On the plains across the creek, the thunderous roar of an engine suddenly erupted.
The banshee froze, her mind void of any memory of such a strange sound, and she turned around blankly to look.
Buze and the escaping freshmen also couldn't help but turn toward the source of the noise.
The manic sound, resembling that of alchemical machinery, was both familiar and foreign to their ears.
Across the emerald-green grassland, white exhaust trailed behind as dust billowed like splashing snow; a pink motorcycle was speeding toward them under everyone's watchful gaze!
Its front wheel suddenly caught a stone, sending the entire vehicle airborne.
To the astonishment of the crowd, it soared over the creek as the rider leaped into the air, leaving the unmanned motorcycle to continue its charge toward the banshee.
The banshee let out a shrill scream, reacting like a cat that could do nothing but hiss when faced with danger, offering no other response to the oncoming vehicle.
Her waist was struck so hard it curved like a crescent moon, her body nearly folding in half as she and the motorcycle were sent flying together.
Grinya landed steadily, her emotionless gray eyes calmly scanning the scene.
"Grinya..."
Buze croaked her name, his voice a mix of dazed fear and relief.
The golden domain barrier shattered instantly.
He could no longer maintain his standing position, and as he collapsed, his eyes remained fixed on Grinya.
"Five minutes left. Let's finish this quickly."
Grinya left those words behind and walked toward the direction where the banshee had been thrown.
The pink motorcycle had already vanished; the banshee crawled back up, her scarlet eyes glaring at her with pure malice.
She stopped and met the banshee's gaze calmly.
Buze and the others held their breath, understanding that this silence was merely the precursor to the eruption of battle...
...
In the real world.
Lu Xun stared at the computer screen, looking at the bright red number '20' above the head of the boss named Shapeshifting Banshee.
'This thing... why is it level 20?'
Lu Xun was stunned.
'Come on, man!'
'Aren't you the same species as the last boss? Why is there such a massive level gap?'
'This designer is insane. I didn't come all this way just to get bullied!'
'Is it too late to turn around and run?'
He quickly tried to summon the motorcycle.
【Vehicles cannot be used while in combat state.】
"..."
He knew it.
Every anime-style game had this same annoying trait!
There was no other choice but to bite the bullet. It was just a challenge against a higher-level enemy; it wasn't impossible.
This was the perfect chance to see how strong the character had become after the breakthrough.
...
In Yiertaya, in a basement near the outskirts.
The place was dark and gloomy, the walls so damp that water dripped constantly.
Several wizards draped in black robes stood in a circle around an exquisite magic circle. As they chanted, the circle glowed with a dim, gray magical light.
A man's voice came through the light.
"Good afternoon, everyone."
"What era are we in that you're still using such ancient communication methods? Don't you have a communication screen box?"
Hearing the man's question, a tall man of high status stepped out from the shadows of the basement.
His name was Moen Sulin.
"How is the situation on Morai's side?" he asked.
"Are you asking about Wuxin Island? I don't know either. Although I carry the bloodline of Ledavich and can tamper with the secret realm, I have no idea what's happening inside," the man replied.
Moen frowned, clearly displeased with the man's excuse.
This feeling of things being out of his control was just like that unknown entity that had suddenly appeared in the city—it was unsettling.
Even if they were the ones who had summoned that unknown entity in the first place.
"However, everything is normal for now. I've also contained the chaos within Hero Square. No one else has noticed anything unusual yet."
"As long as everything goes smoothly," Moen could only reply.
"Using the bloodlines of these people as a living sacrifice, combined with the power of the Sacred Blessing Stone, we might actually be able to break the seal of the abyss. If it succeeds, our Diao Cult will truly have to thank you. Otherwise, we would never have thought of such a brilliant plan, wouldn't you agree, Kritov boy?"
"Haha, it was just a whim. But that doesn't mean I want to join you, Mr. Moen. We are merely partners," Kaiya said as if to remind him.
Moen didn't care about Kaiya's attitude as long as their goals were aligned for the moment.
"By the way, Mr. Moen, your puppet doesn't seem very obedient," Kaiya added.
"Hmm? You mean Morai?" Moen frowned again.
"Yeah, I saw her actually shrinking back when the Wuxin Island secret realm opened. Luckily I stopped her quickly, or our entire plan would have gone down the drain."
"That girl..." Moen's eyes sharpened, his tone icy and reprimanding.
"There's one more thing, Mr. Moen," Kaiya continued without stopping, his tone slightly excited. "What's the deal with that woman named Morai? Why does she look so much like the real Princess Ruiya that even the bloodline verification from the palace couldn't find any issues?"
"I cannot answer that question," Moen said flatly.
Morai's true identity was a secret. If it weren't for the fact that this operation required Morai and Kaiya to cooperate, he would never have revealed her existence.
"Fine, but honestly... I'm really curious about this, so I won't stop investigating," Kaiya said before unilaterally cutting the communication. The dim gray light of the magic circle flickered out.
Hearing Kaiya's insistence on investigating Morai's identity, Moen's frown deepened.
Why were these people always so disobedient?
Whether it was Morai or Kaiya, they were all the same.
This feeling of things being outside his control was truly wretched.
...
This was Lu Xun's first time attempting a higher-level challenge in this game.
'I'm being humble now, please let me off.'
The opponent's speed was practically like someone using cheats. If it weren't for the fact that Lu Xun's own skills were top-tier among players, allowing him to barely block the attacks every time, he would have died long ago.
But the problem was the enemy was too fast. Even though he could see a conspicuous red dot on the banshee's body due to the effect of Life Crown Talent 1: Duel, he couldn't land a single hit.
He felt like a clown being played in the palm of the opponent's hand.
'Does the game AI really need to be this smart?'
To make matters worse, even though he blocked every attack, his health still dropped; the only difference was that it dropped slightly less.
Add to that the opponent's screeching, which occasionally applied hard CC on him, forcing him to spam the spacebar to break out of the stagger, and the gameplay became even more disgusting.
Except for when he played solo queue ADC, Lu Xun had never felt a game could be this nauseating!
Damn it, don't force him to use the Fling Trainer!
Rate on N.U.
