Chapter 182 True Name

"Hey!"

"Go away, don't come any closer!"

That was Xia Nan's first reaction.

He was in the middle of a fierce battle, his mind racing to formulate his next move.

When a lanky figure suddenly approached the edge of the battlefield, his instinct told him it was a resident of the nearby Slums, prompting his warning.

The destruction wasn't nearly as exaggerated as when the barbarian Forgan leveled half of Kalanfor with mere shockwaves.

Still, this was a battle between Class Holders. If an ordinary person got dragged in, losing an arm or a leg to a stray blow would be considered lucky.

And even a minor scratch could infect them with Lycanthropy. For destitute paupers who could barely feed themselves, that was no different from a death sentence.

Perhaps the beastly roars had drowned out his warning, or perhaps the newcomer was simply a drunkard.

The staggering figure continued a slow, swaying approach. His footsteps faltered, but he didn't stop.

He seemed locked onto Xia Nan's position, closing the distance one sluggish step at a time.

Xia Nan frowned.

He was already considering leaving the fool to his fate.

Thanks to [Fang Hunt] and [Gravity Control], Xia Nan had handled the battle with remarkable ease.

But if he had to drag around dead weight, he couldn't guarantee he could protect the man from the bear-beast's claws.

He had already given his warning. If the man refused to listen, then Xia Nan could only...

His thoughts suddenly ground to a halt.

Soft, bright moonlight squeezed through the narrow gap between the dilapidated buildings.

As the figure swayed, the pale face of an elf, previously shrouded in shadow, briefly caught the light.

A sense of familiarity swelled in Xia Nan's chest, fragmented memories surfacing in his mind.

For a moment, he was transported back to the Adventurers' Association a few months ago, shortly after the Hunting Day had begun.

He remembered the urging voices of "Greenblood" Adeline and her teammate Abi behind him, and the high-rank Adventurer Squad descending from the Association Second Floor ahead of him.

An elegant mage in blue robes, a wild and brutish half-orc, a silent and resolute heavy-armored warrior, and bringing up the rear...

A tall male elf with long golden hair.

'It's him!?'

Xia Nan wondered in surprise.

Having already obtained his Class Level, Xia Nan's Perception had improved significantly, allowing him to discern that the elf was likely a high-level Class Holder.

But at this specific time and place...

Was he sent by the Association as backup?

Or was this just a coincidence?

Xia Nan's gaze shifted over the elf, and a slight ripple finally disturbed the calm he had maintained since the battle began.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield.

Buck had completely succumbed to his beastly transformation. The once burly human was now on all fours, morphed into a brown bear larger than a typical house.

He couldn't care less about the elf's identity or purpose.

With the blade having pierced his flesh, the excruciating pain radiating from his spine and the thickening stench of blood in the air drove Buck—whose human reason had already been entirely consumed by bestial instinct—into a near-frenzied state.

His bloodshot, crimson eyes were filled with the unique bloodlust and brutality of an enraged beast.

Those faint yet distinct footsteps from the edge of the battlefield acted as an invisible fuse, completely detonating the pent-up rage in his heart.

Roar—

He ignored the vigilant Xia Nan standing opposite him.

His mane shook violently. Emitting a wild howl, his massive, tank-like body charged straight toward the blond elf.

Xia Nan's mind raced as he analyzed the situation.

Under normal circumstances, a reckless beast like this was something even he, having just acquired his Class Level, could easily handle.

As a high-level Class Holder, the blond elf shouldn't find it the least bit difficult.

It would likely only take him a few exchanges to finish the creature off.

But now, for whatever reason, this high-level Class Holder was clearly not in his right state of mind.

Xia Nan could, of course, simply stand back and watch them fight.

If the elf retained enough combat power to kill Buck outright, that would be ideal. It would save Xia Nan the risk of engaging in close combat and potentially contracting Lycanthropy.

But if the elf lacked the ability to deal with the brown bear, then he...

As these thoughts churned, Xia Nan's gaze suddenly froze.

Not far ahead, the massive brown bear lunging toward the edge of the battlefield...

...had somehow completely halted in its tracks.

And that wasn't all.

Like a suddenly paused video frame, time and space seemed to freeze.

The brown bear that was Buck remained suspended in its roaring, lunging posture.

Its terrifying maw was thrown wide open, lined with jagged teeth. Drool dripped from its fangs, its rough, long tongue was curled mid-motion, and its writhing throat was visible deep within.

