Strange Voyage: Summoning the Fourth Disaster.

Chapter 818 The Shepherd of Souls

Hearing what the werewolf player said, the other players also became interested and agreed.

Seeing this, the vampire player could only temporarily put aside his anger at being forced to eat excrement, glared fiercely at the player who had caused the trouble, and then came to the werewolf player, ready to bite down.

"Wait a minute!"

Just as he was about to bite down, the werewolf player suddenly seemed to have thought of something, and directly activated his bloodline, transforming into a werewolf covered in gray wolf fur.

"Okay, come on."

Seeing that he was ready, the vampire player took a bite out of him.

then……

Nothing happened.

"The taste is so-so, nothing special."

The vampire player smacked his lips and commented.

It seems that the vampire bats and gray wolf hybrids in the background story of Spirit Candle don't have any deep-seated grudges.

This immediately disappointed the players who were watching the spectacle.

The vampire player, however, was unimpressed: "Alright, next one."

But he soon heard a sudden gasp from the players around him.

"What the hell?"

"Did you see that he has a wolf's tail growing out of his butt?"

"I saw it!"

"Where is it? I don't see it."

“It really happened. Just now, there was a wolf tail behind him, but it only appeared for a moment.”

"what's going on?"

"Holy crap, there really seems to be an Easter egg!"

This discovery thrilled the players, who eagerly urged the vampire and werewolf players to try again.

With the second successful bloodsucking, the players finally got to see that fleeting wolf tail.

However, apart from that, there seems to be no other situation.

And these are indeed some little Easter eggs that Rogue has planted for the players.

So, seeing the handsome gray wolf mutant, one might ask, what would happen if I fused with the gray wolf mutant's bloodline and then ignited Wolf Brother's flame?
The answer is that the form of the ember will undergo some changes in appearance, but other than that, there are no other special features.

After all, the source of the Berserker Blade's flame in the Seaside Town instance was actually Wolf himself who lit the fire.

Although the gray wolf variant is closely related to the wolf brother by blood.

However, the form of the fire seed has little to do with bloodline.

……

In terms of novelty, the Shepherd Bloodline also brings players just as many surprises.

The initial Soul Shepherd does not provide players with any attribute bonuses.

However, it grants players two extremely important abilities: "Soul Affinity" and "Soul Shepherd".

The first "Soul Affinity" is similar to a passive ability.

As described, the Soul Shepherd bloodline allows players to see some hidden souls.

This, of course, reveals some brand-new discoveries and many details about the dungeons to the players...

……

The prison on the island of exile.

After killing the Rotten Prisoner, a Soul Shepherd player squinted and let out a soft exclamation.

He saw a faint, indistinct soul.

As he drew closer, he heard the other person's murmurs filled with sorrow and regret.

"Am I... dead...?"

"Is this the blessing the master spoke of...? He even said it could cure my illness..."

"Hehehe..."

"I'm so stupid..."

After his decaying body died completely, the soul of the rotting prisoner seemed to finally regain some clarity, no longer muttering about sacrifice.

But to realize this at this point is clearly too late.

After all, everyone now knows that the rot on the Rotting Prisoner was obtained from the Church of Storms, with the aim of dealing with the Gulad Empire.

Judging from the whispers of this soul, the Storm Church has most likely exploited some of its followers, cruelly using them as cannon fodder.

This rotting prisoner was one of the unfortunate ones.

"Aha, as expected, there's a new CG scene."

"There's even a setting that supplements the story of the dungeons during the early stages of the game. Spirit Candle is as meticulous as ever..."

"But this guy seems to have been forced to become infected with the putrid substance in order to treat his illness?"

"Tsk..."

The Soul Shepherd player clicked his tongue in regret.

However, despite his pity, he still had to do what he had to do.

"Oh Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, please..."

Jingle Bell……

The Soul Shepherd player reached out and shook it, and the power of his bloodline condensed into a pale white bell, which made a crisp sound as it was shaken.

Upon hearing the bell, the rotting prisoner's soul froze for a moment, then slowly stood up and walked blankly toward the direction where the Soul Shepherd player was.

As it traveled, wisps of pale white power emanated from its soul and flowed into the Soul Shepherd player's body.

The so-called "shepherding of souls" refers to guiding lost souls towards peace and reincarnation.

