Chapter 138 - Formal Term - Ruler

Chapter 138: Chapter 136: Formal Term - Ruler

It seems a bunch of useless things were done, yet they played a key role. It seems as though one’s own involvement was trivial, yet it was immensely significant.

In the end, people found that the journey, as meaningless as it seemed... held deep meaning.

The outcome wasn’t happy, but given the chance to do it all over again, people might still make the same choices.

...This is Su Ming’an’s understanding of TE.

And for those who survived in Terrily,

This is the eternal HE (HAPPY END).

They appeared to be quite happy.

Su Ming’an pushed open the door in front of him—or perhaps it could no longer be called a door, but rather a piece of charred black wood. Due to a fire that had been set earlier, the wooden shrine was scorched black and the smell of burnt flames lingered everywhere.

"Traveler, why would you want to look at this? It caught fire somehow, and we still have to renovate it later..."

A villager’s voice trying to dissuade him came from behind, addressing him as "Sir." They were preparing for tonight’s celebration banquet and had just thought to invite the hero who saved Terrily Town. But as soon as they heard Su Ming’an wanted to see the shrine, they hurriedly brought him here.

"Traveler, why not join our Terrily celebration? It’s very lively, and there will be beautiful girls dancing..."

The townsfolk continued, tasked with the mission of inviting this great hero to the festivities.

But his prattling was interrupted by a sudden glance from the traveler, causing him to instinctively take a half step back and immediately close his mouth.

...For some reason, that look from the traveler was profoundly startling.

Su Ming’an turned back and entered, followed by Moli.

He stepped on the blackened stone slabs, in the middle of the shrine was a coffin blackened by the fire.

He looked up and saw the ancestral tablets inside the shrine—each tablet, although the writing was blurry, represented the death of a person.

"Moli."

Moli turned her head, her eyes filled with dead silence.

"This is not the end," Su Ming’an said. "It’s just what people think."

Moli did not respond.

"People are very good at deceiving themselves... and always motivate themselves with a forward-looking attitude," Su Ming’an said as he gazed at the numerous tablets. "The ghosts are gone, and no one dies mysteriously in the night anymore—but has it really ended?"

He remembered the werewolf fur that had once appeared on the back of the villagers’ hands.

The faith may have changed, and now they yearn for freedom.

But some things don’t just stop because of a brief moment of peace.

The townsfolk who had once been assimilated... will they truly find the happiness and tranquility they long for?

"Lighthouse,"

Su Ming’an felt someone pulling at his sleeve.

This girl seemed to like tugging on his clothes, as if holding onto them meant she wouldn’t lose her way. She always instinctively clung to him like a child who could get lost at any moment.

"...Take me with you, away from Terrily," Moli whispered.

Her deity, her faith, everything she had... had all died.

After saying goodbye to the beloved ghosts, embracing the righteousness of exorcising evil spirits, she was left with nothing.

She wanted to leave this place and follow the outsider, to other places, or other worlds—anywhere would do.

As for Su Ming’an, his task was complete.

He looked at his mission panel.

[Ruler·Official Term:

1. Favorability of NPCs from the same camp ’Friendly’ or above, favorability of NPCs from enemy camps ’Indifferent’ or above.

2. Basic Favorability with all NPCs increased by 20 points, speed of gaining Favorability increased by 200%.

3. (Active Skill·Freebie): (Limited to one use per World Replica) You can choose any NPC (regardless of faction) and force their favorability towards you to the highest level.]

This active skill... it’s fair to say it hasn’t let him down after he worked so hard to complete the task.

If one could specify any NPC to have maximum favorability, subsequent missions would be much easier.

But there are limitations. Some people, even with maximum favorability, still have things they cannot say out loud, like Mayor Mitchell. Initially, he had identified himself as Boli and reached the highest favorability, yet he had still been hesitant.

But if used in certain specific replicas, it might also have unexpected effects...

He pondered this and looked at Moli by his side.

Moli had become a.

Duoduo’s doll gradually disappeared in her hands, after which he received a system message.

