Chapter 377 Three Consecutive "Miracles"

Ping—

An utterly ordinary brass coin, devoid of any special features, left Xia Nan's fingertips and tumbled high into the air.

The massive beam of light from the Church's dome cast half the coin in an eerie pink glow, while the other half refracted the bleak crimson of the flames below.

With only one use remaining, the Epic-grade item born of the Goddess's favor, the [Fate Coin], once again unleashed its power at a critical moment.

As it tumbled end over end, the blurred face of the long-haired woman on its front alternated with the wind-blown cloak on its back.

An intangible, invisible force—one that few across the entire Aifala Continent could ever perceive—drifted up from the coin with the speed of a thought. It spiraled upward, connecting to somewhere in the void.

A vast lake, as clear as crystal, reflected a gentle glow from an unknown source. The faint, illusory outline of a colossal city hovered in the distance, while the cheerful sounds of music, cheering crowds, and festival fireworks drifted through the air.

A cozy wooden cabin sat on the grassy shore of the lake. Faint smoke curled from its chimney, and the air was filled with the sweet aroma of honey bread and baked apples.

An elegant, slender woman sat in a rocking chair beneath the porch, focused intently on a thin book with an indistinct cover resting on her lap.

Her flowing blonde hair, like liquid sunlight, swayed gently in the breeze. She seemed entirely absorbed in her reading, a warm and slightly mysterious smile playing on her lips.

Perhaps drawn by a robin skimming across the distant lake, the blonde woman lifted her head slightly. Her gaze pierced through the void, crossing countless realm barriers to look upon a specific place.

Her eyebrows rose slightly, and a radiant smile blossomed on her face.

Pinching the paper between her fingertips, she turned the page.

"Bang!"

It was the sound of Xia Nan's body being sent flying by the expanding pink energy shield.

Tossing the [Fate Coin] had instantly triggered [Bronze Sinews and Iron Bones], granting him immunity to the punch Moin had thrown—a blow that would have otherwise left him critically injured once more.

However, the rapidly expanding shield that followed did not fall within the protective scope of this Feat.

Xia Nan was already prepared for this.

His primary objective—using Ember to soften the crystallization on the skin of Moin's vital spots—had already been achieved.

He had activated [Tidal Stabilization] the moment his feet left the ground. It was as if he were submerged in water, slowing his backward momentum.

This also allowed Xia Nan to adjust his center of gravity mid-air, using his formidable core strength to control his body and face the enemy head-on.

But a problem had arisen in his plan.

Perhaps sensing the lethal threat Xia Nan posed, Moin's reaction was intensely violent.

As the Pastel Gemstone on his chest flashed, the shield erupting from it was noticeably more powerful and faster than before.

Clang—

The [Ember Fall] straight sword in his hand was pushed back almost flush against the shield's surface, the massive impact nearly tearing the hilt from his grip.

This made it impossible for Xia Nan to retighten his grip and drive the blade toward that fatal spot the instant the shield retracted.

There was only one chance.

The gap between the shield's expansion and retraction was extremely brief. If Xia Nan missed it, everything he had sacrificed for this moment would go to waste.

His mind raced.

Time and space seemed to stagnate in this moment.

High above his head, the tossed brass coin reached its apex.

It hung front-side up, showing the blurred long-haired woman as a silvery-white light flashed fleetingly across the design.

Suspended in mid-air, Xia Nan maintained his slow backward trajectory under the effects of [Tidal Stabilization].

However, likely due to the massive impact he had just endured, the clasp of his waist pouch had somehow popped open, spilling its contents into the air.

A perfectly round, orange-red Sugar Tangerine from the Orange Orchard—gifted to him days ago by that simple, rustic girl—broke free from the confines of the pouch.

Defying astronomical odds, it first bumped into a Healing Potion that had also slipped out. As the crystalline liquid within the glass bottle sloshed and glimmered, the tangerine's flight angle shifted slightly.

Then, it collided with the three Fire Oil Bombs directly in front of it. The minute force wasn't enough to trigger an explosion, but it was just enough to alter the tangerine's spinning trajectory a few degrees further.

Finally, it gently bumped against the silver-chained pearl Pocket Watch gifted by Horac, the generous, wealthy merchant, before they had set out on this mission.

This sent the Sugar Tangerine spinning and tumbling through the air until it arrived right beside Xia Nan's left hand. At the same time, the brief click of the tangerine peel striking the watch face served as a sudden reminder, attracting a sliver of the young adventurer's attention.

A flash of inspiration struck his mind.

The frozen time began to flow once more.

Xia Nan did not forcefully resist the reverberating shock traveling through the hilt in his right hand. Instead, he yielded to the momentum and let go, allowing the Gray-Black Straight Sword to slip from his grasp.

Simultaneously, his left hand manipulated gravity, snatching the nearby Sugar Tangerine firmly into his palm.

He bent his arm, his muscles bulging with power, and channeled his thoughts to unleash a combat technique.

His sharp Perception predicted the necessary lead time, and in the nick of time, he hurled the Sugar Tangerine at the enemy before him.

Sparks and ashes spiraled through the air, caught in the slipstream of the tangerine.

And as the Sugar Tangerine left Xia Nan's hand, its peel became coated in an intensely concentrated ochre-red light.

Just like when he had smashed that half-orc's skull with a single punch, [Gravity Etching] didn't strictly require swinging a sword to use.

Projectiles worked just as well.

Seizing the most precise window of opportunity, the Sugar Tangerine wrapped in ochre-red light flew toward Cleric Moin's stunned and bewildered gaze. In the split second after the shield retracted into the Pastel Gemstone but before it could expand again...

...it spun through the air and gently tapped against his neck, where the crystallization had been softened by the erosion of Ember.

"Boom!!!"

It was like a miniature firework detonating in mid-air.

With the Sugar Tangerine at its core, a surge of forcefield energy violently erupted!

The remaining crystalline granules on the skin's surface were instantly pulverized, exposing the fragile flesh and cartilage beneath.

It was as if an invisible, massive maw had taken a bite out of his side.

When the ochre-red energy dissipated into motes of light, it took the majority of Moin's neck and a small portion of his head along with it.

As for Xia Nan, the moment his left arm flexed and hurled the Sugar Tangerine, he no longer paid attention to whether it would hit the target as planned, or whether [Gravity Etching] could deal a fatal blow to his enemy.

All his focus was concentrated on the Silver Ring on his right ring finger.

This was his backup plan in case things failed, and also a way to maximize the effects of the [Fate Coin].

After the [Fate Coin] had already triggered [Bronze Sinews and Iron Bones] and delivered the Sugar Tangerine straight into his hand...

Xia Nan needed to perform one final action before the coin fully hit the ground.

With a subtle shift of his thoughts, his mental energy touched the [Dream Weaving Corridor].

"Warning!"

"Encryption key missing! Please manually input the Dynamic Password!"

Just like before, he closed his eyes, feeling the randomly shifting characters surface in his mind, and haphazardly tapped them with his consciousness.

Clink—

Pulled by gravity, the brass coin tumbled to the floor, emitting a crisp chime.

A short distance ahead, the mangled corpse—missing half its head and spurting blood—slowly collapsed to the ground.

Xia Nan's feet touched down, and simultaneously, his mind pressed the final character.

The "miracle" from the Goddess of Luck—having already been triggered—triggered again, and then again.

"Ding!"

"Password verified successfully!"

"[Remaining Energy]: 9.27%—Sufficient!"

"Opening [Dream Weaving Corridor — Neural Roaming Terminal]—"

"Welcome, Dream Weaver!"