Why are all your skill bars full of weird moves?

The feeling of weightlessness lasted only half a breath before Gauss felt a strong sense of detachment rushing into his brain, his perception being forcibly replaced.

Gauss blinked and found himself sitting in a rickety carriage, gripping rough reins.

The shortbow, quiver, and the familiar cheat code in his mind all disappeared.

Gauss snapped out of his reverie and saw a rugged dirt road ahead, flanked by rows of fir trees whose canopies blocked out most of the sunlight.

A gentle breeze swept through, carrying the pungent smell of resin and damp earth, while the occasional "waa waa" of strange birds echoed from the forest.

But he couldn't control the body; he could only watch.

"Daddy, will anyone play with me here?" A childish voice came from beside him.

Gauss turned his head and saw Zoe wearing a blue floral dress, holding a daisy in her hand, her legs swinging idly on the edge of the carriage, seemingly without any worries.

Gauss realized that he had adopted Karl's first-person perspective.

Suddenly, Karl's mind connected with Gauss's.

Carl was also unsure at this point.

He heard from the caravan members that the people of Bullhorn Town never get sick, and that perhaps they could find a cure for Zoe's white hair and eyebrows here.

Carl had taken Zoe to many towns before, but they were either driven away by insults or by stones thrown at them.

In the last town, the children even called Zoe "calamity," until Zoe hid under the bed.

Gauss sighed inwardly.

This is not a calamity at all; it's just that Zoe has albinism due to a genetic defect.

It can even be read in Karl's memory that he and his wife Karina were related by blood.

In fantasy worlds dominated by faith, such abnormal symptoms are often seen as a curse from a demon.

The wheels rolled over the gravel and stopped on the outskirts of Niujiao Town.

At this time, Niujiao Town had no thorny vines, the stone walls were flat, and there were even guards waving to each other from the tower.

Upon entering the town, the residents displayed an unusual level of enthusiasm.

Several children of Zoe's age even took her hand and invited her to the square to see the fountain.

There was no pointing fingers or whispering, no one calling her a calamity.

Carl's chest heaved as he believed he had finally found a peaceful home for his daughter on this cruel continent.

The image distorts rapidly, and time is forcibly fast-forwarded.

Night falls in the central square of Niujiao Town.

The bonfire blazed brightly, illuminating the surrounding houses in a fiery red glow.

Carl thought it was a harvest celebration dinner until he squeezed into the crowd.

A huge iron grill stood in the center of the square, with burning slag piled up underneath.

The temperature generated by burning slag is enough to crack the stone slab.

It seems that the circular scorch marks from before corresponded to this scene.

until……

Carl suddenly realized that what was hanging on the grill was not cattle or sheep at all, but a headless male corpse that had been disemboweled.

Judging from his physique, Carl remembered him as a mineral merchant who had passed through the area three days ago.

The old woman, leaning on her cane, distributed the crimson liquid from the earthenware bowl to the townspeople around her.

The men used daggers to cut off pieces of charred, cooked meat, chewing them greedily, their mouths dripping with oil.

"The missionary is right. By eating outsiders, we can retain our youth and gain magic comparable to that of professionals!"

Ignorant, foul-smelling, and insane.

Gauss could feel Karl's body trembling violently, and the acid in his stomach rushing to his throat.

Carl rushed forward, trying to overturn the grill, but was pinned to the ground by two burly men.

He was too weak, with no class and extremely mediocre attributes.

They could only watch helplessly as these madmen shaved the human bones clean and then threw them into the wild, leaving them to be torn apart by wolves.

The scene changes again.

A few days later, the sheriff sent by the lord to investigate the disappearance of the merchant arrived in town.

Carl ran to report it, only to find the sheriff patting the saddlebag full of gold coins, laughing as he left.

Those who refuse to conform are destined to be outcasts.

From that day on, every morning when Carl woke up, he would find dead rats in the yard and bloodstained knives stuck in the door frame.

even……

The children who used to play with Zoe started throwing stones at her, splashing dirty water on her, and pointing at her and calling her "calamity."

Carl didn't want Zoe to continue living a life of constant wandering, and he also wanted Zoe to have childhood playmates, so he compromised.

He began using his connections to lure travelers to Bullhorn Town, where they would be shared among the townspeople.

Gauss felt a heavy weight in his heart as he sensed Karl's inner struggle and regret.

He cannot judge the choices of the weak in desperate situations from the perspective of the strong.

After all, Gauss was once a weakling.

But this good fortune didn't last long. Because too many travelers couldn't leave the town, it gradually became a forbidden place for most people.

The screen shattered again.

Carl pushed open his front door, carrying the strawberries he had just bought.

The strawberries rolled all over the ground and were smashed to pieces.

The dining table in the living room was overturned, and firewood in the fireplace was scattered. Carl realized something was wrong and quickly ran up to the third floor.

Pushing open the door, they saw Zoe lying on the bed covered in blood, clutching her plush rabbit tightly in her hand.

On the other side were dozens of teenagers carrying weapons, still laughing and joking.

There was no panic, no fleeing.

The oldest boy even raised his chin and spat at Karl.