[Follower·Moli (Combat Skills not yet acquired)

Weapon: None

Skills: Priest Talent (Red Level)

Formation Talent (Red Level)

Health Points: 200

Combat Power: 5]

Moli’s profile was a bit disheartening, but talents at the Red Level were beyond expectation, making her someone who, with a bit of training, could immediately enter combat as a potential asset.

But Su Ming’an had no intention of taking her with him to other instances.

He often died over and over, always rushing into the most dangerous places, and sometimes he inevitably couldn’t take care of his teammates, let alone a liability.

He led Moli out of the shrine and saw Lv Shu standing there face to face.

Lv Shu seemed very quiet today, and his dead fish eyes didn’t seem to show any emotion.

"What’s wrong?" Su Ming’an asked him.

"Can’t kill those three without you," Lv Shu said.

Now the good versus the werewolves was three against three, and those three were exceedingly good at running. Perhaps they still dreamt of making it to the night to continue their killings, hiding all over Terrily.

"...Follow me."

Su Ming’an led the two towards the small square beside the Mayor’s house, where a banquet was being prepared—similar to the one he had seen when Moli got married. It gave him a strong sense of irony.

Mitchell noticed them and exchanged a fleeting glance with Moli before awkwardly shifting his gaze away.

"External Traveler, do you need help?" he asked, bowing deeply, his aged posture reminiscent of a shrimp that couldn’t straighten its back.

"Tell me about the movements of the other three Travelers," Su Ming’an said.

"Sure." Mitchell nodded without hesitation.

Then, Lv Shu saw the townfolk who had been preparing the banquet drop what they were doing at Mitchell’s command and surge out like streams of water, dispersing into every corner of Terrily Town to search for the three hiding Players.

They were countless pairs of eyes, familiar with every nook and cranny perfect for hiding, and they easily rooted out two of the targets.

The first to be found was Mizushima Haru, the younger sister mourning the loss of her beloved elder sister. Seemingly intent on a final act of madness, she tried to slice the townfolk to pieces with wind blades, but soon a Cloning Shadow teleported on the scene and a Spatial Vibration, infused with all his Mana Points, instantly killed her.

Then there was Iris, whose Charm Ability seemed ineffective against the townfolk. When they found her, she stood in place, appearing quite relaxed.

"Are you the Guard who defected? Why?" Eni popped his head out, having followed the commotion to Su Ming’an and Lv Shu’s group. He was somewhat incredulous upon seeing Iris.

He couldn’t imagine this perpetually elegant and charming woman, who always carried an air of noble restraint and confidence, joining the ranks of the enemy.

Iris faced everyone’s gaze as if she could see the barrage of criticisms in other streaming rooms, blaming her for ignoring faction alliances and the overall battle. Yet, her expression remained unchanged. Still embodyed the innate confidence and grace, and with a translucent sense of independent beauty, her fingers twirled her golden hair, her demeanor as captivating as a blooming Tulip.

"It seems I’ve lost this round, haven’t I?" Iris said softly.

She knew well that defection was a detestable act to many, but in her own streaming room, she could forcefully suppress the dissent with her Charm, making them willingly accept her actions.

To this elegant noblewoman, who lived in the spotlight, she had long grown accustomed to appropriately ignoring certain useless information.

...Such as those who didn’t support her.

There were plenty of people in the world who didn’t see eye to eye with one another; she had no need to explain herself to everyone.

The Werewolf faction had promised benefits; she would help for a reward, and even if she lost, she saw no downside. She never cared about the justness of factions, only about the benefits they offered.

"Will you leave the game yourself, or shall I assist you?" Su Ming’an asked her.

"Hmm?" Iris hummed through her nose, "Weren’t you talking about the dear Miss Lighthouse? Why are you...?"

As she spoke, the hand twirling her hair displayed three distinct lines on the back of her hand.

She had long known of this person’s overly courteous treatment towards those who Perfectly Passed, which made her confident and unafraid of any harm he might do to her.

