Gods, Ashes Descend

Chapter 5 Fire-Lighting Ritual Site

Li Wei blushed. Although the Fire Keeper's upper face was covered by an eye patch, the lower half of her face that was exposed looked very beautiful. She had a classic oval face and long, light golden hair. Tsk.

Moreover, Li Wei had to admit that beneath the loose robes lay a slender figure, concealing a large bust that was neither D nor C.

Her figure, her face—gentle, elegant, and with a pleasant voice—she was just like a kind and intellectual older sister next door.

The Fire Keeper received no answer, and Li Wei stood there, looking somewhat bewildered.

"Lord Ashes?"

A call pulled Li Wei back to his original thought, and then, because Big Head was still fighting with Little Head, he blurted out a brainless, terrible answer, just like a novice.

"Ah! Uh~ It's nothing, I'm just not used to it yet."

After receiving the answer, the Fire Keeper's tone remained unchanged; she simply responded.

"I understand, Lord Ash. The Unflamed are vessels for souls, so you can transform those unclaimed souls into your power, and I can help you with that."

"If needed, Lord Ash, please bring the unclaimed souls here."

The unchanged tone of voice finally brought Li Wei back to his senses. Li Wei glanced at the longsword in his hand and decided to find a blacksmith to repair it first, for he needed the right tools before he could do anything well.

The swords are all bent; I wonder how much it will cost to repair them.

"Okay, thank you, but I need to follow this sound of hammering to find a blacksmith to repair my equipment first."

The fire-prevention woman bowed slightly in greeting.

"Yes, Lord Ash."

They were very respectful, but only in terms of their status; it had absolutely nothing to do with Li Wei.

Knowing what was going on, Li Wei followed the sound of hammering and walked through the stone arch tunnel. Suddenly, a voice called out to Li Wei.

"Oh my, a Lord Ash has arrived. I, this old woman, am a servant of this Firelink Shrine, handling everything from weapons and armor to items and spells."

All the necessary items to help you accomplish your mission have been prepared.

Of course, I'm an old woman who doesn't die, but I'm not doing charity work either.

Lord Ash, go and seize the soul, then bring it back to me.

Ultimately, this is how adults make a living, isn't it? Hehe...

The old woman who laughs like a lunatic is a merchant in the game, but she hasn't sold a single item since the thief appeared.

Now that he was here, Li Wei asked a question that had been bothering him for a long time.

"Buying and selling? What do you need a soul for? For enhancement?"

This old woman keeps stealing the boss's clothes in the game and then selling them to Ash players at a high price. What does she need so many souls for?

Now that she's here herself, even if she can defeat any boss, she won't have a chance to steal it anymore, so her only source of income is gone.

"Lord Ash knows nothing, hehe. Of course, it's about filling the voids in the Dark Ring with souls. Every little bit helps. Ah, I forgot that Lord Ash doesn't have such a thing. Don't worry about it, hehehe~."

The Dark Ring of the Undead, a black hole that slowly erases human memories, a terrifying curse. No matter how steadfast a warrior was before, the feeling of slowly forgetting everything is enough to drive anyone mad.

When a living person dies, the tiny black essence produced is called humanity, and it is the best medicine to cure the ring of darkness. But now it is the end of the century, and the living have been completely wiped out.

Without humanity, one can only fill the void with the soul. Using humanity is merely a temporary fix, and the problem will continue to slowly fade away.

But using one's soul is like drinking poison to quench thirst; it will gradually lead to "perversion."

The soul is the atomic bomb, and humanity is the enriched uranium that makes up the atomic bomb. Uncontrolled enriched uranium will cause nuclear pollution, which is the eruption of human filth, turning people into oil slickers.

Why bother spreading this news? It seems like everything is doomed anyway, so let's just give up.

However, Li Wei still had quite a few rusty longswords he had taken from the zombies, so he picked one out.

"You're a businessman, do you accept these things?"

The old maid glanced at the tattered items Li Wei had taken out and responded with a smile.

"Hehe, Lord Ash, these pieces of junk are too bulky to even collect. But you can try selling them to the blacksmith. He wouldn't mind buying them back and remelting them."

Poverty makes people lose their ambition; it's good enough if they can make any money at all, let alone the fact that someone pointed out a way forward.

After saying goodbye to the old maid, find the blacksmith at the end of the road.

"A new face indeed. I am Andrei, a servant of this sacrificial site. As you can see, I am a blacksmith. The search for the Lord of Cinder is no easy journey, and you will certainly need powerful weapons."

So let me forge your weapon; I am a blacksmith, and this is what I was born for.

Li Wei then took out a bunch of rusty swords along with his own previously bent sword.

"The old maid said you would buy these? And can this sword be repaired?"

Looking at the pile of junk that Li Wei had thrown on the ground, Andrei couldn't help but sigh in his heart, "The world is tough, and even Ash's days are not easy."

"Just leave it here as a repair fee. Come back in half an hour to pick it up."

I'll repair it to its original condition. Besides, weapons are uncomfortable when they're broken, aren't they?

Although it wasn't exactly free, the maintenance of this pile of junk was still worthwhile, and it was the blacksmith's good intention, so Li Wei didn't dwell on it.

"Thanks, Andrei."

"Ashes, treat them as kindly as possible, hehe."

"I will."

Throughout the entire sacrificial site, Livy greeted everyone except the dwarf who was still dozing on the throne.

Those unused souls were naturally used to strengthen themselves. They found the Fire Keeper and took out the soul fragments they had acquired.

"I want to improve myself, how should I do that?"

Although the ashes before her exuded an air of poverty, the Fire Keeper did not mind.

"Lord Ash, please reach out and touch the darkness within me."

I glanced at the other person's chest; their heart was not to be touched.

Not knowing what to do, Li Wei simply imitated Ash from the game, kneeling on the ground and reaching out his hand to the Fire Keeper with his palm facing upwards.

"Pfft, Li Wei, are you proposing?"

Wood, who was on the high platform, saw this scene and chuckled.

But Li Wei didn't hear it at all; instead, he stared blankly at the interface in front of him.

The Fire Keeper hovered her hand above Levi's, chanting incantations as light emanated from her hand, but then glanced back at Wood's position.

Then, under the Fire Keeper's death stare, Wood muttered a couple of things under his breath, like a duck with its throat choked.

Li Wei stared blankly at the string of numbers three on the screen.

Vitality: 5

Concentration: 5

Endurance, stamina, strength, agility: 3

Intelligence and faith, both were zero. Although intelligence does not mean IQ, it still made Li Wei feel a silent mockery.

It's normal to be lucky, but it's unlucky for someone to be 7.

Good heavens, even a useless person is three times stronger than me.

However, the enhancement is really cheap; at least the first one only costs fifty souls.