This isn't a souls-like game at all.

"You are... the Gnawing Mage?"

Chapter 465: Puppet Under the New Moon

"Are you the Gnawing Mage?"

A cold and low female voice suddenly came to ask, which woke up the white-bearded old man who was looking up at the moon with a sad look on his face.

He looked back in a daze, but there was nothing in front of him.

But a small wooden bench appeared on the ground in front of him at some point.

"Am I starting to hallucinate?"

The old man withdrew his gaze, dejected, and the flame of hope that had quietly ignited in his heart also quietly went out.

Yes, how could anyone come to save him?

That voice was nothing more than a fantasy that emerged from his mind when he knew his death was imminent.

This place is far away from human habitation and is in a remote location. Not to mention that there are poisonous insects and wild beasts everywhere along the way. Without means to repel insects and avoid wild beasts, even well-equipped mercenaries would not dare to go deep into it rashly.

Even if someone manages to avoid danger and successfully arrive here, how can he break through the solid fortress built by the insect people?

Even the strengthened millipede couldn't break down the fortress's gate.

If those insect people hadn't wanted to see whether the specific effects of the albinism research were true to the theory, the millipedes would have been killed by them and turned into insect tools long ago.

And when the day comes when the effects appear, I am afraid I will not be able to escape the fate of becoming a tool of insects.

Thinking of this, the old man with white beard was overwhelmed with sorrow and could not help but look up and sigh.

"I thought that even a master magician from the Palace of All Beings in the Hall of Zhige would eventually be reduced to an inhuman insect... Could this be the eternal curse of a magician?"

"???"

Mercury Lamp looked at the old man sighing and was a little confused.

Why is this person ignoring me?

Didn’t he see me just now?

and many more!

He finally reacted and looked down at himself.

"Forehead."

Why does it still look like a bench?

Why is the mimicry not removed?

"Look this way, old man."

He quickly ended his mimicry, walked up and tugged at the old man's sleeve.

The white-bearded old man looked down blankly and saw a doll with silver hair and red eyes, wearing a black dress. At this moment, it was pulling its simple sleeves and looking at it expressionlessly with its delicate little face raised.

"This illusion... is so real?"

The old man was stunned and muttered to himself in disbelief.

"I heard that when people are in despair, they will see the things they desire most in their hearts... So, what I long for is not the so-called research results, but a doll?

"I'm actually... really a pervert?"

Then the old man saw the doll loosen its hands, cross its arms across its chest, and frown in disgust.

"Aren't you a master of magic? Can't you recognize puppet magic?"

The old man's eyes widened with a shocked expression.

"The doll... is talking?! Wait a minute!"

Hearing those strange yet familiar words, the old man was stunned for a moment, then he reacted and opened his mouth in ecstasy.

"Puppet magic? You're a puppeteer?!"

"Damn it! Keep your voice down! Do you want to attract all those bugs here?!"

Ye Yiyi widened her eyes, shouted angrily, and then looked down at the old man who hurriedly covered his mouth.

Fortunately, the insect people he described were probably too far away and did not notice the movement in the magician's tower.

"Are you here to save me?!"

After making sure that there was no commotion, the old man suppressed his joy and asked in a low voice.

"How many people did you bring? Are there other magicians besides you? How will you sneak in?"

"I'm here to save you. I'm the only one here. Besides me, there's a scarab and a star, but no other magicians.

"As for how you sneaked in?"

Mercury Lamp pursed his lips and said, "Of course it's by magic."

"what?"

After listening to Mercury Lamp's story, the old man felt confused.

When the old man first heard the other party say that he was the only one there, he felt like a bucket of cold water was poured over his heart.

There is only one magician, and he is a puppeteer who is not good at frontal combat. How can he defeat the insect people in the camp and rescue himself?

But after hearing what Mercury Lamp said next, his despairing mood suddenly became confused.

Scarab?

What is that? A bug?

However, those insect people are all good at controlling insects, and are suspected to have the blood of some flying insects. Ordinary insects can't make any waves in front of them.

Even if your name has the word "Sheng" in front of it, it won't work!

And then there’s… a star?

The old man didn't react at once, and subconsciously looked up at the starry night sky outside the window.

