Chapter 79: The Soul Problem

"Even though those three came back alive, they all exhibited various abnormal symptoms."

Nigel said slowly and methodically.

"Not only did the three have mental problems, but their consciousness, will, psychology, and so on also had issues."

"For instance, absolute autism, basically no communication or interaction with the outside world."

"This is preliminarily inferred as an extremely strong degree of interference nullification."

"Even if we inflicted some harm on them, they didn't react much... I know this is somewhat inhumane, but some necessary tests still had to be done."

"After the tests, we all gave them treatment. This was agreed upon with them before they entered the cave."

"Secondly, they also showed severe depression and suicidal tendencies."

"As for the souls of the deceased, some master mediums attempted a bit of psychic perception."

"But their souls also seemed highly chaotic, and we couldn't obtain effective information."

When Nigel finished saying all this,

Gune couldn't help but gently rub his temples.

This black cave was indeed somewhat mysterious and terrifying.

It existed in a completely incomprehensible way.

However, in the supernatural world, there were far too many incomprehensible aspects.

And every time humans touched these mysterious forces, they would be terrified.

After all, who knew if this touch was a frantic test on the edge of death?

Fortunately, wasn't his own study of runic mysteries precisely to pry into the mysterious essence behind these bizarre appearances?

Of course, whether he could probe into it, and to what extent, remained uncertain.

After all, he wasn't the only one walking the path of runic mysteries.

After pondering for a moment, Nigel seemed to think of something.

"Another point worth mentioning is that all the entrants' eyes were completely ruined."

"The previous prisoners, those pulled back with chains, their eyes also suffered varying degrees of devastating damage."

"Regardless of how deep or shallow they entered."

"One guy even just extended his arm into the black cave and died instantly."

"Moreover, every deceased person's face showed extreme terror."

"Even during the autopsy, it was found that their bodies seemed to have begun rejecting their eyes physiologically."

"Eyes saw something too terrifying, leading to physiological rejection?" Gune pondered.

"Is there some terrifying entity deep in the cave? Or some strongly lethal terror meme? Or both?" Gune mused and asked tentatively.

"Currently, our inference is roughly the same." Nigel nodded slightly.

"As for the specifics, we don't have much clue yet."

"However..." Nigel suddenly lowered his voice.

"Although those alien races and evil cults are only active around Sugg Ruins City, and even when they enter the city, they show no interest in the No. 9970 black cave..."

"...I can feel that their purpose this time is precisely that No. 9970 black cave."

"It's just that the time hasn't come yet."

"When the time comes, they will surely occupy the black cave at all costs and take out the terrifying thing inside."

"If they really do that, I'm afraid... Sugg Ruins City may not be able to hold."

"In human history, actions to resist the power of those terrifying existences with human strength have mostly ended in human annihilation."

"Those terrifying existences have never been something human power could contend with."

"Although the terrifying existence itself is beyond our reach, those alien races and evil cults that want to enter the cave—we can resist them."

"We don't need to solve the irresistible terror; we only need to eliminate those who want to exploit the terror." Gune said.

"You're right. That's why we've sent more people to Sugg Ruins City this time."

"The previous great battle already indicated that those alien races and evil cults were testing us."

"Mm!" Gune nodded slightly.

After thinking for a moment, Gune spoke softly.

"Regarding those who besieged me this time, I have some useful information."

When Gune said this, Via and Nigel both looked over.

"A classmate of mine named Hei Luo, her family should have some connection with the Blood-Ear Elves."

"And the Blood-Ear Elves have also allied with the Dark Elves, likely orchestrated secretly by someone called Man Sheng."

"Earlier, Hei Luo told me that Blood-Ear Elves would still assassinate me. If not for her soft whisper, I might have died today."

"Moreover, this time a Dark Elf disguised as her to lure me onto the carriage."

"This plan involved a Dark Elf impersonating her, not her personally attracting me to the carriage. Clearly, she didn't cooperate with these Blood-Ear Elves."

"She's just a student who hasn't graduated yet. Within her family, she can only be at their mercy."

"Hei Luo is a good girl. If possible, I hope you won't harm her."

