Chapter Sixty-Five: The Attachment of the Black Flame

Chenqi examined the Wine of Delight.

[Wine of Delight:
Attribute: Flower
Description: Brewed with an abundance of emotions and medicinal herbs by the Flower Wine Elder, this floral wine tastes sweet and pleasant.
Effect: Upon consumption, you will experience overwhelming joy that cannot be suppressed! For a brief time, all worries and sorrows are forgotten; it counters many negative mental states. This wine is of excellent quality and is undoubtedly a treasure for those fond of drink.
Moreover, for those with the flower attribute, it can also increase their affinity!]

A flower-attribute item, clearly meant for trade.

He could use it himself, but its effect was only to relieve a bad mood.

Chenqi pondered; to unleash its true value, one had to find the right person—especially someone with the flower attribute.

He would have to wait and exchange it later.

It was about time to return.

Chenqi tapped the interface, instructing his game character to head back.

[You pack your belongings and step out of the Flower Wine Workshop. Outside, a sharp, cold wind strikes your body.]

[You find your little donkey and summon the Lantern Shadow Fox once more.]

At that moment, a line appeared that Chenqi had not expected.

[You sit atop the Lantern Shadow Fox, resting your head against its fluffy ear, lost in thought.]

What was this—a shadow on his mind, or...?

Chenqi swallowed.

But for now, he’d have to wait for his game character to finish pondering.

…

[You lead your little donkey back to the Tower of Medicine.]

[Hearing the donkey’s bray, a young alchemist in a flower-patterned dress bounds joyfully toward you! She is the one eager to craft the Dance Potion!]

[She is in a hurry!]

[Seeing the two Dance Flowers in your hand, the young alchemist rummages through her purse. After a moment’s hesitation, she thrusts her floral wallet into your hands!]

["Please, I beg you—this is all my salary! I’m willing to give you one extra Sun Coin, as well as my best Spirit Sight Potion! And a Healing Potion! I’ve sold everything else I own!" the young alchemist pleaded desperately.]

[You recall the price of the ingredients; the medicinal potency of the Dance Flower is low, and elsewhere it would fetch no more than 30 Moon Silver Coins.]

[Will you give both flowers to the young alchemist?]

Chenqi thought for a moment, then handed over the wallet... Clearly, she was anxious and had little to offer in return.

Yes.

[You give both Dance Flowers to the young alchemist.]

["Thank you! Brave herbalist, may you return alive from your next gathering! My time to dance is nearly here!" With the flowers in hand, the young alchemist sprinted madly toward her workshop—ready to study a brand-new potion!]

"Return alive..."

Chenqi was speechless; the blessing was certainly blunt and straightforward.

But if he took on other tasks, his survival rate wouldn’t be high.

[You move to the commission board and hand the Flower Elder’s blossoms to a pharmacist apprentice.]

[You tally your gains.]

[You have received 3 Sun Coins and 50 Moon Silver Coins.]

[You have obtained a Spirit Sight Potion, a Scorching Potion, and a Healing Potion.]

A bountiful harvest!

A full 3 Sun Coins, and three potions of considerable utility.

Sun Coins are the game’s highest denomination.

Chenqi opened his panel and counted his money.

[Funds: 8 Sun Coins, 20 Moon Silver Coins, 99 Copper Coins (converted).]

Chenqi rubbed his hands together; he could just barely be considered a minor tycoon, and the herbalist’s tasks were lucrative.

Unfortunately, such profitable tasks were rare.

Now, the herbalist quests on his panel were either baffling, too difficult, or poorly paid—no better than errands.

He continued reading.

[The joy of your windfall is quickly interrupted by another thought.]

[You hurry back to your room. Standing inside, you gaze at the corpse-burner’s long blade.]

[The fiery pattern on its surface fascinates you.]

Chenqi paused. He might know what his game avatar was thinking.

It was what concerned him most: the basic form of the Infernal Prison Flame had stalled at 80% mastery, vexing him greatly.

[You brood, recalling the Fire Knight’s final strike—‘Funeral Flame’—again and again.]

[Within that strike, there were similarities to the Infernal Flame technique you studied.]