"You said you... brought a star here?"

He stared blankly at the mercury lamp and made a gesture of a meteorite falling from the sky.

"Are those stars that fall from the sky and crush me all to death?"

"Tsk!"

Mercury Lamp smacked his lips in dissatisfaction.

Is this old man a master of magic?

How come you don’t even know the stars?

Moreover, he had never even heard of the Palace of All Beings. Could it be that this guy was just bragging?

Mercury Lamp was too lazy to explain to the other party what kind of star it was, so she raised her little hand and snapped her fingers.

"Xiaoyu, take off the chains on him for me."

As the old man looked terrified, a deep blue mist emerged from the void behind the mercury lamp, and then two translucent tentacles emitting starlight emerged from it and gently broke the chains that bound the old man.

"The star you're talking about... is it this star?!" The old magician watched the tentacles retract into the void, his face dull and his voice trembling.

But Mercury Lamp was too lazy to pay attention to him and just gave orders.

"While V3 hasn't returned yet, pack up the important things in the tower and let's leave first."

"V3? Oh! I see!"

The old magician didn't know who V3 was referring to, but from the context he figured out that it was the insect man who had just left.

He tried to stand up, but his old body trembled and staggered, and he almost fell to the ground.

"No, I can't move!"

The old man half-knelt against the wall and said anxiously:

"Those bug people put a curse on me. I can't move!"

"Curse? What curse?"

Mercury Lamp's eyes fixed, his tone serious, but he thought to himself, "As expected."

This group of insect people is indeed inextricably linked to the stagnation curse.

Looks like I have to clean it up!!

"It's the Curse of Weakness!"

The old man was out of breath after just a slight movement, his eyes burning with anger and overflowing with hatred.

"Huh... there's also the Dispersion Curse!

"The former made me look like a centenarian, skinny and weak!

"The latter makes me unable to concentrate, drowsy, and unable to cast magic!"

Mercury Lamp was just thinking about how to get rid of this bunch of idiots, but he was suddenly stunned when he heard this.

Huh? Not the Stasis Curse?

"You mean...a curse?" he asked, confused.

"Yes, although it is a hymn from a technical point of view, it is a hymn with an ugly curse power!"

"Ugly spell power?" He was even more confused.

"Yes, the Ugly Curse. It's an ancient, barbaric spell with a long history. In modern magical academia, it's considered the predecessor of magic and the power of hymns."

"Barbaric Curse, I think I've heard of this before."

Mercury Lamp couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

If he remembered correctly, the gift the paperhanger gave him was a puppet magic called "Dancing with Silk", the original form of which was a barbaric spell that eliminated the lingering poison of faith.

Having said that, Ye Yiyi still felt an inexplicable sense of disharmony when he heard the term "modern magic academic world" from the old man's mouth.

Needless to say, this must be the word from the Son of Cyber.

"Then how can we remove this cursed hymn?" Mercury Lamp asked.

"I need the nuns of the Glorious Church of Eternal Destiny to pray for me."

The old man said seriously, "And she has to be a pure, unmarried nun, about sixteen or seventeen years old, in her prime!"

"Ok?"

Mercury Lamp raised an eyebrow, gazing at the old magician's solemn expression with suspicion.

After staring at him for a while, the old man looked away silently.

"...Well, if there really isn't a nun, a nanny would be fine too."

"Under such circumstances, you can still say such words with a serious face. I really admire you."

Mercury Lamp sighed deeply.

"Old man, you really have a good attitude."

"Thank you for the compliment. Only after experiencing despair can one know what one is truly pursuing."

The old man looked up at the sky and sighed deeply.

"What's the point of studying the truth? Won't it still be there when I die?

"An abstract thing that you can't reach no matter how hard you try is not as good as a young girl's thigh. At least you can see and touch it!"

This old man's face is even thicker than Ye Yiyi imagined.

Mercury Lamp couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Then tell me if there are any important items you need to take away, and I'll get them for you."

"There are three. One is in the bedroom on the third floor, and my staff and robes."

The old man raised his hand and pointed above his head.

“The staff is decorated with silver crescent moon patterns, and the top is inlaid with black meteorite iron. You can tell which one it is at a glance.