บท 31: Chapter31-The Curse

Faced with Daisy's pleas, Ranch shook his head and said, "Sorry, Daisy. I don't need you to tell me any secrets; I prefer to discover them myself."

However, after speaking, Ranch suddenly stopped. This gave Daisy a moment of relief, thinking Ranch had decided to spare her, but then she heard the command that plunged her into despair: "I command you, commit suicide."

Hearing this command, Daisy unexpectedly laughed.

She picked up a dagger and plunged it into her heart, feeling her life force swiftly ebbing away.

Yet, she used her final moments to calmly look at Ranch, saying, "Ranch, although I don't know how you uncovered my secret identity, I hope that when we meet next time, you'll still have the courage to stand before me.

Then, I will carve out your heart and shred it to pieces, letting you experience the sensation of death."

Ranch remained serene, nodding with a smile: "Then, goodbye, Daisy."

As her life force faded, Daisy collapsed, but no blood flowed from her body.

Her form dissipated into points of light, which then gathered in midair, condensing into a butterfly-shaped crystal.

[Detected epic treasure: Radiant Emperor Gem!]

[Identification successful!]

[Radiant Emperor Gem: A crystal formed upon the death of a Radiant Emperor Butterfly incarnation, harboring powerful light energy. It can be used to forge weapons and armor, imparting the forged items with significant resistance to darkness and the skill Light Wings.

Light Wings: Consumes mana to manifest wings of the Radiant Emperor Butterfly for flight.]

"Hiss!" Observing the identified information of the Radiant Emperor Gem, Ranch couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

He found himself grateful to Daisy, firmly believing she was a good person, not only for bestowing upon him a vast fortune but even in her death, providing him with a tremendous surprise.

"Radiant Emperor Gem, Crystal of Immortal Sword Qi, imagine how powerful a weapon forged from these two treasures would be!"

Ranch couldn't help fantasizing, even feeling the urge to find a master blacksmith immediately.

Of course, now was not the time for that.

Daisy hadn't truly died; it was merely an avatar that Ranch had killed.

If Daisy's true form found out, Ranch figured she wouldn't be in the mood for a reunion, so it was better to leave the Butterfly Tavern sooner rather than later.

However, Daisy seemed to control certain forces within Mapleleaf, and now she was 'dead.'

"It's hard to say whether this is good or bad," Ranch muttered.

It was foreseeable that Daisy's disappearance would cause many changes in Mapleleaf, whether for better or worse was unpredictable.

Ranch didn't care much about that; with the Light Dragon God skill, he felt confident enough to face whatever changes might come.

And his next target was naturally Dis·Corvette.

"Ah, and that fallen magus, Sock," Ranch added to himself, while Daisy's mention of Howard seemed to have been forgotten.

Glancing at the time, nearing midnight, Ranch quickly headed back to the inn.

On his way, he started going through the numerous system notifications that had appeared.

[Detected rare treasure: Mithril Staff!]

[Detected rare treasure: Magical Starry Cloak!]

[Detected rare treasure: Automated Teapot!]

[Detected rare treasure…]

A series of notifications for rare treasures appeared, totaling six items.

But after spending a considerable amount of gold coins for identification, only the staff and Starry Cloak seemed useful.

The staff could slightly enhance the power of magical skills, and the Starry Cloak could harness starlight at night to replenish magic, while the other four items were merely decorative, not much useful apart from being intriguing toys.

This made Ranch somewhat puzzled about Daisy's collection, which seemed inconsistent with her identity.

Unfortunately, Daisy was already dead, so unless they met again, he couldn't inquire further.

But the good news was that his Collector level had increased.

[Acquired five rare treasures, achievement Collector level has been upgraded!]

[Acquired one epic treasure, achievement Collector level has been upgraded!]

Two more notifications appeared.

Ranch opened the achievements tab to check, now possessing four achievements: High Roller, Collector lv3, Wealthy Merchant, and First Amethyst Coin, with the Collector achievement level having been upgraded, its description had changed too.

