Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 557: Chapter 556: Tonight, the Abyssal Watcher Joins the Hunt

Fang Zheng opened his eyes, waking up from his slumber.

The church before him was no different from when he had fallen asleep, even the shadows cast by the fiery red sunset remained in the same positions. This made Fang Zheng wonder; it seemed as if the passage of time in this world was problematic... or perhaps, in this world, night never truly fell.

”Haaa...”

As Fang Zheng stood up, he noticed quietly lying beside him were two swords, one long and one short. He reached out to pick up the longsword, and as he grasped the hilt, he saw blue and purple circular sigils appearing on the backs of both his hands.

Immediately afterward, flames emerged from the sword, rapidly spreading over Fang Zheng’s arm and enveloping his entire body.

Although covered in raging flames, Fang Zheng did not feel the slightest heat. On the contrary, he felt as though he was immersed in a hot spring, comfortable and pleasant. The fatigue from previous battles washed away, and at the same time, Fang Zheng noticed the previously pitch-black, festering wound on his chest seemed to fade under the burning flames.

Not only that, the flames incinerated the clothes he had been wearing.

When the flames disappeared again, the Fang Zheng who emerged wore a triangular tall hat and was clad in silver-white light armor. A bright red cloak wrapped around his lower face, leaving only his eyes visible...

Indeed, this outfit suits me better.

Looking at the armor he was wearing, Fang Zheng nodded in satisfaction. He raised his right hand and opened the Dimensional Codex System. Although the system before him was still in black and white, its prompt had changed from ”System Offline” to ”System Offline... Repairing (Progress 3%)”.

At last, he had found a way to repair it.

Looking at the system prompt, Fang Zheng breathed a sigh of relief, then hoisted the greatsword and casually slung the relics of the previous hunter over his waist, striding again toward the church’s entrance.

Just as Fang Zheng was about to leave the church, suddenly, the old man who had been lying on the ground called out to him again.

”Hunter... please... save those who have not lost themselves on the hunting night...”

”If I see them, I will save them.”

Hearing the old man’s request, Fang Zheng waved his hand and then again turned to look at the old man beside him.

”However, I must correct you; I am not a hunter.”

”...Then, stranger, who are you...”

”I am...”

Looking at the old man before him, Fang Zheng smiled faintly.

”I am the Abyssal Watcher, from the Undead Squad of Farron.”

With that, Fang Zheng nodded to the old man and then turned and left. The old man watched Fang Zheng’s retreating figure, silent for a long time...

Upon leaving the church, Fang Zheng was astonished to find that after his sleep, everything seemed to have reverted to its original state. Just like how creatures respawn in online games, in this world, the creatures he had just slain had begun another round of fighting and combat.

Unfortunately, the hunter Fang Zheng had previously killed had not revived, and his wife’s corpse still lay in the same spot... It seems that aside from those cursed individuals the church elder had mentioned, others did not have the ability to revive. As for why the hunter hadn’t revived...

Fang Zheng suspected it might be related to the power he had absorbed when he killed him.

Having obtained the Farron Greatsword, Fang Zheng discarded the cane sword. Although the shapeshifting characteristic of the cane sword was quite cool, he was still more proficient with the weapons he was used to. On his way back, Fang Zheng easily slaughtered the creatures again, observing carefully this time and noticing that they also ”burst” into a mist-like energy when slain. But perhaps because their power was too weak, Fang Zheng had not managed to absorb it before it returned to the earth, disappearing from this world.

Well, perhaps it’s waiting for the next ”respawn”.

This world was clearly flawed.

Both the seemingly unpassing time and the creatures that revived after being slain did not seem quite real. The feeling it gave Fang Zheng was that this town called Anan seemed to exist in a rift between dream and reality. Some people were real, so they died and stayed dead. But some had been lured by the dream, entering an eternal nightmare from which they would never awaken, experiencing endless torment.

But now...

”Ah...”

Thinking about having to deliver bad news to that girl made Fang Zheng rather melancholic. He didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but now, it seemed no one else could do it but him... No, wait, perhaps there was another way?

Fang Zheng vividly remembered that apart from the little girl, there was also an old man willing to speak with him and who had requested Fang Zheng to find a safe place for him. By now, it seemed that the small church was indeed secure, and there should be no problem if they stayed there. Considering this, Fang Zheng had a plan.

”Knock, knock, knock.”

