Konoha's Mission Master

In short, the skeletons will be more terrifying than Yakumo imagined.

As time passed, Yakumo grew increasingly anxious. He even considered rushing out of the building, returning to the temporary base, and taking Mori Masako and Chiyuki with him to escape.

But that god-level monster stood like an insurmountable chasm before Yakumo. No matter what judgment he made, he could not ignore that god-level monster who suppressed everything.

"what to do?"

Yakumo clenched his fists, watching the crab-shaped monster enter the residential area where the temporary base was located. He was extremely anxious, like an ant on a hot pan.

"Calm down, calm down."

I breathed softly, forcing myself to regain my composure.

Masako Mori and Chiyuki Yuuki were able to dodge the crab monster, but they couldn't dodge the multi-eyed octopus floating in the sky.

That grotesque, multi-eyed monster, who looks extremely twisted, possesses dragon-level strength and incredibly powerful mental attributes.

Not long after, the crab monster left the building, clearly showing that Masako Mori and Chiyuki had managed to evade the first round of inspections in their own way.

Despite such an excellent result, the two remained calm and composed.

At this point, Yakumo had more time to think about countermeasures.

"We have to come up with a solution..."

As time passed, the sun began to set in the west.

The multi-eyed octopus monster in the sky had already surveyed most of K City and was gradually moving towards the temporary base. The nine-headed serpent was still coiled in mid-air, and the Bone King showed no impatience.

The god-level monster has a long time to spare, so he's not worried about not finding the little mouse hiding in the shadows. If he can't find it in one day, then ten days; if he can't find it in ten days... then a year. Eventually, that interesting mouse will reveal its true colors.

As dusk fell, under the manipulation of the White Bone Society, the thick fog and blood rain did not appear. Instead, the bright moon hung high, scattering its pure light.

The multi-eyed octopus swam back to the position above Yakumo's head, surrounded by many flying monsters. Most of them were mutated birds, with wings growing on their backs, incredibly sharp eyes, and claws as sharp as daggers.

Those tentacles carrying eyeballs danced wildly in the sky.

Yakumo quietly enveloped his entire body with soul energy to conceal his presence, but the tentacles of the multi-eyed octopus ultimately pointed towards the temporary base.

The strange flying figures around them scattered instantly, emitting sharp cries from their mouths as they flapped their wings and flew towards the temporary base.

Yakumo's sliver of hope vanished instantly, and even the god-level monster in the sky opened its eyes after the multi-eyed octopus made its judgment.

Without sorrow or joy, looking down on everything from a high vantage point.

The serpent's tail, several kilometers long, lashed through the air, its enormous wings whipping up terrifying hurricanes. The roar of the nine-headed serpent echoed into the distance, as if issuing a formal declaration of war.

Although Yakumo couldn't understand the giant snake's roar, he was certain it was a signal... or a command, and all the strange people in K City began to move rapidly toward the temporary base.

The physical variations of these strange beings are mostly related to the ocean, with various types of gills growing on their cheeks and fin-like structures growing at their joints.

At that moment, Yakumo couldn't help but feel a little regretful.

He knew the Golden Dungeon was dangerous, yet he was still not cautious enough. If it weren't for the special nature of his Soul-Soul Fruit ability yesterday, which allowed him to slaughter Tiger-level and Demon-level monsters and toy with that God-level monster several times, he would have been in serious trouble.

It's possible... that it was precisely because of his actions yesterday that the strange organization went to such lengths to find Yakumo and the others.

"That god-like monster sitting on the throne must be furious about his actions, right?" Yakumo thought to himself.

The fact that all the strange people in K City are heading to the temporary base in the neighborhood proves that Mori Masako and Yuuki Chiyuki's location has been exposed, and Yakumo doesn't have much time left.

A decision must be made.

"Use the brilliance of blank space."

Within a day, Yakumo had already devised a way to break the deadlock: to sacrifice his life and use that special item.

Even if it is a gift from the devil.

Now he has no choice but to accept it willingly.

Yakumo took the crystal out of his pocket. As always, it was warm to the touch. Its appearance was pure white, full of holiness, but he knew very well that this was definitely a gift from the devil.

He spoke softly, asking a question about the crystal in his hand.

"What price do I need to pay to remove the suppression from the mysterious entity within the dungeon and to increase all my attributes by 10% until the dungeon ends?"

This was the exchange condition that Yakumo had planned long ago. He couldn't defeat the god-level monster just by removing the seal on his energy, so he had to amplify all his attributes.

The brilliance of the blank space has only one chance, and Yakumo must do it perfectly in one go, even if it comes at a great cost... He is willing to do it!

This special prop immediately provided an answer.

Both of the following options are acceptable.

[25% Soul.]

A lifespan of thirty years.

[Note: This cost can be waived with 150,000 gold.]

"Wow, that's quite a high price to pay."

