Chapter Twelve: The End (Please recommend! Please add to your favorites!)

"This is the Deathwalker Puppet?! Such overwhelming pressure!" Fortunately, the cave was large enough for its movements.

"Lando, unleash the golem. Leave this to me!"

Hearing the eager voice, Lando turned his head and saw that the girl who had been clad in a lavish gown now wore feminine battle armor. Six metallic shuttles hovered around her, and she held a long metal staff, exuding an aura of futuristic technology.

Why had her style changed so abruptly? Coach, I want to learn this!

Lando injected a trace of energy into the golem in his pocket and tossed it out. After a series of sci-fi-like transformations, the golem landed as a towering metallic giant over two meters tall. Judging by the ground-shaking thud, it was certainly heavy.

"...?!" As a transmigrator, Lando did not consider himself ignorant, yet the rapidly changing world always caught him off guard.

"Don't just stand there, go do what you need to. Leave this to me." As soon as she spoke, Alice launched the first attack, and the golem, as if conscious, cooperated and struck alongside her.

Ignoring the battle behind him, Lando dashed deeper into the cave. The Deathwalker Puppet sensed his movements and tried to pursue, but Alice and the golem blocked its way.

Once past the Deathwalker, Lando proceeded unimpeded, soon reaching the end of the cave. The sight before him proved troublesome.

Within the vast chamber, the floor was covered with countless arcane symbols. At the very center, a palm-sized skull floated, clearly the core of the array. What truly vexed Lando was the black mist drifting through the formation—the souls of countless barbarian warriors.

Hearing the wails and screams emanating from within, Lando lost all desire to step inside.

Turn back? He immediately discarded that thought. He was only a step away; abandoning now would be disgraceful. At the very least, he had to try... If it didn’t work, then he could give up.

As Lando pondered how to lure out a soul, he suddenly remembered an unused skill.

"Logically, sonic skills are usually magical attacks, right? Let's give it a try!" he muttered uncertainly.

After a brief preparation—

The Ancient Ape’s special ability: Earthshaking Roar.

"Roar!~"

A deafening bellow echoed from the depths of the cave, startling Alice mid-battle.

Much later, Lando staggered to his feet, blood pouring from his mouth, eyes, ears, and nose. His throat was severely injured, rendering him temporarily mute.

Perhaps due to the cave’s acoustics, the Earthshaking Roar’s power was unexpectedly immense, almost killing Lando outright.

But the result was spectacular: the wandering souls in the black mist were cleared, countless cracks appeared in the cave, and debris began to fall.

Fearing delay might bring disaster, Lando endured the pain and approached the floating skull.

The moment he touched it, the system prompted him: there were remnants of souls and a large quantity of soul essence available for collection.

Seeing such a windfall, Lando promptly gathered them.

...

Meanwhile, as Lando absorbed the skull’s residual soul, in a distant world—

A young man in a splendid robe sensed something and gazed afar, his sight seeming to pierce through worlds.

His confidant, noticing his action, asked respectfully, "Master, are there any orders?"

The youth withdrew his gaze, smiled gently, and replied, "No worries. It seems one of my adorable disciples has encountered some trouble."

Since the youth gave no further instructions, the confidant said no more.

...

The two, battered, escaped the cave. Looking back at the collapsed mountain, Alice asked, still shaken, "What did you do inside? How did the mountain collapse?"

Lando pointed to his mouth, indicating he could not speak.

"Huh? So that roar was yours!" Alice asked, intrigued.

Lando nodded.

Alice took out a vial from her pack. "Here, drink this—it’ll heal your injuries."

Lando nodded, took the potion, and drank it. Instantly, a cool sensation spread through his body, soothing the pain.

"All right, I hope the benefits you gained will help you meet our conditions—otherwise, my senior and I will have worked in vain."

"...?"

Sensing Lando’s confusion, Alice smiled. "My senior will explain everything to you. I’ll take my leave now. I hope we meet again!"

Watching Alice fly off into the distance, Lando knew everything now rested with the mysterious Mr. Carter.

At last, he had time to examine his spoils.

Soul Essence: 9527

"A harvest like never before! Amazing~ I’m soaring!" More importantly...

Lando focused on a soul recently extracted by the system. It radiated a purple glow—subtle yet pure and dazzling.

Remnant Soul (Purple): Requires 65,000 soul essence to repair; dissecting it records its complete talent and yields a soul essence crystal (purple).

Lando blinked and repeatedly confirmed it needed 65,000, not 6,500, then fell into contemplation.

"Tch~ What’s so special? It’s just a purple soul. I—don’t even need it!"

Considering his own soul was only blue (4%)—gained 3% upon becoming a Grand Knight—even if repaired, it couldn’t be used immediately. And since it was a remnant, he couldn’t view its attributes directly. Repairing a remnant soul felt like gambling—simply...

Wait, gambling?!

Lando pondered again. Would he become addicted to this in the future?

Shaking off the unsettling thought, he noted the remaining soul essence was just short of raising his soul to 100%. Rounding up, it was as good as nothing. His hamster-like instincts kicked in; he decided to stockpile for now.

When Lando returned to the coalition camp, the Undead Canopy had vanished and the war was won—a fact he’d already gleaned from fleeing barbarian survivors on his way back.

He briefly explained the situation to the baron, who smiled with joy. "When that necromancer tried to flee, I knew you’d succeeded. Rest assured, my son, I’ve made arrangements in advance. Your contributions will not be overlooked. But you may need to show your strength again soon."

"…"

Rumors soon spread: it was said that the barbarian and necromancer’s plot had been uncovered from the start by the great Count Sigmund Torres. To thwart them, he dispatched the North’s youngest genius, Lando Moria, who ventured alone into enemy territory, sabotaged the necromancer’s plans, and saved the entire North.

At one of the count’s banquets, Lando faced a challenge from a Kingdom’s Guardian Knight. Enraged, Lando displayed Guardian Knight-level strength, making the rumors undeniable.

For a time, the wise count and the valiant Lando became legendary names throughout the North.

"..."

"People actually believe this? Only novels need logic. Reality doesn’t care, does it?!"