Chapter 12 Artificial Respiration
If the barbarian priestess were conscious, things would be much easier to handle. But now that she had fainted, she was not only useless in battle, but also likely to hinder him while fighting monsters...
No wonder he'd often heard classmates who loved reading novels say, "Women only slow down their swordplay." Back then, he found it strange—lying there reading e-books, what could possibly affect their swordplay? Where was the sword, anyway?
He glanced at the sword he was holding, tip pointed at the ground.
Now this was a sword.
Ahem.
The Blade of Disguise! It could serve as a sword, or as a staff for spellcasting. He'd never have to worry about weapons again.
Looking at the staff in his hand, Luo Yong couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion—who would have thought that it was once just an iron rod someone had left by a campfire?
He shook his head and turned to the illusionary wall, tapping the adjacent wall and listening to the faint growls beyond.
Those monsters were kept at bay by this easily dispelled illusion wall, utterly unaware of anyone on the other side.
Luo Yong recalled when he used to play similar games—he'd played as a necromancer, casting spells through walls, summoning undead minions without ever having to cross over himself.
He'd used that trick often, and it never failed—a cunning little cheat.
At the thought, Luo Yong smirked to himself. Who would have imagined that he had truly become a necromancer in real life now?
Even if it was just a disguise, at least he could cast the spells.
So, he waved his hand at the wall.
Rattle!
The skeleton monster behind him collapsed into a pile of dry bones.
Alas.
Luo Yong sighed. There was nothing else for it. The first skeleton he'd summoned after learning necromancy had met such a swift demise.
"It didn't even get to fight a monster before..."
Tsk, tsk.
Better not dwell on it. No use lamenting.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the wall, a skeleton monster was stuck awkwardly, struggling in vain to break free. Luo Yong listened for any sounds of battle, but heard none. Even the miser's magical golem and mechanical spider showed no signs of activity.
He concluded he must have summoned it in the wrong place, or something else had gone awry.
So, trusting his instincts, he tried summoning again from a different angle.
After several failed attempts, Luo Yong began to lose patience. Returning to the illusion wall, he stopped caring and simply waved his staff forward.
Rumble!
This time, he distinctly heard the sound of a skeleton bursting up from the ground.
And the fragile illusion wall remained intact.
As long as it stayed up, those monsters would remain oblivious to Luo Yong's presence.
He didn't have to fight the monsters himself, and the barbarian priestess was safe as well.
Click!
Rattle!
Ding!
A soft rustling...
Luo Yong heard a series of sounds, and a trace of smugness curled his lips.
And the last of his doubts vanished.
That "ding" just now was the sound of a gem hitting the ground!
And the rustling was the miser's spider scuttling into action.
Luo Yong felt that this trip had already been worth it.
No matter how other people's missions went, at least he hadn't come in vain.
He didn't have to fight the monsters, nor did he have to gather the gems and coins that dropped!
So, with some free time, what should he do?
Well...
How exactly did artificial respiration work again?
Luo Yong glanced at the barbarian priestess lying in the chamber.
Even though she'd rejected his confession, he couldn't help but think about the girl who had turned him down.
First love—it wasn't something one could just forget.
Some people, after having their hearts broken, move on to another place, find someone else, and live happily ever after.
Others, though, become disillusioned with the world...
Ahem.
The road once traveled should not be looked back on. There's no need to cling to someone who has already turned you down!
Right now, Luo Yong only wanted to become a cold, emotionless monster-grinding machine.
Farm gems, collect gear!
Buy! Buy! Buy!
Top up! Top up! Top up!
Level up to the highest, stand atop this world!
Nothing else matters!
Feelings? I have none!
Still—
Come to think of it, this barbarian priestess really was quite attractive!
Delightful!
“Mmm…”
When the barbarian priestess finally awoke from her faint, she had no idea how much time had passed.
She looked around, dazed, quickly coming to her senses and raising the staff tightly gripped in her hand.
Then, she noticed the cloak that had slipped off to the side.
“Luo Yong?”
She called out instinctively, turning her head—just as a skeleton monster appeared before her, clutching a bone knife, with a clatter.
“Ah!”
She let out a startled cry and swept her hand, unleashing a burst of holy light.
Rumble...
Just as Luo Yong reached the entrance of the chamber, he saw his summoned creature getting annihilated by the barbarian priestess.
“Do you have some grudge against it?” Luo Yong asked, looking at what—he'd already lost count—must have been his umpteenth summoned skeleton monster, now reduced once more to a pile of bones.
“Luo Yong, you’re not dead?” the barbarian priestess asked.
