Chapter 30: Bad News, Accidentally Entered a Divine Battle Scene 【Half Forum】

Chapter 30 Bad News: Stumbled Into a Half-Finished Divine Battle

The moment his gaze met those ash-gray eyes, Bryce's entire body tensed. The thorny tendrils extending from him began to grow wildly, their razor-sharp tips lashing menacingly through the room, nearly filling the entire space!

Yet, the fading apparition of the Moth God showed no intention of attacking.

*'Fate... Apostle...'*

Its elongated mouthparts quivered slightly, and Bryce only managed to catch these vague words before the Memory Labyrinth was utterly obliterated by an invisible force, cutting off his vision completely.

Perhaps to eliminate all evidence, the four insect pupae on the ground instantly disintegrated, their vitality extinguished as they unraveled into separate strands.

...Such merciless slaughter of its own offspring—even more thorough than Bryce had been the previous night.

Bryce paused, the encircling thorns gradually retracting. He then raised his phone and scanned the scattered threads:

*"Pupae of the Moth God’s Offspring (Failed to Hatch - Damaged Version)"*

*"Description: If nourished by human flesh and blood, it could have metamorphosed into a moth, becoming the Moth God’s eyes and ears scattered across the land. But that chance is gone."*

*"As a pupae woven by a false god who has only begun to grasp the Curse Domain, it can now serve as a premium cursed material, unleashing the power hidden within language."*

*"A false god? So, the Moth God isn’t a true god?"*

Bryce pondered. *"No wonder it didn’t try to retaliate just now—instead, it retreated faster than I could blink. Could it be... afraid? Or wary of the 'Lord of Fate' behind me?"*

Fortunately, it seemed unaware that the so-called *"Lord of Fate, the Great Narrator"* was merely a fabricated backer...

With this thought, Bryce swiftly gathered the scattered threads, rolling them into a washbasin-sized bundle before tossing it into his own memory.

—This was yet another newly uncovered purpose for "Bryce" by Yi Fengchu.

As an Ability user who walked through memories, Bryce could "store physical objects as memories," storing objects within his recollections for later retrieval.

Thus, in addition to serving as a spare vessel, Bryce had also become Yi Fengchu’s mobile repository. His memories housed everything from tools too dangerous for ordinary people to see or touch, down to ordinary household items.

After tidying the room, Yi Fengchu initially intended to simply recall Bryce.

But then, a question arose—

If the Moth God’s true form wasn’t in the cave guarded by its swarm, then where was it?

Thus, Bryce, who had been standing motionless awaiting the end of the manifestation, sprang back into motion.

As an Ability user whose powers were deeply intertwined with memory, Bryce possessed uncanny control over the recollections of others.

And if those memories contained traces of him, the connection between the memory’s owner and Bryce would be profound enough for him to mark them, constructing a bright "beacon" within their mind.

No matter how vast the span of time or space, this "beacon" would remain an unwavering guide, guiding Bryce unerringly to the memory’s owner—or even...

Through the normally insentient imprint left in memory, Bryce could abruptly "manifest" within the depths of another’s recollections, stepping into reality.

Even Yi Fengchu had to admit that Bryce’s Ability was disturbingly unpredictable, making it nearly impossible to guard against...

Or perhaps, this unsettling danger was a shared trait among all high-level Ability users.

Bryce moved to the window, peering outside in search of the beacon he had left in the Moth God’s memory.

A single glance made his eyes widened in shock—for a moment, he could hardly believe his eyes.

Within the skulls of every passing villager, in the beady eyes of clucking chickens and ducks beneath the sheds, even inside every leaf and blade of wild grass...

—Dozens of luminous beacons flickered to life!

The beacons drifted along with these living beings, converging into a meandering river of light, branching and merging as they were unknowingly carried to distant places by their hosts.

*"No wonder it wasn’t in the cave..."*

Bryce murmured under his breath. The Moth God existed everywhere across this mountain range, inhabiting the minds of all living things!

*"Tricky. I’ll need to find a way to force it to coalesce before dealing with it."*

Muttering thoughtfully, Bryce cast one last deep glance downward before vanishing into thin air.

Yi Fengchu’s consciousness returned to his own body. Just as he was about to leave, the moment he opened the door, he was met with a pair of uneasy eyes.

*"Wang Lin?"* Yi Fengchu arched an eyebrow in surprise. *"What are you doing here?"*

......

Wang Lin had originally been hiding in a corner, secretly observing Yi Fengchu—who was rumored on the forum to be a *"demigod."*

Seeing Yi Fengchu eat and drink normally, showing no signs of abnormality, Wang Lin even wondered if the veteran forum members had made a mistake.

*"Classmate Yi seems completely human, doesn't he?"*

His current stereotype of non-humans was *"horrifying and unnatural,"* much like the pair of wings now growing in his throat.

But Yi Fengchu...

Though they weren’t close, Wang Lin had always liked him—after all, Yi Fengchu was the only one who never used nicknames and addressed him properly by his real name.

*"No matter how you look at it, Classmate Yi doesn’t resemble those evil non-humans who devour brains and flesh!"*

Lost in these tangled thoughts, Wang Lin had been distractedly eating breakfast when Yi Fengchu followed the four upstairs, oblivious to anything amiss.

Only minutes later did he abruptly set down his spoon, realizing—*"Did Classmate Yi notice something wrong with those four? Is that why he unusually followed them?"*

Considering how the four had been separated from the group all night, with no one knowing what they’d encountered or whether they’d run into those pupae like he had... Wang Lin grew increasingly convinced of his theory.

Thus, he quickly hurried upstairs. Just as he hesitated outside the door, it swung open, revealing Yi Fengchu.

