Promotion

When the Game's voice fell silent, a flicker of understanding passed through Xu Kai's red eyes.

He finally understood why the Game did not allow promotion inside an Instance. The commotion it caused was enormous.

Although Xu Kai was standing outside the Instance, he was in a boundary area.

From there, his red eyes could see both the City and the real world.

As for the promotion, Xu Kai saw the Game frantically drawing energy from multiple planes, converting it into Weird Energy, and sending it surging toward his body.

[Warning: Once promotion begins, it cannot be stopped. Do your best to absorb the Origin Weird Energy until you are promoted to a Low-Tier Weird.]

To Xu Kai, the announcement was complete nonsense.

He was already doing everything he could to absorb the Weird Energy, because if he didn't, its sheer volume would crush him to death.

The Game's promotion process was quite crude: it simply took energy and fed it to you. If you could digest it, you became a Low-Tier Weird. If you couldn't, you died.

Xu Kai struggled to absorb it, but he found that blindly drawing the Weird Energy into his body like this didn't seem to work.

If he kept it up, he would only end up bursting from the Weird Energy instead of drowning in it.

Xu Kai thought it over. No one had given him any guidance on how to become a Weird, not even the Game.

The Game seemed to treat this as a test. Becoming a Weird required not just power, but also the wisdom to control it.

Xu Kai thought back to how it felt to control the Weird Energy in his body. There was only one sensation: pain.

The essence of Weird Energy perception was pain. He judged his surroundings by the degree of pain, and using Weird Energy also caused tremendous pain.

Suffering was the very foundation of a Weird.

Xu Kai seemed to understand a little. He constructed a channel of Weird Energy inside his body to absorb the ownerless Origin Weird Energy.

Like a workshop processing products, Xu Kai added his own Weird Energy to the ownerless energy bit by bit, circulated it through his body, and sent it back out. Gradually, the ownerless Weird Energy submitted to him and became his to use.

Xu Kai's body changed as well, growing steadily stronger. With a clear gaze, he drew in the vast amount of Weird Energy outside bit by bit, slowly turning it into his own.

Once the Weird Energy submitted, it no longer put pressure on Xu Kai, saving him from being crushed to death.

He didn't know how long the ordeal lasted before his red eyes finally saw no more Weird Energy outside. He had absorbed it all.

[Promotion successful. Reward: 1,000 City Coins]

[Number: 95201]

[Name: Xu Kai]

[Identity: Low-Tier Weird]

[Cause of death: Unknown]

[Talent: Unknown] [Do you consent to deep authentication?]

[Health: 1,000]

[Weird Qi: 110/1,100] [Continuously recovering]

[Weird Energy Quality: 110%. One portion of current Weird Energy can completely suppress 1.1 portions of ordinary Weird Energy]

[Weird skill: Fire of the Gaze; Weird skill: High-Altitude Fall]

[Fire of the Gaze: Anything stared at for more than one second will burst into flames. These flames can be controlled, and their burning intensity increases with Weird Energy Strength]

[High-Altitude Fall: Objects at high altitudes can be controlled and forced to fall. Fall damage is calculated as Weird Energy Strength multiplied by height]

[Weird Energy Strength: An attribute exclusive to promotion with full Weird Qi. Currently at one]

After reading the attributes, Xu Kai was surprised that his unorthodox cultivation method had actually earned him the exclusive Weird Energy Strength attribute.

What was more, as soon as he obtained the attribute, his skills automatically gained its properties. It was overwhelmingly powerful.

Weird Energy Strength also had excellent growth potential. Once its strength increased, his own power would increase geometrically.

Xu Kai felt stronger than ever. His physical strength was now on par with established Weirds like the Stone Statue Weird.

Judging by physical strength alone, the Stone Statue Weird was also at the Low-Tier Weird level, and was even somewhat weaker than Xu Kai.

Xu Kai felt that if he had been the one chasing down his former self, a single collision would have killed him outright. There would have been no need for anything further.

