Chapter 110

Chapter 110: Chapter 108: "Witch, Please Take Action"Save him," Lv Shu nodded without hesitation.

Sharina unscrewed the red bottle cap.

"...Wait a second."

A sudden voice came from outside the door.

Lv Shu turned his head instantly.

Originally supposed to be dead inside the room, Su Ming’an, bathed in moonlight, stood outside the door, looking at him.

"Wait a second, outsider, during this time, only the designated clerics are allowed to walk at night... why aren’t you affected by the rules?" Sharina looked incredibly surprised, the Sanskrit in her hand glowing, "If it isn’t the designated time, you shouldn’t be able to leave the room..."

"Because, I am a character outside the rules," Su Ming’an spread his hands, "I let the clone go out at the start, and only transferred my main consciousness over after the original body died, so... now, should I be considered an identity-less person?"

"What in the world is... this rule?" Lv Shu still hadn’t figured it out.

"Similar to the real-life game of Werewolf Killing."

Lv Shu looked at him blankly.

"Lv Shu," Sharina called Lv Shu’s name, the light of the Sanskrit in her hand fading, "As a ’witch,’ my time to act is almost up, we need to go back now."

Lv Shu looked at the scene inside the room and clenched his fists, "Su Ming’an, who killed you?"

"Those attackers were very well-prepared, shrouded in black mist all over, the clone couldn’t see who they were before it died... But, it’s certain that there was more than one person," Su Ming’an said.

"That’s right," Sharina said, "A ’witch’ can only see the deceased of the night but can’t determine the attackers... Alright, the specific rules will be explained to you by the mayor during the day. Now, Lv Shu, we must return."

"How about saving him first?" Su Ming’an asked, "Anlienna told me that the one with the identity is the one on the ground, if he stays dead, my identity is void as well."

"Anlienna? Is that the name of your guide?" Sharina unscrewed the antidote’s bottle cap after receiving Lv Shu’s permission, "But, before that, outsider, I want to know your identity, to judge whether this rescue is worthwhile... If your identity isn’t as valuable as that of a cleric like myself, it would be too wasteful to use the only antidote..."

"I understand your concerns," Su Ming’an smiled, "I am—a ’prophet.’ Lv Shu, no need to look so puzzled, you will understand its specific significance tomorrow during the day."

"A prophet... that indeed is the most important identity," Sharina nodded solemnly.

She knelt down, cautiously spilling the liquid onto the clone’s corpse, and then, a faint red glow like a firefly floated up.

Lv Shu heard such a system notification, which only appeared on his interface, apparently addressed to him specifically.

"Guides do not recognize each other, nor can they see each other, much like spiritual bodies... Logically, I shouldn’t be seen by anyone. But you, an identity-less outsider, are an exception; you actually can see any of our guides. Does that not give you a unique advantage?" Sharina looked at the depleted red antidote and then tucked the empty glass bottle into her bosom.

"Then my advantage is indeed unmatched," Su Ming’an smiled, "Being able to see any player’s guide, can’t I identify any player’s identity?"

"The precondition is, you have to make other players believe you," Sharina said indifferently, "Also, we guides only appear at night and disappear during the day unless you can find players who act at night."

As she spoke, she pulled on Lv Shu.

"Let’s go, Lv Shu," her action carried an irresistible force—as Lv Shu still wanted to talk with Su Ming’an a bit more, he was involuntarily pulled away by the dim yellow light.

The wooden door was shut in front of him, and Su Ming’an watched his clone, who had just been resurrected and climbed up from the ground, reveal a subtle smile.

Dawn slowly poured into the cabin, gilding the simple furnishings with a shiny golden edge, instantly reviving vibrance as footsteps of many people walking down the paths outside could be heard.

Su Ming’an had already walked around the entire village during the night, taking advantage of his ability to go out at will, and hadn’t found anything amiss — except for the eerily still environment as if everyone had died.

All the houses had no windows, only a tightly closed wooden door. He had tried using Erase to open the door but was met with a system indication: .

He also tried waiting on the road to see if other players would come out of their houses like Lv Shu did, but there was none. The moment Sharina and Lv Shu stepped out of their house, their figures vanished instantly; he chased them out only to find an empty and eerily quiet street.

"Indeed, even with a bit of convenience, the night activities of others are still invisible..." Su Ming’an mused, circulating around the village and finding its edges blocked by invisible walls — he couldn’t walk out.

However, strangely, near the end of his excursion, he noticed a house larger than the others and when he tried to enter, the prompt he received wasn’t that it was inaccessible, but:

"Out of service status... what is it used for?" Su Ming’an wondered, casually checking his system panel for the tasks:

In addition, due to his "Ruler" role, there was an extra task on his interface:

Because of this Ruler status, even though the perfect pass of this world wouldn’t affect the World Origin, he felt he might need to strive for it.

...As for this NPC "Moli", he would look for her during the day.

Su Ming’an had already adjusted the live streaming camera to himself, so the viewers could not see any activities on the side of his clone; they could only see him wandering around the somewhat frightening village all night looking for clues without any findings.

Daylight broke across the village, and it was morning.

An unrewarded Su Ming’an from last night was standing at the base of the rear mountain in town, preparing to ascend and check it out. He felt some activity from his clone, so he quickly shifted control and streaming perspective to that location.

"Thump thump thump."

A gentle knock came from the wooden door as the clone, who hadn’t slept all-night, opened a door that wasn’t even slightly ajar.

The wooden door creaked and groaned. Outside stood a stooped old man with kind, benevolent eyes. He wore a reddish-brown robe and leaned on a dragon-headed cane, his figure appearing somewhat shrunken.