"My dad is right, that white-haired devil should have been killed long ago. Only by killing her will the town be free from misfortune, and only then will people continue to come."

Upon hearing this, Carl felt a wave of dizziness.

They were Zoe's childhood friends...

Gauss was heartbroken at the sight of the horrific scene and was so enraged that he wanted to kill the dozen or so boys in front of him.

But he was ultimately a bystander, powerless to stop it, much less to save it.

Gauss didn't want to look anymore; the path to becoming stronger was never that simple.

The scene changes again.

All eyes are focused on the square and the bonfire.

The difference was that what was burning in the fire was Zoe's body, her head bowed.

The townspeople gathered around the bonfire, hand in hand, dancing a comical and distorted dance.

However, in order to make Carl one of their own, the townspeople forced him to eat the food he least wanted to eat...

Late at night, Karl returned to the empty house.

He cut his wrist with a dagger and used his blood to draw a concentric circle on the third-floor floor.

"Lord Erisnu... I am willing to sacrifice my own soul in exchange for the power of vengeance!"

A dim purple light permeated the house, Karl's muscles bulged, black veins ran down his neck, and his bloodshot eyes were replaced by a cloudy appearance.

The next scene shows Karl arriving at the square, wielding a cross-shaped greatsword.

That night, the town of Niujiao was filled only with the heavy smell of blood, burning houses, and piercing screams.

Some of the townspeople who ran fast hid in cellars or fled into the mountains behind the town.

Finally, Karl dragged the bullying teenagers to the underground hall.

He avenged Zoe in the same way.

Carl learns that he is cursed with an extremely violent bloodlust. In order not to harm the people outside the town, and also to retain the memories of Zoe in his mind, he must...

He chose to set up a pentagram seal, trapping himself underground, and also sealing the town, its people, and their power to prevent them from going out and harming others.

Unexpectedly, this seal also locked Zoe's soul inside the house.

This caused Zoe to miss her chance to reach Elysium, and she was relegated to becoming a wandering ghost.

To prevent the townspeople from mentioning him and to lure outsiders into breaking the seal, Karl placed a curse on them.

You cannot mention the mayor, and you cannot leave the town; violating these rules will result in being swallowed up.

Only when night falls and the curse weakens do they dare to utter Karl's name.

Gauss understood; the heads hanging there belonged to local teenagers who had participated in the atrocities.

The townspeople were not found to be abnormal because their powers were sealed.

They invited me into the house so they could use me as a tool to kill them.

Unexpectedly, his plan backfired, and in doing so, he indirectly helped the townspeople break the seal.

No wonder Carl said, "Killing me, this demon, will unleash an even more terrifying devil."

So that's the answer.

Suddenly, Gauss was transported into a pitch-black, empty space.

"Human." A hoarse, ethereal voice echoed around, its gender indistinguishable, and its source elusive. "You've seen the price of cowardice."

Gauss remained silent, alertly sensing the flow of energy around him.

"This is the underlying nature of how the world works: boundless greed and inexplicable brutality."

"Now, you have to make a choice."

Two beams of light appeared before Gauss.

To the left was a viscous, purplish-black airflow, from which the faint wails of the dead could be heard.

"Accept Nairisnu's blessing and become the new Dark Arbiter. Free from the constraints of ethics and morality, the power of the Abyss will grant you immortality and make you stronger than the Watchers."

On the right is a sheepskin scroll emitting a cold white light.

"Or... kill all the townspeople outside, complete the trial, and take the letter of recommendation."

"But this is destined to be a lonely, difficult, and perilous journey."

The ethereal voice gradually faded.

The choice is in Gauss's hands: as long as he steps into the airflow, the Abyss will immediately boost his own attributes.

That's the fastest shortcut.

But for Gauss, while power is important, he will never allow such an external force to control his reason.

As for the townspeople, Gauss never intended to let them go.

If Gauss wanted power, he could rely on extreme self-discipline and accumulated experience to acquire it.

There is absolutely no need to bow down to evil gods.

Gauss raised his head and stared expressionlessly at the purplish-black gas stream to his left.

"My principle is not to be a dog for evil gods."

Gauss strode forward and walked without hesitation toward the right-hand scroll.

He needs power, he needs a career change, but he will only use these as tools to climb the social ladder.

"Demon, I will cleanse you." Gauss stretched out his right hand and grasped the scroll. "That's my rule."

The moment the scroll was touched, it burst forth with a blinding light, instantly illuminating the entire space.

"Making an enemy of me is not a wise choice."

The ethereal voice gradually faded away and then completely disappeared.

Gauss then activated the Eye of Destiny to examine his newly acquired combat skills.

Name: Gauss

Rating: 2

……

Combat Skill: Sun and Moon Shining Together lv1. Effect: Sun: Enchants a single arrow, inflicting an 8-second stun and bleeding effect upon hitting a single target. Cooldown: 30 minutes.

Moon: Enchants a single arrow. Upon hitting a target, it creates a group immobilization magic circle within a 24-meter radius of the target, lasting 8 seconds. Cooldown: 24 hours. Additional effect: During the magic circle's duration, a single arrow is fired into the air above the magic circle. The arrow automatically splits by 3000%, dealing damage to all targets within the magic circle.