With so many followers by her side, she had become used to this kind of deferential treatment.

"Yamada is the last Werewolf; go find her if you want. What do you want with me? You wouldn’t want to make even more enemies, would you?" Iris said with a smile.

There was no need to harm her now.

The Hero faction was destined to win; her death wouldn’t change the outcome, and it might be better to keep her alive to avoid pushing her multitude of fervent followers to the opposing side.

That was what she thought, too, so she was not at all flustered.

But the next moment, her thoughts changed.

A flash of teal streaked by.

On the back of her hand, those revered white lines were now tainted with a bright splash of blood red.

Clutching her neck and with eyes wide open, she watched as a Mantis with her own blood on its blade approached.

She fell to the ground.

Blood spread, staining her beautiful blonde hair. Her death was as tragically beautiful as a withered Tulip.

Su Ming’an noticed Lv Shu’s preemptive action getting more and more adept.

But he didn’t stop in his tracks; he immediately stepped forward, the Sword of Yarman appearing in his hand.

Iris hadn’t completely died yet, and through her blurred vision, she saw Su Ming’an approaching her, the blade raised high.

...Was she seeing things?

...This guy, this person who had shown her so much reverence, was actually going to deliver the coup de grâce?

This was Iris’s last thought.

The moment the blade fell, Su Ming’an, having claimed the kill, heard the prompt for his core skill upgrade.

By killing another player who also possessed a Red Level skill, his own skill could be upgraded as well, and with the addition of having killed Mizushima Haru’s clone earlier, his skill had already leveled up twice.

Knowing from the barrage of messages that death in this instance wouldn’t result in a loss of strength, and that Edward was bouncing around in the Main God Space, he showed no mercy to the person before him.

Each kill was an opportunity to upgrade his skills.

He didn’t care whether she was a guard or if it was a perfect pass.

He put away the sword, and beside him stood Eni, somewhat stiff.

"You, you’re not going to kill me too, are you?" Eni’s tone was somewhat stiff.

"So run fast. Before Yamada dies, don’t let me find you," Su Ming’an said, confirming Eni’s suspicion—that even if Eni was a player on the good side and hadn’t caused much trouble, Su Ming’an was still planning to kill him.

From start to finish, Su Ming’an’s idea was to spare no one; in a slaughter game, it would still be a victory if only he remained in the end.

No matter the identity, no matter the faction.

Eni glanced around; the townfolk were eyeing him with hostility, having fully surrounded them by now. It was only then, without a guard up, that he realized the most dangerous person was right by his side.

"...I won’t run." He replied defiantly, suddenly bursting into golden flames: "—If you want to kill me, then come on, I won’t be afraid of you!"

He watched Su Ming’an’s every move intently, the flames around him flaring, as he guarded against the potential attack from the man in front of him.

"Ever since after the First World, I’ve been reflecting and accumulating strength, all so that one day I could defeat you." He spoke slowly, looking for an opportunity to strike first.

He had been waiting for a long time for a one-on-one fight with Su Ming’an, although it came somewhat unexpectedly.

Even though he had previously lost to him, he had been searching forums for information about his opponent, seeking his weaknesses, and carefully crafting plans, all in preparation for revenge.

—He had to win back his honor fair and square!

"I admit, I was too naive before, I overestimated myself," Eni pointed at him, his eyes shining brightly, the flames on his body flaring in an instant:

"—But the me now is completely different. Having mastered the mysteries of the flame, I must avenge the shame I endured and defeat you in front of the whole world! Come on, Su Ming’an, use everything you have to defeat me, engage in this final showdown with me—"

He met Su Ming’an’s patronizing gaze.

"Boom—!"

The Spatial Vibration activated without warning.

"Pu."

The roaring golden flames were suddenly reduced to a spark.

Eni tilted his head slightly, and in the last moment, as his health points were emptied, he only caught sight of the clone that had suddenly appeared behind him, its hand still pulsing with spatial ripples, raised high.

—Shameless thief, you ambushed...!

He lost consciousness.