Demon Chapter

Chapter 9: Gavin Lin’s Decision

As soon as Gavin Lin finished speaking, the Demon Chapter section immediately displayed several tasks related to Tristram.

These tasks were ranked by difficulty, with the most challenging being “Kill Griswold.”

Task: Kill Griswold — Eliminate this undead creature hiding in Tristram.

Reward: 48 hours of time and a random blue-quality item appropriate to your current Contractor level.

Penalty for failure: 48-hour time deduction and loss of one random item from your inventory.

The reward was certainly tempting—but so was the penalty. More importantly, Griswold was extremely powerful. Only Contractors with exceptional strength would dare accept such a task.

Gavin Lin, naturally, would not. He kept scrolling.

Task: Zombie Slayer — Kill all zombies appearing in Tristram.

Reward: 24 hours and a basic skill book.

Penalty for failure: 24-hour time deduction.

Gavin Lin skipped this one. The task required killing all zombies—every single one. If even one zombie died by another cause (e.g., another Contractor or environmental effect), the task became impossible to complete. No one was foolish enough to take it, so it had remained unaccepted since it first appeared.

Gavin Lin quickly scanned the list and finally found a suitable option.

Task: Turn Over the Corpse — Difficulty: Low

Enter Act 1, Chapter 6 of the Demon Chapter, locate Wirt’s body in Tristram, and turn it over.

Reward: 1 hour upon completion; return Wirt’s Leg to receive an additional 2 hours.

Penalty for failure: 2-hour time deduction.

This task had also been ignored by everyone. Nearly all Contractors who entered Tristram turned over Wirt’s body instinctively. No one could guarantee they’d be the first to do it when the task world opened. If someone had already flipped the corpse, the task became uncompletable.

Moreover, the reward was meager—likely why it had been overlooked.

Gavin Lin knew that all task worlds lasted thirty days before undergoing a “reset.” Just like Wirt’s body: once turned over, it wouldn’t reset until thirty days passed. A second person attempting the same action would have to wait for that cycle to complete.

Having found a suitable task, Gavin Lin moved to his next step.

“Increase my level to 1!” he declared solemnly.

Immediately, 24 hours were deducted from his Clock, leaving him with 11 hours and 14 minutes.

A golden light enveloped him, warm and soothing, like a spring breeze. After a moment, the glow faded. Gavin Lin silently reviewed his updated status:

Contractor 1065

Bloodline: Human | Gender: Male | Level: 1 (35 hours required to reach Level 2)

HP: 40

Attributes:

Strength: 5 (average for adult male)

Agility: 7 (average for adult male)

Constitution: 4 (average for adult male)

Intelligence: 5 (average for adult male)

(Parenthetical values indicate standard human baselines.)

Skills: None | Profession: None

Bonus: 5 free attribute points granted.

Gavin Lin smiled.

“As the book said,” he mused, “Contractors heal from any serious injury upon leveling up. Each level grants +1 to Strength, Agility, Constitution, and Intelligence—and 5 free points to distribute. By human standards, if I put all 5 into Strength, I’d reach 10—triple the normal baseline of 3 for an average man.”

He paused, startled by his own realization, then examined the attributes more closely. Each served a distinct purpose:

Strength governed physical damage and carrying capacity.

Agility affected speed, accuracy, and hit rate.

Constitution determined vitality (HP).

Intelligence enabled magic use and influenced mana pool and spell power.

Distributing the points required careful thought—but Gavin Lin knew what suited him. Without hesitation, he allocated 2 points to Strength and 3 to Constitution.

Instantly, the dagger in his hand felt lighter.

His new stats read:

Strength: 7

Agility: 7

Constitution: 7

Intelligence: 5

HP increased directly to 70.

Strength boosted attack power; Constitution raised survivability—both critical for his next plan. He didn’t dump all 5 points into a single attribute because, unlike in a game, death here meant real death. He chose the safer, balanced path.

He still remembered his promise: to care for Ryan’s daughter. He couldn’t afford to die yet.

Besides, his natural Agility was already high—more than enough for what came next. And as for Intelligence? He had no interest in magic.

Next, Gavin Lin gripped his dagger tightly, tossed Wirt’s Leg casually onto the floor, and discarded the leather armor as well—it couldn’t be equipped due to level restrictions. For now, both items were left in the room.

Lightly equipped, he took a deep breath and accepted the “Turn Over the Corpse” task.

Task accepted successfully. Contractor 1065:

You may choose to be instantly teleported to the task scene, or forcibly teleported in one minute.

“Instantly enter!”

Gavin Lin spoke flatly.

A magical array flared beneath his feet. In a flash of white light, he vanished from the chamber.

The next second, the familiar stench hit him—decay, overpowering and foul—and darkness filled his vision. But this time, his mood was entirely different. Though only two or three hours had passed in real time, everything had changed.

He was lucky: he materialized in a secluded spot just outside Tristram’s church. Dozens of meters ahead lay Wirt’s body—and beside it, the flayed zombie.

Although he’d accepted the “Turn Over the Corpse” task, Gavin Lin hadn’t come to complete it. His true objective was to hunt the undead Griswold.

He was gambling—betting that the two veteran Contractors wouldn’t leave immediately after failing to rescue Kain. Earlier, Gavin Lin had heard someone use cries to lure Griswold out near the church. That suggested the veterans had allies and formidable strength; otherwise, they couldn’t have held Griswold off. And if they were that strong, they wouldn’t pass up a chance to kill him—especially after failing their original mission. Slaying Griswold would yield valuable loot, offsetting their earlier losses.

Putting himself in their shoes, Gavin Lin was certain he would do the same.

Less than eight minutes had passed between his departure through the portal and his return. He believed the veterans hadn’t killed Griswold yet—and if luck was on his side, he might snatch a few pieces of equipment from the aftermath.

Since he’d already earned their enmity, Gavin Lin didn’t care about provoking them further.