In the afternoon, Ling Luo was in his room studying Eris. Having had it for so long, it seemed he had never actually used it.
The black and gold exterior was quite handsome.
Wondering what its strength was like, it seemed he had to find some time to take it out for a spin.
"Ding, quest issued: collect Dark Shards: 100."
"Milestone Quest 1: Collect shards: 10, current collection progress: 0/10, reward: Healing Magic (Level 1), Decoy Doll × 1, Points 600"
"Huh? Xiaoyou, did you change your chip?"
When Ling Luo heard this, his first reaction was disbelief. What did he just hear? The system actually issued a quest.
"..."
"No, please do not joke, Host."
"Eh? Hehe."
"Back to the point, Xiaoyou, what is this Dark Shard? And there are quite a few of them." Ling Luo expressed his confusion.
"It is a special kind of energy fragment that can strengthen the life forms it possesses, especially humanoid ones. The enhanced abilities vary, and a very small number will have special abilities."
"However, they all produce side effects, making the life forms irritable and prone to anger, and in severe cases, causing them to lose their sanity."
"The Host's task is to find the shard before it possesses a life form, or defeat the life form possessed by it, and then have the system purify it."
"Sounds quite dangerous. Then how am I supposed to find these shards?"
"When they appear, the system will remind the Host."
So it still comes down to luck, thought Ling Luo, who had thought the system had turned over a new leaf.
Still, to be fair, this system was truly laid-back. Other systems would want their hosts to do quests 25 hours a day out of 24.
His own, on the other hand, was wonderful—he had transmigrated for so many days, and this was the first time he had seen it issue a quest.
Did it trigger automatically? But he hadn't even gone out just now.
He didn't get it.
Whatever, since there wasn't much going on anyway, he might as well continue happily slacking off~
"I feel like the Host was just thinking about something bad."
"Uh, really? No, not at all~"
"..."
"Xiaoyou, is it really over here?"
Ling Luo never expected to find a shard so quickly. Was the efficiency really this high?
Ling Luo had originally just gone out for a walk when Xiaoyou informed him that there was a shard nearby.
As the sky gradually darkened, Ling Luo walked toward an abandoned factory. The system indicated it was right here.
Ling Luo was somewhat relieved; fortunately, no one usually came to this place, so even if a fight broke out later, he could feel a bit more at ease.
He didn't take out his cloak to wear it, even though the system said the shard would make the target irritable.
It wasn't that Ling Luo was bragging, but what if the other party was an alien who had heard of his heroic deeds, and suddenly regained their sanity upon meeting him and ran away out of fright?
He didn't want to play hide-and-seek with the other side.
"Yes, Host, the energy fluctuation readings show it is right here, and it has not moved from a moment ago until now."
"Is that so?"
As Ling Luo was walking forward, he suddenly heard some sounds ahead. Approaching slowly, he hid behind a tree.
"Kid, do you know this turf belongs to me?" A blonde-haired Alien Baltan confronted another person along with a gang of his underlings.
Alien gangsters, huh.
It seemed that because he had been showing up less lately, they actually dared to gather for gang fights!
While the other side was still shouting aggressively, the other person showed no reaction, looking as though they had been intimidated by the enemy's numerical advantage.
But was that really the case?
Although it looked like one side had a numerical advantage, but...
The person on the other side was an Alien Magma, are you sure you guys have enough people to fight him?
"Hmm, something seems a bit off... Are Alien Magma's eyes red?" Ling Luo narrowed his eyes. It seemed the shard was on him.
"Ah!"
A series of screams rang out, and the aliens who had been acting so smug just a moment ago fell to the ground in a heap within moments.
Ah, was the first quest going to be this intense?
This was a bit tricky.
Just as he was thinking this, a cold flash suddenly appeared before his eyes.
!!!
Had he been spotted?
With a roll, he narrowly dodged to the side, his eyes locked firmly on the opponent.
A "boom" came from behind him; the tree must have fallen over.
