Chapter 342: Curse Master, Tutorial 2

‘The devs have grown a conscience.’

Thinking of this, despite his wealth of gaming experience, Zhang Ming decided to go through the newbie tutorial first.

“The flames even have a texture…” After touching the Spirit Candle, Zhang Ming clicked his tongue in wonder as he watched the azure halo spread around him.

At this moment, many of the Milestone Spirit Candle’s functions were locked, but aside from leveling up and recovering, there was one other function.

[Leave the newbie tutorial and head to Candle Island]

After a moment’s thought, Zhang Ming didn’t choose to leave immediately. Instead, he looked toward a stone platform in the room.

Two items were placed on it.

[Bloodstained Long Handkerchief]

[Type: Weapon]

[Effect: Catalyzes Prayer]

[Explanation: A long handkerchief stained with blood. It’s better than nothing.]

“This must be a Banner… To think this thing can actually be used as a Weapon…”

After waving the long handkerchief in his hand, Zhang Ming found it a little amusing, but he wrapped it around his palm anyway.

Then he looked to the side and was surprised to find a piece of equipment.

[Curse Master Robe]

[Type: Clothing]

[Explanation: Its Defense Power is negligible, but at least it helps you maintain a shred of dignity.]

“There’s even equipment!”

Zhang Ming was genuinely surprised now.

Many of the Prison Players on the Spirit Candle Forum had said that when they first started the game, they were all naked except for a pair of shorts. Only the female players got an extra piece of cloth…

‘It seems Spirit Candle is becoming more and more polished.’

“Looks like this is to teach newbies how to use Weapons and wear equipment.”

After putting on the black robe, Zhang Ming grew even more curious about the newbie tutorial.

But before continuing the tutorial, he needed to check his personal information.

After searching his field of vision for a moment, he quickly found and opened it.

[Xiaoming]

[Tier: Residual Ash]

[Level: 1]

[Ability Value:]

[Power: 2]

[Constitution: 3]

[Agility: 5]

[Spirit: 5]

[Faith: 12]

[Talent: Curse Eye]

[Ability: Dodge]

[Skill: Cursed Wax Figure]

“Huh? All my points were dumped into Faith? It’s all the way up to 12…”

Seeing his Attributes, Zhang Ming found it a little hard to take. The stat distribution for this bloodline was a bit too extreme.

‘Feels even squishier than a Mage…’

‘Whatever, let’s see what the Talent is like…’

‘If this Curse Master is this squishy, its specialty must be very strong.’

First, the Talent.

[Curse Eye: After seeing a target, you can memorize it. Consume Faith Power to release a Cursed Teardrop, which can be used to acquire a medium or deepen a Curse.]

“What the hell?” Zhang Ming’s eyes lit up. “This Effect feels a little sinister.”

Then, he eagerly checked the accompanying Skill.

[Cursed Wax Figure: Consume a Cursed Teardrop to create a wax figure. The wax figure can be used as a medium. Attacking the wax figure will inflict periodic damage on the enemy. When a Curse is applied to the wax figure, the enemy will also suffer the corresponding Curse effect.]

“This is…”

Zhang Ming frowned in thought for a good while before summarizing the Curse Master’s combat style.

“Sticking pins in a doll?”

‘Interesting…’

Zhang Ming couldn’t help but get excited, wanting to try out the effects of this Talent and Skill right away.

However, after looking all around, he only saw this small, empty room and a flight of stairs ahead.

“Whatever, I’ll just get through the newbie tutorial first. There should be some mobs for newbies to fight…”

As he thought, Zhang Ming tightened the long handkerchief on his hand and continued along the small path.

But as the stairs before him gradually leveled out, the sight that greeted him made him shudder instinctively.

A giant, marble-like bust was fixed to the ground, waiting quietly in the room. It had only half a body, a head, one arm, and one leg, with the arm and leg being extremely long and slender.

Hearing Zhang Ming’s footsteps, the head’s grayish-white eyeballs turned toward him, and it spoke in a hoarse voice.

“…A newly born, ugly Curser, is it…”

“Heh… I could smash you into mincemeat with a single slap…”

The head tilted mechanically, its robotic tone inexplicably infuriating.