Fireworks that result in death will be rewarded handsomely.

Of course, when performing "soul-shepherding", there is no need to chant "Mommy, Mommy" or similar phrases. Those who don't like to talk can simply not chant a single word.

During this process, Soul Shepherd players can directly gain Spirit Points.

If you guide the soul to its complete disappearance, you can gain some unique permanent "buffs".

The stronger the guiding soul, the stronger the buff obtained.

You might even get some items.

However, this buff also has an upper limit; it's impossible to randomly generate a particularly powerful permanent buff, since the quality cap of the bloodline is fixed.

You have completed the shepherding of the rotting prisoner's sorrowful soul.

Upon seeing this notification, the Soul Shepherd players started rubbing their hands together excitedly, eagerly anticipating the rewards they would receive.

He discovered the hidden plot!

It would be a bit much not to give them some unique buff!
Whether it was his muttering that had an effect or not, the reward he had been expecting seemed to arrive as promised.

You have gained the temporary effect "Rotting Prisoner's Jealousy".

[Rotting Prisoner's Jealousy: When you take damage, the damage effect is slightly increased. (Duration: 71 hours and 59 minutes)]

[Explanation: "Why...why are you born with healthy bodies while I'm destined to be a sickly person...it's not fair...I curse you..."]

"Fuck?"

"A debuff that lasts for three days?"

"Damn it, isn't this bastard a jerk? I was trying to help you pass on to the afterlife, and he still curses me. What a jerk!"

The Shepherd of Souls player turned green, feeling as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a fly.

……

There are many copies of the Spirit Candle.

Therefore, not all the spirits encountered by Soul Shepherd players are easy to bully. For example... the First Sea Area.

Jingle Bell……

A Soul Shepherd player chuckled to himself as he rang a bell.

"So you're all running off to the land-based dungeons to find souls, huh?"

"Then I'll do the opposite."

"Who says there are no souls in the sea?"

"Maybe I'll just pull out a really great baby?"

The Soul Shepherd player pondered this in his mind, ringing the bell while gazing expectantly at the sea.

However, after shaking for a while, he didn't see any movement. It seemed that there were only deep-sea worms in this deep sea.

This disappointed him, and he quickly lost interest and wanted to turn around and leave in his small boat.

But that's it.

He narrowed his eyes, somewhat puzzled.

Why does this dark sea suddenly look a bit whiter?

He was puzzled.

The next moment, a terrifying, gigantic maw of a soul silently emerged from beneath him, instantly enveloping his entire body.

[You have been attacked by a colossal worm spirit.]

【die】

The enormous soul sank back into the sea.

This thing is a bit too big...

The Shepherd of Souls player was stunned and confused.

……

It can be seen that the bloodline of the Soul Shepherd is indeed very interesting. Since its various combat power bonuses mainly come from various soul bodies, the "buffs" obtained after completion are jokingly referred to by players as soul rings.

Furthermore, based on the quality of the buff, some players have naturally categorized it by age...

Let's not even talk about the buffs given by some low-level souls, as their effects are generally mediocre. But the buffs given by some high-level special souls are really good, making you want to roar with excitement.

Resurrect, my...

Ahem, let’s get down to business.

Players don't have to guess the effects of buffs.

The Soul Shepherd's Soul Affinity will categorize some souls, such as Wandering Souls, Joyful Souls, Sorrowful Souls, Lost Souls, and Regretful Souls. The effects given after completing the Soul Shepherding will vary depending on the category of the soul.

There are two possibilities for completing the Soul Shepherd: one is to obtain a positive buff that lasts forever, and the other is a negative buff... But fortunately, the negative effect is only temporary.

It's obvious that the Shepherds aren't stupid; they wouldn't allow the curse to take root in themselves.

As for "vengeful spirits" and "ghosts," they naturally won't provide rewards to players; instead, they will give damage bonuses to the Soul Shepherd player.

Furthermore, these two things are soul entities, so attacks using combat skills have very limited effect on them.

To achieve significant results, you must use soul-type skills.

The Spirit Candle Shop does have some new skills, but the problem is... even if you kill these vengeful spirits and ghosts, the current Soul Shepherd players won't get any rewards.

They don't drop wax, nor do they give experience or buffs, making it a thankless task...