Soon, following the original path, Fang Zheng arrived at the old man’s door and knocked. Following that, the old man’s slightly agitated voice came from inside.

”What’s the matter, Hunter? Have you found a safe place yet?”

”Yes, old lady.”

Upon hearing the elder’s inquiry, Fang Zheng nodded.

”Odon Church is a very safe place, those creatures won’t enter it. If you’re sure you want to go there...”

”Go, of course I want to go!”

But no sooner had Fang Zheng finished speaking than the old woman suddenly yelled out.

”I’m fed up with this damned place! I’ll go there right now. Alright, Hunter, go do what you need to do! Stop fussing over this old crone!”

”...I’ve said I’m not a hunter...”

Facing the old woman’s response, Fang Zheng helplessly rolled his eyes, but he reached out again and knocked on the door. This time, the door conveyed the elder’s impatient voice once more.

”What now? Do you have anything else?”

”It’s like this, old lady...”

Fang Zheng hesitated for a moment.

”Just before I came here, I had spoken to a little girl whose mother had left her alone to go find her husband. So the little girl hoped I could help look for her parents...”

”I haven’t seen anyone but you around here!”

”I understand that... What I mean is... um, although I did find the little girl’s parents, they had already... Therefore, now the child is all alone. I think it’s very unsafe for her to stay in the house alone. If possible, may I go and find her and then bring her to the church?”

”............”

This time, the old woman didn’t speak. After a long while, the door that had been tightly shut in front of Fang Zheng opened a crack, and an elder with a white hat peeked through the gap at him.

”Who? Little girl? Who are you talking about? And who are her parents?”

”This is all I could bring back...”

As he spoke, Fang Zheng extended his hand to show the old woman a brooch he held in his hand. Upon seeing the brooch, the elder’s eyes widened sharply.

”My God... Father Gascoigne and his wife... Ah... So the child must be Cecilia...”

With this, the elder fell silent for a moment, then she looked at Fang Zheng again.

”Alright, wait here for me, outsider. I’ll pack up some things.”

After these words, the elder closed the door again. However, this time, Fang Zheng didn’t have to wait long; within a few minutes, the old woman came out carrying a lantern, looked Fang Zheng over carefully, and then nodded.

”Okay, outsider, let’s go.”

Perhaps due to Fang Zheng’s attire change or maybe because of his earlier request, the old woman’s demeanor towards him wasn’t as harsh as before. Instead, she started to chatter like a typical elderly woman as they walked.

”I knew Father Gascoigne, he was a good man, he loved his wife and daughter dearly... Ah, but relations with his older daughter weren’t good. Honestly, when I heard he joined the hunt, I thought about stopping him. But who listens to an old widow’s words? Hunting, hunting, what’s the point of it all?”

”...Oh, outsider, you’re kind-hearted. But what are you doing in Anan? This place has gone mad, it’s finished. An old person like me can only wait here, struggling to survive along with it...”

”About Anan? You must’ve heard about Anan’s Blood Healing, the legendary blood of Anan can cure all illnesses. And those outsiders mostly come here because of that, many of them seriously ill, hoping to get treated here. But what’s the use? Blood Healing isn’t the end of the nightmare, but the beginning of a disaster. Many who injected the blood went mad; they turned into lunatics and beasts, roaming, killing, turning this town into a mess. The Church organized a Hunting Squad to hunt these creatures, but it doesn’t make any sense; Anan has still turned into what it is now...”

Although the old woman kept prattling all the way, it was somewhat beneficial for Fang Zheng; at least he got to know the town’s history from her chatter. According to the elder, Anan possessed a unique blood that could cure all diseases when injected into the human body (this sounded like a quack doctor’s advertisement). And precisely for this reason, people from all places suffering from various diseases flocked here to ”seek medicine asking for blood”, undergoing Blood Healing and curing their diseases.

However, Blood Healing wasn’t without side effects; those who underwent it became hopelessly addicted to it, some turning into beasts from exceeding the limits, and the rest becoming somewhat insane. To this day, nearly everyone had either turned into a creature or had gone mad, with only a very few who hadn’t undergone Blood Healing keeping their sanity...

Fang Zheng really wanted to complain – in this era, you transfuse blood without even checking the blood type – is that really okay? Not to mention whether the environment is clean or not, do you use O-type blood for all your Blood Healing?

Just then, Fang Zheng saw a lantern in front of him.

The little girl’s house, they had arrived.