*"Uh, I—I came up to..."*

Faced with Yi Fengchu’s questioning gaze, Wang Lin couldn’t very well admit he’d been tailing him. Flustered, he stammered out an excuse. *"I wanted to check on them..."*

Yi Fengchu politely ignored his evasive eyes and accepted the flimsy explanation with a nod. *"They’re all exhausted and asleep. Since you’re so concerned, why don’t you take care of them?"*

With that, he patted Wang Lin’s shoulder and slipped away quickly, disappearing around the corner.

*"...Huh?"*

Uttering a bewildered sound, Wang Lin stepped into the room—only to find the four lying haphazardly by the bed, still in their dirt-stained clothes, clearly unconscious.

*"Is this really just 'exhausted and asleep'...?"*

*"—Didn’t they just collapse outright?"*

Dumbfounded, Wang Lin wondered if Classmate Yi had simply left them in his care to avoid the hassle...

Faced with four unconscious classmates, Wang Lin remained silent for a moment before logging onto the forum.

No. 201 (OP):

I’m kinda starting to believe Classmate E isn’t human...

No. 202 (OP):

What exactly did he do to make four classmates, possibly moth-cocooned, all pass out cold (help) like this?!

No. 203:

Tsk tsk, rare indeed (smh). Has OP finally snapped out of it?

No. 204:

I’m tearing up—OP finally stopped insisting Classmate E is just an ordinary person. Where can I find a "normal" person who can one-shot mythic creatures? I’ll take a dozen to protect me, please!

No. 205:

Quit messing with OP and let them explain what they just discovered.

No. 206:

Yes, yes! OP, spill the details! Never thought I’d be binging forum drama on the forum (grabbing popcorn).

Under the forum members’ urging, Wang Lin recapped what had just happened.

No. 210:

So, as soon as these possibly compromised classmates entered, Classmate E must have clocked them immediately? That doesn’t sound like someone completely unaware of their own abilities...

No. 211:

In my opinion, even if Classmate E truly doesn’t know his own mysterious identity, he must have had a plan to deal with these moths all along. OP can just kick back and enjoy the carry (o7).

No. 212:

Tsk, OP’s luck is amazing—getting a free carry from a pro right from the start. Why don’t I ever get this kind of luck in dungeons?

No. 213:

Bruh, if you really started with a divine being while the enemies are practically god-tier, would you dare to move?

No. 214:

...Never mind then. Yeah, no thanks...

Watching the lively popcorn fest of forum members enjoying the drama, Wang Lin smiled but didn’t stop working. Distracted, he somehow managed to remove the dirty outerwear and shoes of the four classmates, move them onto pillows, and even tuck them in under blankets.

Just then, someone commented—

No. 223:

Have any of you considered this—aside from the Moth God, the final boss that’s always here, what are the odds of two divine factions coincidentally coexisting peacefully in the same dungeon?

No. 224:

What do you mean?

No. 225:

Ah, I also think it’s too much of a coincidence! But then again, considering OP’s classmates might be born with divinity, this seems like copium now...

No. 226:

Just because Thing A is absurd doesn’t mean Thing B is normal, right?

I think No. 223 makes a good point...

No. 227:

—Wild guess—what if the deity behind Classmate E is the same as the one behind that Apostle?

No. 228:

This speculation... upon closer thought, it makes a lot of sense...

No. 229:

Ayo, mind = blown!

No. 230:

Surface-level: The right-hand men of different deities coincidentally meet here, tensions high!

Reality: A suspected divine child and his personal babysitter (jk) bodyguard.

No. 231:

"Nanny" is going too far, LOL (lmao)!

No. 232:

Hey, chill with the disrespect! That’s an Apostle, a high-ranking entity who walks between deities and believers...

No. 233:

Relax, up there. In this forum, any big shot can be memed into oblivion. Outside, everyone’s as scaredy-cats.

No. 234:

Forum culture 101 (laughs).

No. 235:

Meh, surviving the amusement park is humiliating enough. Playing the tough talker in the forum isn’t against the raid rules!

No. 236:

Does anyone else remember that one buzzword from the moth swarm that we’ve been overlooking?

No. 237:

Good memory (o7). Let me scroll back to check.

No. 238:

I remember. I took notes lowkey out of boredom. Here’s OP’s original quote—"Heard some gibberish like *‘hatching,’ ‘fate’*..." —OP out

No.239:

Is the word we missed "incubation"?

No.240:

...OP, I hate that you're so oblivious (facepalm).

Hasn't "incubation" been a constant theme throughout this dungeon? Haven’t those moths been seeking human hosts to incubate their larvae all along?

No.241:

The word we’ve truly overlooked is "Fate," amirite?

No.242:

At first glance, this keyword seemed entirely unrelated to the dungeon, so we all glossed over it. But now that I think about it...

No.243:

Could it be that "Fate" doesn’t belong to the Moth God at all—or even this dungeon—which is why it seemed so disconnected?

No.244:

Wait, so are you suggesting "Fate" refers to something from beyond this dungeon?

No.245:

...I think I know what No.236 was getting at.

Is the god behind Classmate E and that mysterious Apostle the one connected to "Fate"?

No.246:

The True God of the Fate Domain? Isn’t the one everyone on the forum agrees is wielding Fate none other than—

No.247:

That guy again?

Quick check: Future Diary?

No.248:

Am I crazy or have there been several posts about Him recently...

No.249:

Same. His recent activities seem way more active, and His appearance in the Moth God dungeon is low-key terrifying upon closer thought.

No.250:

OP, I’ve got good news and bad news.

Good news: If it really is that deity from the Fate Domain, He’s pretty chill;

Bad news: You, a newbie, seem to have dragged your whole class straight into a god-level showdown!!