secret dice.

Chapter 813 The Mysterious Monk

"what?"

The Ice Queen's words surprised Luo Jun: "Are even true gods this dramatic?"

He was a little worried about whether Old Deng could withstand the jealousy of the God of Fate... Thinking back, when he first received the Heavenly Secret Dice, it seemed that an old man gave it to him. Could that be the legendary God of Fate?

If it's true, my master can't compare to him. Although I can't see his face clearly, his head is much thicker...

“If it were a living deity, they wouldn’t care so much.”

The Ice Queen shook her head: "But based on the information we currently have, we speculate that these ancient true gods all perished a long time ago. The current Kiss of the Goddess of Life, or the fragments of the Heavenly Dice, should all be remnants of the ancient true gods' power, continuing to operate only according to the gods' obsessions and habits in life."

"So, once you accept the kiss of the goddess of life, you will almost inevitably be affected by the jealousy of the god of fate..." The Ice Queen looked at Luo Jun: "Even so, do you still want this dangerous kiss?"

"You've only made me more curious," Luo Jun said with a smile. "Is the wrath of fate more ruthless, or is my life just tougher?"

Despite saying this, Luo Jun secretly hoped that the so-called curse of the God of Fate would descend... Of course, this wasn't because he wanted to betray his master. The legendary God of Fate was very likely the original owner of the Heavenly Secrets Dice. Although he had possessed them for over a year, the two dice were still shrouded in mystery for him.

If given the chance to get in touch with the original master, even if it's just the remnant of his power, Luo Jun wouldn't let it pass.

"Alright, you've achieved your goal. Why don't we open the barrier and go back?" The Ice Queen pointed to the space sealed off by Luo Jun's earth element.

Luo Jun nodded, raised his hand to open the barrier, and the Ice Queen tore open an escape scroll, instantly returning to the entrance of the maze.

Go down to the 39th floor through the entrance, then return to the first floor through the tombstone on the 39th floor, and leave the Tower of Babel.

"You've achieved your goal," the Ice Queen asked. "When do you plan to begin the campaign? I'll let everyone prepare."

"Anytime is fine." Luo Jun is now a saint, and his four elemental magics have reached the Grandmaster level. He can be said to be at the top level of dual cultivation of magic and martial arts. He is full of confidence and can't wait to test his strength.

“Then let’s do it tomorrow. The monsters will respawn by then.” The Ice Queen said, “I’ll go back and have everyone prepare and report to the Mercenary Guild. We’ll meet at the tombstone on the 49th floor tomorrow morning.”

"no problem."

After making their agreement, the two parted ways at the door.

After leaving the Tower of Babel, Luo Jun did not return to the capital, but instead went to the teleportation array and returned to the southern Gulf Province.

In this game world, besides the four most common elemental magics, there are three special types of magic: soul magic, light magic, and dark magic.

Unlike elemental magic, which has its own magic guilds, learning these three types of magic requires going to some special institutions.

For example, Light Magic, which is mainly used for healing, blessing, and dispelling negative statuses, requires study and training at the Church of Light.

Dark magic, primarily used to curse, weaken, and resurrect the undead, is forbidden in the Oran Empire. It can only be taught in remote, dangerous places inhabited by hostile monsters.

As for soul magic, it's even more special.

This magic studies the human spirit and soul, that is, the study of human beings themselves, and is therefore also known as self-magic.

If elemental magic studies the laws of nature and can be compared to the science of the main world, then soul magic is more like philosophy.

Therefore, the place where soul magic is taught is in the temples where monks reside.

As for the effects, besides the more common hypnosis, mind control, and illusion, there are also some that can stimulate potential and even change the human body... In this world, these should be considered functions of the player character mechanics.

For example, by using one's will to make the body stronger, one can directly increase attribute modifiers, improve attack speed and attack power... and even shorten the cooldown time of other spells!
That's right, Luo Jun bought a Grandmaster-level Soul Magic book at the Imperial Capital Temple. Its effect is to refresh a specific spell that is currently on cooldown. The cooldown time of this spell depends on the level of the Soul Magic; the higher the level, the shorter the cooldown.

