adjustment of the dungeon. After all, they were just goblins.
Using a weakened trigger magic trap device, John captured more than ten cave goblins, chained them up, and dragged them out of the Monster Cave.
As he was leaving the cave, John encountered an unfamiliar face.
It was a young girl who looked about seventeen or eighteen. Upon seeing John, she became noticeably flustered.
This was quite strange.
John knew all the NPCs in Adela Village, but this girl was a new face. Additionally, since no player ID appeared above her, she couldn't be a player.
"Are you from Adela Village?"
"Um... I got separated from my family's caravan a few days ago and somehow ended up here. I haven't been able to contact my family, so I've been staying here temporarily."
"So, a special quest NPC? Am I just being paranoid?"
John pinched the bridge of his nose and smiled self-deprecatingly.
Ever since learning that the [Betrayal Apostle] had infiltrated, John had become overly suspicious of everyone.
Having confirmed her identity, John saw no reason to stay. He crushed a teleportation scroll and returned to the elves' habitat with more than ten cave goblins in tow.
The moment John appeared, many elves instantly surrounded him and the cave goblins, forming an impenetrable circle.
After all, the sudden appearance of cave goblins had genuinely startled them.