4: Chapter 4 Others' Copies and Bodies (Part 2)

Mia and her party continued deep into the cave. The dim light left Mia feeling uneasy. At a corner in the path, she spotted a Slime with a captivating dark red hue. Mia found it a bit strange, but she didn't meddle.

"O merciful Earth Mother Goddess, please protect the... travelers who step into the darkness."

Just as Mia was about to chant a holy Light Magic spell, a hand pushed her from behind.

"We've already fallen far behind, keep up with the team," the Female Mage complained.

"S-sorry," Mia apologized hastily.

"Why are you staring at me? Do you have a problem?" The Female Mage was somewhat annoyed.

"Uh, I... I thought I heard some sound coming from behind us."

“I'm telling you, we came straight in from the intersection. How could anyone be coming from behind?"

As soon as she finished speaking, four or five Goblins emerged from the darkness, attacking them in an organized formation. The Female Mage's stuttering Fireball spell barely managed to kill one Goblin before the remaining Goblins swarmed her, snatched her staff, and pinned her to the ground. A blade plunged straight into her lower abdomen...

The Female Mage's screams drew back the Young Swordsman and the Female Martial Artist. The two of them rescued her from the monsters' clutches, and the Female Martial Artist protected the mage and Mia in a corner of the cave.

"Quick, use your holy magic to heal her, save her!"

"Yes!"

[Using Healing Spell on target NPC. Restoring 15 Health Points. The target is currently in a bleeding and critically injured state; health will drop by 20 points per second.]

"I can't save her!" Mia's heart trembled.

The Young Swordsman, who had charged alone into the Goblin pack, went from being full of vigor to taking a sword to the thigh in the time it took for a single Healing Spell. Because he had no armor, his shoulder was bitten by a Goblin, crippling one arm. The last moment of his life was likely his handsome horizontal slash getting stuck in a rock, and then... there was no 'then'.

At this point, Mia, a non-combatant, had already begun to tremble. Witnessing the bloody death of the Young Swordsman gave her a slight urge to urinate and a drive to run away. The Female Martial Artist resolutely chose to cover the rear for her and the mage, whom she knew was already doomed. Mia obediently supported the Female Mage and fled stumbling back the way they came.

Behind them, after killing a few Goblins, the Female Martial Artist was subdued in one move by an Elite Goblin who grabbed her calf. Then the Goblins swarmed and captured her. Mia didn't dare look back and kept running forward, while the girl's desperate screams echoed from behind.

"I'm not pretending anymore!" Mia dropped the now-dead Female Mage and sprinted forward with all her might. The hellish scene receded rapidly as the Goblins chased her with large strides.

The Agility bonus gave her a speed unlike that of a Cleric. As she looked back while running, she was suddenly hit by a feathered arrow fired by a Goblin. It pierced her throat, and she let out a weak, bone-chilling gurgle.

At that moment, a jelly-like object fell from the sky and covered the top of her head, then her entire head was wrapped inside. She tore at it with her arms in vain. The oxygen in her lungs grew scarcer, and Mia fainted.

"Finally caught a living person. Uh, have to do it while she's not dead yet," Luo Yu thought indignantly. "Too bad it's a woman. Too bad I don't have a choice."

Over the past few days, he had tried to use the Infusion skill to attack several innocent male NPCs. His Chaotic Evil alignment setting meant he wasn't restricted by the Paradise Lost System at all, but he was consistently told: Skill 4 Infusion?&% cannot be used on NPCs.

So, knowing the plot, he began to lie in wait in this Goblin nest. Being of the same evil alignment, the monster Goblins didn't pay any mind to this useless Slime.

[System has detected a usable body. Use Skill 4 Infusion???]

[Use!]

[Host is using Skill 4 Infusion?? on the current target. Determining if the skill takes effect. Target: Mia. Fainting increases skill success rate by 20%. Determining consciousness-body ownership and dominant target... Using special items: Synthesized Crimson Queen's Wisdom Crystal and Brain in a Vat, increasing the success rate of the next Infusion by 10% (So this thing really does give you a better chance at being human again?). Using special item: Crimson Queen's Blood, increasing the success rate of Infusion by 15% (It seems the chances increased by more than a little. Being human again? Are you sure it's human?)]