Although Luo Jun has learned countless spells, the more powerful the soul spell, the longer the cooldown time, and some can only be cast once a day.

But if Luo Jun could learn this magic, he could break free from this restriction.

To be honest, Luo Jun has now learned hundreds of elemental magics, including many master-level ones and even multi-elemental fusion magics. Coupled with his own melee strength, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he is invincible in this [game] world unless a god descends to earth.

But for some reason, after he made an appointment with the Ice Queen to start the formal strategy the next day, a sense of unease began to rise in his heart.

Everything was going smoothly. He had already captured Wu Kong, who was disguised as Emberty. All he had to do was wait for the portal to open and return to the main world to release this guy and force him to hand over the Kiss of the Goddess of Life. That would achieve his goal. There shouldn't be any problems with this.

But perhaps due to his overly powerful senses, Luo Jun always felt that there was something he hadn't considered, or that something was about to happen...

This sense of crisis urged him to become even stronger.

While light and dark magic are powerful, they are merely icing on the cake for him at his current level. Only this soul magic, capable of altering his mechanics, can allow his martial prowess to advance further in a short period!
According to the abbot of the Grand Temple in the Imperial Capital, the master of soul magic lives in seclusion on a remote island in the southern part of the Gulf Province. Luo Jun left Harborn Port and headed south into the sea. After searching the sea for a long time, he finally found the island that matched the description.

Luo Jun landed and found that there was only one small house on the island, near the sea. Outside the house, a fat old man dressed as a monk was sitting on a high platform fishing.

"This senior?" Luo Jun stepped forward and greeted him.

"You've arrived?" The fat monk didn't turn around; his tone was kind yet dignified.

Luo Jun activated his Eye of Insight, but couldn't see any information.

"Don't waste your energy," the fat monk chuckled. "Most of the people who come to see me want to glean information about me. But unfortunately, I have nothing to show you."

"You seem to have known I was coming?" Luo Jun asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Actually, I’ve been watching you since the first day you came into this world,” the fat monk chuckled. This wasn’t typical NPC talk, was it? Luo Jun felt a surge of skepticism, but then the fat monk said, “I’m not an NPC…and certainly not a player either.”

"You can hear my thoughts?" Luo Jun asked in surprise. "Wait... do you understand what NPC means?"

"I've never been to your world, but I can understand you."

At this moment, the fat monk's fishing rod suddenly trembled. He raised his hand and pulled up a large sea fish, which was jumping wildly in his hand.

Ignoring the fish's struggles, the fat monk opened his mouth wide, bit off the fish's head, and ate it with relish, blood flowing down his chin.

"The head of this fish is very delicious, especially when eaten raw." As he spoke, the fat monk turned around and handed the rest of the fish to Luo Jun: "But the tail is also very good, the meat is very firm, would you like to try it?"

It has to be said that this guy has a big round face and a kind expression, which can be considered benevolent. However, this face, coupled with his constantly chewing mouth and mouth full of fish blood, exudes an indescribable eeriness, and even a bit of ferocity.

“Um…no need,” Luo Jun refused. “As a monk, you shouldn’t be killing living beings, should you?”

"Who made this rule?" Seeing that Luo Jun wasn't eating, he raised his head, opened his mouth, and swallowed the rest of the fish in one gulp, letting out a satisfied burp.

They don't even remove the internal organs... Luo Jun felt a little nauseous watching this.

"Aren't all monks like this?" Luo Jun looked at the bloodstains on his clothes: "They emphasize compassion, encourage people to do good, live a simple and frugal life, and do not kill any living beings, only eating vegetarian food..."

"That's just their way of practicing, not mine." The fat monk put away his fishing rod and chuckled. "Is not killing compassion? Then is it cruel for a lion to hunt an antelope? If the lion didn't kill, it wouldn't survive and would starve to death. Isn't that even crueler?"

