Chapter 167 · Volume 1

The First S-Rank

“I'm back,” Bai Ci said weakly. She barely had the strength to stand and almost collapsed directly onto the floor.
Fortunately, her personal space wasn't large. Stumbling forward two or three steps, she reached the bedside and collapsed directly, falling heavily onto the large bed topped with a plush mattress.
In the previous round, she had used her points to replace quite a few pieces of furniture, especially the bed, upgrading to a highly comfortable one. At this moment, she felt a deep sense of comfort.
The physical damage had been repaired the instant she returned to her personal space. However, the excruciating pain of being repeatedly torn apart, along with the helplessness of her life force draining away, seemed to be engraved in her soul, refusing to dissipate.
Even though she had already died once before, she still couldn't get used to it.
She didn't even have the spare energy to worry about whether Arbiter and Yan Zheng could successfully defeat the incarnation, nor could she spare a thought for whether Violita and the others had escaped safely.
Her mind was a complete blank, consumed by an endless exhaustion that swept her into a deep sleep.
This sleep was exceptionally long. She had no idea how much time had passed before she slowly opened her eyes.
She sat up. There wasn't the slightest hint of pain in her movements, and the soreness throughout her body had vanished without a trace. Her physical self had returned to its peak condition, though her mind was still somewhat dazed.
Like someone who had just recovered from a serious illness, she couldn't muster any energy, and even her gaze was somewhat unfocused.
Bai Ci leaned against the headboard, resting for a while longer before opening the settlement page.
【Instance Settlement
[Instance Name: The Wisteria Train]
[Basic Information]
Player: Bai Ci
Time Elapsed: 2 days, 12 hours, 40 minutes
Overall Evaluation: S
By willingly sacrificing yourself, you awakened the lingering will of the deity, indirectly causing its thralls to defect. You assisted your companions in crushing the evil incarnation, bringing closure to all the trapped souls.
Henceforth, there will be no more sacrifices on this route.
Decisive in action and compassionate at heart. Though lacking formidable combat power, you turned the tide of battle single-handedly, making an outstanding contribution.
[Basic Rewards]
Experience: 100
Points: 300
[Special Rewards]
Gift: Gluttony
Your flesh and blood are my feast. Henceforth, I ask not of the return journey, but only follow where you lead.
(Effect: Upon use, summons a Gluttony Puppet. The puppet has no independent will and only obeys the user's commands. Once locked onto a target, it will launch a relentless attack to the death until the target is defeated or the puppet itself dissipates.
If the puppet is defeated, the item will be directly consumed. If the puppet successfully defeats the target, it will consume the user's flesh and blood to repair its own damage.
Note: This item cannot be used in certain instances.)
Special Status: Curse “What is Love”
You tamed a beast with love, then unleashed its wild nature, instigating it to bite back at its former master. The former master glimpsed everything before death and used its final strength to curse you across life and death.
(Effect - Class Aberration: Characters holding the Rain's Message status will have a drastically increased probability of encountering fatal accidents.)】
Her first S-rank.
Looking at the settlement information on the panel, Bai Ci couldn't help but smile.
Her sacrifice had not been in vain.
Not only did she receive an S-rank evaluation, but the item she obtained was also quite good, filling the gap in her combat capabilities.
Even if the puppet had usage restrictions and would cause backlash to herself after a battle, it was still enough to make her rejoice.
Only those in her shoes would understand the pain of not even being able to buy the most basic weapon—a dagger—from the shop.
As for the sudden “What is Love” curse, Bai Ci didn't panic too much.
She recalled her randomized forum nickname; she hadn't expected it to actually become a reality now.
This curse wasn't targeted at her directly, but she couldn't help but feel a little anxious for the NPCs who would become her Rain's Message targets in the future.
But on second thought, Bai Ci felt relieved.
If the target of Rain's Message was a friendly NPC, then this curse would indeed be somewhat troublesome.
But if it were a villainous NPC, this curse would actually become a highly useful buff.
If the curse could trigger an accident, weakening the opponent's strength in advance or even causing them to meet with a fatal accident directly, it would save her a lot of trouble.
Thinking about it this way, this seemingly troublesome curse didn't seem so hard to accept after all.
After reviewing her status, Bai Ci took out the item. A small vine doll appeared in her palm.
The doll was woven entirely from vines. It was tiny, only the size of a palm, with a smiley face carved onto it. Its curved eyes made it look quite cute.
A tiny wisteria flower bloomed at the doll's chest. Its petals were plump and vibrantly colored, as if it were the doll's heart.
Bai Ci toyed with the vine doll out of curiosity. The moment her left hand touched it, a sudden burning sensation emanated from the ring on her middle finger.
Huh?
What was happening?
Bai Ci simply placed the doll in her left hand, and the temperature of the ring refused to drop.
Looking closer, the vine doll still had a smiley face, but its originally curved eyes had quietly grown sharp, carrying a bloodthirsty, hostile aura.
She understood now. These two items were hissing at each other.
Bai Ci moved the doll back to her right hand. Now that the doll and the ring were no longer on the same hand, they both returned to their initial states.
The burning sensation of the ring gradually faded, returning to its original cool touch, while the expression on the vine doll's face softened back into its gentle, smiling look.
Watching this play out, Bai Ci laughed helplessly. “You two sure have quite the temper.”
Putting the vine doll away, she tapped open the system panel once more.
With a light tap of her finger, the panel switched to the player information page, clearly displaying her detailed personal info:
【Player Information
Name: Bai Ci / Lora
Identity: Bai Ci / Lora / ???... (Item effect)
Level: 3
Current Exp: 90/100
Points Held: 400
Core Attributes: Physicality 10 (HP 100/100), Spirit 10 (Spirit 10/10), Agility 11
Unassigned Attribute Points: 1 (Obtained after leveling up)
Current Status: Spirit damaged, severe fatigue, cursed (“What is Love” 100%)
Current Class: Ghost Bride (Expand for details)
Next Instance Unified Start Time: 101 hours 23 minutes
Instance History: Folded (Expand for details)】
She had indeed leveled up.
Looking at her level on the panel, Bai Ci felt a wave of gratification.
After a moment of thought, she allocated that 1 unassigned attribute point to Spirit.
Her head still throbbed with a faint ache, and her mind felt hazy. Although her body had recovered, her mental exhaustion had not yet fully cleared.
The moment the attribute point was successfully added, a gentle power instantly surged into her mind.
It felt as though her tense nerves were being soaked in warm water. The dull ache dissipated, her dazed mind cleared up, and even her previous fatigue was mostly alleviated.
Bai Ci let out a long breath, feeling thoroughly refreshed. She finally had the mental energy to check the player forum.

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