After hearing Gune's account, Nigel nodded slightly and glanced at Via.

"Since Hei Luo's family dared to make a move on you, they should have retreated by now."

"However, a family this large will inevitably leave traces when retreating. Investigate thoroughly within a day, then dispatch a vanguard team to pursue."

"If you encounter the girl named Hei Luo, don't kill her; bring her back."

"Yes, teacher." Via nodded slightly.

"Thank you." Gune said softly in gratitude.

"It's nothing." Nigel waved his hand lightly.

"During this time, focus on your training and potion-making. I'll increase the guards at Shenjue Castle to protect you."

"You can also skip school for now."

"Since they failed this time, the next attempt will be stronger and directly aimed at killing you."

"I understand." Gune nodded.

...

Late night!

The heavy snow was still falling fiercely.

Sugg Ruins City, located in the northern border region, had a late snowfall this year.

But once it started, the entire winter would be nearly snowbound.

Shenjue Castle, underground.

There were over twenty chambers of various sizes here.

Gune was in one of these many chambers.

This chamber was more concealed than the one he had been in before.

And it had a small supernatural door with a runic password known only to Gune.

If anything abnormal happened, Gune could escape through this small supernatural door.

Inside the chamber, Gune sat cross-legged on a meditation mat, rubbing his temples.

Earlier, after fighting the fourth-rank elf assassin, Gune had wanted to cast a spell and reincarnate.

But he hadn't expected the subsequent events to keep coming.

First, his soul seemed to have a problem.

If it were just that, Gune could still reincarnate.

But George had arrived, preventing him from reincarnating in front of him.

Then came a series of other matters.

By now, the pain in Gune's soul, though still present, had diminished compared to before.

Reincarnating now could restore his soul.

But Gune no longer wanted to reincarnate.

"Earlier, my soul experienced intense pain from fracturing. Now, it seems to be gradually recovering."

"Needless to say, this is the powerful idle characteristic of my 'Soul Seal Codex,' continuously restoring my soul."

"Fracturing, then repairing, and still in pain, while the Soul Seal Codex keeps idling and repairing."

"Fracturing and repairing occurring simultaneously may lead to soul mutation to some extent."

"Soul mutation is a very rare occurrence."

"This is a good thing."

Enduring the pain in his soul, Gune began to review the day's battles.

"My perception ability is relatively poor." Gune summarized to himself.

"That guy was right near me, but I couldn't detect any trace of him at all."

"Although his rank was higher, the distance was too close."

"Fortunately, I can cast spells instantly and react quickly. When he attacked head-on, I could counterattack."

"But this doesn't hide the fact that my sensing ability is weak."

"The Blood Curse Master profession focuses more on survival. I've personally experienced the strong survivability of the 'Blood Pool Codex.'"

"But Blood Curse Masters are still too weak in soul perception."

"As a spellcaster, weak perception is fatal."

"It seems I need to adjust the cultivation direction of the 'Soul Seal Codex.'"

The difference between a supernatural codex and ordinary supernatural texts is that

a codex has various focal points for cultivation.

For example, take the Soul Seal Codex.

At the current stage, there are two cultivation directions: mental strength and mental capacity.

Earlier, Gune hadn't paid attention to them and let both progress simultaneously.

But now it seemed that Gune's mental perception was relatively weak.

So Gune needed to appropriately shift the idle focus to enhancing 'mental capacity.'

When mental capacity is sufficiently robust, mental perception becomes clearer and covers a larger area.

Currently, Gune's detailed perception only extended about one or two meters around him.

Clearly, Gune's mental capacity was weak, covering only that much.

When mental capacity is sufficiently robust,

Gune could clearly perceive a range of ten or even twenty to thirty meters around him.

Broader range, clearer perception.

That was the advantage of robust 'mental capacity.'

After adjusting the 'Soul Seal Codex,'

Gune calmed his mind.

The scenes from today kept emerging in Gune's mind.

"Man Sheng, Human-Faced Flower Cult, Meisha."

Gune chewed over these words repeatedly in his mind.

"Just wait! None of you will escape."