“Although I think so too,” Luo Jun said, “humans and lions are ultimately different. Lions cannot survive without eating meat, but humans can survive on a vegetarian diet.”

"Does being vegetarian mean you don't kill living beings?" The fat monk chuckled. "Plants and trees all have spirits, even the bacteria and microorganisms in your stomach are alive. Who cares about their life or death?"

"Since the dawn of life, all species have survived and reproduced by killing other species and plundering their nutrients and energy. This has never changed from ancient times to the present. I eat fish not because I want to kill them, but because I need the nutrients they provide to live. If one fish is enough to fill my stomach, I will catch one; if two are enough, I will catch two. I will not catch a large number of fish to satisfy my vanity for amusement. I believe that is my compassion."

"Master's insights are indeed extraordinary." Luo Jun nodded, steer the conversation back on track: "Since you know I'm not from this world, you should also know why I'm here, right?"

"Want to learn Grandmaster-level soul magic?" The fat monk smiled slightly. "I can teach you right now."

"Huh?" Luo Jun was taken aback: "Don't we need to do any tasks?"

“No need,” the fat monk chuckled. “You need master-level soul magic now, just like I needed to eat fish. I’m only fulfilling your most basic need. But if you only want to learn more powerful magic to show off or bully others, then even if you complete the most difficult tasks, I won’t teach you!”

"I need Grandmaster-level soul magic?" Luo Jun frowned. "What do you mean by that? If I can't learn it, will I die?"

"With your abilities, you're unlikely to die," the fat monk chuckled. "But it's not so certain for others."

"When your goal is achieved, the world will change unexpectedly. At that time, the number of people involved may be far greater than you imagine."

"What do you mean?" Luo Jun frowned. "Who exactly are you?"

"I am the mentor who can teach you master-level soul magic." The fat monk smiled slightly, and his figure suddenly blurred, appearing in front of Luo Jun.

"So fast..." This is the second time Luo Jun has seen such speed since becoming a saint.

The first time was when I faced the divine BOSS who used the essence of a saint in the "Conquer Yourself" mission!

This guy's speed is comparable to that of a mythical being; even Luo Jun didn't react immediately.

However, the fat monk did not attack him. Instead, he transformed into a phantom and passed through Luo Jun's body.

At that moment, a wealth of knowledge flooded Luo Jun's mind, and by the time he realized what was happening, the fat monk had already disappeared.

Luo Jun opened his skill panel and found that his Soul Magic had been upgraded to the Grandmaster level.

"This world is about to change. Make your choice..."

A faint voice sounded, and Luo Jun looked around but couldn't find the speaker.

Who exactly is this mysterious spiritual master, and what are his motives?

Luo Jun couldn't figure it out for a moment, but in any case, he had achieved his goal.

Luo Jun took out his magic book and learned the Grandmaster-level Soul Refreshing Magic. He discovered that the cooldown time of this spell was a whopping twelve hours.

With his skill points running low, Luo Jun began another large-scale alchemy session on the island, filling his bags and leaving to cash out. He then returned to the magic fountain in the far north, where he eventually gained tens of thousands more skill points.

This time, he directly leveled up his soul magic to level 100, at which point he was told he could not level it up any further. He then used the remaining skill points to level up all four elemental magic spells to level 90!
At this point, the cooldown of Refresh spell has been reduced to less than twelve minutes.

However, Luo Jun also discovered that after upgrading this thing, the cooldown seemed to decrease proportionally. At first, level 1 could shorten the cooldown by more than half an hour, but gradually, the cooldown reduction for each level became smaller and smaller. After level 90, each level could only shorten the cooldown by a few dozen seconds, but it required investing nearly a hundred skill points until it reached its limit.

Twelve minutes should be enough.

Looking at the time, after all this trouble, it was already the second day. Luo Jun quickly returned to the capital, rested briefly, and then headed towards the Tower of Babel.

But when he arrived at the fortress at the foot of the tower, he heard the sounds of battle coming from the bottom of the tower...

(End of this chapter)