Before Ling Luo could react, the opponent closed in on him again, every move vicious and aimed straight at vital points.
Damn! This speed was a bit outrageous!
Seeing that he was about to be stabbed, Ling Luo activated time-stop to prepare for emergency evasion.
Just as he was about to catch his breath, a piercing sound sliced through the air.
??!!!
No, you!
A crisp clashing sound rang out, and Ling Luo looked up to find that the bracelet's self-defense system had activated.
Whew, looks like he was temporarily safe.
In his heart, Ling Luo gave a thumbs-up to the reliable Master Zero.
Except...
"Xiaoyou, why didn't my time-stop work on this guy just now? Could it be the effect of that shard?"
Ling Luo asked very seriously. There was no help for it; this matter was crucial and had to be figured out.
"Yes, Host, the abilities of different shards vary."
"However, please rest assured that shards related to the laws of the universe are still extremely rare."
Ling Luo twitched the corner of his mouth. In other words, he had hit the jackpot? The ability of the very first shard he encountered was this perverted.
Still, since he couldn't beat you, then—
"I leave this to you, Eris."
...
Moroboshi Dan, who was currently inside the base, seemed to sense something and suddenly sat up from the sofa.
"What's wrong, cousin?" Little Taiga floated nearby, asking with a puzzled expression.
"I'm going out for a bit."
However, the only answer he received was the "thud" of a closed door and the sound dissipating in the living room.
At that moment, Ozora Daichi's voice came through the communicator.
"Hiroyuki, and Kurenai Gai, X has just detected abnormal energy fluctuations at a location. Dan has already rushed over. I've sent you the exact coordinates, could you two go check it out?"
Kudo Hiroyuki and Kurenai Gai exchanged glances. "Understood."
...
Watching the Alien Magma being driven back step-by-step by Eris, Ling Luo expressed his approval.
"Little Ai, beat him up."
Punk, weren't you acting all arrogant just a moment ago?
Yet... perhaps today really wasn't a good day.
Before Ling Luo could act smug for even a few seconds, the opponent suddenly burst forth with power!
No, did you think you were a boss? You're even overheating!
When he saw the opponent charging straight at him, Ling Luo had only one thought in his mind: I'm doomed!
The expected pain did not arrive; instead, he fell into a warm embrace.
Looking up, what met his eyes was that person's anxious expression and... floating blue and white light particles.
The blue and white light particles were very pretty, but also deeply heartbreaking.
An illusion seemed to appear before his eyes.
It was as if... a long time ago, he had seen this person injured like this.
And that time, the person's condition was much more serious than now, practically half-dead.
Yet, that shouldn't be.
He seemed to hear his own voice, verging on a breakdown.
"W-Why?"
"Why go to this extent for me?"
My heart hurts so much...
Yet, I don't understand...
Before he could voice the doubts in his heart, a slightly angry voice sounded in his ear, "Didn't I tell you to come to me if something happens!"
Moroboshi Dan was both angry and anxious. Heaven knows how his heart felt like it stopped beating when he rushed over and saw that scene just now.
Before his brain could even process it, his body had already rushed forward.
"Eh? I..."
Abruptly snapping out of that state, Ling Luo took a breath, not yet reacting.
As his thoughts gathered and he realized what the other person was saying, Ling Luo instinctively apologized, "S-Sorry! I won't do it next time!"
"That's more like it." Moroboshi Dan glanced down at the person in his arms and gently set him down.
He then turned his gaze back to the seemingly out-of-control Alien Magma trapped within the capture net.
The current built into the capture net had no real effect, and the opponent broke free with a few violent struggles.
"Tch, what a pain. Looks like I'll have to get serious."
Moroboshi Dan used light energy to temporarily suppress the wound on his arm, then stepped forward. "Let me show you what I've got."
One has to say he was truly worthy of being Master Zero; even while injured, he didn't lose the upper hand, and with the coordinated efforts of the arriving Kudo Hiroyuki and Kurenai Gai, they successfully captured the target.