Yakumo could not possibly exchange his soul for it. Not to mention that giving up his soul would inevitably weaken his intelligence, losing 25% of his memories would be an incredibly terrifying thing.

Outside, all sorts of strange beings have surrounded the temporary stronghold, led by a god-level monster, assisted by more than a dozen dragon-level monsters, and the number of demon-level monsters is simply too many to count.

Masako Mori and Chiyuki were also aware of their exposure.

The two, dressed in sealed diving suits, took the initiative to leave their temporary base and launch an attack, unleashing a mixture of deep purple death energy and blazing flames.

The two-colored energy pillars connect heaven and earth.

The group has now lost the rule of being immune to death in the dungeon; in other words... they are now in a desperate situation.

Yakumo can only exchange his lifespan for it; perhaps he can try once before that.

"Is 65,000 gold coins plus ten years of lifespan feasible?"

Yakumo spoke extremely fast; at this moment, he had already risked his life.

The brilliance of the blank space immediately provided an answer.

[Sixty-five thousand gold coins plus seventeen years of lifespan.]

Yes or No

Yakumo immediately understood that this was the final price, and he no longer had the power or qualification to negotiate.

The text hovered in front of Yakumo, and he suddenly felt a deep chill, as if someone was spying on the transaction, but he still clicked "Yes" without hesitation.

Message: Many years ago, I had regrets about giving everything to try and reverse things, but you are luckier than me.

The brilliance of emptiness shattered in Yakumo's palm, and the hidden energy within exploded completely, merging entirely into Yakumo's body. The two negative statuses were almost instantly erased and completely disappeared by this energy.

Immediately afterwards, the unknown life form's restriction on Yakumo only lasted for less than two seconds before it completely broke, accompanied by the sound of breaking chains spreading outward from Yakumo's body.

Chakra, return!

Life Source Energy, return!

Lightning power, return!

The sound of raging waves crashing against the shore spread from Yakumo's body. As that energy dissipated, all of his attributes increased by ten percent in that instant.

Yakumo's main physical fitness right now.

Constitution: 85 (Endurance, Resistance, Recovery)

Intelligence: 97 (learning ability, mental resilience)

Of course, that's not all. The overall attribute enhancement also includes all the energy within Yakumo's body, and even the residual energy is intended to be strengthened with the Prayer Mark.

However, the remaining energy of the Brilliance of the Blank was completely absorbed by the Mark of Prayer, which indeed became stronger.

The transaction is complete; proceed with the withdrawal of the consideration.

In Yakumo's peripheral vision, the number of gold coins plummeted at an extremely rapid pace, eventually leaving him with less than five hundred gold coins.

A giant, transparent hand formed in the void and pierced Yakumo's heart. Yakumo looked down and did not see the wound, nor did she feel any pain.

But he could sense a kind of cold energy taking away some substance from his body, making his heart gradually feel empty, and he almost instinctively wanted to dodge and escape.

He had a feeling that if he tried to avoid it, it would be a breach of contract, and he would have to pay a huge price, a price he could not afford.

The pair of transparent hands gradually materialized and acquired their own color: a pair of bluish-gray hands with crisscrossing deep purple patterns on their surface.

Those textures seemed to be embedded in the skin, forming depressions.

Yakumo brought up his personal interface. At this moment, his maximum lifespan had been shortened by ten years. According to the contract, he needed to pay off another seven years of his lifespan.

Life limit...374, 373.

Yakumo decided to ignore it and close his eyes, no longer paying attention to the huge blue hand, letting his lifespan be drained away.

Suddenly, the Prayer Mark on the back of Yakumo's hand appeared out of thin air, becoming scalding hot, and the blood-red character began to twist and spread, growing towards his arm like a blood-red tattoo.

A furious roar rang in Yakumo's ears.

"roll!!"

It was a clear, cold female voice, yet it contained terrifying power. Blood-red vines spread and grew from the tattoo, instantly wrapping around, suppressing, and even beginning to devour and absorb the large blue hand.

"No way? Oh no!"

But after a few seconds, the expected backlash did not occur; instead, his maximum lifespan began to increase.

It increased from 373 to 376.

In the end, he paid the price of twelve years of his life for this contract.

"I've made money for five years, so I'm not losing money."

The large blue hand was devoured by the blood-red vines, gradually drying out until it fell away like dust. The crimson vines, as if forged from fresh blood, returned to the tattoo.

The mark of prayer is hidden beneath the skin.

Yakumo had no time to ponder the cause of this upheaval. Feeling the immense energy surging within him, he looked towards the distant battlefield.

"Hey, it's time to collect the interest."

"Twelve years, and you'd only be worth it if you exchanged a few hundred attribute points!"

With a flash of golden light, Yakumo disappeared from the spot. As the chakra was unlocked, the Flying Thunder God mark on Mori Masako's body was also activated.

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