Uncle Rod, Ou Tao’s in-game avatar, was also badly injured—both stamina and health halved.

“Ah, good. Battle’s over, Bika. Disable pain resonance. No need to keep my senses at full capacity anymore.”

“Roger that, sir!”

The pain from Rod’s wounds ceased feeding into Ou Tao’s mind, bringing instant relief. But those thirty-seven seconds of total focus had drained him. A hint of fatigue crept in. The event hit too suddenly—he’d skipped dinner. A critical mistake.

Kai sprinted over, eyes scanning his wounds with worry. “You’re hurt! Someone! Does anyone have a healing potion?”

“No chance,” Ou Tao said, crouching to pull a potion straight from a corpse’s pack and drink it. “These guys trained like me. They loot clean—leave *nothing*.”

He began scavenging. To fit the orange-rarity shield, he ditched spare potions, piled unwanted loot with firewood stacked neatly beside it—clearly prepping to burn it all.

Classic scorched-earth: take what you can carry, burn the rest.

“Hey, are you crazy?” Kai grabbed his arm, voice trembling. “These are valuable! Why?!”

“They’ll be back with reinforcements in under three hours,” Ou Tao stated.

“Impossible! Crimson Skull’s a shadow guild—they operate covertly. These three died here. No way to report back!”

“Their avatars died. *They’re* fine. Their fighting spirit won’t fade. They’ll rally forces fast. You must leave—or your village pays the price.”

“But Francia’s a day’s journey! They have no magical comms!” Kai frowned.

“I’ve said my part. Believe it or not.” Explaining wireless networks? Waste of time. Loot first.

Outside the village, Ou Tao’s cat-demon buddy sighed, propping his feline head with one paw while eyeing the snowmen crowd. *“Meow~ (Why’d the Swordmaster dump this boring aggro duty on me…?)”*

Ou Tao returned, herding another wave of white-scarfed snowmen. *“Healing Crystal!”* he murmured inwardly.

Reverse Edge yanked the cat-demon back. Soul Shock swept through the horde. Over a hundred snowmen exploded at once. Golden light surged skyward, swirled into an invisible current, then solidified into a single azure crystal.

Ou Tao recognized it instantly—the same Healing Crystal “Great Brother” used on his sister. But this was whole. Far larger than the fragment.

*“Hope Great Brother didn’t lie…”* He gripped the crystal, gaze fierce. *“Little sister, wait. Big brother’s bringing it home.”*

Backpack full. He handed Kai a Splash-type Frost Despair Potion.

“Don’t toss it carelessly. Hard to destroy. Just… keep it off your allies.”

Kai’s eyes flickered as she stared at the four splash potions. “I don’t know your ties to them… but I see it. You’re a good person.”

She lowered her head, cheeks flushed, trying to thank him—

—but Ou Tao was already gone.

Six hundred black-and-white-scarfed snowmen remained in the village. One reckless swing? A coin flip: legendary loot… or disaster.

*Six hundred?* Might spawn an Overlord-tier boss. Zero room for error.

Play it safe. This crystal was for his sister. He *had* to survive. Deliver it to Hamiyou Guild in Francia.

He split the snowmen: five groups of one hundred, one tiny remnant. Six single pulls.

He shot a look at his cheap fifty-coin buddies. First goblin swung its club—black smoke erupted. A level-70+ Lava Behemoth roared forth. Half the forest vaporized. The goblin fell heroically. Thankfully, the brute was slow-witted; aggro locked on Ou Tao. It lumbered forward… and melted before taking ten steps.

Ou Tao frowned. That sting of bad luck sat heavy. Helpless. Time for superstition—luck’s beyond control anyway.

*“My whole family bears the surname Ou!”* he silently yelled.

Then—golden sparks! Second group. Golden sparks again! Third. Fourth. Fifth. Nonstop glittering bursts.

All four yielded treasures.

First: Lisang Blacksteel chunk + metal stack. *“Silly thing, not bad luck at all! Weapon repairs, here we come!”*

Second: an exquisite storage pouch—ten times his current capacity. *Perfect.* Those near-burned items? Saved. Scorched-earth looting continues.

Third: a purple-rarity heavy pauldron.

Fourth—astonishingly—a Soul Fragment of Saintess Amalia (1/10).