Chapter 121: Welcome Back

In truth, once the laboratory gates were blown open and Finina guided Xiongyou’s hand to deliver the stab, the mission for this dungeon was effectively complete. However, there was still a sliver of time remaining before they were forced to leave, though it was clearly not enough for anything substantial.

Zhao Nan, for instance, could not continue the forced baptism in such a short window because Aoi Kazuha had already been startled awake. Her Stigmata-imbued body seemed to have developed a much higher resistance to the sedative than it had ten months prior.

As she regained consciousness, a strange sensation washed over her—delicate and tender, as if something were enveloping her heart—but the next second, it turned into a raging storm. She could only seek a harbor within this tempest, and that harbor was the person right before her eyes.

"Thirty seconds!" Xiongyou counted down.

Zhao Nan cast a regretful glance at Aoi Kazuha, shrugged, and then stood up with a sigh. Another reason he could not continue to baptize her with one more Stigmata in these final moments was that Dr. Ohara had also simultaneously broken free from the control of the confusion effect.

With ten Stigmata embedded in her body and their five senses shared, Aoi Kazuha felt everything Zhao Nan felt. In those brief ten-plus seconds, no one in the entire underground research facility spoke a word. Zhao Nan and Aoi Kazuha locked eyes for what felt like three seconds, yet it was as long as three lifetimes.

Finally, Aoi Kazuha pulled herself out of this peculiar state. Instantly sensing the loss of ten Stigmata from her body and blinking, she realized what had transpired. She was utterly unwilling—unwilling to have undergone the most sacred ritual between a Pandora and her partner without her knowledge or consent.

Her eyes turned slightly red. To her, this form of baptism, bypassing her own will, was no different from being forcibly violated. Overcome by the shame unique to a young girl, her eyes welled up with tears.

"Ten seconds remaining!" Xiongyou continued his countdown.

*Rat-tat-tat—!*

Countless figures surged into the research laboratory in an instant; most were Pandoras, accompanied by a small number of soldiers—soldiers wielding submachine guns.

"Five seconds!"

"Don't move! Everyone raise your hands and surrender!" the lead Pandora shouted sharply.

"Two seconds!"

At this moment, Xiongyou looked at Yanan, Yanan looked at Finina, and Finina looked at Zhao Nan.

Zhao Nan responded with a smile. Just as Xiongyou shouted "One second," he gave Aoi Kazuha one final, faint smile. Even though their senses were shared, in that fleeting second, Aoi Kazuha found it impossible to discern the true emotion hidden behind that smile.

"Goodbye..."

A flash of white light erupted, cutting off that complex and incomprehensible emotion.

...

The white light vanished. A cool night breeze blew by. Because the baptism had been in progress when they departed, Zhao Nan’s upper garments had already been removed, and the wind left his skin with a lingering, delicate sensation as his brain processed the transition.

* * *

*Huff—!*

Xiongyou wiped the sweat from his forehead, then rubbed his face and looked at his palms. The knife he had been holding was gone, leaving only blood that had already begun to turn sticky.

The two women accompanied their respective men. After a moment, Finina took a deep breath and smiled, "Welcome back."

Zhao Nan also smiled, "Welcome back!"

Xiongyou laughed heartily, "Welcome back!"

Xiaonan added with a soft chuckle, "Welcome back."

The four of them shared this laughter for a while. It felt as if they had just awoken from a dream that lasted over ten months. Whether it was real or not no longer mattered; what was more important now was to find a place to settle down.

It was night, and they had returned to a world where monsters with enhanced strength roamed the countryside whenever darkness fell. Of course, these monsters posed little threat to the four of them, but they were certainly enough to disturb a peaceful night.

...

The trip to this fantasy dungeon had been highly rewarding. However, upon their return, they found they could no longer utilize the various powers from the Freezing World.

The Stigmata belonging to Finina and Yanan had vanished the moment they left, and even the Pandora Mode system could no longer be sensed. Yet, a brand-new special skill had appeared on both of their skill lists: "Pandora Transformation."

Upon transforming, they would instantly assume their appearance from Pandora Mode. For Yanan, the Pandora Transformation lasted for one minute, increasing attack power by 30% and defense by 30%, while cleansing all negative status effects.

Finina’s Pandora Transformation had the same effects, but it lasted for three minutes and boosted both attack and defense by 100%.

Zhao Nan mused that this likely correlated with the number of Stigmata implanted in their bodies and their degree of compatibility with them. He also suspected it might be related to the fact that their Stigmata had not been baptized to create "Stigmata Memory Bodies," otherwise, the effects might have been even weaker.

Having become Controllers in the Freezing World, Zhao Nan and Xiongyou had also gained a special skill: "Ice Field."

Xiongyou’s Ice Field allowed him to freeze any five targets within a ten-meter radius. While frozen, targets could not use any skills, and their movement speed was reduced by 100%. The duration was three seconds.

Although it was only for three seconds, Xiongyou was already raving about how overpowered it was.

Zhao Nan’s Ice Field was slightly different from Xiongyou’s. It could freeze any enemies within a fifty-meter radius. While frozen, they could not use any skills, and their movement speed was reduced by 200%. However, the duration was somewhat peculiar.

It consumed 500 Mana points per second.

His Ice Field’s duration was determined by his mana pool. Looking at it this way, there was clearly a difference in quality between the Stigmata.

Zhao Nan did a quick calculation, including the mana provided by his Source of Mana, and found he could maintain this Ice Field for well over 20 seconds.

Xiaonan and Xiongyou’s abilities were overpowered; Finina’s was extremely overpowered; and his own was simply monstrous.

As they walked along, reviewing their special skills, Xiongyou pondered whether he could use this skill to solo an elite monster of his level. Zhao Nan spoke up, "Let’s split up once we enter the city. You two should take a break for now."

The rewards from this dungeon trip were largely thanks to Zhao Nan. Xiongyou, having gotten a taste of the benefits, said happily, "How about we go celebrate?"

Zhao Nan patted Xiongyou on the shoulder, thinking that since they had a long road ahead, he should slowly pull this guy closer to his side. This fellow also possessed the Ice Field skill—though it was much weaker than his own, if he ever closed the distance and cast that skill, even an Ancient Arcanist would be reduced to a third-rate brawler.

"I’m not familiar with Tingfeng City. You’ll have to show me the good spots."

"Leave it to me."

Hearing that they were going to drink, both women wore expressions of concern. Zhao Nan smiled and said, "Don't worry, it’s just a little drink to lift our spirits."

Hearing this, Finina said no more, and the four of them walked toward the gates of Tingfeng City.

The city gates were closed, as the City Lord had already appeared, and many night watchmen were patrolling the ramparts. They had been gone for less than a day, yet night patrols had already been established; it seemed the fox-man butler in the City Lord’s castle was highly efficient.

Since the gates were shut, they could not simply pass through.

However, since it was the City Lord himself asking for the gates to be opened, regardless of whether they were natives or God-Chosen, who the hell would dare to say no?

And so, with a deep rumble, the city gates swung open.