Chapter 53: Vice and Virtue

Before a Hero became a Hero, back when they had just set off and arrived at a crossroads, two Goddesses descended from the sky.

True to their names, one Goddess persuaded people to do evil, accumulating Vice to become Evil People. The other persuaded people to do good, accumulating virtue to become good people.

But regardless of which path they chose, a Hero would always become a Hero. On the Tartarus Continent, anyone who possessed immense Power was a Hero.

Foreigners, however, were rather unique. Before arriving in this world, faced with the invitations of the two Goddesses, they might choose one or the other. Yet, the vast majority chose the middle path at the crossroads.

Rejecting the temptation of the Vice Goddess and declining the guidance of the Virtue Goddess, they walked straight down the middle path, setting off as wandering, lost souls.

Whether it came to virtue or Vice, they preferred to choose according to their own will.

But the Foreigner before him had, without a doubt, accepted the temptation of the Vice Goddess.

From the moment she accepted, she continuously satisfied the Vice Goddess’s demands, spiraling further into evil.

Ultimately, she became the entity standing before him now.

***

[Greenland / Vice]

Level: 60

Profession: Cat Beastman Level 15 / Death Druid (Reversed) Level 10 / Acupoint Master Level 10 / Necromancer Level 5 / Beast Speaker Level 5 / Puppet Master Level 5 / Master of Traps Level 5 / Assassin Level 5

Power: 200 / Agility: 437 / Intelligence: 877 / Faith: 1220

Skill: ??? / Magic: ???

Equipment

Weapon: Forgotten Eden Fruit Branch (Magic Staff)

Head: Veil of the Dead / Upper Body: Mimic Skeleton / Waist: Mist Veil / Lower Body: Mimic Skeleton / Accessory: Zombie Makeup

***

"Reversed..." Blaze’s pupils contracted upon seeing that word attached to the Profession of the Foreigner named Greenland.

A reversed Profession came from a special quest that could only be accepted after accumulating a massive Vice Value. Through a truly horrifying process, it completely inverted a chosen, eligible Profession.

The healing Profession [Doctor] would twist into the murderous [Killing Doctor]. The crafting Profession [Chef] would devolve into the specialized [Cannibal]. Even the useless [Artist] would morph into the utterly terrifying [Evil God Writer].

The [Druid], who summoned Life and held Faith in the forest, would turn into the [Death Druid], a being who commanded death and corrupted all things.

"Honestly, does Vice Value also attract regional bosses? Ah, I forgot you’ve become a Neutral NPC now."

Greenland let out a gloomy, spectral female laugh, lightly tapping the ground with her Branch Magic Staff, which had a withered apple dangling from its tip.

"[Summon: Giant Bear A]."

A cloud of black mist permeated the air. Greenland’s shadow squirmed like thick mud, and a massive, three-meter-tall figure slowly surfaced from it.

Blaze immediately assumed a combat stance, lowering his voice to warn the young couple behind him, whom Greenland had targeted.

"Step back!"

"Oho~ You really look like a Knight. How nice. I want to become a Knight, too."

The black veil on Greenland’s head fluttered up, revealing a long, narrow vertical beast pupil. The pale, livid fur surrounding it was characteristic of a long-dead, stiffened animal corpse.

This was the signature trick of a [Druid]: summoning a giant bear, one of the strongest species in the forest. Not only did it possess extremely high Power and exceptionally thick Defense, but crucially, its speed was nothing to scoff at. Its roar could even trigger control effects like intimidation.

However, the giant bear Greenland had summoned was wrong—it was a zombified giant bear. Its entire body featured pixelated, rotting textures, and it drooled foul-smelling saliva. Its enormous bear paws emanated a faint purple glow.

[Zombie Giant Bear Level 60 / DOWNLOAD]

[Highly Poisonous B / Zombie Virus A / Infection C / Diffusion A / Parasitism A / Sacrifice Charge A / Self-Destruct B]

It wasn’t just the Profession that was reversed, but also her Skills and summons?! If the summoned Monster was from the Undead Series, [Lethal Execution] would be completely useless.

Blaze smiled bitterly inwardly. "I didn’t expect that right after deciding yesterday not to rely on this Skill just in case, I’d run into an unexpected situation today," he thought.

The zombie giant bear swayed and instantly appeared in front of Blaze, bearing down on him like a massive dark shadow.

The bear’s Power was overwhelmingly strong, so Blaze didn’t dare clash head-on. He rolled to dodge the attack. The enormous bear paw punched through the ground with a single strike, and the resulting Impact sent Blaze flying.

