The Heaven-Cursed Costs Life, But I Have Infinite Life-Chapter 53: The Lightning Skill Book, a Weird Bounty Task
Black Widow was in despair. Gritting her teeth, she said coldly, "The hairpin on my head is a storage container."
"Earlier would have been better," Allen thought, finally noticing the black wooden hairpin in her hair.
He wasn’t afraid of this woman pulling another trick. He took the hairpin off and sent his spirit probe inside.
The space inside was less than one square meter. It was filled with all sorts of jars and bottles, and there was also a skill book.
Allen took it out immediately. His eyes lit up; it was indeed the Lightning Skill Book.
[Thunderbolt: Intermediate lightning magic skill. Usable by Stage 4 or higher Magic Class users.]
Wait, this was an intermediate skill book?
Allen looked at the description and felt a bit disappointed.
Intermediate skills required at least a Stage 4 Class Awakened level to practice.
He had just reached Stage 3, so he could only use beginner skills.
Reaching Stage 4 would probably take at least a month, even with the fastest training.
Allen wasn’t in a hurry though. He put the skill book away and looked back at Black Widow, asking, "Do you still have that deadly Iron Death Blood poison from before?"
"The purple vial is it," she said coldly.
Sure enough, Allen found a small purple vial in the storage space and tossed it into his bag without a second thought.
This poison was terrifying; he could use it later to quickly boost his Art of Immortality mastery.
"Okay, you can go now," Allen said. Since the hairpin contained nothing else but jars and bottles, he threw the hairpin back to her and untied her ropes.
"You... you’re not going to kill me?" Black Widow looked shocked, staring at him with suspicion.
Allen shrugged. "We have no grudge against each other. Since you poisoned me last time, just consider this skill book my compensation."
Black Widow frowned, her voice cold. "If you don’t kill me now, I will spend the rest of my life hunting you down."
"Heh, be my guest. Just prove you’re up to the task." Allen sneered, dragging Lilia away without a second glance.
Lilia shot Black Widow a warning glare, her mood sour. "Hey, did you go soft because this guy looks like a beauty?"
"No way. Besides, she’s not nearly as pretty as you." Allen said, trying hard to please her.
"Hmph, at least you know your place." Lilia sniffed, then leaned in curiously. "So, what poison was in that pot you took? Show me."
"Stop touching it. That poison is dangerous. I can handle it myself, but if you get poisoned, I can’t guarantee I can save you." Allen knew the terror of that deadly substance firsthand. It was too fierce for any quick fix. While the Art of Immortality could cure it, it took time. If Lilia got poisoned, she’d likely die long before the antidote could work.
"That scary?"
Lilia shivered, the fear in her eyes making her forget her curiosity.
As they chatted, their figures slowly faded into the distance.
On the rooftop, Black Widow sat huddled on the ground, hugging her knees, looking small and helpless. A tear slid down her cheek.
She was cursed with an evil magic. Only two fates awaited any man who saw her true face: marry her or die by her hand.
Black Widow had wanted to kill Allen, but he was too strange. Her strongest poisons had failed against him.
And marrying him? Absolutely not.
It was obvious he and the woman beside him had a deep connection. There was no way she’d share him with another woman.
"Allen must die!" Black Widow’s gaze turned icy. She picked up the veil from the ground, covering her face again. Then, she grabbed the sketchbook, tucked it securely against her chest, and vanished silently from the rooftop.
...
Allen and Lilia arrived at the Assassins’ Guild again.
Since the journey to the Chaos Zone had been so boring, they decided to pick up a few proper Killer missions.
They walked right up to the counter.
The old clerk looked up at them with half-closed eyes, barely interested. "Taking a mission? Show me your ID tokens."
Allen and Lilia handed over their tokens.
"Huh? You’re that Heavenly King from the small town?" the old man gasped, recognizing Allen’s token.
A few Killers chatting nearby noticed and turned to look, their expressions quickly turning hostile.
Allen frowned, his voice cold. "Got a problem with that?"
"None at all." The old man flashed a practiced smile and pulled up the mission board. "Pick whatever you want."
Allen scrolled through the Bronze Tier Killer missions. There were over ten pages of options—hunting monsters, gathering herbs, retrieving items, tracking people.
But they were all Ironridge quests, nothing suitable for him.
Tired of looking, Allen asked, "Do you have missions from other cities? Ideally towards Shadeveil or Azuremoon?"
Those two cities were the only way to reach the Chaos Zone.
"Actually, yes." The old man’s eyes lit up as he pulled up a specific listing.
[Escort supplies to Azuremoon. Reward: 500,000 Gold.]
"500,000 gold? That’s high," Allen muttered, surprised. "That price is usually for Silver Tier bounty tasks."