[Collector lv3: When treasures or epic-tier items appear in the shop, you can purchase them for less money, current discount offer: selling price * 90%. (Note: Collect five epic treasures to upgrade the Collector level.)]

"Next, just need to acquire ten million elite troops to unlock the Tycoon achievement and then I can upgrade the shop," Ranch thought to himself, glancing at his gold coin balance.

[gold coins: 5.03 million]

Just Daisy alone had brought him over five million in gold coins. If it could happen again...

Ranch thought of Mr. Dis·Corvette, suspecting he could also bring a substantial fortune.

However, there was no rush to act.

Soon after, Ranch returned to the inn.

Sophia recounted her visit to the priest, whose words made Ranch feel peculiar.

The priest seemed to also hide unknown secrets, but one thing the priest didn't get wrong: Mapleleaf was indeed about to descend into chaos.

Daisy's death would ignite the long-suppressed turmoil in Mapleleaf.

After listening to Sophia's account, Ranch casually mentioned Daisy's death.

This caused Sophia to express concern, saying, "Ranch, should we leave Mapleleaf sooner? After all, our purpose for coming here has been fulfilled."

"No," Ranch shook his head, "I'll meet with the priest tomorrow, then decide. A chaotic Mapleleaf, aside from turmoil, also presents opportunities."

Sophia immediately caught on: "Are you referring to having Pierre set up the trading guild?"

Ranch nodded: "That's one aspect. On the other hand, Mapleleaf seems to harbor a greater secret, and I want to know what that is."

"Ranch, did you learn something from Daisy?" Having been with Ranch day and night for a while, Sophia sensed the uncertainty in his tone.

Ranch smiled and simply replied, "Not exactly, but I've realized how little I knew before."

However, he was also recalling the information revealed by Daisy, frowning as he pondered, "Blood Moon Space? What exactly is that? Only accessible to the Muir family bloodline?"

Ranch was certain he hadn't misunderstood; at that moment, there was no reason for Daisy to fabricate a lie to deceive him.

But scouring his memories of his time with the Muir family, he found no mention of any Blood Moon Space, which made him exhale deeply, his expression solemn, muttering to himself, "The Muir family, the Bloody Moon Heritage, it seems it's not as simple as it appears."

...

Corvette Manor.

Dis·Corvette sat in the manor's grand hall, speaking to the ethereal silhouette that appeared on a black disc, "Sock, I sense that bitch Daisy's presence has faded. Has she left Mapleleaf?"

The silhouette was indistinct, its voice aged, denying, "No, she hasn't left; she's been killed!"

"Killed!" Dis stood up, shocked, doubting Sock had made a mistake, speaking with a hint of panic, "But Daisy was a genuine 5-tier spellbeast. Even you at your peak might not be her match. Who in Mapleleaf could have killed her? And there hasn't been any news of a fight in town. Could it be that the person who killed Daisy is immensely powerful? But why would such a person come to Mapleleaf?"

Seeing Dis in disarray, Sock bellowed angrily, "Dis, calm yourself!"

Once Dis had quieted down, the ethereal silhouette instructed, "You need to hasten the process. Once we retrieve that thing buried in Mapleleaf, we'll leave."

"That's the only choice now," Dis sighed.

...

Dragon Vale.

In the valley, towering trees obscured the sky, and numerous spellbeasts roamed leisurely; a paradise for spellbeasts but a hell for humans.

All humans who entered were brutally killed by these creatures, resulting in decades without a human foot set in Dragon Vale.

At this time, deep in the valley, within a created Dimensional Space, a woman with silvery-gray hair opened her eyes.

She bore an identical resemblance to Daisy, but her aura was immensely more powerful.

She seemed to sense something, murmuring to herself, "Ranch, huh."

After speaking, she recited a complex magical incantation, a powerful curse aimed naturally at Ranch.

Upon completing the curse, the woman with silvery-gray hair closed her eyes once more.

Simultaneously, a new cursed status appeared on the sleeping Ranch.