Upon seeing Su Ming’an open the door, his eyes conveyed friendliness as he slowly looked over:

"Hello, traveler from beyond, I am the mayor of the town... Daylight is upon us, and I wonder if your night’s rest was comfortable... Hmm? Wait, you seem a bit different from the other eleven travelers..." The mayor stared at him for a while, then his smile grew even more genuine: "... Though I’m not sure why, I feel I can trust you, traveler from beyond. Your eyes and expression greatly resemble my child Bori..."

Su Ming’an understood that this was the effect of the "Ruler" NPC’s increased affection.

"I would love to share the village tales with you... but now is not the time for chatting, dear traveler... Each day, the village holds a meeting, and the other players have already been notified. Normally, you should have come on your own, but for now, let me take you there."

The mayor, leaning on his cane, trembled as he walked, and Su Ming’an hurried after him.

Only when he walked out did he see that the house across from his had its door wide open... Not just that house, but all the houses that seemed as silent as gravestones during the night had their doors flung open, the brilliant sunlight streaming in and touching the previously silent and dilapidated village with specks of gold.

This area seemed to be on the edge of the town, as if it were a zone separated on its own, with twelve standalone houses. He noticed the number 1 on his own house, while the other houses were numbered 2 through 12.

All the houses had their doors wide open, and not a single person was inside. Su Ming’an appeared to be the last one notified. As the mayor slowly led him to the central plaza, the other eleven players were already waiting at the edge of it.

He noticed a long, redwood table in the plaza, with a candlestick and twelve identity markers numbered 1-12 on it.

However, those identity markers looked eerily like spirit tablets, their edges even stained with dried blood.

Beside the long table stood a very conspicuous, tall reddish-brown pole, suspending a noose just about the size of a human neck, hinting to Su Ming’an what it was for.

He also saw players from the world rankings, their faces familiar from the world forum. At the instant they saw him, a few also subtly changed their expressions.

Edward was at the center among a few people. He stood flanked on the left by a man with bushy eyebrows and broad shoulders, all over which were various small pouches — Andre, ranked eighth, and on the other side by Adolf, ranked sixth, who carried a metal long rifle on his back.

"..." They seemed to want to whisper among themselves, but Su Ming’an’s gaze was tightly focused on them.

The barrage started discussing:

"Once in a lifetime, once in a lifetime, several people have actually appeared on screen together!"

"Wow, there are such nice sisters, is that Mizushima Kawa Sora?"

"I saw Eni oo, although I chose Su Ming’an’s live broadcast room to watch the story of the world, Eni is really cute..."

Standing beside Edward and others, dressed in European noble attire, was Noel, ranked second, and Eni, ranked tenth. When Noel saw Su Ming’an approaching, he smiled and greeted him, while Eni turned away his face unnaturally, as if he saw an enemy.

Beside them was the quietly standing Mizushima Kawa Sora, ranked fifth, her eyes calm as a lake, seemingly unaffected by Su Ming’an’s approach. However, next to her stood a girl who appeared almost carved from the same mold. Unlike the silent Mizushima, she was swaying as if unable to stand straight, her round black eyes fixed on Su Ming’an, showing palpable hostility.

A little further away were three individuals Su Ming’an had never actually met in person.

Iris, ranked ninth, was long famous. This lady from Yu Country, hailed as the "Goddess of the West" by players, had extraordinarily beautiful golden hair. When her narrow, captivating eyes slowly looked over, they conveyed bone-deep confidence, elegance, and a delicate yet lazy independence, wrapped in a transparent charm.

Beside her stood a woman from Dragon Country, her long bangs obscuring her eyes, giving her a somewhat gloomy appearance. In contrast to the confident and elegant Iris, she was hunched over like a shrimp that couldn’t straighten up, her slightly scarred fists unconsciously clenched, like a schoolgirl often bullied, and when she saw Su Ming’an approaching, she immediately stepped back half a step, the murky eyes visible through her hair filled with fear, evidently wanting nothing to do with him.

...This was Lin Jiang, ranked eleventh, also one of the few high-ranking players who never live-streamed, leaving most people extremely deprived of information about her.

Lin Jiang instinctively shrank back, but Iris did not move an inch. Her beautiful eyes lazily watched Su Ming’an, her lips curling into an enticing smile.

"My God, up close, I can fully appreciate Miss Iris’s charm."

"She is damned beautiful and confident."

"Iris’s occupation can charm all beings, and she hasn’t even spoken yet, but she already has such attraction. I can hardly imagine what will happen later in the competition..."

"Ming’an was attracted too hhh, the first person he approached was not Edward or Lv Shu, but of course the beautiful Miss Iris～"

"What? Ming’an was attracted too? No, come back! Women like Iris will only use you, while the ever-loyal Miss Yu Ruohuo is truly the best—"}

"...Are you sure it’s Iris’s looks that attracted Ming’an?"

"I feel uneasy about Ming’an, it would be fine if it was an individual competition world, but this seems to be a faction-based competitive world. Apart from Noel who greeted him and his own Lv Shu, the other players seem very wary of him..."

"He actually made it to the Fourth World... consider him lucky," Edward said quietly.

"Having a Clone Skill really leaves no choice," commented Andre beside him, "but, once we return to the Main God Space and find an opportunity to kill him again. Now, since everyone knows he’s suspected of being the organizer’s lapdog, we won’t be going against public opinion by seizing the chance."

"No, you don’t understand, Andre," Edward’s eyes flashed fiercely, "the best... is never physical destruction. In this world, I want him to lose miserably, crushed by players around the world, ideally having him admitting himself... that I am the rightful Number One Player."

"That sounds challenging."

"No," Edward smirked, "the rules of this World Replica might still be unclear, but it’s definitely faction-based. Whether he and I are in the same faction or opposing factions, as long as he wants to win, I can use this to my advantage..."

Fourth World·Current Identity:

Number 4 Lv Shu (Witch)