[You have slain a Tidemire Sandworm]
[Acquired: Wax Oil ×2]
Pulling the chipped sword out of the creature's flesh, Rogge let out a faint breath of relief.
Right now, he was stranded on a lonely island swallowed by darkness.
Of course, if this were just an ordinary, deserted island, he might have felt somewhat fortunate.
But unfortunately… this was an island haunted by monsters.
And what made Rogge feel even more despair was… the environment itself.
The familiar sun was gone.
No more rising in the east and setting in the west.
The sunset over the sea had become a luxury he could only dream of.
The warmth of sunlight existed only in his memories.
Darkness covered every corner of the island, and the boundless ocean had him completely trapped here. Only a faint, residual glow offered the blurriest of vision…
Such a situation was enough to drown anyone in despair.
But Rogge was not entirely without hope…
He lowered his head and glanced at the wound on his abdomen.
A wound that should have been a bloody mess now looked like a cut on a candle—only a white indentation remained, with pale yellow wax oil slowly seeping out.
After packing up his spoils, Rogge returned to his shelter.
It was a reef cave, barely able to block out most of the sea wind.
He walked to a stone, crouched down, then stretched out his hand.
A pure-white candle wreathed in flame appeared in his palm.
Setting it on the stone, Rogge leaned back against the cave wall and exhaled softly.
[Spirit Candle]
[Grade: Remnant Ash]
[Remaining Wax Oil: 103]
[Spirit Candle Structure: Spiritfire Harbor (Unbuilt, Island Anchor Required)]
[Anchored Islands: None (300 Wax Oil Required)]
[Summoned Candle Wraiths: 0 (100 Wax Oil Required)]
[Spiritfire Harbor: A harbor burning with spiritfire, granting your Candle Wraiths the ability to operate in near-sea waters.]
[Island Anchor: Use the Spirit Candle to anchor an island, stabilizing its environment.]
Rogge had survived this resource-starved, danger-ridden island thanks entirely to this candle.
Or more precisely—the Spirit Candle.
It had granted Rogge a wax-forged body, allowing him to rapidly recover from injuries, and even… resurrect.
And all of this required the resource known as Wax Oil.
Even constructing the mysterious buildings tied to the Spirit Candle demanded large quantities of it.
Wax Oil could only be obtained by slaying the roaming, maddened monsters.
No one knew how much time had passed.
Relying on the residual power of the Spirit Candle, through endless cycles of recovery and even death, Rogge had gradually learned how to fight.
He didn't know what would happen if the Wax Oil ran out and he died again—and he had no intention of finding out.
It would definitely not be anything pleasant.
After countless hunts, his once-depleted Wax Oil reserves had finally begun to grow again.
Perhaps the only good news was that the crazed monsters respawned like weeds—over and over again!
Yet that only made Rogge more troubled.
Just what kind of absurd, twisted world was this?
"Candle Wraiths… maybe they can help me find the answer faster."
Rogge drew in a deep breath.
Summoning Candle Wraiths was one of the Spirit Candle's functions.
Based on the information provided, Rogge believed they were something like puppets endowed with simple consciousness.
With enough Wax Oil, Rogge could use the Spirit Candle to create wax-bodies to house them.
They shared traits similar to his own and should be able to help him with many tasks.
"Let's hope these Candle Wraiths aren't idiots…"
If he summoned a bunch of fools, then his hard-earned 100 Wax Oil would be wasted.
"Let's try creating one first…"
Rogge sighed softly, then reached toward the flame of the Spirit Candle…
[100 Wax Oil consumed. Summoning Candle Wraith…]
…
[Dead silence and darkness blanket every corner of the world…]
[The freezing ocean imprisons life upon lonely islands…]
[Wails of suffering ride upon the biting sea wind…]
[O distant flame wandering across the void…]
[Take on the body of the Candle Wraith, and become the pioneer who explores the darkness…]
"The CG's pretty good. Not high-art, but the realism's top-notch…"
Li Miao rubbed his chin, commenting on the scene that had just appeared.