[Suddenly, inspiration dawns—you understand why you have not fully mastered the basic form of the Infernal Prison Flame.]

[The Infernal Prison Tome was written by a powerful high-ranking individual.]

[The author never imagined someone unfamiliar with fire control would attempt to learn the forbidden knowledge.]

[From the outset, they never thought an ordinary night patrolman would study this technique!]

[What you lack is precisely the foundational knowledge behind the Fire Knight’s final blow.]

[You murmur, ‘I’ve understood! I need some knowledge of the ‘Funeral Flame,’ some basics of fire manipulation, some methods to concentrate flame.’]

[You swing the corpse-burner’s blade, imitating the technique as best you can.]

[Dragging your burned body, you repeatedly expend spiritual power to wield the blade!]

[Infernal Prison Flame Basic Form: 82%]

"…"

Chenqi was startled; the reason he was stuck was simply a shaky foundation.

The game’s realism in this regard was impressive.

But if all he lacked was basic fire control knowledge, it wouldn’t be difficult.

Compared to the forbidden Infernal Prison Tome, many basic technique books had long been uploaded and sold in bulk by players online.

Indeed, on the Daywalker Forum, there was an online bookstore for various basic techniques.

Books could be purchased with points or Moon Silver Coins.

Chenqi found his laptop, opened the Daywalker Forum, and searched for ‘bookstore.’

The bookstore was an organization established by a merchant-player specializing in book sales.

Chenqi opened the store’s webpage, surprised to find a first-time buyer’s discount and even a ‘tenfold compensation for fakes’ offer!

If you failed to learn, there was even live customer support!

On the homepage, several flashy ads caught the eye.

"Learn a technique—come to the bookstore! .jpg"

Though there were only about 10,000 Daywalkers, the players had built the forum impressively.

Yes… Even the advertisements were thorough, and that was surely thanks to the Shell Attribute players.

Despite the flashy ads, most books were ordinary basic techniques.

They could be bought with points—a typical e-book was 10 points, half-price for newcomers.

Besides buying information and potions, points weren’t useful elsewhere.

Finding Fire Control Technique, he browsed the table of contents, spent 5 points, and downloaded a non-translated digital version.

It seemed his game avatar was only one step away; perhaps a physical book wasn’t needed.

Now that Chenqi had mastered the New City language, he flipped straight to the ‘Funeral Flame’ move and skimmed through the contents.

"…"

So that was it—he’d missed a step, concentrating flame along the pattern…

In the Infernal Prison Tome, that step was glossed over with a single ‘skip.’

After reading, even without the Fire Control Technique, he should be able to learn the move—though it would take some time.

As his real self grasped the missing step, his game character was struck by sudden inspiration!

[You grip the Debt Collector’s blade tightly. The black flames concentrate along the blade’s edge, rather than surging like a tide, transforming into a more ripping, icy fire.]

[Infernal Prison Flame Basic Form: 99%.]

[Infernal Prison Flame Basic Form: 100%.]

[You withdraw the flame from the blade.]

[You have mastered Black Flame Infuse!]

[Black Flame Infuse:
Effect: Consumes 1 spiritual power to condense icy black flame onto the blade. When the blade hits an enemy, the black flame rapidly absorbs their heat, inflicting severe cold and 8 points of special tearing flame damage.]

Brilliant!

The blade slash was now far more powerful…

Chenqi read the text, pleased that his pure physical strikes were now enhanced.

Yet, he felt both excitement and confusion.

Was the basic form of the Infernal Prison Flame now complete…?

But this was only the beginning of the tome…

Not bad… Chenqi instinctively picked up the Infernal Prison Tome, opened it, and turned to page six.

Glyph-like script flooded his mind; even with the New City language, direct comprehension was nearly impossible.

The Dog Master, to decipher this book, abandoned his post as Night Patrol Captain and his ties in New City District Eight, journeying far to seek someone who could crack its secrets…

Forbidden book, forbidden knowledge…

He could only get this far for now.

Chenqi closed the tome, sighed, and let his game character return to the Tower of Medicine to rest.