As an NPC, having a lot of skills is quite reasonable, right?

Moen, leaning on his longsword, knelt on one knee, panting heavily.

When the duration of 【Bloodstained Frost Robe】 ended, the skill's side effects followed, causing all his attributes to plummet by 80% instantly. If he hadn't been leaning on his longsword, he would have collapsed by now.

"Clap, clap, clap." A sudden burst of applause rang out in the empty hall.

Moen struggled to lift his head.

Olsen, who had been lying on the ground and invisible for the second half of the race, was now swaying as he stood up from the ruins in the corner, brushing the dust off his body.

Although he didn't look to be in great shape, he was certainly in better condition than the two lying on the ground.

Olsen walked up to Elwin, who was slumped on the ground, and looked down at her with a mocking and ecstatic gaze: "Tsk tsk tsk, Elwin, you've really opened my eyes. I never thought you would actually learn that spell that even the current chief can't learn."

Elwin was currently in a state of [mana depletion], and didn't even have the strength to speak. He could only stare intently at him with his bloodshot eyes.

"Don't look at me like that." Olsen crouched down.

"You guessed it, didn't you? That woman initially treated you as a friend, but then started distancing herself from you after becoming the chief."

"I remember you even asked her for help when you were being targeted by the academy?"

Let me tell you a joke.

"In our department, someone had their research stolen by their best friend, who then became the department's top student this year, and the person who stole it was completely unaware. They even brought a cake to congratulate her! Isn't that ridiculous?"

Olsen finished speaking and burst into laughter, laughing so hard that tears almost came out.

"Since you're going to die anyway, I might as well let you die knowing why." Olsen wiped away the tears of laughter from the corner of his eyes.

"My sole mission in accompanying you this time is to create an accident. As long as you're alive, her position as chief will never be secure."

"I was worried about how to make a move, but you're courting death by using the [Black Hole Singularity] to fight to the death. Look, you've made another stupid decision, saving a piece of trash and someone who came to take your life. You're really... too stupid."

Perhaps because he was too weak, Alvin did not refute Olsen's words, but one could see her shoulders trembling and heaving, and hear her soft sobs.

Olsen stood up, kicked Elwin's secret manual aside, and walked towards Moen on the other side: "And you, you ignorant country bumpkin."

"You didn't have to die. Who told you to meddle in other people's business?"

"But it's all good now. There's no way to prove it now that they're dead. The report will just say: Instructor Elwin sacrificed himself to protect the ancient site, perishing together with the Crystal Core Tyrant. And I, having gone through so much trouble to bring back the precious Crystal Core, will surely be rewarded."

Moen looked at the incessantly chattering little man and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva with difficulty: "Idiot."

Olsen paused for a moment.

He didn't understand the word, but his intuition told him it wasn't a good thing.

He didn't have time to deal with Moen and turned around to send Elwin on his way first.

Although he knew that the side effects of using the [Black Hole Singularity] would last for at least a day, he was also afraid that this woman might have some other tricks up her sleeve.

As Moen watched Olsen approach Elwin with a dagger drawn, he quickly channeled his consciousness into the skill corridor.

[Current Mortal Fragment: 251]

"There's no time to be picky."

Moen rushed to the statue of the Crystal Core Tyrant and unhesitatingly exchanged for the skill with the purification mechanism.

【Purification New Star】

[Rank: Mortal]

[Consumable: 40 MP]

[Cooldown: 60 seconds]

[Description: You used a high-energy photon stream to forcibly peel away all filth, toxins, and curses adhering to your body surface]

[Skill Effect]

【光学致盲：以自身为中心释放刺眼的强光脉冲，覆盖半径20米区域。效果：对範围内所有敌人造成(80+精神×0.6)点光属性伤害。所有面朝光源的敌人将陷入2秒的致盲（丢失目标锁定，命中率强制降低50%）】

[System Reset: At the moment of the light wave burst, forcibly cleanse the caster of 3 random negative statuses below the Holy Order rank (such as bleeding, poisoning, armor breakage, slowing, etc.)]

[Exchange Price: 200 Mortal Fragments]

This skill is one that Moen must exchange for; it's also an enhanced version of [Radiant Pulse] that Moen previously planned to obtain from [Prism Golem].

Next, Moen quickly browsed the skill pools of [Stardust Elemental] and [Floating Rock Lizard]. The skills of [Floating Rock Lizard] were damage-dealing skills, which did not match Moen's expected combination at all. However, one skill of [Stardust Elemental] caught Moen's attention.

Stardust Resonance (Passive)

[Rank: Mortal]

[Description: You have mimicked the physiological structure of stardust elements, adjusting the magical circuits on your body surface to a special capture frequency.]

