Family heirloom, then turned into a demon girl

Chapter 170 Mission: 01-7 Moon Chasing Wolf
"A new challenger..."

On the snow-capped mountains, a pale, huge silver wolf lay in a cave, raising its head to look at Nero who had come here.

"Sorry for bothering me, Lord Mountain God."

Nero lifted the hem of his dress and knelt in salute.

Most of her clothes were now woven with magic, allowing them to survive the wind and snow without getting stained. This was an ability she mastered after completing the Sin Stone of Lust. The giant wolf slowly stood up, looking at Nero who saluted, and said in a deep voice, "No need to say more, choose the trial you wish.

"Is it to show bravery by fighting, wisdom by solving puzzles, or courage by risking one's life?"

Nero stood up and faced the giant wolf, assessing the opponent's approximate strength in his mind.

To be honest, the scale of Nero's spiritual power is quite exaggerated.

Just as the descendants of gods are often also worshipped gods, and offspring can partially inherit their parents' influence on the world, natural spirituality can also be inherited to a certain extent. This is also the essence of "bloodline" in the concept of the small garden.

Although Nero and Sparda were two generations apart, her grandfather not only possessed a vast amount of "demon" spiritual power, gained through the killing of sentient beings (primarily demons), but also commanded widespread faith as the savior of the world, making him a true "Demon God" by Little Garden standards. As his granddaughter, Nero naturally possessed a considerable amount of spiritual power as well.

So what about the mountain god in front of us?
Nero smiled and said something shocking: "The prize I want can't be obtained by just passing a mere 'trial'."

White Wolf lowered his head, looked down at Nero, and asked, "In that case, what exactly is the reward you want?"

"Of course, it's you."

That’s right, this is the shortest way to gain 100% approval from the Thousand Eyes—to defeat and subdue a “god”.

Pest had told Nero that acquiring the divine power was a qualitative change for most races. Even a common white wolf would possess at least five-digit strength after acquiring the divine power.

But even if they were all in the five digits, their strength would likely vary greatly. Pest's own spiritual power as the [Black Death Spot God of Death] was considered top-tier, and if unleashed in the outside world, it could easily turn an entire continent into a deadly wasteland. Even so, it was still ranked at the five digit level, similar to those land gods who had just stepped onto the threshold of deity.

As for the latter, Nero could easily defeat and win.

Hearing Nero's words, the White Wolf's pupils shrank slightly, and he bared his teeth and let out an angry growl: "How dare you! I can let you pass on this one, but since you said such a thing, you must be prepared for the consequences!"

Nero drew his sword from his chest, his pupils ablaze, his hair turning silver. Facing the enraged Wolf God, Nero slowly took his stance and asked, "Since I want to subjugate you, then naturally I must meet all three requirements, right?"

The next moment, a glowing parchment suddenly appeared in front of Nero.

----

Game Name: Moon Chaser Wolf

Contestant: [Hamel] Nero Fortuna

Game Leader: [Lord of the Anscres Mountains] San Na

Contestant victory condition: When the game leader cannot kill the contestant, the contestant wins.

Contestant defeat conditions: When a contestant is killed by the game leader, the contestant loses.

Additional conditions: 1. Except for the use of designated props, all attacks and obstructions by the contestants are invalid against the game leader.

2. The specified item already exists within the game venue [Anscres Mountains].

3. After the contestant wins, the game leader will belong to the contestant.

Declaration: Respecting the above content, based on honor and flag, [Hamel] participates in the Gift Game.

Lord of the Anscres Mountains

----

"The game begins!"

At that moment, the giant wolf roared loudly, shaking the mountains. With a snarling grin, it announced the start of this life-or-death game: "Run away from my sharp teeth!"

Before he could even read the parchment, Nero unleashed a Dimensional Slash. However, the space-shattering blow landed on the wolf's body, failing to sever even a hair. Nero's pupils trembled, and he immediately realized something was wrong.

She grabbed the parchment in front of her and leaped backward, her toes avoiding the giant wolf's sharp teeth by a hair's breadth. The hot breath blew on Nero's stocking-wrapped calves, making her shudder.

Nero left the cave, landed silently on the snow, and fled without looking back. While paying attention to the distance between him and the giant wolf behind him, he glanced at the contract document in his hand with his peripheral vision.

Upon seeing the additional clauses on the document, Nero thought, "As expected." The reason her Dimension Slash hadn't been effective was precisely because the giant wolf, San-Na, was currently protected by the rules of the game. Nero, participating in the Gift Game for the first time, hadn't expected the rules to be so forceful, and for a moment, she was stunned.

However, having the contestants risk their lives, while San-Na is risking herself, is still fair. Since the game has such strong coercion, the outcome will naturally be the same, with virtually no risk of default. No wonder there are games where contestants are said to be forced to risk their own power.

Back to the present, looking at the entire content of the game, it happens to include the three directions of the trial proposed by San Na:

The inability to quit midway and the only endings that can be death and victory represent a test of "courage".

Being unable to be defeated by brute force and only being able to win by cracking conditions represents a test of "wisdom".

Having to survive the chase to win the chance to solve the puzzle represents a test of "strength".

Nero needs to demonstrate all three of these qualities in order to defeat San-Na and emerge victorious from the game.

Simplifying the rules, it roughly translates to "find a designated item in the snowy mountains before you're killed, and use it to trap the Wolf God." It's straightforward enough. The only question now is what this "designated item" is and where it is.

Sharp icicles gathered like rain and stabbed at Nero from behind, interrupting her thoughts. Nero swung his sword sideways, forcibly tearing a vacuum through the rain of icicles and passing through it himself.

Just like the previous "Flowers of a Thousand Rivers and Lakes", we can't just focus on what's on paper. The hints about "designated props" should be on the back of these words.

Nero took a deep breath and said to himself silently:
Think about it carefully.

Think about the victory conditions of the game.

The clue is right there.

(End of this chapter)