Operating on the logic that since he was already taking a hit, he might as well squeeze in an extra strike, Blaze chopped his sword into the giant bear’s knee the exact moment he was sent flying.

The Twisted Greatsword did not cleave through the bear’s thick fur, but the triggered Pursuing Slash overlapped the attack onto a single point. The giant bear let out a howl and fell to its knees.

He thought, "[Diffusion A] can expand the attack range, releasing a shockwave whose power decreases as the distance increases. I see. I have to treat every strike as an area-of-effect attack and pull away with everything I’ve got."

Blaze subconsciously tried to wipe his mouth, only remembering after doing so that he was wearing a full-coverage helmet.

The zombie giant bear lunged forward again. Blaze slowly retreated, instantly pulling back to create distance the exact moment the bear attacked. This time, he saw it clearly.

The so-called shockwave actually looked more like a giant gauntlet.

"If I pay attention to the attack range..." he murmured.

Suddenly, the zombie giant bear emitted a burst of white smoke. Blaze immediately remembered that the zombie giant bear had a Skill to spread viruses. He hurriedly swung his Twisted Greatsword, using the Eight Fire Curse Poison attached to it to create a Flame isolation belt.

However, nothing happened, though the zombie giant bear’s Level did drop.

[Zombie Giant Bear Level 59 / DOWNLOAD]

"It’s not a real corpse, after all, but a dying giant bear infected with the zombie virus. It will completely rot away in sixty seconds." Greenland seemed troubled by the fact that her summon only lasted sixty seconds, raising a hand to scratch her face. "Its combat abilities will also decrease, and it will rot even faster when the temperature rises."

"An opening!" he thought.

Blaze charged fiercely at the giant bear, drawing a ring of fire with his Twisted Greatsword.

He didn’t need to attack its body directly; he just needed to wreathe it in the Eight Fire Curse Poison to accelerate the giant bear’s decomposition.

Most importantly, this was a dying giant bear. As long as it wasn’t from the Undead Series, he could directly use [Lethal Execution] for an instant kill!

Seizing the right moment, Blaze leaped into the air and raised his Great Sword, aiming right at the giant bear’s neck.

He wondered why this Foreigner would go out of her way to reveal the zombie giant bear’s weakness. Would someone with such an extremely high Vice Value make this kind of mistake?

She was waiting for him to use [Lethal Execution]!

A chill ran through Blaze’s heart. A split second before his [Danger Perception] started screaming, he tilted his head aside. A sharp bamboo shoot pierced out of the giant bear’s body and grazed his neck, sparking blinding embers.

Then, as if the zombie giant bear’s body were fertile soil welcoming the spring rain, dozens of bamboo shoots sprouted out, thrusting straight toward Blaze.

Blaze twisted mid-air, shifting into a handstand posture on his Twisted Greatsword to hide his entire body behind the wide blade.

CLANG, CLANG, CLANG—

The bamboo struck the Twisted Greatsword with ferocious brutality. Even though it was merely the force of plant growth, the intense vibration left Blaze’s hands completely numb.

"I see. After becoming a Neutral NPC, you’re no longer obsessed with using that cheat Skill to instantly kill players, and your fighting style has become conservative and cautious," Greenland chuckled softly.

"[Natural Cycle] can plant vegetation on rotting corpses and make them sprout quickly. [Prayer: Return to Nature], as the name suggests, allows me to manipulate plants and make them grow at high speeds.

"Even those Advanced players would be startled by this move. To think a mere NPC like you could dodge it on your very first time seeing it."

Seeing Greenland start explaining her Skills again, Blaze immediately grew tense, subconsciously certain she was playing dirty tricks once more.

"Don’t be so nervous. I’m someone who came answering the call of the Deputy Lord of Arcadia to hunt the dangerous Werewolf.

"The handsome young man in that couple you’re protecting is actually a Werewolf."

The index finger Blaze used to grip the Twisted Greatsword twitched.

He hadn’t expected them to show up so quickly—Foreigners who would indiscriminately slaughter people just for the Deputy Lord’s reward.

"You don’t believe me? I didn’t want to waste this initially."

Greenland snapped her fingers. The zombie giant bear ceased its attack, reared up, and opened its jaws toward the sky.

ROAR—

"A bear’s roar? What does..." Blaze’s eyes suddenly widened. From behind him came the pained groans of a man, along with...

[Arcadia Werewolf]

The scent of a Wild Beast.

***

Considering the physical and mental health of minors, this game does not provide the [Vice] option or reversed Profession services to underage players.

Reversed Professions that violate ethics, such as [Cannibal], have also undergone strict review, ensuring there is no graphic content that exceeds permitted guidelines.