After familiarizing himself with his body, Xu Kai opened the Game panel. There were still two options for him to choose from, though there was no time limit.

[Please choose your Weird path: 1. Instance Boss. Bound to an Instance, with a 50% increase in initial strength and a substantial increase in survivability. Your true body cannot be harmed until the Instance is destroyed. When the Instance is destroyed, your strength decreases by 50%, and your advancement is permanently restricted.]

[2. Random Boss. No enhancements or reductions. You may establish general killing rules and participate in Instances at random, generally large-scale joint killing Instances. However, damage is applied directly to your true body. If your health reaches zero, you will be reclaimed by the Game.]

Xu Kai looked at the words "reclaimed by the Game," which were an unusually vivid red. He studied the two options and, after some analysis, concluded that each had its advantages and disadvantages.

An Instance Boss was very strong early on, but once the Instance was conquered, it was essentially a death sentence. A Random Boss's Instances were unpredictable, and a Random Boss was easily injured and lacked the powerful vitality of an Instance Boss. But a Random Boss was not bound to an Instance and was free to grow.

After some thought, Xu Kai decided to become a Random Boss. Part of the reason was that it would work well with his Talent, and part was that he would not be restricted by an Instance itself. He would not have to worry about an Instance's destruction permanently locking away his strength.

[Random Boss selected. Please wait while a suitable Instance is matched for you...]

[Match successful. In three City days, please participate in the Instance Dazhu Village and kill eleven players together with the Drowned Grass Weird.]

The Game's voice fell silent. After digesting the information it had given him, Xu Kai narrowed his eyes.

He was still standing in front of the Red Shirt Hospital, with the real world to one side and the "City" to the other.

Out of curiosity, Xu Kai stepped toward the real world. At the end, a window suddenly popped up.

[Current Weird Energy concentration insufficient. Weirds may not proceed.]

Seeing this message, Xu Kai realized it also meant that Weirds could descend into the real world if the Weird Energy concentration was high enough.

Since he couldn't return to the real world, Xu Kai had no choice but to head toward the "City." As he did, another window popped up before his eyes:

[Weirds in the "City" may freely release their power. Your current strength is relatively low. We recommend applying for Game Protection at one Game Coin per hour. Would you like to apply?]

At this, Xu Kai checked the Game Coins in his inventory. He had over 1,400 of them, so he promptly chose to apply.

[You have obtained Game Protection. We hope you enjoy your time in the City.]

The Game's voice faded, and Xu Kai smiled. This was the privilege of a Weird. Game Protection alone was leagues beyond anything Evil received.

Speaking of which, once he entered the "City," Xu Kai would have to pay his old friends a visit and see which Instances they were making their fortunes in. Otherwise, he would be letting down his own experience as Evil.

With that thought, Xu Kai stepped into the "City."

Meanwhile, in the Red Shirt Hospital cafeteria, Fat Auntie held a long ladle and lounged in a recliner. Suddenly, she spoke to the empty air:

"Stop thinking about him. He's already gone."

"Hehehehe, good, very good! A mere Random Boss dares to get in my way! If it weren't for you, I could easily have pulled him in and reset the Instance one more time during that long opening."

"Hmph, don't even think about it while I'm here, Beast."

Fat Auntie suddenly twirled the long ladle in her hand a few times, transforming it into a flute. The triangular spiral runes on it lit up.

"You just wait! This game isn't over! I'll get out eventually!"

"Give up on that. These Game loopholes you've been tinkering with are nothing to worry about."

Fat Auntie's gaze grew distant as she recalled something, then she came back to herself.

"You can't do it. Stop resisting. Following the Game is the only way out."

"Heh heh... You don't understand. After becoming a Rule Ghost..."

Beast did not finish, because doing so would break the rules, and even someone of its level would die if it finished speaking. Fat Auntie fell silent as well, because the Instance's power was active again, and the entire Red Shirt Hospital Instance was about to finish resetting.