As a veteran gamer, he had bought a VR Linker the moment the technology hit the market.
Browsing the game store, he discovered a game called Spirit Candle—and the mention of "combat" immediately piqued his interest.
[Please enter your name]
[Please adjust your appearance]
[Tip: Your physical traits will affect combat performance. Adjust carefully!]
After the CG ended, Li Miao found himself in the character-creation interface.
"Can't pick a female avatar?"
He shook his head, disappointed.
"But physical traits affecting combat… that's reasonable."
He set his name to "Miao-Bro Never Fails Exams", then began tweaking his appearance.
"Make the face handsome… muscles bigger…"
"No no no—not the trapezius…"
After fiddling for a while, he finally nodded in satisfaction and tapped [Confirm].
The darkness before him began to shift.
A sudden pulling force washed over him, and Li Miao's vision sank into pitch black…
…
"Huh?"
"No way… isn't that a player?"
Through the Spirit Candle, Rogge witnessed everything: Li Miao setting up his character within the preparation space.
And as this happened, he could feel the Spirit Candle shaping the Candle Wraith's body according to the player's adjustments.
There was no doubt—Li Miao, the player, would soon descend into this newly-formed Candle Wraith body.
Oh now this—this I can work with!
Everyone knew that players possessed terrifying creativity, frightening aggressiveness, and absolute unpredictability.
They would stop at nothing to achieve their goals.
They even carried a title dreaded by all natives of game-worlds—
The Fourth Calamity!
If such beings could be used by him…
"Then I'd have a powerful vanguard for exploring this world!"
Rogge's heart trembled with excitement.
He immediately began evaluating the feasibility.
"I need to think about how to guide him…"
His mind raced.
…
Moments later—
Water dripped faintly onto rock behind him.
"Welcome, flame that has traveled from afar…"
A slightly deep voice echoed through the cave.
Opening his eyes, Li Miao saw a weathered man leaning against the stone wall, holding a chipped sword.
The man stared fixedly at the candlelight, not looking directly at him.
[Listen to the Candlekeeper's Guidance]
A quest prompt appeared at the upper-right corner of Li Miao's vision.
He tried to stand and move, but found his body unresponsive—he could only sit cross-legged.
'Temporary movement restriction? Fine…'
Though he was eager to move freely and enjoy VR gameplay, he wasn't impatient. He settled down to listen.
Good thing I prepared… Rogge thought.
Having once been a gamer himself, he understood players quite well.
In a starting zone, if you didn't impose some restrictions, players might cause every kind of chaos imaginable…
Keeping a calm expression, Rogge performed his duty as an "NPC."
"You may call me the Candlekeeper."
"As you can see, my duty is to protect the Spirit Candle."
"And you, born from its flame, are Candle Wraiths—meant to carry its light and warmth into this darkened world."
"But right now, your flame is still faint."
"To grow stronger, you must slay the maddened monsters and collect the Wax Oil from their bodies."
"The Spirit Candle will store the Wax Oil you bring back, heal your wounds, or recreate your body should you fall."
Finishing his words, Rogge willed the Spirit Candle to update the guidance prompt.
[Focus your thoughts to view your personal information]
Li Miao immediately did so and excitedly opened his status window.
[Miao-Bro Never Fails Exams]
[Grade: Remnant Ash]
[Level: 1]
[Attributes: (View Details)]
[Talent: Robust]
[Skill: Dodge]
Each line came with detailed descriptions, which Li Miao eagerly read.
[Remnant Ash: Not even complete ash—mere scraps left behind by the world.]
[Robust: Slightly increases stamina recovery, +1 Constitution.]
[Dodge: A blessing from the Spirit Candle. When you roll, jump, or crawl, you have a 50% chance to negate the next instance of damage.]