“You sound almost disappointed,” Luo Yong replied with a blank expression, retrieving his cloak.
“What happened to you just now? Why did you run into that mob of monsters? I thought you—”
“Thought I was trying to get myself killed, didn’t you?” Luo Yong shrugged. One of the cloak’s buttons was fiddly, and he struggled with it for a long time without success.
“You have some nerve! I nearly died because of you!” the barbarian priestess snapped.
“You all know, don’t you? I have a magical item that prevents monsters from attacking me—they can’t sense my presence.”
“What?! Why?” The barbarian priestess instantly became alert, leaning in close. “What do you mean? How come I didn’t know about this?”
“Oh, so they didn’t tell you!” Luo Yong said, tugging at his cloak. “Help me with this, will you?”
“Idiot!”
The barbarian priestess fastened the button with a practiced hand, then glared at him fiercely. “Don’t try to change the subject. Tell me now, why don’t monsters attack you?”
“It’s because of this cloak,” Luo Yong spun around carelessly in front of her. “It blocks my aura—”
Before he could finish, the barbarian priestess lunged at him, trying to snatch the cloak away.
“Hey! What are you doing?” Luo Yong shouted.
The customs of this other world were impossible to get used to—charging in and trying to strip someone’s equipment off!
“Just so you know, I nearly died for you just now! Taking one piece of your gear is the least you can do to compensate me!” the barbarian priestess yelled, tugging furiously at his cloak.
“Aaah!”
Suddenly, the barbarian priestess let out a sharp cry, clutching her chest and retreating to a safe distance, glaring daggers at Luo Yong.
“You bastard!” she shouted, her face flushed.
“It wasn’t on purpose! You threw yourself at me and started flailing all over the place,” Luo Yong muttered, scratching his head, at a loss for words.
The barbarian priestess said nothing, and an awkward silence hung in the air.
After a moment, Luo Yong spoke. “You’ve been unconscious for quite a while. You’ve rested enough, right? We can’t stay here forever.”
“Hmph!” The barbarian priestess turned her back on him, ignoring him completely.
Luo Yong thought for a moment, then left the chamber himself, heading out into the vast, naturally formed cavern beyond.
The magical illusion barrier was open now, and the other side of the cave had been cleared by the skeleton soldiers he’d summoned.
The mechanical spider was at work as well, gathering every last coin and gem.
This was a much larger space, and it had taken a considerable amount of time to clear out all the monsters. Luo Yong had summoned skeleton soldiers again and again.
If he’d been able to get inside himself, it would have been much faster.
After all, skeleton soldiers didn’t have the intelligence to target monsters’ weak points for instant kills.
Their attack speed wasn’t fast either; they could only slowly wear monsters down, and when faced with higher-level creatures, they couldn’t win at all.
Still, when almost everything was cleared, Luo Yong stepped in decisively, and together they wiped out the last of the monsters.
“Well, I’m surprised! You’re quite capable—did you kill all these monsters?” the barbarian priestess called out as she approached, making sure to keep a deliberate distance from Luo Yong, no longer as close as before.
“It was him,” Luo Yong said, waving his staff. A skeleton monster emerged from the ground.
“Oh, so… you really did learn necromancy?” the barbarian priestess exclaimed.
“What’s so surprising about that? Why not?” Luo Yong hefted his sword, giving it a casual swing. “In order to survive, I had to learn necromancy!”
“Hah, a pragmatist. Impressive!” The barbarian priestess looked away, seemingly lost in thought.
...
Luo Yong said nothing, simply waving his staff at the illusionary barrier.
Crack!
Rumble!
Behind him, the skeleton soldier collapsed, while on the other side of the wall, the sounds of battle erupted.
“Wow! Not bad—you actually came up with a strategy like that!” the barbarian priestess marveled.
“Alas, I had no choice. With you here, all the monsters go berserk—I can’t fight them in peace,” Luo Yong replied with complete honesty.
“You—” The barbarian priestess’s mouth fell open, her eyes wide with shock.
She’d never imagined she would be rejected by someone else.
She wanted to say something, but for a moment, she was at a loss.
After a pause, she remembered something and asked, “Do your skeleton soldiers drop gems when they kill monsters too?”
“They do,” Luo Yong replied blandly, then quickly shook his head. “Actually, not really—I barely ever get gems myself, let alone them!”
Ding.
A soft chime.
Shhhhh.
The mechanical spider set to work again.
“So you just sat there doing nothing all this time?” she asked.
“Of course not.” Luo Yong sighed, took out a drumstick, and gazed up at the sky. “Actually, I was thinking about the exact steps for artificial respiration…”
“Artificial… what kind of respiration?”