Yet the eardrum-shattering, frantic roar that should have burst from its mouth was entirely absent.

Instead, the brown bear was suspended in mid-air, its four limbs off the ground, locked in its pouncing stance like a still photograph.

And the reason for this state was nothing more than a casual glance from those unfocused, emerald-green eyes beneath swaying golden hair.

Seeing this, Xia Nan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Clearly, the blond elf who had suddenly appeared on the battlefield still possessed the combat power of a high-level Class Holder, despite his strange demeanor.

An ordinary Lycanthropy infectee like Buck couldn't possibly be his match.

Guessing that the elf was likely a powerful Spellcaster, Xia Nan thought about turning around to greet him.

But then he realized that, at some point...

He... seemed to have lost control of his own body as well.

Just like the taxidermy-esque brown bear suspended in mid-air, his body was frozen in place.

"Tap."

That faint, clear footstep echoed in his ears once more.

His locked gaze forced him to use his peripheral vision, catching only a glimpse of a swaying figure slowly drawing near.

Rrrrip—

In the air, where even the evening breeze seemed to have vanished, a bizarre sound suddenly echoed—one he had never heard before, but which instinctively made his hair stand on end.

It was the chilling, dragging noise of thick, resilient skin covered in dense brown mane being peeled away from the flesh beneath it, inch by inch.

Dead center in his vision, the suspended brown bear Buck suddenly convulsed.

Then, just like someone unzipping an animal costume from his past life, an invisible "zipper" was gently pulled down from its jaw, to its chest and abdomen, and finally to its tail.

The brown bear's entire pelt was cleanly and completely peeled off.

It drifted softly to the ground.

Fat mixed with blood was extracted in thick strands; muscle fibers turned into thousands of flesh-colored threads, scattered by an inexplicable breeze.

Organs, eyeballs, tongue... gleaming with blood, everything was neatly stacked on the ground.

In a mere instant.

That brutal brown bear, a transformed, burly Adventurer who had slaughtered so many people...

...was reduced to nothing but a pristine, pale skeleton.

And from beginning to end, let alone crying out in pain, its eyes hadn't even rolled.

As if it truly were just a taxidermy display.

Horror gripped Xia Nan's heart.

Trapped in the exact same paralysis, the horrifying fate that had befallen Buck made his imagination run wild.

Even though he hadn't felt any pain yet, was his own skin being flayed at this very moment?

Fortunately, his frozen body happened to be standing against the light, and his hand still gripped his Decapitating Longsword.

His intact shadow cast by the moonlight, along with the pale back of his hand gripping the hilt at the edge of his vision...

...allowed him to confirm his body was still in one piece.

'This isn't right! This isn't right! This isn't right!'

'This level of microscopic manipulation is absolutely impossible for an ordinary Class Holder.'

Even a Transcendent Tier powerhouse, or a Legendary rank above that, couldn't possibly be this absurd in Xia Nan's understanding.

Recalling the elf's soulless, vacant eyes and stiff limbs...

...a chill crept up from the very depths of his soul.

'What in the world... is that thing!?'

Even the current paralysis he was trapped in was completely different from anything he had ever experienced.

It was entirely unlike a "Petrifying Gaze," nor did it have the gelatinous, wrapping sensation of [Hold Person].

If he had to describe it, it felt more like the time he first transmigrated into this world: watching his gnome teammate across from him get their head smashed in by a goblin, and then facing a sneak attack from a Goblin from behind. His mind had gone completely blank, leaving him standing there in a stunned daze.

It was a reaction stemming from primal physical instinct.

Xia Nan wanted to save himself.

But whether it was [Fang Hunt] or the [Fate Coin]...

...he had no way of using either of them while entirely deprived of motor control.

He could only stand rooted to the spot, listening to the sluggish footsteps drawing closer and closer.

"Tap."

Messy golden hair hung down over his cheeks, and dull emerald eyes reflected the black-haired figure in front of him.

It was as if he was completely unaccustomed to the way this body moved.

The blond elf maintained an exceptionally bizarre and awkward posture. His left leg was bent, knee splayed outward, ankle pressed to the ground, while his right leg was stretched stiffly straight, causing his entire body to lean sideways.

His shoulders sagged unevenly, one high and one low. His long arms hung limply like dead branches, swinging erratically with his movements.