[Skill Effect]

[Devour Transformation: When hostile magical energy strikes you, you forcibly strip away and assimilate a portion of it. Effect: When attacked by magic, restore mana equal to (20% of the original damage received)]

[Exchange Price: 35 Mortal Fragments]

Moen glanced at the remaining fragments and found he had enough to exchange for [Stardust Resonance], then exited the corridor and opened the fusion panel.

Olsen hadn't even taken more than a few steps at this point.

Moen tossed the two skills into the fusion slot, then took a deep breath and placed in the Life Stone he had recently acquired, [Reignition in Adversity].

[Compatibility: High]

Success rate: 71%

[Recommendation: This combination exhibits directional resonance and could be a priority for integration]

If the fusion fails, the Life Stone, as the main material, will shatter, and the skill will undergo an irreversible and malignant mutation.

"71%...that's enough! Melt it!"

The light surged.

Countless stardust and photons frantically recombined under the guidance of the Life Stone, and as Moen stared at the synthesis panel, time seemed to pass incredibly slowly.

If the fusion fails, he can only drink a few bottles of potions to fight Olsen, and Moen's chances of winning are less than 50%.

Fortunately, the system displayed a prompt.

【Successful integration】

[Gained Skill: Holy Baptism in Adversity]

[Rank: Mortal - Reignited]

[Consumable: 100 MP]

Cooling time: 24 hour

[Description: I water the ashes with my tears, and rebuild starlight from adversity]

[Skill Effect]

[Implosion: This skill can only be activated when you are under the effects of attribute collapse, near death, or an undispellable curse. A blinding burst of light erupts from within you, forcibly stripping you of all negative status effects, attribute weakening effects, and control effects, and inflicting a 3-second deep blindness on enemies facing the light source (loss of target lock, hit rate forcibly reduced by 80%).]

[Stellar Core Reversal: The stripped-off curses and filth were not refracted, but were captured instantly by the resonant loops of stardust. The stripped-off negative energy is converted into pure mana, instantly restoring 60% of maximum mana.]

[Embers Rekindled: At the heart of the surging light and magic, your will guides this energy to every part of your body. The moment purification is complete, your health instantly rises to 50% of your maximum health.]

[Semantic resonance detected]

[Included entry: Reignition]

[Included entry: Swan Song]

[Hidden profession discovered: Martyr]

Current build progress: 2/5

Moen didn't have time to think about what the final hint meant; he suddenly opened his eyes.

Olsen had already walked up to Alvin: "Remember to be smarter in your next life."

Moen roared, "****!"

Olsen turned around at the sound, and without any warning, an extremely blinding white light covered his entire field of vision.

"Ah! My eyes!" Olsen screamed as his eyes were instantly blinded by the bright light, and he fell to his knees.

At the same time, the feeling of weakness within Moen's body was forcibly stripped away by this intense light.

[Star Core Reversal Triggered: Restores 60% of Mana]

[Embers Rekindled Triggered: Restores 50% of maximum health]

The light dissipated.

Olsen covered his tear-filled eyes and barely opened them, while Moen, who had been like a dead dog just moments before, was now holding the longsword directly at his neck.

Although his wounds were still there, the feeling of weakness had completely disappeared, replaced by an undisguised fierce killing intent.

"How is this possible? What you just did..." Olsen stared at the scene in disbelief, completely baffled.

"I told you, you're an idiot." Moen didn't want to listen to his nonsense anymore, and was about to swing his longsword down.

Olsen panicked. Although he was a level 14 [Imprinted Sword Guardian], the explosion of the magic sword had actually consumed 60% of his health, and his weapon was destroyed. Now he only had a broken dagger in his hand.

He had no chance against Moen, who appeared to be at his peak.

"No...don't kill me! I'm from the Star Pattern Academy! I can give you money! I can introduce you to the academy!" Olsen pleaded as he backed away.

Without uttering a single word, Moen stepped forward, his sword flashing like a mirror.

Olsen clutched his throat and collapsed in disbelief.

Until his death, he never understood what kind of monster this country bumpkin was.

[Killed: Olson Morgan Lv.14]

Experience points gained: 342 + 69 (reward for killing enemies above your level)

"Just another nobody without a lifestone." Moen wiped the blood off his sword, somewhat regretfully.

It seems that not all named NPCs will lose Life Stones.

He walked over to Olson's body and searched it. Besides some gold coins, he actually found a private contract.

It stated that once Elwin's death was confirmed, Olson would be promoted to the position of Internal Affairs Vice-Officer of the Star Law Court.

After putting the contract away, Moen picked up the [Crystal Core Tyrant Core], which was only the size of a fingernail and covered in cracks, from the ground. Then he walked over to Elwin and helped her up.

Alvin had fallen unconscious at some point, and there were still a few tear stains on his cheeks.