"Is this mission dangerous?" he asked, confused.
The old man shook his head. "Not really. It’s just too far. It takes nearly a month, so few people take it." He paused, then added, "If you complete it, you’ll get promoted straight to Silver Tier Killer."
"Really?" Allen was suspicious. He didn’t believe such a good deal existed.
He checked the mission details again, but there was no specific information.
"It’s a great job, and it goes our way," Lilia said, tempted.
Allen didn’t jump in yet. "Can you tell me what we’re escorting? Are there any special requirements? How many guards are we expecting?"
The old clerk shook his head. "I don’t know what’s being escorted; that’s top secret. But there aren’t any strict requirements. You two are definitely qualified. As for the escort, I’m not sure, but probably mercenary groups and solo adventurers will join too."
Allen thought for a moment. This mission didn’t seem simple.
But if mercenaries were taking it, it probably wasn’t too dangerous either.
After a pause, he said, "Fine. We’ll take the mission."
"I’ll handle the registration right away." The old man smiled broadly, quickly processed the paperwork, and handed the tokens back to them. "Meet at the East Gate tomorrow at dawn. Someone will be waiting there to greet you."
"Thanks." Allen took back his token and pulled Lilia away to leave.
Suddenly, two large men blocked their path.
"So, you’re the ’Heavenly King’? Bold choice for a codename. Must mean you’ve got some strength, huh?" one of them eyed Allen with disdain, his tone dripping with provocation.
Allen frowned. He knew his codename would cause trouble, but in the Assassins’ Guild, fighting was strictly forbidden.
He glanced toward the counter.
"Get lost!" the old clerk roared, his eyes cold. "They have the escort mission. No one touches them!"
"The escort mission?" The man paused, his expression shifting to smug satisfaction as he looked at Allen and Lilia. "Looks like we don’t need to do anything..."
"Get lost!" the old clerk screamed, cutting him off.
The man jumped, looking terrified, and hurried away. The clerk turned back to Allen and Lilia, forcing a smile. "Don’t worry, they won’t dare bother you again. Just don’t broadcast your codename so easily next time."
"Got it."
Allen glared at the clerk. He only exposed his identity because the old man couldn’t keep his mouth shut.
Ignoring him, he dragged Lilia away.
"Allen, this mission seems unusual," Lilia whispered, finally sensing something was off.
Allen nodded silently.
"Should we drop this task?" she asked, her voice tight with worry.
Allen shrugged it off. "No big deal. Since we took the job, let’s see what it is. We’re heading to Azuremoon anyway, so it’s on our way. If things get dangerous, we just run."
"That’s true," Lilia thought. She could fly, so she felt relieved.
The night was deep, but the city’s busy market was still bright with lights and noisy with life.
Allen and Lilia grabbed a bite to eat, wandered around for a while, and then found a tavern to rest.
...
Early the next morning, just as dawn broke, the two arrived at the East Gate as agreed.
A crowd had already gathered.
There was a mercenary squad of thirty, along with a dozen solo adventurers.
They were all part of this escort mission.
Allen curiously studied them. They were all young, and their cultivation levels weren’t high. Even the strongest, the mercenary captain, was only Stage 4.
Such a huge reward, yet they only attracted Stage 4 fighters? It was too strange.
"I heard the road to Azuremoon isn’t peaceful," someone muttered in a small group.
"Don’t worry. Look at all of us! Plus, the leader is a Stage 5 expert. We’ll be fine."
"I hope so. Once I finish this mission, I’ll have enough for a bride price to marry Lucy, the blacksmith’s daughter."
"Really? Congratulations! Make sure to treat us to wedding wine when it happens."
"Deal!"
...
As Allen listened to their chatter, he noticed a pattern. Most of them were low-level adventurers with low status.
Even the mercenary squad wore old, tattered gear.
It seemed they were all drawn by the high reward.
A few adventurers noticed Allen and Lilia. They looked curious and wanted to talk, but seeing their black robes hiding their identities, they realized they were Killers. Fearing trouble, they stayed back.
Allen was happy to have some peace. He leaned against the city wall and waited.
Clippety-clop...
Suddenly, the sound of hooves came from the distance. A carriage train slowly emerged from the dense forest.
Technically, it wasn’t a convoy, just a single carriage.
A massive one, though—five meters wide and over a dozen meters long, with a height of three meters.
The carriage looked like it was forged from iron. Twelve horses were pulling it, straining under the weight, moving quite slowly.
A thick black tarp covered the entire carriage, hiding whatever was inside.
"Allen, is this the convoy?" Lilia asked, looking unsure.
"It has to be," Allen said. He noticed an old man stepping out from the group. The man was ancient-looking, but his power was no joke—he was a late-stage Stage 5 expert.