He stopped just two paces away from Xia Nan.

A pair of lifeless eyes stared intently into Xia Nan's.

Stillness.

As if he were trying to recognize something.

Then, slowly and stiffly, he raised his left arm.

A deep, bruised-looking gray-black hue, a rustic texture that seemed carved by nature, the vague outline of an upright human body, a blurred sheep head with an unreadable expression, and two long, curved horns extending into the unknown...

It was only then that Xia Nan finally saw it.

The [Sheep-Deer Figurine] gripped so tightly it was practically embedded in the flesh of his palm.

And for some unknown reason.

With just a single glance, he recognized it. It was the exact same one he had seen back in the Fey Wind shop.

'What does this mean?'

Xia Nan was thoroughly bewildered.

The shop owner had been very clear about the [Sheep-Deer Figurine]'s origins—it came from Nym.

These statues had recently been appearing out of thin air in every corner of the city, and thanks to their exquisite craftsmanship, they were highly sought after by the elites of Nym City.

He had already verified this fact over the past few days.

Back then, he hadn't even touched it. The bizarre, hallucinatory sensation of it consuming his mind, coupled with the vague description on his Attribute Panel, had made him immediately leave...

Wait!

As if suddenly remembering something, Xia Nan's heart lurched.

'Could it be because I mentally recited half of...'

Gurgle—

A strange sound suddenly emanated from the figure in front of him.

The elf had been completely still since raising his left hand to reveal the [Sheep-Deer Figurine].

Seeing that Xia Nan remained unresponsive...

His throat suddenly bulged, and his dry, pale lips parted slightly.

Air surged up, his vocal cords vibrating and closing, morphing into an indescribable sound that tumbled from his mouth.

"Bang!"

It was as if even the superhuman physique of a high-level Class Holder couldn't withstand the toll of producing this sound.

The elf's neck violently exploded!

Blood sprayed in all directions, carrying chunks of shredded skin and flesh, dyeing the ground beneath his feet crimson.

The mangled, twitching meat inside his neck was exposed to the air, and one could even faintly see the pale vertebrae deep within.

This sound didn't belong to any language in this world.

It was a thick, sluggish pronunciation, dominated by guttural noises and repetitive syllables, punctuated by irregular pauses.

It sounded like some sort of absolute decree, or perhaps an incantation from another dimension.

The voice itself contained an indescribably bizarre power.

Xia Nan's Fine Chainmail—forged by the Rockhammer smithy, worth a staggering 50 gold coins, and tough enough that the strongest goblin in an entire nest could only leave a shallow scratch on it...

...along with the specialized leather armor beneath it acting as a second layer of defense, instantly turned to molten iron, melting and seeping into the ground.

But strangely enough, the fragile shirt beneath the armor wasn't damaged in the slightest.

The two longswords on his person, the [Deathline] ring on his right index finger, and even the [Fate Coin] tucked tightly against his chest inside his shirt all remained completely unscathed.

It was as if the attack only targeted the armor itself.

Accompanied by the warm sensation of blood flowing down his ear canals was a fierce, needle-like stabbing pain.

Dizziness and a ringing buzz filled his skull.

Xia Nan was absolutely certain that neither his past self nor this body's original owner had ever heard this language before.

Yet bizarrely, when the words that had blown apart half the elf's neck reached his ears...

...he instinctively understood their meaning.

It was like interpreting an abstract hieroglyph, using his ears to "see" the meaning behind the sound.

It was—

"Recite... His... true name..."

His gaze instantly focused, and as he concentrated on the wood carving in front of him, the Attribute Panel popped up once more.

...

[Sheep-Deer Figurine]

Type: Statue

Level: /

Description:

Tree rings and tides. You do not want to know the secrets hidden within those folds.

Notes:

"Ef'tisuuHai'lot'vhuVurahkia"

...

He had already lost all control.

That otherworldly voice forcibly drove Xia Nan's body.

Compelling him to read the notes on the Attribute Panel, finishing the "true name" he had only mentally recited halfway dozens of days ago before forcing himself to stop.

"Ef'tisuu

Hai'lot'vhu

Vurahkia"

Space abruptly warped!

The gentle moonlight trembled, overlapping into several blurred phantoms.

Xia Nan's stiffened body, like a reflection in the water...

...swelled rapidly twice.

...and vanished from the battlefield.