After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

(How is it?)

[All is safe; no elements constituting goddess magic have been detected.]

(Very well, things are getting more and more complicated.)

Oswald swallowed the black-haired meat. Surprisingly, apart from the lack of sweetness, it tasted similar to popping candy from his previous life.

As for what was jumping in his mouth and stomach, he wisely refrained from making any connections.

[This body incorporates a portion of spatial magic, its primary component being the lightning element from the forces of nature. Among lightning's many powers is information transmission. This system deduces that this is the goddess wishing to communicate with the host and this system.]

(And then she told us to get out?)

After examining the black, furry flesh that was trying to reassemble itself but was constantly being churned and torn apart by the rotten chains in the giant python's mouth, Oswald pondered for a while, then tore off another piece and put it in his mouth, chewing it continuously.

Without a doubt, the strange creature before them was a creation of the goddess. After all, not everyone has the ability to perfectly combine nature and magic.

Last time, the goddess used the existence of the curse to force Oswald to become an undead, and incidentally also erased his sight.

This time, the goddess didn't even bother with an act; she went straight for the bait, trying to lure Oswald, or rather, to lure the system.

The storyline of this world went awry. Two unfortunate guys were sent by their superiors to fix the bugs, but not only did they find more and more bugs appearing, the patches they installed actually turned into a virus that wreaked havoc on the world...

Well, from the goddess's perspective, he and the system are probably just there to cause trouble.

Indeed, Oswald and the system are not particularly powerful beings, but what's more, they have the entire system world standing behind them.

Don't even mention how many divisions the Pope has; the Big Bang might have been something these guys concocted out of boredom.

However, Oswald and the system didn't get any advantage from the goddess either. They are now unregistered and can't get any material rewards. All they can get is support from their backers, and all the support they can get except for their own.

Intelligence is all guesswork, battles are fought with reckless all-in bets, and you get poked by the goddess every now and then; today you lose your sight, tomorrow you have some flesh and blood ripped out, and the messenger tells you you're a piece of trash, get the hell home.

In short, this abstract world has met its inevitable end.

For true time travelers, everything is inevitable!

The goddess could never have imagined that the system that arrived in this world was a complete idiot who knew absolutely nothing. She also could never have foreseen that the countless challenges she had prepared were precisely the otherworldly adventure that transmigrators had always dreamed of.

At this very moment, the transmigrator was still eating her creations and actually enjoying the feeling of her body "coming back to life"?

In the pitch-black underground, the aura of death hangs from the broken chains, gently colliding with the wind.

The decaying flesh twisted and writhed in struggle. A purple light flickered in the swamp, slowly drawing the giant python's tail into the abyss. The bloodied and mangled undead sat before the python's massive body, the silent sound of his swallowing echoing against the empty stone walls.

(This stuff is hard to digest if you eat too much of it.)

[Host, you've already lost your digestive function, so continue using the immortality magic to assimilate and corrupt. Also, the giant python can't last long, so please speed things up.]

Upon hearing this, Oswald sighed. Having absorbed the undying magic power from so many monster corpses, plus a whole bunch of mana-restoring potions used by the system, he still had to rely on devouring them to defeat his opponent.

Sigh, what a pity. The Gluttony skill card can only be used once. Although that thing also drains your sanity, at least it works quickly.

They devoured the black-haired figure piece by piece, then used immortality magic to erode the still-pulsating flesh and blood, dispersing it to other areas.

Oswald's body seemed to breathe again, and he filled in the damaged areas with his black flesh like a jigsaw puzzle.

Ignoring his appearance and the black-haired figure's stillness, Oswald quickened his pace and devoured the last piece of flesh.

Wiping the bits of meat from his mouth, Oswald quietly looked at the muddy swamp below, readjusting to his active body, when he heard a series of muffled thunderous sounds emanating from within.

(Tong, tell me, what's at the bottom of the mud pit?)

[This system doesn't want to think about it; this system doesn't think it's anything good.]

The system weakly protested; from the moment it failed to detect the goddess's magic, it already had a terrible suspicion in its mind.

Moreover, it knew very well that its perceptive host had already noticed it earlier than it had!

Stepping onto the giant python's head, Oswald didn't hesitate. His staff emitted an incredibly powerful light, and he manipulated the python to crash heavily into the mud.

The earth trembled violently, and magic and weight seemed to become insignificant in that instant. The giant python instantly disintegrated into thousands of flying chains, and the mud, dotted with purple light, was scattered across the dark ground.

Oswald landed awkwardly, only to see a tunnel of dim light, obscuring the path ahead, formed by surging mud.

He smiled. (Master, you should know the rules of that game.)

[Eternal life, or a fleeting death...]

[But the legendary wishing well might also be a dumping ground for trash.]

(Heh, shouldn't the passages in the eroge world be bonus levels?)

[Host, what exactly do you want to do with your innocent body?!]

The system sighed helplessly. That's just how the host is; he always likes to crack jokes at crucial moments. Including the time the host was taken away in a dump truck, and the time the plot in the previous life's storyline ended, the host, who has already died twice, truly has no fear!

(Don't lie to me, I know you have another temporary binding card. If my existence is erased, the rest is up to you, Commander!)

Without the slightest hesitation, Oswald leaped into the tunnel.

Endless purple light surged forth, and the system's urgent words were swallowed up by the violent thunder in the air.

[Host, don't go in! That card for this system has already been used!]

……

Ten days later, the atmosphere in Kuogu City was unusually oppressive.

Under the dark clouds, wild geese flying south skimmed low over the crowds standing on both sides. They remained silent, watching the dwarfs' procession slowly enter the north gate in the distance.

In the crowd, Count Rondo was in so much pain that he could hardly breathe, and his fingernails dug into his flesh.

At first, he thought it was just a simple adventure; the Duke was so powerful, and he had devised a sound plan…

But when that soaring purple light appeared, the Duke still met with misfortune.

Footsteps suddenly sounded, and Rondo looked up in surprise, his eyes first falling on the red-haired figure in front of him.

No one dared to say whether Lady Elene had lost her mind, or whether she was in a fit of rage.

In short, her first words to Rondo were: "I know Cage is imprisoned in Broad Valley. If anything happens to the Duke, I order you to kill him immediately without any delay."

There was not a trace of warmth in those crimson eyes.

As he finished reminiscing, Rondo shuddered. All he could do now was pray that the Duke would be safe and sound.

But what appeared before him was the Duke on a stretcher.

The line stopped, and people eagerly tried to rush forward, but Elena raised her hand to stop them. She was a little unsteady when she took her first step, and after refusing the help of those around her, she slowly walked over and quickly regained her composure.

Elena first approached Kindem and spoke softly.

"You did a great job."

Then, she looked at Oswald on the stretcher and dared not take another step forward.

"My lord, the Duke... the Duke..." Kindem's eyes reddened, and snot and tears streamed down his face. Amidst his sobs, Elena suddenly felt dizzy and held her breath.

How could this be, Your Grace, how could Oswald...?

"His Excellency the Duke's body is moving uncontrollably, what should we do!"

A single sentence seemed to awaken a vast aura of silence, causing everyone to pause in surprise before turning to look silently at Kindem, who was pounding the ground in anguish and wailing incessantly.

What does it mean? What does it mean for an undead's body to be moving erratically?

Only then did everyone realize that the strange shaking on the stretcher was not because the dwarves were trembling, but because the Duke's corpse was dancing.

"My lord, I have to tell you some news that may be bad or good." Marquis Barton, who was walking at the very end of the dwarf procession, stubbed out his cigarette, bowed to Elena, and said with a solemn expression.

"His Excellency seems to be breathing again."