[Dodge an Attack in advance to avoid damage]

[But when you encounter an attack that is difficult to Dodge, performing actions such as Rolling, Jumping, or crawling may allow you to escape under the protection of the Spirit Candle Power…]

The prompt appeared again. It seemed this was a monster for newbies to practice dodging.

‘A perfect chance to try out my Curse Eye Talent and Cursed Wax Figure!’

Thinking of this, Zhang Ming eagerly activated his Talent.

After the bust’s figure was reflected in his Curse Eye, with a thought from Zhang Ming, his Power of Faith began to drain.

The next moment, a milky-white teardrop quickly appeared at the corner of his eye, trickled down, and ended up floating in his palm. Under the influence of a Formless power, it was kneaded into shape, finally solidifying into a small bust.

“So this thing is the Cursed Wax Figure.”

He picked up the wax figure in his hand and examined it curiously.

[Cursed Wax Figure · Bust]

[Type: Special Item]

[Effect: Can be used as a medium for a Curse Master.]

[Explanation: This statue is truly ugly. It might become a work of art if you break the head off.]

“Not bad, not bad. Really interesting,” Zhang Ming marveled.

“It seems like attacking this wax figure directly affects the enemy?”

Thinking of this, Zhang Ming tried reaching out and giving the wax figure a slap.

BAM!

Following the muffled sound, the bust in front of Zhang Ming also seemed to have been struck by a huge, formless palm, and its body wobbled.

“Smash you…”

The bust’s Wisdom didn’t seem to be very high; it just mechanically repeated that one line.

“Smash me?” Zhang Ming scoffed, then unleashed a series of slaps on the wax figure. “I’ll smash you first!”

With his actions, the bust also began to sway back and forth.

Finally, Zhang Ming used all his strength and directly broke the head off the wax bust.

With a CRACK, the neck of the bust across the room also twisted to one side, and it died.

“What the hell?”

Seeing this, Zhang Ming was a little stunned.

“A direct one-shot? I don’t even have to do any turn-based dodging?”

He immediately grew excited. This bloodline’s Abilities felt a little too strong.

“Wait a second.”

After coming back to his senses, Zhang Ming suddenly realized something and checked his Faith Power.

Just as he expected, his Faith Power had dropped by a huge chunk, almost hitting bottom.

“The cost is a bit high…” he scratched his cheek. “But the power level is still insane. I don’t even have to fight. It’s too easy.”

“But using it on this thing was a bit of a waste. It didn’t even drop any Wax Oil…”

‘Onward, onward!’

Thinking of this, he excitedly headed to the next room, completely unaware of the real reason he hadn’t had to fight up close just now.

Soon, he arrived in a room full of seawater, with the door to the next room on the opposite side.

On the water’s surface ahead, a small raft waited quietly.

[Stand on the raft and touch the flame to move it.]

“Whoa, they’re giving away Spirit Fire Rafts for free now?”

Zhang Ming stepped onto it, pleasantly surprised.

[To explore certain areas, you will need a raft or a boat.]

[The Spirit Fire Harbor, a Spirit Candle Building, can provide rafts. They can be purchased for 50 Wax Oil.]

[Aside from the Spirit Fire Harbor, other buildings such as the Sin Furnace, the Demon-Harboring Cottage, and the Candle Spirit Tree also provide special functions…]

As the Spirit Fire Raft moved forward, the information panel continuously updated with new guidance.

Zhang Ming’s face fell. He had indeed gotten his hopes up. He’d still have to buy his own Spirit Fire Raft after all…

After he went ashore, the Spirit Fire Raft disappeared, but another Milestone Spirit Candle appeared.

After lighting the Spirit Candle and recovering his status, Zhang Ming continued forward.

Then, in the next room, he saw a figure that was both familiar and unfamiliar from the forums.

[Beach Fishman]

“The Fishman Coach! Hahaha, I finally get to see one in the flesh.”

Zhang Ming’s eyes lit up.

Memes about the “Fishman Coach” and the Candlemen appeared frequently on the Spirit Candle Forum, so he was no stranger to them.

Strictly speaking, however, this was probably the first time he had ever seen a Beach Fishman with his own eyes…