[Determination successful. Infusion into target starting: 5%, 20%, 40%...]

The dark red, crystal-clear Slime enveloped Mia's head. Her body began to twitch in resistance, from violent to slight, until finally, she was completely still. The remaining Slime liquid fully permeated the Adventurer's body...

[Fusing items on the host: Succubus's Eye of the Dead, White? Dark Gold Growth-type equipment, can evolve with the number of uses.]

[Carrying Skill 1: Charm]

[Carrying Skill 2: Envy]

[Carrying Skill 3: Adoration]

[Carrying Skill 4: Gaze of the Dead]

[Carrying Skill 5: Painful Gaze. Can actively activate Painful Gaze to perform long-range invisible attacks on target creatures, causing debuffs including but not limited to pain, curse, weakness, fear, slow, bleeding, and armor shredding.]

[Inherent Skill: This item is a body organ and can be carried out of the Paradise Lost dungeon.]

[Life Support System Comment: Oh, this high-status useless thing has finally found a use. Though I still don't see any use for it other than leading you into dungeons where it's easier to die and against stronger enemies. Why don't you look for it yourself?]

"Life Support System, query current character status!" A sweet female voice came from her mouth, making Luo Yu feel a bit uncomfortable.

Name: Mia (Luo Yu) [Will be referred to simply as Mia hereafter]

Race: Human (Succubus? Bloodline influenced by the Crimson Queen)

Alignment: Lawful Neutral (Chaotic Evil) Adventurer's Guild Porcelain Rank Adventurer

Status: Healthy

Strength: 4+3 (5) (Seems to have become stronger?)

Intelligence: 3+3 (5) (Still doesn't look very smart.)

Agility: 7+1 (5) (Excellent agility can keep you away from death temporarily, but in the end, it couldn't escape the fate of being possessed.)

Endurance: 4+7 (5) (Endurance increased?)

Charisma: 8 (5) (She's a beauty, tsk tsk tsk, what a pity.)

Health Points: 80/150 (Good) (Fright and other surprises can actually drop health points?)

Mana Points: 130 (This can be called a Cleric now, but it's still a bit weak.)

Basic Skills: Basic Footwork Lv4, Basic Waist Strength Lv5, Basic Leg Technique Lv1 (Did a hobby or a side job improve her? Did it make the Slime happy?)

Class Skill: Herbalism

Class Skill: Piety

Class Skill: Healing Spell

Class Skill: Radiance of Holy Light

Talent Skill: Dancer. Long-term dance and yoga training have made your body's agility and coordination far exceed ordinary people.

Talent Skill: Digging. No longer available; only allows the host to use Digging tools slightly better than ordinary people. (Lost the trade for making a living?)

Talent Skill: Relic Excavation. Mutated; the host has a chance to search for equipment and items on enemy corpses.

Talent Skill: Relic Fusion. Mutated into Class Advancement Skill: Alchemy. Can use knowledge to fuse equipment and items; success rate depends on Luck and Proficiency.

Talent Skill: Infusion Substitution (It seems some description has been revealed). The host can infuse and substitute other Adventurers. Infusion Substitution may be judged a failure, resulting in the host being obliterated. If successful, the host will obtain that Adventurer's body, and the original body owner's behavioral memories will cause a one-time certain amount of mental pollution to the host. If the pollution value exceeds the limit, the host will become a permanent replacement for that Adventurer.

Talent Skill: Slime Form (Cooldown, mutating...)

(Overall, still a novice Adventurer with flashy stats who dies at a touch.)

Just like the original story, the young Female Mage and the Young Swordsman died tragic deaths in the Goblin cave. Mia (Luo Yu) and the Female Martial Artist were rescued by Adventurers who arrived later and were sent back to the Adventurer's Guild.

He thought he had come to the world of Goblin Slayer, but it seemed not; the protagonist appeared to be missing. The Female Martial Artist gave up the path of an Adventurer, and Mia (Luo Yu) did not return to the Cleric's church for personal reasons.

[Dungeon Main Quest: To Live or To Die? has been achieved. Return now?]

In a dark alley, the girl's red lips resolutely spat out two words, "Return!"