Game of the World Tree

“What the heck is this?!”

The players were startled by the grotesque creatures that suddenly lunged at them.

However, as they subconsciously attempted to draw their weapons to slay the creatures, they found themselves losing control of their bodies.

Unbeknownst to them, a massive magic array had materialized beneath their feet at some point, thereby restricting their movements.

Meanwhile, in their surroundings, hundreds of Church of Despair followers, clad in hooded robes, stood on each luminous node of the array whilst silently chanting something.

Feeling the restrictive force beneath her, Eve’s mind stirred.

“A Confinement Array…”

However, she remained passive, neither breaking free nor extending assistance to the players.

Because at the moment the worms appeared, she had already identified their identity through the world tree’s inheritance:

“Mutated Abyssal Worms…”

Abyssal Worms are usually low-level magical beings that dwells within the abyss, often regarded as a delicacy by various demons.

However, the creatures currently lunging towards them are no ordinary Abyssal Worms.

Though generally weak, when these magical creatures come into contact with potent abyssal energy or certain corrupted mythical bloodlines, they usually undergo mutation.

As such, Mutated Abyssal Worms will gain the ability to parasitize other organisms after they mutated.

Although they are still weak, these mutated worms can infiltrate their hosts when the person least expects it, eventually parasitizing the host’s brain.

Then, the Mutated Abyssal Worm would treat the brain as its own home, absorbing nutrients and even interfering with the host’s thinking, all the while gradually eating away their soul.

As time goes by, the inhabited creature will gradually lose its soul and consciousness, becoming a body without a self, and can only function under the control of the Abyssal Worm…

It is precisely because of the peculiar ability of the mutated abyss worm that many Evil Gods favored using these weird creatures.

They would cultivate mutated Abyssal Worms to control other sentient beings to build their own armies, and clearly, the Church of Despair was doing the same thing.

Amidst the cacophony of female players’ screams and the fervent shouts of male players, these ferocious Abyssal Worms singled out their targets.

They sank their teeth into the opponents’ skin, while at the same time also burrowing deep into their bodies.

Evé was not an exemption to this.

A worm slithered towards her, scaling her legs and arms, before piercing through the outer skin to infiltrate her body.

Yet despite the intrusion, Evé offered no resistance at all; instead, she welcomed the worm, allowing it to freely parasitize her body.

She could feel that after entering her body, this strange bug rushed straight to her brain and quickly expanded its body, turning into a mesh-like structure, waving its tendrils to wrap around her brain.

However, just as the abyssal worm was poised to pierce Eve’s brain, she nonchalantly snapped her fingers.

Instantly, the abyssal worm froze, deprived of its ability to move, and curled up in a corner, trembling.

Of course, Evé merely used her power to control its actions and didn’t kill it, since these abyssal worms were cultivated by the Despair Church, and killing them would alert the Despair God’s followers.

In that case, this whole endeavor would be meaningless.

Then, Eve’s gaze subtly shifted to the players.

Looking around, nearly everyone has begun convulsing involuntarily, a telltale sign of the abyssal worms preparing to take control of their brains.

Of course, even if these abyssal worms had somehow gained control of their brains, the players’ thoughts would still remain unaffected, as their souls were never confined to their avatars to begin with.

At most, the players would horrifyingly realize they lost control of their bodies and they couldn’t move freely anymore.

However, Evé wouldn’t let these worms go that far.

She quietly snapped her fingers once again.

Then, all players felt a warm force surging from deep within them, rushing towards their brains, and soon… that dizzying feeling gradually disappeared.

Of course, their bodies still remained beyond their control and they couldn’t even speak.

However, it wasn’t the abyssal worms’ doing but rather, it was due to Eve’s manipulation.

Meanwhile, a new system notification had appeared before them.

【❗】

【You are under attack by Mutated Abyssal Worms! These Mutated Abyssal Worms are attempting parasitize your body…】

【❗】

【 Parasitism Completed! It’s now attempting to seize control of your body and thoughts…】

【❗】

【 Due to the goddess’s intervention, the Mutated Abyssal Worms’ parasitism has failed…】

【You gain a BUFF: Mutated Abyssal Worms Parasitism Immunity 】

【Effect 1: During the entire duration this Buff is in effect, you will find it easier to disguise yourself as a Despair Church member and gain their trust.】

【Effect 2: During the entire duration this Buff is in effect, the speed at which you gain experience points from killing monsters will decrease by 10%.】

Instantly, a collective shiver swept through every players within the vicinity, as their control over bodies was gradually restored.

They then glanced at each other, noting a hint of strangeness within each other’s eyes.

Outwardly, everyone remained still and quiet.

But in private, their group chat was buzzing with activities.

Looking at the string of new notifications on his interface, Calabash was startled.

⤷ What the heck is this Buff?

⤷ Haven’t you figured it out? We’ve got some help! With this, we could successfully infiltrate the enemy.

Demacia replied.

While silently monitoring the constant stream of information flowing within each respective chat group of the players, Evé raised an eyebrow.

Seems like almost everyone had realized what my intentions is…

At the same time, she felt fortunate for disguising herself as a player before coming here.

Who would have thought that the Despair Church’s means of controlling others would involve Abyssal Worms!

It seems… the Ancient Dragon of Despair Nidhogg has indeed fallen completely.

This time, if she hadn’t personally come and controlled the situation from a distance as she usually does, it wouldn’t have been easy to deal with the Abyssal Worms attacking the players without attracting attention…

Of course, not all players remained as composed, especially the female ones…

⤷ Ahhhhh! What a disgusting situation! How do we get rid of this thing inside us?

⤷ Ugh… just thinking about having a bug inside my body makes my skin crawl.

Even the typically bold Little Salty Cat and composed HootyBird couldn’t hide their disgust. The former continuously rubbing the spot where the worms had entered, while the latter furrowed their brows.

However, considering the questline at hand, they ultimately suppressed their discomfort and endured it.

Additionally, some players also eventually noticed the deduction of experience points added to the effects of the Buff.

⤷ The heck, why are we now getting less EXP too?

⤷ This should be a type of DEBUFF. Let’s just endure it for now… it’ll probably disappear after we complete the ‘Secrets of the Despair God’ questline. Besides… it’s only a 10% reduction from hunting mobs and doesn’t affect the EXP gained from the quest itself.

Another player responded with uncertainty.

Evé naturally added this DEBUFF to cover the maintenance cost of the BUFF, as controlling these Abyssal Worms and preventing them from eroding the players’ brains is quite a costly affair that consumes her divine powers.

Hence, Evé decided to offload the cost in the form of DEBUFFs.

Well…they could just think of it like ‘protection money,’ so to speak.

After completing everything, Evé lightly snapped her fingers.

Once again, all players present received a new system message:

【❗】

【 Hidden Quest Triggered: Infiltrate the Despair Church】

【Quest Description: To investigate the secrets of the God of Despair, you decide to infiltrate the Despair Church…】

【Quest Objectives: 1. Do not expose yourself. 2. Investigate the secrets of the Despair Church.】

【Quest Rewards: 10,000 EXP points, 5,000 contribution points, exclusive title “Infenal Agent”】

【Failure Penalty: 5,000 contribution points deduction】

It’s indeed a hidden questline!

The eyes of the players lit up upon seeing the system message.

— 299 —

【 MUTATED ABYSSAL WORM 】

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