Therefore, most Soul Shepherd players choose to avoid the area.

One point worth mentioning here is that, compared to these two annoying soul forms that often appear, the negative effects of nightmares and emaciation mentioned in the description of the Soul Shepherd bloodline are quite friendly.

Having nightmares? Players don't sleep when using the Candle Spirit body; they just occasionally experience mental confusion and irritability, but it's nothing like the Dragonborn's.

As for being thin... that's not a flaw at all for players who don't care about appearance.

In short, the Shepherd of Souls has very good abilities. Although the initial effects were not obvious, its potential is clearly huge. Although it is still somewhat inferior to the Dragonborn bloodline, it also has some unique advantages.

Soul affinity allows them to see or hear information from residual souls, and this information is very important within the spirit candle.

Some players have used this to find hidden treasures in previous dungeons.

And after the quality is upgraded to Firefly.

The Soul Shepherd, who could originally only guide souls, unlocked a new ability: to command souls to help him in battle.

There is now a permanent soul slot in the Soul-Shepherding Bell.

This allows Soul Shepherd players to find some powerful Soul Bodies to help them fight.

Then there's Burning Spirit.

After the Shepherd's bloodline is promoted to this quality.

Finally, I can get my revenge on those incredibly annoying vengeful spirits.

Because of this quality of Soul Shepherd bloodline, Soul Shepherd players can use the Soul Shepherd Bell to shepherd the soul of their opponent after defeating them, thereby obtaining Soul Shepherd rewards.

With the Soul Shepherd reward, Soul Shepherd players no longer felt the same aversion to these two types of souls as before.

……

Compared to other new bloodlines.

The Little Giant bloodline is a bit out of place.

Of course, this doesn't mean the little giant is useless; on the contrary, his bloodline strength is quite impressive.

The reason it's considered lacking in prestige is mainly because the Little Giant bloodline doesn't offer many points for players to explore.

Numerical value, body type.

Just four words, two phrases, are enough to fully summarize the effects that Little Giant brings to players.

Numerical details are self-evident; the reason why the Little Giant bloodline is so powerful lies here—the amplification is nothing short of brutal.

Moreover, in terms of physique, the Little Giant bloodline has both advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage is naturally the benefits of its large size, but the disadvantage is that the unchangeable large size makes it impossible for smaller players to enter certain dungeon locations, such as behind some small doors.

Yes, unlike Li Miao's giant armor, the Little Giant player cannot actively control their size.

Clever players have come up with some solutions, such as size-based prayer spells, functional potion items, and even choices regarding fire sources.

The former did indeed solve some of the problems faced by players of the small giant class, because the mage Burton really had a spell to shrink their size, and Mushroom had also recently developed a potion that could soften the body.

However, the issue of the ignition source is causing some headaches for players.

Some players thought that by igniting small sparks, they could freely change the size of the small giant player...

But to their surprise, they seemed to have underestimated the compatibility and dominance of these new bloodlines.

Yes, even if a player who is over three meters tall ignites the Iron-Faced Warlock's fire, which is much shorter than him, and then reactivates the fire form, his size will not change significantly...

The other sparks are the same; they give the impression of being just different shells with a small giant as the core...

The reason it's referred to as "these" is because the same applies to other new bloodlines...

Fortunately, there is also some good news.

That is, the improvement in numerical values ​​of the Little Giant bloodline will not be affected by the improvement in quality.

First, after entering the Firefly realm, the reduction in agility attribute of the Little Giant bloodline no longer exists.

After entering the Burning Spirit stage, the reduction in mental strength of the Little Giant bloodline was also released.

At this point, if a player is willing, the fully formed Little Giant bloodline can be cultivated into a terrifying hexagonal warrior.

Of course, the Little Giant bloodline still dominates in terms of amplifying the "strength" attribute.

Although Li Miao, who was recommended by the Mother Tree of All Spirits from the beginning, had no interest in the Little Giant bloodline.

However, one top-tier player was extremely interested in the Little Giant bloodline...

"This little giant's bloodline... is perfect for me!"

With a determined look in his eyes, Brother Mangzi stared directly at the statue of the little giant.

Even if doing so would cause him to lose the talent brought by his slumbering blood, he would still fuse with this new bloodline!
(End of this chapter)